Libertarians, My Libertarians!
Cruel to be kind means that I love you . Because, while I think you are mistaken, your hearts are in the right place -- yes, even you, Silas -- unlike some people . This Breitbart fellow (discussed in the link above), by all appearances, deliberately doctored a video of Shirley Sherrod to make her remarks appear virulently racist, when they had, in fact, the opposite import. I heard that at a recent Austrian conference, some folks were talking about "Callahan's conservative turn." While that description is not entirely inaccurate, I must say that a lot of these people who today call themselves conservative give me the heebie-jeebies.
Maybe because all of the US networks were cowed into submission by the crackdown on journalists during the Democratic Convention.
ReplyDeleteI'm mostly f-ing with you at this point, Woody. I'm just curious when your candidate of peace and love will get to "be himself," in your mind. Is it after the election? Because right now he's promising to blow up Afghans.
Oh sorry... I misread your title. I thought you said, "Why does it take AlJazeera to get it right?"
ReplyDeleteNow my joke, in addition to being unfunny, is nonsensical.
Looks like Typical Cop video.
ReplyDeleteMy mind drifts back, to a meeting, a chance meeting, between me and a cop in Concord, CA. He stopped me for jaywalking. I thought he was kidding, and tried to joke about it. The asshole smacked me across the temple with his nightstick. I guess I should have been happy that he didn't write a ticket.
Looks like Typical Cop video.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I'm only pushing this because from your answer, it's not clear whether you got what I was saying. (Doesn't mean I'm right, just means I don't have a chance if you don't get what I'm saying. :))
Journalists were taking pictures of corporate big wigs going in to a meeting with a bunch of Democratic politicians (all senators, I think, but not sure) during the Democratic Convention. And then the police cracked down. I think they even took the film from somebody who had gotten a few of the big money guys going into the meeting.
So your notion that the Republicans are uniquely corrupt is crazy. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were gung-ho for the recent bailout heist.
Obama succeeded in freaking Chicago politics. Just because he can give a good speech (and boy can he) doesn't mean he's a good guy.
Oh Lawd No! I don't believe the republicans have a lock on corruption, although I do believe they're worse, since in general they represent liars, theives (like the oil industry) and those that would try to enslave us.
ReplyDeleteThere's a nice video of a security guy tasering a Florida college student while Kerry was speaking. I don't think Kerry wanted the young guy tased, it's just the pig mentality. I don't like cops. I'd never invite one into my house.
"So your notion that the Republicans are uniquely corrupt is crazy."
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get the idea Woody thinks that?
The reporter wraps up with a line that "hate and fear" are part of American society. Of course they are. What he doesn't show or prove is what proportion of the US electorate hold views similar to the ones displayed.
ReplyDeleteIt would be wrong to assume all people who plan to vote against Obama think that way. Indeed the attempts by many Obama supporters to paint Obama opponents as motivated by "hate" or "fear" represents just another kind of hate motivated prejudice.
Frankly I think we need to get the emotion out of political debate. And that includes "hate", "fear" and "hope" too. We need look the gift horses from either party in the mouth and count the teeth and not be swayed by emotive arguments of the fear mongers ...or the messiah mongers.
Is it possible to divorce emotion from politics?
ReplyDelete"What he doesn't show or prove is what proportion of the US electorate hold views similar to the ones displayed." I don't think anyone can prove what people really think. Very few people are going to tell a pollster, “I wouldn't vote for a nigger!” Yet I hear people say that every single day.
I live in the base and very real world. I inspect houses, and get to see how people really live. I talk to all kinds of people, and get the intimate details of all kinds of lives. People from all walks seem to spill their guts out to me every day. It's been my burden my whole life.
I've spent some time thinking about whether or not these redneck attitudes were representative of McCain/Palin supporters. So far I have a met a few people who seem to like Sarah Palin. They appear to have little or no formal education. They identify with her lack of credentials, ie, what makes her different. I haven't met a person yet who really likes John McCain. That doesn't mean they do not exist, but I am confident that they are a minority. Aside from Palin lovers, I haven't heard anyone express his or her support for the Republican ticket as anything more than pure opposition to the Democrat ticket. Many people have said to my face the very same things the hillbillies were saying in that video. I have a business associate who is fabulously well-to-do, owns a $3mm house free and clear, and who was furious at me for attending an Obama rally, because this person is convinced Obama is a Muslim terrorist. To vote against a person for his religion is considered valid and socially acceptable. I have a neighbor who is a well-known music critic and he is a social conservative. He's for McCain for all the negative emotional reasons: McCain is not Obama.
I think taking the emotion out is nice sentiment, but the world is ruled by passions. There's a disgraceful bunch of statistical data that will inform you of the average American’s ignorance. Let's not be intellectual fools, it is a slim percentage of Americans who possess the capacity to select a candidate for anything other than emotion.