Katherine Mangu-Ward reads Naomi Wolf's latest opus and finds a rambling, paranoid account of her wrestling match with modern American democracy.
New at Reason: Katherine Mangu-Ward on Naomi Wolf
Comments to "New at Reason: Katherine Mangu-Ward on Naomi Wolf ":
juris imprudent | October 13, 2008, 4:47pm | #
I understand it all now. The name "Naomi" must mean, in some obscure language, tits on a bore.Hogan | October 13, 2008, 4:51pm | #
She's crazy but I'd hit it.Atabrat | October 13, 2008, 4:54pm | #
Naomi Klein - Disaster CapitalismNaomi Wolf - Plain ol' Disaster
Shit, she even looks like she's about to flip out in that photo.
Harold Bloom | October 13, 2008, 4:57pm | #
I'd hit it.JP | October 13, 2008, 5:04pm | #
Wolf finds a variety of the basic tasks of democratic life difficult. Things like getting a permit for a protest, finding a decent source of news, and filing the forms to run for office.Fnding a decent source of news is challenging? How hard is it to turn on a computer and go to the Net?
egosumabbas | October 13, 2008, 5:04pm | #
I actually saw that speech of hers in person. When she was talking about her letters not arriving from her daughter at summer camp I was LOLing at the idea that the tween was probably furiously thinking of excuses as to why she hadn't written any letters on the long ride home. "Mommy you HAVE to believe me! The government took ALL OF THE LETTERS! srsly!"Though in all seriousness, the ONE TIME I found obvious tampering with my letters was when I received a letter from a foreign consulate. What's more likely is that some asshole postal employee was looking for a passport or other credentials to steal, then hastily stuffed the contents back in. A real government conspiracy would have professionally steamed and resealed my envelope.
Atabrat | October 13, 2008, 5:05pm | #
You guys have very low standards.Seems fitting considering her low standards for journalism.
JanissaryAustin | October 13, 2008, 5:06pm | #
Just because she's paranoid doesn't mean...J sub D | October 13, 2008, 5:08pm | #
I'm embarrassed to admit that I tried, made an honest attempt to RTFA. I already knew Naomi Klein is a a couple cards short of a full deck, more documentation of that unfortunate reality is not really necessary. Are you going to run a series of article that details Howard Stern's juvenile obsession with lesbian sex next? If I never read* another Naomi Klein article at Reason OnLine, I will be grateful.* For the sake of clarity, no matter what, I will never read another artilcle about Ms. Klein. What I'm requesting is to never have to page down past one again.
Hogan | October 13, 2008, 5:10pm | #
Wolf vs. Klein. I admit I regularly confuse them.egosumabbas | October 13, 2008, 5:12pm | #
@hogan:Klein is the angrier, more socialist, but less excitable one.
Orange Line Special | October 13, 2008, 5:12pm | #
Thanks Reason, now I'll start to take NaomiWolf seriously where I wasn't before.Also, I'll take Kucinich more seriously due to Katherine Mangu-Ward's strawman attempt to mock him. The first search result for the first search to find out more brought me to this. Some of it might sound kooky, until one realizes what sort of weapons are under development.
But, then again, isn't mocking and drawing attention away from important topics Katherine Mangu-Ward's job? Does the Kochtopus have some sort of profit interest in some of the hundreds of things Kucinich was trying to block?
bubba | October 13, 2008, 5:15pm | #
Naomi Wolf has obviously never attended a local city council meeting. Real people are fully capable of discussing all kinds of inanity in a public forum.egosumabbas | October 13, 2008, 5:23pm | #
@Orange Line Special:One conpiracy theory per post please. Apparently there's a conspiracy by Reason to make fun of Kucinich THROUGH a post on Naomi Wolf to silence the troof about chemtrails. Forgive me if I'm having trouble following.
Also, did you see Mrs. Wolf's speech in person too?
Dagny T. | October 13, 2008, 5:24pm | #
As if the name Naomi didn't have problems enough, there's the delightful antics of Naomi Campbell.Although, Naomi Watts redeems the name somewhat.
You guys have very low standards.
No kidding. That is a hairstyle best left in the 80s, where it should have died a swift but painful death.
joe | October 13, 2008, 5:30pm | #
There is no discernable relationship between the review Katherine Mangu-Ward gives to a book and the quality of that book.I got to the part where Ward "reviews" a passage that wasn't in the book, and stopped there.
I never thought I'd pine for the even-handedness and depth of thought of Michael Young.
For Christ's sake, this has been debunked a thousand times: chemtrails are not a secret weapon. They are merely the excretia of Roswell rods.
