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RedditChris Schoff of Albert Lea, Minnesota, received a strange call on Tuesday evening.
A voice on the line started reading from a script:
"Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats got caught putting Hollywood above America. On the very day our elected leaders gathered in Washington to deal with the financial crisis, Barack Obama spent just 20 minutes with economic advisers, but hours at a celebrity Hollywood fundraiser. Where are the Democrats' priorities?"
Schoff was incredulous--for starters, he's the associate chair of the local Democratic Party, known in Minnesota as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor-Party. Secondly, he knew the robocall was blatantly misleading (McCain was in Ohio that day and held a fundraiser in Beverly Hills three weeks prior), and asked to speak with the caller's supervisor.
Schoff was told that the calls were being administered by the Brooklyn-based King TeleServices, who were contracted out by the political firm FLS-Connect and paid by the Republican National Committee and McCain-Palin campaign.
Other Minnesotans and swing voters have reported receiving robocalls linking Obama to Bill Ayers, also paid for by the RNC.
Schoff asked how the caller got his number and was told the RNC gave it to them. Schoff's been a registered Democrat all his life, and both he and his father worked for the DFL, so he's not exactly a prime target for the McCain campaign. "My wife was laughing so hard" when she heard the RNC told them to call, Schoff says.
Yet there's more to this story than just a fishy and misplaced robocall. FLS-Connect is owned by political operative and lobbyist Jeff Larson, a close ally of Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman. Coleman not only put Larson in charge of the Republican Convention in St. Paul, he rents the basement apartment in Larson's Washington townhouse for below market value. And two of Larson's clients, the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business, have spent thousands of dollars running ads against Coleman's Senate challenger, Democrat Al Franken. (The latest polling gives Franken a slight lead.)
Moreover, FLS-Connect was linked to the pro-Bush robocalls in the 2000 South Carolina GOP primary that helped sink John McCain. The charges included that "Mr. McCain's current wife, Cindy, was a drug addict and that the couple's daughter Bridget, adopted from Mother Teresa's orphanage in Bangladesh, was a black child Mr. McCain had fathered out of wedlock," the New York Times reported.
The Minnesota DFL noted in a press release today that the Washington Post reported in 2000:
"The advocacy calls for George W. Bush's campaign that became an issue in this year's South Carolina GOP primary were developed by Feather, Hodges, Larson & Synhorst [the precursor to FLS-Connect]. The firm maintains seven phone banks and 500 phones scattered from Phoenix to Minnesota. South Carolina, home of the Bush blitz, is one of the firm's ‘best' phone centers, said partner Jeff Larson."
Yet another sad wrinkle for McCain in his increasingly nasty and dishonest campaign.
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One thing is for sure...if McCain continues to use the Atwater/Rove playbook and falls "further" in the polls, then this election will truly be a repudiation of Atwater and Rove, and is doubtful that this sort of "divide and distract" smear politics will ever again gain legitimacy at the presidential level.
Posted by Metteyya at 10/17/2008 @ 5:16pm
The GOP knows they can't win on the issues so this fear based nonsense is all McCain/Palin have left.
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/17/2008 @ 5:18pm
Hmmm, frankly there's something fishy about this whole Ari Berman post. I don't buy it at all. This is a lot like the myth of the "kill him" shout at the McCain Rally. CONTRIVED.
Great creative writing though. One of my favorite lines was this gem tossed in, "[Coleman] rents the basement apartment in Larson's Washington townhouse for below market value."
Nice try though.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 7:04pm
"Hmmm, frankly there's something fishy about this whole Ari Berman post. I don't buy it at all. This is a lot like the myth of the "kill him" shout at the McCain Rally. CONTRIVED."
Huh. One would have thought then that when confronted with this at the debate McCain would have said it was contrived. But what the hell? Evolution is not real, and neither is global warming. Oh yeah, McCain is gonna win.
Posted by onthehelm at 10/17/2008 @ 7:16pm
Posted by onthehelm at 10/17/2008 @ 7:16pm
That's because he is only willing to believe things about Demoncrats.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/17/2008 @ 7:21pm
Let's take a closer look... And so a volunteer caller, tasked with making as many connections as possible, instead of hanging up on Schoff, takes time to get his "supervisor" on the line for Mr. Schoff?
Then, with the supervisor, apparently Mr.Schoff is enlightened as "Schoff was told that the calls were being administered by the Brooklyn-based King TeleServices, who were contracted out by the political firm FLS-Connect and paid by the Republican National Committee and McCain-Palin campaign."???
Wow! Now there's some good investigative work... At least Ari didn't say the supervisor was Palin's pregnant daughter. LOL! ------------------------ Onthehelm,
Evolution is still a theory. Global warming isn't the debate, it is whether its cause is anthropological that is the issue. And it is doubtful Mccain is going to pull out a victory.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 7:22pm
C'mon CC, I've never even written the word 'Demoncrats' in a post. And I think a lot of the accusations I've read about Obama on the right are equally contrived. Like Obama's half brother living in Africa on $100 a year showing Obama is uncaring. Oh, or Obama's time in a Madrasa. Or his deep connections with domestic terrorists... What crap.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 7:31pm
Nice try though. Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 7:04pm
I'm guessing Fox News told you to just deny, deny, deny? I'm guessing if it was all just a big fake cooked up by the liberool media then McCain would have made an effort to deny it.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/17/2008 @ 7:33pm
My goodness CC, Fox News told me to deny, deny, deny? Ouch.
What are you saying McCain should have made an effort to deny, the shout out at the rally, or the robo calls? I couldn't follow you.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 7:43pm
freiheit-As you know,the shouts of kill him are on tape and the robocalls are,also.Try honesty for a change of pace rather than pointless and obvious lying.
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/17/2008 @ 7:44pm
"Evolution is still a theory"
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 7:22pm
You know, a couple of things have been written since Darwin first published his work.
...in case you were unaware.
Posted by Malcontent at 10/17/2008 @ 7:46pm
FREI, simple questions....
Can John McCain win on just the issues?
If not, then why do you doubt he'd go negative with robocalls?
Posted by Maskdelta at 10/17/2008 @ 7:48pm
There you go again I'm Nobody, calling me a liar. I've not heard any recording of the alleged shout. Doesn't mean it didn't happen. But the Boston Globe article I read today on the subject quoted the secret service as saying they heard "tell him" not "kill him" in their audio recording investigation into the incident. But more incredulous to me is how a stranger in a crowd can yell out something so inappropriate and wrong and you blame it on Mccain and not the shouter. I would never hold Obama accountable for what some idiot called out at one of his rallies. But that's another area where you and I differ.
Now to the robocalls, I think some skepticism regarding Ari's tale above is warranted. And I explained why.
Please ignore me. Your telling me to try honesty for a change is unwarranted and bullying. I already know you're a tough guy not afraid to face anyone here in person. Move on.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 8:00pm
Mask,
I've seen plenty of negative ads by the Mccain camp. I'm sorry, but I need to clarify, I am not disputing the negativity of the robocall. I am disputing the validity of Schoff's interaction that lead into Ari Berman's little investigative hit piece on FLS Connect.
