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Last updated on March 6th, 2018 at 12:30 am
The Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz on Bush’s Afghanistan visit:
So while it was a great presidential photo-op (without the fake turkey), it also forced journalists …
… to keep repeating myths about fake turkeys.
Hail thee fellow public interlectual.
I think you will find the holocaust denial thread more your speed.
Posted by Margos Maid on 2006 03 02 at 09:59 PM • permalink
#4 too right! Let’s see, AK47s, BMPs, T-72’s, MIGs, Scuds, stop me when I get to all those “US furnished” arms.
#1 And Gust, if the Left is so reflexively “anti-war”, why did they make so many weapons???
(Gust proceeds to tell heartrending story about wars of “national liberation” and how the poor Soviets were actually surrounded by the evil imperialist West so they had to have nukes and the largest land army in the world.)
Posted by Vanguard of the Commentariat on 2006 03 02 at 10:28 PM • permalink
And what about the fake canberry sauce!
Posted by WeekByWeek on 2006 03 02 at 10:34 PM • permalink
Really Tim, you don’t expect the media to drop a story denigrating their favorite hate object just because it’s a lie do you?
Posted by Michael Lonie on 2006 03 02 at 10:46 PM • permalink
- Gusthuf and all the other leftoid fuckwits aside, I think that the ethically bankrupt and hostile MSM have done George W. an enormous favor with their constant harping over a (cleverly fabricated) lie about the infamous “plastic turkey”. It really has taken on the same connotation as Theodore Roosevelt’s “teddy bear”. In years to come, when George W. is basking in the glory of his Presidency, and addressing a gathering of the Old Guard, some wit is going to yell, “Hey, GW, how about that plastic turkey?”, and George is going to grin and wave, and the whole hall is going to dissolve into laughter.
For my part I still consider turkey the most over-rated of food-stuffs – the New World’s revenge on the Old World. Once, just once – I’ve tasted an edible turkey and that was many years ago in Alabama when I partook of of a turkey which had been deep-fried in oil. The result was superb but I was told, at the time, that many deep-fryer’s often incinerate themselves along with the turkey.
#1 Gusto, Is part of the garbage you wade through in the MSM the repeated attention to important detail it gives on its front pages, over and over, to the most warped mother outside of Medea, that hag, Mama-Ha Ha Sin-dy? That garbage is not what has left its slime all over you. It’s the repeated lies that you slog through in the MSM. It must be refreshing for you to walk in the clear air of the truth on this post, even though you let a bit of your accumulated slime fall into it.
Do the MSM journos really wonder why we think they’re scum? Never once do they mention Bush’s surprise Thanksgiving Day visit to Baghdad without pasting their image of a “fake turkey” over it. Not long before, Bush had made the “Three Pillars” speech in London. Bush went to Baghdad, cheered up the troops, met with important Iraqis, and, by those meetings & by his very visit, reassured Iraqis of the USA’s commitment. The day after the Baghdad visit, 1,000 marched in Baghdad against terrorism and, the following week, 10,000 (said Al Jazeerah) to 20,000 (said Walid Phares) marched in Baghdad against terrorism and thousands more marched in other cities such as Basra. And not long after that, Saddam Hussein got captured.
But all that a jackass like Howie Kurtz can even remember is a decorative turkey which Bush picked up in fun and at which Howie says “fake” like a dog drooling at the ring of a bell. No, Howie Kurtz is not any better than Dan Rather, Eason Jordan, Jayson Blair, or the other liars. The sooner that people like Howie Kurz have to change careers, the better.
sounds like waussie is not a big fan of Dubya…. which i guess is not a capital offence on this blog… or is it??? with all of these supposed denizens of Rove prowling around the place???
i guess you can still be a conservative, and agree with a conservative world view without necessarily liking every major conservative or conservative world leader??? i mean Tony Blair is a labourite, but he seems to me like a man we can do business with, i have some time for that guy, although the contributors from the UK who talk about Blairistan may not agree, seeing him up close and personal and his failings???
