Comments on: Obama-McCain: the World’s Main Event http://www.radioopensource.org/obama-mccain-the-worlds-main-event/ Christopher Lydon in conversation on arts, ideas and politics Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:09:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: jazzman http://www.radioopensource.org/obama-mccain-the-worlds-main-event/#comment-92620 jazzman Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:12:26 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=1255#comment-92620 <b>Potter:</b> Thanks for the link – sorry to be so long in replying, I just got back from vacation and had to clean my work slate. I checked out McCain’s position list and quotes (as well as Obama’s,) but with little knowledge of the context of the quotes, (i.e., who is the audience? Is he pandering etc.?) As for the votes on congressional bills, what layman has a clue to what deals, riders, and pet pork are embedded in there? (Even the Congress is ignorant of many bill’s contents, leading to fallout from the law of unintended consequences.) As you say, the assumed negative positions far outweigh the putative positive positions, and the more Obama’s vagueness disappears with his mounting position trail the less I agree with his take on the world. Still as a far lesser of the perennial 2 evils, he would have to mess up in a brobdingnagian fashion to tip the balance toward McCain. <b>Dr. Seuss:</b> Re: <i> Should EVERYONE have nuclear weapons?</i> No! No one should have nuclear weapons, it is folly to think that the insane doctrine of mutually assured destruction results stalemates vis-à-vis us vs. them or them vs. them. The sooner the nucular WsMD as well as “peaceful power purposes” genie is banished to the bottle the better off we’ll all be. If it is defending one’s country to rattle the saber of “total annihilation” (Hillary) or “anything in my power” (Obama) rhetoric, then don’t be surprised if the bluff is called and fearful nations on all sides of the manufactured threat believe that we have to get them before they get us. This is madness. I’m reminded of Tom Lehrer’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FgMTAj4f_o" rel="nofollow">Who’s Next</a>. BTW are you still in WW2 mode? <a href="http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/" rel="nofollow">Dr. Seuss’ Dark side</a> Peace to ALL Potter: Thanks for the link – sorry to be so long in replying, I just got back from vacation and had to clean my work slate. I checked out McCain’s position list and quotes (as well as Obama’s,) but with little knowledge of the context of the quotes, (i.e., who is the audience? Is he pandering etc.?) As for the votes on congressional bills, what layman has a clue to what deals, riders, and pet pork are embedded in there? (Even the Congress is ignorant of many bill’s contents, leading to fallout from the law of unintended consequences.) As you say, the assumed negative positions far outweigh the putative positive positions, and the more Obama’s vagueness disappears with his mounting position trail the less I agree with his take on the world. Still as a far lesser of the perennial 2 evils, he would have to mess up in a brobdingnagian fashion to tip the balance toward McCain.

Dr. Seuss: Re: Should EVERYONE have nuclear weapons?

No! No one should have nuclear weapons, it is folly to think that the insane doctrine of mutually assured destruction results stalemates vis-à-vis us vs. them or them vs. them. The sooner the nucular WsMD as well as “peaceful power purposes” genie is banished to the bottle the better off we’ll all be. If it is defending one’s country to rattle the saber of “total annihilation” (Hillary) or “anything in my power” (Obama) rhetoric, then don’t be surprised if the bluff is called and fearful nations on all sides of the manufactured threat believe that we have to get them before they get us. This is madness. I’m reminded of Tom Lehrer’s Who’s Next.

BTW are you still in WW2 mode? Dr. Seuss’ Dark side

Peace to ALL

]]> By: RC32 http://www.radioopensource.org/obama-mccain-the-worlds-main-event/#comment-92619 RC32 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:10:22 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=1255#comment-92619 Your Leprechauns and Fairies seem to share many of the same traits as our academic elites. Your Leprechauns and Fairies seem to share many of the same traits as our academic elites.

