Looking In The Mirror

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There are bad people in the world and we look forward to the day when they make their departure; actually, many of us lift a symbolic glass of wine to celebrate, when a convicted killer is finally executed. In America, a condemned killer has been tried in a court of law or by military tribunal and has been given his right to appeal. The condemned is then executed by lethal injection. The most humane and sterile method of death, yet devised in the history of man. A method that requires the state to swab the area of injection with alcohol before inserting the needle that will allow the poisons to be injected and course through the body, until death claims the killer’s life. Thus the possibility of infection of the wound is decreased; however, like many procedures, the alcohol is only for looks, since it takes several minutes for the alcohol to kill the bacteria. But remember, we are talking about a condemned person. Some ask why wait or why even waste the alcohol. This is the accepted method of execution, it allows us to feel good about killing someone and it helps to rid ourselves of those human beings who are deemed to no longer worthy of walking among us in the civilized world.

Lethal injection is accepted as the most humane method of execution by the most squeamish among us; however, many of the condemned would prefer the dignity of the firing squad or the hangman’s noose rather than the silliness of the current method, but this is what it takes to make death more palatable among the faint hearted, heavy breathers. It has been an ongoing Liberal cause, to make execution of the condemned a pain free and less traumatic experience.

There was no conjecture as to whether Timothy McVeigh may have had felt remorse at the moment of his death, somehow making the execution, of a killer of 168 innocent people cruel and unusual punishment. But McVeigh gave precious little for those opposed to executions to work with, maintaining his stoic demeanor to the end, he passed out this hand written statement before his execution.

Final written statement of Timothy McVeigh. Out of the night that covers me, Black is the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul.”

PITTS: In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeoning of chance, my head is bloodied but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the horror of the shade and yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishment the scroll. I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.

Like it or not, this is who we have become. We are willing to forget the babies born brain damaged and addicted to drugs and alcohol, or the victims of senseless gang violence, or the depredations of illegal aliens driving while unlicensed, uninsured, and drunk, or the fact that one third of our prisons are filled with illegal aliens. All of these issues pale in comparison to the discomfort of a mass murderer and the anguish felt by some of us at the thought of taking the life of a mass murderer.

We as Americans have a right to feel smug in the knowledge that we are sanctimonious to a fault, concerning the execution of a mass murderer. Let no one in the world say, we don’t value human life. We have proven the supposition of our unending love for debauched and vicious killers.

Yet, how easily the tide of public sentiment changes, when we are given the slightest excuse to join in the symbolic blood lust of the mob; a mob we supported with the effort of our Commander in Chief and our military. After months of the most sophisticated bombing to depose a hopelessly outgunned and overmatched dictator to supposedly enforce a no-fly zone. Oh, how humanitarian and uplifting does the term ”no-fly” sound to the public; because, after all, we are protecting the lives of innocent civilians in another country; we can feel so noble, while we lie to ourselves, just in case those trucks and troops start to fly like Mary Poppins.

After spending billions in high tech munitions to defeat and depose a single low tech dictator, we can now watch as the Libyan people are overwhelmed by the Muslim Brotherhood’s right of self-imposition. We can now have the satisfaction of knowing we have helped bloodthirsty theocratic fundamentalists, who are our sworn enemies, to depose a neurotic dictator who had given up supporting terror and mayhem.

Yes, it’s true that we are asked to believe that some of those who support terror are good and some are bad. Arafat, Nobel Peace Prize winner was beloved by the media and blood thirsty Arabs throughout the Middle East, was described by the media as a benevolent and beloved grandfather type terrorist with scraggly whiskers. He was one of the few mass murdering terrorists to be admired by the United Nations and cast as a hero among freedom loving Socialists throughout the world.

For some reason, a reason obscured in the murky world of Obama logic, the crazy Colonel from Libya, who decades ago was once a darling of Leftist media, when they wrote glowing reports of the handsome sheikh in his tents with camels parked outside, a vision that tended to heat up the libido of many Leftist women; strangely, a few months ago, the crazy Colonel fell out of Obama’s favor. He was no longer handsome, but that was hardly a logical reason, some of us just don’t age well; no, it was deeper than that, for the Colonel supported the racist and bigoted friends of Obama, specifically the racist fundamentalists Farrakahn and Wright. Surely, no one thinks it is because Obama’s benefactor Goldman Sachs, squandered twenty-four billion dollars of the Colonel’s money. No, the reason must be far deeper and more complex than those simple reasons; unfortunately, no one seems to know why the wacky Colonel fell out of disfavor with his Highness Obama.

While it is popular to assume that Obama has a superior intellect and unquestioned motives when he unleashes his counter productive measures against the economy and those of us not involved in his crony circles of corruption; there are those who are beginning to have doubts as to the true intent of the man and his Helter Skelter type of governance.

Yet the inconsistencies of the Narcissist are forgotten as the country comes together to celebrate after Qadaffi was literally torn apart by his people in an orgy of blood lust. For just a few minutes, in this modern age of political correctness, we are allowed to let down our pretenses and celebrate the images of a bloody man begging for mercy, a man who had renounced terrorism and was no longer a threat; we can forget who we are as Americans and just be a symbolic part of the mob that is bludgeoning and cutting a defenseless man to death.

Despite the fact that he was not a threat, many of us hated him because of his part in the Lockerbie bombing; therefore, we are willing to overlook certain details. Trials no longer matter, when we have the insanity of the mob and the bizarre logic of the Narcissist to justify our blood vengeance.

Oh, how wondrous to feel the power and vindictive hatred of the mob. For we are not only celebrating the fall of a tyrant who was in control of some of the most valuable sweet crude on the face of the earth, but we are also celebrating the might of the American military exerted against one of the most pathetic armies of the world; thus the moral superiority of the American people is projected to the world with the strength of a flickering candle. A morality that is controlled and directed by President Obama; a man with the intellect and morality of a superior Elitist being, whose motives are not to be questioned; even though, some of us don’t really enjoy seeing the mob rip a man apart as the culmination of a multi-billion dollar offensive against one man.

