Obsession

[enjolras]

Has anyone seen this DVD about radical islam being distributed in various swing states? Theres also apparently a picture being distributed in the same publications portraying Obama as not only a Muslim, but a radical one at that....

This campaign just got REALLY ugly....

Disclaimer: I don't think it came from McCain, or that he has anything at all to do with it. But its very reminiscent of the swift boat lunacy of 2004.

[baja]

Has anyone seen this DVD about radical islam being distributed in various swing states? Theres also apparently a picture being distributed in the same publications portraying Obama as not only a Muslim, but a radical one at that....

This campaign just got REALLY ugly....

Disclaimer: I don't think it came from McCain, or that he has anything at all to do with it. But its very reminiscent of the swift boat lunacy of 2004.

Sure smells like Rove.

[enjolras]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/09/27/ddn092608evacweb.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=16

A bunch of kids at a mosque got gassed as well... I wonder if this video was the catalyst?

[Rohirrim]

I'm guessing that during October we will see the dirtiest politics coming out of the Right that has ever been seen.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

America's Elephant In The Room
By David Michael Green (http://www.regressiveantidote.net/)
September 25, 2008

The second most astonishing thing about American politics is that John McCain and Sarah Palin have a respectable chance of winning the White House in 2008. (Or, for that matter, that any Republican could have a shot at any office for which the Democratic candidate hasn’t suddenly died on the stump.)

Yeah, yeah, I know. Barack Obama has a funny name. He’s relatively young and inexperienced. Oh, and – have you heard? – he’s also black. But, just the same, I mean, c’mon. A Republican could win the presidency in 2008? You gotta be kidding, right?

All of this is deeply related, in multiple ways, to what is without a doubt absolutely the first most astonishing fact of American politics. And that is that conservatism (I prefer to call them ‘regressives’) isn’t the most repudiated ideology this side of cannibalism. And that regressive practitioners of this hateful disease masquerading as a political philosophy haven’t been tarred-and-feathered, hung, drawn and quartered, then run out of town on an electrified rail. And that any red-blooded American wouldn’t infinitely prefer in this day and age to be called a pedophile, a terrorist or a European – heck, or all of the above combined – rather than a conservative.

I mean, seriously, people. Now that Wall Street has imploded, potentially taking down with it the entire global economy in a fun reprise of the 1930s, what more could possibly be necessary to repudiate a set of ideas for which a good day is when thousands of people don’t die (again) as a result of anyone, let alone the world’s sole superpower, subscribing to something so astonishingly stupid? Really, is there anything that the regressive agenda has touched so far that hasn’t completely turned into a pillar of salt? Not only do these nice pious Christians show every evidence of actually being the antichrist, they’ve also managed to be the anti-Midas as well.

The scope of the destruction is breathtaking to gaze upon. The rapidity with which American affluence and power and respect and responsibility were converted into their opposite numbers is mind-boggling. But the most astonishing thing of all is the absence of repudiation. Not from subscribers, of course. That army of clones was so existentially terrorized in their impressionable years by some toxic stew of religion, racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-communism and/or some other forms of anti-otherism – along with a sinking economic status – that their cold, stiff fingers will never be pried from the politics of guns, gays and god. Especially now, when they can also add to their fears the blame for being so spectacularly wrong about everything imaginable these last decades. Who would want to own that?

But what about the rest of us? What, indeed. We still live in an America where almost nobody dares call themselves a liberal. But what’s even more bizarre – and I mean like watching-a-Twilight-Zone-marathon-in-Wonderland-sitting-there-with-Alice-and-frying-on-acid-while-listening-to-In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida-(“here-comes-the-drum-solo-man!”)-backwards-and-at-half-speed kinda bizarre – is the degree to which conservatism has not become a dirty word and a rejected ideology. For my money, this is the single most absolutely anomalous political curiosity currently to be found in what is surely one of the most curiously anomalous polities that ever existed. Oh, and, for the record, it turns out that that bit about ‘my money’ is quite literally true – a whole bunch of it has already been spent on the various insanities of this backwards ideology, and probably a lot of yours too.

But I digress. What is conservatism, and how should it be regarded? Like any ideology, it has lots of flavors and sub-cults, many of which don’t necessarily get along with each other, and certainly don’t agree on which conservative projects should be given priority at any given time. All the same, I think we can boil the ideology down to a few key concepts – indeed, ones that even our regressive friends would agree accurately represent the ideological program.

