Don’t get me wrong, I fully support deporting Piers Morgans, just not for this reason. At any rate, watch this lunatic meltdown on live tv, and keep in mind this is the kind of person who wants unlimited access to guns.
Count the conspiracy theories, if you can. Then, watch this post-interview video Jones posted in which he stated he was afraid of being murdered by Bloomberg’s posse of crazed crackheads.
kindness
Foaming at the mouth trogladites works for the progressive side. I suspect the neocons have spittle flecked tv’s agreeing with the moran.
Still, at what point does it take for the 50% of Americans who are uncommitted one way or the other on an issue to assess that one side of an issue is held by lunatics? That I do not know.
Jason
This is pretty much par for the course for Alex Jones. Make no mistake, he is a paranoid loon.
ET
I wound but I have a real aversion to watching people deliberately embarrassing themselves in such a public fashion.
schrodinger's cat
Who is this rather tubby person and why should I care? You can’t just deport someone because you don’t like them. BTW the Federal Govt spends more on immigration enforcement than it does on FBI, drug and gun policing put together.
Nemo_N
Obviously, we need to be more polite towards gun nuts.
BruinKid
And then my Ron Paul friend actually writes:
Like, he thinks Alex Jones WON that argument, and made a good case for NO gun control at all.
This is the world they think they live in.
And then the comments to his post devolved into 9/11 conspiracy talk.
Publius39
This was the first time I actually watched that interview. I think it gave me cancer.
gogol's wife
I watched the second half. It’s very sad. I do get hopeless when I see things like that. But we can’t give up.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
Jones, like Breitbart, is a bully, shouting, gesticulating, scowling his way through a debate. His unmodulated voice sounds like someone’s just thrown nails into a blender It’s a little difficult to continue the conversation when you think the guy opposite you might pounce like a pit bull on you (no offense meant to pits)….
Amir Khalid
@Publius39:
I was about to watch the clip, but now I’ll consider myself duly warned.
Brachiator
@schrodinger’s cat:
Don’t know. But Kevin James will play him in the movie about gun nuts gone wild.
kooks
Jesus fucking balls, that is just pure distilled crazy.
schrodinger's cat
@Amir Khalid: Good choice, I haven’t watched it either.
SatanicPanic
“How many great white sharks kill people every year?” jeezus, what an asshat
schrodinger's cat
@Brachiator: Who is Kevin James?
dr. bloor
@Nemo_N:
If by “more politely” you mean “jab them in the ass with a caulk-gun-sized syringe of Haldol, I agree wholeheartedly.
jrg
Uh, huh. BTW, The unabomber believes in Global Warming. Just an FYI.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@SatanicPanic: Actually, we can put an upper bound on that: There were 28 shark attacks according to the chart BJ had up the other day.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@jrg: So. I bet he prefers wearing pants as well.
Woodrowfan
@Brachiator: When Shrub was in the White House he was popular with some of the fever swamps of the left, like on the conspiracy boards of the Democratic Underground. He still has supporters among the left-wing Chemtrail crowd that show up on Crooks and Liars. He started off on access TV in Austin in the 1990s and was popular with some of the rightwing “freeman” types. They had had some popularity among the type of leftie that likes Ron Paul (shrug, don’t get it either) because he attacked Bush. Now that President Obama is in the White House he popular on the right again.
Basically he’s proof that no matter how insane some one is, someone on the internet will believe him. FWIW, he’s buddies with Charlie Sheen who is often on his show.
Leeds man
I’ll say this (and little else) for Morgan: He has been one of the better pundits on this issue on American TV.
jrg
@Belafon (formerly anonevent): I wonder how he feels about gun control.
Amir Khalid
@schrodinger’s cat:
A chubby forty-something actor known for playing blue-collar guys, star of the sitcom The King of Queens and some undistinguished film comedies.
Jane2
I can’t stand Piers Morgan as a rule, but his clear, reasoned, and very public stance on firearms control is laudable in a sea of mealy-mouthed media pundits and reporters.
dr gonzo
Did anyone bother to ‘vet’ the fbi stats?
Its the emotions that matter
Rosalita
@schrodinger’s cat: who is Kevin James?
GregB
Alex Jones, I’m the NRA.
Pinkamena Panic
Posted this in the last thread; posting it here because it’s more relevant to this one.
Raving hyper-conspiracist far-right anti-governmentist gun nut gets schooled by magical talking purple unicorn. Just another day on the Internet!
I find it hard not to hear those in her Twilight/Ilana voice.
Also, am I the only one who think ol’ Crazy Alex got his handbook on how to argue from Scientology? “Never defend, always attack”.
SatanicPanic
@Belafon (formerly anonevent): That’s it, I’m swimming with a gun in my trunks from now on. Only way to be safe.
gogol's wife
I’m liking what I’m seeing out of the Coalition To Stop Gun Violence. They’re taking an aggressive stance. They immediately targeted Heidi Heitkamp with ads after her remarks on the Biden group’s discussions:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/07/heidi-heitkamp-gun-control_n_2428984.html
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@Amir Khalid:
For that alone he deserves to be shot and then fed to a Great White Shark. Or do we let the shark eat him first and then shoot the shark? So many decisions, so little time…
burnspbesq
The fact that Piers Morgan is an Arsenal supporter is all the reason I need to root for Spurs.
schrodinger's cat
@Amir Khalid: I guess I generally avoid those types of movies. I googled Kevin James, I now realize that I have seen him in previews etc, but never actually seen any of his movies. I have to say that he looks much better than the person with Morgan.
gogol's wife
@schrodinger’s cat:
Yeah, he’s George Clooney compared to that guy.