It’s true, many of us love to party and act gregarious over the slightest pretext, but still, there are others who like to analyze the situation and ask whether it is the role of the president to take down leaders and install Islamic Fundamentalists in one of the richest oil countries in the world and delude Americans into thinking it is wonderful and a time to rejoice, because we have a chance to let down our guard and feel the ancient pulse of the crowd at the Coliseum in Rome, when people were butchered for a Roman Holiday. Now, we are expected to celebrate the Obama Myth as a dictator is butchered in our living rooms: in much the same manner as the mob hailed Caesar for hosting the games. The power and wisdom of Obama is prodigious, but to truly appreciate the man and his myth, you must become a symbolic member of the mob and enjoy the sight of a man being ripped apart as he pleads for mercy. You must become a senseless member of the mob that feels strength in ignoring the rule of law that America stands for and instead revel in senseless violence and death, for then you are no better than the members of that mob and you have become a true believer in the Myth that is Obama.

To believe is to idolize Obama and accept the actions of Obama without analyzing the data that is open to everyone. Obama is the ideology that allows Americans and even our military to undertake such a bizarre mission with unquestioning loyalty to Obama. For the stated purpose of this quasi-war was to prevent a dictator from killing innocent civilians, but the war was over when he was butchered on a public street just after intervention by our jets and drones.

Yet, even we Conservatives will overlook many of Obama’s inconsistencies; when we are provided a modern version of Roman blood lust and the killing of an impotent old fool. Oh, how easy it is for the wily Obama to make fawning lap dogs out of people who are so willingly pulled into the magic of the mob and its’ blood lust.

How quick we forget and overlook the fact that Obama can no longer be considered an ideologue: indeed, he is only involved in the Narcissistic journey of self-serving self-promotion and though he may hint at caring for the middle class and the poor, he only cares that you admire him and for those who can’t admire him, it is enough if you celebrate his bizarre victories and identify with barbarians from the Middle East. For there is nothing in our Constitution that says we should change leadership in foreign countries that pose no threat to the US. But because Obama wanted to take this man out, we launch a major portion of our military hardware. Obama accomplishes his goals as we celebrate the fall of a dictator and toast our own dictator in the same breath.

Are we so concerned with helping to maintain and reinforcing his Narcissistic personality, that we let him have free use of the most powerful military in the world to install Islamic Fundamentalists wherever he sees the need to intervene. We have elevated Obama to the position of a supreme Elite within the Socialist context. His words and actions are above the law and never to be doubted. He is superior, the media has promoted the concept and most of us have swallowed the swill. For while you declare the murder of a dictator as a great accomplishment, you play directly into the myth and game of Obama.

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Skooum, you have really outdone yourself on this one. An excellent piece of work that delves into the psychology of the human mind, group/herd think, political propaganda from both sides, rule of law, the list is endless. Back after Bush accepted gaddafi back as a reformed man and removed Libay from the list of countries that support terrorism I was angry. And let it be know. I was told many times “Gary those bombings were decades ago! You can’t hold a grudge forever!’ A grudge? What about the murdered victims? Their families, and loved ones. The lives they had stolen from them! And justice as you pointed out. What happened to it? And then Obama comes on the stage and treats him as a King till the Arab Spring. The Obi and others saw a chance for fame, and recognition and began to sell our old dictator friends out one by one, except one who will be in the news more as his number is very close to being called in. Was I happy that the psycho was killed by a mob. Yes and no. I had mixed reactions, repulsion mixed with relief. That he got in the end what he gave out so much of, no mercy, suffering, and then death. I deal with those emotions on a daily basis with any terrorist. I would in a heartbeat shoot the scum who murdered our son, his dreams and our dreams for him and his family. Life is fragil enough with-out people like him and others who will snuff out life for no reason at all. Bringing untold amounts of misery and suffering to families and friends, and the question “Why the senseless murder?” And today in this Brave new American where killers and suspects are treated like movie stars and worshipped by the herd I think we are all lucky when ever a heartless killer is taken out by a rocket and or mob. While juctice is buried and forgotten for the real victims.
Bush and Rice were plain wrong, but the oil contracts were just to tempting I guess. And Obi was just as wrong in more ways than Bush really. But is that not the problem, or part of it? We have a divided society now, if their man does something wrong his side dwon plays it, and even cheers it, while screaming Wrong! if the other side does it. So in the end these so called leaders of ours on both sides manipulate us against each other for their own gain.
But your post was really good Skooum, better than good! Keep it up!! I will re-read this one numerous times and tell others. Good brain food and heated debates!

Good post… I’m in favor of bringing back the guillotine. I am so tired of murderers, rapists, terrorists and others of that ilk, morphing into poor, persecuted souls by the bleeding hearts of this world. If the criminals have been proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, then their sentence should be carried out in an expeditious manner. Anyone who says that execution is not a deterrent is wrong! The one who has been executed will certainly not commit another crime! Seems to me, that in all this brouhaha, the ones being left out in the cold are the victims and their families.

One of the best posts I’ve ever read. I was horrified by what I saw on the one video I dared to watch, so much so that I didn’t watch them to the end; couldn’t watch to the end. I remember thinking that those people need a dictator and that is why they will quietly concede to Sharia, which is no more than dictatorial rule, an extreme Nanny State where every facet of one’s life is prescribed. This is what the progressives want with their ‘smart’ everything, ‘sustainable’ everything and laws and regulations on everything. Each also has its perversions, bacha bareesh and child brides on one side, sexualization of children through LGBT ‘equality’ programs in school on the other side. And of course, groups are now trying to remove pedophilia as a mental disorder – NAMBLA must be legitimized.
The bloodlust will drag us down even further unless the majority of conservatives come to their senses. I fear revenge has become so firmly implanted in their souls they cannot see what it happening – as evidenced in Dr John’s thread where there was such a huge outcry against what he wrote about the assassination of al-Aulaki, which I agreed with.
Our country has moved so far from where she was she would be unrecognizable to our founders. I pray America can be restored to her founding principles, but with an electorate ruled by emotions over common sense, I have my doubts.

