Comments Posted By Surabaya Stew
Displaying 211 To 220 Of 255 Comments
TOP TEN THINGS THAT CREEP ME OUT ABOUT OBAMA
What's really creepy to me are those who believe that an Obama presidency will be the downfall of the United States of America. That takes some real kool-aid! It kind of reminds me of those who predicted in the late 80's that the Soviets would crush us. What it really points to is an insecurity complex.
Of course, the exact parallel of this Obama-hating are the leftists who declared Bush Jr. to be fascist and evil, and would leave the country if he won re-election. How many of these folks stuck it out and will be pulling the lever in 2008? Fact is, some folks just like to exaggerate shit all out of proportion, and this blog is no exception.
Foobarista brought up an excellent point about all the wealthy people in Silicon Valley being Obama supporters. If those who have been instrumental in creating so much wealth for America are not backing the "pro-business" candidate, then it would seem natural that they all know something that many of fail to see. My guess is that they think that brand Obama is a better way to sell America to the world than brand McCain is. (When it comes to making future profits for Silicon Valley, that fact is of paramount importance as the USA is a saturated market.) Call that thinking creepy if you will; they call it thinking global.
Businessmen are notorious idiots when it comes to politics. Most politicians - right and left - rightfully view them with contempt. Just because you make a lot of money it doesn't endow you with any special prescience when it comes to understanding political realities.
ed.
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 27.07.2008 @ 20:45
McCAIN IS TOO OLD TO BE PRESIDENT
I'm surprised that people think he's too old. The vast majority of his verbal gaffes come at these town hall meetings; the shear quantity he does virtually ensure a mistake a day from anybody in his shoes. (Hell, this Obama supporter knows Barack would make just as many errors if not more if he spoke as much as McCain does. That's why he controls his message more and speaks less.) The only thing that would make me think he is too old is if he were to preemptively declares that he will only seek one term. Frankly, a reoccurrence of skin cancer scares me more than dementia when it comes to McCain's health.
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 23.07.2008 @ 16:25
End the war? Hate Bush? Boy, have I been reading all those anti-Obama posts the wrong way...
Seriously, why aren't the Taliban all dead by now? And does Ortega really want Nicaragua to continue as a democracy? (Morales needs Venezula more than us, until Chavez falls anyway.) You are quite right about the Saudi and Gulf State leaders not wanting to start a war with us, as it is too profitable to suck our dollars from us. However, this does not mean that the average citizen feels that way; only heavy social spending is keeping their anger in check. (Could this be another factor in these bastards not wanting to pump more oil?) The Arab Street would start a war if given a chance; that is why we support their leaders keeping them in political oppression.
It is possible to argue that Anti-Americanism in Europe has existed going back to the very founding of our nation, yet why is it necessary to defend the good old USA in Asia and Africa? These should be our natural allies! I expect such BS from Canadians wanting to prove their national identity, and from Europeans eager to create one. There are so many missed opportunities here to spread our influence, that it sickens me...
Whatever, say whatever you want, you know that I would love to sit down and have a drink with you some day. I knew it was a matter of time before you came out swinging at me, and I thank you for replying in a challenging, yet thoughtful manner. Its the highlight of reading your blog!
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 19.07.2008 @ 22:01
Lets see now, How about this poll from Pew?
http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=256
And this is just one of many that I could have chosen to represent my point. To be sure "moral standing" is not a well-defined term, but it is clear that we are not as popular a nation as we used to be just 6 years ago. Fine if you don't think this is important, but try traveling or selling American goods for a living, and see if defending the USA doesn't get tiring after a while. It's all about perception, and while there may not be a big difference between Bill Clinton and George Bush in terms of policy, it doesn't matter when you talk to the average Joe around the world. Obviously, if experience rather than appearances were all that mattered, John McCain would be a shoo-in for president. (But then again, so would have Al Gore in 2000.) How the world sees us will be better under Obama, and that is a fact, logical or not.
Fewer enemies in the world? Tell that to the Taliban regrouping in Pakistan. I'm sure Evo Morales will be on our side. Daniel Ortega is back in power. No African country wants to host AFRICOM for fear of being unpopular. And the only reason the Middle East hasn't blown up at us is because of all the petrodollars flowing into their pockets. I wish we had fewer enemies, but it doesn't seem to be the case.
BTW, you may get more readers if you refrain from insulting the ones you have.
The Taliban have been "regrouping" for 6 years and are not in charge of a country. Any success they are enjoying at the moment is due to the shortsighted and stupid policies of the Paki government. Morales is hardly an "enemy" - Bolivia needs us a hell of a lot more than we need them. Nicaragua is a democracy - nothing Ortega can do to change that.
Even before the dollar was tanking we were setting export records. And the Middle East isn't exploding because we removed one of the main irritants in the region. If it does explode, it will be because we were stupid and attacked Iran who would then lash out blindly and attempt to start a general war. Are you saying that the Saudis and the Gulf States would go to war against us because of something we did? Why? Against whom? For what? Israel? Don't be daft. Any scenario you come up with would be so remote as to be dismissed out of hand.
Going back to the time of Nixon, Europeans and most of the world has been anti-American. We are discussing a matter of degree not perception. The perception has always been there.
As for readers, it matters not. If I wanted a lot of readers I'd be a Bushbot and a supporter of the war. But I despise Bush and want to end the war by leaving Iraq as quickly as honor permits. I will insult, hurl obscenities, degrade, denigrate, and otherwise discomfit my readers as I see fit.
ed.