To your issues question, I think McCain could win on the issues if he'd focus on the issues. But he's not, is he?
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 8:09pm
freiheit-Once again you blame me for your words.You need to grow up,take responsibility for your words and actions.I take back my apology and,like lvliberty,you are dishonest and a pathetic excuse for a Christian.Fortunately,I know some conservatives who are real Christians and won't judge all based on you few who come on here.
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/17/2008 @ 8:19pm
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 8:09pm
Okay, so you know McCain is making negative robocalls...
you just don't believe it THIS time?!?!??!??!?!?!??
Posted by Maskdelta at 10/17/2008 @ 8:19pm
I'm Nobody, your handle says it all.
You've got some real problems man. Good luck.
Bye.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 8:21pm
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 7:31pm
I rescind my statement then. But I think it isn't as contrived if they are flat out not denying it because this could become a talking point to them to show how Obama lies about the good honest Americans who show up at their rallys.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/17/2008 @ 8:27pm
Mask,
Let's try again. Did you read my 8:09pm post? Let me repeat, I am not disputing the NEGATIVITY of the robocall. I am disputing the validity of Schoff's interaction that lead into Ari Berman's little investigative hit piece on FLS Connect.
That interaction doesn't seem the least bit fishy to you at all. that the caller got the supervisor on the line and the RNC supervisor spilled his guts out to the guy who just happens to be associate chair of the local Democratic Party, known in Minnesota as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor-Party???
I would think the call tech would have just hung up and moved on to the next number on the "RNC" provided list, don't you?
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 8:29pm
"Evolution is still a theory"
this month's most brilliant observation
perhaps frei's lack of evolution led to this comment:
"But more incredulous to me is how a stranger in a crowd can yell out something so inappropriate and wrong and you blame it on Mccain and not the shouter"
run dozens of smear ads across the midwest and south, accusing obama of being a terrorist, and then feign surpirse that certain midwesterners and southerners become enraged and motivated......
hmmmm.......it couldn't have been mccain's ads. nah...
Posted by darladoon at 10/17/2008 @ 8:30pm
Has the Republican Party no Shame. Have they gone back to the slimey period of innuendo, lies and "I have here in my hand a list of...." of the Nixon, Cohen, HUAC days? These tactics are only worthy of McCarthy himself or perhaps a fascist Dr. Goebels. This shameful turn of events has brought me back to age 10. I do not wish to relive a period when our Korean Veterans were shamed and their loyalty questioned. I do not wish to return to a period when the reading material of a 10 year old was cause to harass a widowed mother. I do not wish to return either to being a 10 year old treated to Life Magazine displays of Lynchings. I do not wish to ever again return to that kind of America. I don't want any of my Grandchildren to have to question the truth of the lessons taught in the schools because of hateful actions taken against anything deemed Other. I was profoundly shocked as a little guy by how easily the greatness of the American Stuggle had been swept aside and made irrelevant. I was only 10 but I believed that all men were created equal. I believed that we above all other peoples honored truth. The demons unleashed in the late forties and early fifties have haunted me throughout my adult life and I am really shamed by the fact that the Ugliness and Fear has again emerged after all we have so painstakingly tried to build. Again, does the Republican Party and the McCain Campaign staff have no shame. They have become what they beheld. It is time for all of us, Republican, Democrat and independent to rise up in indignation at all such and unite against this abomination.
Posted by LannyNorth at 10/17/2008 @ 8:32pm
republicans are basically faux warriors stripped of their faux ammunition. they are perfectly and grotesquely naked against the backdrop of the reality based community (btw, made up of true conservatives like ron paul).
Posted by darladoon at 10/17/2008 @ 8:32pm
"It is time for all of us, Republican, Democrat and independent to rise up in indignation at all such and unite against this abomination"
but do we have to do it together?
Posted by darladoon at 10/17/2008 @ 8:35pm
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/17/2008 @ 8:27pm
I see what you mean, CC. I wonder if McCain isn't denying the "shout" because he doesn't even know if it happened. Frankly, the whole shout and rally thing reaks of suspicion. Planted hecklers is as old as campaigning.
But that said, I recognize McCain's campaign has gone negative and he will pay a significant price for not staying on message, in my opinion.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 8:38pm
Posted by darladoon at 10/17/2008 @ 8:30pm
Exactly Darla ..... McCain operatives phone the beer-swilling braindead crowd that Obama's a terrorist and then when they show up at one his little pep talks and act on this disinformation McC acts surprised?
Posted by leftofcenter at 10/17/2008 @ 8:39pm
Darla, you rock, but hey, did McCains ads throughout the midwest really accuse Obama of being a terrorist? How, by mentioning Ayers?
Heck, Obama has been calling Mccain a terrorist for months by associating McCain with Bush, hasn't he?! ;-)
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 8:42pm
Evolution is still a theory. Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 7:22pm
Yeah just like Einsteins theory of gravity and Newtons theory of gravity that was replaced by Einsteins theory means that when the apple falls from the tree it hangs in midair.
What a Moron...
Posted by chaoszen at 10/17/2008 @ 9:36pm
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17: Evolution is still a theory. Global warming isn't the debate, it is whether its cause is anthropological that is the issue. And it is doubtful Mccain is going to pull out a victory.
The cause is "anthropological"??? hahaha, poor silly anthropologists?? wonder if it is physical anthropologists or cultural?? HAHAHA, what a goober
Posted by jac5353 at 10/17/2008 @ 9:42pm
Heck, Obama has been calling Mccain a terrorist for months by associating McCain with Bush, hasn't he?! ;-)
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 8:42pm
And what about McDicks association with G.Gordon Liddy? Another domestic terrorist who planned to firebomb and murder... McDick did a fund raiser with him and was palling around..
Posted by chaoszen at 10/17/2008 @ 9:54pm
Frei - your assignment for today is to look up, and note the difference between, the terms 'anthropological' and 'anthropogenic'.
Posted by Lillian at 10/17/2008 @ 10:09pm
"Evolution is still a theory"
this month's most brilliant observation
Posted by darladoon at 10/17/2008 @ 8:30pm
actually,
i kind of agree with him.
most of what we call science are just theories....
sure, there is more and more evidence "proving" them, but we as humans must be humble in understanding that how we exist in this universe has a profound effect upon what we call reality.
if we lived in two dimensions, what we call "true" would be very different.
there's a whole lot of stuff we don't know, and a whole lot of stuff we'll never know.
peruse this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_as_theory_and_fact#Fact
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/17/2008 @ 10:18pm
Yeah just like Einsteins theory of gravity and Newtons theory of gravity that was replaced by Einsteins theory means that when the apple falls from the tree it hangs in midair. What a Moron...