Skook, very good read. This is the typical lynch mob scene from all of those old westerns. When the marshal confronts the mob, the viewer finds out what kind of man the marshal is by his actions. The man we most want to emulate defends the suspect with his life if necessary because it is his job to uphold the law of the land. The man we detest allows the mob to take the prisoner and hang him just to maintain his popularity with the mob/people of the town. It applies here. Ann Coulter accurately describes the mentality of the mob in one of her recent books.

SKOOKUM
YES, THAT IS THE REAL expression of human evil soul, and to put it in words is not for everyone,
you can tackle those actions also as a person who had the experience of animal behavior,
and such a human behavior would not be seen in the even most dangerous animal unless the brain is sick from its infection, which is given to their generation long after the subject has disapear eaten alive from the beast deep in his core
thank you

Excellent post, Skookum. The hypocrisy of the left knows no bounds, I’m afraid.

I hope Obama has good security. I want him to transition from being our worst President to our worst ex-President in a timely fashion, not become a Progressive martyr.

Wm T Sherman,
yes to that,
bye

And, don’t forget, it is the right-wing media, like this one, that has developed the myth of Obama as Messiah. Nobody on the Left believes this. Only the Right is capable of believing their own fairy-tales.

@Liberal1 (objectivity):

…the right-wing media, like this one, that has developed the myth of Obama as Messiah. Nobody on the Left believes this.

“Nobody on the Left believes” that? Really?

“I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God.”

Full transcript here.

Lib1, you seem to be confused concerning the definition of a myth. The myth or the pantheon of lies is precisely why or how Obama was elected. It was the propaganda machine of the Democrat Party, the State Directed Media, that promulgated the lies into a myth or hoax. The country believed the empty boasts and now we are stuck with a total phony leading the country. A man whose greatest foreign policy accomplishments have been the assassinations of foreign political leaders. A man who ignores the bloody henchmen and despots of the Middle East, like the ones in Syria and Iran who had actual demonstrators for freedom and shot them down like dogs, while turning on dictators who pose no threat and who were semi-allies to the US, like the ones in Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt. I can see why the Useful Idiots are desperate to rewrite this recent history, but the truth is the truth and now we all have access to news instead of the Party line Propaganda.

Yes, Liberal Idiot, it’s obvious you and your buffoons believed the lies and now you are trying to rewrite history to say that Conservatives created the myth; what an attempt at ill humor, we exposed the myth, we exposed the lies. You will never lie out of this one or at least you will never tell lies that anyone will believe. The joke is in the White House and his jokesters, like you, who try to defend the indefensible are nothing more than sad pathetic attempts at lame humor.

America and the free world will breathe a “Collective” sigh of relief when this arrogant fool is given the bum’s rush out the backdoor of the White House.

You write of your ambivelence about the way Quaddafi was killed- I too have a mixed reaction. Was he a bedouin thug, an unrepentant dictator? Yes- but I think that the old saw that revolutions born in blood have a short life may prove true, because, in the way he was put to death took some of the sheen off of the patina of the revolution. The “cause” lost some luster, as the people lost some humanity here.
There was no trial, no listing of his many crimes, and the people who toppled his regime just looked like thugs themselves.
This cannot be the image they wish to convey to the rest of the world, can it? I know that the arab world has some different values, but theyregress into a time of beastial behavior when they give in to their baser instincts.
I feel sorrow, even as I understand the urge for retribution.

Oh, c’mon Aye….it’s a right-wing myth.

Liberal1, c’mon….you mean to tell me there isn’t even a little tiny bit of Obama in you?

“You can divide history. BB Before Barack. AB After Barack.”
Spike Lee

“…It’s never been done before; I think this thing has been pre-deortained- or whatever you want to call it, I”m not going to say it’s God; but this is not a mistake- this is happening now; and I don’t think it’s a mistake it’s happening…that he is here…”
Spike Lee

“I think that Obama,
his election to the Senate,
was divinely ordered….
I know that that was God’s plan.”

-Bill Rush, New York Times, September 9, 2007

“This is bigger than Kennedy. This is the New Testament.”
Chris Matthews

“…a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany…and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama”
-Barack Obama Lebanon, New Hampshire.
January 7, 2008

Even Obama himself seems to buy into his messianic hype; or at least sees himself as “historic” in the sense of JFK-MLK’s 2nd coming.

Maybe Liberal1 doesn’t sport a socialist realism art of Obama on his Prius….or wear his likeness on his t-shirt….but “none on the Left”?…..Really?!

Ok…Enough with the frivolous “distractions”; let’s talk about the real issues…
The Obama Cult Of Personality
The Cult of Obama
Water bottle…woman fainting…and Barack Obama: What do these three things have in common?

@Wordsmith:
Excellent summary, Wordsmith.
It reminded me of an art project Obama had to dump (and the media is pretending was never in the works).
Kumar (of Herold & Kumar) headed a presidential council of artists who were planning on getting the taxpayer’s dimes to support them as they propagandized Obama, ObamaCare, the Stimulus and anything else Obama told them to do.
Too bad for that plan, a conference call included enough HONEST artists that it became public.
That ended that!
Recently, however, Obama has requested artists work up posters FOR FREE that will help him in his re-election.
He could find a gem amidst the garbage I’m sure.
But the prize for winning?
Your own poster signed by ”the One.”
Gee.
Cheap.
And not even helping the economy!

