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Sunday, March 23, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
SAY WHAAAATT, Hollrah?
SAY WHAAAATT, Hollrah?
I recently received an e-mail containing an article by Paul R. Hollrah, titled Say, What Barrack.
My alarm bell was first triggered by the misspelling of Barack Obama's first name. As I was familiar with Mr. Hollrah, I did a quick google. Mr. Hollrah is a conservative journalist and this set off a second alarm bell. (A list of his work may be found on the Conservative Voice website. )
Specific to Mr. Hollrah's opinion piece about Barack Obama, I found a few misrepresentations. It didn't take me long to "google" up, in less than hour I had tracked down and located information. Checking sources and information is just a good journalist practice, one that perhaps Mr. Hollrah should consider adopting.
On to Mr. Hollrah's Op-Ed:
Tuning in to C-Span recently, I found myself listening to a speech by Senator Barrack Hussein Obama, Jr. He was standing in the pulpit of a black church in Selma, Alabama, and as I studied the body language of the dozen or so black ministers standing behind the senator, I couldn't help but be reminded of the little head-bobbing dolls that people used to place in the rear windows of their 1957 Chevrolets. If their reactions are any indication, the new "Schlickmeister" of the Democrat Party is actually a pretty accomplished public speaker.
However, as he spoke, I found my b.s. alarm going off, repeatedly. But I couldn't quite figure out why until I actually read excerpts of his speech several days later. Here's part of what he said:
"...something happened back here in Selma, Alabama. Something happened in Birmingham that sent out what Bobby Kennedy called, "ripples of hope all around the world." Something happened when a bunch of women decided they were going to walk instead of ride the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry, looking after somebody else's children."
Ripples of Hope: this phrase is originally attributed to Eisenhower in reference to the Rosa Parks, and bus boycotts between 1955-1956, and desegregation of Little Rock Arkansas school in 1957, as well as other civil right events during his terms in office
Robert Kennedy also used the same words in 1966: Ripple of Hope
"Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation ... It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
Day of Affirmation Address, University of Capetown, South Africa, June 6, 1966
Other people have also used that phrase in their speeches. Obama's campaign is about hope, so referencing "hope" quotes by various people would be in keeping with the theme of the campaign.
Back to Mr. Hollrah's op-ed:
"When (black) men who had PhD's decided 'that's enough' and 'we're going to stand up for our dignity,' that sent a shout across oceans so that my grandfather began to imagine something different for his son. His son, who grew up herding goats in a small village in Africa could suddenly set his sights a little higher and believe that maybe a black man in this world had a chance.
"So the Kennedy's decided we're going to do an airlift. We're going to go to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and give them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country America is.
"This young man named Barack Obama got one of those tickets and came over to this country. He met this woman whose great great-great-great- grandfather had owned slaves; but she had a good idea there was some craziness going on because they looked at each other and they decided that we know that, (in) the world as it has been, it might not be possible for us to get together and have a child. There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. Was born. So don't tell me I don't have a claim on Selma , Alabama. Don't tell me I'm not coming home to Selma, Alabama."
Okay, so what's wrong with that? It all sounds good. But is it?
Obama told his audience that, because some folks had the courage to "march across a bridge" in Selma, Alabama, his mother, a white woman from Kansas, and his father, a black Muslim from Africa, took heart. It gave them the courage to get married and have a child. The problem with that characterization is that Barrack Obama, Jr., was born on August 4, 1961, while the first of three marches across that bridge in Selma didn't occur until March 7, 1965, at least five years after Obama's parents met.
Mr. Hollrah carefully selected and pasted snippets from the speech. It leaves the reader with the impression this was one complete excerpt.
Obama is not attributing the bridge march to his birth - he's attributing the entire civil rights movement to the fact he's where he is now, the opportunities he had and his involvment in politics and holding office.
He mentions more than Selma in his speech, he also mentions Birmingham and other events.