Posted by chaoszen at 10/17/2008 @ 9:36pm
you are confusing the fact about what happens with the theory as to why.
again, i refer you to this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_as_theory_and_
fact#Evolution_compared_with_gravity
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/17/2008 @ 10:21pm
anthropogenic
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/17/2008 @ 10:23pm
oh, thanks lillian
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/17/2008 @ 10:24pm
y'all seem uptight, angry, nervous, violent, apprehensive.......
so many talking about storin' up the guns and martial law and the like.
perhaps a nice vacation would help.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/17/2008 @ 10:39pm
freiheit-So,you went from no one yelled kill him to he was a plant and then wonder why I said that you lie.Take responsibility for your words and actions.Saying bye is surrender and it amuses me when people like loatheliberty and yourself run away when your lies are exposed.You guys have already tried the thing about my handle and got nowhere because it went over your heads.You say I have real problems when you sit on here contradicting yourself and need to come on here in order to spew paranoia and put people down?Get a grip on reality.
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/17/2008 @ 10:51pm
Haha, yeah, oops anthropogenic. Thanks for the correction. :-)
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 11:02pm
It's hysterical how people, like Freiheit,are all over blogs playing down what is being said and done at McCain/Palin rallies,denying the robocalls even though people are getting them,playing down the fliers that are being sent by the GOP that lie about Obama's connection to Ayers,etc and then pout when you call them on their lies.And they wonder why I'm siding with the left these days.
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/17/2008 @ 11:04pm
http://joekillian.wordpress.com/2008/10/17/how-i-became-joe-sixpack/
Was at the Sarah Palin rally at Elon University today.
It was an interesting day and I'm glad to have had the experience. But now here I sit, sunburned and sore with a throbbing headache and an aching leg.
Why? Because a McCain-Palin supporter tried to kick my ass.
≤≤≤≤≤≤≤ ≥≥≥≥≥≥≥
calm down, folks.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/18/2008 @ 12:11am
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/17/2008 @ 7:22pm
Global warming isn't the debate, it is whether its cause is anthropological that is the issue.
Like Nero fidding while Rome burns.
Just don't spend any money trying to come up with practical solutions. That would be Big Government. And too many big feet might get stepped on in the short run if any could be shown to be no-brainers.
Good luck spending your tax cut in a lifeless desert.
Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/18/2008 @ 12:33am
All I said is "evolution is a theory." Interesting how that can really tweak a few of you. Certainly wasn't my intent. I went out and googled "theory of evolution" and golly; Results 1 - 10 of about 12,800,000 for theory of evolution. (0.09 seconds). Whew, for a while thought I was the only one left on earth calling it a theory! What a relief! I often wonder if the "validity" of Darwin's theory isn't just because it's easily used as a way to discredit "validity" of the Bible...
------------------------
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/17/2008 @ 11:04pm
I'm Nobody, please bait your hooks and troll for some other person to bully.
-----------------------
Posted by chaoszen at 10/17/2008 @ 9:54pm Hey Chaoszen, that's a valid point. Not sure the extremism of Libby and Ayers are an apples to apples thing, but I think you made a valid point, albeit crudely worded.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 12:33am
Michele Bachmann is as Un-American as it gets, and maybe she should be investigated. Female re-incarnation of Joe McCarthy?
Posted by ldbiker at 10/18/2008 @ 12:34am
Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/18/2008 @ 12:33am
Where do I comment about not spending money Pax? I think the private sector will do wonders to clean up the environment with logical and enlightened governmental intervention. Who isn't for cleaner air, water and planet?
But I think it is naive to think that the environmental movement as it exists today isn't just as big a ruse as the global war on terror. Do you ever consider you might be duped? I didn't either until I really explored why the US invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. And then considered the real motivations behind Kyoto.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 12:41am
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 12:41am Do you ever consider you might be duped?
Certainly not by the rhetoric of denial. Nor by bad science purchased by politico-economic interests for its (no apostrophe!) spin value.
And just what type of straw man are you creating when you mention "the environmental movement as it exists today?"
Could you be a little more specific on this, please?
Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/18/2008 @ 12:52am
Posted by ldbiker at 10/18/2008 @ 12:34am
Okay... And on the topic of comments out of the middle of nowhere... Did you hear on the news the governor of Nebraska canceled and won't allow a speech by Ayers at the University. Total crap. I actually think Ayers is a total loser, but to have this speech canceled for political reasons is outrageous and unamerican.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 12:52am
Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/18/2008 @ 12:52am
Sure Pax. The modern environmental movement was started by Maurice Strong. Google him and keep an open mind. That's a good first step. A book I strongly recommend is the Creature From Jekyll Island.
But maybe you are a proponent of the idea of one world government, so you won't find it as alarming as I. That's cool.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 01:00am
Oh, I see, Frei, Kyoto. I will read up and respond. Thanks for the chat. Good night.
Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/18/2008 @ 01:00am
freiheit-Not bullying you nor am I baiting any hooks.Just exposing a lie or two that you told.Stop whining and pouting just because you got caught contradicting yourself.Remember, that on here you are the troll and it would be you that is baiting hooks..
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/18/2008 @ 01:16am
ldbiker-That was one freaky congresswoman.Just a tad paranoid.What kind of scoot do you ride?Going to be putting myself together a new custom trike as soon as I get out of the city and back in the woods where I got room to work and to ride.
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/18/2008 @ 01:20am
If you have any doubt that John McCain is a representative of the 20th century, all you have to do is view the clip from the Chris Matthews show that had the "Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann" calling for a witch hunt of sorts. Yeah, I'm familiar with this Salem retro fear/hysteria card. They do it every presidential election that is competitive. The last presidential election we Democrats we're baby killing gays, (by inference folks), and this election we're baby killing America haters. However I would argue that it is my party that moves America into the 21st century. It is my party that has the capacity to encompass what is the blessing of America--our capacity to agree to disagree, to live side by side though we think differently, to be able to be in peace though our ideologies differ. This is the difference between standing within a forest and looking at a picture of one. We are multi-dimensional. We have the capacity to consider, discern, and process perspectives that are rooted in a genuine, authentic effort for an all encompassing home called America. Those who would narrow what is viewed as patriotic and America loving in an effort to extend partisan purposes is no better that the power seeking theocrats who hung innocents rather that revealing the sham of the Salem witch trials. They are no better than McCarthy and his band of extremists attempting to purge society of their perceived "inconvenient truths." What these folks have not counted on is the sophistication of the American people who are not naive, nor easily beguiled by their dissembling ways. This is an inauthentic ploy of the Republican Party. They do not have any ideas, other than pushing us closer to corporate socialism, therefore they smear--it's what they do best. THEY GOT NOTHING!!
Posted by PrairieDeb at 10/18/2008 @ 01:28am
"Evolution is still a theory."