Omnes Omnibus
@jrg: Were you trying to make a point?
Publius39
This is a short synopsis of what was in the clips:
*About 30 seconds in, he started yelling, and never stopped:
Morgan: let’s talk about gun violence…
Jones: BRITAIN HAS MORE VIOLENT CRIME! WE NEED TO BE LIKE THE SWISS! 1776! 9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB!
Morgan: Now Alex, let’s have a rational debate…
Jones: YOU’RE NOT TAKING OUR GUNS AWAY! DRONEZ ARE FLYING AMERICAN SKIES AND ARRESTING PEOPLE IN NORTH DAKOTA! THEY BLEW UP TOWER 7 JUST A FEW BLOCKS AWAY! SSRIs ARE SUICIDE PILLS!
*He also willfully ignored substantive questions just to rant on other subjects.
? Martin
Finally, someone who will speak truth to power and stand up to the liberal media elites.
/wingnut
Punchy
Second video is “unavailable”. Did CNN pull it?
Trakker
Don’t write him off as just one loon. Believe me there are hundreds of thousands just like him out there who will try to start a new revolution if you dare make it just a little harder for them to enlarge their arsenal.
Rosalita
The Rude One just tweeted “Just re-watched that CNN interview, and, I gotta say, I think I want to buy a gun because I’m afraid of Alex Jones.”
Flying Squirrel Girl
I sorta watched his cable access show when I lived in Austin, because it was amusing to watch him froth and yell. I stopped watching when one show consisted entirely of him walkng around downtown Austin with a bullhorn, shouting at buildings (there apparently is some huge conspiracy involving a building designed to resemble an owl, watching over all of us…spooky!)because it just seemed like I was watching someone go completely off the rails and it felt wrong to be doing so. He seems to have gone even further off the rails.
jrg
@Omnes Omnibus: Yes. The fact that this guy is a shmuck isn’t an argument for gun control. It’s exactly the same thing as saying “The Unabomber believes in AGW, therefore AGW doesn’t exist”.
Central Planning
That is some authentic wingnut gibberish. Holy shit.
SatanicPanic
@Trakker: I’m reading about the run-up to the Civil War right now, and there were tons of people in the north saying “bring it on” and I can’t say I’m not sympathetic to that. Only a little though.
schrodinger's cat
@Rosalita: That was funny, I loled.
ed
He pronounced “1861” wrong.
? Martin
@SatanicPanic: Over 300 people die each year taking a shower. You’re gonna need to reholster that gun.
SatanicPanic
@jrg: That’s not the issue we have with the Unabomber.
AA+ Bonds
:| Oh come on people, Alex Jones Is Not a News Story
Bubblegum Tate
@BruinKid:
Remember when Tweety exposed the fact that that D-list wingnut talk radio guy didn’t know what the word “appease” meant, even as he insisted that Obama as an appeaser nonetheless? I know a wingnut who STILL links to that interview as proof that said D-list talker “turned Matthews into a screaming wreck” and completely won that argument.
These people, they see things.
AA+ Bonds
Don’t get me wrong, Infowars is my kind of freak show – the earnest unaware kind – but focusing on Alex Jones when surrounded by capitalist-apologist lunacy from the most powerful people on Earth is like focusing on the smoke damage to your DVD player while standing in the middle of a structure fire
Even the people who listen to Jones who turn violent are just Jones’s inevitable everyone-ever-is-evil overlap with the far right; another big chunk of Alex Jones listeners are vague-liberal vaccine-hating angel-worshipers, and Obama voters if they vote at all
SatanicPanic
@? Martin: I don’t know if I want to put it up there. I think I’ll just be safe and take my tazer with me.
MattR
@BruinKid: I have already seen a couple different right wingers post links to this interview with the claim that “Alex Jones owned Piers Morgan”. You cannot reason with those people.
ranchandsyrup
@burnspbesq: COYS! Does the inclusion of Deuce Dempsey and Brad Friedel help any? Or do you hate ‘Murica?
? Martin
@Punchy:
Duh. NO! Obambi got his thugs at the UN to block it so WE COULDN’T SEE THE TRUTH!
jrg
@SatanicPanic: Uh huh.
Uncle Ebeneezer
What a complete nimrod. He’s much better as a cartoon.
roc
It’s so incredibly hard to watch Alex Jones. He repeatedly and regularly raises legitimate, reasonable concerns that are all-too-often ignored by our dismal media.
Just in this video: the over-prescription of anti-depressants. The massive decrease in crime vs the media infatuation with making life appear more dangerous, Morgan’s dodgy professional history (and thus questionable credibility on, really, anything), media hype of mass murder, etc.
But he throws that against the wall in the same breath as he rants about the New World Order, the international banker conspiracy, “shoot em up games”, WTC7 as an inside job, etc.
It’s enough to make you think he’s positioned specifically to discredit those reasonable concerns by conflating them with high-froth insanity. Hell, he says it with such breathless conviction that I’m forced to wonder if *I’m* crazy to be concerned about over-prescription of drugs, the failure of mainstream media, etc.
