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October 27, 2007

Don’t Be Confused
Posted by Jim Macdonald at 11:14 PM *

It’s easy to tell them apart.

Ron Paul
RuPaul
[Ron Paul]  [RuPaul] 

Never make that embarrassing mistake again!

Comments on Don't Be Confused:
#1 ::: ethan ::: (view all by) ::: October 27, 2007, 11:22 PM:

Well, I just laughed for about half an hour.

...I'm still not sure I get it, though.

#2 ::: Jon Meltzer ::: (view all by) ::: October 27, 2007, 11:46 PM:

Uh, okay.

#3 ::: Rainflame ::: (view all by) ::: October 27, 2007, 11:50 PM:

Is my face red!

#4 ::: Randy Paul ::: (view all by) ::: October 27, 2007, 11:51 PM:

Just for the record, I am not related to either one of them.

#5 ::: DebGeisler ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 12:12 AM:

I don't think they were twins separated at birth, exactly.

#6 ::: Brenda von Ahsen ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 01:03 AM:

I'd vote for RuPaul in a heartbeat but I don't think he's running is he? Ron Paul is sort of scary but I don't think he could really do much damage and he sure would shake things up.

Currently my first choice in '08 is Cthulhu, why vote for a lesser evil?

#7 ::: Seth Breidbart ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 01:36 AM:

Brenda #6: The Elder Party is the lesser evil.

#8 ::: Madeleine Robins ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 01:47 AM:

God, I'm so glad you cleared that up. I was on the verge of making a really embarrassing mistake.

#9 ::: Syd ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 02:55 AM:

***guffaw***

#10 ::: bryan ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 03:19 AM:

What is the difference between a media celebrated transvestite and a Republican Presidential candidate?

On and U?


There's just got to be a good punchline to this.

maybe a good taint punch-line.

#11 ::: Rob Hansen ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 03:34 AM:

Well, RuPaul would certainly be the most glamorous President you'd ever had, and one of the tallest too, I think.

#12 ::: bryan ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 04:12 AM:

RuPaul could then start repeating the anecdotes of Lincoln, updated for modern sensibilities.

#13 ::: Alan Braggins ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 05:30 AM:

Has Mitt Romney got confused between them as well as Osama and Obama or something?

#14 ::: Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers) ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 08:09 AM:

Are you sure they're not the same person, Jim? I mean, has anyone ever seen them together?

#15 ::: Neil Willcox ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 08:16 AM:

has anyone ever seen them together?

It's amazing what you can do with mirrors.

#16 ::: Debbie ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 08:52 AM:

It's amazing what you can do with mirrors.

And a good foundation.

#17 ::: juanb ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 09:06 AM:

Has anyone ever seen Ron Paul and RuPaul at the same time in the same place? Hmmmm....

#18 ::: Kip W ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 09:20 AM:

Okay, so one makes you doubt your sexuality, and the other makes you doubt your sanity?

I miss the days when you just voted for whoever was tallest.

#19 ::: Valuethinker ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 09:42 AM:

6 Brenda

I fell out of my chair, laughing.

Steve Jackson Games (designers of GURPS, Ogre, Car Wars, Assassin and other classics) used to have a bumper sticker:

'Cthulu Saves'

Being from points north of the 49th parallel, where people are a bit less expressive, it took me a bit of time to get that one.

#20 ::: albatross ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 09:58 AM:

Kip #18:

Which one of those two *is* taller?

I'm not sure Ron Paul is any crazier than Guliani, though he's less polished, and not having gone to Shayol Ghul to give oaths to the Dark One, he has no chance of getting the Republican nomination.

