Look, I get that it is historic, but it has become pornographic. All the reporters come back from breaks flushed and breathing heavy. Good grief.
The other night on Hannity, when Sean pointed out that Barack Obama had been on the cover of Time magazine 14 times, Lanny Davis rebutted that Nixon had been on 26 times. Actually, Nixon had been on the cover 49 times. But those 49 times spanned 1952-1994 for an average of about 1 per year.
Obama has been on Time 14 times in the past year, a feat Nixon did not accomplish even during Watergate.
Consider this an open thread.
Aaron Gardner
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
KnightsofMalta
Dan Spencer
Dan McLaughlin
I'm trying to ignore it...but it's difficult
Lamplighter331 (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 8:59AM EST (link)I resolved myself, an unrepentant Sunday morning news junkie, that I would simply try to avoid watching the news outlets and network news broadcasts, given the sickening fawning out there.
Lo’ and behold, considering it is an NFL playoff weekend, what do I find on ESPN? Of course, a celebration of Mr. Obama’s coronation, er, inauguration.
Is there alternative programming? Is there an outlet that won’t discuss what Bono and Oprah are wearing, what party everyone is going to, what inanity Biden is speaking?
I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just curl up with a good book.
“I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited.”
–Ronald Reagan, Farewell Address–
“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”
—George Orwell—
Kinda reminds me of ...
Caleb Howe (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 9:10AM EST (link)Caleb Howe (formerly known as absentee)
Yes it does
Erick Erickson (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 9:14AM EST (link)Yep
Who will stand on either hand and keep this bridge with me?Follow @EWErickson
Too True! nt
Achance (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 9:18AM EST (link)In Vino Veritas
I have been watching Pondersosa on Nick at Nite...
JadedByPolitics (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 9:25AM EST (link)and will continue watching old series until the football games start!
Unified Patriots – How-To:
Activists Taking Action
The media's party of choice
fisk2521 Sunday, January 18th at 9:35AM EST (link)If Obama was a Republican it would not matter whether he was the first African American to be elected President. We would see nothing like we are seeing in the media right now. Just a continuation of the campaign and the media support of Democrats.
Regardless of the propaganda, I’m not any more convinced that he is experienced enough for the job. As a US citizen who respects the office of President, I will pray for his success. But I will not pretend I am hopeful.
LDavis
Inauguration or Spectacle
Maggie_in_Indiana (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 10:03AM EST (link)The huge stage,the train ride,parties for kids,the 2 week media hype,don’t think this will last just one day. Expect a day by day blow of Obama in DC,the shower, the gym,his first everything in the White House.
Here’s a little something I hope Obama found while boning up on Lincoln:
“You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men’s initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.” –Abraham Lincoln
umm.
Maggie in Indiana
Awesome quote Maggie. -nt-
Brian Simpson (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 3:03PM EST (link)| My RedState archive |
Important principles may and must be inflexible. ~ Abraham Lincoln
Great quote Maggie, but this is not the Lincoln he thought he knew...nt
Vegas_Rick (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 3:16PM EST (link)“God is great, beer is good and people are crazy.”- Billy Currington
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” Calvin Coolidge.
We have achieved a medieval level of ignorance
Achance (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 10:18AM EST (link)and superstition in this Country. We now have a majority of our population so uninformed about economics, science, political philosophy, and history that they will believe anything and understand nothing.
We now motivate the ignorant mass with the shiny symbols of pop culture and decadent celebrities take the place of glittering nobles, bishops, and cardinals. The ignorant mass looks on in worshipful awe.
If in the Fifties we had known that the KGB had a plan to do to American culture and productivity what the Ed Schools, the media, and the ACLU have done in the last half century, we would have pre-emptively nuked the Soviet union.
In Vino Veritas
nice last line. heh.
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 10:27AM EST (link)i don’t think americans are as ignorant as you say, though. formally, americans have become more ignorant because of the degradation of our schools. but informally, the majoriy of americans still possess much good sense and judgment.
52% nt
Achance (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 10:34AM EST (link)In Vino Veritas
not a good test
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 10:44AM EST (link)the country was very tired of pres. bush, who has an R by his name, officially.
additionally, nearly every single factor was against the republicans, and that was BEFORE the biggest financial crisis in two or three decades hit 8 weeks before the election.
furthermore, mccain ran an awful campaign while obama was generally very careful about appearing moderate (by being vague, etc.).
finally, obama had the benefit a worshipful media such as has never existed in the history of this country (i believe i can say that confidently), that concealed almost everything damaging while hyping slander about mccain and palin and their campaigns.
if anything, the 52% that obama received shows how sensible americans are. under the circumstances, it should have been 60-40 or worse.
but i don’t think the election tells us much of anything about whether americans are sensible. it reflected the poor judgment of others (e.g., mccain, bush, etc), and outrageous misfortunes, rather than the judgment of the american people.
we’d have to look to other evidence to decide.
I was tired of Pres. Bush too, and I never liked McCain.
Achance (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:07AM EST (link)Unlike so many, Gov. Palin didn’t cause me any tingling either. That said, I had better sense than to vote for a communist community organizer from the most corrupt political machine in the Country.
I listen to the Obamaniacs and see the rapt looks on their faces; this is an hysterical fervor for these people. Someone can have that sort of faith in ANY man only out of the most abysmal ignorance. There’s not much subtance to the vast majority of people who can get elected to public office and BHO may well be the all new low for someone who succesfully ran.
