The MSM still controls the message: change and hope
We can talk all we want about the power of the blogosphere and the talk shows. But the fact is that most people’s view of facts—and their interpretation thereof—is shaped largely by the MSM. For young people, the ground has also been lovingly properly prepared and fertilized by an educational system increasingly dominated by liberal and even Leftist thought.
Add to this the propensity of most people to either be so heavily involved with their own lives that they have little time to dig beyond the headlines and the TV ads, and those who just have little interest and inclination to do so, and you have a recipe for a populace more and more susceptible to media manipulation. And then notice that the MSM itself has become bolder and bolder in its “shaping” of the truth, its ignoring of stories that would reflect badly on its chosen candidates, its pumping up of every possible controversy about the opposition, and its misrepresentation of the views of said opposition, and you have a media that is responsible for even more than the ordinary 15-point candidate advantage of which Evan Thomas spoke.
There are also grass-roots efforts not clearly aligned with the press that can further the dissemination of lies favoring one candidate or another. I refer primarily to email campaigns spreading like wildfire from person to person. Early in this campaign there was an effort by McCain supporters to make it seem as though Obama is a Muslim. He is not (despite relatives who are), but the MSM used its power to help defeat that particular smear campaign by taking up the gauntlet to aggressively counter them. With the nomination of Sarah Palin, however, the email campaign against her has been tremendously successful, and the MSM has abdicated its duty to inform by doing virtually noting to contradict the “facts” therein.
I see and hear the evidence over and over in my friends. They repeat the talking points that they’ve been told: Palin is a creationist, she will campaign to end abortion, she made women pay for their rape kits, she thinks the Iraqi War is a holy endeavor blessed by the deity. Any attempt to tell them otherwise falls almost entirely (there are one or two exceptions) on deaf ears.
Sometimes they are explicit about not wanting facts—I’ve been told they are not interested in hearing what I might have to say even before I begin to speak. Another not atypical example is that of a friend who recently told me she really wasn’t interested in facts; what she does is to look at the example of how people live their lives, and Democrats clearly are better people who live better lives than Republicans.
This is about more than this election, although the election is certainly a big part of it. It’s about the way people think, and how they evaluate issues and people. If critical thinking has gone out the window, this country is in deep and perhaps even permanent trouble.
Here’s a comment from “csimon” in a previous thread that expresses some of my feelings and thoughts, and perhaps those of many of readers here:
…there’s been a slow burn underneath all of that is a slow burn that was submerged but has been growing exponentially. I realized a few days ago that this burn is reserved specially for the MSM. How can this be happening? How HAS it happened? There’s no way to really fight this. These are private enterprises, and despite big ratings losses ”” much as the NY Times circulation, it continues unabated.
…I try to talk to those who will listen. But fact is, so many people don’t want real information upon which to make an informed decision. It’s this guy, or that guy, and which one they LIKE better. Regarded more as entertainment than serious stuff with huge consequences to the future of our lives. Then, too, I probably am a bit overwhelming, which is a mistake I know (neo wrote an article about pursuading others some time ago), but my frustration about people NOT knowing so many things induces me to try best as I know how to give them real facts. (Then I get back: but I saw this on TV or read that in the papers”¦”¦.and I know my efforts are wasted).
I’ve been told I’ve become more pessimistic lately. It may seem that way, but I have hope. I still have not conceded the election. Although McCain’s campaign appears to be in grave danger, we have three weeks to go and reversals can happen. In addition, polls that include higher and higher numbers of Democrats in their samples are somewhat suspect. But I must concede that it doesn’t look good for McCain, and I think he missed what could have been a turning point by being extremely lackluster in the most recent debate.
I have other hopes. The first is one that has been voiced by so many, that once the country sees what happens in the hands of a Democratic Congress, Presidency, and judiciary, there may be a backlash. Also, perhaps the Republican Party will purge itself of its own excesses during its (hopefully short) years of wandering in the desert. In the meantime, I hope that enough Republicans remain in the Senate to preserve the ability to filibuster, the last vestige of minority power. I hope that conservatives will understand that ceding control of education to liberals was a very bad idea, and start to counter that trend.
If the Democrats do get control of all three branches of government as predicted, I would dearly love to be surprised in my assessment of the harm they are likely to do. If I’m wrong in my predictions and they manage to govern well, that would be just fine. I’d certainly rather have been mistaken in my forecasts than have the country go down such a dreadful path; I’d rather that it remained The Road Not Taken.
Critical thinking has never been a great influence among the electorate. We can be optimistic not because people might suddenly “get it”, but because despite all the soft money and self-interested lobbyists etc. we have a pretty good system.
As for D’s leading “good” lives and R’s otherwise, my observation is this sort of us-vs-them thinking is not only universal but heavily influenced by where we live. We want to be accepted in our community, and this effects how we vote. Most if not all of my family will be aghast if I vote McCain, where as I have friends to whom I could never comfortably admit voting Obama. Except for my preference to be rational, these influences could weigh more than any other in my decision. Extrapolate this impulse across the population, and there ya go.
As a former Lefty like you, I see the silver lining in the descending cloud being that my former comrades will now actually be forced to become accountable. I don’t see them taking a crash course in being grown-ups anytime soon, but at least there will be no ambiguity about who’s mess it is.
The most maddening thing has been the ease by which the Left has taken a holiday from history since late 2002. It’s damned depressing.
Different Don than the one above;)
Note that the polls are still close, not much more than the margin of error. McCain can still win, Obama hasn’t closed the deal.
The fact that it’s still in play highlights Obama’s weakness as a candidate. If he were a strong candidate, with the war, 8 years of Bush, the economy, etc., it would be a blowout that couldn’t be stopped.
The other point is: either way, it’s a win of sorts for Republicans. If McCain wins, he’s a RINO but he highlights the fact that the Dems still loose in the existing climate, which is ideal for them. If Obama wins, I expect it will be the last Dem victory in a very long time . . .
To add to what I wrote above, an Obama win would likely be better long term for Republicans, but an immediate disaster for America.
If ACORN can achieve an Obama victory this year, do you really expect them to be weaker 4 years from now? With 4 years of Obama appointed federal judges and supreme court judges? No, there will be no learning, no bouncing back from an Obama/ACORN victory.
What there will be is divisions so deep and lasting that the only precedent to come close is the 1850s. Not so much along racial lines, although there will certainly be that. The unbridgeable divisions will be jagged and bifurcating–like a fractal lightning bolt.
The undercurrents of discontent against the “legitimacy” of an Obama presidency could not be contained. Law enforcement will be pressed from both sides, likely to the breaking point in many jurisdictions.
