I really think you need to indicate to people that this is a parody from an anti-Bush site.

I was initially confused (did he really say THAT), before realizing it was just satire.

Yea, man, Yuval. I just woke up out of one of those onion dreams/nightmares, where you wake to an even worse reality of the dream you just had and wind up not trusting reality till you truely wake up, no joke. Mesculine, I believe it is called, except this one was bad. So a parody with no warning is really not good right now, at least for me.

Was Pat serious about wanting a satire warning? I sure thought so at first. But I wonder... . I mena, doesn't that kinda undermine the humor? Maybe not. Either way, she sure fooled me. Or did he? Hey, wait... Is Pat a She? A He? A S/he?

And, Chris... please! Hey, girl, if you're going to take designer drugs like "mesculine" -- which I take it in all seriousness must be a chemical derivative of mescaline -- give us the formula, man!

Oops. My bad. Is Chris a male? A female? In real life, I mean. Chris? Chris? Please... You didn't warn us in advance.

Look Larre, I've been posting here for quite awhile now in the comments section, although not always frequently and not ever as articulately or intelligently as the roster line-up of "official" posters on this site.

Larre, if you want to see a perfect example of the "kool kidz" in-group nonsense that afflicts high schools, the mainstream media (paging Cokie Roberts and Joe Klein) and even left of center political sites, read your post here again.

Yuval's original post, while funny, and coming from a funny anti-Bush website, was just a little too much like some of the "parody" crap I hear on Limbaugh, which the Rush man never adequately makes clear to his acolytes actually is parody and not reality.

I just don't like folks on our side playing the same strawman games without making it clear exactly what's going on.

I think we all know the idiot son didn't say this. He only wishes he would have said it.

Chris65203,

I'm a little concerned when a young person experiments with these fancy-pants drugs. By God, back when America was great we had peyeote and the like. If you keep playing with your brain you'll expand your awareness and start considering the opinions of others. That'll fuck-up your ability to be a drone, and make you absolutely worthless in the new economy where blind obedience and poverty level wages are used to control your meager existence.

"So you'll forgive me if I'm a little hesitant to debate its meaning with someone from a country whose entire population belongs to the Mafia."

That was the tip off for me, although I have to admit I can see GW making a statement as outrageous at that.

"I just don't like folks on our side playing the same strawman games without making it clear exactly what's going on."

I'm fairly new to reading blogs and I wasn't familiar with the White House link, so at first I thought this really was a Bush quote. Eventually, it became clear it was satire.

I agree with Pat M. When there's not even a hint to clue you in, the reader feels duped and chagrined, rather than "in on the joke."

No drugs, but damn, it did feel like it.

And obviously I was misinformed when I said "Mesculine" or mescaline as larre points out. I thought mescaline was the actual experience of not knowing weather one is awake or asleep (with or without the use of a drug). After checking online, I found it was the drug itself, a dirivitive of peyote. So I had the experience without the drug.

And I assume that because the post was a parody to begin with, I'm really not trolling, but hey.

Edgar Allan Poe's dream within a dream

I understand why The Left Coaster is so quiet about the Sgrena Incident and why, when someone here finally chooses to [comment] on it, it comes in the guise of a poorly-introduced parody. It's because y'all recognize your own methods in hers. You know how effectively emotionalism and manipulation of the facts can move the anti-Bush mobs. Witness Fahrenheit 9/11 and Rathergate and the false martyrdoms of Wilson/Plame, Dean, and even Kerry. It's how you operate. A handful of idiots (posing as American troops) decide to humiliate a bunch of prisoners on film ---and, suddenly, Abu Ghraib becomes the Great Stain upon the Soul of the Military. It becomes the Grand Metaphor with which to slander tens of thousands of brave American soldiers and Marines.

This Sgrena thing stinks. And I suspect you know it, too.

One individual's arrogant view of himself, the world, and his alleged superior inner knowledge of how the proprietors/readers on this site think and operate never ceases to amaze me. The only thing that amazes me more than that is contemplating how this same individual with his self- inflated ego is able to get such a "fat head" through the bathroom door everyday. ;~)

Mr. Rubinstein,

Sadly, in this day and age posts like this (presumably) intended to evoke laughter will come back to serve as fodder for the right-wingers to use against those who disagree with them.

By not stating up front that the piece is satire gives the right-wingers ample opportunities for them to exclaim, "See? You lefties make up stuff too! So get off your high horse! You're no better than we are!" With this post of yours, I'm inclined to agree.

So knowing it's satire takes some of the bite out of it. Big deal. Why are you writing here? Do you think it will lead to some gig writing for SNL? And as far as attempting to justify this piece by saying that everyone should be able to tell it's fake, remind yourself just how ridiculous the REAL NEWS has become. Doesn't it then seem superfluous and irresponsible to stretch the truth without telling the reader up front?

I think the bloggers on web sites like theleftcoaster.com ought to take themselves seriously. If "fake news" gets your goat then don't participate in its creation.

And don't you DARE expect to receive some sort of tacit approval of your actions on this particular post Mr. Rubinstein. There's no way I or many many others here are going to say it's okay. It's not and we all deserve better.

God you guys, lighten up. If you could not see the satire within the first paragraph, then you have lost your sense of humor.