In Vino Veritas
And if you were representative of the average
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:31AM EST (link)I would be much happier
The desire to worship a political figure is strong at all times and places. It is stronger among liberals than conservatives since, among other reasons, conservatives have lower expectations from politics (i.e., they don’t expect salvation from human misery). And the situation in 2008 made it easy for those in the middle to get swept up in the hysteria, especially with the media’s crying “Come, all ye faithful” and with McCain’s refusing to educate the public about crucial parts of Obama’s extreme record (abortion, guns, labor, etc.).
So I am not surprised by the result, and I do not think it reflects on the normal judgment of Americans. They were deprived of many, many essential facts, they were understandably frustrated with how things had gone in the last few years, and the Republican Party had discredited itself by 2006 and not done anything significant to rehabilitate itself.
I realize I will probably not be able to persuade you to feel less disappointed. We are in a bad way now because of the election, but Americans have not suddenly become French. There was a big reaction against Carter’s policies, and there may well be a similar reaction against the policies of Obama-Pelosi-Reid.
Carter was a pathetic speaker and an even worse leader.
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:42AM EST (link)Those who are charmed by Obama will listen to not a single fact if it is in opposition to their notion of who this man is. As to them being “deprived of many, many essential facts”, those facts were out there for months, the videos were easily accessible on the ‘net, and yet so many people refused to read/watch for the information. I sent articles and videos to friends who were touting Obama as the Messiah, and yet all that happened is that we are no longer friends. I tried to interject reality into their fantasy and they were having no part of it.
No, we haven’t become French, but we have certainly become something quite less than we were just two short years ago.
Lots of good points. But.
Justin_Case (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:27AM EST (link)Do you think the “worshipful media” would be as effective if the populace did not possess what AChance decribes as a “medieval level of ignorance”?
I'll tell you one thing that most people have no
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:35AM EST (link)knowledge about and that’s the way our government is supposed to be set up—three branches. All too many of them think that the President, no matter who it is, is all-powerful, that the President can say what they want to happen and PRESTO!!, it happens. Much like Samantha on “Bewitched” can wiggle her nose and get results.
So when things don’t go well, it’s apparently only the fault of the President, usually when that president has an “R” after their name. Now that the D’s have the White House and Congress, it will be amusing to see how the average ignorant voter spins the notion of blame going forward. (Yes, yes, I know that they will Blame Bush for some months to come, but at some point, ole Barry has to be on the hook, too.)
So you're expecting moderations from congress or SCOTUS?
Next93 (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:38AM EST (link)I wouldn’t hold my breath on either of those options, although Roberts and Alito MIGHT make a difference.
Obama was The One in 2008.
He’ll be a BIGGER one in 2012.
Oops
Next93 (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:42AM EST (link)Sorry, Janis, I misread your comment.
In fact, I find it astounding that the populus blames/credits the sitting president for the current situation in the economy. They do seem to think that the president can wave a magic wand to make the market ?behave”.
I wonder if they also beleive that the weather man on the 6:00 news actually makes the weather?
Obama was The One in 2008.
He’ll be a BIGGER one in 2012.
Yes, Next93, I found it bitterly amusing to hear the
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:53AM EST (link)news update from ABC radio yesterday morning when the ignoramus quoting the “news” said that, under President Bush, the S&P had lost whatever astounding amount it had, while under President Clinton, the S&P had tripled it’s value. Now there’s context for you!
It's always a Republican's fault
bk (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:30PM EST (link)Under Clinton we had Enron and WorldCom and so on make it look like there was money everywhere. Bush inherits the recession that started at the end of Clinton’s term and those crooks like Lay and Ebbers and others get sent to the slammer. Then Bush gets 9/11 right out of the gate thanks in part to the Gorelick “wall”. But if you ask the average person, they’d say Bush inherited a great economy and ruined it by giving the store to Enron and company. I wonder where they get that idea. Hmmm….
Since Gov. Palin's nomination, the comments in the ADN
Achance (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:55PM EST (link)have been, shall we say, lively. Any story about her gets hundreds of comments whereas a year ago it might have gotten a dozen, a hundred on something REALLY controversial. In addition to the locals, now there are people from all over the Country commenting today on something she said about building an instate natural gas line to supply North Slope gas to Fairbanks and Anchorage. It is a pretty good issue here, but I bet nobody from Alaska is commenting on some project in your states.
That said, these are people that have at least enough interest in politics to be reading the online version of a paper and commenting on it. Not one in a hundred as a clue about the structure and organization of the government, not just the Alaska government, any govenment. Not one in a hundred has a clue about the various roles of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. There’s at least a dozen on there today howling for the Legislature to step up and put her in jail over Troopergate. Well, how nice. Maybe the Leg can pass a law giving itself some law enforcement powers, but I suspect the Judicial branch would find some Constitutional problems with that. These people are both rabid and clueless; that is an evil combination.
In Vino Veritas
And even more frightening is that "rabid and clueless"
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:02PM EST (link)describes “leaders” on the Left such as John Conyers, Henry Waxman, and that shrieking, botoxed, temple of vanity, Madame Pelosi. Obambi’s gonna has his hands full.
John Conyers
Wayne (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:21PM EST (link)is a prime example of the dysfunction of the democrat party, and Michigan politics. He’s been touted as the “legal brain” of the house. Well, ok, like Biden is the foreign policy brain of the Senate. The man is an empty suit, much like the Obamunist. He’s kept in power by the ignorant masses in Detroit who keep returning him to his seat, even though he’s done nothing for them in the century he’s been in D. C. A perfect example of a man put in a position for which he is not qualified.