Hell Caz, I’m a RWDB and other than Reagan, my favorite Prez is Truman. If for no other reason than he was everyman, he loved America, and he could make a hard decision and stand by it. (and I suspect when he heard the word “nuance” he reached for his revolver).
Posted by Vanguard of the Commentariat on 2006 03 03 at 12:39 AM • permalink
Tolerance of a variety of viewpoints is one of the fine qualities of free democracies such as ours, and we regularly see it reflected in this blog.
In keeping with this important principle, I like to think that I can put up with a fuckwit (still with us Gusty?) with the best of them.
Posted by Margos Maid on 2006 03 03 at 12:46 AM • permalink
well u have to draw the line somewhere i suppose margos, there are some real obnoxious clowns out the with their heads stuck irretrievably up their posteriors, but yes in general a variety of opinions can at least stimulate thought if they are offered in a thoughtful manner…
and while many here will hold similar conservative world views, even we aren’t all cut out with a cookie cutter in exactly the same mould… we can each have our own small differences without having to be drummed out of Tim’s blog????
I love the trolls, if the truth be known Casa.
Miranda can park her slippers in the comments section here any day.
Posted by Margos Maid on 2006 03 03 at 01:01 AM • permalink
I’ve had several shitstorms with the Blogmistress, and I’m still here. Not sure what’s your point.
Same here. If someone gets banned, it’s usually because they were rude….and usually demanding and/or childish. Not because they Spoke The Wrong Words™. Not because they dissed Dubya. Because they were rude, “rude” being defined as being disrespectful to others. That pushes Andrea’s button more than anything else. IMHO, anyhoo.
Oh, and stand ready to take it as you dished it out. This is no place for squeamishness, and constructive criticism must be accepted.
Maintain a respectful attitude, be polite to others, state your opinions clearly, and be ready to back them up with facts. Follow those rules, and you’ll do fine.
Funny, that’s how my parents raised me. What a coincidence……
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2006 03 03 at 02:34 AM • permalink
I sometimes think we’ve lost the history battle in the plastic turkey saga. Writers just keep quoting it as a known fact.
Of course that puts them in a strong position. If we who know better point out the facts then we are just nitpicking and not focusing on the big issues (as per comment #1).
Makes you wish you could have a form letter or something that is immediately posted to writers using the plastic turkey story. Quick clean and automatic so we can continue our “big issue” focus.
If someone gets banned, it’s usually because they were rude….and usually demanding and/or childish.
I’d like to add “obtuse” to the list, though perhaps that’s classified under “childish” already. At any rate, people who hit the ROD trifecta (rude-obtuse-demanding) generally don’t last too long, that’s true enough. Not that the rest of us care too much, I suspect. There are usually more interesting conversations to be had.
all of these supposed denizens of Rove
Heck, I’m as loyal a servant of Karl as the next guy (unless the next guy is wronwright, then I’m a much more loyal servant), but I dunno if I’d want to live in him…
- Re #4:
I thought the US DID arm Hussein copiously 15-20 years ago because the US disliked Iran. But I thought it fell into the so-what category, eg Italians fought against Germany 1914, with Germany 1939; ditto Japan.
I would be interested in any facts from kind people as to what the US supplied Hussein with, and in what quantity.
I don’t understand the turkey in the psyche of the American public, other than being larger than a chicken and edible, and a symbol of Thanksgiving. There was a joke about a plastic turkey some time ago. Ha, ha. But whether real or imagined (it seems imagined), it’s had it’s day, and the continued turkey talk is like a joke that get told over and over again, boring, and you question the person telling you. Move on from the turkey talk and say something more substantial.
#12 Wussie, pithy comment but it has no sting. Fake? I suppose you refer to GWB,who managed to rescue the populations of two slave nations in just a few years with casulties insignificant compared to comparable wars, won two elections, revived the US economy after 9/11 so that it booms along well ahead of Europe, got his picks on the Supreme Court, saved the Patriot act, etc. etc. Gee, If a fake can do all this, I wonder what a real person like John Kerry or hag Cindy could do?
#26, check the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (I think they’re funded by the Swedish government) data.
US arms sales to Iraq while under Saddam were around 1% of total arms sales.
