"Are You Ready For Some Hitler?"

ESPN suspending Hank Williams Jr. for his remarks is...

  • ...a violation of Hank's freedom of speech.

    Votes: 4 11.1%
  • ...perfectly appropriate and way overdue.

    Votes: 9 25.0%
  • ...something I could care less. Let's play football!

    Votes: 13 36.1%
  • ...a chance to replace him with Rick Astley.

    Votes: 15 41.7%

  • Total voters
    36

nighttimer

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When you're comparing the President of the United States to Adolf Hitler and you've got a deal with a major television network, there's no way that's gonna end well for you.
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) -- ESPN pulled Hank Williams Jr.'s classic intro song from its broadcast of Monday night's NFL game after the country singer famous for the line "Are you ready for some football?" used an analogy to Adolf Hitler in discussing President Barack Obama.


In an interview Monday morning on Fox News' "Fox & Friends," Williams, unprompted, said of Obama's outing on the links with House Speaker John Boehner: "It'd be like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu."


Asked to clarify, Williams said, "They're the enemy," adding that by "they" he meant Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.


Anchor Gretchen Carlson later said to him, "You used the name of one of the most hated people in all of the world to describe, I think, the president." Williams replied, "Well, that is true. But I'm telling you like it is."


"While Hank Williams Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize that he is closely linked to our company through the open to 'Monday Night Football,"' the network said in a statement. "We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight's telecast."


Williams released a statement through his publicist, saying: "Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. My analogy was extreme - but it was to make a point. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me - how ludicrous that pairing was. They're polar opposites and it made no sense. They don't see eye-to-eye and never will. I have always respected the office of the president."


ESPN did not say whether the intro, synonymous with "Monday Night Football" since 1989, would be used again after this week's Colts- Buccaneers game.


Personally, I could care less what Hank Williams, Jr's politics are. I watch Monday Night Football for the football and not some country singer's asinine opinions. Sing the damn song, cash the check and stay out of my face with your weak Hitler analogies.
 

Alpha Echo

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I'm with you. I wouldn't have even known about it if you hadn't posted it. I really don't care.
 

muravyets

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I'm sad because I really like that song.

On the other hand... To be honest, I'm not sure if this is a case of a person being condemned for what he's done aside from the specific thing he did this time, like a guy getting convicted for being a bastard even if it can't be proven that he stole pension funds.

I actually think it's possible and sensible to read that unfortunate analogy as not saying that Obama is like Hitler. Even with his "I'm telling it like it is" remark, one can still read it as saying the two sides are diametrically opposed, not that Obama is like Hitler.

But, and I may be wrong about this, I think Hank Williams Jr. has gone on record as saying seriously hostile things against Obama before, possibly the right wing line that he's a fascist of some kind. You know, like Hitler. If so, then I guess this would be a last straw incident for ESPN.

But I'm still sad because I like the song.
 

Shadow Dragon

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I don't know if he should have been fired or not, but it was a smart move on ESPN's part to get rid of him after those comments. No sense in keeping someone like that around just for a song at the beginning.
 

Alpha Echo

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And, nighttimer, I know that you, as a journalist, know that it's "couldn't care less" and not "could care less." Because, if you could care less, that means you actually care and...

;)

I tried explaining this to my husband, and, sadly, he didn't get it.
 

nighttimer

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I'm sad because I really like that song.

I know the feeling because I like Ted Nugent's music. It's his politics I can't stand.

Hank Williams, Jr. knows just enough about politics to be informed, but not enough to know what the hell he's talking about. His interview on Fox and Friends proves a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

ESPN will probably bench him for a week until the brouhaha blows over and he'll back with all his rowdy friends.

I just watch the game. I don't even hear the song anymore.

Though it's still better than Faith Hill's desecration of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll." :censored

And, nighttimer, I know that you, as a journalist, know that it's "couldn't care less" and not "could care less." Because, if you could care less, that means you actually care and...

;)

Actually, it's a typo on my part, but I can't go back and fix it now. I died a little inside if that helps...:e2smack:
 

William Haskins

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he'll be okay...

The preacher man says it’s the end of time
And the Mississippi River she’s a goin’ dry
The interest is up and the Stock Markets down
And you only get mugged
If you go down town

I live back in the woods, you see
My woman and the kids, and the dogs and me
I got a shotgun rifle and a 4-wheel drive
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

I can plow a field all day long
I can catch catfish from dusk till dawn
We make our own whiskey and our own smoke too
Ain’t too many things these ole boys can’t do
We grow good ole tomatoes and homemade wine
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

Because you can’t starve us out
And you cant makes us run
Cuz we're them old boys raised on shotguns
And we say grace and we say Ma’am
And if you ain’t into that we don’t give a damn
 

rugcat

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And, nighttimer, I know that you, as a journalist, know that it's "couldn't care less" and not "could care less." Because, if you could care less, that means you actually care and...
There are more than a few threads in the Grammer and Syntax forum about this.

