Video: MS-NBC discovers sexual terminology
posted at 2:17 pm on July 14, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
I discovered this through Tommy Christopher, who can’t believe that the term “blow job” requires not one but two apologies from MS-NBC anchors, especially since the same cable news network made a fetish of using “teabagging” as a sobriquet for tax protesters over the last few months. I’m a little confused, too. Didn’t the media argue that oral sex wasn’t actual sex? If so, why apologize for the use of this well-known phrase?
I guess I’m supposed to get the vapors from this segment, but I confess it registers about a 0.5 on the Outrage-O-Meter here. I’m not aware of any reason why the perfectly acceptable words “blow” and “job” cannot be combined to discuss a specific act of oral sex, especially in conjunction with a political controversy that occurred over a decade ago. It’s pretty amusing to see David Schuster get his knickers in a twist over it, though, looking downward and stammering like any good Puritan confronted with evidence of earthly pleasures.
What do you think? Is “blow job” an acceptable means of referencing that act on national television, or should we run screeching for the hills?
Blowback
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Shephard Smith could not be reached for comment.
lorien1973 on July 14, 2009 at 2:19 PM
The term “sprayed an intern” should’ve sufficed.
OhEssYouCowboys on July 14, 2009 at 2:19 PM
I object simply on the basis that blowjob is, and always has been, inaccurate.
No actual “blowing” should be taking place during the act.
MadisonConservative on July 14, 2009 at 2:20 PM
“J-Lo, who is more likely to receive a curb job than a bl*w job…”
teke184 on July 14, 2009 at 2:21 PM
the whole channel has been doing that for Obama and I find that more disgusting then the phrase.
rob verdi on July 14, 2009 at 2:21 PM
I dunno…it’s a bit tacky. I’d say something else, like “oral sex.” But I’m not gonna get my knickers in a twist about it one way or another.
Wonder what they’d do with “fellatio?”
Did I spell that right? My computer doesn’t recognize it and I’m too lazy to look it up.
Bob's Kid on July 14, 2009 at 2:21 PM
Damn you! You took the words right out of my mouth! And by “words” I mean words!
SouthernGent on July 14, 2009 at 2:22 PM
No, but “An erection lasts for more than 4 hours” during family time REALLY pisses me off.
marklmail on July 14, 2009 at 2:22 PM
Is anyone surprised by this from MSLSD?
Defector01 on July 14, 2009 at 2:23 PM
We can thank Shep for breaking ground first on cable news. Without him where would we be?
rollthedice on July 14, 2009 at 2:23 PM
I don’t think it is a cuss word. Again, it is descriptive. When you use the word, you know what they are talking about. I don’t think it matters.
ThackerAgency on July 14, 2009 at 2:25 PM
If she is confused about what a BJ is, Slick Willie will help…
Harry Schell on July 14, 2009 at 2:27 PM
MS-NBC is “Family-Oriented”? Now that’s offensive!
brennan251 on July 14, 2009 at 2:27 PM
Damn straight.
I’ve had a few gnawjobs that left me wincing…
LimeyGeek on July 14, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Say whatever you want. It’s MS-NBC.
bluelightbrigade on July 14, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Adide from the word – which I have no problem with; I am more miffed at the rambling “5 years for a bj investigation, Gonzalez was in the Cheney tank, etc.” still resides from the leftie nutjobs. Oops, I just said nutjob…
The blatant policizing of everything from the left, including Sotomayer’s hearings vs Alito/Roberts and Holders racial unwillingness to prosecute New Black Panther Party thugs, while dambbling in a Cheney witch hunt, ala Scooter Libby should strike fear in anyone.
Odie1941 on July 14, 2009 at 2:29 PM
Like this?
MadisonConservative on July 14, 2009 at 2:29 PM
A 4+ hour boner is worthy of its own website
LimeyGeek on July 14, 2009 at 2:29 PM
It only bothers me because Marcy Wheeler is a foul-mouthed FireDogLake blogger who has been trying to say “blowjob” on air for years.
Her point is wrong anyway. Plus, she was a huge cheerleader for the prosecution of Scooter Libby for perjury, so she someone being investigated for perjury for small things is not a consistent concern of hers.
MayBee on July 14, 2009 at 2:29 PM
Well, it’s crass. It’s similar to saying “nailing an intern” or “banging an intern” or something like that instead of something like “had sex with.” It just makes the network look even more trashy and unprofessional than it already does.
The reason those people used “teabagging” so much was because they felt pretty sure that a lot of people didn’t know what it meant. They figured the people who knew what it meant would find it funny and cool, while the people who would complain about it if they knew what it meant . . . didn’t know what it meant!