#21 ::: Jack Trenton II ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 10:00 AM:

RPl s wshd-p trns, Rn Pl s bt t chng th cntry. nfrtntly t tk sgrgtnst Gvrnr Wllc t rvl th trth tht "thr's nt dm's wrth f dffrnc btwn" Rpblcns nd Dmcrts. Th Dmcrts wllngly wnt lng wth th Wr n rq, sspnsn f Hbs Crps, dtnng prtstrs, bnnng bks lk "mrc Dcvd' frm mzn, stlng prvt lnds (Kl dcsn), wrrnt-lss wrtppng nd rfsng t nvstgt 9/11 prprly. Thy r bth glty f trsn.
Spprt Dr. Rn Pl nd sv ths grt ntn.
Lst lnk (bfr Ggl Bks bnds t gv't Wll nd drps th ttl):
mrc Dcvd (bk)

#22 ::: Bob Oldendorf ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 10:09 AM:

It's interesting to note that of the current field of GOP candidate, the one who talks the most sense - that we need to cut our losses in Iraq, for one thing - happens to be the crazy racist.

That alone tells you a lot about the rest of their pro-torture, anti-Enlightenment pack of screwballs.

Though I'm certainly willing to listen to RuPaul's platform. Or to check out her platform shoes.

#23 ::: Claude Muncey ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 10:10 AM:

It must be gratifying to know that Making Light is read on the far side of the moon. Well, the far side of something . . .

#24 ::: Claude Muncey ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 10:13 AM:

Has anyone ever seen Ron Paul and RuPaul at the same time in the same place? Hmmmm....

Before trying that particular experiment, it would be good to first confirm that they aren't anti-particles of each other. For safety's sake at least.

#25 ::: Teresa Nielsen Hayden ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 10:16 AM:

We just got linked by Avedon Carol guest-blogging at Atrios. I'm happy to have people who come in through that portal join the discussion, but damned if I"m going to be hectored and bullyragged by someone who thinks there's literally no difference between the Republicans and Democrats.

#26 ::: abi ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 10:30 AM:

TNH @25:

You didn't recognize that? That guy wanders the highways and byways of the political blogosphere, plugging his self-published (iUniverse) conspiracy theory book, claiming that the government censors are right on the verge of banning it from Amazon.

It's an internet phenomenon. Collect the whole set.

#27 ::: James D. Macdonald ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 10:35 AM:

Oh, that guy ... he's flogging his vanity-published (iUniverse) book. It hasn't actually been banned from anywhere. It's just that he was too cheap to pay the extra to get it listed on Amazon.

#28 ::: Joel Polowin ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 10:42 AM:

Valuethinker @ 19: 'Cthulu Saves' -- well, yes, Cthulhu's saving throws are deity-level, and attackers are usually working under serious penalties.

#29 ::: candymarl ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 10:45 AM:

Now that's funny. Thanks for a good morning laugh.

#30 ::: Dave Lartigue ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 11:00 AM:

This one's tougher, though:

http://www.daveexmachina.com/wordpress/?p=2020

#31 ::: Teresa Nielsen Hayden ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 11:03 AM:

Abi, Jim, I had missed him until now. The unlucky fellow's definitely been smacked on the head by the fairies.

#32 ::: James Slusher ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 11:50 AM:

I don't think that getting hectored (though, unfortunately, I understand so little Spanish) is all that bad, but I think bullyragging is illegal here in South Carolina.

#33 ::: Greg London ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 11:51 AM:

Wow. Not only are their names similar, but from behind, they're pretty hard to tell apart too.

#34 ::: Valuethinker ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 12:11 PM:

28 Joel

Does our Lord get a saving roll then? Blew it on Calvary Hill, methinks.

#35 ::: Valuethinker ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 12:18 PM:

25 TNH

There is an important difference between Republicans and Democrats.

The one has an agenda, and have, step by step been advancing it since at least 1980. Look at where the public is on Estate Taxes, or on abortion, compared to the situation in 1980. Or income tax rates in general. Note the progress of universal healthcare in the US since that time. Or the environmental movement. The US had 8 years in which a president named Clinton practiced a particularly moderate form of Republicanism, but otherwise it's been a clean sweep at the presidential level, and to a greater or lesser extent at the legislative level.

Social Security, with a manufactured 'crisis', is next.

