Displaying 571 To 600 Of 732 Comments It is typical Obama. » Posted By agrippa On May 18, 2011 @ 1:59 pm Cher, agreed on all points. I expect Obama will continue to ignore West. » Posted By agrippa On May 18, 2011 @ 1:42 pm The fiscal challenge is not from excess spending; it is from revenue shortfall. It is from the Bush tax cuts and the recession. If you cant to get a grip on the deficit, retore the tax rates that were cut. And, reduce the Defense Dept budget. » Posted By agrippa On May 18, 2011 @ 11:45 am I hope that West has gotten his fame. I think that he really mised the boat with Obama. Obama is, at thend of the day, a pragmatist. That does not mean that he has no values or principles. It means that he is reality based; going by fact and logic and doing what is realistic. He does not jump up and down and get all dramatic and theatrical. People who believe in principle above all ( speaking the truth to power) are not going to appreciate that sort of thing; nor will it be respected. The RW calling him a “socialist” and the LW calling a him a “corporatist sellout” – neither surprises me. Comes with the job. » Posted By agrippa On May 18, 2011 @ 11:39 am This debt ceiling business is a real case of political theatre. It does come down to the fact that we do not have a working majority in the USA. There is no consensus on a problem definition; and, workable solutions are ruled out of order. » Posted By agrippa On May 16, 2011 @ 8:15 am The left – marxism, kropotkin, proudhon, Bakunin – was a set of ideas that I flirted with as a college student. But, I was, at the end of the day, a realist. None of those ideas were ever going to come to fruition without a ‘revoutionary situation’. We did not have one then and we do not have one now. I did not go to the right; I do not believe a word of the rhetoric, and I took note of the deeds. What matters to me is knowing possible from impossible; keeping my wits and never becoming the prisoner of my passions. At the end of the day, I could never be either a leftist or a rightist. The left – Bolsheviks, for example, and the right – Nazis for example – have, at least one thing in common: Both consign mortal human beings to categories. And, kill them at the proper time. As for moore: I consider his work a polemic. Polemics driven by passion; not by reason. Polemics are useful under certain conditions. But, then, you have to try and govern. Governing is a tough trade. » Posted By agrippa On May 17, 2011 @ 5:37 am He was a nasty piece of work. » Posted By agrippa On May 13, 2011 @ 12:41 pm It is funny what FDR did to Joe Kennedy. He made Kennedy head of SEC ( it takes a thief to catch a thief). Then FDR made him » Posted By agrippa On May 13, 2011 @ 11:05 am Cher, there should be an investigation by the feds. It does stink; it is pretty vile. » Posted By agrippa On May 13, 2011 @ 11:01 am This WI recount mess is really OTT. It seems to be either gross fraud or spectacular incompetence. “This is a fine mess you got us into, Scott!” » Posted By agrippa On May 13, 2011 @ 9:10 am The GOP does not give a tinker’s dam about either spending or the deficit. That is, merely, a talking point. That is all that it is. The Democrats should know that. And, proceed on that basis. The swing voter – that ca 10% of the voting public – is what wins or loses an election. So, being reasonable may be a useful way to proceed. » Posted By agrippa On May 13, 2011 @ 9:08 am The Speaker is talking nonsense; the predictable boiler plate. Big business will do next to nothing to get the economy going again. It will be the great mass of ordinary people doing what they need to do who will get it moving again. » Posted By agrippa On May 12, 2011 @ 1:52 pm I agree that many voters voted on the basis of their passions – mainly fear and anger. Politicians are just as likely to be the prisoner of their passins as any other mortal man. And, politicians are quite capable of making use of that passion. It is the bread and butter of politics. I do not scare easy, and no one has ever called me passionate. Quite the opposite. I think that the passion has subsided; as is should when faced with the actual difficulties of trying to govern and write laws – “Do you want to make statement ? Or, do you want to make a law?” – Now is the time for the Dems to get moving and devise an effective counter attack. It has to be focused, logical and relentless. » Posted By agrippa On May 12, 2011 @ 1:47 pm Funksands, those people are either liars or fools. Having decided that they are one or the other, I do not need to know which one they are. » Posted By agrippa On May 12, 2011 @ 8:46 am I have to repeat what I wrote before: “Up Dems! And at ’em! They won’t stand!”. The GOP has given the Democrats plenty of material to use against them in 2012. Of course a good 45% of the voting public are going to vote GOP no matter what. And, the GOP has a strong geograhic base: the Old Confederacy. But, and this is a big but, the Democrats have to run a much better campaign than they did in 2010. » Posted By agrippa On May 12, 2011 @ 8:30 am Maybe. I will have to wait and see. “Up Dems! And at ’em! They won’t stand!” » Posted By agrippa On May 11, 2011 @ 12:35 pm The state of the GOP
