December 15, 2009

Obama's "excited about" something "sexy."

"Insulation is sexy stuff... Here's what's sexy about it..."

Stuffing things in cracks?

"... saving money."

Eh. Ugh. I don't know whether to be bored or indignant.

Anyway, take out the gratuitous references to sex, and you've got Obama back in his "tire gauge" mode. Which is fine with me. Prod us with little things that we could just as well deal with on our own. Because it's so much better than these drastic — planetary — solutions his party-mates have been trying to cram down our throats.

69 comments:

robinintn said...

These little things are how he says we'll pay for the big things.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Maybe he wants us to know that Tiger is in his prayers ;)

DADvocate said...

The Dems are giving "sh*t for brains" a deeper and broader meaning.

JohnAnnArbor said...

Hm. Was he on or off teleprompter when he said that?

Expat(ish) said...

I'm not Tiger Woods, don't need to pay some strange to prod me.

My house is insulated - without government cheese. Bought a new car without adding 400% overhead costs to the debt. Even got my non-CAFE leaf blower repaired without a block grant.

-XC

Anonymous said...

Was Owens-Corning one of Obama's contributors? This fits so well with their "Get Pink" campaign.

traditionalguy said...

Since Obama believes in insulation to keep the cooler weather out, this may mean he is also a Republican Conservative. If he starts reccomending Duck Tape on the face when under zero F next, then maybe he is a Palin conservative. But I think we should wait and see if he means it. Talking sane is cheap. We want to see sanity in his actions to restore American power and wealth. A mentor of mine when I was young showed me that most people talk in favor of the very things that they actually oppose...it's like they wear a mask to decieve the naieve.

Meade said...

Also: Be sure to wear long sleeves, goggles, and a dust mask.

Itchy isn't sexy.

And remember, when having sex with insulation, you should:

Provide a continuous barrier between the inside conditioned space and the outside,

Install to the proper R-value (also know as "Rrrrrrr value"),

Install without gaps,

Avoid excessive compression,

Properly label or indicate the proper depth to achieve the specified Rrrrrrr-value.

chickelit said...

Think Pink

SteveR said...

Some cracks are too large which is neither exiciting nor sexy.

Jeremy said...

"Eh. Ugh. I don't know whether to be bored or indignant."

Why not just continue being your usual whiney self?

Is there ANYTHING you and the other wing nuts here won't complain about relating to ANYTHING President Obama says or does?

Here he discusses saving money through usage of energy, and all you can comment on is his off the cuff "sexy" comment, that was obviously said in a joking manner.

Did you also think it was funny when Bush said the "mission was accomplished"...as more and more Americans were losing their lives?

Between you and the rest of the unamerican fools here, I don't know who is the most immature and embarrassing.

Bissage said...

I’m not ashamed to say I’ve blown some cellulose.

My advice is to spit is out. Don’t swallow.

And be prepared for the bad taste it’ll leave in your mouth.

Meade said...

... when Bush said the "mission was accomplished"

He did? When did he say that?

JohnAnnArbor said...

Expanding foam. Great for those hard-to-fill cracks.

reader_iam said...

"The simple act of retro-fitting”" - installing new windows, doors, cooling and heating equipment, etc. - "is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest things we can do...

[Emphasis added.]

Speak for yourself, dude. Our very old house has 46 windows, non-standard in size IN today's world (and most LARGE), the vast majority containing the original glass and operating on those old rope pulleys.

We sought bids for replacing them at one time. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Can you say "startlingly high percentage of the home's worth"?

And don't get me started on the whole HVAC thing.

In a just world, my husband would look like Tom Hanks and I would look like Shelley Long (and have their earning power, back when they were popular).

Alas, no.

wv: halie The condition of being blinded by the halos of silly idealism when we decided buying a big old fixer-upper in an old urban neighborhood was a good idea.

; )

Unknown said...

reader,

It's clear that Pres. has never hung a window. There's nothing like a well hung window, but it's not easy.

And he's clearly never laid insulation.

reader_iam said...

I think I'm the most immature and embarrassing here today (after all, I did collaborate in buying a money pit, for which I take full responsibility).

The rest of you can stand in line to take your turns.

wv: bedeedi (the sound my lips make overandoverandover when something else requires repair in our house)

Michael Haz said...

... when Bush said the "mission was accomplished"

You misunderstood what he said. He was working on a flux capacitor and said the "fission was accomplished."

Stop lying about Bush.
_______
@Meade - remember, the inverse of the Rrrrr value is the Eeeeewww value. Always look for the highest Rrrr value in order to get the lowest Eeeeeww value.

Tank said...

Good catch Meade.

Meanwhile:

Obama is like Hoover.

Hoover lives!