There’s a famous graph here (well famous amongst the blogosphere. it obviously hasn’t made it to the MSM)
Posted by Art Vandelay on 2006 03 03 at 09:24 AM • permalink
Art, R.C., as a further lagniappe, the goods the US supplied Hussein were mostly so-called “dual use” technology, which were pointed to vigorously as proof of US perfidy.
Of course, the “dual use” tech from France, England and Germany found in Iraq after the Saddam Excavation were dismissed just as vigorously as being proof of nothing at all.
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2006 03 03 at 11:02 AM • permalink
Having eaten a slice of that now famous turkey on Thanksgiving 2003, I can tell you that if it was a fake, it was the juiciest and tastiest fake turkey I ever had. Of course, it was all set up and ready for him to serve. Why in the hell would you give the man a fake turkey to serve? Damn, I hate these idiots and their endless spew of bullshit.
But whether real or imagined (it seems imagined)
“Seems”, nothing. The plastic turkey is fiction.
it’s had it’s day, and the continued turkey talk is like a joke that get told over and over again, boring, and you question the person telling you.
Hmmm, it always seems to entertain me and most of the other regulars here. One of those perennial favorites that’s kind of a “trademark” of the site. And exposing dumb and/or dishonest lefties never gets old. Why drop such an effective and entertaining litmus test?
Move on from the turkey talk and say something more substantial.
You’re not really up on this whole “blog” concept, are you?
#27 Move on from the turkey talk and say something more substantial.
Stevo, this thread is about the fake turkey. If you talk about anything else you will be declared O/T and Andrea will ban you. So watch out.
Posted by daddy dave on 2006 03 03 at 01:50 PM • permalink
…the ROD trifecta (rude-obtuse-demanding)…
Good one, PW! Maybe this is rule #100 for Andrea’s Blog Rules™, eh?
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2006 03 03 at 03:53 PM • permalink
Ah, my students have learned well! And they told me to ease off using the paddle and the clamps.
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2006 03 03 at 04:06 PM • permalink
- Hold it, hold it, everybody, this is BIG.
Texas Bob 36. wrote: Having eaten a slice of that now famous turkey on Thanksgiving 2003, I can tell you that if it was a fake, it was the juiciest and tastiest fake turkey I ever had. Of course, it was all set up and ready for him to serve. Why in the hell would you give the man a fake turkey to serve? Damn, I hate these idiots and their endless spew of bullshit.Now THAT is news. We have always thought that it was a decorative turkey which W hefted, and that the turkey which W was helping serve out from behind the counter —
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/04/60minutes/rooney/main586874_popup0_2.shtmlhttp://www.alphapatriot.com/home/images/pictures/Bush/BushIraqiThanksgiving02.jpghttp://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/0312/dc4d291e35028e942ebd.jpeg
–was all the turkey actually prepared for the men to eat. A Dec. 4, 2003 Washington Post article by Mike Allen was called “The Bird Was Perfect But Not For Dinner” http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A33090-2003Dec3?language=printer and it said:
66~~~~~~~~~~
Officials said they did not know the turkey would be there or that Bush would pick it up. A contractor had roasted and primped the turkey to adorn the buffet line, while the 600 soldiers were served from cafeteria-style steam trays, the officials said. They said the bird was not placed there in anticipation of Bush’s stealthy visit, and military sources said a trophy turkey is a standard feature of holiday chow lines.
The scene, which lasted just a few seconds, was not visible to a reporter who was there but was recorded by a pool photographer and described by officials yesterday in response to questions raised in Washington.
~~~~~~~~~~99So now, you’re saying that in fact the men DID eat the trophy turkey, it was cooked all the way through & edible. This is the biggest development in the turkey story in years.
Nice try, ForNow, but you fail Reading Comprehension 101. Bob said:
Of course, it was all set up and ready for him to serve.
He’s talking about the pre-sliced turkey that Bush served to the troops out of the serving trays.