Word, that was one of the most humorous things I have read in a long time. It is real humour, for behind all humour is tragedy and we are living the tragedy.

Well written post. Thanks.

A question for the experts, I wonder what’s more worthy of scorn: Americans hoping a new President will succeed, or Americans hoping he will fail? Which is the less admirable sentiment? And in purely objective terms, which outcome, success or failure, is more likely to reap the the greatest good for the United States?

My thoughts? There’s nothing wrong with simply hoping things will get better, which is what it came down to for a lot of people. Sounds obvious, of course, but worth mentioning to those who have been hoping things will get worse for the past three years. Second, there’s nothing wrong with people celebrating who never thought they’d see a black man from a modest background elected to the highest office in the land half a century after segregation, two centuries removed from slavery. A lot of that sentiment had nothing to do with Barack Obama, the man, per se, but is the culmination of a lifelong dream, and those it speaks to absolutely are entitled to that moment. Third, focusing on this false idea that Obama put something over on the American people with his slick ways is just another way of ignoring all the obvious reason he won (McCain/Palin/GWB/Iraq/Economic meltdown). And fourth, constantly spinning these ridiculous yarns centered upon Obama as this cartoon villain only makes me wonder if a sustained line of political attack continues to elude you.

@Tom: There are plenty of reasons why McCain didn’t get elected. And I hate to break it to you, but Palin damn near DID get him elected. She re-energized the GOP and garnered him a ton of votes he might otherwise not have gotten.
.
.

@Tom: Great, thoughtful comment!

A question for the experts, I wonder what’s more worthy of scorn: Americans hoping a new President will succeed, or Americans hoping he will fail? Which is the less admirable sentiment? And in purely objective terms, which outcome, success or failure, is more likely to reap the the greatest good for the United States?

I think Ann Coulter, of all people, expressed it best: I want President Obama to succeed; but in order for that to happen, he’d have to govern in a more conservative direction.

It’s not that we want Obama and America to fail. I want America to succeed and to prosper. I just don’t see that as a possibility so long as President Obama is stuck on his policy beliefs. After the 2010 midterm election, I felt the Republican wins might actually save an Obama presidency.

But I do understand, acknowledge, and see some on my side of the aisle cheerleading each and every Obama failure out of political partisanship over patriotism. But this is no different than the liberal fringies (and even non-fringies) did to President Bush and the war(s).

My thoughts? There’s nothing wrong with simply hoping things will get better, which is what it came down to for a lot of people. Sounds obvious, of course, but worth mentioning to those who have been hoping things will get worse for the past three years.

I don’t think most of us have hoped things would get worse; we are reacting to things having gotten worse.

Were we anti-Obama to begin with? Yes. And now that we’ve witnessed an Obama Administration in action? Hell, yes!

And I agree: there’s nothing wrong with people hoping for something better. There was a lot of Bush-weariness, even amongst conservatives fatigued from 8 yrs of defending Bush-era policies, and so the idea of a kind of political savior riding in on a white horse to rescue the country seemed attractive. The less known about him and lack of executive experience, apparently the better. That’s what was in part so aggravating to me: That people seemed to cast their votes for Obama out of faith and hope and the yearning to see that glass ceiling shattered so that we could move beyond “white guilt” as a nation repeatedly beat over the head with reminders of our racial sins.

Did I wish this president ill-will when he was inaugurated?

Second, there’s nothing wrong with people celebrating who never thought they’d see a black man from a modest background elected to the highest office in the land half a century after segregation, two centuries removed from slavery. A lot of that sentiment had nothing to do with Barack Obama, the man, per se, but is the culmination of a lifelong dream, and those it speaks to absolutely are entitled to that moment.

I admit, that I was moved by the photos in this post, even if you might think I am mocking the president and his supporters.

Electing the first (semi)black-American to the highest office in the land was in itself- divorced of the great political divide- a great glass-ceiling shattering moment in American history. A lot of mainstream conservatives in the press acknowledged it and celebrated it.

However, as a conservative and as an ethnic-minority one at that, I did not need to see this happen to believe that America has moved to a point beyond race where it would eventually happen. If anything, I believe Barack Obama’s ethnic makeup, the exoticness of his name, all helped him get elected. But I judged presidential candidate Obama not on the color of his skin but by the content of his political character….and I didn’t like what I saw.

Third, focusing on this false idea that Obama put something over on the American people with his slick ways is just another way of ignoring all the obvious reason he won (McCain/Palin/GWB/Iraq/Economic meltdown).

I agree. He benefited from great timing.

And fourth, constantly spinning these ridiculous yarns centered upon Obama as this cartoon villain only makes me wonder if a sustained line of political attack continues to elude you.

Kinda like the “ridiculous yarns” spun about the evil chimp-in-chief Bushitler? 😉

I do agree with you that there is criticism that is mere political partisanship hay. But this is nothing new under the sun.

I think what’s changed is that under these last two presidents, we’ve been living in an information age that has magnified our perception of everything.

TOM, why are you so blind,
the money was coming from those who found a good deal for them,
so they wanted to sell OBAMA to the public, but they needed a sacrificial lamb
to cover up the non attributes of their guy, so they use THE PRESIDENT BUSH AS THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB
they throw a BOOMERANG and built on the hate BUSH PROPAGANDA TO PROMOTE OBAMA,
BECAUSE THE PEOPLE where asking questions many whom came from SARAH PALIN, WHICH
was very smart on giving to the people, of the many cover up about the guy trying to win the POSITION,
without experience or birth certificate or knowledge of military position on enemies, and other questionable facts brought on,as to cover what was missing to become a leader,
so the BOOMERANG CAME BACK AND HIT THE TARGET WHICH HAS SENT IT AT THE START,
and as much as they try to change the
path of the BOOMERANG , they could not do it,
bye

anticsrocks
beside, that election where many votes came from blank or dead people was found questioneble
I remember some in the crowd saying to have a riot if he did not win,
and those thugs roaming at the door of the PRESIDENT and his family after the election was reveal. which is still mentionned questionneble
good that the security was fast to react,

Tom, Obama told us what he considered as him succeeding.