"The banks also received their share of Hoover's ire for their unwillingness to expand in those troubled times. The New York Times reported on May 20 that Hoover was "disturbed at the apparent lack of cooperation of the commercial banks of the country in the credit expansion drive." In short, the "banks have not passed the benefits of these relief measures on to their customers." The anger of the inflationist authorities at the caution of the banks was typified by the arrogant statement of RFC chairman, Atlee Pomerene: "Now . . . and I measure my words, the bank that is 75 percent liquid or more and refuses to make loans when proper security is offered, under present circumstances, is a parasite on the community."
- Murray Rothbard, America's Great Depression, Chapter 11

"My main message in today's meeting was very simple: that America's banks received extraordinary assistance from American taxpayers to rebuild their industry and now that they're back on their feet, we expect an extraordinary commitment from them to help rebuild our economy."
- Barack Obama, 2009

Hat tip: Vox Day

XWL said...

So Obama wants to pay me for the goo that comes out of my caulk?

Sign me up!

Kirby Olson said...

Sexy doesn't make any sense here because if you rolled around in it naked, it would get into your skin and irritate you a lot, and not give you any pleasure at all.

Michael Haz said...

@Reader_iam - I feel your pane.

XWL said...

Please, please, embed this clip on the original post.

(I would love to see something similar in the next press conference with multiple follow up questions directed to Obama about his thoughts on caulk)

Unknown said...

The Zero can't tell the difference between sexy and wee-wee.

Meade said...

And remember, when having sex with insulation...

Good Lord, man, is there someone named DeSade in your family tree?

And does Ann know about?

Bill Harshaw said...

Umm. Merriam-Webster's second definition of "sexy" is "2 : generally attractive or interesting : appealing [a sexy stock]".

Of course a newly wed would have her mind on the first definition.

Rich B said...

So Zero said that what's sexy about insulation is saving money. How would he know?

ricpic said...

Nowhere in I'm Too Sexy is there a reference to ones ears.

Joe said...

I for one am glad Obama gave this little speech since no Americans have ever heard of this new fangled "insulation" thing.

Ann Althouse said...

@Bill Harshaw I *hate* the way lenient new dictionaries translate what would be metaphors into conventional meanings. Dead metaphors. Horrible!

FormerTucsonan said...

Did a demonstration follow? Did Obama roll out some kraft-faced R-30 batts?

This new learning amazes me! Explain again how sheeps bladders may be used to prevent earthquakes!

prairie wind said...

"Obama" and "sexy": not in the same sentence, please.

I'd like insulate myself from whatever Obama inflicts on the nation. Is that what he means?

Anonymous said...

Meade: Itchy isn't sexy.

Tell that to Scratchy.

Unknown said...

It's almost like he's mocking himself.

Yeah, insulation, that's the ticket.

Ralph L said...

Our very old house has 46 windows, non-standard in size IN today's world (and most LARGE)
I've got about half that number, mostly 3x6 ft. I decided to seal most of them up with screws and caulk, since the pollen is so bad when the weather is nice that I don't open them.

There's a Greenwood company in Kentucky? that makes custom-fit, wood-framed, insulated-glass, fixed-pane storm windows that I want to try. They're not cheap, either, but it might solve the condensation problem. They can be hung like wood-framed screens.

The shadows from the wavy glass are pretty cool. Since I'm in a historic district, I couldn't use modern windows, thanks to the local fascists.

Jeremy said...

Meade said..."He did? When did he say that?" (Mission Accomplished)

Gee, sorry, Meade...I was way, way off...and I'm sure that when President Obama said about something being "sexy" he was saying it in a literal sense of the word.

Bust, as to your ridiculous defense of little Georgie, let me clarify...since I can see that you're very upset about this.

With a huge "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" banner hanging behind him, Bush said: "this was the end to major combat operations in Iraq." (Which everybody knew at the time and knows now was pure bullshit.)

And after at first lying, and saying the banner was hung by the crew...the White House later conceded that they actually hung the banner. (What a shock.)

But I'm sure when they hung it and he said what he said, he wasn't in any way, shape of form indicating that we had accomplished a mission of any sort.

Duh.

Automatic_Wing said...

Jeremy doesn't know what the phrase "major combat operations" means.

What a shock.

Duh.

Erik said...

Australia already tried the insulation for stimulation thing, with predictable results: Fraud and fires

J. Cricket said...

You sure are obsessed with cramming things down the throat.

Maybe Larry should ease up a bit.

J. Cricket said...

You sure are obsessed with cramming things down the throat.

Maybe Larry should ease up a bit.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Jeremy doesn't know what the phrase "major combat operations" means.

He also doesn't know the definition of "mission" is either. The closest he understands is "missionary", as in that position with him on his back.

Michael Haz said...

Jeremy, Bush didn't install that banner, nor did he order or request its installation.

It was ordered by the ship's captain and referred specifically to the flight (the mission) Bush flew in the fighter aircraft that landed aboard ship.