I don’t blame them for apologizing to viewers b/c that nervous ignorant lady’s comment was crass and unprofessional. I would have apologized to viewers if I were Schuster, too.
thebadoutlaw on July 14, 2009 at 2:29 PM
No, I think Shyster was looking down at something else…
d1carter on July 14, 2009 at 2:30 PM
And the blow job wasn’t what the special prosecutor was for. The special prosecutor was for lying. He lied about the bj so that’s what the investigation was about. If he had lied about something else this wouldn’t be an issue.
It all stemmed from his new sexual harrassment definition that he broke with Paula Jones. He had to lie because if he had told the truth that he indeed had sex with a subordinate employee, he would be guilty of sexual harrassment (under his new definition).
The idea is that if you don’t have sex with a superior, you wouldn’t get promotions. If you have sex, you do get promotions. It was pretty clear that Lewinski got promotions for having sex with Clinton and Paula Jones didn’t get promoted (but would have if she had sex with Clinton).
Clinton lied because he broke his own new law. And then lying became what he was impeached for.
IT WAS NEVER ABOUT SEX.
ThackerAgency on July 14, 2009 at 2:30 PM
It is perfectlyl OK to say “blow-job” when referencing to any host or anchor on MSDNC. Also acceptable …. “jerk-off”, “bath-tub boy” and “tingleberry gay-boy”.
fogw on July 14, 2009 at 2:30 PM
I saw something around lunchtime over 15 years ago, so I guess it had to be CNN. Anchoress started her piece on the poor quality of a bunch of summer sequels with, “Hollywood didn’t invent the idea of sloppy seconds, but….”
exception on July 14, 2009 at 2:31 PM
It doesn’t make sense on MSNBC. Technically, don’t you need a vaible penis?
marklmail on July 14, 2009 at 2:31 PM
That literally made me cry with laughter….thanks for that :)
LimeyGeek on July 14, 2009 at 2:32 PM
“I’m sure she apologizes.”
Talk about putting words in her mouth (dirty). That anchor on MSNBC is pretty ridiculous sometimes.
warrenmr on July 14, 2009 at 2:32 PM
Now I know how you spend your day.
lorien1973 on July 14, 2009 at 2:32 PM
If Eagleburger can get away w/ saying “pusillanimous” on TV, then I think “blow job” is kosher.
bluelightbrigade on July 14, 2009 at 2:32 PM
Well, that sucks. It may be hard to swallow for some folks, but I guess the quality of TV is going down. We see improvements now and then, but it comes in spurts.
Daggett on July 14, 2009 at 2:33 PM
The level of decency as a whole has declined in the media. I think the fact that we are even discussing whether this is appropriate is testament to that fact. Would we be having this discussion 10-15 years ago?
RR
ramrants on July 14, 2009 at 2:33 PM
Schuster is a putz….
cmsinaz on July 14, 2009 at 2:34 PM
It’s not a very cunning linguist who can’t think of a euphemism for ‘blowjob’ to use on-air.
andycanuck on July 14, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Come on! I think you just triggered my gag reflex.
Siobhan on July 14, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Are you a subscriber?
LimeyGeek on July 14, 2009 at 2:34 PM
I would hope news organizations would make at least a cursory attempt at decorum. This was hardly outrageous, but certainly not something to be encouraged or emulated.
wdomburg on July 14, 2009 at 2:35 PM
I had to actually look that word up…I had never heard it. Guess I am as stoopid as Palin. Must be why I like her.
RR
ramrants on July 14, 2009 at 2:35 PM
Those puns are making me gag.
MadisonConservative on July 14, 2009 at 2:37 PM
Well, that sucks. It may be hard to swallow for some folks, but I guess the quality of TV is going down. We see improvements now and then, but it comes in spurts.
Daggett on July 14, 2009 at 2:33 PM
he he! +1
max1 on July 14, 2009 at 2:37 PM
Neither. Just treat whoever said it for the crass idiot they are. There is no reason this shouldn’t simply have been described as a sexual act. The particulars are meaningless to the discussion. The only point of using crass language is to upset people and put them at ease and so make them less likely to engage. If she had been talking about Michael Jackson’s kids and described them as bastards instead of unaware who their biological parents are would that be an acceptable means of referencing their ancestry?
Rocks on July 14, 2009 at 2:38 PM
What’s far more outrageous than her use of the phrase “blow job” is that anyone thinks its more appropriate for a president to be getting one on the job in the oval office (while ignoring terrorism) and lying about it to grand jury than it is for a president to defend the people of the United States of America.
Anyone notice the resemblance of that bitter, angry liberal chick to the young Hillary Clinton?
American Elephant on July 14, 2009 at 2:38 PM
Much less offensive than saying “trillion dollar deficit”.
myrenovations on July 14, 2009 at 2:38 PM
Wait, I see what you did there.