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 19.07.2008 @ 15:55
Hey Rick, are you honestly of the belief that Bush's attitude and actions have not a thing to do with our country's low moral standing in the world? To hell with that, isn't our lousy state of mind right now at least somehow attached to his 28% domestic approval rating? After all, you wrote a good article about how a hyper-majority of Americans think we are on the wrong track (84%, if I am not mistaken.) Sure it is more intellectually satisfying to go with experience over likeablty, but we have voted for style over substance in the last 4 elections; what makes you think it will be any different this time? Besides, the person most responsible for the rise of Obama is none other than Bush. If Obama is your worst nightmare, you know who to thank for making it come true.
Honestly, I am still not convinced that Obama will be up to the task of charting a new direction for us in the foreign-policy arena. We do need a President with real ideas about America's role in the world. It would be wonderful if McCain had any other ideas other than following Bush's lead in this area. Sadly, he does not offer anything different. After 16 years of inexperienced presidents learning on the job, I would love to have a something different from our Commander-in-chief, but McCain makes it impossible for me to vote for him.
There has not been one single poll or survey about how low our "moral standing" is in the world. You just invented that out of whole cloth. Anti-Americanism is a disease that predates Bush by a couple of decades. American approval numbers have been rising the last year or so by the way. And who except a total dolt takes seriously the surveys that show Europeans believe america is a greater threat to world peace than Russia or Iran? If you believe that you are brain dead and should not be taken seriously. Why the left in this country thinks that is significant is beyond me.
So, most of the world hates us. So what? There has always been a majority of the world that believed the propaganda of their governments and blamed the CIA for everything. Why does it matter when a Republican is president but when Bill Clinton is in there and the numbers are not much better, we are loved and adored? Give me a break.
This is the biggest non issue in electoral history and is only being pushed because it is part of the false, dishonest narrative beeing spouted by the left. We don't have any more enemies today than we did before Bush became president - in fact we have two fewer; the Taliban and Saddam. Euro attitudes toward America are shaped by a virulently anti-American, far left press across the continent. There is nothing to "restore" or "repair." It is a made up fantasy of people who find it convenient to make things appear differently than they actually are for political purposes.
ed.
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 19.07.2008 @ 13:05
PLEASE HELP OUR HOLLYWOOD FRIENDS WITH OBAMA JOKES
Joel Stein has the same idea today:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-stein18-2008jul18,0,3819643.column
I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that Obama is not be the kind of person to be easily mocked. A commenter on Joel Stein's blog got closest to it:
" Comics have gotten soft after eight years of Bush and before that eight years of Clinton, both of whom are self-satirizing. They don't know how to deal with a semi-normal person like Obama."
I would only add that the same can be said of John McCain. However, this entire notion is nonsense. Truly, if the nation needs to have jokes told about our leaders more than it needs transparency about their actions, its a sorry day in America.
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 18.07.2008 @ 12:59
THE CONSERVATIVE'S SHAMEFUL DEFENSE OF GRAMM
A spot on analysis right there, Mr. Moran. It's quite interesting how many commentators here (and in all media in fact) have missed the point that you are making, mainly that is is bad news for John McCain. It doesn't matter who whines most, or how many government programs we use or don't use, nor how effective our tax dollars are being spend. The fact is, this was a heartless thing to say that reinforces a negative stereotype about republicans, therefore conservatives come off looking bad. And with it goes McCains chances in November. I personally think that Phil had a point, but then again, so did the New Yorker. In the end, both come off looking dumb.
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 15.07.2008 @ 07:41
A CHICAGO OPERATION FROM TOP TO BOTTOM
So Daley is pulling Obama's strings? An interesting thought. Will that have worse consequences than the House of Saud or Haliburton bossing Bush around? Frankly, the cynic in me considers that fact a "bigger deal". Also, as a New York native, I beg to differ on which city is the most corrupt in America. We TAUGHT Chicago how to steal from the taxpayers 150 years ago!
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 8.07.2008 @ 20:21
So the Chicago crowd has a hand in Obama's rise? Much like the Texans who helped Bush Jr. get elected or Carter's old boy network in Georgia? To a certain extent, all politicians have different local networks pushing them ahead; but some certainly are more reliant on them than others. Which seems to be the case here; I just don't know how big a deal it really is. The way I see it, its just relying on different sets of people to push your political career ahead rather than the traditional party back-rooms or the hall of congress. There is no way of knowing at this point in time whether this will make Obama a better or worse president. Which I suspect is why the MSN (and to a large extent, the blogisphere) is ignoring it for now.
The "big deal" is that these Chicagoans come out of the most corrupt urban political machine in the country. And the Mayor himself may be pulling Obama's strings.
ed.
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 8.07.2008 @ 11:54
OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND, OUT OF LUCK
Thank you for replying to my comment, Cecil Hill. It's good to hear that some students in China are getting what is obviously a very fine education from you. It is obvious that you care very much about all of them, and we should all respect that. Truthfully, I have not been to China, with the exceptions of Hong Kong and Macau, so I do not question that you have a better sense of what the average Chinese thinks than the MSN does.
Actually, I do have an inkling of what the average Chinese-American thinks about Tibet, and it's not too different from the average mainland opinion! "Fuck em' all, those ungrateful bastards!" seems to sum it up, I'm afraid. Just like the Tibet-heads can't get around the fact that Tibet belongs to China and any hope for independence are foolish beyond belief, the average Chinese anywhere in the world can't seem to grasp that the Red Army has treated the Tibetans like shit since 1959 and they resent the Han settlers very much. Moderation seems to be lacking in all quarters...
Of course, I am betting on the fact that the members of ethnic minorities in China who come to your school might not be representative of the average non-Han Chinese citizen. A trip to the Tibetan-majority areas (not just Tibet proper), sounds like an excellent opportunity to get closer to the truth. As I can see from your blog, you are already having quite an excellent time getting around China right now. I look forward to reading more about your travels!
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 8.07.2008 @ 00:00