McCain people will not riot immediately after the election if Mc loses–unlike the Obama people. The actual riot will be difficult to recognise for a long time, as it slowly unfolds. I sincerely doubt if anything can stop it, given the behaviour of the US news media, justice department, courts, and intelligentsia.
I’ve been around a long enough time (spent 1968 in the cloister of the naval aviation training command and managed to miss many of the supposed defining moments of my generation), and so think I can make a serious observation from experience: Some of our basic public institutions, political and educational institutions most especially, have failed, or have been corrupted by the left, which probably amounts to the same thing.
For many years I was a card-carrying Libertarian and was brought back to a more hawkish position by 9-11. Now I remember the psychic comfort of ignoring politics before 9-11 because I didn’t take politics or government seriously. Maybe it’s escapism, but it is so painful to observe the obliviousness of McCain and the Republicans, and to consider what is coming, that I want to escape.
Of course, there is no escape, so maybe we hope for a silver lining in this dark cloud. God knows what that might be….
I agree with the second Don above: an Obama victory is a short-term disaster for the U.S., but in the long run it flushes out the Leftist detritus that stumbles into power and makes a mess of it all.
I have been a first hand witness, many years ago, to the collectivists’ taking control of our education, media, and law. This has been going on for decades. Slow infiltration then gathered steam as the New Left’s Gramscian Marxists repackaged themselves as “progressives” and then burrowed deeply into all of the most influential institutions of our society.
They control the narrative. They did it very secretively and now it has such critical mass that it has dropped the bomb on us. The 18-30 year old demographic highly supports collectivism. This is no accident and it cannot be explained away by the economy and war, because these kids’ interpretation of those is a carefully cultivated indoctrination.
Even though the Big Media will go to great contortions to cover up the extent of the crises and messes to come, at some point a few of them will break ranks and the truth of the biased reporting will slip out.
This is a moment in our history that, sadly, has to be commenced. The referendum about the Left has to happen, because it’s been festering for years under the surface. I believe they will win this election, but that they will now be in a position where their mess is THEIR MESS. I don’t believe they will govern well, because Obama will govern from the Left. I see nothing in his background that would cause me to think that he would counterbalance what Reid and Pelosi will do.
Perhaps at some point in the future there will be a very hard backlash against the MSM. They played a key role in undermining our war against Islamic jihad and the terror sponsoring states. They have blood on their hands and eventually this will be made manifest.
If they attack the Constitution in blatant ways, who knows what crisis it could precipitate. I know whose side I will be on if the worst should ever happen in this country.
God save our Republic.
COLLECTIVISM IS THE BORG. FIGHT THE BORG AND STAND UP FOR LIBERTY AND OUR CONSTITUTION!
Neo,
I’ve experienced the same. I work with somebody who gets their news from SNL skits and very negatively judges Sarah Palin as “dumb”.
That sad negative assessment disregards all of Sarah’s accomplishments and the fact that she has more “executive” experience than any of the other 3 guys. And while an executive took on some tough battles and reshaped some things in Alaska.
When it comes to “legislative” experience that Obama has, he has done VERY LITTLE except vote and only sometimes as he has the highest percentage of voting “present”. He hasn’t drafted legislation that anyone can point to and say, “see, this is why I’m voting for Obama!”.
Yet people around me callously – yes callously and very meanly – have said that they are afraid to have Sarah be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. They don’t apply those critical thinking skills to Obama.
People around me also say, “it shows a lack of judgment on McCain to pick Sarah because of her lack of experience”. During my discussion with them they FAIL to hear that Obama has less experience. They say McCain should’ve picked Romney. I respond that while Romney has a great amount of experience there are lots of factors McCain considered and that likability, charisma, low negatives and high positives might’ve been other factors and we can’t second guess what would’ve been quite an analysis on McCain’s part.
The propensity for people to be so callously negative, judgmental and have such lack of critical thinking gives me pause some days.
But then – I know most of us will go on living our lives as usual. During my 20 year career I’ve worked to excel, learn more, be an asset to whoever I’m providing services to. I work to save for the rainy day, live within my means and while I think the policies of the United States do not promote personal responsibility – I will be personally responsible.
I leave it to those callous people who are negative to continue to be negative and be so affected by their environment.
I will be happy now and at the end of my life knowing that I did my part for my daughters, my partner, and myself in choosing positive words and actions. Because the only person I can control is myself.
Yes – it would be nice to feel “heard” sometimes by people who do not want to be bothered by critical thinking and facts…. and for that reason I choose my friends based on the respect I get and how well I feel heard or not. It is so damaging to the spirit to engage with somebody who doesn’t give you the common courtesy of hearing you.
P.S. As a former lefty in 1991 (who had a core belief change that year when visiting the library 3 times a week that year) I know from where a lefty speaks as I had the same thought processes…. sometimes it is helpful. But it can only be helpful if the other person is ready to hear an alternative point of view that they might follow up on.
You make a good point about the MSM shaping the way the news is fed to the people. I see it as the same way an astute commander shapes the battlefield so that an adversary is faced with choices he would have never made if he had control. Thus, in terms of coverage of the Iraq war, for the first four years it was a steady diet of horrible casualties, alleged atrocities, proven or not, failures and delays of reconstruction, corruption of Iraqi officials and so forth. There were a thousand ways to demonstrate the futility of the war, all of them truthful. The contrary side was rarely shown: restoration of water, power and security. Yes, those moved slower than anyone had forseen except the most rabid anti-American commentators. Now that AQI has been routed and the Sunni awakening has succeeded, where are the MSM writers? Nowhere to be found. If they don’t write or report about the war, it ceases to exist. This is the kind of bias that is impossible to prove, yet we know that exists just as surely as we know from a blanket of snow on the ground in the morning that snow fell, even though we didn’t see the storm.
Neo,
Though I’ve pretty much resigned myself to an Obama maladministration, I find it hard to adjust to what I believe is already here, in a certain sense, a deep corruption of our fundamental constitutional and institutional safeguards. The ACORN imbroglio is most instructive in this connection: just imagine for a moment how much uproar it would have caused had it been a Republican “get-out-the-vote” effort that had been so thoroughly corrupt. The left thinks the corruption is not really a serious issue because, hey, all of this is just going to help the good people, the right people, to win.
Nothing matters at all as long as the good result, the right result, is attained.
Jamie Irons
It is never over until it is over; but it sure would help if McCain would try to win a debate. Forget associations and show “the one” for what he is, a far left partisan politician.
My greatest hope remains with the “Silent Majority”.
It is very real, comprised of folks who abhor confrontation and arguing with loons, and is likely to respond to the left’s “get into their faces” tactic by going into the voting booth with “Vengeance is mine!” in their thoughts.