FontanaConservative on July 14, 2009 at 2:39 PM
Palin isn’t stupid. :]
(I had to look it up, too…once)
bluelightbrigade on July 14, 2009 at 2:39 PM
WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT NOW!!!!
FontanaConservative on July 14, 2009 at 2:40 PM
It depends on what your definition of the word is is.
sleepy-beans on July 14, 2009 at 2:40 PM
It doesn’t make sense on MSNBC. Technically, don’t you need a viable p*nis?
marklmail on July 14, 2009 at 2:41 PM
Can’t imagine Schuster being uncomfortable with this after his three minute+ rant on Olbermann about “teabagging” using pretty much every double entendre imaginable.
CP on July 14, 2009 at 2:41 PM
“Oh, fuuuuu….”
:]
bluelightbrigade on July 14, 2009 at 2:41 PM
I prefer the term;
“Bubba was getting his knob polished…”
Jason58 on July 14, 2009 at 2:41 PM
BOOMSHACKALACKA
LimeyGeek on July 14, 2009 at 2:41 PM
It is far more troubling for me to hear some one invoking God’s damnation for any reason. Why not Sam Damn or Bill Damn any one but God whose damnnation we can’t imagine.
fourdeucer on July 14, 2009 at 2:43 PM
I seriously doubt that any little kids are watching this kind of show anyway. They’d be watching cartoons or MTV. So a slip like this once in a while is no big deal.
On the other hand, Howard Stern has been fined for less (IIRC, it was for saying either penis or vagina on the radio). The FCC picks and chooses who it’s going to go after, and I’m sure that the FCC under this administration will let MSNBC slide.
UltimateBob on July 14, 2009 at 2:44 PM
I still prefer the term “the big Lewinsky”. Not quite as vulgar and everyone get’s the meaning. :)
simkeith on July 14, 2009 at 2:45 PM
What makes me laugh is when they blank the word “god” yet leave the word “damn”. Very revealing.
LimeyGeek on July 14, 2009 at 2:46 PM
Not if you want to lower the discourse on the public airwaves/cable even further. Unless I am really, really, really angry about something I try to follow the advise I was given when I was little – ‘If you can’t or shouldn’t say it in front of your grandmother then don’t’.
Sporty1946 on July 14, 2009 at 2:46 PM
Yes, and those wooden announcers give me a headache.
BacaDog on July 14, 2009 at 2:46 PM
…..I think the Greaseman’s euphemistic “I spreckled her…” would’ve been better…
Dale in Atlanta on July 14, 2009 at 2:48 PM
That was the sign we lost our moral compass. Now we see the Extenze (penis elongater) spots on Fox News all day and night.
FireBlogger on July 14, 2009 at 2:48 PM
If I remember correctly, Shepard Smith was canned for two weeks after his little verbal gaffe. “Vacation”, suspension, whatever – two weeks. C’mon Shep, say it again. Every two weeks.
Marcus on July 14, 2009 at 2:48 PM
aka mouth hug aka lipstick on a richard aka conference with the executive secretary
CMonster on July 14, 2009 at 2:48 PM
“The royal penis is clean!”
/Coming to America
bluelightbrigade on July 14, 2009 at 2:49 PM
That was the sign we lost our moral compass. Now we see the Extenze (willie elongater) spots on Fox News all day and night.
I took out the offending male appendage wording Ed!
FireBlogger on July 14, 2009 at 2:50 PM
That is right in line with the saying people use when they go to the restroom. You actually can’t take a sh!t, can you? There is no “taking” but what you’re doing is considered to be ” leavings” (pun intended).
Americannodash on July 14, 2009 at 2:51 PM
Wait til they run those ads in 3-D.
lorien1973 on July 14, 2009 at 2:52 PM
LimeyGeek and I finally agree on something…that was funny as hell.
luvstotango on July 14, 2009 at 2:52 PM
Her entire statement should have challenged, she completely (and purposely) misstated why Clinton was prosecuted. He was prosecuted for committing perjury, not for the “blowjob.” This purposeful misstatement of facts should have been the subject of the apology.
Buford on July 14, 2009 at 2:52 PM
No that is not an acceptable means of referencing. I would prefer to use something classy such as fellatio or oral coitus. Either that or something sophisticated such as “head” or “dome”.
Shock the Monkey on July 14, 2009 at 2:53 PM
that’s something we can expect from a typical sewer rat on national tv
rjoco1 on July 14, 2009 at 2:54 PM
Personally the term being said on tv doesn’t bother me, but perhaps we could use the more clinical “oral sex” when kiddies may be watching. Though it should be child abuse to let your young ones watch MSNBC.
rbj on July 14, 2009 at 2:54 PM
Hilarious. The difference between teabagging and a blowjob is merely a few inches. Well ok, about 14 inches for us Canadian dudes. But still.