AA+ Bonds
For everyone who thinks Alex Jones is a big important news story because Tina Brown or the TV or whatever tells you what to think, I’d like to offer my services at $75 an hour to wave a sparkling trinket (REAL SILVER) in front of your eyes for as long as you want.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@AA+ Bonds: Evidence for why not everyone should have guns is a news story.
Rosalita
@schrodinger’s cat:
the crab walk at the end kills me every time
AA+ Bonds
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Is it? Really? Crazy people are crazy? Someone shouted something about the Freemasons on a crazy person radio show? A real debate-swinger here? Or is it liberal back-patting (even though a bunch of dumbass-wacko liberals listen to Alex Jones’s show?)
There was a news story here once, about the petition to deport Piers Morgan, which became relevant once it left fluoridated-UFO la la land and entered the right-wing mainstream. It meant that Jones was performing the same task as Fox Nation: trial balloons. That’s a story.
Alex Jones saying crazy ass shit to defend himself is just Piers Morgan bashing a pinata on TV. There’s no candy inside, though.
mapaghimagsik
“How many chimpanzees can dance on the head of a pin?”
Comedy. Gold.
David in NY
I’ve been thinking, also, that all the people sending death threats to the newspaper that published gun-permit information are not doing their cause any favors. The only thing worse than a bunch of bullies, after all, is a bunch of bullies with concealed, or not concealed, weapons.
Makes me think that the standards for gun permits are not nearly strong enough and that everyone who wants to carry anything more than a hunting rifle ought to have to get a psychiatrist’s note attesting to his sound mind.
Ivan Ivanovich Renko
@burnspbesq: What? Well… maybe he’s not the putz I’ve thought he is.
GOOONNNNERRSSSS!!!!
SatanicPanic
@jrg: I don’t see how this supports your argument.
Litlebritdifrnt
I loved this recent tweet on the AIG may sue story
jrg
@SatanicPanic: Just laughing at the hypocrisy.
AA+ Bonds
There could be some benefit here: I hope that it will at least shame the liberal political types who appear on Jones’s show into ignoring his invitations.
But mainly it’s a big fucking capitalist-media distraction to meditate joyfully on how the fringe is, well, the fringe, and we’re all better than them and la la la. Alex Jones is not a Republican and it’s gonna be pretty fuckin’ hard to paint him as a Republican if people depart from the story (Republicans stupidly endorse his xenophobic petition) and give him a chance to talk his very not-Republican talk.
Pragmatism, people. We still have a country where too many members of the left-wing party cheer on their VP candidate as he claims the financial crisis was caused by Bush’s deficit spending instead of capitalist crime. Who does that bullshit help? Democratic politicians or Democrats?
Your basic (and already underfunded) social safety net is on the line. To mix metaphors: eyes on the ball.
SatanicPanic
@jrg: Are you suggesting that Alex Jones’ beliefs aren’t crazy?
jrg
@SatanicPanic: I’m saying that’s irrelevant.
oceanic dude
The self righteousness and anger,its a drug to him, the rage helps him take flight from reality. The layers of paranoia, try deconstructing that web. Hes in so deep in his own world that any fact can be quickly explained how it fits. Or he comes back with some fact that is suppose to enrage you. Then the web sites, the ability to find like minded peeps to reinforce the ego, the beliefs- said “we” thru out. I dont know, think getting lead out of the environment is what caused drop in violent crime.
I would hate to walk around with a gun all day deciding who was bad and who was good, assessing each situation. Holy shit think I would become paranoid.
JCT
@? Martin: To amuse/torment myself I just took a peek at my “favorite” shooting forum and hoocudanode, this is exactly what they are saying. Apparently people like Alex Jones are exactly what you need to explain how the world really works to libtards like us.
Good lord, such insanity and paranoia.
Jamey
@SatanicPanic: This is a right-wing dog-whistle message. He said “white” sharks, because everyone knows that black sharks are the ones we need to fear…
Omnes Omnibus
@jrg: The fact that he is a complete loon and wants guns, however, is germane.
SatanicPanic
@jrg: irrelevant? When did it become controversial to suggest that nutty beliefs could be accurately represented by nutty people?
hoodie
Wow, that’s some 100 proof crazy. It does have a certain perverse fascination, the way he weaves an intricate web of conspiracy theories, a kind of paranoid improv stylist. Kind of entertaining but scary that he’s armed and not getting treatment. Did he get the Illuminati and the Trilateral Commission in there? It was all going by so fast I couldn’t keep up. Maybe it’s just an act, but pretty convincing.
It is kind of depressing, however, that Bloomberg, Morgan and now McChrystal are grabbing attention on this issue. I guess Bloomberg is entitled, since he’s been on that issue for years, but Morgan is an opportunist, and putting on a sensationalist like Jones is part and parcel of that opportunism. The debate is not with the Alex Jones, he’ just a nut. It’s with the politicians who enable him, like the Republicans that cultivate gun nuttery and other fuckwittery for political power and democrats that cower in front of the NRA. If Morgan had any balls, that’s who he’d be grilling.
Certified Mutant Enemy
@Publius39:
WE NEED TO BE LIKE THE SWISS!