Jim Bob | October 13, 2008, 5:36pm | #
It's true- the whole "chemtrail" thing is what International Jewry uses to distract people from the true threat: chromosomal damage resulting from HFCS consumption, designed to render the plebes sterile and docile.OLS,
Why do you never respond to your critics?
J sub D | October 13, 2008, 5:36pm | #
J sub D,Wolf, not Klein.
Whatever. Wolf, Klein or Judd, Naomis all run together. Apparently, that reefer the drug czar convinced me to fire up in an earlier thread is having a noticable effect on my comprehension skills.
Jim Bob | October 13, 2008, 5:38pm | #
And in case that's not clear enough, LoneJagoff, I'm calling you out right here, right now: explain your AnnoyingUse of OddPunctuation.If you don't respond immediately I will assume the aliens have gotten to you, as well.
Episiarch | October 13, 2008, 5:39pm | #
That is a hairstyle best left in the 80s, where it should have died a swift but painful deathFeathering. It's called feathering. And it's proof that she's crazy.
Cool Cal | October 13, 2008, 5:40pm | #
Camille Paglia had a pretty entertaining excoriation of Wolf once. Though I think the best fate would be a Timecop-style meeting of the two Naomi's where they just fused together and instantaneously dissolved into some type of primordial ooze before evaporating away.mark | October 13, 2008, 5:41pm | #
Ok, so she's a little hysterical. I've only listened to Mrs. Wolf speak and found nothing that I haven't read about already. She talks of troops deployed at home, FEMA camps, North American Union, fascist executive orders. I'm not a conspiracy theorist (no alien coverup, or 9/11 coverup) but I think these things should not even BE an issue in this country. The fact that these activities are going on can make anyone a little on edge, especially if you spend your whole life dwelling on them.Atabrat | October 13, 2008, 5:52pm | #
two Naomi's where they just fused together = Howard Stern's juvenile obsession with lesbian sexJ sub D, Cool Cal: We have a match!
egosumabbas | October 13, 2008, 5:54pm | #
@mark:The problem isn't the fact that the feds do weird things and assault civil liberties. The problem is using secret cabals to explain why this is all happening. It is neither "troof" nor is it useful. It also discredits any legitimate critique of government excess as sounding insane. We all know that guilt by association is a logical fallacy, but it doesn't mean that statists aren't effective in exploiting it.
SugarFree | October 13, 2008, 5:55pm | #
For NaomiWhenever I hear the phrase "male gaze,"
I imagine a giant, veiny penis
with an unblinking eyeball
hanging from it like a drip of semen
that never falls...
waddling along on its swollen balls,
swinging its semen-eye to and fro,
judging women on breast-size and accessories.
Then I realize it is my giant penis
torn loose and I'm riding it--
one hand gripping tight the circumcision scar,
the other rubbing the smooth patch
where it once was,
in rhythm to the high keening
of objectified women.
I gaze at you
Naomi
I leer at you
Naomi
I stare at you
Naomi
And all Naomis, all Naomis I've yet to find
I would just like to remind everyone that "Naomi" is "I Moan" backwards. Take that how you would like.
juris imprudent | October 13, 2008, 6:02pm | #
judging women on breast-size and accessoriesAnd accessories? Sounds more like a queer eye.
Or does "accessories" have some other hidden meaning I missed out on in Patriarcheology 102?
voxpo | October 13, 2008, 6:07pm | #
The American people are currently apathetic and disengaged, Wolf says, because they "intuit" a maze around them...This is close to how I see task of trying to start a business in the U.S.
Marcvs | October 13, 2008, 6:18pm | #
I'm sure that the reason government websites are impossible to use is due to some grand conspiracy and not because they hire incompetent, lazy developers.I have no doubt that plenty of our masters in Congress and the White House would love to rule our lives in a more totalitarian way. Unfortunately for them, they aren't the ones with power, the bureaucrats are. And they can't get voted out of office.
Kolohe | October 13, 2008, 6:29pm | #
No kidding. That is a hairstyle best left in the 80s, where it should have died a swift but painful death.Ironically, that same hairstyle (or at least vestiges thereof) has propelled one woman 70 electoral votes and a 72 old cancer survivor's life force away from the presidency of these here united states.
Franklin Harris | October 13, 2008, 6:31pm | #
She's crazy but I'd hit it.So, basically Naomi Wolf is the left-wing version of Sarah Palin.
Paul | October 13, 2008, 6:36pm | #
So, basically Naomi Wolf is the left-wing version of Sarah Palin.But with bigger hair.
