Short of nuclear war between North Korea and Iran — or maybe Barack Obama accusing Markos Moulitsas of racism — it just doesn’t get any better than this, my friends:
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Never have I been so happy to link Melissa McEwan, who provides this transcript, complete with descriptions of Moore’s laughter and facial expressions:
KEITH OLBERMANN: One complicating issue here—address the charges against Assange in Sweden. Are they—are they a ruse? Are they—are they a front for something else? And even if they are, indeed, something nefarious against him, you are still, in essence, participating in bailing out a man who has been charged with criminal sexual charges, or will be charged under these circumstances. Address that.
MICHAEL MOORE: That’s the thing. He hasn’t been charged. They’ve brought no criminal charges against him. They want to talk to him about, about— This whole thing stinks to the high heavens. I gotta tell ya. I mean, I—I wasn’t born yesterday, but I [laughs]— I’ve seen this enough times where governments and corporations go after individuals— Geez, wasn’t I— I think I was just on your show a couple of weeks ago talking about this—
OLBERMANN: Uh-huh!
MOORE: —with my film and the health care industry. They go after people with this kind of lie and smear. Daniel Ellsberg told you about it last week on how they went after him. This is— We’ve seen this before. Now, his guilt or innocence of this— I mean, what he said they did— [grinning] and the lawyer said this today in court in London—that what they say he did and the charge is his [rolls eyes] condom broke during consensual sex.
OLBERMANN: Mm-hmm.
MOORE: That is not a crime in Britain, and so they’re making the point how can we—how can we extradite him over this? This is all a bunch of hooey as far as I’m concerned! And, and the man at least has a right to be out of prison while awaiting the hearing, and I believe that, that, uh—and this is why I participate in it; this is why I put put up a chunk of the bail money, and, um, you know, I’m proud, proud to do it because I think this man and what he’s doing, and what his group is doing, is going to save lives.
Regular readers (and everybody who hates me) will recall how disastrously things went sideways when I mocked feminists over this Swedish rape charge against Assange. The accusations, as described in published news accounts, certainly seemed to me like a case of post-coital vengeance — two of the socialist women the LeakyWicker bedded while in Stockholm compared notes and realized they’d been the unwitting (or perhaps witless) victims of a serial seducer. It did not seem to be the sort of case that lent itself to a pious “no means no” lecture from Jill Filipovic.
If you hate me, all that explanation isn’t going to convince you of my bona fides. Yet even my worst enemies must admit (a) I never used the phrase “a bunch of hooey” and (b) I’m a right-winger and therefore automatically presumed guilty of patriarchal misogyny, even if I never wrote a word about feminism.
But for Michael Freaking Moore to roll his eyes and chuckle derisively at the rape accusations on Keith Olbermann’s show — oh, my goodness! Pop the popcorn mon amis, because the flaming fatwa of feminist fury has been unleashed on the obnoxious America-hating Jabba the Hut:
Ask the women who are pressing these charges — their names have been so widely leaked, in one case by your fellow “progressive” media dudebro, Keith Olbermann, that it is possible to find their home addresses, their personal blogs and social media accounts, and to track their activities and personal lives. I’d imagine that they are very much in fear for their lives, due in large part to people like you, Michael Moore, who are insisting that they should not be believed.
And you’re the face of the Left. You have the platform, you have the power, you have the cash and the fame and the name and face recognition: You claim to speak for us. And when you speak, you don’t stand against rape.
That’s from the feminist blogger who has accused Moore of “rape apologism” and launched a Twitter hashtag campaign “#MooreAndMe” to protest against Moore, whose Twitter handle is @MMFlint.
Dear Feminist Ladies: Please forgive me for all previous offenses to your egalitarian sensibilities. Clearly, I deserved every bad name you ever called me. But I’m going to do everything I can to assist you in your current campaign of hysterical vindictive frenzy, because air should be illegal, if Michael Moore is breathing it.
OMG. I just thought of something.
What will Ace of Spades say when he finds out about this? If this doesn’t merit the legendary Flaming Skull Alert, I don’t know what ever will.
Merry Christmas — and God bless us every one!