They aren’t big on demonstrations or political stickers (I suspect that the likelihood of people actually going to the polls and voting is inversely proportional to the number of stickers on their cars), but they DO go out and vote.
Obamaphiles: notice how many cars are free of political stickers; and be afraid, be very afraid 🙂
One thing I think we will see is in effect a small version of “Atlas Shrugged”. My fiance and I own a small business that I’m sure will be a target of Obama’s generocity using my money. We don’t make a lot and where we live in New Jersey you need to make a bunch just to keep your head above water. We have already made some plans on how we can alter our business plan and fly below the radar and I’ve talked to many of our customers and they mostly say the same. Much of Obama’s planned on income will disappear into the ether and he will then have to reach further down the income scale to make his promises come true.
Listen to the Postmodern gibberish that emanates from the Academy, watch the one-sided propaganda, not news, on TV–if you can stand it–watch the violent, left wing, anti-American crap that comes out of Hollywood–again, if you can stand it, poke around a little bit and investigate present day El-Hi curriculums and textbooks, listen to what usually passes for wisdom and rational debate coming from most people who are products of these influences and the conclusion is inescapable; we’re screwed.
For once the tired and overworked to death cliché about a “critical turning point in history” is correct.
I suspect that if Obama & Co win, “His Fraudulency” and his whole crew are–like a parasitic tick or tapeworm–going to burrow very, very deeply into the government and body of America and by the time they get done parasitizing, rewiring and rigging every aspect and institution of American government–the Congress, the Supreme Court, Cabinet level and Executive Agencies and their myriad laws, regulations and procedures, that have a great impact on almost every aspect of American life these days, and they subvert all the other aspects of American life they can get their hands on, it is going to take a counterrevolution, and very likely a violent one, at that, to dislodge them. Try to imagine, for instance, a MSM during an Obama administration–supposedly the first line of defense for our freedoms in America–that would honestly and forthrightly report and sound the alarm about any excesses of such an Obama administration, to warn citizens of the dangers to our democracy. Can’t imagine it? I can’t either.
Let me remind you: Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn–the Weathermen’s 26 bombings, 4 killings and 3 dead bomb makers and “they didn’t do enough”, both now pursuing the “revolution from within,” “in the belly of the Beast,” by subverting American elementary education and our system of juvenile justice and family law, Obama’s quite bent Communist mentor of his teenage years, Frank Marshal Davis, Saul Alinsky’s amoral techniques of “agitation” and “rubbing raw the wounds of discontent,” Obama and Ayers spending $110+ million in 4 years of work together on the Annenberg Challenge, funding far left radicalization and Black identity politics in Chicago’s schools, Obama & ACORN, “housing rights, ” intimidation of banks, the Democrat’s Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 and the beginning of the subprime catastrophe, 20 years of the Rev. Jeremiah “God Damn America” and Black Liberation Theology, Obama’s membership in the Democratic Socialists of America, Obama’s almost meteoric rise through the especially corrupt politics of Chicago, Tony Rezko, Obama and his ties to “ex-PLO operative” Rashid Khalidi, Khalid al-Mansour and Edward Said; Jew haters all, State Senator Obama’s arguments and votes in the Illinois State Legislature against providing life-saving medical care for any babies born alive after botched abortions, and on and on and on, with more of Obama’s dubious statements, actions and associates popping up every day.
Honestly, can you see someone like Obama, and the whole radical left “by any means necessary” crew he will bring on board to fill all the key positions of power in an Obama administration and run the government, giving up that power, if Obama were to be defeated in a fair and democratic election? I’m afraid I can’t, and if Obama gets in, you can be sure that there will never be such fair elections as long as they are in power, because instead of just ACORN drumming up millions of phony voters and votes as it’s doing in this election, if Obama wins, in the next election–one way or the other–it will be the Obama run government itself doing the drumming this time around; welcome to the banana republic of America.
Some of the comments above convince me that the MSM is less a “news” service and more partisan and closer than ever to being inconsequential in ordinary people’s lives. Just who is left to be influenced by the New York Times? The NYT is preaching to the choir as are most other big city DNC rags posing as newspapers. Who watches FOX or MSNBC but the already convinced. It takes a clear answer to about six questions to determine where a candidate stands. The debates, interviews, newspaper and magazine articles are beyond useless. The two year national election cycle is an abomination. You want election reform, reform that.
Most wonderful post, neo.
As I began to read today’s post, I felt as if you had gone inside my head and had written down my thoughts almost verbatim. Then, boy was I surprised to see an excerpt of a previous comment of my own! (I take that as most flattering as I admire neo’s commentary and writing so.)
I actually do feel pessimistic these days, because of the frustration of people either not being interested in real facts, or their unqualified acceptance of MSM pronouncements, even as the media has become so brazen in its bias. The other night I saw a clip of Tom Brokaw saying something so outrageously denigrating about John McCain that my jaw dropped. I actually TIVO’d it back to rerun it to be sure I had heard correctly. Not only has he been a mainstay of one of the “Big 3” network news stations, he also moderated the last debate. (Just the fact that the “Presidential Debate Commission” (did you even know there was such a thing?) thought it appropriate to have all four debates (V.P. included) moderated by liberal broadcasters is an indication of how flagrantly unbalanced things have become.
Of course, adding to the problem, is the movement of the media from a generally left-of-center point of view to rather extreme left positions, mirroring the change in the Democratic Party.
In spite of all this, and despite my growing frustration, I, as neo, do retain hope. Hey, look at all us ex-Lefties that have switched! And there is a reason that Fox News has become so huge in its relatively short existence, even with it being in vogue to disparage its content. Supposedly, Fox News’ audience is actually about evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. It seems that while a lot of folks speak out one way, they privately are more open-minded than they would like to indicate. Perhaps that is a portent of the election? One can only hope.
P.S. Pls. excuse my repetition of words in my post which neo excerpted. I hate proofreading!
For many years in France, newspapers survived not on advertising but on subsidies from the Government. Officially this was to support the diffusion (a fine french word) of information to the public, but was of course a tool for whatever party was in power. There were papers of the right, left, monarchist and every shade in between. People knew the papers were biased but seemed to pick up the same meme regardless. People seem to need a central pole to hang on to, even if it is the Daily Show.
Conformity is a strong urge. It is especially strong when you are not self reliant and see your self at the mercy of stronger forces. Interestingly I see skilled tradesmen are among Sarah Palin’s biggest fans. This is not because many are hunters or shooters, but that their skills are portable and recognizable. A laid off middle manager got his high pay from his seniority and contacts within a large company and may feel at risk. He may see Obama as providing restrictions on his company’s ability to fire him and feel better. Of course back in france this results in 12% unemployment (25% among the young) but that is for someone else to worry about.
