Comments Posted By Moltenorb
Displaying 51 To 60 Of 70 Comments
KOPECHNE AS MARTYR TO KENNEDY'S FAILED AMBITION
I'm not commenting to win or lose Rick...I became quite aware that reason cannot win around here after you declined to admit in a previous post that Pelosi never said the word that you put dirctly into her mouth. I learned that you will never admit publicly when you are wrong, and that you will always attempt to use the "partisan" card on people like me to try and discredit anything we say..
I'll readily admit that that particular victim of Dick Cheney did live through his ordeal...Could Cheneys victim have died?...Sure...Would that have made a comparison viable...Maybe...but that wasn't my point...My main thrust was not equating the two episodes, but pointing out that accidents happen, and that politicians in general will take the time necessary to cover their asses in a crisis..
You may not have noticed that I didn't mention Ted Kennedy at all in either of my first two posts on this topic...You and your name-calling compatriot assumed that I was making a moral comparison, which allowed you both to act like 5 year old little boys, running around the room with your fingers in your ears, going LALALALALALALALALA…NEENER NEENER NEENER..
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 29.08.2009 @ 09:31
Nagarajan Sivakumar...
Calling me a "dolt" an "assclown" and telling me to "shut up" are all weak arguments which I will answer with a quote from Elbert Hubbard...
"If you can't answer a man's arguments, all is not lost; you can still call him vile names."
That said...I personally DO NOT wonder why progressives get smeared as "pinko-commies" by conservatives...the answer to that one is simple..
It's because most conservatives don't know the difference between communism, collectivism, fascism, nationalism, socialism, patriotism, nazism, capitalism, or the color pink..
As for the the "bullets" in Cheneys shotgun...they're actually called "shot" or "pellets", and each one is a sphere of dense metal such as lead, which is often plated with copper or nickel...
Can you supply a link that proves Cheney was using rubber shot that day?...
I didn't think so..
What the Cheneyquiddick story illustrates is that when politians screw up bigtime...they tend to stonewall until they get their story straight...that's all...I never defended the actions of Ted Kennedy...He plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident...and he was guilty of that crime..
For conservatives to obsess about a single innocent life lost to the bad judgment of one liberal politician is the ultimate in hypocrisy...Especially since the last administrations bad judgment has resulted in the elimination of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives..
So don't pretend to actually care about the life of Mary Jo Kopechne...she is nothing more than a political pawn used by conservatives to smear one of the most influential politians in the history of this country..
You aren't even comparing apples and oranges - more like apples and nuclear bombs. Did Cheney's victim survive? That is the key moral question - one you avoid because you know you lose big time if you answer it.
That singular fact makes the rest of your analogy nothing more than smoke - a partisan attempt to equate two incidents that cannot be equated morally, factually, or logically.
Give it up.
ed.
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 29.08.2009 @ 07:40
No Rick...you're the one arguing, I just made a simple statement.
But now that you mention it...GW was the first one notified of the attempted murder of Harry Whittington...not local law enforcement.
I call it "attempted murder" here because Cheney was never charged with that crime, the same way as you use the phrase "Kennedy’s manslaughter" when Teddy was never charged with that particular crime...Fair enough?
It was the next day when the local sherrif first interviewed Cheney and began the official investigation. Who knows why it took so long to make the perp available to the local authorities?...Maybe Dick tossed a few beers back while shooting...We'll never know..
Everyone involved stonewalled both law enforcement and media overnight, bypassing any blood alcohol tests..
The victim had a heart attack from a pellet that migrated and lodged in or near his heart. he spent about a week in the hospital if I remember correctly...
Lucky Dick..
My original point was that accidents happen...Its not Cheneys fault he shot the guy...the woods are full of six foot 200 pound quail...any one could have made the same mistake..
Maybe if Dick ("I had other priorities in the 60's than military service.")Cheney had actually served his country in battle instead of seeking 5 deferments during Vietnam, he would have been a bit more thoughtful wielding his shotgun that day...
We'll never know..