Switzerland isn’t the free for all gun nuts make it out to be: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Switzerland
Anya
OMFG! That was insane. I actually watched the whole thing.
schrodinger's cat
I just read a report in WSJ about the Delhi case and guess what, the comments section is full of people, claiming that the woman would be alive today if she had a gun.
jrg
@Omnes Omnibus: The fact that there exist complete loons that want guns was never in question. There are complete loons who vote, too. Anyhow, got to go. Later.
Thlayli
@burnspbesq:
Morgan is all kinds of fun on Twitter when the Arse loses. #tearsforpiers
rda909
@roc: I’ve had similar thoughts in the past. Even started wondering if he’s actually a double agent persona designed by this so-called “New World Order” to specifically discredit anyone who might take on those topics, such as over-perscription of drugs, media as propaganda, and so on. This appearance by Jones makes me think that could be true.
I mean he’s got Piers Morgan, a Rupert Murdoch lackey involved in the phone hacking scandal, looking like the sympathetic character here (the amount of positive, “Piers seems like a good guy…” tweets I’ve been seeing is disturbing). From this show, Piers Morgan/CNN are righteous now, and anyone suggesting the media is a giant propaganda machine is an insane child. Mission accomplished, huh Alex?
Anya
@hoodie:
Worth repeating! I hate the media’s role in this madness. Their lionization of the NRA is criminal, as well as the way they reduce the issue into “he said, he said.”
Violet
Wow. Just….wow. I don’t even know what to say. I’m no fan of Piers Morgan, but I have to hand it to him for staying on this issue. And for how he handled the crazy guy. Staying so calm, both in tone and body language, while the crazy man foamed at the mouth and came at him was smart and probably somewhat difficult. Good for him.
Hob
@roc: It’s enough to make you think he’s positioned specifically to discredit those reasonable concerns
I don’t think that. The fact that there’s someone like Jones to muddy the waters is overdetermined– there are many reasons why it’s inevitable, so any such false-flag conspiracy would just be wasted effort. Guys like Jones or Glenn Beck are naturally motivated— by some combination of their personality and their practical huckster instincts— to seize on any issue that will get the attention of a viewer with anti-establishment tendencies, as long as it’s not very hard to understand and doesn’t specifically offend one of their sponsors. Most of those are just insane bullshit, but issues that are not insane bullshit have the advantage of not requiring any creative effort and having a certain amount of backup, i.e. people may have heard about them from multiple sources. And the crazy clown is unconcerned with discrediting anyone through his crazy clownitude— all that matters is that his fans still tune in and he keeps getting media attention. So as long as there’s a niche for a Jones or a Beck, this will happen.
Mnemosyne
@roc:
I love how people who’ve never actually had a problem with depression so severe that they were nearly fired from their job always feel it’s their business to tell me I shouldn’t have been given life-saving medication for it.
Yes, it would have been much better for me to be unemployed, homeless, and possibly dead before I took the evil, evil anti-depressants that helped me avoid all of those things.
Also, fuck you.
Hob
@Flying Squirrel Girl: Jones is featured in the Richard Linklater animated movie Waking Life, doing exactly that (but driving instead of walking). In the context of the story, where the whole thing is a disturbing dream that the protagonist is trapped in, it works pretty well. Jones was probably glad for the exposure, but you can infer Linklater’s attitude to him by the fact that while he makes all these pronouncements about individualism and the state of the world, he’s chosen to do it in areas where there’s no one to hear him and he’s paying no attention to anything or anyone around him.
Haydnseek
@burnspbesq: Ah, another Spurs supporter! Between that and your evident liking of Jethro Tull’s BenefitI take back anything I ever said that was in any way snarky or impolite. (Subject to change without notice, but still.)
D. Mason
From just a little jargon spotting in this thread I can tell I’m not the only one who reads wack-a-loons like Jones for their entertainment value. I love how he brags about his page hits as if his site was “60 Minutes” instead of “Jackass”.
Culture of Truth
that young man seems a tad unhinged
Culture of Truth
I always wonder if he has a gun to overthrow the government what is he waiting for? The government was behind 9/11 for gosh sakes! what’s the hold up?
brendancalling
This guy is fucking awesome. Alex Jones? Holy shit, I have never seen anything funnier!
dead existentialist
@Litlebritdifrnt: Ha ha! Fucking brilliant.
Publius39
@Certified Mutant Enemy: Oh, I know very well about Swiss and Israeli gun policies.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22089893
charluckles
In the time since Sandy Hook I have become a believer in the necessity of a near total ban on guns. It’s become clear to me that the responsible gun owner is mostly a myth, that the vast majority of those who want to own guns are too unstable and divorced from reality to own and operate guns safely, and that even having one of these people in my community is dangerous.
I have yet to see an anti-control arguement that wasn’t primarily encapsulated by paranoia about the government, suggestions that even the most basic regulation is a threat to their rights, crazed rationalizations and inappropriate comparisons, outsized belief in their ability to own and operate a firearm safely, especially when under threat etc etc etc. These people need mental help, not more firepower.
brendancalling
This is easily the best thing I have ever seen on Balloon Juice. I have never EVER laughed so hard at the news in my entire life.
Alex Jons for presidenting!
roc
@Mnemosyne: Settle down; have some dip.
Being concerned about over-prescription isn’t remotely the same as thinking those medicines are never used properly. That’s not what I’m saying, nor would I ever. I’m an evidence-based guy. Evidence says a lot of those medicines work for a lot of people. And that’s great. I’m glad you found help.