“Hell, these are Marines. Men like them held Guadalcanal, and took Iwo Jima, Baghdad ain’t s–t”. Maj. Gen. John F. Kelly, USMC, Deputy CG, First MEF
Do you expect the average American to do
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:41AM EST (link)independent research into the history of a candidate’s positions?
We are heavily dependent on what the candidates and what the media tell us. Most of us are just too busy with other things to go read a book on a candidate or dig into his background. It was McCain’s job to expose Obama as an extreme leftist, but he didn’t do it. That enabled the voters in the middle to believe that Obama was actually the moderate he portrayed himself as in the last several months of the general campaign (when people started paying attention).
And with Republicans down on their party, with general disappointment, justified or unjustified, in Bush’s leadership, and with awful financial conditions, their was a strong wind in the Democrats’ direction.
But remember that in early September, McCain-Palin pulled even and then ahead of Obama-Biden! That means that, in spite of everything, the American people had enough sense to look distrustfully upon the Democratic ticket. Without the financial crisis, McCain might have stumbled and blundered his way to victory – not because of anything he did right but because of Americans’ instinctively sound judgment.
It was certainly McCain's job to expose this man, and he failed miserably.
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:50AM EST (link)But, YES, I do think it is every voting American’s job to vet their chosen candidate themselves. The fact that they rely so heavily on others to do it for them makes Achance’s comment that much more relevant.
They are ignorant and wish to remain so. And they wish to have someone take care of them so they can remain blissfully ignorant. Obama will happily comply with that wish.
then you expect americans to do what has never
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:02PM EST (link)been done before by any people.
and glibly and dismissively calling americans ignorant puts us very close to the territory of liberal condescension toward the average man.
argue, if you want, that our judgement failed in this instance, but a wholesale condemnation of americans as willfully ignorant should be distasteful to conservatives (and, for that matter, to all americans).
"What has never been done before by any people"?
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:09PM EST (link)Now who’s ignorant about history!! Just where do you think people got their information before we had so many talking heads telling us what to think? We used to have newspapers with more honest reporting. Yes, there was bias, but there used to be some with a leftist slant and just as many with a right-leaning slant. Now, there are almost exclusively lefty rags.
I do not “glibly and dismissively” call Americans ignorant. I say that with a great deal of sadness and disappointment, not to mention dread and worry. Way too many Americans no longer see this country as a shining light, they see it as a shameful place that needs fixing. And they want someone else to do the fixing without being bothered with the details. Now THAT’S distasteful.
And freaking lazy... n/t
jdub19 Sunday, January 18th at 12:11PM EST (link).
” Got to love the Lord for making things like that.”
Morally Compromised
You wrote,
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:17PM EST (link)“YES, I do think it is every voting American’s job to vet their chosen candidate themselves.”
And I am saying that it was never been done before by any people. By parts of the electorate yes, but not by the majority.
And when you objected to my admittedly broad statement, you pointed out that there have been times when the media was more balanced. That may be, but it doesn’t support your proposition that Americans actually vetted their chosen candidate themselves, or, as i put it, “do independent research into the history of the candidates’ positions.”
(Now, before we get too heated here, I will say that I may have misunderstood that you were being glib. It’s how it seemed to me. I’ll take your word for it that I was incorrect.)
No one's getting heated
Justin_Case (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:28PM EST (link)here.
If there’s any heat it’s mostly from disappointment (I’m speaking for myself) in a lot of Americans who have put so much faith in a person who’s a product of a rock star MTV culture.
When their buyer’s remorse begins to show, I’ll make certain that they receive a friendly reminder.
maybe we agree after all
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:33PM EST (link)at least to some extent
you think that americans will have buyer’s remorse. but don’t you think that speaks to their good sense? it would be late, of course, but the very fact that americans voted for obama because they did NOT know how extreme he was and will stop supporting him if he continues to be so extreme, reflects their fundamentally sound judgment.
Very good point.
Justin_Case (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:46PM EST (link)But, what is it going to take for them to reach that buyer’s remorse?
Will it be because of an impartial media? Highly unlikely. Or, will it be on account of some calamity that befalls our nation as a result of an Obama policy?
Your optimism is laudable. My greatest fear is that our culture is in a decline and that it will decline further as a result of self interest that does not honor what made this country great.
the native judgment of americans
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:15PM EST (link)yes, good points, justin.
i would say, though, that i am not so much an optimist as an incomplete pessimist.
it’s hard to look at the trajectory of the last 80 years of american political and social history and remain optimistic.
yet i do have a certain belief in the native judgment of americans. compared to that of other peoples around the world, we’ve just got more basic common sense. it just wasn’t enough in november…
for instance, it’s remarkable that so many americans voluntarily enlist in the military at a time when the very idea of patriotism is under blistering and constant attack. it’s also remarkable that so many americans retain a strong sense of decency despite the vulgarity that hollywood and the media throw at us. there is a resiliency in americans that even four decades (or eight (FDR), or eleven (Progressives), depending on where you start) of all-out leftist attacks on what American principles and history cannot alter.
Well said.
Justin_Case (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:31PM EST (link)I just couldn’t let you get the last word. ;>)
So where's your proof that didn't vet their chosen candidate themselves?
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:30PM EST (link)Citizens who could read could clearly read two opposing viewpoints in their newspapers, could read the transcripts of speeches given by the candidates. Speeches, I might add, that clearly contained much more intelligence and knowledge of our country than most political speeches given these days.