His specific mention of Selma was because he was in SELMA when he gave the speech. Not all that different than Clinton or McCain or any other politician mentioning some personal connection to a state or city when he or she is in that state/city. This is called pandering, every politician does it.
Here is the full excerpt: (Full speech)
But I got a letter from a friend of some of yours named Reverend Otis Moss Jr. in Cleveland, and his son, Otis Moss III is the Pastor at my church and I must send greetings from Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. but I got a letter giving me encouragement and saying how proud he was that I had announced and encouraging me to stay true to my ideals and my values and not to be fearful.
And he said, if there's some folks out there who are questioning whether or not you should run, just tell them to look at the story of Joshua because you're part of the Joshua generation.
So I just want to talk a little about Moses and Aaron and Joshua, because we are in the presence today of a lot of Moseses. We're in the presence today of giants whose shoulders we stand on, people who battled, not just on behalf of African Americans but on behalf of all of America; that battled for America's soul, that shed blood , that endured taunts and formant and in some cases gave -- torment and in some cases gave the full measure of their devotion.
Like Moses, they challenged Pharaoh, the princes, powers who said that some are atop and others are at the bottom, and that's how it's always going to be.
There were people like Anna Cooper and Marie Foster and Jimmy Lee Jackson and Maurice Olette, C.T. Vivian, Reverend Lowery, John Lewis, who said we can imagine something different and we know there is something out there for us, too.
Thank God, He's made us in His image and we reject the notion that we will for the rest of our lives be confined to a station of inferiority, that we can't aspire to the highest of heights, that our talents can't be expressed to their fullest. And so because of what they endured, because of what they marched; they led a people out of bondage.
They took them across the sea that folks thought could not be parted. They wandered through a desert but always knowing that God was with them and that, if they maintained that trust in God, that they would be all right. And it's because they marched that the next generation hasn't been bloodied so much.
It's because they marched that we elected councilmen, congressmen. It is because they marched that we have Artur Davis and Keith Ellison. It is because they marched that I got the kind of education I got, a law degree, a seat in the Illinois senate and ultimately in the United States senate.
It is because they marched that I stand before you here today. I was mentioning at the Unity Breakfast this morning, my -- at the Unity Breakfast this morning that my debt is even greater than that because not only is my career the result of the work of the men and women who we honor here today. My very existence might not have been possible had it not been for some of the folks here today. I mentioned at the Unity Breakfast that a lot of people been asking, well, you know, your father was from Africa, your mother, she's a white woman from Kansas. I'm not sure that you have the same experience.
And I tried to explain, you don't understand. You see, my Grandfather was a cook to the British in Kenya. Grew up in a small village and all his life, that's all he was -- a cook and a house boy. And that's what they called him, even when he was 60 years old. They called him a house boy. They wouldn't call him by his last name.
Sound familiar?
He had to carry a passbook around because Africans in their own land, in their own country, at that time, because it was a British colony, could not move about freely. They could only go where they were told to go. They could only work where they were told to work.
Yet something happened back here in Selma, Alabama. Something happened in Birmingham that sent out what Bobby Kennedy called, "Ripples of hope all around the world." Something happened when a bunch of women decided they were going to walk instead of ride the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry, looking after somebody else's children. When men who had PhD's decided that's enough and we're going to stand up for our dignity.
That sent a shout across oceans so that my grandfather began to imagine something different for his son. His son, who grew up herding goats in a small village in Africa could suddenly set his sights a little higher and believe that maybe a black man in this world had a chance.
What happened in Selma, Alabama and Birmingham also stirred the conscience of the nation. It worried folks in the White House who said, "You know, we're battling Communism. How are we going to win hearts and minds all across the world? If right here in our own country, John, we're not observing the ideals set fort in our Constitution, we might be accused of being hypocrites." So the Kennedy's decided we're going to do an air lift. We're going to go to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and give them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country America is.
