Sunday, July 15, 2012

My second tiny Godwin violation: Romney's Downfall

Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo asks:

Can someone tell me when the Mitt/Bain Downfall video gets posted on Youtube? 

Well, okay then.















I did this once before, three years ago, and forgot everything. But it came back:




(UPDATE:  per the comments, you need to turn on the captions, using the box on the lower right in the Youtube video.)


For more info, see this TPM post.  I wrote a while back on the evidence in Romney's 2010 tax form suggesting that he paid even less or no taxes in prior years, so yet another reason to wonder what he's hiding. The disposal of fetuses comes from this Mother Jones article.

And just in case anyone's interested in my first Godwin violation regarding climate denialists, here's Singer's Downfall:



More info on that one at the old blog.


UPDATE 2: just thought I'd mention that I slammed the Romney's Downfall piece together pretty fast, so if anyone has suggestions for subtitle improvements, I could decide to upgrade the captions.  Or you can also use the link right above this update; it has tips for how to make a Downfall video yourself.

15 comments:

tonylearns said...

That is AWESOME.
May I repost to FB, Please? The Bachman line almost made me roll out of bed.!

Rattus Norvegicus said...

Hmmm, they both point to an unadulterated clip, probably DMCA or something.

Brian said...

Tony - repost freely!

Rattus - I think these clearly fall under the "fair use" exception - the subtitles transform the clip, especially for English speakers it's aimed at who don't understand German, but I'd argue even for German speakers. It's also a short excerpt of a much longer work being used for political commentary and parody with no commercial intent.

If this isn't fair use then nothing is.

The copyright owners of Downfall have claimed they have a right to suppress these videos but to my knowledge have never taken it to court. They've been around for years.

In any event, DMCA has a safeguard provision - you can't be sued if you take it down after being challenged.

tonylearns said...

Rattus,
you have to turn on english in the CC box next to settings.

Rattus Norvegicus said...

Thanks, that worked. And everybody who thinks Michelle Bachman would have been a better nominee, please leave the room.

dbostrom said...

What about the last-ditch tank battalion commanded by Sarah Palin? Surely rumors that Palin's column is smoldering in a ditch are not true?

Reds, closing in from all directions... it always ends this way, dang it.

Lionel A said...

'Monckton calm yourself.' To a sobbing female.

In second clip.

Priceless.

EliRabett said...

Fantastic, should the bunnies point the flying wingnuts in this direction or let YouTube absorb the abuse??

Brian said...

I'd like to see bunnies bring people here so they can enjoy Singer's Downfall as well. Doesn't matter too much though as long as it gets seen.

Ted Kirkpatrick said...

Thanks for taking up Josh Marshall's challenge, Brian! I'd love to see a reference to Romney's $100 million IRA in the subtitles. It encapsulates the built-in advantages that only the very wealthy possess. Romney contributed to his IRA at the same maximum rate as anyone else: no more than $6,000 per year. Yet somehow he had investment instruments that could appreciate from, say 20 years at $6,000 apiece, to $100 million today. Tax-free, of course.

Do any bunnies have any inkling what kinds of instruments would be eligible for an IRA and can get that kind of yield? Something like a stock option is all I can think of.

I think this IRA issue can really open middle-class voters' eyes to how the system works.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to interrupt the programming, but there is an interesting discussion happening at SkepticalScience about the climate science legal defense fund. Little miss trouble (aka Lucia) is there flailing and hand waving to protect Stevie.

Interested bunnies might want to hop over and observe or maybe even join in.

Bring popcorn.

THE CLIMATE WARS said...

Ask Ethon to keep an eye peeled for a librettist for:

Romney : My Role In His Downfall

Starring

Basso Decrepito Sigfried F. Singer as Romney,

Countertfactualtenor Christopher Mockton as Fraulein Buttercup von Brenchlingen

Contraralto Judith Curry as Mother Courage,

and The New Christy Minstrels as themselves.

cynthia said...

Maybe we just need to get rid of this whole "voluntary release" of tax forms. Instead just write it into law that if you are a candidate for Federal office, the IRS will release your tax returns for the past 20 years. That way there's none of this game-playing, and the criminals who don't want their tax shenanigans examined won't bother running for office in the first place.

dbostrom said...

Speaking of downfalls, it's OT but some will want to see McIntyre's comeuppance at the hands of David Karoly, here.

Book review withdrawn? Not quite. Read the whole thread if you want to see a few self-humiliations acted out.

Anonymous said...

JC on Bachmann.

Pete Dunkelberg