So I repeat: Where do you get your information that the majority of citizens in the past never vetted their choice of candidate?
i have three ideas on that subject
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:40PM EST (link)1. actually, many speeches were not printed or covered more than superficially, such as mccain’s speeches in the last several weeks criticizing democrats for their part in the fannie and freddie scandal.
2. reading transcrips of speeches is not something that appeals to most people. articles, with summaries and quotations from various commenters, are more interesting to them. and this is also why transcripts are rarely published in newspapers. usually, it’s only for big events, like a convention speech.
3. even if i’m completely wrong about 1 and 2 – that is, if many speeches were printed by the media and if the majority of americans read them regularly – this activity wouldn’t constitute independent research. there were so many things mccain avoided talking about. to learn about them, you would have had to read a book about obama or a long article in some conservative magazine. people just don’t go that far out of their way to do that – and it doesn’ t mean they’re idiots. there are many other competing things that are very important (family, church, business, etc.)
after all, we expect two opposing lawyers in our trial system to draw out the most important facts and arguments. it is reasonable to expect our candidates to do the same.
i wish that americans did more independent research. i really do. i think we cannot have high expectations on that score, though.
I'm not talking about NOW, icbm. I'm talking about the past.
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:47PM EST (link)Reading speeches from the candidates at this point is a fruitless task because they seldom say anything that they mean for any length of time. Every speech is just in response to what the news cycle is, or what a polling group says. The speeches I refer to were ones from pre-television and maybe even pre-radio days. Politicians had to actually say something back then, back in the days before the talking heads considered all so stupid that we couldn’t hear what was said and understand it for ourselves.
then perhaps we are talking past each other.
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:54PM EST (link)i thought we were talking about whether the majority of voters did independent research into candidates’ positions.
but you seem to be talking about whether the media was more balanced and whether political speeches were more informative.
i think you are right about both those things.
but i don’t think that reading the newspaper, even when it was more balanced and the content was better, constitutes independent research. people read the papers then; now they watch tv and also read the papers (although less and less). but they didn’t go out of their way to get beyond what the media was telling them. i think americans have always relied on the media rather than additional research.
this was just as true at the beginning as now. the federalist and anti-federalist papers were brilliant, especially compared to what is written now, but they were published in the newspapers for all to read. it’s not as if the average colonial american did more than that.
People once followed leaders at a much more local level
Achance (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:32PM EST (link)than today. I’ll grant you that nothing like a majority of voters did anything beyond cursory reading of the paper and watching the 6 PM news, but there were opinion leaders in the community that could help to inform decisions.
People have become extraordinarily isolated in the last couple of decades People have moved for jobs and opportunities so they have few links to their family and past. There is relatively little socializing in most communities other than among those who still practice a religion. Every kind of social organization is in decline and many have simply disappeared. Frankly, people “know” the people who appear on the National media far better than they know their own neighbors and the “leaders,” such as there are, of their own community.
I think this has borne fruit in giving the MSM extraordinary power over people’s opinions.
In Vino Veritas
yes - those are good points
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:42PM EST (link)it’s scary
it is exactly the isolating effect of mobility that makes concentration of power and way for tyranny, whether benevolent or malevolent.
de tocqueville has a few great passages on this point.
It has really been driven home to me
Achance (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:32PM EST (link)since I retired that I have a bazilliion acquaintances and almost no friends. Well, I have lots of “friends” in that word’s political sense, but I wouldn’t want to rely on most of them unless it was in their interest to do whatever it was.
Unlike so many Americans, I live in a small town, 30K, and have been at the same address and phone number for over twenty years. I’ve even had the same email for fifteen years or so. Yet, I barely know my next door neighbors; we’ll give each other a hand and such but don’t socialize. Hardly know anyone else around because so many have come and gone.
My job made me pretty isolated and I pretty much only socialized with my workmates, later my staff, and, somewhat, other appointees later in my career. I’m retired, they’ve mostly moved on, and I find myself really only knowing some of the other old curmudgeonly retired guys down at the marina and the nearby watering hole.
In Vino Veritas
It seems to be harder to make friends when you are older.
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:42PM EST (link)For one thing, you have much better radar about people and their intentions as you age. And it’s just not worth it anymore to put up with idiots for the sake of their companionship. If you look to a younger crowd for friendship, it’s kind of tiring to wait for their wisdom to catch up with their experience. I have to put with that in my son and his wife, but I don’t necessarily have to volunteer for it outside the family.
I’ve made friends through business over the years, but those businesses are long over and it’s a rare friendship that continues after the initial animus is gone. You can count on me, Achance, if you don’t let a little thing like 4-5000 miles apart bother you.
Janis's points are good, I think, and also
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:49PM EST (link)I think it has always been hard to make friends in America. We’ve always been a restless people, and an individualistic people, to the detriment of deeper social connection.
And it’s never been harder than now for the reasons you yourself have pointed out above.
Only small towns in the South present any exception to the rule today, and it’s only a qualified exception.
Your point about small towns in the South:
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:57PM EST (link)I have lived in two of them in my lifetime. One when I was much younger and not nearly as observant. In that one, I disdained the common mores of the town and considered myself above them because I came from a much large town.
The place I have lived for the last 21 years is even smaller, but I’m smarter now. What I used to perceive as small town hypocrisy, i.e., being friendly with people you were known to detest, I now understand as “you have to live with these people every day of your life and it behooves you to know how to get along with them.” Teaches you valuable skills like being a little less judgemental, more patient, and much, much more discreet in what you say to who.
