Klavan On The Culture

March 31st, 2009 2:06 pm

Shut Up!

My first video commentary is now available:

“Some conservatives are arguing that the beginning of the Obama Era has been a disaster. They think the president’s soft approach to tyrants overseas has elicited predictable displays of aggression, boding far worse to come. They feel the president’s high-blown ethical rhetoric has given way to his appointments of political hacks. And, of course, there’s the gazillion dollars in spending and taxation that conservatives feel is a radical attempt to destroy our free market system.

That’s the Conservative argument. But today I’d like to explain the liberal argument: Shut up.”

See it here.

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14 Comments

1. william Blake:

Perfect! Well done! We are with you! We will NOT Shut up!

Mar 31, 2009 - 3:04 pm 2. Andrew Klavan explains shut up « The Original William Blake’s Blog:

[...] Andrew Klavan explains shut up Shut Up! [...]

Mar 31, 2009 - 5:44 pm 3. Jeremayakovka:

Inspired in part by Henry Rollins’s “love letter” to Ann Coulter? (“Most of all, Ann, you will just shut the f*** up.”)

Apr 1, 2009 - 9:37 am 4. Ed Driscoll » The Klavan Maneuver, Illustrated:

[...] Andrew Klavan issued his first video at PJTV, the intro of which began: “Some conservatives are arguing that [...]

Apr 1, 2009 - 10:17 am 5. David Thomson:

The “Shut Up!” phenomenon ultimately encourages anti-intellectualism. Those who adhere to this mindset don’t feel obligated to study the arguments of their opponents. They become mentally flabby and soon rely on cheap talking points. This is a major reason why these individuals get so enraged. They know on a gut level that they don’t have their act together. Our current president has essentially been a practitioner of Shut Up throughout his entire adult life.

Apr 1, 2009 - 1:05 pm 6. Paul Rhoads:

Love Klaven, love PJTV, love the message and the initiative. But you guys have got to get more artistic! Flashing SHUT-UP behind Klaven every time he says ’shut-up’ is high-school stuff. Somebody is tech-happy back there.
On the same lines: love Bill Whipple, and love that nice olive-colored girl with all the dark hair who watches Jihad, but on-the-job training won’t cut it. For PVTV to take-off there’s gotta be the right presentation.. Bill should train off-camera, and replace the art directors.

Apr 2, 2009 - 5:11 am 7. Pajamas Media » PJM Political 04/04/09: What’s Good For GM…:

[...] Andrew Klavan, novelist and author of Don’t Say A Word (adapted into a movie starring Michael Douglas) and True Crime (adapted into a movie directed and starring Clint Eastwood), and a PajamasXpress blogger on the state of the American culture wars.

Apr 3, 2009 - 11:02 pm 8. Diogenes:

You have proven how Bush and McCain and much of the GOP leadership have moved Left.

Bush to those who wanted the borders protected: “You are racist.”
IOW: “Shut up.”

McCain to those who used Hussein: “You’re unAmerican.”
IOW: “Shut up.”

The RINO’s to conservatives: “You’re extremists.”
IOW: “Shut up.”

Message to conservatives at Tea Parties and all other functions: Do not allow “liberals” (in whatever disguise they show up in) shut you up.

Apr 10, 2009 - 10:42 am 9. dan aronstein:

this happened to me a few times over the holidays when i asked my lib friends and family if they’d seen or heard about the obama bow.

they hadn’t.

when i tried to explain it to them, they said SHUT UP, and refused to listen.

ditto: austrian as a language, and every other obama blunder. it’s the same with trying to share with them any data which contradicts AGW. or the fact that the CRA and FANNIE MAE were major factors in the housing bubble and current crisis.

this is also why they hate fox.

they are dreadfully afraid that if people start to hear both sides they will start to see the light, and leftism depends on people being in the dark.

that’s why they put their hands over their ears and yell SHUT UP!

the left is like a juror deciding a case without hearing both the prosecution’s and the defense’s case.

it is impossible to do justice. they acre not. the narrative or story template predetermines the verdict.

ps: regards from a fellow alum of GNN!

Apr 10, 2009 - 10:57 am 10. Wearyman:

Mr. Klavan,

I loved your video. Your take on the Liberal’s “Shut Up” message is dead-on. (I’ve actually had a few just dissolve down into “Shut up! shut up! shut up!” while holding thier ears. I love it when they do that.)

I think you dilute your argument though, when you try and use Net Neutrality in it. Net Neutrality is the OPPOSITE of “Shut Up”. Net Neutrality says “Everybody can use the Internet in any legal manner they so choose, and no company or government may interfere with their use in any way.”

How in the heck does that equate to “Shut Up”?

Apr 11, 2009 - 4:57 pm 11. Liberals’ Most Powerful Argument — Shut Up « Quick Daily Hits (Politics and Such):

[...] (From Klaven on the Culture.) [...]

Apr 13, 2009 - 8:26 am 12. cce:

Certainly the Fairness Doctrine attempts to regulate political speech, but Net Neutrality has nothing to do with political speech. It was actually quite jarring to see him mention the two in the same breath.

The Net Neutrality debate deals with the transmission of digital content (bits and bytes); no regard is paid to whether those bytes represent a political opinions, or an episode of “The Simpsons.” There are plenty of conservatives and libertarians in favor of Net Neutrality.

I believe that Net Neutrality will actually do the opposite: it’ll ensure that grassroots sites (such as freerepublic.com, where I first found this video) don’t have to pay high bandwidth bills.

Apr 19, 2009 - 2:13 pm 13. Diogenes:

Well, Mr, Klaven, As reported, “Shut-up” now an official decree.

In a May, 29, 2009 posting on the WhiteHouse.gov website by Norm Eisen, Special Counsel to President Obama for Ethics and Government Reform, it is disclosed that the public will be included in a restriction barring lobbyists from having oral communications with government officials about specific Recovery Act Projects.

I pray you come up with a suitable “Shut Up!!” part II.

May 31, 2009 - 9:19 am 14. Diogenes:

The title of the special counsel perhaps suggests a suitable bogeyman: OEGR Obama for Ethics and Government Reform.

May 31, 2009 - 10:03 am