]]> By: Dr. Seuss http://www.radioopensource.org/obama-mccain-the-worlds-main-event/#comment-92618 Dr. Seuss Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:22:58 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=1255#comment-92618 RC32, I feel obligated to warn you about the Leprechauns and the Fairies. They were isolated for a long period of time in the forest and their social skills are not exactly fully developed. As a consequence they shun the light and do not make spiritual progress in their realm. They feel guilty that they did not contribute to the collective in an industrial manner, yet they reap the benefits of the resources. To compensate they use spite, antagonism, and tit for tat for its own sake while shunning other ideas and solutions. It is actually SPITE based on circular applications of a crude form of Natural Law. RC32,

I feel obligated to warn you about the Leprechauns and the Fairies. They were isolated for a long period of time in the forest and their social skills are not exactly fully developed. As a consequence they shun the light and do not make spiritual progress in their realm. They feel guilty that they did not contribute to the collective in an industrial manner, yet they reap the benefits of the resources. To compensate they use spite, antagonism, and tit for tat for its own sake while shunning other ideas and solutions. It is actually SPITE based on circular applications of a crude form of Natural Law.

]]> By: RC32 http://www.radioopensource.org/obama-mccain-the-worlds-main-event/#comment-92617 RC32 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:30:17 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=1255#comment-92617 Dr Seuss. Good points. I wonder if the same people who feel that other countries should also have a nuclear arsenal becuse we do,and as you state ''We are no better than they are" (I love moral relativism) Would also wish that Nazi Germany,and Japan had been given the Bomb during WW2. After all, we were no better than them. Dr Seuss. Good points. I wonder if the same people who feel that other countries should also have a nuclear arsenal becuse we do,and as you state ”We are no better than they are” (I love moral relativism) Would also wish that Nazi Germany,and Japan had been given the Bomb during WW2. After all, we were no better than them.

]]> By: Dr. Seuss http://www.radioopensource.org/obama-mccain-the-worlds-main-event/#comment-92616 Dr. Seuss Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:34:28 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=1255#comment-92616 Jordon, What is even HARDER to comprehend is why some people automatically fly off the handle when an American politician makes a statement in defense of his own country. Should EVERYONE have nuclear weapons? Would the world be “safer” that way so spiteful souls can say “now they have what we have” “we are no better than they are” (even though moral judgments aren’t the issue)? I got it – why don’t just GIVE the rest of the world ALL of our technology so we don’t have to be so spiteful and self loathing. Then we can relax in the thought that since everyone now has what we have, even though they DO NOT have the same legal and philosophical history that we do, we nevertheless put our faith in THEM; that they will not lose their temper on some silly personal detail and light the world ablaze. LOL, wanna take the risk? I’d rather try it out over YOUR tent, not mine! Perhaps the temperamental African warlords should also be given nuclear technology – so we can come full circle in our SPITEFUL WORLD VIEW that everyone is, well, “equal” – even though YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA or familiarity with what you’re talking about. Perhaps defending America should not even be a part of Obama’s job description, since being black AUTOMATICALLY bestows him with a greater wisdom on violence than his white colleagues. Oops, did I just say that? So then, when it comes time to brief President Obama on critical military issues when the COUNTRIES safety is at stake, we should just ignore the idea of telling him about it because he is so far above these things that he has become morally obligated to ignore it. OK, sounds like a plan. Jordon,

What is even HARDER to comprehend is why some people automatically fly off the handle when an American politician makes a statement in defense of his own country. Should EVERYONE have nuclear weapons? Would the world be “safer” that way so spiteful souls can say “now they have what we have” “we are no better than they are” (even though moral judgments aren’t the issue)? I got it – why don’t just GIVE the rest of the world ALL of our technology so we don’t have to be so spiteful and self loathing. Then we can relax in the thought that since everyone now has what we have, even though they DO NOT have the same legal and philosophical history that we do, we nevertheless put our faith in THEM; that they will not lose their temper on some silly personal detail and light the world ablaze. LOL, wanna take the risk? I’d rather try it out over YOUR tent, not mine! Perhaps the temperamental African warlords should also be given nuclear technology – so we can come full circle in our SPITEFUL WORLD VIEW that everyone is, well, “equal” – even though YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA or familiarity with what you’re talking about. Perhaps defending America should not even be a part of Obama’s job description, since being black AUTOMATICALLY bestows him with a greater wisdom on violence than his white colleagues. Oops, did I just say that? So then, when it comes time to brief President Obama on critical military issues when the COUNTRIES safety is at stake, we should just ignore the idea of telling him about it because he is so far above these things that he has become morally obligated to ignore it. OK, sounds like a plan.