Those who actually think Obamanation will be a short-term process for cleaning out leftist counterproductivity from the system are living in a fantasy world. Obamanation is a one-way street. Look what Clinton did with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as a mere afterthought. Look what the results are today. What Obama will do to all branches of government and governmental oversight of the economy in the name of the world’s poor, global warming, social justice, redressing historical grievances, packing the courts, etc. etc. will not be undone for many decades.
Reagan was lucky that the left had not consolidated its hold on the media and the university quite completely. He was hounded his entire presidency by the pseudo-intelligentsia, but nothing like what a President Romney or Thompson would have suffered.
After eight years of consolidation and indoctrination under Obamanation, the die will be cast for at least half a century. Atlas Shrugs it most definitely will be, at the very best.
“what she does is to look at the example of how people live their lives, and Democrats clearly are better people who live better lives than Republicans. ” I keep wishing someone would tell me about the solar powered house Obama lives in- but since the media is not bragging about it- I am guessing he is another Al Gore hypocrite in this regard.
I have been depressed about all this for quite a while. There is a part of me that hopes they overstep too fast and people rise up. They might trigger it with “Hate Crimes” laws. Try to arrest all the preachers who speak against homosexuality. There are a lot of preachers who don’t really make a big deal about homosexuality on a regular basis, but would preach a sermon against it just to challenge such a speech law.
Half the population of Blacks in LA has moved/ run out from this major American city since the early 1990’s, if the “Southern Poverty Law Center” is to be believed, yet the main stream media would rather tell you about some “noose” down south.
The internet and alternative media will be in their sites for regulation. Don’t forget, a few years ago the UN tried to gain control of the internet. If that happens, sites like “Jihad Watch”, “Little Green Footballs”, “Gates of Vienna” etc will be shut down.
When I was a kid in Church they would talk about this future evil “Anti-Christ” that would rule the world for a while (NOT Saying Obama is the Anti-Christ). I used to think how stupid could people be to let one man come to power like that. Now I understand. The Western National borders are being destroyed and people are like sheep. Course now I suspect those Christian prophecies may be about a revived Roman Empire- not a true one World Government. I hear the French President has been pushing for a “Mediterranean Union.”
I agree with Al Fin. Those who think that all will be saved after conservatives/Republicans suffer a 4- (or 😎 year Season in the Wilderness are deceived. From this day forward and perhaps forevermore, we shall be living in an actual one-man, one-vote, one-time world. Would that it were not so, but I fear that the evidence points rather strongly towards it.
I recall more every day that Rush Limbaugh used to say that he doesn’t believe in conspiracy theories. I would love to ask him what he thinks now. What is shortly to come has been in the offing for a good while now, and nearly none of it is a matter of chance.
.
Yikes! Where did that smiley come from? I meant it to be 4 or 8 year Season in the Wilderness, appropriately hyphenated.
I also added (I thought) an italicized “Adieu, l’ancien regime.”
Neo–It just keeps getting worse and worse. Talk about the MSM controlling the narrative. Unpleasant, but it must be discussed (adult content warning).
Obama devoted a whole chapter in his autobiographic “Dreams From My Father,” to the very influential father-figure and mentor of his teenage years, the black man he only identified as “Frank,” for reasons that will soon become apparent. According to Obama, Obama’s maternal grandfather, “Gramps,” was friendly with Frank–they often drank whisky, smoked pot, swapped stories and played scrabble together and Gramps introduced young Obama to Frank, because he thought that Frank–who had a white wife and mixed race children– might have a better handle than Gramps about where Obama was coming from and would be a good influence on Obama.
Our MSM has not uttered a peep about Frank and his identity–although I am quite sure they know all about him–only the National Inquirer has covered this and that just today (see http://tinyurl.com/4qac3e)–but the UK’s Telegraph did some research on “Frank” several weeks ago (see http://tinyurl.com/6r6nrl0 and http://tinyurl.com/4cr49t).
It turns out that “Frank” was Frank Marshall Davis, an angry black man, a member of the Communist Party– who the FBI and Congressional investigating committees thought might be a rather active member, too– a poet “Smash On, Victory Eating Red Army,” a newspaperman and writer, a heavy drinker and drug user and an admitted “pervert” who wrote a hard core autobiographical sexual memoir under a pseudonym–he later admitted authorship–that talked, among other things, about his bisexuality, exhibitionism, voyeurism, masochism, fondness for being urinated on, and love of threesomes with his wife and those sexual partners he found trolling Honolulu–male, female, or underage children–according to these articles, at least one specific 13 year old female, Ann,–who a friend had left with Frank and his wife to take care of for a few days–is mentioned. Said Frank, who claimed Ann had asked to have sex with him and his wife:
“I didn’t want to disappoint the trusting child. At her still-impressionistic age, a rejection might be traumatic, could even cripple her sexually for life.”
Obama tells in “Dreams” of often visiting Frank and asking him for all sorts of advice on life and being black and–among all this whiskey drinking and pot smoking–Obama, too was drinking Frank’s whiskey and Obama also writes that he was doing marijuana and “smack” during his high school years.
In Dreams Obama quoted Frank as saying things like this:
About going to college —“Leaving your race at the door. Leaving your people behind. Understand something, boy. You’re not going to college to get educated. You’re going there to get trained.”
He added that “they’ll yank on your chain and let you know that you may be a well-trained, well-paid ni..er, but you’re a ni..er just the same.” (http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/archives/275493.php)
You see now why Obama did not further identify Frank.
So, Neo, what kind of an “influence” do you guess “Frank” might have been on a young and confused Obama and what might their relationship have been like?
but my frustration about people NOT knowing so many things induces me to try best as I know how to give them real facts.
I’ve learned to accept that there are people who want the truth and then there are people who can’t handle the truth and know they can’t handle the truth. If you find a truth seeker then he or she will make you give them knowledge. That is what they seek and they will pester you for it, if they believe you have more of it than they do.
The people who don’t want the truth, Neo, are a waste of time. This is just the bell curve of humanity. Some people are this way, most others are that way.
America is great because she can separate the wheat from the chaff, you see.
I’ve been told I’ve become more pessimistic lately. It may seem that way, but I have hope. I
You’ve become more open about your feelings and less stoic, as I call it. I wouldn’t call that more “pessimistic”. I would simply call that more passionate, Neo.
Personally, I like your “new” tone of voice ; ) But of course I would, wouldn’t I.