But it *also* says a lot of people who are on them probably shouldn’t be and that many of those medicines are no better than sugar pills and thus people in need of real help are being denied known-good treatments due marketing and backdoor deals.
So even though you found help, not everyone who takes what you take, or things similar to what you take, is getting help. Some don’t need it, some are getting essentially placebos with nasty side effects.
Timber
Gun control advocates are using false arguments in an attempt to control guns. Americans need the protection of firearms for self-defense protection from a potentially oppressive government.
False Argument
Gun control advocates claim that they are concerned about lives lost. It is a lie. There are far greater evils that the anti-gun group should chase if they are truly concerned about saving lives. As will be shown, their goal isn’t about saving lives, it is about absolute control of America’s citizens.
Firearms are not the threat some politicians would have you believe. Let’s put the bogus “saving lives” argument in perspective.
• Firearms killed 31,324 in the U.S. in 2011 – Source: Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm
• Motor vehicles killed 34,485 in the U.S. in 2011 – Source: Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm
• Poisoning killed 41,592 – Source: Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm
• Alcohol kills 80,000 people annually in the U.S. – Source: Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm
• Alcohol kills 250,000,000 people worldwide – Source: World Health Organization http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs349/en/index.html
• Tobacco kills 443,000 people annually in the U.S. (which is 20% of all deaths). This includes 49,000 deaths from secondhand smoke. – Source: Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/
• Tobacco kills 5,000,000 people annually worldwide (projected to be 8,000,000 by 2030) – Source: Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/
Firearms are not the leading cause of death in America, not even close. Furthermore, they may be used to stop crime in self-defense. Some of the listed causes of death above arguably provide very little (if any) benefit to society.
Resisting Tyranny
Guns help citizens resist tyranny and the abuse of power, and the Constitution guarantees that right. However, the political Left wants nothing more than to take all guns from the people. A populace without guns can easily fall prey to oppressive governments. These governments are then free to do whatever they want, including murder their citizens.
Don’t think this can happen? It did in the USSR (61,000,000 people killed), Communist China (45,000,000 people killed), Germany (13,000,000 people killed), Cambodia (2,000,000 people killed), Turkey (1,500,000 people killed), Uganda (300,000 people killed), Guatemala (100,000 people killed), and many others. http://www.thegunzone.com/rkba/rkba-12.html
The current claim is that only so-called “assault weapons” need to be outlawed. Realistically, these theoretical “assault weapons” aren’t even equal to what the military carries. They cannot shoot in fully automatic mode like the military rifles can. They provide the absolute minimum level of firearm that one might need to resist an oppressive and tyrannical government.
Senator Dianne Feinstein of California once again is leading the gun control effort. She has admitted that she would like to confiscate every gun in America. http://www.infowars.com/video-dianne-feinstein-says-prepare-to-turn-in-your-guns.
The role of government is to protect its citizens. If needed, you can call the police against a gang member. Who do you call if you are being attacked by the government? While this may not be necessary today, this is exactly the protection that the framers of the Constitution wanted to provide to the citizens of this country.
Please do all you can to share this and work to protect your basic freedoms for now, and in the future!
Anthony
@brendancalling: The same thing as any revolutionary, someone else to take the bullet for them.
Suffern ACE
@roc: Remember about 2-3 years ago there was a shooter at TLC’s DC offices, blaming them for the overpopulation for running all those “TV Mom-Baby Exploitation” shows? He wanted environmental concerns to be taken seriously (so do I) and more serious programming on TLC (so do I). However, there’s a difference…
Timber
Many of these shooters are on prescribed drugs for mental disorders. Why isn’t that the center of the news stories?
http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/the-giant-gaping-hole-in-sandy-hook-reporting/
catclub
Somebody posted that Alex Jones had some unhinged lefties listening to him during the Bush years.
I always like to diagnose who the listenership is by who the advertisers are. I would guess the lefties get various versions of vitamins versus the righties getting survival seeds and gold. What else is aimed at left wing loonies?
Are there anti-vaccines one can buy? Maybe a market niche!
And, did the advertisers actually match ‘generalized loonies, not just right wing loonies’?
Trying to get something besides revulsion out of those videos.
Uncle Ebeneezer
@Hob: Link here.
muddy
Is it sure that it is not performance art? It’s entirely too perfect.
I am not a kook
@roc:
Thank you Dr. roc for that deep insight. Care to point out which SSRIs are sugar pills and which are not, so I can ask my doctor about them? I wouldn’t want to waste my time on some sugar pills.
J.D. Rhoades
@kindness:
Several of the publications of this interview on YouTube are titled with some version of ALEX JONES PWNS PIERS MORGAN!!!!!!!!!!
Machine-Gun Preacher (formerly Ben Franklin)
@J.D. Rhoades:
Yeah. I think the wrong party was chosen as the antagonist.
J.D. Rhoades
@Trakker:
And they’ll be wiped out. Natural selection in action. Remember the Kzin.
redshirt
@rda909: How deep does this conspiracy go, man?
I’ll tell you: To The First Turtle.
Jay McDonough
that was AWESOME! finally someone speaking for the mentally ill contingent of the NRA.
Tripod
The increasing body of post-war lead poisoning data explains sooo much.