]]> By: Potter http://www.radioopensource.org/obama-mccain-the-worlds-main-event/#comment-92615 Potter Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:22:55 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=1255#comment-92615 ( I am out of practice ) here is the link http://www.ontheissues.org/john_mccain.htm ( I am out of practice ) here is the link http://www.ontheissues.org/john_mccain.htm

]]> By: Potter http://www.radioopensource.org/obama-mccain-the-worlds-main-event/#comment-92614 Potter Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:22:12 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=1255#comment-92614 Hola Jazzman!- look <a>here</a> under the topics "Energy & Oil" and "The Environment" he has a few good positions. But as you run down the others- he is a disaster. Hola Jazzman!- look here under the topics “Energy & Oil” and “The Environment” he has a few good positions. But as you run down the others- he is a disaster.

]]> By: Dr. Seuss http://www.radioopensource.org/obama-mccain-the-worlds-main-event/#comment-92613 Dr. Seuss Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:28:14 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=1255#comment-92613 America’s involvement in Iraq has become a sort of quagmire of which many analysts have predicted that our presence there will span somewhere between one and four generations. At least that was the thinking in 2004. These things being time sensitive we’ve now come up with an idea that will negate the necessity of a formal surrender to the enemy. We will always be involved in the Middle East to a greater or lesser degree and we will always have troops there, but now we can go from an aggressive military posture to a defensive one with troop reduction. The familiar ebb and flow of wars gone by has transformed into a more technologically cohesive environment in which real time decisions yield real time results; leading to a more protracted situation in which the disputants and their egos have NO REASON to capitulate. We have finally figured out how to save face in the 21st century. How are we going to do this? With an American President who is the polar opposite of George Bush: Barack Hussein Obama. He has a Muslim middle name (not that that means anything by itself), he is black (not that this means anything), and he is far to the political left (also meaningless). He is the perfect candidate to negotiate a peace in the Middle East and win back worldwide respect for America. How? Because he is black, he believes in change, and we owe him at least that much for slavery. So what is the point of this post? Barak Hussein Obama is being INSTALLED to the Presidency of The United States of America by the CIA as THE ONLY SOLUTION to end our current level of involvement in Iraq: a familiar technique used by certain warriors throughout time. He came out of the blue and raised over a quarter of a BILLION dollars in campaign contributions given by individuals who work for companies such as Goldman Sachs and Time Warner of which only the amount is made public, but not the names of the multiple individuals within these companies who send in the money. Obama’s obscure origins are reminiscent of the lives of many great leaders including Moses and Jesus. We should take heed not to forget that religious imagery and war strategy are not mutually exclusive. Obama has been chosen … now that’s what I call true democracy. America’s involvement in Iraq has become a sort of quagmire of which many analysts have predicted that our presence there will span somewhere between one and four generations. At least that was the thinking in 2004. These things being time sensitive we’ve now come up with an idea that will negate the necessity of a formal surrender to the enemy. We will always be involved in the Middle East to a greater or lesser degree and we will always have troops there, but now we can go from an aggressive military posture to a defensive one with troop reduction. The familiar ebb and flow of wars gone by has transformed into a more technologically cohesive environment in which real time decisions yield real time results; leading to a more protracted situation in which the disputants and their egos have NO REASON to capitulate. We have finally figured out how to save face in the 21st century. How are we going to do this? With an American President who is the polar opposite of George Bush: Barack Hussein Obama. He has a Muslim middle name (not that that means anything by itself), he is black (not that this means anything), and he is far to the political left (also meaningless). He is the perfect candidate to negotiate a peace in the Middle East and win back worldwide respect for America. How? Because he is black, he believes in change, and we owe him at least that much for slavery. So what is the point of this post? Barak Hussein Obama is being INSTALLED to the Presidency of The United States of America by the CIA as THE ONLY SOLUTION to end our current level of involvement in Iraq: a familiar technique used by certain warriors throughout time. He came out of the blue and raised over a quarter of a BILLION dollars in campaign contributions given by individuals who work for companies such as Goldman Sachs and Time Warner of which only the amount is made public, but not the names of the multiple individuals within these companies who send in the money.