What sticks in my craw about Obama is this: his overwhelming popularity among our most young and vulnerable voters, the least experienced, and least able to critically examine the things Obama stands for. The demographic of 18 to 30 year old people. Urban, college students, and SINGLE, WHITE FEMALES. That at every step of the way in Obama’s journey he has associated with scumbags and the worst sorts of people. They are allies of his: killers, liars, thieves, and terrorists.
What has happened to our people? That they banish all traces of critical examination and moral judgment.
Tho’ I moved “right-ward” some time pre-9/11, 9/11 changed my life and my entire way of thinking about most things — particularly political. It enlightened most of us re: the existence of such a deep hatred, and the willingness of a segment of mankind to devise and execute plots specifically designed to kill unimaginable numbers of innocent human beings. It also revealed a threat to the way of life that many of us have taken for granted. For a short while, everyone felt united and seemed to “get it” — “it” being the immediate need for defensive action, and even offensive action to protect our people and our way of life.
This lasted a relatively short time, and I have to say, I am continuously appalled at the short memories of fellow citizens. I live in NYC, the very location of the attack, and I am constantly amazed at the collective memory loss — I remember so accutely the destruction wreaked in less than 1 hr. on a beautiful sunny morning.
I think the left bias of the MSM is largely responsible for the rapid re-shaping of the public’s collective mind (or perhaps mindlessness is more apt). Some 80 – 85% of the country was in favor of both Afghanistan AND Iraq, given the attack and the intelligence available (as sourced from a number of other nations in addition to our own). I don’t think there were many (if any) who LIKED going to war; it was viewed as necessary “evil”, if you will. So few remember. Or find it significant that while there have been numerous successful bombings in Europe and other parts of the world since 9/11 with additional plots exposed, we have been safe. I find it amazing.
Much of this must have to do with the information we receive and the deliberate sifting thereof. The MSM has gone beyond the pale — I think in the name of Bush-hatred and political gamesmanship, to chip away at the legitimacy of self-defense via their power to deliver a continuous stream of filtered information This applies not just to the fighting (which people also seem forget was purposely taken to foreign shores to better protect Americans), but also many of the banking actions, wiretap regulations and so on that the liberal left vehemently oppose I think this age of instant information, and gratification has also contributed to the demise of much critical thinking; so much easier and faster to swallow quick messages and take in bold headlines without ever getting to hard news facts. It has further enabled the MSM.
The complicity of half of our Legislature is not to be ignored. All of this attributable to politics and the willingness to suspend reality to beat the political opponent despite the consequences. Wishing for failure of our mission is incomprehensible. How is it possible for so many to forget what it was all about to begin with??!! (I guess it’s called brainwashing. And they say WE’RE brainwashed!)
I fear the clock is ticking, and I envision terrorist leaders fairly licking their lips at the prospect of Obama winning the Presidency. His international policy thinking is naive at best, and viewed as great weakness by those who would do us harm. I believe that it is inevitable that other plots are launched with the hopes of doing ever more damage and destruction, but I think there is a wariness of McCain and a conscious fear of the level of reprisal he would be willing to take in the name of national defense. I even believe Hillary would have had a more realistic attitude and a willingness to do what is necessary to defeat an enemy that we might wish does not exist, but does nonetheless (this coming from a longtime Hillary disliker).
With all this to consider, the checks and balances in our government are all the more critical. Should Obama win, and a Democratic majority obtained in both the House and the Senate, there could be significant repercussions.
Al Fin has it right. An Obama victory shapes up as a watershed.
If he wins big, his coat tails should be sufficient to provide a strong majority in House and Senate.
It is possible that he will appoint 3 Supreme Court Justices in his first term. Senate confirmtation of Left wing justices becomes assured.
There is a backlog of Federal Judges. No telling how many he will appoint.
The bureacracy is already leans heavily to the left. With hard left polictical appointments he will have a hammer lock.
ACORN and like minded orgaizations will not get weaker.
The Fairness Doctrine could very well silence the few voices that remain.
Unionism could resurge and become a major political force with the abbrogation of the secret vote.
The stars are aligning in a very troublesome way. It could be a very long time before the pendulum swings back–if ever.
Well, I think we are done as a free society. Whether we are done completely is another matter, and the signs are not good. I agree with csimon and oldflyer. I wish I didn’t.
Obama is not only a fool. He is also a tool. Someone is using him. I wonder who, and at the same time I’m not sure it matters.
We need a leader, and I don’t see one. Of course, it may be true that we won’t see the one we need until the need becomes ultimate. I’m not liking the odds for freedom, though. As a very basic position, I think be wise to recall something we used to say back in the ’60s, in a completely opposite connection: Don’t say anything on the telephone you wouldn’t say to the police.
Is it possible that we’re actually going to face 1984? I hope not. I fear so.
Ah yes. Yes indeed. We are being controlled by the evil liberal MSM and the evil liberal public school system. That’s why we must home school, watch FOX and use Conservapedia too. There lies the truth.
Amen to you all. Short of a violent redress of grievances, if Obama gets in, we’re done, finished, kaput.
Peter, you ignorant slut. If you really were from Alaska you wouldn’t be such a pathetic wanker. We drown the weaklings at birth.
Tom, no violent redress of grievances is necessary. Only an honest vote. That would be quite sufficient. Unfortunately, it is looking less and less likely by the day that an honest vote will be forthcoming.
If ACORN and other friends of Obama do their worst and cut through all the weakened safeguards at voting stations in heavily democratic districts in “battleground states,” swinging the election, a lot of the truth will eventually come out. Long after the election. When faced with genuine voter fraud what do you think the MSM will do?
What do you think X and Y and Z will do? The best way to beat a federal indictment is to get elected president and fire all the US attorneys working on your case. It worked for a recent US President. It could work for others.
“Peter the Alaskan Kid”
Have you ever read the Communist Manifesto? Das Kapital? The works of Theodor Adorno, Antonio Gramsci, Jurgen Habermas, Lenin?
Have you ever read intelligent critiques of socialism? Have you ever gone into depth and developmental psychology, genetics, and neuroscience articles dealing with the defects and deficiencies of humanity that can hard wire evil into the neural networks of a sociopath? Even ones who have had pretty good parenting, without violence and abuse?
There can be no Utopia in this dimension. We are flawed, selfish, and every attempt at socialism and communism has ended in failure.
Socialism is contrary to human nature. I tried to get around that one for many years, delving deeply into the structure of thought, mind, heart, emotion, knowledge, and the physical aspects of existence.
Up to a certain point, redistribution does benefit society, but beyond the point that is confiscatory it depresses economic activity, investment, and job creation. People do not work for nuthin’.
Indulging stupidity and indolence serves no useful purpose save to demonstrate the utter futility of it.