Odds are, the one you might be talking about negatively is related to the one you’re talking TO.
The internet increases the isolation in some ways.
Achance (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 2:07PM EST (link)There really aren’t a lot of people here who would look for an opportunity to cross me face to face. Even though I’m retired, there are plenty who have a recurring nightmare that they might look up one day and see me walking in as their new boss – it’s happened before.
But boy are they brave behind a screen name on a blog or in the comments! I’ve invited more than a few over to my house so we could have a more complete discussion. Never had a taker, never even had one identify him/herself.
In Vino Veritas
well put. yes, that is my experience.
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 2:17PM EST (link)i used to live in a very liberal southern small town where i was outspokenly conservative. i confess that i learned from my liberal neighbors, however, who always treated me in the same decent way no matter what they read of my views.
(as distinguished from the larger metropolitan and mostly northern area where i grew up where people were more likely to be rude regardless of what they thought of your politics!)
in some ways, living closely together can lead to greater feelings of hostility, but in general, it makes personal feelings more gentle and respectful (or even affectionate). it is easier to hate someone for his mistaken views, or for his mistaken behavior, without looking into his face and without seeing all the good that he does in his life.
the increased move toward living in cities is a threat to all this.
I used two words: ignorant and superstitious.
Achance (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:14PM EST (link)In addition to what I believe to be a woeful lack of basic knowledge about ordinary things in a republican democracy with something of a free enterprise economy, much of what they do know is just plain wrong. In the wrongheadedness, the schools have been an even greater failure than in the ignorance.
Especially with those under about thirty, older in some parts of the Country, younger in others, who have had the whole celebrate diversity and self-esteem crap pounded into them, there is absolutely no ability to distinguish truth from falsehood and right from wrong. Things are not wrong, they’re just different. True for me actually means something to them. A huge percentage of those in this demographic cohort have only a sense of caught and not-caught. The lack of these fundamental social skills for life as a free person in a republic puts the whole notion of having a republic in danger. And I do fear that we have now reached the point where much of the Country doesn’t even know what old dinosaurs like most who post here, regardless of age, are even talking about. The very language and conceptual frameworks are completely foreign. Hell, accurate spelling and complete sentences are completely foreign.
In Vino Veritas
You know, Achance, on another thread, I said that I was
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:25PM EST (link)watching reruns of “The Andy Griffith Show” in place of the nightly news these days. What’s really breathtaking is just how far we have come from those days when right was clearly right and wrong was just plain wrong. The writers of that show clearly knew and accepted these concepts, just as the majority of the audience did at the time. The other thing that is so striking is the place that religion, respect for authority, and personal responsibility had in those programs. Oh yes, and good parenting–all things that have fallen by the wayside in our rush to moral equivalence and absolute dishonesty.
No, we know - only too well
sailormike Sunday, January 18th at 12:56PM EST (link)“And I do fear that we have now reached the point where much of the Country doesn’t even know what old dinosaurs like most who post here, regardless of age, are even talking about”
We KNOW what u r talking about. Old peaceniks like me have seen it in your actions, felt it in your police clubs, lived with it in your slums.
And we REJECT it. Every letter of every word of every sentence.
Obama is NOT the answer. One man never will be. But he is a step, one of many yet to be taken.
But by 1-20-2100 we will be there.
Maybe.
Don’t let the light go out.
It has lasted for so many years.
Don’t let the light go out.
Let it shine thru our love and our tears.
Oh, goody, a moldy old hippie. This oughta be good for a Sunday's entertainment. Over here, guys! n/t
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:04PM EST (link)n/t
war has never solved ANYTHING
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:05PM EST (link)except for
slavery
fascism
communism
etc.
i would happily speak with a seriously thoughtful pacifist. but you’re just another silly “everyone to the right of me is a nazi” leftist robot.
lenin, stalin, kruschev and brezhnev found you very useful, surely
Spark another doobie, bro
Vegas_Rick (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:12PM EST (link)Obamanation must seem like Valhalla calling to you idiots. Peace. LOVE, dope.
“God is great, beer is good and people are crazy.”- Billy Currington
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” Calvin Coolidge.
Wow!
HappyBunny Sunday, January 18th at 1:14PM EST (link)If the door hits you on the way out you should spend several days trying to take it off the hinges while it’s closed. Use a Q-Tip.
Bye!
LOLOLOLOL! :) (nt)
Thrhheggeegwc Jjtkylkfofud (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:16PM EST (link)Ugh.
Thrhheggeegwc Jjtkylkfofud (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:14PM EST (link)I don’t even feel like dignifying this with a response.
What other response could you give other than what we've told them before:
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:17PM EST (link)QUIT DRINKING THE BONG WATER!
Tell it to the Kurds, sailormike. After you zip up your pants.
Moe Lane (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:18PM EST (link)Now get the heck off of my nice, clean website.
The Kim Kardashian of blogging.
Check out my blog at http://moelane.com/.
http://moelane.com/filthy-lucre-filthy-lucre/
http://twitter.com/moelane
My (combined) wish list.
Here's a clue: this is not 1968
JustLeaveMeAlone (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:43PM EST (link)I know you miss it, the summer of love, smokin’ doobies, strumming on a guitar all night,tie-dying teeshirts, living in a VW bus. Sucks to have to get a job, pay taxes, be a grownup, doesn’t it?
40 years have passed, dude. FORTY. So get over it, will you?