And always will be. But the English language is subtle, and there is a distinction between the way that scientists use the word and the conventional way. Freiheit, this may be a bit hard for you, but it does make one look like an idiot if one pronounces on things from a basis of ignorance:
In science a theory is a testable model of the manner of interaction of a set of natural phenomena, capable of predicting future occurrences or observations of the same kind, and capable of being tested through experiment or otherwise verified through empirical observation. For the scientist, "theory" IS NOT IN ANY WAY AN ANTONYM of "fact". For example, it is a fact that an apple dropped on earth has been observed to fall towards the center of the planet, and the theories commonly used to describe and explain this behavior are Newton's theory of universal gravitation (see also gravitation), and the general theory of relativity. [wikipedia, my emphasis]
Posted by mikecope at 10/18/2008 @ 02:45am
And now the dark side of America is beginning to reveal itself. If we thought for a moment that racial prejudice was a thing of the past or at least diminished, the events at McCain rally's during the past few weeks should dispel that notion and hope.
It's not often stated out loud that the "Moral Majority" was anything than moral. The Christian Right Wing of the Republican Party, "the base" of the party if you will, has harbored deep resentment for minorities but have hidden this very well.
This is the conservative faction that represented the most important voting base of the Republican Party that swooned over Clinton's, Monica Lewinski affair. Nothing on earth was more important to them than the shame that Clinton brought to the White House. Not jobs, not wars, not poverty … hardly little else mattered to this self-righteous group. This is the same group that is quick to bring up Chappaquiddick and event that happened over 35 years ago, whenever Ted Kennedy's name is mentioned, even as he struggles with cancer
Bush was pushed along into the White House by the current that this self proclaimed "majority" created with their "Christian" rhetoric, and just to insure that things went their way … the lies, fear mongering and dirty tricks were added for a "righteous" cause.
Now we see it again … but this time because the momentum Obama has is almost unbearable to them, it's causing them to reveal their hidden agenda's and bigotry.
No matter how they try to disguise it … it is hate, the character assassinations, fear mongering and hateful, cold rhetoric is taking on a different tone than we are used to hearing.
It was always there, just under the surface and it is instilling fear among rational people in our country. Even among the more progressive Rep
Posted by Hoot at 10/18/2008 @ 03:06am
I've not much to add about the hate mongering that is currently underway and being fostered by some of the inane meanderings of McCain's appointed wench.
I remain cautiously optimistic that the American fascism that Chris Hedges has so ably written about will not find the necessary conditions for its flourishing.
By the way, Frosty Zoom, I liked your post regarding theory and certainty. One of the most profound influences on my own intellectual upbringing was the writings of the philosopher David Hume (1711-1776).
I highly recommend his "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion" as an entry point. His prose is crisp, brilliant and beautifully eloquent. "A Treatise on Human Nature" was written when he was still in his twenties and stands today as one of the all-time greatest works of human creative brilliance. Also recommend is his later reworking of similar ideas in "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding".
Quote:
"If I ask you why you believe any particular matter of fact, which you relate, you must tell me some reason; and this reason will be some other fact, connected with it. But as you cannot proceed after this manner, in infinitum, you must at last terminate in some fact, which is present to your memory or senses; or must allow that your belief is entirely without foundation."
~Hume in his "Treatise on Human Nature" (1737)
Hume's combination of dazzling intellectual bravery and genteel humility set him apart from pretty much anyone else that I am personally aware of --but he was, like any of us, not without his flaws.
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 03:44am
Interesting website:
www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-David-Hume-Philosopher.htm
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 03:47am
As I perused the website above, a particular song invaded my head for whatever reason. It's often interesting to speculate why a given song enters the mind at any given moment --a lyric, or an association of some sort?
I do know that Ginger Baker (the drummer in Cream) has become an olive farmer in Tuscany --last I heard.
;-)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud1Y7rXFEQg
Cool live footage!
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 04:40am
One final note of ironic absurdity.
In the latest fascinating book by Steve Coll, --author of the fantastic "Ghost Wars" about the CIA's involvement in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation-- "The Bin Ladens" (tinyurl.com/36lw5s), he describes in great depth and detail the character of Salem bin Laden, Osama's oldest brother.
One cannot help but gravitate to the jovial Salem and his crazy antics and flights of fancy.
One of his favorite tunes that he croons at one of his days on end parties:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRV9QCXLtHQ&NR=1
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 05:20am
A fine coda.
Words of an apparent Aussie poster at youtube:
"I'm just so glad I was born in 1954 so when I was 13 I could listen to Hendrix, Clapton and Townsend, etc. We didn't care who was better - we just enjoyed them all. At 50+ years old, I still listen to them and my four children know them well - forced to listen to tapes when travelling the 1100kms from mackay to Brisbane and back during the school holidays - good way to stay awake - better than drugs."
~Arnie
tinyurl.com/6b7y7l
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 07:03am
Couldn't resist a final sendoff from my favorite record --always a tough call, but I'll stick my neck out on this one.
tinyurl.com/6844m9
"I have lived here before........ the days of ice, And of course this is why........ I'm so concerned, And I come back to find..........the stars misplaced and the smell of a world...........that has burned."
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 07:35am
McCain is using the same Robocall service against Obama that Bush used to smear him–McCain–in 2000. The main developer of the Bush/Cheney robocall system was a guy named Tony Feather. Here’s some information about Tony from the Feather, Larson and Synhorst (FLS-Connect) website:
Tony Feather brings expertise in the field of campaign mechanics and voter contact strategies to FLS Connect. Tony served as Political Director for Bush/Cheney 2000, is a key advisor to the Bush White House and is viewed as a top strategist. Tony began his campaign career over 25 years ago and has since worked in the campaigns of many elected officials. He has served as Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party, and was appointed by former Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour to be his Midwest Regional Coordinator, overseeing nine Midwestern states. As the Midwest Coordinator, Tony was responsible for design and implementation of telephone and mail voter contact programs.
*
FLS-Connect are the background creeps perpertrating the vicious and stupid lies about Obama’s connections to the two people they hope to align him with. Here’s the contact information for FLS-Connect:
Saint Paul Office
7300 Hudson Blvd Suite 270 Saint Paul, Minnesota 55128 651-999-0249 651-649-0486- fax Toll Free: 1-866-357-2008
AND
Phoenix Office
11225 North 28th Drive Suite C-103 Phoenix, Arizona 85029 602-333-0590 602-333-0598- fax Toll Free: 1-866-357-2008
*
What you’ll notice are the toll free numbers are the same–one for the St. Paul office and one for the Phoenix office. I would highly recommend using that toll-free number and letting them know what you think about the robocalls. And call often. Like, a lot. They will be charged anywhere from .05 to .25
Posted by stumped2death at 10/18/2008 @ 08:00am
Finally.
No words, just right:
tinyurl.com/6oxust
Not quite the same as the version on "Nine to the Universe".
But completely acceptable, I've no doubt.
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 08:05am
oops.......
here's the actual jam wished to propose:
tinyurl.com/6ep86q
Oh well.
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 08:10am
Final (nearly) random radical music video:
tinyurl.com/39xwhu
Such as it is.