A great deal of it is also going to depend on where you live.
Almost every single person I know gets their news from Fox News (this is through both my work and my hobbies) and believe that the MSM lies (even the very very very few Obama supporters say that too). Even when you go around to restaurants, laundromats, garages, basically any place that has a large group of people and usually has a TV displaying news it is on FOX.
Of course, living in Rural Tennessee I’m not so sure looking to my peers is any better than Neo looking around at hers – we both live in VERY politically consistent places (just opposite sides of the political spectrum).
I do note that because of costs since around the mid 90’s or so most pollsters only poll the larger population centers which are decidedly pro-Obama. IMO Obama really needs to be ahead over 10 points for much of a shot at popular vote victory – electoral (and actual victory) is obviously MUCH harder to define. That’s assuming that the so called “Bradley Effect” doesn’t come into play.
I posted this elsewhere earlier tonight, but it bears repeating, for what it’s worth:
I was at work today and just happened to go outside on my break when Sarah called Rush, so I got to hear the whole thing. Her call lasted about 10 minutes. She called on a cell phone, got cut off, and had to call back.
What struck me the most was how goshdarn cheerful she sounded. She really sounds like she’s having a ball with this campaign.
And that put things in perspective for me. Many of the political blogs I visit are full of gloom, doom, frustration and foreboding. I’m as guilty of it as anyone.
So I’m going to try really hard to keep her cheerfulness in mind as we hurtle down the home stretch towards Nov. 4th. It won’t be easy, since I tend to be a Gloomy Gus by nature, but if she can have fun when she’s in the eye of the storm, the least I can do is to try to avoid despairing.
An Obama administration will attempt a great consolidation of power. Congressional districts will, if necessary, gerrymandered in an attempt to keep a large majority in the House. Opposition media will be oppressed.
But this will all pale in comparison to the mistakes that will be made in foreign policy. There will be violent upheavals as the anchor of American power will no longer be a factor.
However, as we all know with our friends on the Left…it’s never their fault. They’ll find a scapegoat, and I have a good clue who that will be. Where is my suitcase.
Here is a blog I discovered a week or so ago. The author is an accountant who analyzes the polls, and is very critical of how they are portrayed to the public. He believes this race is much, much closer than we’re being led to believe.
I don’t remember if I have linked it here before or not, but here it is: Stolen Thunder
Be sure to scroll down and read his previous posts.
re: Peter the Alaskan kid
I seem to recall that Peter is a high school student. On one hand, it seems Peter is just one example of the many young people that have been so easily swayed by the far Left, whether it be as a result of indoctrination by an historically and increasingly liberal teacher population in our schools (and it’s virtual impossible to fire the many incompetent ones who are protected by the extremely strong Teachers Union — one of the well-documented reasons for our failing public school system), parents or community that happen to be liberal, surfing the Blogosphere, or being inundated with biased MSM message. (geez, how can we blame him?)
On the other hand, he is reading this blog, reading at least some of the commentaries which prompt his own sarcastic and immature comment. At least Peter is seeking information outside his “comfort zone.” Perhaps with maturity, he’ll develop the ability to think critically about real issues that affect our lives.
I would venture to say that it’s difficult for most young people to understand why many of us “older folk” (meaning, say, those of us out of college) think so differently. They have essentially no responsibilities. They don’t have to house themselves — whether by paying rent or buying a house (and taking responsibility for reading the documents as well as the consequent obligation); they don’t pay for their own food; they don’t pay for or have to worry about medical care; the concept of paying for insurance when one could have the latest iPod or iPhone with the same money is a no-brainer. They never think about national security! Why would they? They’re safe and secure in Mom and Dad’s home. Seniors in high school today were in the 5th or 6th grade when 9/11 occurs. In other words, they have absolutely no frame of reference for many of the issues we so seriously consider. Nor do I think they give much weight to the importance of morality and ethics in leaders. They have been raised in a society where it has become commonplace for people who are not married to have children; where corporate debacles like Enron with its morally and ethically bankrupt executives don’t touch them (so what – so long as it’s not their parents who are out of a job or lifetime savings); where a President of this country went on network television and lied to the American people (let alone what he lied about) and at least half of the population thought this inconsequential)….. And so it goes.
Most of us look at Obama and see a 46 year old man who had the privilege of the best education offered and yet has virtually no record of accomplishment other than fathering two lovely children. He speaks well publicly, but even as a legislator, he has often avoided commitment on issues with his votes and has authored (firsthand) little or no legislation. And his personal ambition has consistently guided him to choose as his mentors and advisors over a 20 + year period a long series of ethically and morally bankrupt people. Not just Bill Ayers, but also the racist Rev. Wright, convicted felon Reczko, Franklin Raines, ACORN,….the list goes on.
To many like Peter, Barack Obama is just a cool dude, which is as good a reason as any to vote for him.
There is HOPE!
Former Ambassador under President Clinton, Mark Erwin, wrote today that he is endorsing John McCain for President. Click here to read the entire article.
Sen. Obama does not yet have sufficient leadership experience. He has never led so much as a Boy Scout troop. I am not comfortable thinking of him as the leader of the greatest nation on earth as his first real executive job. In 2007, his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, said, “I think he can be ready, but right now I don’t believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.”
***
100-Plus Former Ambassadors Endorse McCain
Sunday, October 5, 2008 9:38 PM
More than 100 former American ambassadors are endorsing John McCain and Sarah Palin for president and vice president.
To be announced by the McCain campaign later this week, the endorsements counter Barack Obama’s claims that McCain is inflexible when it comes to diplomacy and negotiations with other countries, Newsmax has learned.
Obama has specifically said that in contrast to McCain, he would sit down with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other world dictators to negotiate, without preconditions.
“Senator Obama does not have sufficient leadership experience, nor has he been tested in difficult times,” said Mark W. Erwin, a Democrat and former Hillary Clinton supporter who is a co-chairman of Former U.S. Ambassadors for McCain/Palin. Erwin was ambassador to the Republic of Mauritius.
Endorsing McCain are Howard Baker, who was ambassador to Japan; former President George H.W. Bush, who was ambassador to the United Nations; Frank C. Carlucci III, who was ambassador to Portugal; and Jim Nicholson, who was ambassador to the Vatican.
Others endorsing McCain are Bruce Gelb, former ambassador to Belgium; Margaret Heckler, who was ambassador to Ireland; John L. Loeb, Denmark; Ed Ney, Canada; and Julia Chang Bloch, Nepal.