This young man named Barack Obama got one of those tickets and came over to this country. He met this woman whose great great-great-great-grandfather had owned slaves; but she had a good idea there was some craziness going on because they looked at each other and they decided that we know that the world as it has been it might not be possible for us to get together and have a child. There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born. So don't tell me I don't have a claim on Selma, Alabama. Don't tell me I'm not coming home to Selma, Alabama.
I'm here because somebody marched. I'm here because you all sacrificed for me. I stand on the shoulders of giants. I thank the Moses generation; but we've got to remember, now, that Joshua still had a job to do. As great as Moses was, despite all that he did, leading a people out of bondage, he didn't cross over the river to see the Promised Land. God told him your job is done. You'll see it. You'll be at the mountain top and you can see what I've promised. What I've promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. You will see that I've fulfilled that promise but you won't go there.
Hollrah continues:
Obama told his audience that, because some folks had the courage to "march across a bridge" in Selma, Alabama, his mother, a white woman from Kansas, and his father, a black Muslim from Africa, took heart. It gave them the courage to get married and have a child. The problem with
that characterization is that Barrack Obama, Jr., was born on August 4, 1961, while the first of three marches across that bridge in Selma didn't occur until March 7, 1965, at least five years after Obama's parents met.
Obama went on to tell his audience that the Kennedys, Jack and Bobby, decided to do an airlift. They would bring some young Africans over so that they could be educated and learn all about America. His grandfather heard that call and sent his son, Barrack Obama, Sr., to America.
The problem with that scenario is that, having been born in August 1961, the future senator was not conceived until sometime in November 1960. So if this African grandfather heard words that ''sent a shout across oceans,'' inspiring him to send his goat-herder son to America, it was not a Democrat Jack Kennedy he heard, nor his brother Bobby, it was a Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Again Mr. Hollrah is selecting things out of context. Obama's references to events during the Civil Rights movement was not about the circumstances of his birth, but rather the impact of those events on his life.
Regarding the Kennedy-Kenya airlift. If Mr. Hollrah had did a little googling he would have found that SENATOR John F. Kennedy did organize and spearhead the airlift in 1959, well before Barack Obama was even conceived.
Also read: The other Obama-Kennedy connection
How a Kenyan airlift that brought a young scholar named Obama to America in 1960 - where he met a wife and fathered a son - was saved by a young senator from Massachusetts
In his command of the US political stage over the past year, Barack Obama has inspired many a comparison to John F Kennedy. Both young senators brought a lofty message, an appealing young family and a movie-star aura to the presidential race. But the two men forged a less known link - before Obama was even born.
The bond began with Kenyan labour leader Tom Mboya, an advocate for African nationalism who helped his country gain independence in 1963. In the late 1950s, Mboya was seeking support for a scholarship program that would send Kenyan students to US colleges - similar to other exchanges the US backed in developing nations during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Mboya appealed to the state department. When that trail went cold, he turned to then-senator Kennedy.
Kennedy, who chaired the senate subcommittee on Africa, arranged a $100,000 grant through his family's foundation to help Mboya keep the program running.
"It was not a matter in which we sought to be involved," Kennedy said in an August 1960 senate speech. "Nevertheless, Mr Mboya came to see us and asked for help, when none of the other foundations could give it, when the federal government had turned it down quite precisely. We felt something ought to be done."
One of the first students airlifted to America was Barack Obama Sr, who married a white Kansas native named Ann Dunham during his US studies. Their son, born in 1961 and named for his father, has only once mentioned his Kennedy connection on the campaign trail.
And Mr. Hollah - A little google goes a long way...
I recently received an e-mail containing an article by Paul R. Hollrah, titled Say, What Barrack.
My alarm bell was first triggered by the misspelling of Barack Obama's first name. As I was familiar with Mr. Hollrah, I did a quick google. Mr. Hollrah is a conservative journalist and this set off a second alarm bell. (A list of his work may be found on the Conservative Voice website. )
Specific to Mr. Hollrah's opinion piece about Barack Obama, I found a few misrepresentations. It didn't take me long to "google" up, in less than hour I had tracked down and located information. Checking sources and information is just a good journalist practice, one that perhaps Mr. Hollrah should consider adopting.