Was it credible, in 1980, that the US would again attack a country on a pretext?-- I mean at least in the Tonkin Gulf there was evidence the other guy had fired on the US destroyers. Now having conducted one such war, the US is on the point of conducting the second, cheered on loudly by *Democratic* presidential candidates.

In 1979-80 the US president talked about serious energy conservation measures, and about Israel trading land for peace. What US president has taken either stance since?

The other party has no discernible agenda, other than to try to hold ground against the right wing party. Sorry, I mean they have the 'gay agenda'.

#36 ::: jmmcdermott ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 12:20 PM:

True story about my Catholic High School religion teacher. (preface this by saying I am still Catholic, and HEY! I'm late to church... Must Type Fast!)

In one of her weekly rants about the evils of pop culture, one of my high school religion teachers decided to talk about sex in the advertisement media.

She whipped up the single most offensive cheesecake image of fleshly, sexy posingness that she could find. She pulled it out to show it to the class and ranted profusely about the way this was promoting negative body images of women, and violence against women, and society is evil, and we must burn *BURN* this magazine should we find it for this imagery.

One of the students interrupted her long enough to point out that the model was RuPaul.

It took a few minutes to explain why that was an important detail, but with ears deeply reddened, the teacher quietly put away the picture without any more ranting, and a befuddled look on her face.

Her world was *changed* that day.

True story, and off to church I go!

#37 ::: Emma ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 12:27 PM:

Jim @ 36: you, sir, owe me a new shirt-- I managed to divert the coffee stream from the keyboard and the monitor, but not without consequences!!!

#38 ::: Claude Muncey ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 12:34 PM:

Jim, I'm definitely using that story the the next time I lead catechist formation.

#39 ::: Fragano Ledgister ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 01:22 PM:

jmmcdermott #36: YOMANK!

#40 ::: ethan ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 01:46 PM:

Bob Oldendorf #22: It's interesting to note that of the current field of GOP candidate, the one who talks the most sense - that we need to cut our losses in Iraq, for one thing - happens to be the crazy racist.

Waddaya mean, the crazy racist? The craziest, maybe, but they're all crazy racists.

#41 ::: jmmcdermott ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 01:49 PM:

I've ruined enough keyboards and t-shirts reading around here to think we all even out in time.

And, who's Jim? I'm J M. (or Joe.)

#42 ::: jmmcdermott ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 01:54 PM:

Wait, I have a great idea:

I will pray for your keyboards and T-shirts, fellow readers. But, do please pray for mine.

#43 ::: Claude Muncey ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 01:54 PM:

Strictly my mistake J.M. My apologies.

#44 ::: mds ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 01:55 PM:

Valuethinker @34:

Does our Lord get a saving roll then? Blew it on Calvary Hill, methinks.

One can usually choose to fail a saving throw. So He saved by failing to save.

And come I think of it, I suspect RuPaul is also dedicated to abolishing our Federal Reserve. It's not like he has any.

#45 ::: Dr Paisley ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 02:17 PM:

Perhaps RuPaul could get a gig helping Rudy with his makeup and wardrobe. It might make a difference with the "values" voters.

#46 ::: bryan ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 02:25 PM:

President RuPaul was well known for his witty sayings, of which we have a selection printed below:

Whatever you are, be a good one.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him high heels.

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool the ones that feel you up.

People are just as gay as they make up their minds to be.

Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason I'm sooo bad.

#47 ::: Gar Lipow ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 02:39 PM:

Another RuPaul quote:

"We're all born naked. Everything else is drag."

Actually I'm not 100% sure that is from RuPaul. But I've never heard it attributed to anyone else.

#48 ::: Lizzy L ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 02:40 PM:

Thank you for the chuckles. I love you all, except that wacko without the values. I mean vowels.

Looking hard at those two photographs, I seem to detect a faint similarity in bone structure. Do you think they could be distant cousins?

#49 ::: Linkmeister ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 03:36 PM:

Lizzy L @ #48, if Barack Obama and Dick Cheney are distantly related, as reported recently, I see no reason why not.