Obama said he wanted to fundamentally transform this country.
I see things wrong but no need to fundamentally transform the whole country, so I hope he fails in that.
So far, he has.

Obama said he wanted to create a civilian defense force the size and funding equal to our military.
I have seen what civilian defense forces did from Nazi Germany to the old Soviet Union to China, so I hope he fails in that.
So far, he has.

Obama said he wanted to cause the price of energy to skyrocket.
I have lived through a time when energy was rationed and the prices were very high, so I hope he fails.
So far, he has.

Obama told us he wanted the USA to take a back seat to the rest of the world in foreign relations.
I have seen what happens when we drag our feet while despots educationally cleanse, ethnically cleanse, enslave, abuse and plunder their corners of the world, so I hope he fails in this.
But he is succeeding, and more of the planet’s people are under the thumbs of murderous kleptocrats because of it.

I had high hopes for Obama when he 1st took office.
Now I hope he just doesn’t permanently screw things up so bad (here and abroad) that we can’t dig ourselves out in my lifetime.

Nan G
hi,
super, you excel as usual

@Tom: Americans hoping a new President will succeed, or Americans hoping he will fail? Which is the less admirable sentiment?

Well that all depends upon what the “new President” is trying to achieve, doesn’t it Tom?

To put it somewhere closer to your own general issues territory, if you were anti-OIF in Iraq, would you have preferred the Bush failed to get the AUMF, which allowed use of military force in Iraq? In your eyes, is that not an “admirable sentiment”?

If a President was hoping to get a Constitutional amendment that forbid same sex marriage, and you opposed that, would you hope that POTUS “failed”? And is that not an “admirable sentiment” in your view?

Well, it’s not much different from my political perspective. Obama/Pelosi/Reid’s fiscal spending, his plans for universal health care, and his proposed financial reform were all ill chosen paths for our economic status… as been shown over and over thru historic recessions/depressions. His attempt to bypass Congress by using regulations and czars is another arena where I hope he fails.

Considering that I differ from you in what will make things “better”, I hardly think my rooting for him to fail in achieving those goals makes my sentiment any less morally admirable than yours. And I might also add that, contrary to your not-so-subtle comment INRE race, it had nothing to do with his skin color. I don’t chose my POTUS based on race, religion or gender, but by what I believe they will attempt via policy.

I notice you chose to frame your first paragraph, deliberately using the term “fail” to denote which is the higher ground. Yet in the second paragraph, you decided to present your own argument pro Obama/pro change as lofty hope and celebration of a black American in the WH.

Now why is that, I wonder? Did you think a softer delivery – after making the observation that those rooting for “failure” were not worthy of admiration for their sentiments – was going to change the facts that anyone who disagrees with a particular policy will always root for failure, and has done so since the founding of this country?

And BTW… you still have the FA cyber floor on the other thread. I’m quite patiently waiting for you to accept my apology and clarify your song and dance, saying that I accused you of political stands you didn’t, or don’t, take, INRE EITs.

You might also consider re’evaluating your charge that I did not answer your question directly, when I did more than once. But if you decide not to use your FA floor time to speak in your own observations on EITs, I’ll just note that the person who actually demonstrates the “unwillingness or inability to respond to a straight forward question” is really you, and I’ll take it for what it is”.

Tom, there is one glaring fact in this post and commentary that eludes everyone, especially you. No one mentioned the color of Obama’s hide, but you.

Many Americans would prefer leaders from humble stations in life. Only the Elitists and admirers of the Elites, more commonly called social climbers, are impressed with the status of overly rated expensive educations and premier preparatory schools; certainly, the credibility of such educations have become even more circumspect and of dubious value after the Obama presidency.

And fourth, constantly spinning these ridiculous yarns centered upon Obama as this cartoon villain only makes me wonder if a sustained line of political attack continues to elude you.

I am afraid the meaning of this sentence eludes me. I will admit I can spin a yarn as well as anyone, but is there a yarn within this article?

Obama as a cartoon villain: Perhaps in the sense of a cartoon, it would be more appropriate to portray him as a stumbling oaf, without a clue.

The idea of a sustained political attack eluding me: I will assure you that I can maintain a political attack, but such writing will become tedious after weeks or months; I prefer to offer a variety of articles with original insight and creativity. Some articles are popular and some are miserable failures. This is the gamble, when you deviate from the main path. You may be assured that I will maintain a sustained political criticism of every misstep and failure until this presidency is concluded and when the new president is sworn in, I will continue to watch every move he makes and write with the same objectivity. This is the difference between a political hack and a journalist. I don’t play favorites with race or political parties. Failures, incompetents, criminals, and liars will be called for their transgressions by me, until Curt turns off my access.

In a little over a year, you will be able to see objectivity confirmed, not just partisan hype. Stick around Tom, the pendulum will be ready to swing back soon enough.

@Skookum: My thoughts exactly. Bravo!

@Skookum: Tom, there is one glaring fact in this post and commentary that eludes everyone, especially you. No one mentioned the color of Obama’s hide, but you.

Oh I noticed, Skook… and said so in referring to his not-so-subtle remark in my response above. Was wondering when it would hit home for others. I especially love his “bad cop/good cop” presentations between paragraph 1 and 2. LOL

INRE a “sustained line of political attack” being elusive, I would guess that Tom implied conservatives had no substance in genuine complaints, so it’s all spun yarns of political hyperbole instead.