On to Mr. Hollrah's Op-Ed:
Tuning in to C-Span recently, I found myself listening to a speech by Senator Barrack Hussein Obama, Jr. He was standing in the pulpit of a black church in Selma, Alabama, and as I studied the body language of the dozen or so black ministers standing behind the senator, I couldn't help but be reminded of the little head-bobbing dolls that people used to place in the rear windows of their 1957 Chevrolets. If their reactions are any indication, the new "Schlickmeister" of the Democrat Party is actually a pretty accomplished public speaker.
However, as he spoke, I found my b.s. alarm going off, repeatedly. But I couldn't quite figure out why until I actually read excerpts of his speech several days later. Here's part of what he said:
"...something happened back here in Selma, Alabama. Something happened in Birmingham that sent out what Bobby Kennedy called, "ripples of hope all around the world." Something happened when a bunch of women decided they were going to walk instead of ride the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry, looking after somebody else's children."
Ripples of Hope: this phrase is originally attributed to Eisenhower in reference to the Rosa Parks, and bus boycotts between 1955-1956, and desegregation of Little Rock Arkansas school in 1957, as well as other civil right events during his terms in office
Robert Kennedy also used the same words in 1966: Ripple of Hope
"Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation ... It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
Day of Affirmation Address, University of Capetown, South Africa, June 6, 1966
Other people have also used that phrase in their speeches. Obama's campaign is about hope, so referencing "hope" quotes by various people would be in keeping with the theme of the campaign.
Back to Mr. Hollrah's op-ed:
"When (black) men who had PhD's decided 'that's enough' and 'we're going to stand up for our dignity,' that sent a shout across oceans so that my grandfather began to imagine something different for his son. His son, who grew up herding goats in a small village in Africa could suddenly set his sights a little higher and believe that maybe a black man in this world had a chance.
"So the Kennedy's decided we're going to do an airlift. We're going to go to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and give them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country America is.
"This young man named Barack Obama got one of those tickets and came over to this country. He met this woman whose great great-great-great- grandfather had owned slaves; but she had a good idea there was some craziness going on because they looked at each other and they decided that we know that, (in) the world as it has been, it might not be possible for us to get together and have a child. There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. Was born. So don't tell me I don't have a claim on Selma , Alabama. Don't tell me I'm not coming home to Selma, Alabama."
Okay, so what's wrong with that? It all sounds good. But is it?
Obama told his audience that, because some folks had the courage to "march across a bridge" in Selma, Alabama, his mother, a white woman from Kansas, and his father, a black Muslim from Africa, took heart. It gave them the courage to get married and have a child. The problem with that characterization is that Barrack Obama, Jr., was born on August 4, 1961, while the first of three marches across that bridge in Selma didn't occur until March 7, 1965, at least five years after Obama's parents met.
Mr. Hollrah carefully selected and pasted snippets from the speech. It leaves the reader with the impression this was one complete excerpt.
Obama is not attributing the bridge march to his birth - he's attributing the entire civil rights movement to the fact he's where he is now, the opportunities he had and his involvment in politics and holding office.
He mentions more than Selma in his speech, he also mentions Birmingham and other events.
His specific mention of Selma was because he was in SELMA when he gave the speech. Not all that different than Clinton or McCain or any other politician mentioning some personal connection to a state or city when he or she is in that state/city. This is called pandering, every politician does it.
Here is the full excerpt: (Full speech)
But I got a letter from a friend of some of yours named Reverend Otis Moss Jr. in Cleveland, and his son, Otis Moss III is the Pastor at my church and I must send greetings from Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. but I got a letter giving me encouragement and saying how proud he was that I had announced and encouraging me to stay true to my ideals and my values and not to be fearful.