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 08:36am
Jekyll Island.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 01:00am
ooh,
nice place.
the "environmental" movement started in my son's eyes.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/18/2008 @ 09:25am
By the way, Frosty Zoom, I liked your post regarding theory and certainty.
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 03:44am
are you sure?
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/18/2008 @ 09:26am
ROBOCRAP!!!
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/18/2008 @ 09:26am
I am still stuck on this theory business. Why is it that the right always seeks to discredit science in defense of religion by saying stupid things like. "It's only a theory." As if it is supposed to graduate to something else.
All science is theory, subject to new information to refine or change the current understanding. Scientific method is based on "facts" as they are understood at the time. Religion is based on speculation and faith and no "facts" whatever.
Science and Religion are two entirely different things. And should be taught in different places.
Posted by chaoszen at 10/18/2008 @ 10:03am
Voters in Nevada are receiving even worse robocalls. The message is something like: "Did you know that Obama associates with domestic terrorists who tried to blow up the Pentagon?" (One of the most fantastic stretches of the so-called Ayers-Obama connection claim.)
Posted by pshaw-photo at 10/18/2008 @ 11:44am
Does Loony Larry have a sister?!?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPiuii0Rp8o
Posted by Lillian at 10/18/2008 @ 1:49pm
Hmmm...apparently, the stench is so great, it's causing some to jump off the sinking ship...
GOP Senator Slams McCain Robo Call
October 17, 2008 8:17 PM
ABC News' Teddy Davis and Rigel Anderson report: Embattled Republican Sen. Susan Collins is calling on Sen. John McCain to stop paying for automated phone calls which describe Sen. Barack Obama as having "worked closely" with "domestic terrorist Bill Ayers."
"These kind of tactics have no place in Maine politics," said Collins spokesman Kevin Kelley. "Sen. Collins urges the McCain campaign to stop these calls immediately."
Contacted on Friday by ABC News, the McCain campaign would not say if it was going to heed the request of Collins who serves as his campaign's co-chair in Maine.
"Obviously, Sen. McCain has great respect for Sen. Collins. But beyond that," said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers, "we don't have any comment."
Posted by Lillian at 10/18/2008 @ 2:09pm
Beginning with new con repub imperial deconstruction of verbal meaning for a re-dis-imaging Raygun's non-terrestrial alien belief and an anointed right rich is the only proper politics-- 'lying' was deemed correct mass manipulation/capitulation per highly functional on fantasy indoctrinated population.
Posted by hsuBfools at 10/18/2008 @ 2:12pm
Posted by pshaw-photo at 10/18/2008 @ 11:44am
Robocalls are relatively cheap to produce. For the most part they just piss people off. People like to talk with real live voices. The world has had enough of Robocalls.
Usually when a candidate is so desperate that they must resort to robocalls, they have lost. McDick's campaign is in the gutter. Only hardcore repubs and corporate fascists still hold out hope.
Don't be surprised if there is a convenient outside crisis before election day. Like a terrorist attack, War with Iran or Russia and the like.
These bastards are desperate about now..
Watch for voter election supression in battleground states.
Posted by chaoszen at 10/18/2008 @ 2:50pm
UPDATE:
McCain draws bipartisan criticism for 'robo calls'
Sat Oct 18, 11:49 am ET
LAS VEGAS – Two senators in opposing political parties asked Republican presidential candidate John McCain to stop the automated phone calls that link Democratic candidate Barack Obama to a 1960s radical.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, and Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, made separate appeals to McCain on Friday. Collins faces a tough race for re-election and serves as a co-chairwoman of his Maine campaign.
"These kind of tactics have no place in Maine politics," Collins spokesman Kevin Kelley said. "Sen. Collins urges the McCain campaign to stop these calls immediately."
In Nevada, a four-page campaign flier mailed this week by the state Republican Party also focused on Obama's past relationship with former Weather Underground leader Bill Ayers, calling the college professor a "terrorist, radical, friend of Obama" and featuring several images of Obama and Ayers.
Reid told reporters at a news conference in Las Vegas that he's surprised at the "scummy" tactics employed by McCain's presidential campaign and "can't believe John McCain knows what's going on."
The McCain campaign says the calls are warranted because Obama's connection to Ayers -- the two met many years after Ayers' anti-Vietnam War activities had ended -- raises questions about the Democrat's judgment and record.
"This is an association that is highly questionable and not out of bounds," McCain spokesman Rick Gorka said.
The automated calls in Maine, Nevada and other states -- they are commonly known as "robo calls" -- say Obama "has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans."
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 3:02pm
The charge is misleading: The bombings, which took place more than 35 years ago, didn't result in fatalities and the group didn't claim responsibility for the attack on the judge's home.
Obama has condemned Ayers' radical activities, which took place in the late 1960s and the 1970s, when Obama was a child. In the debate Wednesday with McCain, Obama said Ayers played no role in his presidential campaign.
Ayers, an education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, lives in Obama's neighborhood in Chicago. In 1995, he hosted a meet-the-candidate session at his home as the young Harvard Law School graduate prepared to run for the Illinois Senate. The two also worked with two nonprofit charitable organizations in Chicago.
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 3:02pm
Watch for voter election suppression in battleground states.
~Chaos-zen at 10/18/2008 @ 2:50pm
Not sure if you saw this last night, but it's worth a view for anyone interested in the subject of voter suppression.
tinyurl.com/6dg945
Moyers Journal is a national treasure, and this little segment (~15 minutes) with NYU's Mark Crispin Miller is no exception.
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 3:32pm
The lies from the right are pervasive concerning Bill Ayer's. They say he killed Americans. I suppose referring to the bombing in San Francisco that killed a policeman. Ayers nor Dorn have ever been indicted for that bombing, and the weather underground never took credit for that bombing.
And they usually did take credit for bombings that were commited.
The right also repeats ad nauseam that Bill Ayer's said that he wished he had done more bombings. All he ever said was that he wished he had done more for the Anti War movement. And Ayer's denounced the bombings that he was involved in.
On the other hand G. Gordon Liddy did admit that he was planning to firebomb the Brookings Institution and murder journalist Jack Anderson. And admitted to plans to murder Howard Hunt. And plotting to kidnap protestors at the 1972 Repub convention. He also instructed his listeners to assasinate members of The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. Telling them to make a "Head Shot" and kill the "Sons a Bitches".
Last November McCain went on Liddy's radio show and Liddy greeted him as an "Old Friend". McCain told him "I'm proud of you, I'm proud of your family. It's always a pleasure for me to come on your program, Gordon, and congratulations on your continued success and adherance to the priciples and philosophies that keep our nation great."
So who exactly is "palling" around with domestic terrorists? AQnd why isn't this being covered in the media?
Posted by chaoszen at 10/18/2008 @ 3:40pm
Mark Crispin is a fervent democrat. I watched the interview with absolute amazement, as I always do anything by Moyers.
Most disturbing was the pilates Crispin went through to ensure Moyers that ACORN is absolutely above repute and admirably self policing. Furthermore, any wrongdoing on the part of ACORN is immaterial to election results.
