- I listened to about half an hour of NPR while I was home and was disgusted. 20 minutes of it was spent analyzing exactly how black Obama is, and how that mattered for his electability. The "issues" were mentioned once, as something that Obama would like to run on, but there was concern that "the media" wouldn't let him. Gee, NPR, I wonder how that would happen?
- The other 10 minutes were spent on how crazy and polarizing Jeremiah Wright is and what damage he is doing to the Obama campaign. No examination of what he says, of course. (Not that I care if Obama gets elected. His denunciations of Wright, with various lies packaged in, are pathetic and reveal him for what he really is, not that it wasn't already obvious.) I had a recent conversation about Wright with one of my more open-minded family members, who lamented how "divisive" he is, and yet seemed quite unaware of what the man has actually said. Gee, NPR, I wonder how that would happen?
- For typically excellent writing about Wright/Obama check out Floyd and Silber.
- I might comment more on this in a "why I won't vote" post, but check out the conversation here and at the post it links to. Is this the best the opposition has to offer?
- War with Iran seems inevitable, as I've said for a while now. I really feel like I want to be out of here before it happens. I don't exactly know why. My moving date is in 11 days, so... hooray I'll be in complete comfort in a slightly different wealthy nation before thousands of people are senselessly slaughtered! That's the boundless narcissism this blog was built upon.
Friday, May 09, 2008
catch up blogging: NPR, Jeremiah Wright, Iran, voting
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3 comments:
1.) Jeremiah Wright reiterating MLK's point that the USA is a purveyor of the most heinous abuses against innocent civilians around the world, and that acknowledging these actions is necessary for understanding the motivations of individuals that undertake "terrorist" actions against the US? Spot on. Jeremiah Wright tacitly or explicitly (“The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. The government lied.”) condoning the idea that AIDS was engineered by the US government to prey on black Americans? Crazy if true (and I only say "if true" if he was maliciously misquoted - if he said those words there's no amount of "what about the Tuskegee Experiment" spin that can be laid on to excuse the factual untruth of a statement like that). I think it's important to state exactly what parts of other people's beliefs we agree and disagree with, and avoid the temptation to just blanket agree with everything someone says just because we agree with most of their positions. I've gotten in fights with more than one friend for saying that I don't respect MLK for being a plagiarist, although that is separate from the respect I have for him for being a civil rights advocate.
2.) I hope you will keep us up to date as you get a handle on Canadian politics. I'm curious to know if Canada will satisfy your itch or if the shortcomings of Canadian politics will rankle you as much as those in the US.
1) MLK was as far as I know one of the only true American brilliant social revolutionaries ever.
I know of know basis for the claim that the US Gov engineered HIV, but I sympathize with the spirit of the claim, especially given Wright's vastly superior understanding of history relative to every other mainstream commentator. I suggest reading Arthur Silber's recent shit for the appropriate response to Wright.
2.) I have no doubt that Canada will piss me off. But I also have no doubt that their shit kill far fewer people than our shit.
ouch, typo
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