Former Ambassador Gilbert A. Robinson spearheaded the formation of the group. Besides Erwin, the other co-chairman is former Ambassador to Sweden Gregory J. Newell. Robinson was special adviser to Secretary of State George Shultz, director of the Office of Public Diplomacy, and deputy director of the U.S. Information Agency under President Reagan. Newell was an assistant to President Ford and assistant secretary of state under Reagan.
Such designations carry ambassadorial rank and require Senate confirmation.
“Nobody could ask for a greater show of confidence,” McCain said in a statement to be released to the press. “These former ambassadors are outstanding men and women who have served their country in foreign lands with great distinction and devotion to the values we hold dear. They have a deep knowledge of the challenges facing this country abroad as well as at home. I am honored by their endorsement.” Then they list the names of all the people endorsing!
Then again – New 8th Grade English Textbooks Now Contain 15 Page Section on Obama! (No Hillary, No McCain, No Palin, No Bush)
Obama’s doing more than picking out the drapes…
This is an ironic post. For the first time in four years since my “change” I got into a discussion about politics with a friend and my mother. I don’t know if I was successful but the most important point I was trying to make was that, I too, would still be a liberal if I only read the MSM and watched CNN, CBS, ABC, etc.
I find it so frustrating that they are still able to influence so much of what happens politically and socially in this country. Of course, both my friend and mother thought I was a freak because I know the MSM is hugely biased. “But what about FOX?”
Even the friend’s husband who I respect a great deal and is a wonderful high school history teacher hasn’t read anything but the LA and NY Times for the last 30 years. I tried to turn him on to blogs three or so years ago but he wouldn’t have it. “No time.” No time for another viewpoint? And you’re a teacher teaching critical thinking?
When I quizzed him on what “deregulation” of the Bush years meant all he could come up with was private contractors in Iraq. What? And that has what to do with Fannie and Freddie collapsing? Which party had tried to regulate Fannie/Freddie? “Well, both claim to.” Yes, but what’s the real answer?
It’s pretty depressing.
I haven’t given up on the election either, but I find myself depressed either way.
I just returned from watching the play Rock ‘n Roll, Tom Stoppard’s history of the Velvet Revolution in Prague. Stoppard is one of the few non-liberal playwrights (I don’t know if he can be called a conservative, but I think he doesn’t hate Thatcher, which puts him pretty far out there in playwriting terms).
When a character in the play talked positively about capitalism, much of the audience snickered and laughed derisively.
Now, I live in San Francisco, so they might do so on the best of days…but clearly we have a popular movement away from free markets and free trade, the pillars of our economic success, the things that indeed have given us vastly better lives than anyone has ever had in the past, and I find it very disheartening.
We’re told over and over that we’re in the worst times since the depression…because stocks have slipped to where they were a few years ago. Were we in a depression a decade ago? If not, then we’ll probably be okay. No need to jump out the window or sell apples just yet.
We’re told that Republicans have shredded regulation…these are the same Republicans and President in charge when we got Sarbanes-Oxley, one of the most odious, useless, costly pieces of overwhelming regulation to come down the pike….regulation that pretty much killed IPOs in this country.
And now we’re told that the Republicans are shredding civility because they get a little peeved toward the end of the election, after we’ve had not only eight years of Bush bashing (how many times have *you* heard the term “Bushitler”?), but an incredible couple of months of insane levels of Palin bashing.
Whoever wins the election, I don’t know what they can do to address the fact that we’re at this degree of polarization.
I want to scream.
I was walking home with a friend, a nice Lefty, not unintelligent in her own sphere (lit.); but she said she didn’t want to work at a major publishing house “because they published that book critical of Obama!” She sounded hurt, like a girl whose favorite rock star had been dissed by Rolling Stone.
I realized that a lot of the mindless O-worship is fandom, pure and simple.
The legacy media, in cahoots with the academy, is responsible for the brainwashing, definitely. And it is very serious. I don’t believe we’re going to have a “four years and out” scenario for our Dear Leader O, either. The MDM will whore for him even more enthusiastically–they’ve already shown us how eager they are to betray their responsibilities to the Republic as the Fourth Estate. Academia will be in throes of ecstasy. Hollywood will be turning out Hussein hagiographies with the same self-righteous enthusiasm with which they’ve turned out all their “Amerikkka Sux” propaganda. Some people will wonder at the fervor of it all, but most will shrug and go about their business.
I don’t know what to do. BUT–we really do need to belt up and set our wills for the oncoming fight. Remember the brave dissidents crushed beneath the bootheels of the Soviet Union? They published samizdat pamphlets, set up underground resistance networks, and helped bring about the eventual collapse of a tyranny that we had feared was unbeatable. It collapsed of its own weight, but they sawed partway through the table legs.
None of these bloated, monstrous regimes can last. Who would have thought during the Dark Ages that the Renaissance was around the corner?
But, oh, how I cry for my beloved country. What degradation of her beautiful ideals is in store for us all.
Please, folks, go to this website and take the 20 mins to watch this scary documentary: We Will Not Be Silenced. By Hillary Democrats, for other Democrats. About how Obama’s goon squads stole the primary elections in the caucus states:
http://www.theminorityreportblog.com/hinzsight_story/david_hinz/2008/10/08/we_will_not_be_silenced_a_film_by_gigi_gaston
Or google “we will not be silenced,” a film by Gigi Gaston. It’s like watching the Munich beer hall putsch all over again….
Well, between watching the video Beverly put in there and watching this one with Chrissy Matthews being fair and balanced (I think it was during the primaries so it makes sense that he would do that then), I have a little bit of hope:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGeu_4Ekx-o
It’s pretty funny. Good for a laugh.
The “we will not be silenced” film just gives a preview of what the “goon squads” will do once they have the power of government behind them. Like most who have posted here, I’m depressed and very fearful. I have two teenage daughters who I worry about growing up in the next eight years.
I can’t believe I’m saying this: but I really regret Hillary not getting the nomination. Yes, she’s very left, but I also believe she’s a pragmatist. The country would have survived a Clinton presidency. It doesn’t look that way with BHO. I wonder at what point in the coming years will Bill and Hillary turn against BHO, if ever??
A good indication of what might be forthcoming would be the Congressional elections. If the electorate is sufficiently angry (financial scandals) they will dump incumbents by the boatload. If the majority of incumbents were to lose, I would be much more sanguine, even under an Obama administration. If not a majority but a historically large number of incumbents were to lose, there would still be a fighting chance. If the same rotted incumbents are returned to office, then it’s over. The electorate will have gotten the government they deserve.
One reason why the South lost the first Civil War is that to win it she would have had to form a supreme national authority, the very thing that she was fighting against. To most of us here America means the right to be left alone; it’s in our bones. But that will lose us this war. Is “war” kind of strong? Maybe. But it’s clear to me that, to swipe a line from the old westerns, this country ain’t big enough for you and me.