Not once did Crispin or Moyers mention any connection whatsoever between Obama and ACORN, or ACORN and the democratic party. Crispin did not allude once that voter fraud could possibly be perpetrated by the democrats - and was quick to tie McCain to ACORN for a speech he gave at one of their events in 2006. My goodness, and you folks complain about Fox News' bias. Wow.
The editors of the Voelkischer Beobachter would have been impressed.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 3:48pm
Posted by chaoszen at 10/18/2008 @ 3:40pm
Although I completely agree with you that evidence tying Ayers to Obama is disingenuous, there is more to Bill Ayers past than you are recognizing. You are over sanitizing what the guy is about to protect Obama. The victim in all of that is the truth.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 3:53pm
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 3:48pm
Your powers of misperception and misapprehension are legion, arbeit macht frei.
Thanks for the "insight".
Sieg heil, dude.
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 3:54pm
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 3:48pm
Pushing the ACORN connection is an exercise in futility. Most people don't even know what ACORN is. This is only an attempt to place a shadow over the vote and supress votes. Even the people who defrauded ACORN in their exuberance to make more money would not effect the vote.
Most of them were making up names or making multiple applications for the same name. In either case these inaccuracies would be picked up and red flagged by ACORN.
This BS is the usual Repub effort to disenfrancise voters. Nothing more.
The real trouble with election fraud is with the Repub Party, who aim at supressing hundreds of thousands of voters. People involved in that should be imprisoned or executed. They are violating the very priciple of our democracy. The right to vote.
Posted by chaoszen at 10/18/2008 @ 4:05pm
There you have it, "freiheit".
Now slither away, please.
tinyurl.com/6k8d42
-Not the exact translation of the idea I was looking for, but the general sentiment is about right I think. And the tune kicks ass in about the same measure I'd be happy to kick yours, "frei".
:D
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 4:16pm
ACORN has registered both Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse and if you really believe that cartoon characters are going to show up and vote then you have been spending way too much time watching the Disney channel and are starting to see it as reality..
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/18/2008 @ 4:17pm
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 3:53pm
The only true evidence of any relationship between Bill Ayer's and Obama is that they sat on the same education board. Can you or anybody say the same about McInsane's asscociation with G.Gordon Liddy? If not shut the F**K up.
This is a time in America when we need to purge fascists from our society. They always pull this crap and are not Americans in any sense.
Posted by chaoszen at 10/18/2008 @ 4:20pm
chaoszen-They know that they can't win on the issues so they avoid talking about those and go with fear based lies about Ayers and crazy stuff about ACORN that is aimed at the uninformed and ignorant.
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/18/2008 @ 4:23pm
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 4:16pm
Very nice tune. Gotta get that CD.
Posted by chaoszen at 10/18/2008 @ 4:27pm
Hey!
Here's the soothing sounds of not having to hear the sturm und drang of right wing nutjobs --if it could only last for eternity.
Now that would be a nothingness worth looking for.
tinyurl.com/62v7zl
Enjoy!
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 4:30pm
Posted by chaoszen at 10/18/2008 @ 2:50pm
People like to talk with real live voices. The world has had enough of Robocalls.
I got a really strange type of pollster call several years ago (wish I could remember exactly when) where the woman calling politely asked if I would care to participate in a "survey" of some type. As you observe above, I agreed. The questions became increasingly peppered with the rhetoric and buzzwords of the wingnuts (apologies, no offence intended, a buzzword in its own right, I know, excusez moi) and I became increasingly flustered as I (I hope it's true) try to represent myself openly and honestly. As the callers ideology dawned on me ("heeey, I think your a-tryin' to fool me a-hyuk") the caller grew increasingly shrill, shouting questions into the telephone and sounding for all the world like what I imagine one of Mao's political re-educators might have sounded like during the cultural revolution. Wierd.
Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/18/2008 @ 4:34pm
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 4:30pm
Nice. Can't wait to get the the CD and slip it into my CD changer in my van. Got an awesome Kenwood setup. It's the only time I can listen to music real loud without disturbing the neighbors..
Posted by chaoszen at 10/18/2008 @ 4:38pm
Most excellent, Chaos!
Enjoy the day --it's damn gorgeous in Michigan at the moment.
I actually went to the beach and hit the water a bit, and got some sun last Sunday. Air temp was over 80 F, and water temp over 60 F.
Peace, out.
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 4:42pm
Are you guys an example of the future we face? What ignorant intolerance. Above I fully admit the folly of tying Ayers to Obama, yet I'm characterized as a serpent and threatened to have my ass kicked.
I don't think you even listen to yourselves.
What's disheartening is this blog used to be a hearty exchange of different ideas. Fun. Now it just seems to filled with thugs.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 5:06pm
Now it just seems to filled with thugs.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 5:06pm
No thugs here. Just Patriotic Americans. So please, just go away. We don't need you. Move into the putrid hole where fascists belong..
Posted by chaoszen at 10/18/2008 @ 5:19pm
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 5:06pm
Oops, glad I stuck for a bit longer.
Well, if it isn't the dude who digs up a Voelkischer Beobachter reference.
Well done, cheesedick.
Your phony piety runs about as thick and genuine as an oozing pustule.
Get lost, little Hitler.
Before someone really does find your sorry pathetic visage and opens the proverbial can of whoop ass on ya'.
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 5:22pm
chaoszen, you punctuate my point perfectly.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 5:25pm
b_kool_66, Why would I want to have a fight with a former marine? And why would you threaten me physically? Please just don't rape my wife and three daughters after you kill me for disagreeing with you.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 5:35pm
freiheit-You,obviously, aren't on here to discuss ideas.You are on here to post McCain/Palin talking points.
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/18/2008 @ 5:36pm
freiheit-the thing about your wife and daughters was just a tad strange.
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/18/2008 @ 5:37pm
Science and Religion are two entirely different things. And should be taught in different places.
Posted by chaoszen at 10/18/2008 @ 10:03am
I disagree with this statement. I think the "Big Bang" theory reinforces the belief that there was a beginning of the universe. Science has also proven that certain places and people in the bible actually existed.
Posted by k330k at 10/18/2008 @ 5:39pm
He's unraveling.
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 5:39pm
I'm not making the physical threats b_kool_66, you are. That's unraveling.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 5:43pm
I think the "Big Bang" theory reinforces the belief that there was a beginning of the universe. Science has also proven that certain places and people in the bible actually existed.
~330k
Seems a fair bet to me that there are actually a multitude of universes that exist beyond our own --"multi-verses" as they've been termed.
But the main point ought to be that we have a limited ability to understand reality as it is, and all of our religions badly pale in comparison to the fascination that is brought on by even mild contemplation of the reality that has been revealed by the last 300 years of scientific exploration.
It saddens me that so many are so apparently dull to the wonders of the universe, as well as the wonders of life here on Earth in all of its myriad complexity.
"Too many are too bland" is the essence of the human conundrum in its simplest terms I believe.