But then I expect his usual mantra of “stop putting words in my mouth”. You see, Tom’s not new here, and his past participation is always carefully worded observations that he attempts to make in the third person sense, so he can disavow anything he says as being his own. He sort of devoted to not being responsible, personally, for anything he says. Considering what he says, who can blame him? Generally, when cornered, that’s when he pulls out the repetitive “you’re putting words in my mouth” complaint.

Of course, when even politely asked to clarify, he does the drive by avoidance bit, and hops to another thread with what he thinks are new benign, generic third person observations. Thus his appearance here instead of the clean up on aisle 13, another Gaddafi thread, as Aye would say.

@Wordsmith:

Now that’s what I call responding to a comment in good faith.

It’s not that we want Obama and America to fail. I want America to succeed and to prosper. I just don’t see that as a possibility so long as President Obama is stuck on his policy beliefs.

I understand hoping specific policies you disagree with fail. That makes sense. But hoping that that the economy wont improve, because that will hurt Obama, or showing satisfaction at the perception of an Obama foreign policy blunder goes way beyond that into a distasteful realm of pure partisanship and, frankly, in some cases, highlights a really disturbing personal hatred of the man that I can’t understand. Ascribing slanderous attributes to Obama, such as that he’s not really American; that he’s trying to destroy the American way of life and economy; that he hates US servicemen and women; that he’s trying to foment a race war, etc. – I have seen all of these opinions voiced here, and they all seem to me to be handy ways for some to justify taking their feeling about the man way beyond what you’re describing as merely heated political disagreement on the issues.

But this is no different than the liberal fringies (and even non-fringies) did to President Bush and the war(s).

There’s no doubt that both fringes act very similarly in this respect.

But I judged presidential candidate Obama not on the color of his skin but by the content of his political character….and I didn’t like what I saw.

That’s a completely reasonable attitude, and in no way would endorse any differently. I can tell you understand what I meant above about people celebrating a symbolic moment. And I’m glad you didn’t attempt to misrepresent my remarks as an endorsement of racial preferences, quotas, or voting along racial lines, which was pretty much what I was expecting to hear.

I think what’s changed is that under these last two presidents, we’ve been living in an information age that has magnified our perception of everything.

I completely agree. Also, the ability for people to respond and react instantaneously, while the blood is still up, so to speak, has just make the atmosphere that much more toxic. I can’t recall who made the observation, but some pundit observed how back when people wrote letters, the period of time between the writing and the mailing was often sufficient for a cooling off period, resulting in a much different letter ultimately being sent.

STEVE WYNN ceo of wynn resort , democrat said,
if anyone doesn’see what OBAMA IS DOING
THEN WE DESERVE WHAT WILL HAPPEN,
he said I am so frighten for the futur,
he call his friend who is running for SENATe
she said I know, my husband is a doctor and he doesn’t like it,
but if I Talk against it she will punish me meaning PELOSI,
STEVE SAID they are saying nice words and doing the contrary,
if they don’t know what they are doing , it’s impossible to believe

@Tom:

There’s nothing wrong with simply hoping things will get better, which is what it came down to for a lot of people.

Oh yes there is something wrong with ‘simply hoping,’ and being driven by feelings and emotion instead of applying critical thinking, and not vetting a candidate at all.

We ended up with this destructive man in the White House because of all the people who hoped and emoted and did not think.

Many people who were borne along on the great wave of emotion in 2008, will now vote against Obama in 2012. The ones who can admit error will do so; the ones who can’t admit error will claim they were duped. The evidence for what kind of President Obama would be was there for everyone to see. People either chose to see it, or chose not to see it. Many former Obama voters now see the problem with hoping to the exclusion of thinking.

“I hope he fails” means now what it always meant — as Nan G explained, it means “I hope he does not grow the Federal government any further, does not drive the nation further into debt, does not drive up the cost of energy, does not strangle us with more pettifogging regulations, does not bypass the constitution, does not betray our allies, does not use the power of the government to harass political enemies.” I want him to fail at all of that. I hope he fails. Not the nation. Him. His failure is the nation’s success.

@Nan G:

I had high hopes for Obama when he 1st took office.

That surprises me, Nan, considering the laundry list of goals you ascribed to Obama that you disagree with. What were your high hopes based on?

@MataHarley:
Re. the cyberfloor. Sigh… I will get back to that thread to continue our lovely discussion.

@Skookum:

Tom, there is one glaring fact in this post and commentary that eludes everyone, especially you. No one mentioned the color of Obama’s hide, but you.

And your point is…. what? is that a taboo topic here? My apologies for my lapse in decorum.

@MataHarley:

Of course, when even politely asked to clarify, he does the drive by avoidance bit, and hops to another thread with what he thinks are new benign, generic third person observations. Thus is appearance here instead of the clean up on aisle 13, as Aye would say.

That’s funny, Mata. Perhaps if you actually listened and attempted to understand another person’s viewpoint instead of assigning them one of your choosing and then launching into a rote attack on the assigned viewpoint, you could actually participate in a constructive discussion rather than just feathering your cap. But I imagine it’s much easier for you to just dismiss anyone who doesn’t reside in the 1% Right extreme as a socialist and then tear down what a socialist’s position would be on any given topic. I think we can score it: Mata: 1, Socialist Strawman: 0 every time.

Tom: Perhaps if you actually listened and attempted to understand another person’s viewpoint instead of assigning them one of your choosing and then launching into a rote attack on the assigned viewpoint, you could actually participate in a constructive discussion rather than just feathering your cap.

Ah yes.. there’s that “stop putting words into my mouth” claim again…. Tom, you haven’t even seen me in “attack” mode. I deal with what you say, and the assumption that you presenting that argument is the foundation of your beliefs. But as I said, you really attempt to place all your “constructive debates” into a vague 3rd party so you bear no responsibility for your words.