Traditionally, well... tradition has been key, as a matter of fact. One key tenet of conservatism is to avoid change. Reactionaries go even further, preferring the (typically heavily mythologized) world that grandpa inhabited. Economically, conservatism is all about low taxes, low government spending (except when it comes to cops and bombs), balanced budgets, low regulation of the private sector and privatization of any service which might otherwise be provided by the government.

This is why conservatives love to describe themselves as the ideology which maximizes freedom, but this turns out – shockingly, I know – to be a lie. Indeed, it first turns out to be a lie because in practice supposedly conservative governments break most of their own economic rules catalogued above. Saint Ronald The Reagan quadrupled the national debt by irresponsibly slashing tax revenue (especially for the rich) and massively increasing spending. Before he sold out the country for his own career aspirations, George H. W. Bush described that formula as “voodoo economics”. He ought to know. His voodoo spawn was not to be outdone by any White House predecessor. Or even all of them. Lil’ Bush has followed an irradiated version of the same formula as Uncle Ron and has now doubled all the national debt which was incurred by his 42 predecessors. Combined. Very ‘conservative’, eh?

But the even bigger lie is that the supposed ideology of freedom from government doesn’t even pretend to extend outside of the economic sphere. Ladies, would you like to control your own bodies? Better try another ideology. Real conservatives don’t even want you to have access to birth control or divorce, let alone abortion. Want the freedom to decide who you can sleep with, what you can do in bed (even if you’re a married hetero couple), and who you can marry? Oops, you stumbled into the wrong philosophy, brother. And don’t even get me started on substances of various sorts one might choose to imbibe, even to stay alive while undergoing chemotherapy. Freedom? Guess again. Unless of course you mean the freedom to live the life prescribed for you (but not themselves) by the likes of Jerry Falwell, Mark Foley, Larry Craig or Newt Gingrich, based on their selective misinterpretations of some obscure text written by hermit politicians 4,000 years ago in the Palestinian desert. (Where people are still fighting over ownership of the sand to this very day – hey, let’s follow that model!)

Cont'd....... (http://www.regressiveantidote.net/Articles/America%27s_Elephant_In_The_Room.html)

[alkemical]

Ya, i think i put this in my odditorium or something - I know i read about it before.

[stugotsII]

The documentary is a good one. It stays away from preaching politics.

[TheDave]

I got this in the mail the other day... just a deperate attempt to get peoples focus off of the economy.

[alkemical]

Did you watch it Dave?

[TheDave]

Did you watch it Dave?

I saw it a long time ago... I believe it was the topic of a thread here.

[alkemical]

I saw it a long time ago... I believe it was the topic of a thread here.

I can't keep track of threads here...

I haven't and probably won't. Not unless i do an inclusion into my 4 part series on propaganda, etc.

[TheDave]

I can't keep track of threads here...

I haven't and probably won't. Not unless i do an inclusion into my 4 part series on propaganda, etc.


It's a scare film... after watching this you would think that ALL muslims are "jihadists" at their core and it is just a matter of time.

[alkemical]

It's a scare film... after watching this you would think that ALL muslims are "jihadists" at their core and it is just a matter of time.

I can't take much more of this ****.

[Garcia Bronco]

I got this in th email and watched it. It's all crap, but there is some truth to it.

[Rohirrim]

It's a scare film... after watching this you would think that ALL muslims are "jihadists" at their core and it is just a matter of time.

We all better hope they're not given that there are a billion of them. This is just more fear mongering from the Right. Their "conservative" philosophy is in ruin. All they have left is the fear mongering.

[kappys]

America's Elephant In The Room
By David Michael Green (http://www.regressiveantidote.net/)
September 25, 2008

The second most astonishing thing about American politics is that John McCain and Sarah Palin have a respectable chance of winning the White House in 2008. (Or, for that matter, that any Republican could have a shot at any office for which the Democratic candidate hasn’t suddenly died on the stump.)

Cont'd....... (http://www.regressiveantidote.net/Articles/America%27s_Elephant_In_The_Room.html)

Somebody needs to explain to me why people are so astonished that Mccain/Palin are competitive in this race?

[enjolras]

I'm astonished that Palin, at least briefly, helped McCain's campaign. I can't understand why anyone would look at her and go 'that's presidential material right there'.