Texas Bob is not a familiar name to me from this site, so it’s probable that he doesn’t know the “fake” turkey being talked about is the (real, but not served) display bird in the photo-op pic. He sees a reference to Bush serving fake turkey and says to himself, “Bullshit, Bush served me a real bird and it was delicious.”
That wasn’t so hard to figure out, was it?
I might have assumed so, Dave S., except that Texas Bob called it the “juiciest and tastiest fake turkey I ever had”—so I got this picture of really good turkey. But of course, any fake or plastic turkey that tasted real would have to be the “juiciest and tastiest fake turkey” that a person ever had. Also, I don’t recall anybody’s ever saying that the show turkey didn’t get eaten or whether it was cooked enough to be eaten. As far as I know, the fate of that turkey has been an open question for years.
- Re #26:
I thought the US DID arm Hussein copiously 15-20 years ago because the US disliked Iran.You’d think that if you listened to the MSM. Just look at the Iraqi Order of Battle back in 1991:T-72, T-62, T-55/54, Type-69, Type-59, BMP-1/-2, BRDM-2, PT-76, MT-LB, Frog-7,Scud-B, MiG-21, 23, 25, 29, SA-2, SA-3, SA-7, SA-6,
SA-9, Su-20, 22 & 25s (Soviet or Chinese copies)AML-60/-90z, Mirage F1 (French)
The MSM claims didn,t withstand the smell test for me.
Here is the link.
The US did supply some helos which were unarmed and Iraq immediately armed them but that is as close as it gets.
#27 “I don’t understand the turkey in the psyche of the American public, other than being larger than a chicken and edible, and a symbol of Thanksgiving.”
Well, it’s like this:
Mayor: What do you mean
you 'cooked the turkey,' Charlie?Mayor: You put our national bird in the oven.
Is that correct?Charlie: Yeah, well I, uh …
Mayor: And all of us had our mouths set for
roast eagle with all the trimmings.Charlie: Yeah, well I, uh …
Mayor: You did a thing like that?
Charlie: Well, the two birds were
lying there, side by side.Mayor: The *turkey* was for the centerpiece, Charlie,
I mean …Posted by Old Grouch on 2006 03 03 at 06:16 PM • permalink
(I swear to God I have no idea where all the colors came from!)
Posted by Old Grouch on 2006 03 03 at 06:18 PM • permalink
Wronwright was delegated to provide the real turkey. He used the time machine in order to save cooking time, but set the time-travel dial too far back. He showed up with this . Completely inedible. We had to scramble to even find a plastic turkey. This all anyone needs to know about the subkect. Case closed.
People come here to read this blog. Important people. I don’t mean the Michael Lonies, the MarkLs, the PWs, and the rest of the dirty rabble. I mean important people like Mark Steyn, and James Lileks. And who knows, maybe even George Bush, John Howard, and Karl Rove.
And even though that’s the case, the only time my name is mentioned is when you or some other failed vegetable byproduct make up some story that makes me look like a complete dunderhead.
Well, this will end up hurting you. Just yesterday I brought back several casks of especially delicious einkorn beer borrowed from the select stock of Ramses I. I WON’T be asking you to join me in drinking it.
Posted by wronwright on 2006 03 03 at 08:58 PM • permalink
- There are a large number of older model Yank and British tanks parked in big numbers around Iraq which has led to fuel the bullshit about Saddam being supplied with US and UK armour etc.
The fact is that these tanks bear Iranian and Kuwaiti Army markings and were captured by the Iraqis. The Iranians used Yank equipment supplied pre-Khomeni and the Iraqi’s used predominantly Russian issue.
- A Canadian peackeeper in 1988 wrote “in this same area close to the Iranian border north of Basra I drove through an area were the Iranians tried to push through to cut the highway to Basra. There were so many burned out tank hulls in the desert that I quickly lost count. The types I recognized were both Iraqi & Iranian, T-54/55, T-62, T-72, Chieftain, M46 Pattons, M60A1, and yes in the distance the easily recognized shapes of at least four M4 Shermans. Again I could not take pictures and could not get close enough because of mine fields. I asked the Iraqi LO if they were Iraqi tanks and he told me that they were Iranian. He said the Iranians only used western equipment. At this location the LO said was one of the biggest tank battles since WW2.”
