Mocking Obama and Markos … Because they deserve it (+open thread)

We mock Obama, about whom Roger Simon wrote today: “[H]e seems like the guy who brings a Nerf bat to a knife fight.”

We mock that ridiculous O-Bomb-ahhh music video (like I care what Jessica Alba thinks, if that’s the word for what she does — “I would like to see a cleaner earth.” WOW! — or that first woman in the video (what in the hell is she on anyway?):

We mock Daily Kos’s Markos — courtesy of the aptly-named Cannonfire blog (and, yes, Kos himself really wrote two front-page stories about this utter nonsense, and the mouth-breathers left at his blog actually believe this c-r-a-p):

[Hillary] supposedly widened [Obama's] face in order to give him a “blacker” nose.

Kos himself has devoted two front-page columns to this nonsense. We should note that Markos Moulitsas (unlike yours truly) has no background in image manipulation, video production or advertising. Moreover, he seems to have lost his ability to fire up Google in order to do basic research.

The false accusation originated with a diarist who calls himself “Troutnut.” (A reassuring pseudonym if ever I heard one.) I take the liberty of reproducing one of Mr. Nut’s “damning” graphics. If you visit his page, you will have access to the actual Clinton campaign ad, which incorporates a shot of Obama originally taken from the Ohio debate, as broadcast on MSNBC.

[The Cannonfire blogger, an expert in graphics, takes several paragraphs to painstakingly explain why video file compressions and conversions distort images and unavoidably change the colors. Then he lays into Kos -- and THOSE ZINGER PARAGRAPHS ARE BELOW.]

Markos Moulitsas, you stand exposed as a fool.

You have disgraced your once-fine site. Indeed, Kos has devolved into an anti-Clinton smear machine — worse than The American Spectator, worse than Limbaugh, worse than Murdoch, worse than the Moonie press. (Shame on Americablog, as well.)

I did not vote for Hillary. Even so, I am appalled by the sheer unreasoning hatred festooning Daily Kos and other progressive blogs. I am even more appalled by false accusations of racism leveled against the Clintons by fanatical Obama supporters.

Moulitsas is the new Scaife, and Kossacks have become the new Freepers. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Kos interview with Larry Nichols or Ken Starr.

The left has become the right. Facts no longer matter: When in doubt, smear.

(By the way, if you play back that overrated 2004 Obama speech, you’ll notice something odd: Not once does he criticize the decision to go to war. He criticizes Bush for not sending in enough troops!)

UPDATE: Well, some brave soul used my post as the basis for a Kos diary entry. Here. The response:

Yes, the Clinton campaign darkened the ad, or chose the darkest possible images.

Here we see the Kos strategem: When a lie is exposed, simply keep repeating it. Don’t bother with evidence. Just repeat. This tactic works for Limbaugh, Murdoch, Bush…and now Kos.

Let me state the facts very clearly, in language that even the most fanatic Obamabot can understand: THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN DID NOT DARKEN ANYTHING. THEY DID NOT CHOOSE A DARK IMAGE. THEY DID NOT WIDEN THE IMAGE. They are responsible only for what they broadcast, and the broadcast image was quite different.

The darkening and the PAR problem occurred when someone else uploaded the thing to YouTube. And the same problems occur with lots of other videos. That’s why I cited the example of the Obama Girl vid. In that case as well, the problem was with the codec used to compress the video for online purpose — not with the way the original video was made.

When another brave soul invited the above-noted moron to follow my argument, here was what the moron had to say about my examples:

They’re completely irrelevant, far as I can tell.

idiocy, of the sort displayed by this Kossack, has a similar effect.

But that isn’t the end of it…

If you really want to believe this, you need to get someone with a better clue as to how advertising is done and it’s component technology. And I would really stress this second part, find someone that isn’t a 911 conspiracy theorist.

Ho, this is rich. I don’t know about advertising. I don’t know about the tech. And this creep does.

Riiiiiiight.

Anyone who wants to get into a pissing match regarding credentials should re-read my piece. It gives only a small idea of the kind of expert “posse” I can line up if need be.

Moreover, this Kos kook calls me a 9/11 conspiracy theorist. Even though my site is filled with links to sites which debunk those theories.

Apparently, Kossacks can’t read!

Read all at Cannonfire blog.

The technical explanations are fascinating and, since I once helped write a book about image compression and “lossy” file types, I know that what he is saying is correct.

What ELSE is going on in the world?