And the idea that I’m an “1% right extreme” will probably make many smile around here. Most of them think Wordsmith and I are sometimes way too moderate for our own good… LOL But then, it seems that it’s you who prefers to feather your cap, blushing and gushing over Wordsmith’s praise for your sleight of hand insults in your comment above. Yet when I point out that your perspective of “admirable sentiment” is skewed, depending upon where you stand, you say nothing. Why? So inconvenient to your insults, isn’t it?

You aren’t the first “rare liberal not on welfare” around here to attempt to sling mud disguised as “constructive debate”. You certainly won’t be the last. But don’t assume everyone doesn’t see thru this approach, Tom. You do possess eloquence, and a good sense of humor. But none of those mask your contempt… for example assuming that conservatives want the economy to fail for political reasons. Don’t know a one that wouldn’t have been tickled with an economic recovery.

And if you’re referring to GOP elected ones, then you have to understand the disgust for the elected ones with the R behind their names is only slightly less than the disgust for the other ones with a D behind their names. Thus the reason that Congress gets low approval numbers from taxpayers from both sides of the aisle. There’s a few “rah rah GOP” types here, but they are not the majority. So when speaking of “assigning” people to one of your choosing, check out the mirror, Tom. Thy name is hypocrite.

TOM, YOU ARE a very annoying little person,
nobody need your advices except yourself,
keep that in mind when you return,
bye

@ilovebeeswarzone:

TOM, YOU ARE a very annoying little person,
nobody need your advices except yourself,
keep that in mind when you return,

I have a feeling I won’t be allowed to forget it, so put your mind at ease.

@Tom:

I have a feeling I won’t be allowed to forget it, so put your mind at ease.

You think that this place is intolerant of ‘dissent?’

@MataHarley:

Ah yes.. there’s that “stop putting words into my mouth” claim again….

So, for examples sake, on the other thread you referenced, you didn’t write the following in your very first response to me?

What you lib/progs consider torture is laughable.

There’s two assumptions in there disguised as facts, 1) that I’m a “lib/prog”, or I should say your version of a lib/prog, which is little more than a pinata around here, prepackaged with stereotypical thoughts and beliefs, the easier for you to lazily regurgitate your anti-lib tropes rather than respond to the actual individual; and 2) that you have any idea what I think on the topic at hand; rather you’ve (yup, here’s that word again) “assigned” me an opinion right out the gate, which naturally, you’re well equipped to knock down. And this is all in your first response to me, well before you ever inquire into my position (which is a first, I must admit, if hardly sincere, considering it was delivered in a joking fashion). Of course putting me on the defensive with my assigned fake opinion did allow you to avoid my question and go right on the attack where you’re most comfortable. So don’t try to lecture me on how you’re so open minded and I’m evasive. Being evasive with you merely means hoping you’ll stick to the topic rather than giving you more opportunities to veer off into prepacked Lib/Prog spanking territory. Your MO is indeed well-established and crystal clear, but nice try – again – at trying to muddy the waters by throwing accusations my way.

You are an admitted liberal, Tom. From your past comments here. Archives, son… archives. As I said…you and your personality are not a new entity here. I’m not dealing with a total stranger, sans any background.

There’s been many personal beliefs reiterated by you, but as I said, you most often attempt to frame your observations from a 3rd party perspective so you can do just what you are doing now… say “you have no idea what I think!” as a way to dodge responsibility for your comments. Debating someone with no convictions is a losing proposition because – as you demonstrate – you make it a moving target of issues, followed by victimization.

No sin. Refusing to take responsibility seems to be a hallmark of those that share your political beliefs, and the guy you said you voted for.

Lib/prog is short for liberal/progressive. If you consider it an insult, perhaps you should change your political beliefs.. when you can admit to them, that is.

As for being evasive… it was you you turned the topic to EITs, and equating them with the Libyans treatment of Saddam. It was then you who dodged any responsibility for your observations. So I played the game with you… apologized if I accused you of having beliefs that EITs and the Libyans behavior with not only Gaddafi, but his son and a mass grave of 53 others – summarily tried and executed in the new Libyan court “freedom” – that you didn’t have.

Still waiting to hear that my accusation was totally off base, and you don’t equate US EITs with that behavior… tapping toes, tapping toes. You can only shuck and jive so long, Mr. Tom.

Oh yes… so you don’t like my “What you lib/progs consider torture is laughable”, but then suggest that the conservatives (as a group) are rooting for economic failure for political gain.

Yes, Tom… thy name remains Hypocrite.

@Wm T Sherman:

Calm down, dude. It was a joke. I assume you have humor on the Right?

Tom: I assume you have humor on the Right?

Wow.. more blanket group assigns with stereotypes? LOL

Thy first AND last name is hypocrite, Tom.

@Tom: @Nan G:

I had high hopes for Obama when he 1st took office.

That surprises me, Nan, considering the laundry list of goals you ascribed to Obama that you disagree with. What were your high hopes based on?

Glad you asked, Tom.
Obama and his family are well-spoken, well-educated, successful black Americans.
I had hoped he would set an example and use his bully pulpit to encourage other black Americans to also reach out for more.

The idea of pulling your pants up, wearing decent clothes, trying to get an education (preferably in STEM – science, technology, engineering and math) would be an automatic leg up in American society.
But Obama never has used that bully pulpit.

When flash-ROB-mobs of blacks have stormed markets, store and whole malls he has been surprisingly quiet.
While ebonics and drug dealing is rampant in our inner cities he hasn’t said a thing.
Meantime black lag all races in getting degrees in STEM.

In 2009, African-Americans received 1 percent of degrees in science technologies, and 4 percent of degrees in math and statistics.
Out of 5,048 PhDs awarded in the physical sciences, such as chemistry and physics, 89 went to African-Americans — less than 2 percent.

Instead of pushing for truly good outcomes for young blacks in America Obama has supported the OWS movement.
He initially said the police acted stupidly instead of waiting for facts.
He pushes longer unemployment and freebies which infantilize our youth (of all colors) when he could push them toward full adulthood.