In fact, "could care less" is not a mistake, but a perfectly acceptable idiom. From one of them:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217900&highlight=care+less&page=4

rugcat said:
. . . I've always used "could care less" -- to me, it has a contemptuous connotation, whereas "couldn't care less" is a more neutral statement of fact.

But idioms do not have to follow grammatical or logical rules.

Why is one head over heels in love? If the connotation is being turned topsy turvy, "flipping" over someone, why isn't it heels over head? Head over heels is just normal.
 

Vince524

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Personally, I hate it when a musician or actor gets political. I want to listen to music to escape that stuff, not have someone else's opinion shoved down my throat.
 

Snowstorm

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I liked the song too. Too bad, but that's just dumb to spout off with something heinous like that.

Time for a new MNF theme song.
 

Opty

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There are more than a few threads in the Grammer and Syntax forum about this.

In fact, "could care less" is not a mistake, but a perfectly acceptable idiom. From one of them:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217900&highlight=care+less&page=4
It's probably an overstatement to say that it's "perfectly" acceptable, which implies its acceptability as universal when, in reality, it is not. "Acceptable to some" seems more accurate.

A google search of "could care less couldn't care less" brings up a long list of examples (including writing sites and university sites) where the phrase "could care less" is frowned upon.
 
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Williebee

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Must. Not. Pick. Rick Astley. Must. Not. Pick. Rick Astley. Must--

I've had the could/couldn't care less argument in a news room, a public affairs office, and more than a couple of English classes.

It seems to be a logic vs. passion debate. It's certainly not on my list of things to get absolute about.
 

Monkey

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I wanna see the entire NFL audience get Rick-rolled. :D

And let's not go into the grammatical elements of that last sentence... lol

ETA: Or that one.

That last little fragment, either. Oh, geesh, I'm in a mood today, I better go to some less serious site...
 

William Haskins

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i could and couldn't care less about this issue.

can we please get back to the point at hand, which is we have a hitler in the white house?
 

Opty

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From reading and watching his statement, I don't necessarily think he was saying that Obama is Hitler. He was just drawing a comparison to how diametrically opposed Obama and Boehner are. However, it was a stupid example to use.

And...geez...I just read Jr.'s lyrics about how America would've been better if the South had won the Civil War.

Um....yeah. Why would anyone care about his opinion on anything?
 
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Devil Ledbetter

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Somebody was fool enough to select the "Violation of Hank's right to free speech" option? Really? Have we still not fully educated everyone on what "right to free speech" actually means? :Headbang:

Actually, it's a typo on my part, but I can't go back and fix it now. I died a little inside if that helps...:e2smack:
It really does. Gracias.

Personally, I hate it when a musician or actor gets political. I want to listen to music to escape that stuff, not have someone else's opinion shoved down my throat.
This is what makes Kiss great. I have no idea how Paul Stanley votes.;) Even when I agree with an artist's politics, I still just want him to shut up and sing.
 

Alessandra Kelley

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Personally, I hate it when a musician or actor gets political. I want to listen to music to escape that stuff, not have someone else's opinion shoved down my throat.

Sorry, I've got to disagree with this one. Just because someone is in the arts doesn't mean they've forfeited the right to have or express political opinions.
 

Don

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This is just silly. Hitler and Obama are easy to distinguish.

Obama doesn't have a catepillar on his lip.
 

Devil Ledbetter

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Sorry, I've got to disagree with this one. Just because someone is in the arts doesn't mean they've forfeited the right to have or express political opinions.
I don't think they forfeit the right at all. I just think it's tedious when you pay to hear music and instead have to endure a political lecture.

And yes, my pal in the avatar is guilty of just this sort of thing.
 

Vince524

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Sorry, I've got to disagree with this one. Just because someone is in the arts doesn't mean they've forfeited the right to have or express political opinions.

Didn't say they did, but I wish they wouldn't.

Or if they did, there's a way to say it so you aren't shoving it. Saying I like Mickey Mouse is different from saying I hate Daffy Duck.
 

Don

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Artists are welcome to have opinions, and to express them on the public stage. It may cost them fans, however. Remember the Dixie Chicks?

And I had a feminist friend some decades ago who would not allow Seals and Crofts music in her home, owing to a single song, "Unborn Child," which is anti-abortion.

I'd have a very quiet, colorless home with no TV if I banned every artist with whom I have a political disagreement. :D
 

William Haskins

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it's all just bullshit cheerleading, anyway.

i guaran-damn-tee you that the same people who want hank rode out on a rail are the same ones who were defending the dixie chicks when they were running their mouths, and vice-versa.