Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

[unofan]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

Washington was first for the example he set and the way he inspired confidence that the new government in fact would succeed where the previous government had failed (we today cannot fully comprehend how extraordinary that was for those times), Jefferson was second for two things, one of which was the Louisiana purchase, Lincoln was third for preventing the Confederacy from withdrawing from the Union, FDR was a disputed fourth, many of the people surveyed wanted to rate him lower for his questionable economic policies and his attempt to change the number of justices on the Supreme Court, except that his foresight and persistence in preparing the US for war against Hitler won them over, and Reagan was fifth, primarily for ending M.A.D. and also for reinvigorating a moribund national spirit. Eisenhower was sixth for the interstate expressway system, which was very important to the economic boom that followed.

Reagan and Eisenhower over Teddy Roosevelt? Seriously?

[Kepler]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

I hate this post, for one simple reason. In what is otherwise a very reasonable post in which you make some very well-taken points, you also called me and most of my friends, and millions of other Americans "totalitarians," and you did it in such an unassuming way that some people might totally miss the utter insanity of it.

Progressive is a fashionable term for totalitarian? That's so f-ing crazy I can't even begin to process it.

This is a rhetorical device that the right started using in the 80's on the assumption that if they repeated it enough it would catch. The guys who created it did so deliberately to create a thought-terminating cliche whenever anybody brought up liberalism. They understood it was stupid, but they also understood that if their audience knew no history they would fall for it. It's worked so well for the echo chamber that now they can't engage in meaningful political discourse outside of their cult -- they just lack the knowledge and perspective to talk to even conservatives who actually understand political theory and history.

That didn't bother the Lee Atwaters of the world -- they inoculated their base against weighing ideas, which was the whole point.

[geezer]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

"Listen, there's n..n...no silver b... b...bullet that will help us bring down gas prices. W...w...whatever we do, we're screwed anyway so deal with it idiots."

[geezer]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

This is a rhetorical device that the right started using in the 80's on the assumption that if they repeated it enough it would catch. The guys who created it did so deliberately to create a thought-terminating cliche whenever anybody brought up liberalism. They understood it was stupid, but they also understood that if their audience knew no history they would fall for it. It's worked so well for the echo chamber that now they can't engage in meaningful political discourse outside of their cult -- they just lack the knowledge and perspective to talk to even conservatives who actually understand political theory and history.

That didn't bother the Lee Atwaters of the world -- they inoculated their base against weighing ideas, which was the whole point.

What I hear from you is that anything you don't like, is because of some vast right wing conspiracy that started years ago in some smoke-filled room. The basic point is obvious and indisputable, although the word "totalitarian" might be a bit too harsh; that "Progressivism" today has one main aim: to micromanage everyone's lives. Same thing.

[pirate]

What I hear from you is that anything you don't like, is because of some vast right wing conspiracy that started years ago in some smoke-filled room. The basic point is obvious and indisputable, although the word "totalitarian" might be a bit too harsh; that "Progressivism" today has one main aim: to micromanage everyone's lives. Same thing.

Today's parties are akin to religions, it isn't enough to have belief in your system, there also has to be a continuous drone of propaganda to explain to the members why the other guys are a conspiracy in action, lost sheep or just fn crazy. The real humor is watching each side swear that only the other guys do that because "my side knows it is the chosen one".

[Foxton]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

What I hear from you is that anything you don't like, is because of some vast right wing conspiracy that started years ago in some smoke-filled room. The basic point is obvious and indisputable, although the word "totalitarian" might be a bit too harsh; that "Progressivism" today has one main aim: to micromanage everyone's lives. Same thing.

Oh so the progressives/liberals are the ones who want to do things like make sodomy laws, control contraceptives, and basically everything that slime Santorum says. It's so obvious now! Being that you're the master of the obvious, that previous line was obviously sarcasm.

Actually that's not nice, I shouldn't be so insulting to slime by using it to describe Santorum.

[geezer]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

Bill Maher gave Obama's super PAC a million dollars. Let the liberal claim to purity die an honest death, and let's all admit that money runs politics and always will.

