Comments on: Bird-Dogging the Apocalypse

Bird-Dogging the Apocalypse

alms — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 18:22:59 -0800

Bird-Dogging involves showing up at a presentation or speech by a public figure and asking well-informed, pointed questions. Now Bird-Doggers are getting organized. Live near New Hampshire? The American Friends Service Committee has a handy set of tips and a schedule of appearances by the Democratic contenders. What questions would you ask?

By: machaus

machaus — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 18:52:37 -0800

Do you look studly while driving an Abrams M1 Tank?

By: sharksandwich

sharksandwich — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 18:53:31 -0800

What's wrong with being sexy?

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 19:02:01 -0800

Bird-Dogging involves showing up at a presentation or speech by a public figure and asking well-informed, pointed questions. Interesting how the exercise of one of the fundamental duties of being a citizen of a democratic state has become rare enough that it requires a special, clever name. [/grump]

By: Ignatius J. Reilly

Ignatius J. Reilly — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 19:10:53 -0800

I must say that bird-dogging only works as a negative, to deride the dogged individual. At the Howard Dean rally in Portland, there some pro-Kucinich bird-doggers, who only served to make the Kucinich campaign look wackier.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 19:29:17 -0800

i wish some the people paid to do this for a living (journalists) actually did it...it's a good idea as long as it actually works in getting candidates and incumbents to deviate from their scripts

By: eatitlive

eatitlive — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 19:43:13 -0800

Are you implying, Ignatius, that the Kucinich campaign already looks wacky?

By: aeschenkarnos

aeschenkarnos — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 19:44:26 -0800

This looks great. Best news I've read all day. :) Go for it!

By: m@

m@ — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 20:16:58 -0800

Senator, in your opinion, who put the sham in the shama-lama-ding-dong? Oh really? Interesting. Now how about you getting in the White House and not being an asshat like a certain incumbent who shall remain nameless.

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 20:19:27 -0800

Ya know, the more I see Quakers in action...the more I like them.

By: cbrody

cbrody — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 20:31:43 -0800

What stavros said. Very sad that well-informed, active citizens are so rare that they merit being named after a particular breed of canine. This effort seems very small-scale and just slightly pathetic. Not that the general public is much less apathetic here, but at least in the UK we have a weekly prime minister's Question Time, TV and radio program(me)s of the same name in which anyone can ask questions, and a public service broadcaster that people actually watch, listen to, and read^*. *At least, until the Tories gain power and pull the plug on BBCi, that is. n.b. I was trying to get 'pathetic' and 'apathetic' into the same sentence just for effect (funny how the two words have such different meanings) but somehow I just couldn't manage it at 4:30am.

By: alms

alms — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 20:36:44 -0800

The question that I would really (honestly) like to see all the candidates asked in public is, "how much does a gallon of milk cost?" Any candidate (including the incumbent) who can't answer this question immediately gets disqualified and isn't allowed to be president. Quick way to winnow the field.

By: ursus_comiter

ursus_comiter — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 20:46:57 -0800

I can tell you how much 64 oz. of OJ costs. Or a carton of soy milk. But milk? Nope.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 21:03:19 -0800

aren't prices for milk vastly different all over the country, like for cigarettes? I pay between 99 cents and 1.25 for a quart here, depending on where i go. I think the candidates are wise to the milk question though...

By: trharlan

trharlan — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 21:38:37 -0800

I always wondered who bought milk by the quart. Why do you buy so little milk at one time, amberglow?

By: amberglow

amberglow — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 21:42:09 -0800

it's just for me, usually : >

By: gyc

gyc — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 22:34:51 -0800

I can't even remember the last time I bought or drank milk, and I'd never buy a whole gallon. What kind of a weird question is that? Maybe I'm just too un-American to be President I guess, setting aside the fact that something as silly as where I was born disqualifies me from becoming President.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 22:40:35 -0800

that's just the official barrier gyc...you can't be jewish, or muslim, or hindu or an atheist, or a woman, or black, or gay, or..... at least so far

By: notsnot

notsnot — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 23:18:07 -0800

Alms has a point, though. Bread, milk, eggs...knowing the approximate price for such things shows some non-richopoly tendencies in candidates. So maybe milk isn't the perfect product to ask, in case a person is lactose -intolerant, or one of those goddamned whole foods kooks (note: self-deprecating humor--probably failed-- there). I really can't trust someone of either party that knows today's Dow Jones closing, but hasn't bought their own groceries in fifteen years.

By: biffa

biffa — Wed, 03 Sep 2003 02:46:42 -0800

I always wondered who bought milk by the quart. Why do you buy so little milk at one time This is a bit of a derail, but watching US TV shows I've often wondered about the volumes of milk US consumers buy. In the UK milk is typically sold in 1, 2 and 4 pint containers, occasionally 6 or 8 but this is rare. I can see why gallons might be of use to big families but to individual consumers how do you possibly get through them before the go off? Do you buy them expecting to throw some away?

By: luser

luser — Wed, 03 Sep 2003 03:36:57 -0800

I"m certainly not rich, I buy probably 4-5 gallons of milk per week, and I don't know what it costs. It's a commodity -- I have to buy it, so why bother with the price? Grab it and go. In fact, this holds true for almost everything I buy that costs less than about $40. And speaking of pathetic, the one birddog report I read on the site (the most recent, for a Kerry event) ended with a plaintive observation: *please note* Kerry did not take any questions from the floor. Is this a new policy for the candidates ? Sad, sad

By: luser

luser — Wed, 03 Sep 2003 03:38:01 -0800

Oh, and biffa: family of 5, but I probably drink 2-2.5 gal of it

By: nofundy

nofundy — Wed, 03 Sep 2003 05:18:00 -0800

Why are there no questions addressed to Duhbya on the bird dog list? Oh, that's right! He doesn't allow citizens that are not pre-selected near him and then only if they don't ask questions! Thank goodness the Dem candidates are open to the press and the public! Questions to Dean: Do you think Ralph Nader is a nut? Should Duhbya and Cheney be in jail?

By: BirdD0g

BirdD0g — Wed, 03 Sep 2003 05:55:45 -0800

Interesting how the exercise of one of the fundamental duties of being a citizen of a democratic state has become rare enough that it requires a special, clever name. Metafilter participation is one of the fundamental duties of being a citizen of a democratic state?

By: nyxxxx

nyxxxx — Wed, 03 Sep 2003 10:54:52 -0800

Strange, I thought birddogging was having hard nipples.