“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” Thomas Jefferson
Yeah, right. Police clubs?
Achance (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:45PM EST (link)Over the years I’ve found most who brag about that never got closer to the police or a demonstration than their TV in the dorm day room.
Have another hit!
In Vino Veritas
Moe got 'em. I was talking to a dead man. nt
Achance (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:47PM EST (link)In Vino Veritas
Yes, but I always take comfort in the fact that they are still reading, just impotent to do anything about it.
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:51PM EST (link)Much like their lives.
Police clubs...
mbecker908 (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 2:11PM EST (link)Heh.
I thought he was talking about places like the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association watering hole down the street from me.
What has really never been done is let everyone
Achance (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:20PM EST (link)who can fog a mirror vote and also in much of the Country even let those who can’t fog a mirror vote because we’re sure they’d vote Democrat if they weren’t dead or fake.
Two things would change everything; positive picture ID and requiring each person who wishes to register to vote to pass the same test we give someone who wants to become a citizen.
In Vino Veritas
there we agree very much, achance
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:27PM EST (link)the ID policy will come about faster than the test you propose, but i favor both policies.
we will have to see how things go in the next four years with regard to the judgment of americans.
and it really would behoove conservatives to take more control of the TV media rather than only complain about it. surely there are a lot of wealthy and even not wealthy conservatives who would be willing to invest in such ventures.
YES...
jdub19 Sunday, January 18th at 11:50AM EST (link)how can you be dependent on liars and cheats, R or D, or the media?
I don’t get it.
” Got to love the Lord for making things like that.”
Morally Compromised
Yes, I expect the average voter to
Justin_Case (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:57AM EST (link)do more than simply rely on what a “worshipful media” tells them. If “average” means that they don’t, then AChance’s point is valid.
It was not only McCain’s job to expose Obama’s far left agenda(which Palin did by way of “pallin’ around with terrorists”), it was especially the media’s job to delve into Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers, Tony Rezco, etc. and go to the same lengths as it did with Troopergate in Alaska. The seriousness of these associations would have been enough to turn truth-seeking Americans away from Obama-the financial crisis notwithstanding.
It would not have taken much research for the average voter to look further into Obama’s associations , so my belief is that the average voter enjoys being lied to or just plain ignorance is bliss.
they never have before, but you think they should
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:04PM EST (link)have for this election.
and i thought that conservatives had a better idea than liberals of what to expect of humanity.
All the more
Justin_Case (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:16PM EST (link)reason to call people on their ignorance when placing their entire trust in the news media.
The great thing is that people do not have to remain uninformed.
most true!
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:27PM EST (link)n/t
While they may possess common sense, they
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 10:48AM EST (link)are also very influenced by the MSM still. My own husband, a non-voting Dem, still thinks that global warming is a fact, no matter the amount of info I have patiently quoted to him. Since he still hears it talked about on the evening news, he thinks I’m woefully misinformed.
Never mind that we had a quarter inch of ice on our INSIDE window the other morning when it went down to a balmy 5 degrees with wind chill temps in the negatives. And this is in middle Tennessee, not Chicago.
This is where our schools have failed abysmally. Not so many people think anymore, they just listen to what they are told uncritically.
yes, the media has huge influence, which is
icbm (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 10:57AM EST (link)why conservatives need to invest more in it. fox news, the ny post, and the wsj editorial board won’t do it for us.
but as much as voters are influenced by the media, i don’t think it’s no more than they have been influenced before, and in some ways the emergence of conservative news has changed things for the better. in the 60′s, it was just walter cronkite.
those of us who follow the news carefully will always be disappointed that the average voter doesn’t know more. (the daily kos folks are always expressing this disappointment, too – please excuse the comparison.)
and, anyway, sometimes it is because a person knows nothing about what is said in the media that he is able to exercise better judgment than his fellows. that is one instance where americans’ innate good sense comes in.
Intrinsically, I agree with you, but
Praying (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 10:50PM EST (link)where the heck ARE they all? Where are all the rest of us with good sense and judgement? Speak, up, please, we need a voice, we need to be heard! Reagan spoke of the “silent majority” – I think it’s still there (God, I hope it’s still there!) but beaten down by the incessant negative mantra of the left – the drumbeat of entitlement, government, etc. People don’t realize that it’s like a deadly cancer, and if we don’t STOP it, it will CONSUME us. We obviously don’t have (yet) another great spokesman like Reagan – can we do this from the bottoms up – grass-roots, so to speak? I don’t know, but I’m sure willing to try – I’m about to lose everything I hold near and dear to me, as are all the rest of you. I suppose that makes it worth fighting for, eh?
No!!!11!1!!1!1! The Bilderbergers are coming
First time commenting
Belle (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:19AM EST (link)Achance- I couldn’t agree with you more. I worked in my town’s high school for four years and every year the ignorance grows and grows. Students do not care about history, economics, science, or politics. Heck they didn’t even know who Reagan was. They get their information from MTV and other pop media.
People are stubborn. Now, the believe that Obama is all that is right in the world. Everything he says is truth and fact. Instant wisdom from a guy who spent less than three years as a Senator. If you try to show how wrong he is they will refuse to listen. If they listen it shows their ignorance.
“Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.”
–William F. Buckley
“Begging hands and bleeding hearts will only cry out for more”. ~ Rush
Well, I've had it
peg_c (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 10:53AM EST (link)I’m removing RedState and some others from my faves, my A list, my toolbars, etc., until this madness is over. I guess there’s nothing left for me but Mark Levin’s show, to maintain sanity.