Kolohe | October 13, 2008, 6:39pm | #
One conpiracy theory per post please. Apparently there's a conspiracy by Reason to make fun of Kucinich THROUGH a post on Naomi Wolf to silence the troof about chemtrails. Forgive me if I'm having trouble following.No, this is a positive development; and I suppose I owe an apology. I had accused him of monomania with his relentless postings on the tight circle of CriminalAliens/ForiegnInfluence/NorthamericanUnion. But here he is able to discourse on a conspiracy theory that has nothing to do with the MexicanGovernment nor aliens (well, terrestrial ones at least)
Dagny T. | October 13, 2008, 6:41pm | #
Feathering. It's called feathering. And it's proof that she's crazy.The fact that you know that is proof that you're... overly familiar with women's hairstyles. ;-)
Sug,
Whenever I hear the phrase "male gaze,"
I imagine a giant, veiny penis
Way to make use of that English degree. That was both poetic and gross.
J sub D | October 13, 2008, 6:49pm | #
So, basically Naomi Wolf is the left-wing version of Sarah Palin.While both kill listener's brain cells, Palin kill large game as well. I get the feeling that despite her surname, Naomi would be helpless if confronted by a Mus musculus.
Paul | October 13, 2008, 6:49pm | #
the ordinary citizen is also an intellectual and organizational powerhouse, waiting to be unleashed.So I was watching "Ow, My Balls!" a few weeks ago, and I learned there was this election thing coming up.
Godwhacker | October 13, 2008, 6:51pm | #
Why are pro-torture deviants from the Weekly Standard writing for Reason?Stevo Darkly | October 13, 2008, 6:51pm | #
WRT Naomi Wolf, the first and most important question in my mind is, "Would anyone who responds to this thread be willing to bang her?"Have we addressed this question yet?
* reads thread *
Ah. Yes, I see that we have.
“If you gaze long into a gaze, the gaze will gaze back into you.”
Stevo Darkly | October 13, 2008, 6:53pm | #
FWIW, I like her hair.Hairstyle should reflect personal style and preference, and not be restricted to a paticular decade.
And yes, she strikes me a nutty.
Stevo Darkly | October 13, 2008, 6:54pm | #
Sigh. As nutty.juris imprudent | October 13, 2008, 7:00pm | #
SugarFree, you are disturbing my calm.Paul | October 13, 2008, 7:02pm | #
Taking this article at face-value, it almost seems like Wolf is going through the kind of transformation that people who finally get sober after a long, serious addiction to drugs, go through.All of a sudden, she's seeing things with a 'new clarity'. People like this, I've concluded, should remain on the drugs.
juris imprudent | October 13, 2008, 7:05pm | #
Paul, or they end up transferring from one addiction to another, a la Bennett.Speaking of Ow My Balls! | October 13, 2008, 7:15pm | #
"And yes, she strikes me a nutty."Vanessa | October 13, 2008, 7:49pm | #
Wolf is pretty, but has never been stylish. She's basically had the same hairstyle for about 20 years, and it was already outdated at the time of *Beauty Myth.*Camille on Naomi's hair and presentation of self:
"Meanwhile--in fact, I couldn't believe Playboy put this in--they cut my whole philosophy of feminism to leave space for my theories about Naomi Wolf's hair! I'm saying that without her hair she would never have gotten attention at all. There were a million books like that, The Beauty Myth--a lot of books. It was only her hair that gave her cachet. People remembered her hair, and the male reporters thought she was hot, and she spent a lot of time sticking her boobs in people's face. She's done this seductive number on men for her entire career. Her primary style of approach is seduction."
Whole thing:
http://www.reason.com/news/show/29737.html
religious person | October 13, 2008, 8:05pm | #
In 2006, Wolf was in therapy for writers block. During one session she says she inhabited the persona of a 13-year-old boy and saw Jesus. "I absolutely believe in divine providence now, absolutely believe God totally cares about every single one of us intimately," she told Glasgow's Sunday Herald.There's a name for that fallacy, like having a bad witness testify on your behalf, two wrongs don't make a right, something. Whatever. Get the hook, Reverend, she's not doing us any favors.
MJ | October 13, 2008, 9:20pm | #
"Wolf is enthused about the idea of a National Issues Day, a day (or perhaps two) where many things would be debated nationwide but nothing decided."I wonder about people who enthuse about such things. How would such a thing work and b e organized? Why would people pay attention? I expect she likes the concept because she's disappointed that more people are not animated by the things she's interested in.