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 5:49pm
Interesting perspective b_kool. Particularly your observation that too many are too bland being the essence of the human conundrum in its simplest terms. Not a perspective I would have ever come up with on my own.
k330k,
I hear a good read is Francis Collins' "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief." Collins is the director of the Human Genome Project.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 6:16pm
"Too many are too bland"
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 5:49pm
no worries,
thyme catches up with all of us.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/18/2008 @ 6:29pm
frei,
if i'm not mistaken, you are voting for obama, n'est-ce pas?
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/18/2008 @ 6:30pm
k33ok-Science and archeology has,also,proven that many events in the Bible are only loosely based on actual events and that some never happened,but that sort of thing is college level.I have no problem teaching kids about other cultures and religions since we live in a diverse country,but that sort of thing should be kept out of science classes.
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/18/2008 @ 6:41pm
Hi Frosty,
McCain and Obama both voted FOR the unconstitutional and criminal $850B bailout package. They both lost my vote for their lack of patriotism and courage.
If I were walking into the booth right now, my vote would go to Barr. I don't see that changing over the next two weeks.
You're voting Obama, right?
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 6:50pm
Frosty is Canadian and can't vote here.
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/18/2008 @ 6:51pm
Shame Ron Paul isn't on the ballot here.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 6:52pm
Talking point one should never say bush with out The Boss (ssob) Regan he's the granddaddy of rovian bull and deregulation which ran this country in the ditch of greed. www.boggscenter.org
Posted by sparkslarry at 10/18/2008 @ 6:52pm
freiheit-Write Paul's name in.
Posted by i'm nobody at 10/18/2008 @ 6:54pm
Thanks I'm Nobody, I didn't know that. Sorry Frosty. Not about your being Canadian, of course ;-)
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 6:54pm
6:54pm
great advice!
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 6:55pm
Speaking of the too often blandness of too many on Main Street.
Here's a passage from Sinclair Lewis's "Main Street" that I happened upon just now in an anthology I've been reading:
It is an unimaginatively standardized background, a sluggishness of speech and manners, a rigid ruling of the spirit by the desire to appear respectable. It is contentment...the contentment of the quiet dead, who are scornful of the living for their restless walking. It is negation canonized as the one positive virtue. It is the prohibition of happiness. It is slavery self-sought and self-defended. It is dullness made God.
A savorless people, gulping tasteless food, and sitting afterward, coatless and thoughtless, in rocking chairs prickly with inane decorations, listening to mechanical music, saying mechanical things about the excellence of Ford automobiles, and viewing themselves as the greatest race in the world.
~That there is s0me magnificent writing, folks!
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 6:57pm
Good writing indeed, b_kool. But I find Lewis, as you quote him, very dark, judgmental and cynical. With a view and opinion of our fellow man such as that, how can one really argue against totalitarianism and elitism?
Lewis' view of what can be described today perhaps as "flyover country" makes a strong case against democracy. I think that was his intent. Sheep are to be led.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 7:18pm
Oh, and that was poorly written on my part b_kool. (I'm sure that didn't lessen your desire to kick my ass! :-) Please excuse my poor characterization of Lewis' intent. Swing and a miss.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 7:31pm
Herr Frei,
Without doing any deeper research it ought to be evident that Sinclair Lewis's views on humanity are probably fairly complex. Thus, it's a flying leap to your point: "With a view and opinion of our fellow man such as that, how can one really argue against totalitarianism and elitism?"
I believe that one of the absurdities of the day in this nation is the entire contrivance of the supposed "left-right" spectrum that nearly everyone gets placed on at some point in the American political discourse.
Probably a more meaningful spectrum, if one feels the need for such a thing, is one of the more evolved versus the less evolved.
An example along these lines is the idea that equality is at the heart of democracy, and that all of our supposed liberties are just figments of our imaginations if defacto inequality is allowed to run rampant. Simply put, our liberties cannot flourish if massive power is wielded by a small number of super wealthy elites and their minions in congress.
Evolution is at the heart of the struggle we are engaged in. I would argue that those who are, say, more cognizant than the average citizen are keenly aware of the ongoing struggle that, when not exposed in a full blown conflict such as open warfare, is nonetheless a pretty constant state of strife, unfortunately.
There are no easy answers here, but the genius writings of those such as Sinclair Lewis, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Falkner to name a few contemporaries, are helpful tools to open the human heart for a fuller inspection.
Finally, I might ask, "Why are these geniuses so often to be found in opposition to the powers of their day?"
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 7:59pm
" evolution is a theory"
Ladies and gentleman; that little statement explains to me why 50 million people supported W, and Why McCain is still is this close in the race. Sad day for education in this country indeed! too many children and-aparently freiheit- are being "left behind".
Posted by Seal1997 at 10/18/2008 @ 9:03pm
I live in Maine and I received one of those robo calls about Obama the terrorist because he associated with Bill Ayers. I think the script was written by Michele Bachmann. These values "ameners" have allowed all the little grown ups that use to live in their heads to leave. Their scripts have all been written for them by Pat Robertson and company.
Posted by lachatte at 10/18/2008 @ 9:08pm
Posted by Seal1997 at 10/18/2008 @ 9:03pm
Wow, I had no idea calling evolution a "theory" would cause such a stir. Seal, I don't know if Darwin was right, but he sure might be. I've not seen any proof though, have you? I think you are putting a lot of faith into it. Gosh, just like those crazy Christians and their faith...
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 9:23pm
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 7:59pm
Great post and look into your take on things.
Genius is in opposition of the power of the day because of creative destruction. May it always be so.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 9:27pm
Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/18/2008 @ 7:59pm
There are no easy answers here, but the genius writings of those such as Sinclair Lewis, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Falkner to name a few contemporaries, are helpful tools to open the human heart for a fuller inspection.
To which I would add the more contemporary works of Banks, Vonnegut, Kesey (Demon Box essay) and Tom Wolfe's A Man In Full
Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/18/2008 @ 9:36pm
And Frei, I was in B&N today and was excited to find the Oliver Sacks non-fic Musicophilia which I couldn't put down. Kyoto next. I haven't forgotten. I'm gonna write up a environmentalist's response that will blow one world government rhetoric right out of the water. I don't know how yet, but I will.
Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/18/2008 @ 9:50pm
Wow, I had no idea calling evolution a "theory" would cause such a stir.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 9:23pm
of course you did.
that's why you said it. you just love to get them crazy liberals in a huff •_•
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/18/2008 @ 9:52pm
oh, how i despise the term "environmentalist".
we are made of the earth, for chrissake!
that should be enough incentive to keep it clean.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/18/2008 @ 9:54pm
So true. "Should be" is the key. My room is a mess. An observation: "environment" is a big concept. Really big, on both the macro and micro scales. Amost so big as to be useless as a descriptor, a word holding too many inferences. Back to Websters's.
Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/18/2008 @ 10:02pm
"My Mind Hurts" too much ignorance here. I must rest. When you spend to much time in the "Bonzo Clown Upside Down Through the Looking Glass and Down the Rabbit Hole Universe." A period of Rest is indicated.
I shall retire to the comfort of my bed, with a warm cup of tea and a doobie. And reflect on the teachings of Buddha...
Posted by chaoszen at 10/18/2008 @ 10:11pm
Hi Pax, Start researching Maurice Strong. He is the founder of the modern environmental movement. And has been one of the most influential men on earth for the past 3 decades.
The global war on terror and the threat of global warming are both out of the exact same playbook.
Once you accept that and realize the danger in the fact our entire economic system is in the hands of few.
Hey let me ask you this? Can you honestly say you know the true function of the Federal Reserve?
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/18/2008 @ 10:17pm
frei,
if global warming is a crock,
(which it may be)
think about how much better off we will be if we stop burning poisonous hydrocarbons, anyway.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/18/2008 @ 10:33pm
Have you ever thought that we are sitting right on top of the largest nuclear reactor within 93 million miles? Why does the nuclear industry want a hold placed on quarter of a trillion dollars of our treasury money for some crappy, leaky, extremely long-lasting poison-producing reactor vessels? That's a lot of Robocalls! Not addressed to anyone in particular, just posting out loud.
Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/18/2008 @ 10:52pm
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/18/2008 @ 10:33pm
I absolutely agree Frosty. I ride a bicycle to work, we recycle everything. I am way bought into the idea of reducing carbon footprints.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/19/2008 @ 12:05am
But do you really believe our "LEADERS" are going to help make that happen?
Watch, the government will legislate expanded powers for the purpose of cleaning up the environment. Special interests then have the power of government at their control.
This is what happened or is happening in the following campaigns:
The war on poverty. Expanded laws and federal controls, billions borrowed. Poverty gone?
The war on drugs. Expanded laws and federal controls, billions borrowed. Drugs gone?
The war on terror. Expanded laws and federal controls, trillions borrowed. Terror gone?
The economic bailout. Expanded laws and federal controls, trillions borrowed. Economy back on track?
The war on global warming. Expanded laws and federal controls, trillions borrowed. Environment fixed?
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/19/2008 @ 12:14am
Oh, that environmental part above is in the future.
All of these campaigns prey on fear. War is the best at getting a freaked out citizenry to give up a bunch of freedoms to be "safe" in the name of patriotism.
The war on terror makes me sick. How could I have been so duped?
What's next is a huge domestic terror attack, contrived like 9/11, but a couple years up the road. This time the war on terror will be inside our borders against an equally ficticious enemy. We will welcome marshall law and the wisdom of our "leaders." The victims will be innocent. But the federal government will act against "right wing extremists" whom they say were fighting against fairness in our country and efforts to "save the earth"...
Dark days ahead.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/19/2008 @ 12:24am
But do you really believe our "LEADERS" are going to help make that happen?
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/19/2008 @ 12:14am
wait for no one.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/19/2008 @ 01:55am
Expanded laws and federal controls, trillions borrowed. Environment fixed?
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/19/2008 @ 12:14am
it has hardly been trillions borrowed to "fix" the environment.
"Fires plagued the Cuyahoga River beginning in 1969 when a spark from a blow torch ignited floating debris and oils. The largest river fire in 1969 caused over $1 million in damage to boats and a riverfront office building.[7] Fires erupted on the river several more times before June 22, 1969, when a river fire captured the attention of Time magazine, which described the Cuyahoga as the river that "oozes rather than flows" and in which a person "does not drown but decays."
The 1969 Cuyahoga River fire helped spur an avalanche of water pollution control activities resulting in the Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and the creation of the federal and state Environmental Protection Agency. As a result, large point sources of pollution on the Cuyahoga have received significant attention from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in recent decades. These events are referred to in Randy Newman's 1972 song "Burn On", R.E.M.'s 1986 song "Cuyahoga", Adam Again's 1992 song "River on Fire", and Sigmund Snopek III's "Thank God This Isn't Cleveland".
Water quality has improved and, in recognition of this improvement, the Cuyahoga River was designated as one of 14 American Heritage Rivers in 1998. Pollution remains, however, including nonpoint source problems, combined sewer overflows,[9] and stagnation due to water impounded by dams. For this reason, the Environmental Protection Agency classified portions of the Cuyahoga River Watershed as one of 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern."
≤≤≥≥
this is good.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/19/2008 @ 01:59am
frei,
i agree that sound monetary policy is key to human happiness in THIS MODERN WORLD!!!
nonetheless, one cannot assume that greed will not usurp common sense in people's decision-making and accordingly societies must co-ordinate laws which allow for minimal destruction of the planet from which we are made.
do you want private police?
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/19/2008 @ 02:02am
Dark days ahead.
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/19/2008 @ 12:24am
not if you love your brothers, patriot.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/19/2008 @ 02:04am
I live in a battleground state! I am also a registered Democrat. We don't get the Robo calls we just get Republican 'hate mail' about William Ayers! I called their office and told them 'when hell froze over I would vote for one of them'. They are going to get their 'hate mail' back in the mail too. I am so sick of hearing about William Ayers I could scream. The connection with Obama is so weak it verges on being ridiculous. Only paranoid right wing nuts believe that slop. But, still these people keep harping on it. We are more worried about where next months mortgage payment is going to come from than we are William Ayers. So there trying to distract us from the issues just irritates us.
I worry more about Sarah Palin's extremist views and her ties to the Alaska Independence Party! Not that I would care one way or another if Alaska did break from the union. But, I am a firm believer in the Separation of Church and State. It's served this country well for more than 200 years. Her strong ties to religious extremist's really concerns me. It's terrifying thinking of her any where close to a position of power. So guess who I am voting for????
Posted by ganddw42 at 10/19/2008 @ 10:00am
Ohoo, ohooo, I know, I bet you're voting for Obama?!
Posted by freiheit1 at 10/19/2008 @ 12:09pm
I heard the audio of the anti-Obama Robo Calls and, just when I believe that McCain-Palin antics and lies cannot go any deeper, more vile, how is it possible to be so desperate for the White House that they could cause harm to Barack based solely upon this most disturbing and life-threatening phone calls that have gone out to MILLIONS. This is the most dangerous thing McCain-Palin are doing to win. Your souls should be screaming out about this. Contact elected officials in every state and asking why are they not speaking out about this. Why isn't the media/press all over this? Ask McCain-Palin are they trying to get someone killed? Now, because of these calls, if McCain wins, one side of this country will erupt -- if Barack wins -- McCain-Palin have sent millions of messages out to state that the new man in the White House will bring danger to American lives. No one is safe, so, this story should be round the clock until McCain-Palin either make round the clock statements apologizing, or, send out to the same phone messages that their phone calls were wrong. John, Robert, Martin, and? IF WE ALL BATTLED TOGETHER, the three I just named would be alive today. Wake up America, please.
Posted by Gianella at 10/19/2008 @ 1:35pm