Government cannot be the solution when government is the problem.
So when do you think it's gonna be over, peg ?
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:04AM EST (link)The swooning, slobbering lovefest in the media for O will continue unabated for some time. On the other hand, Pelosi and Co. keep making noises about retaining their independence from the executive branch, so there’s some entertainment value to be found there.
If you turn off all forms of info, you’ll likely miss that exquisite moment when some of O’s true believers start waking up and realizing that they’ve been had–and quite cheaply at that.
Good point---the lefties/whackos are already turning on him
jonreagan (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 1:43PM EST (link)As an ex-Democrat (still in recovery!), I can tell you that nothing is ever good enough for the Pelosi/fruitcake fringe. The schism in the Democrat party between outright whackos, and well-intentioned but misguided liberals is always simmering, and will ultimately burst into the kind of fight we saw between EMK and Carter in 1980. Just a few goodies are already evident:
Reid–”I don’t work for Obama….”
Pelosi, grousing about the presence of tax cuts in the stimulus package (imagine! tax cuts to stimulate the economy during an economic slowdown)
Barney Frank, stating that Obama needs to learn “how to be assertive” (got that right, Barney…the guy is a total wuss)
You get the picture. The ultimate punishment for gutless politicians–especially the liberal ones— is that they end up with no real constituency at all. The radical whackos are just malcontents who thrive on complaining, and believing that this country is just a horrible place, period. And the liberal/centrists leave the reservation when things fail to improve—-and trust me, Obama-nomics is nothing more than an increase in entitlements, disguised as “stimulus”…..it will only make things worse.
Like Carter, this guy will be a one-termer, and a miserable failure.
It's always interesting to hear from recovering Dems. Am a recovered lib myself.
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 2:05PM EST (link)Mine was mostly in response to being raised by solid conservatives so it was nothing of more depth than childish rebellion.
Hatred and anger have motivated the left for the last 8 years. When they see some of the stuff they have been agitating for finally start to come to fruition (God help us), what will they next focus their anger on? For me, that brings to mind the plans that Obama has mentioned about his “Domestic Military”, or whatever they are being named these days. While it’s all well and good to assume that they will mobilize to help in times of national disasters, it’s all too possible to imagine that they will also be there to take control in other situations as well. Like the Black Panther folks at the voting booths this past November.
When do I get my government-issued unicorn?
Next93 (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:35AM EST (link)The innauguration is Tuesday, should I plan to be home on Thurdsay?
Obama was The One in 2008.
He’ll be a BIGGER one in 2012.
Sorry, Next93, you were voting on the wrong side of the aisle. No unicorns for you. But,
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:58AM EST (link)might I suggest this lovely commemorative plate/coin/desecrated flag for your consideration and worshiping needs? And, should you mend your ways and start praying at least three times a day in the direction of D.C. after the 20th of January, you might be considered for those lucky few who get to scoop up Unicorn poop in the upcoming Obama festivals and parades to be held as often as necessary. Mostly when the economy takes another dive and we need some distraction.
CNN Tribute: "The Obama Campain" (sic)
6eorge Jetson (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:36AM EST (link)Two days to go....and where's Obama's economic team?
jonreagan (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:28PM EST (link)The Obam-orons have told us that we’re in the greatest economic mess since the Great Depression…..ignoring the fact that President Reagan inherited far worse from Jimmy Carter in 1980. Of course, Reagan attempted to inspire confidence about the future, instead of running around bellyaching like the chicken-little’s on team Obama.
But if things are really so dire, it’s pretty amazing that both Obama nominees for two key economic Cabinet positions—Treasury and Commerce—have run into ethical problems. Richardson has withdrawn to concentrate on a Grand Jury probe of his activities, and it turns out that Tim Geithner is a tax cheat. Worse yet, BO knew of both situations before he nominated these creeps.
I think we all pretty much knew that the promise to have an Economic Recovery Plan on Obama’s desk by Innauguration Day was just hot air….once all the hogs in Congress have bellied up to the trough to put in their own pork, it may well be April. But to have two Obama Cabinet nominees—both related to the economy—scuttled by ethichal problems, shows that “the Chicago way” is alive and well.
How is a trained Marxist going to "fix" the economy
izoneguy (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:40PM EST (link)That is the question I have been asking for 18 months.
If you research Obama’s economic backround you will
discover that his idea of economic growth are rooted in
Marxist economic philosophy.
I am pretty sure Obama has been busy reading books like these:
http://www.amazon.com/Free-Lose-Introduction-Economic-Philosophy/dp/0674318765
The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.
Better bone up on your Marxist theories as Obama puts them into practice
izoneguy (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:47PM EST (link)http://www.marxist.com/Theory/what_is_marxism.html
“The socialist transformation ushers in a new and higher form of society by breaking the fetters on the development of the productive forces. The obstacle of private property and the nation state are swept away, allowing the socialised property to be planned in the interests of the majority.”
“Under socialism much of ‘primitive’ democracy will inevitably be revived, since, for the first time in the history of civilised society, the mass of the people will rise to taking an independent part, not only in voting and elections, but also in the everyday administration of the state. Under Socialism all will govern in turn and will soon become accustomed to no one governing”
In this lower stage of Socialism as Marx called it, one sees society, “just as it emerges from capitalist society; which is thus in every respect, economically, morally and intellectually, still stamped with the birthmarks of the old society from whose womb it comes”. Although the exploitation of man by man has been ended, production has not yet reached a high enough level to completely eradicate inequality or class differences. People still have to follow the principle: “He who does not work shall not eat”. The state, despite its transitory character, remains the guardian of inequality.