Mike Laursen | October 13, 2008, 9:43pm | #
But here he is able to discourse on a conspiracy theory that has nothing to do with the MexicanGovernment nor aliens (well, terrestrial ones at least)...It's so wondrous to see our little acorn sprouting up. Stretching out tender new shoots that will someday become weighty and gnarled boughs of delusional paranoia.
Paul | October 14, 2008, 12:24am | #
inhabited the persona of a 13-year-old boy and saw Jesus. "I absolutely believe in divine providence now, absolutely believe God totally cares about every single one of us intimately," she told Glasgow's Sunday Herald.Told you.
Sandra Lash | October 14, 2008, 1:11am | #
Some of my intellectual boyfriends tell me that I resemble Naomi, but I'm even better and wetter in my literary leather. Come watch me think of you while I touch myself in this youtube video.Sandra Lash Does Reason
kevin | October 14, 2008, 1:35am | #
lol. her name backwards is Flow I Moanalso i think her hair is hawt
The Angry Optimist | October 14, 2008, 1:56am | #
Truthers = America's TrollsHere's a conspiracy theory for you: the fact that her writer's block therapist didn't notice and attempt to treat her deeply seated paranoia is proof that the Scientologists are right about psychiatry.
Atlanta Matt | October 14, 2008, 9:22am | #
So I'm curious, what is her stance on gun control, seeing as she's afraid of a tyrannical government? I always wondered that the same people who are afraid of "King George" rigging the elections and declaring himself president for life are the same ones who want the government to have a monopoly on deadly force.Because, you know, we little people can't be trusted with dangerous things.
MG | October 14, 2008, 9:53am | #
Historical Coup d'Etat1) Mein Kampf/Project New American Century
2) 3rd Reich/43rd Administration
3) Reichstag fire/9-11
4) Austria (Anschluss)-Czechoslovakia (Munich Agreement)-Poland/Afghanistan-Iraq-Iran
5) Enabling Act/Patriot Act
6) 'Discriminatory Laws'/NSA & FISA surveillance
7) People's Court/U.S. Attorney dismissal
8) 'Night and Fog'/Guantanamo Bay
9) S.S. (Schutzstaffel)/Blackwater
collapsing economy
[Mefo bills/Federal Reserve bailout]
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936
suspending elections
[Reichstag Congress dissolved/?]
http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0403a.asp
declaring martial law
[Berlin, John Warner Defense Authorization Act]
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/
assembling detention
[Action T4, REX 84]
http://www.freedomfiles.org/war/fema.htm
assuming dictatorship
[Night of Long Knives, NSPD-51]
http://www.ww4report.com/node/3940
Globalizing currency
[Third Reich reichsmark/North American Union Amero]
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7854
Subsidizing operation
[Union Banking Corp/Security and Prosperity Partnership]
http://www.watch.pair.com/bush-nazi-link-3.html
Schwing! | October 14, 2008, 10:25am | #
Sounds like Miss Hyphenated-Surname is jealous of a woman who is able to mingle with various ideologies without becoming torn and confused.Salvius | October 14, 2008, 1:51pm | #
My favorite quote, because it is so (I suspect) unintentionally revealing:I had never entertained the remotest notion that a pro-life activist might have come to her or his position through motives recognizable to me—through sincere concern for poor women, or women's well-being, or for the sincere well-being of children as a whole.To people like Wolf (at least before she had this epiphany), those who disagree with her do so not because they are mistaken, or deceived, or even just proceeding from different assumptions, but rather they disagree because they are evil.
Stevo Darkly | October 14, 2008, 3:12pm | #
It occurred to me that my typo from yesterday, "Strike me a nutty," sounds like some kinda Scottish S&M term.Kant feel Pietzsche | October 14, 2008, 6:20pm | #
Nutrasweet: Beautiful, in a dark and twisted way. Would have been perfect as a Haiku.plutosdad | October 16, 2008, 10:39am | #
I've heard from others that it's difficult to run for office completely unknown and independent. And the usual complaints of bureaucrats being less than helpful - no reminders are sent out to make sure you get your docs in on time.And certainly if you piss off the 2 parties here in Chicago they have lawyers to challenge your signatures, your paperwork, etc. All of which is done in the open at hearings, not some invisible force. Some nobody is hardly worth the time for an organized conspiracy to try to keep down.
Naomi Wolf cares about this country, and if she is correct, and legislators were threatened with martial law if they did not pass the bailout, then I fear that Bush will carry through with his executive order to declare martial law Nov. 1, and suspend the election. He has deployed troops IN AMERICA, people, for CROWD control. He has had journalists arrested at the RNC convention. He will not give up power. This not hysteria, this is Bush's America (and ours.)