J.D. Rhoades
@roc:
It’s enough to make you think he’s positioned specifically to discredit those reasonable concerns by conflating them with high-froth insanity
I’ve often thought the same thing about PETA. They once posted multiple billboards with a picture of a pig and the caption “HE DIED FOR YOUR SINS.”
In eastern North Carolina, which is an area with a high concentration of swine farmers and processors AND religious fundamentalists.
On Easter weekend.
I facepalmed hard.
BruinKid
@Bubblegum Tate: And now that radio host, Kevin James, is running for mayor of Los Angeles here as the Republican candidate (technically it’s a non-partisan race, but the other main candidates are all well-known to be Democrats).
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
Some pundit at far-right stink-tank/blog Instapundit is laughing, saying the left thinks that Alex Jones is a conservative. Funny how wingnuts so quickly accuse their fellows of being RINO’s. Own it, Republicans: Alex Jones is born and bred a rightwing Repub. He’s all yours, along with Limbaugh, Malkin, Savage, Hannity, and so on.
Mnemosyne
@roc:
The problem is not “over prescription.” The problem is that people who desperately need treatment can’t afford it.
When people living below the poverty level are just as likely to be prescribed Prozac as an upper-middle-class executive with gold-plated health insurance, then we can start talking about “over prescription.”
ETA: Here’s another similar study. But I’m sure the real problem is overprescribing, which is totally not a first world “problem” at all.
Just Some Fuckhead
i always wonder if that viewpoint is operating from chutzpah or dumbassery.
Ash Can
@Timber: You seem confused. We’re laughing at the stoopid here, not adding to it.
LanceThruster
@Jason:
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.
I’ve seen/heard him make sensible cases on quite a few issues, and be pretty out there on a host of others.
I know I had little trust of previous adminitrations because everytime a defender would declare. “America would never do such a thing!,” it turned out to be exactly what we were doing.
[sigh]
MacReady: How you doin’, old boy?
Dr. Blair: I don’t know who to trust.
MacReady: [swallows, sighs] I know what you mean, Blair. Trust’s a tough thing to come by these days. Tell you what – Why don’t you just trust in the Lord?
—
I don’t trust in *any* god(s) so it looks as if I’m totally boned.
Machine-Gun Preacher (formerly Ben Franklin)
@LanceThruster:
No one seems anxious to debunk Jones…….
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/guns/gun-sales-violent-crime-down-again
Pococurante
When did you first decide to give the lunatic fringe mainstream value, influence, and hence attention. At least Betty Cracker assumed we had some intelligence.
In short, you are in danger of becoming a pocket-sized love child of Andrew Sullivan and Roger Ailes.
Machine-Gun Preacher (formerly Ben Franklin)
@Pococurante:
You merely misinterpret his drive and intent.
LanceThruster
@Machine-Gun Preacher (formerly Ben Franklin):
Saw something similar today from Sam Harris. He is an atheist like me and can be a little shrill re: Muslims, but I pretty much reject all religions equally while separating the acts of a few from the group at large.
Homer: No offence Apu, but when they were handing out religions you must have been out taking a whiz.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.
~H. L. Mencken
Pinkamena Panic
And what a surprise, Lord Jones’ little ratfaced followers have gnawed their way through the walls to support their Rat King and his delusions, complete with spamming of their hate site’s bullshit.
By the way, Joneser idiots, your Great White Hope might actually be a fraud. See, folks who actually know him know he’s out to bilk whoever’s angry and feeling disaffected and disenfranchised. He changes a few notes based on whoever’s in office but the song is the same.
Funny how all the screaming of “OMG WAEK UP SHEEPUL” never seems to be done into a mirror…
Machine-Gun Preacher (formerly Ben Franklin)
@LanceThruster:
……and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. — John Donne
divide et impera !
Mnemosyne
@LanceThruster:
I didn’t realize that saying that Islam is uniquely dangerous to civilization is just being “a little shrill.”
He sided with people like Pamela Geller to oppose the construction of Park 51. That’s pretty much all I need to know about Harris.
zombie rotten mcdonald
dude. Decaf.
Woodrowfan
@Mnemosyne: what Mnemosyne said x10
zombie rotten mcdonald
I don’t know about anyone else, but when he started mocking Piers Morgan’s accent, I was completely convinced. You can’t argue with logic like that!
LanceThruster
@Timber:
I know people who had to have their anti-depressant prescription changed because it was making them suicidal. I also feel that it is hard to determine what was the core cause of the final breakdown when treating people with severe mental illness or chronic emotional distress.
I’m not sure there is a one-size-fits all cause and effect explanation. The extent that some of these brains are “broken” might not lend itself to much success in the way of therapy/medication. In some instances it might be argued that these meds help delay the inevitable.
Machine-Gun Preacher (formerly Ben Franklin)
Wait! Jeffersonian Democracy is dead. He was a slaver.
That kind of cognitive dissonance means the Constitution is hereby declared, invalid !
‘Nuff said…now when you are finished with the baby’s bath, simply discard with the dirty water.