» Posted By agrippa On May 11, 2011 @ 12:29 pm I have come to the conclusion that the political class – the professional politicians and the commentariat – is intellectually and morally bankrupt. It will be the ordinary people in the USA who will lead out of this mess. If we are, in fact, lead out of it. » Posted By agrippa On May 11, 2011 @ 10:45 am When people actually start to notice the the consequences of global warming, then people will start to care. But, the consequences are in the future; people are not feeling them now. Also, adapting now, means fairly large changes in the lives of people. It is far easier to believe the nay sayers and do nothing. » Posted By agrippa On May 10, 2011 @ 9:35 am Good article, adonai. Violence begets violence. Stalin, a huge practioner of state terrorism, went by the phrase, “No man, no problem”. Those four words may go a long way to explain the attraction of terrorism to those who do it. Chomsky is right: if you dislike terrorism, stop doing it. » Posted By agrippa On May 18, 2011 @ 4:14 am No Mercy Shown, No Mercy Given lol – the terrible “p” s!! I regard them, basically, as people who are writing and publishing their opinions. Which is fine. » Posted By agrippa On May 5, 2011 @ 3:45 pm My first reaction to killing OBL: well good. We got shut of that. OBL’s agenda never really caught hold, and we can see from the Arab Spring that the time of OBL is past. Now, we can start to think about what this Afghanistan business ia all about. It looks to me that the stated rationale has been killed. I think that it is time see about leaving. We can start thinking about that part of the world – SW asia – and what we want to accomplish. » Posted By agrippa On May 5, 2011 @ 5:48 am I agree. At the end of the day, they are describing themselves. They are not describing Obama. » Posted By agrippa On May 5, 2011 @ 5:41 am WTS, Drudge is one of those zealots who are so full of __________ that they will believe anything. And, expect others to believe them when they talk trash. People of that sort are an important source of the folly that afflicts politics. » Posted By agrippa On May 3, 2011 @ 8:22 am Silly stuff!! » Posted By agrippa On May 2, 2011 @ 3:34 pm Barack Obama did what he said that he was going to do: Kill OBL. » Posted By agrippa On May 2, 2011 @ 3:33 pm BREAKING NEWS: Osama Bin Laden Dead Juan Cole’s article is good. Very logical and well written. I do not hink that the photos should be released. » Posted By agrippa On May 6, 2011 @ 9:31 am The far left and the far right have a lot in common. The old joke about the political spectrum coming full circle and closing has some truth to it at times. » Posted By agrippa On May 3, 2011 @ 9:57 am Yes. » Posted By agrippa On May 2, 2011 @ 3:41 pm that is arrant nonsense. » Posted By agrippa On May 2, 2011 @ 3:39 pmComments Posted By agrippa
He does not think in “sound bites”.
West has arrogated to himself authority that he does not have, and this sort of behavior is typical of West.
West is in the business of “speaking the truth to power”, as a public intellectual he has the “right” to do that.
Both sides know that it needs to be raised. It is another example of the fact that so many people have to do things the hard way. And, politicans are ordinary people, only more so; they are not smarter, no wiser, more mature than any other mortal. As a result, we get we get: folly.
I had to live in the real world; and, make a life and living in that place. Not easy at times.
FDR sending him to London had a chilling effect on his ambitions. Which is why FDR did it.
the ambassador to the UK. Kennedy was a rabid anglophobe. At the same time, FDR had a private correspondence with WSC.
FDR was quite crafty.
In either case, their credibility is impeached. Beyond remedy.
But Obama should have no trouble getting 53 or 54% of the vote in 2012.
The issue is Congress. The GOP is giving the Democrats are real opportunity to take back the HoR. If the Democrats get the word out, and people start paying attention, the GOP is quite vulnerable.
There needs to be very serious push back.
The GOP is busted.
There are very few in that cabal who have any sense at all.
I read the opinion, and agree or diagree as the case may be.
But, they are part of the commentariat, and they do not, inherently, have any more sense than the “man on the street”. I half way expect, from the track record of the commentariat alone, the “man on the street” to have more sense.
We do need to think very seriously about the rationale for being in Afghanistan.
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Those people are the prisoners of their passions; thus, pitiable
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