The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.
How does the saying go?
bk (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:35PM EST (link)“We’re all whores – it’s just a question of price.” Something like that?
Well that certainly seems to be true of Democratic Presidents. Lincoln rented the Lincoln Bedroom, granted pardons in exchange for loads of money from Marc/Denise Rich (or maybe too for a peek at her ample chest), etc. That was peanuts. Obama is selling off rights to inaugural events to giant companies for millions of dollars. Unbelievable. Next thing you know we’ll have “The Pepsi Oval Office” and such.
oops -- Clinton rented...
bk (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 12:37PM EST (link)“The Pepsi Oval Office”
izoneguy (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 2:33PM EST (link)You did not see this?
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/01/15/new-pepsi-campaign-obamas-about-to-refresh-our-nation/
The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.
Thanks izone - PLEASE click this link ya'll
Jack_Savage (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 2:42PM EST (link)I find it unbelievable.
Thanks, Jack and izone. I've bought my last 2 liter bottle of
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 2:58PM EST (link)caffeine-free Diet Pepsi. Shame, too, as I really like the taste compared to Diet Coke. Guess none of them learned anything from the economic fates of the NYT and other house organs of the DNC. Well, Pepsi had a nice long run, time to start supporting somebody else in the drink business. Anybody got some good companies in mind for this?
I am relieved to know Dr. Pepper is not owned by Pepsi
Jack_Savage (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 3:04PM EST (link)So I am good for now. I may start drinking hot tea just so I don’t slip up.
We need to spread this far and wide.
Dr. Pepper
izoneguy (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 3:14PM EST (link)http://www.drpeppersnapplegroup.com/
Corporate Headquarters
Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc.
5301 Legacy Drive
Plano, TX 75024
Please contact them and urge them not to get stupid
The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.
I always preferred Coke anyway!
Praying (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 11:02PM EST (link)n/t
No!!!11!1!!1!1! The Bilderbergers are coming
Be sure to click the link all the way to "contact Pepsi"
JustLeaveMeAlone (Diary) Monday, January 19th at 1:43AM EST (link)and write to tell them you are now a Coke drinker.
From a strictly mercenary POV, this is VERY bad marketing. Nothing like pissing off the 48% of potential consumers who voted for the other guy.
“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” Thomas Jefferson
So, Erick, I was thinking about this...
Academic Elephant (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 2:11PM EST (link)…and I wonder what the sales are of Time with Obama on the cover as opposed to no Obama on the cover? It’s like anything with Sarah Palin–it sells. Time is not necessarily to blame for taking advantage of the mass hysteria that has people collecting these relics.
CNN and MSNBC are another matter.
I'm saving my dollars for the official Obama dartboard.
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 2:20PM EST (link)If I could only get some non-PC toy company interested…..
I was thinking the opposite...
Praying (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 2:44PM EST (link)Both Time and Newsweek are having problems with their print editions – I think I just read that Time is considering going online only – I thought that was because people like me are SICK AND TIRED of seeing, hearing, and living the obamania – and he’s not even been inaugurated yet. Just because smut sells doesn’t mean it’s good for you. BTW, I sure hope this all dies down soon – this website comment section is starting to look like one that the libs get into – what with all the name calling and nasty stuff. I just scrolled down quickly to post my comment – you guys are acting like a bunch of liberal jerks, now grow up and get along. Please!
No!!!11!1!!1!1! The Bilderbergers are coming
Besides
posterposter Sunday, January 18th at 2:47PM EST (link)the head of the administration and figurehead of the party that will ultimately be responsible for the death of our economy and life as we know it deserves as much attention, I guess.
Oh, and it was only a matter of time before this junk started showing up on my yahoo homepage:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090118/ap_on_re_us/mlk_economic_equality
I don’t know how to make it a working link – sorry. But I guess we’ll see more of this before it becomes a “known fact” (whoever deserves credit for that one, kudos to you) and we just sign over whatever we have left.
I'm giving up the media for Lent^H^H^H^Hthe Inauguration
Finrod (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 10:18PM EST (link)I’ve already killed my CNN tab in my browser, sometime before Tuesday I’ll kill the FoxNews tab as well. I’m not going to watch any tv news between now and then (I rarely do that anyways), and I’m not going to go to any major newspaper or media website until after Tuesday unless it’s a link that I know has nothing to do with the inauguration.
In short, I’m doing everything I can to ignore this modern coronation, as much as I possibly can. Who needs it?
Let’s get down to brass tacks here. How much for the ape?
Just wait until you notice you can live without them (nt)
Neil Stevens (Diary) Sunday, January 18th at 10:25PM EST (link)RS contributing editor, technical administrator, and “a hardy variety of crabgrass.”
Read the RedState Posting Rules
Unlikely Voter: Poll Analysis, Election Projection.
“I rejoice that America has resisted.” – William Pitt, the Elder
Oh, I like to follow the news at least somewhat
Finrod (Diary) Monday, January 19th at 12:55AM EST (link)It’s instructive, for example, to see what kind of stories are making the front page of Fox News vs. the ones that make CNN. With CNN’s case, I find it useful to see what kind of news our opposition is reading.
But they’re not going to tell me anything of any value for the next few days. So I’m just not bothering with them.
Let’s get down to brass tacks here. How much for the ape?