Stop lying about Bush.

The Scythian said...

Jeremy sputteredand flailed:

"With a huge 'MISSION ACCOMPLISHED' banner hanging behind him, Bush said: 'this was the end to major combat operations in Iraq.' (Which everybody knew at the time and knows now was pure bullshit.)"

I was deployed to Iraq after that speech, and my experience was completely different than those who were deployed before that speech. The conventional war against Saddam's forces that took place before that speech was markedly different than the unconventional war that really got started a while after that speech.

That doesn't mean it wasn't still dangerous, of course. As it turns out, the guerrilla war turned out to be bloodier than the conventional one for everybody involved.

Still, if you took the time to talk to veterans of the war (or even do any research whatsoever), you'd know that the "Mission Accomplished" speech did in fact coincide with the end of the first phase of the war.

It's not anybody else's fault that you are both ignorant and too lazy to rectify your ignorance.

Beth said...

It was ordered by the ship's captain and referred specifically to the flight (the mission) Bush flew in the fighter aircraft that landed aboard ship.

Oh, THAT mission! Okay, then. I'll start hanging up a Mission Accomplished banner when I arrive at work. Or get home from the store.

Michael, that's delusional.

Or nuanced. That's it.

Beth said...

Well, if I'd meant that to be a conversation stopper, I could say "Mission Accomplished!"

I figure we can count on that incident creating small tempests for years to come.

jeff said...

"Jeremy doesn't know what the phrase "major combat operations" means. "
This server doesn't contain enough free space to list everything that Jeremy doesn't know.
Beth also might check with folks in the Navy and see how they celebrate the end of their mission. Crazy that.

Michael Haz said...

Beth, that's what the banner was for.

I'll change my mind, however, if you can post a story from a legit news source that quotes a credible source saying that Bush ordered or requested the Mission Accomplished banner, and that it specifically referred to the Iraq War.

Roux said...

He's an idiot... sheesh

Registering To Comment With Blogger Sucks said...

Look. I can't stand the smug look, the upturned chin, the droning tone. I can't stand his voice or the ideology it articulates.

But the guy was using "sexy" in what's become a pretty common colloquial sense: to mean interesting, exciting, not boring.

Even the dictionary includes this definition now. You'll find a couple of versions here: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sexy

jayemarr said...

I've already got insulation, Nimrod. And good windows. Before you ask: no, I do not want to give you ten thousand dollars so all my neighbors can have them too. If they want them, they can buy their own.

Now please go back to pretending like you're qualified to be President.

Ken said...

You might as well be bored. Our "betters" don't give a damn about your indignation.

Beth said...

Michael, there were cascading explanations given for the banner. Where is the source for the one you cite here? Even on this thread, Bush defenders are offering different explanations. What mission? Oh, it was the flight; no, it was the end of major operations in Iraq; no, it was the end of the Lincoln's recent deployment. The White House planned it; no, the Navy asked for it, we just had it printed and hung. Nobody knows how it got up there. Whatever it is, though, it's sure not what the MSM or the liberuhls think it is.

Nuance.

Peter said...

I haven't been in a place where Aircraft Carriers were common since the Southeast Asian War Games but I seem to remember that after pretty much any long combat cruise they put up a big banner on that humongus vertical space.

The Mission Accomplished banner no more meant the war was over than the broom tied to the periscope of WW2 submarines meant that each sub with one meant that they had each sunk the entire Japanese Navy and Merchant Marine.

I am curious as to how many of the lefties would be complaining about that fight if there had been a Democrat President, instead of a Democrat CIA chief telling the whole country that the WMDs were a "slam dunk"?

As far as Ms. Althouse, who voted for the Pencil Neck In Chief, perhaps she would not be ragging on him had he even tried to govern the way he ran for office.

Beth said...

But Michael, I should be more clear: I don't think the banner was to signal that we were on our way out of Iraq. I think it was just a poorly staged and thought out spectacle, and that the administration had no room to squeal about being misunderstood.

JAL said...

reader_iam writ: Speak for yourself, dude. Our very old house has 46 windows, non-standard in size IN today's world (and most LARGE), the vast majority containing the original glass and operating on those old rope pulleys.

I have heard if crap & tax passes and you want to sell your elephant, you will need to have it federally inspected and upgrade it to their federally determined energy efficiency standards.

Good luck.

wv ghtst
Something in Hebrew

JAL said...

Apparetnly his controllers haven't gotten the message through that he needs to stop talking.

redleg said...

We got tax breaks for insulation, caulking, solar panels back during Carter. This is nothing new except the One came up with it and the press ignores recent history. What green jobs will a $5 tube of caulk create?

We been had

mockmook said...

Beth said...