#50 ::: Jim Satterfield ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 04:03 PM:

But...don't we all really know which one of the two has the better grasp on reality?

#51 ::: Suzanne ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 04:18 PM:

I know which one I'd tag as the more likely candidate for the next (inevitable) Republican Gay Bathroom Sex Scandal, and it ain't the one in the dress...

#52 ::: Xopher ::: (view all by) ::: October 28, 2007, 04:57 PM:

Gar 47: I first heard that from a drag queen interviewed in Word is Out (1978). RuPaul hadn't turned 18 yet, but I bet that's where he got it too. Actually it's probably something that drag culture in general keeps in mind, and it's probably not even original with the 1978 source.

#53 ::: Kevin Marks ::: (view all by) ::: October 29, 2007, 11:10 AM:

I always mix them up with Drupal

#54 ::: CJColucci ::: (view all by) ::: October 29, 2007, 11:45 AM:

I'm embarassed to say that for several months after I first heard of Ru Paul, I didn't know he was a man. Considering that I once nearly picked up a transvestite in New Orleans and was nearly picked up by a transvestite in Syracuse, there may be something wrong with my radar.

#55 ::: Jim Henry ::: (view all by) ::: October 29, 2007, 06:30 PM:

ethan @40:


Waddaya mean, the crazy racist? The craziest, maybe, but they're all crazy racists.

Do you mean, all racists are crazy, or all of the Republican candidates are crazy racists, or...?

And on what evidence? I've heard particular Republicans accused of racism before on grounds that turned out to be pretty flimsy.

#56 ::: Jim Henry ::: (view all by) ::: October 29, 2007, 06:32 PM:

Could someone do a post on how to tell apart Elizabeth Moon, Elizabeth Hand, and Elizabeth Bear? I keep forgetting who wrote what.

#57 ::: Xopher ::: (view all by) ::: October 29, 2007, 06:39 PM:

Jim 55: the GOP is the party of crazy racism. They mask it in all sorts of ways, like wanting to "curb illegal immigration" and so forth. (I never once heard of an INS raid on Irish illegals, not even back in the 1980s when they were the most common illegal immigrants in New York.) They have many planks in their platform, but most of them, at their core, amount to "we don't want brown people to have what we have."

#58 ::: Nomie ::: (view all by) ::: October 29, 2007, 07:54 PM:

There's somebody roaming my hometown with a "Ron Paul '08" sticker that has had the n and the top of the o blanked out with Sharpie.

Hell, I'd vote for RuPaul. Subsidized heels and lipstick for all!

#59 ::: joann ::: (view all by) ::: October 30, 2007, 10:36 AM:

Jim Henry #56:

Simple cheat sheet: Moon writes military sf (mostly--there's a few exceptions), Hand writes horror in a fairly literary way, and Bear writes anything that comes into her head: vampires, post-cyberpunk, faerie, and I think I lost track.

#60 ::: Eleanor ::: (view all by) ::: October 30, 2007, 06:56 PM:

#56: Elizabeth Hand wrote Waking the Moon and Elizabeth Moon, according to her website, wrote about an empire called The Benignity of the Compassionate Hand. As far as I know, neither of them have written about bears.

#61 ::: Nathan ::: (view all by) ::: October 30, 2007, 07:29 PM:

I'm pretty sure Bear included bears in at least on of her books.

Or maybe it was beers.

Whatever.

#62 ::: Serge ::: (view all by) ::: October 30, 2007, 09:08 PM:

Nathan @ 61... No biers in a single Bear story?

#63 ::: Serge ::: (view all by) ::: October 30, 2007, 09:09 PM:

Could Ru Paul be a Time Lord/Lady's latest reincarnation, and Ron Paul the not-so-great previous model?

#64 ::: Nathan ::: (view all by) ::: October 30, 2007, 11:13 PM:

Serge @62...I bow to your wisdom...and raise you a pier. Here, here.

#65 ::: joann ::: (view all by) ::: October 31, 2007, 12:13 PM:

Nathan #64:

No, no, that's hier, hier.

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