Woodrowfan
@catclub: I said that. I used to be very active on the Democratic Underground, but got tired of the 9/11 Twoofers who were always citing Jones. And I’ve heard a couple of Stephanie Miller’s mooks (Hal Sparks and, I think, Jim Ward) praise him as well, although they cooled on him a lot when he turned Birther. But yeah, Alex Jone’s support is mostly from the right but he taps into the tinfoil from the left a bit as well..
redshirt
I half recall some study I read of recently wherein researchers showed once you are liable to be conspiratorial minded, you’ll be conspiratorial even when conspiracies disagree. The example used was a large percentage of “conspiratorially minded” folks believed Princess Diana was both murdered by the Queen AND by Muslims. That these two theories directly contradict meant little. Another example of course is Obama, both simultaneously a bad Christian, a Muslim, and often an Atheist.
Machine-Gun Preacher (formerly Ben Franklin)
@LanceThruster:
The meds merely disguise the real problem, improper diagnosis and treatment.
You literally have to quote chapter and verse to Public School officials, then demand the required coursework and special instruction, sometimes resorting to hiring a lawyer, so they know you mean business. The fiscal mess has many victims.
But we can short-cut that by……..gunz
Mnemosyne
@LanceThruster:
What, you don’t find a link to World Net Daily to be convincing? ;-)
I remember reading somewhere that African-American men are quite likely to be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia because it’s common for their severe depression to go undiagnosed and untreated until they have a psychotic break, at which point the “schizophrenic” label gets stuck on them and is very difficult to shake.
We have a misdiagnosis and undertreatment problem in this country, not an “overprescription” problem.
LanceThruster
@redshirt:
It is also standard practice of disinformation artists to scatter false conspiracies amongst the true details to get all of them rejected.
The Cristic Institute (now defunct because of a lawsuit claiming false accusations – itself a story of a likely setup and an enabling judge) tasked itself to tackle the US government when acting unconstitutionally. I saw one of the founders and lawyers for CI give a lecture years ago talking about what they uncovered investigating Iran-Contra. With the shooting down of Eugene Hosenfus, the details were revealed. He shared that before the lid being blown, they were dismissed for the 10% or so they got wrong (hard to be 100% accurate when there were so many layers of the onion to peel away).
After describing a litany of the shitty things our govt was up to (reminded me very much of Oliver Stone’s “Untold History of the US” series) – and wholly accurate I might add, he declared, “I’m sorry to disillusion you…but would you rather be illusioned?”
LanceThruster
@Mnemosyne:
I thought I’d couch it in the generalities of my recollection. I’d consider it somewhat a separate discussion as to just whose mythology is the most toxic.
LanceThruster
@Mnemosyne:
Well, WND is the gold standard in wing-nuttery (or so I’ve heard).
;-)
Machine-Gun Preacher (formerly Ben Franklin)
@LanceThruster:
but would you rather be illusioned?”
OBJECTION !
Asked, and answered.
numfar
Was that Rick Flair and Mean Gene Okerlund?
? Martin
@Hob:
Glenn Beck says that Alex Jones is a crazy person.
This is the inverse of the ‘everyone is an atheist’ rule (We’re both atheists, I just believe in one fewer gods than you do) – the ‘everyone is a crazy person’ rule because Jones believes in one more conspiracy theory than Glenn Beck does.
jp7505a
@redshirt: No conflict. Just like Obama the Queen is a secret Moooslim. And actually a he in drag. One just has to know how to look at the world from the point of view of a total lunatic
The Other Chuck
@Pinkamena Panic:
Don’t wake the sheeple!
Joey Giraud
@roc:
@rda909:
You seem to be hinting at the concept of a labor spy or an agent provcateur, except that the goal is more modest and long term; to associate some lines of thinking with ridiculous insanity, making rational conversation about those thoughts nearly impossible.
This strategy is possible, it makes sense, and if it’s happening then Alex Jones would be a great example of how to do it.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mnemosyne:
Quite possibly, we have both.
Joey Giraud
@Hob:
The fact that there’s someone like Jones to muddy the waters is overdetermined– there are many reasons why it’s inevitable, so any such false-flag conspiracy would just be wasted effort.
In other words, there are so many natural nuts there’s no need to manufacture one.
Your case would be stronger if you had a few examples of other Alex Jones; nuts who are also real entertainers with a national audience and a business model.
The conspiracy “nuts” with a national audience that I’ve heard about are as circumspect as a tenured professor compared to the crazy clown act of Alex Jones.
So why not elevate and promote an Alex Jones? He makes suspicious people sound like nuts!
Mmmmm. nuts. – Homer Simpson
Mnemosyne
@SiubhanDuinne:
Most of the people I hear complaining about overprescription are the ones who don’t think mental illness exists at all, so all psychiatric medication is a scam and their suicidal friend/relative/acquaintance just needs to think happy thoughts and snap out of it.
Yes, I’m on kind of a crusade about this because I didn’t think I needed medication until my life was a frickin’ disaster. Turns out that the person in the middle of a serious depression may not necessarily be the best judge of whether or not they need medication.
Machine-Gun Preacher (formerly Ben Franklin)
@Joey Giraud:
Mmmmm. nuts. – Homer Simpson
I think it was bacon, but I am debunking, so disregard.
trollhattan
Good lord, is the screen door ripped? We’ve an infestation of cut-n-paste worms here. Quick Flit, the Henry!
Zapruder F. Mashtots, D.D.S. (Mumphrey, et al.)