Obama’s obscure origins are reminiscent of the lives of many great leaders including Moses and Jesus. We should take heed not to forget that religious imagery and war strategy are not mutually exclusive. Obama has been chosen … now that’s what I call true democracy.

]]> By: avecfrites http://www.radioopensource.org/obama-mccain-the-worlds-main-event/#comment-92612 avecfrites Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:27:06 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=1255#comment-92612 Odds are that the next several years will be so unrelentingly grim that whoever is elected President will have license to make bold moves that have been unthinkable in recent years. We will need someone with the orientation to try big things. That means Obama. And the fact that Congress will be Democratic reinforces that only Obama can do the big things we will need. We need a Roosevelt now. McCain would just be a Hoover, wasting time on the impractical luxury of a discredited ideology. Let's elect Obama and not have to wait until the next election. Odds are that the next several years will be so unrelentingly grim that whoever is elected President will have license to make bold moves that have been unthinkable in recent years. We will need someone with the orientation to try big things. That means Obama. And the fact that Congress will be Democratic reinforces that only Obama can do the big things we will need.

We need a Roosevelt now. McCain would just be a Hoover, wasting time on the impractical luxury of a discredited ideology. Let’s elect Obama and not have to wait until the next election.

]]> By: jazzman http://www.radioopensource.org/obama-mccain-the-worlds-main-event/#comment-92611 jazzman Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:54:49 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=1255#comment-92611 <b>Potter:</b> OK I’ll bite, would you care to divulge some of the odd here & there positions for which McCain professes he maintains that you prefer? I’m sure he must have some positions which coincide with my own. One of my “laws” is that anyone who is able to appeal to a mass audience through rhetoric has to intersperse greater than 50% of what most persons would consider being “THE TRUTH” in the rhetoric, otherwise the mass appeal would not occur (even for the prime subject of Godwin’s law.) I used to listen to rabble rousers of all stripes in order to winnow the fallacies and what I considered valid points from their speeches (the better to discuss them with proponents.) Now I usually forego listening to the type as it accomplishes little. I too am disheartened by the numbers who (IMO out of fear) support such a psyche, but as Tolkien, Lucas, and Campbell are fond of noting, even the darkest of characters has a positive role to play in our dramas. Peace to ALL Potter: OK I’ll bite, would you care to divulge some of the odd here & there positions for which McCain professes he maintains that you prefer? I’m sure he must have some positions which coincide with my own.

One of my “laws” is that anyone who is able to appeal to a mass audience through rhetoric has to intersperse greater than 50% of what most persons would consider being “THE TRUTH” in the rhetoric, otherwise the mass appeal would not occur (even for the prime subject of Godwin’s law.)

I used to listen to rabble rousers of all stripes in order to winnow the fallacies and what I considered valid points from their speeches (the better to discuss them with proponents.) Now I usually forego listening to the type as it accomplishes little.

I too am disheartened by the numbers who (IMO out of fear) support such a psyche, but as Tolkien, Lucas, and Campbell are fond of noting, even the darkest of characters has a positive role to play in our dramas.

Peace to ALL

]]>