And he said, if there's some folks out there who are questioning whether or not you should run, just tell them to look at the story of Joshua because you're part of the Joshua generation.
So I just want to talk a little about Moses and Aaron and Joshua, because we are in the presence today of a lot of Moseses. We're in the presence today of giants whose shoulders we stand on, people who battled, not just on behalf of African Americans but on behalf of all of America; that battled for America's soul, that shed blood , that endured taunts and formant and in some cases gave -- torment and in some cases gave the full measure of their devotion.
Like Moses, they challenged Pharaoh, the princes, powers who said that some are atop and others are at the bottom, and that's how it's always going to be.
There were people like Anna Cooper and Marie Foster and Jimmy Lee Jackson and Maurice Olette, C.T. Vivian, Reverend Lowery, John Lewis, who said we can imagine something different and we know there is something out there for us, too.
Thank God, He's made us in His image and we reject the notion that we will for the rest of our lives be confined to a station of inferiority, that we can't aspire to the highest of heights, that our talents can't be expressed to their fullest. And so because of what they endured, because of what they marched; they led a people out of bondage.
They took them across the sea that folks thought could not be parted. They wandered through a desert but always knowing that God was with them and that, if they maintained that trust in God, that they would be all right. And it's because they marched that the next generation hasn't been bloodied so much.
It's because they marched that we elected councilmen, congressmen. It is because they marched that we have Artur Davis and Keith Ellison. It is because they marched that I got the kind of education I got, a law degree, a seat in the Illinois senate and ultimately in the United States senate.
It is because they marched that I stand before you here today. I was mentioning at the Unity Breakfast this morning, my -- at the Unity Breakfast this morning that my debt is even greater than that because not only is my career the result of the work of the men and women who we honor here today. My very existence might not have been possible had it not been for some of the folks here today. I mentioned at the Unity Breakfast that a lot of people been asking, well, you know, your father was from Africa, your mother, she's a white woman from Kansas. I'm not sure that you have the same experience.
And I tried to explain, you don't understand. You see, my Grandfather was a cook to the British in Kenya. Grew up in a small village and all his life, that's all he was -- a cook and a house boy. And that's what they called him, even when he was 60 years old. They called him a house boy. They wouldn't call him by his last name.
Sound familiar?
He had to carry a passbook around because Africans in their own land, in their own country, at that time, because it was a British colony, could not move about freely. They could only go where they were told to go. They could only work where they were told to work.
Yet something happened back here in Selma, Alabama. Something happened in Birmingham that sent out what Bobby Kennedy called, "Ripples of hope all around the world." Something happened when a bunch of women decided they were going to walk instead of ride the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry, looking after somebody else's children. When men who had PhD's decided that's enough and we're going to stand up for our dignity.
That sent a shout across oceans so that my grandfather began to imagine something different for his son. His son, who grew up herding goats in a small village in Africa could suddenly set his sights a little higher and believe that maybe a black man in this world had a chance.
What happened in Selma, Alabama and Birmingham also stirred the conscience of the nation. It worried folks in the White House who said, "You know, we're battling Communism. How are we going to win hearts and minds all across the world? If right here in our own country, John, we're not observing the ideals set fort in our Constitution, we might be accused of being hypocrites." So the Kennedy's decided we're going to do an air lift. We're going to go to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and give them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country America is.
This young man named Barack Obama got one of those tickets and came over to this country. He met this woman whose great great-great-great-grandfather had owned slaves; but she had a good idea there was some craziness going on because they looked at each other and they decided that we know that the world as it has been it might not be possible for us to get together and have a child. There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born. So don't tell me I don't have a claim on Selma, Alabama. Don't tell me I'm not coming home to Selma, Alabama.
I'm here because somebody marched. I'm here because you all sacrificed for me. I stand on the shoulders of giants. I thank the Moses generation; but we've got to remember, now, that Joshua still had a job to do. As great as Moses was, despite all that he did, leading a people out of bondage, he didn't cross over the river to see the Promised Land. God told him your job is done. You'll see it. You'll be at the mountain top and you can see what I've promised. What I've promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. You will see that I've fulfilled that promise but you won't go there.