Found here
Fake turkey, wake turkey, sly turkey, fly turkey,
Howie spied Turkey Plastique IN a Baghdad Green Zone,
Struttin’ its stuff ‘round safety cones,
It said, “Hello, hey How, you wanna give it up to a fowl?” Oh! uh huh…Letcha betcha cred cred dan dan (may may Mapes!)
Ketchup catchup fall down (on rear!)
Pincha Snottaburga red, red (hands!)
Grey ole lady? Rotten red hag!Poulets fous! Bush aide avec dindes, quelles grandes!
WaPo journos should wear orange (dunce caps!)
- #50 wronwright,
Who you dissing by callin me “dirty rabble” eh? I’ll have you know I’m perfectly clean rabble, and don’t you forget it! Three showers every day, ever since I was put on counterespionage duty by Mister karl. You want to make sure your file doesn’t cross my desk, know what I mean?Your promotion above 32nd degree is getting further away with every post you make. It’s gonna be back to waxing black helicopters for you if you don’t watch out.Posted by Michael Lonie on 2006 03 04 at 01:32 AM • permalink
While the scrutiny here is often uncanny, I feel like I am being “called out” so I’ll elaborate on my previous post. The question is, “Was the bird on the tray a real turkey?” I honestly cannot say. On Thanksgiving night of 2003 at BIAP, I can say that the thought, “Wow! It’s President Bush! With a turkey! I wonder if it’s fake?” never crossed my mind. We all went through the line received our meal (the President said to me, “Thank you for your service, God Bless” – just like to the guy before me and after me) Granted, from the time he was carrying the turkey on the tray (which I did not get a close up look of – STUPID ME!!! I was looking at the President of the United States of America and NOT scrutinizing the bird on the tray!! What the hell was I thinking?) So, the long and the short of all of this is: Who gives a sh!t if the bird was real or not, and f@ck em if they do. He SERVED real turkey. The man was THERE (which IS important) while ALL of the turkey conspiracy theorists were safely at home eating their own plastic turkey. I’d be surprised if I could harbor any more contempt for these f@#k-sticks.
Waleel Aly seems to be The Age’s “nice” columnist on muslimism (20 by-lined articles/columns in past year). He won a highly commended in the Melbourne Quill Awards yesterday (Fri), losing out on the big prize in favor of The Age’s other regurgitator of racial/cultural pieties Sushi Das, an Age role model for political correctness. Who were the judges?
Sorry, the Melbourne Press Club seems to be treating their names as a state secret to on-line searchers—its last list is for 2004.
Waleed Aly, a Melbourne lawyer, is or very recently was, a member of the Islamic Council of Victoria executive.Hey, wait a minute, The Age doesn’t disclose this at the foot of the article! wtf! I thought Aly must be an independent, unbiased journalist! Last December The Age, running some piece of his about how racist we are Time for some political honesty about the racists among us, at least described him as a Melbourne lawyer and writer. ie not a professional journalist.
Anyway, here’s a snippet from Waleed in The Age today – he gets a whole broadsheet page (sorry, no free link available):
“You would have thought Australian Muslims had been torching media outlets and embassies.
The scarcely acknowledged fact is that there was almost no response in Australia at all despite the fact that The Courier Mail reproduced the most offensive of the cartoons. (Peter) Costello ignores this, preferring to trade on the stereotyped performance of mobs in areas of already heightened political tension, such as Syria or Gaza. Australian Muslims become guilty by fabricated association.”
Pardon me, Waleed, but the entire Australian mainstream media, except the Courier Mail (and it, apparently by mistake), were too nice/cowardly to run any of the cartoons, so Muslims here had nothing to riot about in the first place. Suppose, on the other hand, The Age had run all 9 (or 11 or whatever) cartoons with the same space allocation as Waleed gets today, would any rioting or not-nice events occur? My guess: yes.
Also, I don’t think (but can be corrected) that the Courier Mail ran the bomb-in-turban cartoon which was definitely the most offensive. Did it? Alert readers may be able to spot other flaws in Waleed’s award-winning prose.