[Slap Shot]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

Bill Maher gave Obama's super PAC a million dollars. Let the liberal claim to purity die an honest death, and let's all admit that money runs politics and always will.

Do you often argue against points that haven't been made, Senor Quixote?

[FreshFish]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

Did it happen the be the Heritage Foundation or Hoover Institute?

No, something like the American Association of University History Professors, something scholarly and non-partisan.

[FreshFish]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

I hate this post, for one simple reason. In what is otherwise a very reasonable post in which you make some very well-taken points, you also called me and most of my friends, and millions of other Americans "totalitarians," and you did it in such an unassuming way that some people might totally miss the utter insanity of it.

Progressive is a fashionable term for totalitarian? That's so f-ing crazy I can't even begin to process it.

Sorry, did not mean to offend, let's forget the term for a moment and focus purely on the behavior: what do you call it when people argue that the government must be in charge of certain personal decisions because that is the only way to ensure that we get the "desired result"?


Also, you react as if "totalitarian" is necessarily a bad thing, and I would dispute that. There are several prominent philosophers who make compelling arguments in support of totalitarian government. For example, the left-wing totalitarian (which I equate with "progessivism") is best exemplified by Plato, and his concept of the "philosopher king." Ordinary everyday people are so busy trying to survive that one cannot reasonably expect them also to develop all the tools and discernment needed to live a "proper life" as well; consequently, the gifted ones owe it to everyone else to lead them in an enlightened and benevolent manner. It's the best way to ensure the overall highest level of mutual welfare.

Similarly, Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan gave a powerfully compelling argument in favor of right-wing totalitarian rule that is best exemplified by monarchy when the monarch truly has his/her subjects best interests at heart. People are naturallly suspicious and selfish, and they cannot trust each other very much unless they are sure that a strong central government will instill and promote order. Only then can the benefits of social living become available.

[ScoobyDoo]

Bill Maher gave Obama's super PAC a million dollars. Let the liberal claim to purity die an honest death, and let's all admit that money runs politics and always will.

Who made that claim???

[Foxton]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

Who made that claim???

This guy.

*****http://www.brainygamer.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/08/14/oz_scarecrow_1.jpg******

[FreshFish]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

Oh so the progressives/liberals are the ones who want to do things like make sodomy laws, control contraceptives, and basically everything that slime Santorum says. It's so obvious now! Being that you're the master of the obvious, that previous line was obviously sarcasm.

I intended my four-quadrent analysis to be descriptive, a form of taxonomy, other people are reading additional implications where none were intended.

If you have a graph with an axis that runs left to right from radical to conservative, and an axis that runs bottom to top as liberal to totalitarian, then in the upper left we have the radical totalitarian Barack Obama (at least he comes out and says so directly! he's proud and unapologetic, and I'm fine with that.) In the upper right you would place Rick Santorum as a right-wing totalitarian (I don't know enough about him, I'll take your word for it). In the lower right, I'd place Mitt Romney, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, as right-wing liberals or as liberal conservatives or however you want to say it, and in the lower left, I'd place Andrew Cuomo as a radical liberal or a left-wing liberal or however you want to say it.

In NY state, the politics currently are dominated by public-sector unions, which are so far to the right that they are beyond conservative, they are reactionary (NOT all public-sector unions, merely NY state public sector unions), and so in NY you need a radical to take them on if you are going to have any money left over to service the social-welfare programs that are essential to the liberal agenda.

[FreshFish]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

now they [we??] can't engage in meaningful political discourse outside of their [our??]cult -- they just lack the knowledge and perspective to talk to even conservatives who actually understand political theory and history.

Mr. Pot meet Mr. Kettle.

[Foxton]

Re: Obama XXIII: The Muslin Anti-Christ Wages War on the forces of Christianity!

I intended my four-quadrent analysis to be descriptive, a form of taxonomy, other people are reading additional implications where none were intended.

No need to read anything into anything anymore after this derp factory.