Hollrah continues:
Obama told his audience that, because some folks had the courage to "march across a bridge" in Selma, Alabama, his mother, a white woman from Kansas, and his father, a black Muslim from Africa, took heart. It gave them the courage to get married and have a child. The problem with
that characterization is that Barrack Obama, Jr., was born on August 4, 1961, while the first of three marches across that bridge in Selma didn't occur until March 7, 1965, at least five years after Obama's parents met.
Obama went on to tell his audience that the Kennedys, Jack and Bobby, decided to do an airlift. They would bring some young Africans over so that they could be educated and learn all about America. His grandfather heard that call and sent his son, Barrack Obama, Sr., to America.
The problem with that scenario is that, having been born in August 1961, the future senator was not conceived until sometime in November 1960. So if this African grandfather heard words that ''sent a shout across oceans,'' inspiring him to send his goat-herder son to America, it was not a Democrat Jack Kennedy he heard, nor his brother Bobby, it was a Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Again Mr. Hollrah is selecting things out of context. Obama's references to events during the Civil Rights movement was not about the circumstances of his birth, but rather the impact of those events on his life.
Regarding the Kennedy-Kenya airlift. If Mr. Hollrah had did a little googling he would have found that SENATOR John F. Kennedy did organize and spearhead the airlift in 1959, well before Barack Obama was even conceived.
Also read: The other Obama-Kennedy connection
How a Kenyan airlift that brought a young scholar named Obama to America in 1960 - where he met a wife and fathered a son - was saved by a young senator from Massachusetts
In his command of the US political stage over the past year, Barack Obama has inspired many a comparison to John F Kennedy. Both young senators brought a lofty message, an appealing young family and a movie-star aura to the presidential race. But the two men forged a less known link - before Obama was even born.
The bond began with Kenyan labour leader Tom Mboya, an advocate for African nationalism who helped his country gain independence in 1963. In the late 1950s, Mboya was seeking support for a scholarship program that would send Kenyan students to US colleges - similar to other exchanges the US backed in developing nations during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Mboya appealed to the state department. When that trail went cold, he turned to then-senator Kennedy.
Kennedy, who chaired the senate subcommittee on Africa, arranged a $100,000 grant through his family's foundation to help Mboya keep the program running.
"It was not a matter in which we sought to be involved," Kennedy said in an August 1960 senate speech. "Nevertheless, Mr Mboya came to see us and asked for help, when none of the other foundations could give it, when the federal government had turned it down quite precisely. We felt something ought to be done."
One of the first students airlifted to America was Barack Obama Sr, who married a white Kansas native named Ann Dunham during his US studies. Their son, born in 1961 and named for his father, has only once mentioned his Kennedy connection on the campaign trail.
And Mr. Hollah - A little google goes a long way...
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
More Rump Roast?
Season finale tonight of "Primary Survivor - Cannibal Island?"
With Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont in the Judges box -who will be eaten tonight?
What type of "whine" should be served with a Clinton Casserole or an Obama Omelet?
McCain, as the heir-apparant-nominee, is already preparing his own special recipes, while we dine on our own.
Once the official nominees are selected, and the general election campaign is underway - don't look to the main table at the podium. The real meals to watch are what's being served to the tables in the back of the room.
...to determine the boundaries of attacking a minority or female candidate, according to people involved.
In other words - how much racial or sexist syrup can be ladled over what flavor of ice cream.
You won't see McCain with a ladel in his hand at the buffet, he has cafeteria staff.
With Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont in the Judges box -who will be eaten tonight?
What type of "whine" should be served with a Clinton Casserole or an Obama Omelet?
McCain, as the heir-apparant-nominee, is already preparing his own special recipes, while we dine on our own.
Once the official nominees are selected, and the general election campaign is underway - don't look to the main table at the podium. The real meals to watch are what's being served to the tables in the back of the room.