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 28.08.2009 @ 19:07
And Dick Cheney shoots a guy in the face, attempts a cover-up, and then gets an apology from his victim...
Watch out. Your ignorance really showed up on that one. Where's the coverup? It wasn't reported for 3 hrs and you call that a coverup?
Also, no deaths involved right? So basically, you are arguing a logical fallacy by setting up a strawman that has absolutely no relevance to Kennedy's manslaughter except, like a 5 year old little boy, it gives you the opportunity to run around the room with your fingers in your ears, going LALALALALALALALALA...NEENER NEENER NEENER.
ed.
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 28.08.2009 @ 11:33
IS 'THE END OF AMERICA AS WE KNOW IT' REALLY SO BAD?
Rick says:
"The same can be said about takeovers of the auto industry, the financial services sector, and any other buy out by the government of private companies."
"Takeover"??..."Buy out"??
Why not just call it what it is Rick?
A loan, with interest.
The finacial services sector...
JP Morgan paid back 25 Billion dollars in TARP funds, with 795 million dollars in interest to the American taxpayer.
Goldman Sachs paid back 10 Billion in Tarp funds, with 425 Million dollars in interest to the American taxpayer.
BB&T repayed 3.1 Billion, with 92.7 million in interest to the American taxpayer.
American Express repayed 3.39 Billion.
Bank of New York Mellon repayed 3 Billion.
Capital One Financial repayed 3.57 billion
State Street repayed 2 billion.
Northern Trust repayed 1.58 billion.
U.S. Bancorp repayed 6.6 Billion.
Dozens of smaller banks have also paid back their TARP funds.
So the government didn't really "take over" the financial services sector...They simply loaned them money, and are making a profit for their efforts.
The auto industry...
Now this one is a "buy out"...but not a "takeover".
By "auto industry" you must mean General Motors, Chysler, and GMAC...which are not exactly the "auto industry"...but they're a chunk of it in this country..
Foreign car companies employ about 115,000 Americans throughout the south...that's part of the auto industry in America..
Two-thirds of "foreign imports" are, in fact, built in the United States in nonunion shops.
Ford isn't doing too bad..
The US government owns 61 per cent of the new General Motors and eight per cent of Chrysler...That money likely wont be paid back..
This is why the Treasury Department needs to hold those shares until a time when they can make a profit for the American taxpayer..
They're expecting to dump shares in a GM IPO in 2010...and hold some shares in case the price takes off...Sounds smart to me...But I'm sure the Treasury Department is lying about all that...Right?
Maybe it's that you think that increasing regulation on these institutions to make them more accountable for their bad business practices is equal to a "take over"...I don't know...But regulation of business is a significant part of those "basic principles by which we have governed ourselves for 221 years"..
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 25.08.2009 @ 18:19
YES, BUT DON'T CALL THEM UNPATRIOTIC
Rick says:
"The kind of nationalistic outpouring on 9/11 is rejected on the left because they see nationalism as a form of fascism. And that kind of simple patriotism felt by the overwhelming majority of Americans is seen as dangerous, backwards, and not cynical enough to pass muster with “smart” people. Hence, any celebration of pride or love of country must, by definition, be evil."
The most ridiculous thing I've read here...ever...absolutely clueless.
I wonder how Rick feels about the right trying to co-opt 9/11 to throw another tea party in DC on 9/12..
Maybe he doesn't realize that volunteering your time and effort for your country is an
"expression by citizens of love for America"..Another tea party to protest current policy on the day after 9/11...whose mission statement says that "We want to get everyone thinking like it is September 12th, 2001 again"...is truly an act of tossing 9/11 down the memory hole, and burying its true significance in the name of advancing a political agenda.
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 25.08.2009 @ 02:05
YOU COULDN'T PAY ME TO BE A DOCTOR
Michael makes a good point. Those good christian conservatives who truly believe that their soul will live on after life, and also adhere to the supposedly conservative values of self responsibility and fiscal frugality should have no fear of passing to the next world while saving taxpayer dollars.
It is the ultimate, responsible, patriotic sacrifice to meet your maker while saving money for your country and adhering to your values until the bitter end.