- Jeez turn the page of The Age and spot the libel!
A Howard-hating novelist, Melanie La’Brooy, does her rant on the op-ed page and remarks, (sorry no free link)
“Well anyway, back then Oasis was top of the charts, no-one had heard of Harry Potter and convicted felon, ballroom dancer and ginger seller Pauline Hanson was making her maiden speech to Parliament…
I realise that hating Howard justifies anything, but if I was Pauline Hanson I would go The Age for say, $250,000.
btw, does The Age have sub-editors? If so, do they ever read copy?Try —November 8, 2003
At the heart of the successful appeals by Pauline Hanson and David Ettridge is the question of what constitutes membership of a political party. Ms Hanson and Mr Ettridge spent the past 11 weeks in jail because a jury believed that she, with his help, dishonestly secured the registration of a political party by presenting to the Queensland Electoral Commissioner a false list of names.
successful appeal
I’ve got to be careful when posting when partially pissed. The comment “Move on from the turkey talk and say something more substantial” was directed at the media who continue to bring the turkey tale up. Not directed here. I thought that was obvious when I posted …
That’s enough of gobbling to this thread …
Texas Bob, nobody meant to call you out. To the contrary, your presence honors us. It’s just that Tim Blair’s sites have been something like Plastic Turkey Debunking Central. There’s been more plastic turkey discussions, analyses, poems, & lyrics, here than can be reasonably linked to, though, by using previous efforts, one can try.
Dec. 5, 2003 – GOBBLE GOBBLE
– WHO’S THE TURKEY NOW?
– BUT DID SHE HOLD A DECORATIVE TURKEY?
Dec. 6, 2003 – THE GUARDIAN’S PLASTIC TURKEY
Dec. 10, 2003 – SHE DON’T GET NO RESPECT
Dec. 13, 2003 – ALAN RAMSEY, KING TURKEY
Dec. 14, 2003 – HISTORIC MOMENT
Dec. 16, 2003 – SURE, WE’VE CAUGHT SADDAM … BUT PLASTIC TURKEY!
Dec. 21, 2003 – G.O.B.B.L.E. MEMBERSHIP INCREASES
Dec. 25, 2003 – IT’S ALL ABOUT TURKEYS
Dec. 28, 2003 – REALISM AND SAUL LANDAUBONUS GOBBLEFEST:
March 10, 2004 – JOHN F(AKE) KERRYPlastic Turkey Tales Addicts’ Corner: At each month’s archive page, do a simple browser search on the word “turkey” to find the relevant threads. It is unfortunate that not all further articles linked from within those threads remain. The blog Deeds for instance is gone.
Dec. 2003 http://timblair.spleenville.com/archives/2003_12.php (the Unforgettable Month)
Jan. 2004 http://timblair.spleenville.com/archives/2004_01.php
Feb. 2004 http://timblair.spleenville.com/archives/2004_02.php
Mar. 2004 http://timblair.spleenville.com/archives/2004_03.php
Apr. 2004 http://timblair.spleenville.com/archives/2004_04.php
Etc.Google search on plastic-turkey at Tim’s old Spleenville website.
Google search on plastic-turkey here at Tim’s current site.
Makes you wish you could have a form letter or something that is immediately posted to writers using the plastic turkey story. Quick clean and automatic so we can continue our “big issue” focus.
I had a “form” email that I sent out every time I encountered the “Bush claims Iraq threat imminent” meme. Don’t know if it did any good, but it made me feel better.
If it adds anything to the discussion, I can cook a turkey until it tastes like plastic.
Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2006 03 04 at 06:02 PM • permalink
81Alpha — Both the Iraqis and the Iranians made extensive use of equipment captured from the other side, made easier by the fact that vehicle crew PMCS were usually well up to ME standards and vehicles were frequently found abandoned for simple fuel exhaustion or minor, easily correctible flaws…
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2006 03 04 at 08:52 PM • permalink
Page 1 of 1 pages
Tim, amongst all the garbage I have to wade through in the MSM, I’m so happy that you continue to tackle the big issues.