GOP fears charges of racism, sexism
By: David Paul Kuhn
Feb 24, 2008
10:58 PM EST
Top Republican strategists are working on plans to protect
the GOP from charges of racism or sexism in the general election, as they prepare for a presidential campaign against the first ever African-American or female Democratic nominee.
The Republican National Committee has commissioned polling and focus groups to determine the boundaries of attacking a
minority or female candidate, according to people involved. The secretive effort underscores the enormous risk senior GOP operatives see for a party often criticized for its insensitivity to minorities in campaigns dating back to the 1960s.
...to determine the boundaries of attacking a minority or female candidate, according to people involved.
In other words - how much racial or sexist syrup can be ladled over what flavor of ice cream.
You won't see McCain with a ladel in his hand at the buffet, he has cafeteria staff.
Keep in mind as you have some more Obama l'Orange, or put another helping of Hillary Hashbrowns on your plate - the GOPers aren't sitting around in their kitchens discussing a dessert menu - they already know they want the White House Cherries Jubillee for dessert and they have the place settings ready to go.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Happy St. Dave's Day - REDACTED
On the evening of March 1, 2008, the following was posted on the DU. The following morning it had received a few views and only 1 response. By noon, a few more views and 1 more response.
Around 2pm that afternoon the post had disappeared, it had been removed, deleted or otherwise made into George Orwell's version of an "unperson".
-----------------
Happy St. Dave' Day to all the Procrastinating Political Daves out there, to all those not named Dave, and most of all to a very special Dave!!
Speaking of the special Dave - with his help I selected a few "favorite" toons for your evening enjoyment.
[BLOG NOTE: For space considerations, other "toons" may be seen at The Radical Fringe. ]
FYI: Special Dave has a blog... and some of you may also find these sites interesting and enlightening...
On that note, I bid you all adieu, and click often for future Radical Fringe toons.
===============
I have recieved no notice, no explaination as to why the post was not just locked, but totally wiped off the board. It was there, then *POOF* made into an "UN-POST".
High Tide
I've entitled this HIGH TIDE, because the water is rising and will either drowned us or wash away what was built.
On February 27, 2007, after much internal debate, I posted the following on the DU:
My decision to take a break from the DU wasn't easy. I've been with the DU since 2001. I had been posting on a couple of other boards, but the sense of unity drew me to the DU and I signed up.
I've made a few friends there, and there are many more there whose posts I love to read. There have been some rough times, over the years - but even then there still was the unity and comradre of all of us being in the fight together.
For whatever reason, the unity is gone, and it's now been broken up into 3 camps. The Hillary Camp, the Obama Camp and the rest of us that just try to duck the flames. Early on, I stayed out of GDP even before it became the official battle ground for the primaries. I kept to LBN, GD and the lounge.
In the 7 years on the DU, I've only put 4 people on ignore. 3 of them turned out to be freepers, the other still posts on the DU. I've hidden more threads than I can count in the past couple of months than I have in all the time I've been on the DU.My participation in the DU has been slowly shrinking. I find myself thinking two three four time before I post, and then reviewing it to see if it will draw flames or not before I even hit the post button. Wasn't that way before. There was a time where I felt comfortable venturing into any of the forums and groups on the DU and not have to dance around land mines or duck the flame throwers.
I often wonder if we've been secretly replaced by freepers - a political version of invasion of the body snatchers.
The straw that broke my back happened on Monday, in LBN of all places. There was a story about Edwards joining up with the Iraq/recession organization. I wrote that I wonder if Edwards and Obama had discussed this at all the previous week when Obama went to meet with Edwards. Innocent speculation. I was immediately attacked and accused of trying to promote Obama and steal Edwards' thunder.
I responded to the attack in a calm way, gave the link to the story about Obama meeting with Edwards and restated that I was just speculating. Did no good, still was attacked.