@MataHarley:

You are an admitted liberal, Tom. From your past comments here.

So there’s really no reason for me to respond at all, is what you’re saying. You have me figured out, you know everything about me. I’m just cluttering up the threads trying to express myself. Where there was an attempt at a dialogue, it would be much more efficient for you to simply lecture and I’ll just take in the righteous wisdom and be better for it.

@MataHarley:

Thy first AND last name is hypocrite, Tom.

sign…. Try saying it a few dozen more times and maybe it will stick. Does it ever get old reaching into the same tired bag of tricks?

Tom: So there’s really no reason for me to respond at all, is what you’re saying. You have me figured out, you know everything about me. I’m just cluttering up the threads trying to express myself. Where there was an attempt at a dialogue, it would be much more efficient for you to simply lecture and I’ll just take in the righteous wisdom and be better for it.

sigh… what a drama queen. From one extreme of “hey, I didn’t say that” to the other.

What might be a suggestion is that you take responsibility for your “clutter”, Tom. i.e when you enter a forum to change the subject from the Libyan’s execution of Gaddafi to EITs by saying:

I’d be curious how many people here think it’s ok for the US to water board a mass murderer like KSM 183 times, but it’s not okay for Libyans to brutalize the mass murderer Gadaffi after they’ve detained him.

Gee, Tom… were you some passing by, uninterested person with no opinion, looking for a show of hands as a pollster?

Or did that question stem from the fact that, since you inflated KSM’s water torture far beyond the realm of reality, you might be opposed to EITs and waterboarding? And since there were a specified few minority who were taking heat for being appalled at the new Libyan form of justice, the last part of that sentence was directed specifically at those who hold that view… which included me.

Seriously… are you used to dealing with people where the light bulb upstairs is constantly off? Do you think that we can’t read a sentence, constructed in such a fashion with exaggerated effect of KSM’s treatment, as one who has no problem equating the (supposed) US heinous treatment of him with vigilante justice?

I answered your question… several times. Didn’t seem to sink in, and you claimed some sort of “feather in your cap” victory that it was *me* dodging the question, and fled here to Skookum’s thread. So I’ll answer it yet again. There is no comparison between EITs, conducted for HUMINT, and those that maim, dismember, sodomize or sexually assault, or execute a captured POW or enemy combatant for revenge, or to mete out their own justice. You might as well be asking me if I liked the apple pie, when I just had some chicken piccata. Obviously you consider them the same critter. I don’t.

Yet you accused me of putting words in your mouth… as you do historically with me when cornered. I apologized, and I’m still waiting for your clarification on EITs, Tom. Was I incorrect, and you see the difference between the two? Or do you just want to toss out a few more hypocritical assumptions, barbs and cute sayings while screaming “victim”? Three comments, more dancing, and still no commitment to any stated convictions.

@MataHarley:

Three comments, more dancing, and still no commitment to any stated convictions.

Worse than trying to nail Jello to the wall, eh?

Standard MO with this one.

Aye… too funny!

@Tom:

I assume you have humor on the Right?

Of course. I’m laughing right now.

@MataHarley:

I answered your question… several times.

I will address that fallacy on the actual thread. Also, if you’re going to write that many sentences, try to make more of them interesting (one idea: cut down on saying the same thing five different ways)

@Aye:

Still doing the side-kick thing, eh?

Five different ways is the only way for any point to get thru your overly dense grey mass, Tom… if at that.

Still toe tapping…. four comments, still dancing, and no commitment to beliefs. Just more promises, promises, and less eloquent insults.

@Tom:

Still doing the side-kick thing, eh?

Actually, I’m doing the azz kicking thing….course, having repeatedly been on the receiving end, you already knew that.

@Tom: You said:

So there’s really no reason for me to respond at all, is what you’re saying. You have me figured out, you know everything about me. I’m just cluttering up the threads trying to express myself.

Self pity ill fits you, Tom.

Well done Skook.

In ‘joystick‘ warfare, Obama has discovered, from the darker corner of his amoral mind, a comfortable rationalization which easily justifies to a pandering MSM, the slaughter of foreigners for political gain.

We find a President embracing the ‘no-boots-on-the-ground’ assassination strategy as being so much more palatable his Democratic support. He thanks the universe for having converged on his Presidency, the supremacy of the Drone. Drones enabled him to pretend that the Libyan campaign was really a ‘no-fly-zone’ campaign because that was so easily swallowed by the coddling ‘believers’.

It is still believed by his sycophanting media that this was not an Obama version of regime change, and yet it was nothing else. This Libyan war was not for any benevolent purpose intended to aid the Libyan people – this was an orchestration for political gain. America had no dog in that hunt. NONE. France used Qaddafi oil, not America. His comments since the slaughter of Qaddafi have been contemptible, self-indulgent, preening.

The hypocrisy flowing out of this President seems to know no bounds.

@Wordsmith: #19- Wordsmith, some of us who hope Obama will fail, do not do so just to see him fail, (i.e.- because he is a Democrat, we enjoy seeing him fail), but there is the fact that he is of the socialist persuasion, and strongly so- and that we cannot abide, not for ourselves, but for the path our country is on. The fact that our country’s future is, in reality (and starkly so), our children’s future, makes Obama’s being a one term wonder a task that almost has holy implications.
If he is NOT ousted, our children and grandchildren will have the unmistakable yoke of socialism thrust upon them, and our country will continue to slide towards the mediocrity that is socialism, and that is a slope that is doubly hard to climb out of.

@Tom: #28- Back when people wrote letters, they thought about the content of their comments, but the bile and vitriol were still there, indeed, their wit (both good and bad) were honed rapier sharp- but then they still had dueling back then, so redress often came in a more physical and often permanent form, a practice I often wish would be revived, as that had the effect often of people choosing their words more carefully, don’t you think?