Gaunilon on July 14, 2009 at 2:56 PM
Nor is it really a room for rest. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t manage a nap with all those smells and sounds…
MadisonConservative on July 14, 2009 at 2:57 PM
Does passing out count as a rest?
Rocks on July 14, 2009 at 2:59 PM
Wow, 14 inches? Canadians stand pretty far apart during sex eh?
Rocks on July 14, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Only when mentioned by Helen Thomas………..
Seven Percent Solution on July 14, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Oral sex is what you get when you call one of those 900 numbers, right?
Daggett on July 14, 2009 at 3:00 PM
as the old saying goes ,”If an anchor on MSNBC says blowjob and nobody hears it, did she really say blowjob?”
RightisRight on July 14, 2009 at 3:01 PM
Your testes are halfway up your butt?
Daggett on July 14, 2009 at 3:01 PM
What’s so hypocritical about all of this is that Clinton got a pass on this behavior from many women, especially the feminists. He sexually exploited a subordinate in the workplace, something that Democrats had condemned for years and even passed laws against. And then he asked her to lie about it under oath.
What’s equally hypocritical is that Clinton’s own Administration had previously successfully prosecuted a female VA employee for lying under oath about sex. Can you say “double standard”?.
Del Dolemonte on July 14, 2009 at 3:02 PM
That counts more as a consciousness failure.
MadisonConservative on July 14, 2009 at 3:03 PM
It’s vulgar. I’d rather not hear it, nor read it here, still less some of the comments. This is a family site, or so I thought.
evergreen on July 14, 2009 at 3:05 PM
…. and she’s ugly.
Harpoon on July 14, 2009 at 3:07 PM
That chick (if I can use that word so loosely) looks like my 8th grade teacher. Hair, Glasses, way of barely opening her mouth when she talks.
Of course I was in the 8th grade in 1978, so she is a little dated. Obviously, Blowjob is a 1970′s word. Surely there is a more current term for said activity.
PappaMac on July 14, 2009 at 3:09 PM
MSNBC talking heads even apologize for lefty potty mouths.
Talk about blow employment.
RobCon on July 14, 2009 at 3:09 PM
The proper way to refer to a “blow job” is to call it a “Lewinsky”.
wildcat84 on July 14, 2009 at 3:09 PM
I believe comedians call what MSNBC does “working blue state.”
Mr. D on July 14, 2009 at 3:09 PM
While the term doesn’t offend me personally,I certainly would not have wanted my children to hear such language on t.v. when they were young.More disturbing to me is the fact that the term is simply uncouth.I was raised to believe that such language demonstates a lack of literacy,or a lack of respect for those whom one is addressing.
DDT on July 14, 2009 at 3:10 PM
They cut John Zigler’s mic but not the fugly lefty talking about her favorite pastime.
RobCon on July 14, 2009 at 3:10 PM
Have you met lorien1973?
myrenovations on July 14, 2009 at 3:11 PM
This just in……
“Has a blow job ever saved a starving child?…”
— Bill Clinton
Captain America on July 14, 2009 at 3:11 PM
Clinton lied under oath during a sexual harrassment inquiry that the feminist movement forced upon the nation when trying to destroy Clarnece Thomas.
RobCon on July 14, 2009 at 3:12 PM
You are right about the nap thing but it does not apply to women. Ever been in the womens restroom? They have couches to lay down on and rest. There are not many reasons to stand around in womens restrooms. You have two choices lay down or sit down. Mens restrooms on the otherhand is a sit on it or stand in front of the other kind of place. I’ll leave you with that.
[ps] Disregard everything I just wrote.
Americannodash on July 14, 2009 at 3:12 PM
Anyone else notice that this lady looks like Hillary?
Captain America on July 14, 2009 at 3:12 PM
From little acorns…. ;)
LimeyGeek on July 14, 2009 at 3:12 PM
She looks like she needs a good dickin’
LimeyGeek on July 14, 2009 at 3:12 PM
MSNBC stoops to get ratings.
What’s next Shuster. Stop taking about it and srart doing it. whatever works.
RobCon on July 14, 2009 at 3:13 PM
Yes. I was acquitted.
LimeyGeek on July 14, 2009 at 3:13 PM
I think the accurate saying is, “If an anchor on MSNBC says blowjob and nobody hears it, does that mean no one is watching MSNBC?”
RR
ramrants on July 14, 2009 at 3:14 PM
Obviously MSNBC’s Blowjobb expert. Try some Beeswax on those chapped lips.
lasertex on July 14, 2009 at 3:16 PM
Really? lol
Well…threads are like channels…you don’t have to watch them all.
bluelightbrigade on July 14, 2009 at 3:17 PM
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