It was then that I realized even the LBN wasn't safe. GD had already been infiltrated and loaded with land mines. So that leaves where? The Lounge? I didn't join DU to spend my time in the lounge. Whatever the DU was before, it's not that anymore.
One person wants to make the names of people who recommend threads public, while another is tracking down people who he deems as being obnoxious. GDP is limited to starting 3 posts per day. People are tombstoned in record numbers. The only thing missing is to have an officially sanctioned platoon of storm troopers.
Unofficially there are roaming packs of rabid hyenas ripping apart anyone who disagrees.Yes, it's fear driving the verbal vivisections. Fear the democrats will once again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Sadly the worst offenders on the DU can't see it.As far as calming down once the Dems have a candidate- that may last until the third party supporters show up.
The DU has been ripped apart. In a microcosmic sense, it's a reflection of our entire country, and we have no "uniter" to rally around. In a few weeks, I may come back. But for now I felt it was best for a self-imposed exile rather than risking being tombstoned , that in itself speaks volumes as to how bad things really are on the DU.
===================
*Note: Approximately 5 hours after posting this on the DU, the thread was locked by the moderators.
On February 27, 2007, after much internal debate, I posted the following on the DU:
My decision to take a break from the DU wasn't easy. I've been with the DU since 2001. I had been posting on a couple of other boards, but the sense of unity drew me to the DU and I signed up.
I've made a few friends there, and there are many more there whose posts I love to read. There have been some rough times, over the years - but even then there still was the unity and comradre of all of us being in the fight together.
For whatever reason, the unity is gone, and it's now been broken up into 3 camps. The Hillary Camp, the Obama Camp and the rest of us that just try to duck the flames. Early on, I stayed out of GDP even before it became the official battle ground for the primaries. I kept to LBN, GD and the lounge.
In the 7 years on the DU, I've only put 4 people on ignore. 3 of them turned out to be freepers, the other still posts on the DU. I've hidden more threads than I can count in the past couple of months than I have in all the time I've been on the DU.My participation in the DU has been slowly shrinking. I find myself thinking two three four time before I post, and then reviewing it to see if it will draw flames or not before I even hit the post button. Wasn't that way before. There was a time where I felt comfortable venturing into any of the forums and groups on the DU and not have to dance around land mines or duck the flame throwers.
I often wonder if we've been secretly replaced by freepers - a political version of invasion of the body snatchers.
The straw that broke my back happened on Monday, in LBN of all places. There was a story about Edwards joining up with the Iraq/recession organization. I wrote that I wonder if Edwards and Obama had discussed this at all the previous week when Obama went to meet with Edwards. Innocent speculation. I was immediately attacked and accused of trying to promote Obama and steal Edwards' thunder.
I responded to the attack in a calm way, gave the link to the story about Obama meeting with Edwards and restated that I was just speculating. Did no good, still was attacked.
It was then that I realized even the LBN wasn't safe. GD had already been infiltrated and loaded with land mines. So that leaves where? The Lounge? I didn't join DU to spend my time in the lounge. Whatever the DU was before, it's not that anymore.
One person wants to make the names of people who recommend threads public, while another is tracking down people who he deems as being obnoxious. GDP is limited to starting 3 posts per day. People are tombstoned in record numbers. The only thing missing is to have an officially sanctioned platoon of storm troopers.
Unofficially there are roaming packs of rabid hyenas ripping apart anyone who disagrees.Yes, it's fear driving the verbal vivisections. Fear the democrats will once again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Sadly the worst offenders on the DU can't see it.As far as calming down once the Dems have a candidate- that may last until the third party supporters show up.
The DU has been ripped apart. In a microcosmic sense, it's a reflection of our entire country, and we have no "uniter" to rally around. In a few weeks, I may come back. But for now I felt it was best for a self-imposed exile rather than risking being tombstoned , that in itself speaks volumes as to how bad things really are on the DU.
===================
*Note: Approximately 5 hours after posting this on the DU, the thread was locked by the moderators.
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