If you truly live by your values and beliefs, you should be man enough to die by them as well.
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 23.08.2009 @ 06:31
Rick says:
"The generation that took Woodstock as an example of how 500,000 people could sit in a field, get stoned out of their minds, and not partake in any violent activity obviously had never been to an Indy 500 or Daytona."
Neither the Indy or the Daytona 500 has ever come close to the attendance at Woodstock Rick.
You're a couple hundred thousand people shy.
A better comparison (without the stoners) would be the inauguration of President Obama, where well over a million non-violent people gathered in common emotion to celebrate a milestone in the fight for civil rights, and the restoration of America in the eyes of its people, and the people of the world.
Then Rick says:
"...where media myth making and their own hubris blinds them to the truth; that despite anything for which they pat themselves on the back, the Woodstock generation was selfish, spoiled, bratty, and tending toward eruptions of emotionalism that they mistook for passion."
Nice turn of a phrase Rick...you could easily substitute "Tea party town hall protesters" for "Woodstock generation" in that sentence and you'd be good to go..
I do get your point about the myth making that has taken place about Woodstock in the last 40 years, and your general disdain for the hippy ethos. But what you don't seem to get about Woodstock is that during those 3 days in 1969, the organizers and participants of that event knew that the only reason they were there was because of the music.
It was just a kick-ass rock concert...One that attracted a whole lot more people than they had expected...nothing more.
In terms of attendance, the Indy 500 is the largest single-day sporting event in the world. With 250,000 seats, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the largest sports venue in the world. Annual attendance generally draws more than 400,000 spectators.
And I fail to see any reasonable parallel with tea party protestors - especially since they don't claim to be morally superior to anyone - simply smarter.
ed.
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 15.08.2009 @ 16:42
LEARNING NEW THINGS CAN BE FUN
You can't even admit and correct that Pelosi didn't use the word "Nazi"??
The word that YOU put in quotation marks?
The "N" word? The word you said she used?
Wow.
Putting words into peoples mouths makes you look fringe Rick...I was under the impression that you fashioned yourself a reasonable man, and at the very least you would admit when you are wrong.
I guess I was wrong...you cannot admit when you are wrong.
I apologize...I had you mistaken for someone else.
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 9.08.2009 @ 09:23
Great post Rick.
The only thing missing is a correction by you of the following statement in your 8/8/09 blog post..
"Both sides have been flinging the “N” word (”Nazi”) around like a monkey in a zoo tossing his feces at the gawkers. Pelosi, the DNC, a few tea partiers, and even a stray GOP lawmaker or two have used the word “Nazi” to describe their political opponents lately."
Pelosi never actually used the word "Nazi" as you purport...she used the word "swastika"...and she wasn't describing her "political opponents"...she was describing the homemade signs made by her political opponents at town hall protests.
Big difference.
Pelosi is not Limbaugh...nor is she stupid...she's been a public figure long enough to know it would be political suicide to describe her opponents as Nazis..
Your statement is misleading, and not up to your standards of sane reporting..
I wont bitch much about the DNC quote, because they did actually use the word "Nazi"...but again, not to "describe their political opponents" but to describe their signage..
Here's the "money quote" from the DNC..
"The repeated use of Nazi symbolism at community meetings by the Republican incited mob proves that these protests have nothing to do with health care, but rather that the Republican party is willing to sink to the lowest, most despicable levels to accomplish their goal of "breaking" President Obama."
You can take this one out of context if you choose to...but accusing Pelosi of "flinging the "N" word around like a monkey in a zoo" was completely off base..
Please address this issue so you can at least regain your patina of honesty and reason with your left leaning readers.
Thank you.
I will not correct or apologize for anything. Any fair minded person can see that she and the DNC and the rest of the Democrats like Dick Durbin ("storm troopers") knew EXACTLY what they were intimating when they used explosive terms like "Swastika." The fact that you insist that black is white, up is down, and Democrats weren't implying that protestors were Nazis marks you as a partisan.
ed.
Comment Posted By Moltenorb On 9.08.2009 @ 08:26