[stugotsII]

I'm astonished that Palin, at least briefly, helped McCain's campaign. I can't understand why anyone would look at her and go 'that's presidential material right there'.

The same can, and should be said about Obama.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Has anyone seen this DVD about radical islam being distributed in various swing states? Theres also apparently a picture being distributed in the same publications portraying Obama as not only a Muslim, but a radical one at that....

This campaign just got REALLY ugly....

Disclaimer: I don't think it came from McCain, or that he has anything at all to do with it. But its very reminiscent of the swift boat lunacy of 2004.

You must be ignorant to the negative smear spewed from every angle of media (save the conservative shills) concerning Sarah Palin. The campaign has been ugly for awhile.

It has been open season on the nations first female VP candidate since she was named.

[epicSocialism4tw]

I'm astonished that Palin, at least briefly, helped McCain's campaign. I can't understand why anyone would look at her and go 'that's presidential material right there'.

She is not a presidential candidate.

On the other hand, the less-experienced and overtly naive Obama is somehow a better candidate for president?

I would say that your take is interesting, but its not. Its the same old liberal talking points.

[Rohirrim]

She is not a presidential candidate.

On the other hand, the less-experienced and overtly naive Obama is somehow a better candidate for president?

I would say that your take is interesting, but its not. Its the same old liberal talking points.

So you equate Palin and Obama's educational accomplishments? Or just ignore them?

[epicSocialism4tw]

So you equate Palin and Obama's educational accomplishments? Or just ignore them?

Obama's education does not qualify him for political office.

It does, however, put him up front in the race for tenure at a University.

Those two careers are very, very far apart.

[Rohirrim]

Obama's education does not qualify him for political office.

It does, however, put him up front in the race for tenure at a University.

Those two careers are very, very far apart.

What would qualify him, IYO?

[epicSocialism4tw]

What would qualify him, IYO?

That question has a different answer for everyone who votes.

[Bob]

Has anyone seen this DVD about radical islam being distributed in various swing states? Theres also apparently a picture being distributed in the same publications portraying Obama as not only a Muslim, but a radical one at that....

This campaign just got REALLY ugly....

Disclaimer: I don't think it came from McCain, or that he has anything at all to do with it. But its very reminiscent of the swift boat lunacy of 2004.

Its been ugly for awhile now...

There will always be a small percentage of folks who think that Palin's baby is really her daughter's ... or that Obama is actually a closet Muslim -- both groups really shouldnt be allowed to vote, or have children -- maybe there is a higher percentage of these folks living in Florida, as that would explain why they cant figure out this whole new fangled voting process...

[Bronco Bob]

I got this in th email and watched it. It's all crap, but there is some truth to it.

That's the problem with propaganda. Most of it is utter crap, but there
is just enough truth in it to suck in the gullible. Sort of "Hey I know they
are right about that, maybe they are right about the stuff I don't know
about too."

[Bronco Bob]

maybe there is a higher percentage of these folks living in Florida, as that would explain why they cant figure out this whole new fangled voting process...

Such as the elderly Nazi death camps survivors that moved to Florida after WW2?

*These were some of the people who had the problems with the punch cards.
But don't expect the Bush apologists to tell you this. Let's just make out
they were too stupid to vote. Not that they may have been too frail
or lacking in dexterity to punch all the way through the card properly.

[Bob]

Such as the elderly Nazi death camps survivors that moved to Florida after WW2?

*These were some of the people who had the problems with the punch cards.
But don't expect the Bush apologists to tell you this. Let's just make out
they were too stupid to vote. Not that they may have been too frail
or lacking in dexterity to punch all the way through the card properly.

Gag me...unlike you I know one, and suspect that I support Israel a tad more than some around here.... weird that you woudl make a leap like that -- oh, forgot who your Messiah is...

By the way if you think Jesus was a community organizer, you may also be too stupid to vote. :wave:

[Bronco Bob]

Gag me...unlike you I know one, and suspect that I support Israel a tad more than some around here.... weird that you woudl make a leap like that -- oh, forgot who your Messiah is...


You said a lot of words. And even fell back on the old standard ploy
"Some of my best friends are Jews (Black) (Hispanic) (Asian)"

But I noticed you did nothing to deny this is what happened in Florida,
Mr. Rove.

[epicSocialism4tw]

By the way if you think Jesus was a community organizer, you may also be too stupid to vote. :wave:

Nice.