GeoPal said:
“If the majority of incumbents were to lose, I would be much more sanguine, even under an Obama administration.”
I agree that having a Democratic Congress — and one hungry to heavily tax, regulate, and generally bring an end to this free market crap is probably the most bothersome thing. Obama with a Republican Congress would be forced to actually live out some of his moderate rhetoric.
One problem with the idea of people turning out the incumbents: Apparently many Americans believe that Republicans still run Congress (something McCain hasn’t addressed, to my knowledge). So they may well keep *their* Democrat in, hoping to “return” Democrats to power in Congress…
For what it’s worth, I’ve heard through the grapevine that when talked to in private, Obama knows his economics are all populist B.S. and there’s some chance he’ll at least not go all the way there. His selection of economic advisors seems to give some confirmation to that.
However, there is no reason I’m aware to believe that he doesn’t buy into the foreign policy he has laid out. I expect an anti-Israel policy (shrouded as moderate relativism between Israel and the Palestinians) and the invading of counties for any reason but our self-interest…at minimum, unless he manages to somehow bypass the “Freshman curse” for Presidents seen as militarily weak, he’ll fall into the usual trap of invading somewhere just to show he can.
However, I should say: If he’s elected, I sincerely hope he has a successful presidency. I suspect I will disagree with him a lot, and perhaps be profoundly disappointed in the direction we take, but I will not be dragged down into the derangement that overtook so many conservatives when Clinton was in office, and the left with Bush II, by condemning every action just because he is the one behind the desk and working up conspiracy theories and pushing for impeachment and all that crap.
Whoever is President, I *want* that person to succeed. If we engage in a war I disagree with, I at least want us to fulfill whatever obligations we’ve undertaken; if he pulls out of Iraq, I dearly hope that Iraq finds a way to move on without us (but if it doesn’t, I am not going to ignore the post-withdrawal results, as we did in Vietnam).
I’m seeing among the conservative blogosphere a real lurch into paranoia — one blog I read certain all conservative blogs will be shut down under Obama, etc. While I understand the seeds of those feelings, we’ve got to keep out of the mania infecting so much of the left and the press these days. *Someone* has to keep a clear head.
Ronald Hayden,
About Obama’s advisers on foreign policy… they are all clearly anti-Israel. Particularly Samantha Power. That means that we are less likely to be realistic vis-a-vis the Iranian nuclear threat. The signal that President Obama sends out to Islamic terrorist groups and states is that we will be more pliable. That’s extremely dangerous. It will have consequences, besides throwing the Jews under the bus.
I have to state this. And I would say it to fellow Christians (and I have) who have hostility towards Israel. American Jews are being extremely selfish and even vicious in their apathy towards the existential threats their fellow Jews face in that tiny country. I could cite a laundry list of prominent ethnic Jews in this country who either have outright hostility towards Israel or are apathetic to the existential threat. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU. You care more for the ideology of collectivism (a.k.a. “social justice”) than you do for real, breathing people who are daily bombed by rocket attacks and attempted suicide bombers. Real people who are under threat of nuclear attack in the near or far future by a regime that has sworn to wipe you out.
In the end, the collectivists will throw us all under the bus in order to achieve their ends. For the collectivist, the end always justifies the means.
I was talking to my uncle on the phone the other day and we touched upon politics. After he ran down McCain and began holding up Obama, I said that I considered Obama the least qualified candidate in 100 years.
He replied that Obama was more qualified than McCain. How so, I asked. My uncle said that he liked Obama more and he liked Obama’s ideas. I said those aren’t really qualifications, are they?
Yes, it’s discouraging. We aren’t electing a high school class president, but that seems to be the level on which many Obama supporters are voting.
I have yet to hear single argument to vote for Obama, as opposed to Generic Democrat, that wasn’t based on emotional appeal or symbolism.
Ronald wrote:
“I’m seeing among the conservative blogosphere a real lurch into paranoia – one blog I read certain all conservative blogs will be shut down under Obama, etc. While I understand the seeds of those feelings, we’ve got to keep out of the mania infecting so much of the left and the press these days. *Someone* has to keep a clear head.”
You are more of an optimist than I think the facts allow. Back in my college days I attended a few SDS meetings on campus (circa 1970). What I learned is that these people seek power literally “by any means necessary”. AND, they seek power in order to destroy the US. They were quite upfront about their agenda in those meetings. Don’t for a minute believe that these aging 60’s radicals have given up their agenda; just look at their lives since the ’60’s. Obama is their protege.
I don’t think I’m lurching into paranoia. If ACORN, Arkansas sheriffs, what happened at the Dem caucuses to Hillary supporters, the attempt at silencing Kurtz on Chicago radio, etc. etc. is not enough to convince you that the Obama administration will not quickly seek to end all criticism of itself, then I don’t know what will. Expect your rights (speech and arms) to be eroded via “hate crime” laws and “fairness doctrines”. Some “emergency” will quickly become a “need” for expanded executive powers. With Pelosi and Reid in charge of the congress… watch out, for then Obama will have carte blanche in any legislation proposed. The Republicans will probably not even have enough votes to mount a filibuster.
I hope we even have an election in 2010; maybe a real paranoid statement, but I’ll take wagers on it and hope I lose.
neo wrote an article about pursuading others some time ago
I’d like to find that article. I’m a lot like csimon in that I’m so frustrated I come on like gangbusters. And I was never all that persuasive in any event. I lack patience. I expect everyone to know what I know.
Beej: Here it is.
physicsguy:
“I hope we even have an election in 2010; maybe a real paranoid statement, but I’ll take wagers on it and hope I lose.”
I understand how Obama’s campaign actions lead to serious concern about the first amendment (especially with the Fairness Doctrine hanging over us) — but wondering if we will even have another election, yeah I think that’s going over the top.
I heard it from my conspiracy theorist colleague when Bush 1 was elected — it was impossible for Clinton to get elected since Bush would have the CIA out fixing the election for him.
Then Clinton got elected and the conspiracy theorist didn’t revise his world view, he just switched to deciding Clinton was part of the conspiracy.
I encourage people to focus on the stuff that really is likely to hit us — taxes, union shilling through the “no more secret votes” law, more first amendment hits from the Fairness Doctrine, significant regulation that will strangle economic development, etc.
The unquestionable stuff we have to worry about is serious enough…
Thanks neo-neocon!
but wondering if we will even have another election, yeah I think that’s going over the top.
Well, then I’m up over the top with him (or her). I’ve feared the same myself.
I hope you are right. I fear we may be.