Damn, that guy is seriously fucked up. He could use some help. On the bright side, though, maybe a good way to tip the argument about guns our way is to have this guy and others like him come on television as often as we can get them to. I know the hardcore gun nuts will cheer this guy on, and brag that he won the argument, but I think most people will look at him and ask themselves, “If this is the kind of sharp thinker who’s against gun laws, then why haven’t we passed them years ago?”
SiubhanDuinne
@Mnemosyne:
I wrote a whole long response basically saying I agree with you, no argument. But I used the names of some farmasooticalz, and my comment disappeared into the FYWP ether.
Tinare
Mr. Jones needs some pills. Or he’s taken too many. Either way, he’s unbalanced.
Patricia Kayden
Seems like Jones is an equal opportunity jerk. I recall seeing videos where he impugned President Bush/Republicans in general for the 9/11 tragedy. Very deluded chap.
Poor Piers. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting a paranoid, delusional, emotionally unstable guest to go off on him like that.
Machine-Gun Preacher (formerly Ben Franklin)
@Patricia Kayden:
I thought he comported himself, well. Almost as facetiously as David Gregory.
Gopher2b
Just secede already. It was save the rest of us a ton of you, &$&?! leeches.
Kolohe
@? Martin: so what do you call the guy who thinks Alex Jones is part of the conspiracy?
http://wellaware1.com/artwork/large/Alex-Jones-at-Bilderberg.jpg
AxelFoley
So this is Alex Jones, huh? Never saw this douchebag before, but heard of him. I was flipping channels and caught the tail end of this…interview, for lack of a better term. I was like, “Who the fuck is this asshole?” You know you’re a schmuck if you make Piers Morgan look like a nice guy.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
I believe that scientology holds a similar view of many meds. These are mind altering things and that is bad. Of course it’s bad because you should be giving your money to scientology and letting them fix you, not the evil pharma.
LanceThruster
@Machine-Gun Preacher (formerly Ben Franklin):
xD
JKC
Argument for gun control? Alex Jones is the best argument out there for fuckin’ birth control, kids.
Mayur
@Timber: Wow, you are a Grade A asshole.
So, let’s start with this. Firearms deaths just about 10% less per year than automobile-related deaths? How much time do people spend using their automobiles compared to using firearms? What percentage of people in the US regularly use an automobile in their day-to-day lives compared to those who regularly use a firearm? Which device has higher (er, any) standards for insurance, verification of ability to operate, age limitations, and ability to use under the influence or in particular situations?
Then let’s talk about the fact that we’re not actually at war with a totalitarian government or significant set of totalitarian elements within that government. The 31k gun deaths per year you cite aren’t coming from some kind of shadow war between independent citizens and the government; they’re coming IN THE ABSENCE OF SUCH CONFLICT by dumbassses killing each other, members of their families, their friends, and themselves.
Then there’s the whole “firearms use to prevent violent crime” issue. Why is it that in the midst of your fanciful and full-metal-crazy tirade you couldn’t come up with a figure or even mere anecdote to support the idea that legal firearms use forestalls violent crime? Notice that it doesn’t really work that way?
This shit is just disgusting.
Paul in KY
@Woodrowfan: No ‘leftie’ likes Ron Paul.
Paul in KY
@rda909: Dammit! You’re on to us…
Paul in KY
@Timber: You need to go over to Free Republic, they will understand your parinoia over there.
Run along now…
Paul in KY
@Just Some Fuckhead: Probably a combo, I would say. I’ve met many dumbasses that have loads of chutzpah.
Thymezone
In Alex I see a future Balloon-Juice front pager.
ellie
@charluckles: Thank you. I totally agree, I, too, want a total ban on guns. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts. I am so sick of these big-mouthed loons directing the national debate on the subject.
Ella in New Mexico
@schrodinger’s cat:
@Trakker:
Exhibit One: Nancy Lanza, who’s paranoid beliefs lead her to allow her mentally ill son access to the arsenal he used to kill 26 people, plus herself.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/12/adam-lanzas-mother-was-an-avid-gun-collector.html
Alex Jones and his acolytes have a running start on the rest of us.
LanceThruster
@ellie:
No exceptions (cops, soldiers, hunters, animal control officers, olympians, etc.)?
How about other countries?
LanceThruster
@charluckles:
So let me get this right. Gun owners worried about confiscation and voiding of their 2nd Amendment rights are paranoid loons, and therefore you want the right to forfeit their Constitutional rights in order for you to *feel* safer?
LanceThruster
I found this guy’s site recently, and I like him quite a bit. He has a far different take on Mr. Jones’ appearance.
Alex Jones: Best Night of Television Ever
Dream On
What’s interesting about Alex Jones is a) his show really is kind of entertaining and a bit clever, until the repetition brings it down. b) his callers are uniformly morons, and I think he knows it. c) his stock for any listener rises and falls based on who is President. If you are a conspiracy driven lefty, you will believe many of Jones’ apocalyptic predictions during the Bush years. You may even oppose gun control based on your fear of Bush. But when Obama is president, that same lefty will get weary of Jones, even though the paranoid message stays the same. “My President wouldn’t do that…” You may start to support gun safety laws again, as you feel a rational man – your kind of guy – is in the White House. I know I ended up feeling that way.
To Alex Jones, all of these government leaders are the same. It’s listeners perceptions that shift.
And if you don’t know what the phrase “what about building #7!” means – you don’t know the Jones/InfoWars mindset.