...I think it was just a poorly staged and thought out spectacle, and that the administration had no room to squeal about being misunderstood.
12/15/09 9:34 PM


You mean "intentionally misunderstood"

Beth said...

no, mook. If I'd meant that, I would have written that.

dada said...

Too Funny.
I'm a door and window god.
I'm allll about insulation.
If I asked oblama about Title 24 Requirements in the greenland of California, he'd say Huh?
As you all do.
I live with it, he doesn't.
Any day at all that Obama, or anyone wants to come to my jobsites, hang off some scaffolding and run some Dymonic® FC, be my guest.
He could'nt run a full gun if
he could get Obamacare and a Climate Cooling Bill passed in an hour.
We have asaying in my trade, or any trade, know what WTF your doing, or watch.

Steven said...

If saving money is sexy, why do women want diamonds in white gold settings instead of cubic zirconia set in stainless steel?

Steven said...

Even the dictionary includes this definition now.

No, the dictionary doesn't. Some dictionaries do, but the dictionary, the OED, hasn't given in to that sort of nonsense.

sexy, a.

a. Concerned with or engrossed in sex. b. Sexually attractive or provocative, sexually exciting; also fig.

That's it.

Michael Haz said...

Beth, I see your point of view, but you having that point of view does not render Bush responsible for the Mission Accomplished banner.

Again, I ask, do you have any credible proof that Bush requested installation of that banner?

Or does your predisposition to blame Bush for everything overwhelm your ability to accept the possibility that he wasn't responsible for the banner?

It's like blaming Drew Breese for any banners hung in the Superdome.

Registering To Comment With Blogger Sucks said...

No, the dictionary doesn't. Some dictionaries do, but the dictionary, the OED, hasn't given in to that sort of nonsense.

I really don't want to get into some extended descriptivist-vs-prescriptivist debate. My intent was not to brandish the dictionary as an authority, but merely to provide an example of this usage. Because I didn't feel like searching Google for "sexy" and digging through 10 gazillion dodgy results to find a relevant instance.

The point is that "sexy" has a well-established alternative meaning.

And by the way, we're not British, and we don't speak British English. The Oxford English Dictionary isn't ours.

Radish said...

It's like blaming Drew Breese for any banners hung in the Superdome.

I'm sure he won't mind taking the "blame" for a SuperBowl XLIV banner. :)

Henry said...

Insulation is itchy. If that's your idea of sexy, I'm not sure Match.com can help you.

And yet I spent 15 minutes yesterday reading about insulation. Need to make the sun porch a year round room.

Beth said...

Or does your predisposition to blame Bush for everything overwhelm your ability to accept the possibility that he wasn't responsible for the banner?

I don't have a predisposition to "blame Bush for everything" and your saying I do is telling. There's a predisposition of Bush partisans to turn to "Bush Derangement" at even the slightest criticism. A kneejerk "you just hate Bush!" is just as a silly as a kneejerk "it's all Bush's fault!"

If the Saints don't win the Superbowl but someone mounts an NFL banner in the Dome, proclaiming they have, I wouldn't assume Brees personally arranged it, but he knows where the buck stops, right? I assume Bush understood the photo-op going on. Otherwise, why not just zip over in his helicopter? The whole thing was staged to be dramatic and triumphant.

hombre said...

"Sexy insulation"? Just a geek trying to be cool.

"I just received a report from Vice President Biden that confirms that as a result of the steps that we’ve taken, a major transformation of our economy is well under way."

Reminds me of a speech Al Gore gave at luncheon for metropolitan prosecutors when he claimed credit for the Clinton administration for passage of "the crime bill." That bill passed in spite of that administration. Similarly, if the economy is "transformed" for the better, it will be in spite of this administration.

That's the blessing of being a Democrat. Bullshit goes unquestioned by the media.

hombre said...

Speaking of BS:

If you're George Bush, your detractors apparently get to translate "Mission accomplished" to "the fighting is over," pretending that Bush didn't say or notice this:

We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We are bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous. We are pursuing and finding leaders of the old regime.... And we will stand with the new leaders of Iraq as they establish a government of, by, and for the Iraqi people.... Our coalition will stay until our work is done....

Is somebody arguing that the mission of eliminating Saddam Hussein's regime was not accomplished at that point?

Unknown said...

@ Steve

"the OED hasn't given in to that sort of nonsense."

Sorry, Steve.

Definition 2c (Draft Revision 2009):

"colloq. In extended use: appealing, stimulating; liable to excite interest."

(Earliest historical entry: 1950.)

@Ann on "Dead metaphors"

Language changes through dead metaphors. That's just how it goes. And by the time a dictionary includes it, it's already on the stiff side.

Indeed, the phrase "dead metaphors" contains a dead metaphor (arguably two)! No big deal, but it sort of undercuts your professed hatred of such things (or at least the dictionary's creation of same).