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| 5/24 |
| 2005/1/24-25 [Politics/Domestic/Abortion, Politics/Domestic/HateGroups] UID:35869 Activity:very high |
1/23 Amusing TNR aticle on far-far-lefties
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=express&s=frank012105
qwertyuil/dsfghjk
\_ Frothing lefties is more like it. Gyah. Why can't we liberals as
a whole just jettison these tinfoil hatters once and for all? Is
it because they have all of the phone bank lists? Gyah!
\_ What makes you think that we embrace them? I guess they do
do all the hard work like organizing the big anti-war
protests....
\_ I read a fascinating article that pointed out that the
far-left, frothing radicals are the only ones who have the
tenacity to hunt down the permits, wrangle over the port-a-
potties, and galvanize people to show up, which is a pity
since they're the same people who scare Ma&Pa Voter into
voting for the conservatives.
\_ ...uh, right. Yet somehow ma and pa voter don't draw the
connection between the klan rallies and anti-abortion
terrorism on the right and mainstream conservatism.
\_ Uh, right. What party has the only sitting Senator that
was a Klan member?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd
\_ Byrd joined up in a region where joining the Klan
was like joining the Lions Club, and he has since
apologized for it and denounced the organization.
If you're going to blame Byrd for something he
recanted, let's arrest Bush for cocaine possession.
\_ Yeah, right. Were any Repubs former Klansmen the
left wouldn't shut up about it. The explanation
above would be considered an unacceptable excuse.
\_ Read up on Strom Thurmond and the Southern
Manifesto, please. -John
Manifesto, please. That said, it is an
unacceptable excuse, but hey, land of second
chances and all that, eh? -John
\_ And Strom Thurmond is what? That's right.
He's dead.
Now why would that be? Liberals shouldn't blame themselves
for rightwing media.
\_ Very true! Nor should they confuse passionate opposition
with reasonable opposition.
\_ Plenty of people connected the dots between the
Republican Party and clinic bombings. It is one of
the reasons the Republicans did poorly in the early
90s and all those federal laws protecting abortion
were passed. The Religious Right realized the folly
of a minority trying to use force to convince a
majority in America, and went back to saner tactics. |
| 5/24 |
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| www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=express&s=frank012105 I was supposed to be at a ball, a genuine inaugural ball with tuxedos and presidential-seal-emblazoned square napkins and succulent miniature crab cakes. Regrettably, we're a liberal magazine and, consequently, many of us are less than perfectly organized (although, at TNR, some of us prefer to think of ourselves as neo-disorganized)--and, well, I failed to honor certain press-credentialing deadlines. Now, instead, I would be covering "counter-inaugural events." As a result, last night I was sitting in a low-budget church on G Street in downtown Washington listening to speakers at an International Socialist Organization-sponsored gathering by the name of "Town Hall: Empire and Resistance." I could have thrown a stone as far as my strength allowed and still have been certain of not hitting a crab cake. On the other hand, everyone else seemed to be having a good time. The hundred or so people there frequently applauded and hollered, and, as expected, phrases like "exposing Bush for what he is--a cold-blooded killer" were particular hits. After all, who cares what the ideological fringe of the losing side has to say? But the more I heard, the more I became convinced that I had discovered something truly threatening: This band of socialists was the most effective recruiting tool for the Republican Party I'd ever encountered. To begin with, there were the posters on the wall: MONEY FOR JOBS AND EDUCATION, NOT FOR WAR AND OCCUPATION. Let's leave aside that the meter is somehow dissatisfying (nine syllables followed by eight--no flow at all). The main point is, if the shallowness of this statement bothers you, to what party do you look for comfort? To the Democrats, many of whom condemn building firehouses in Baghdad and closing firehouses at home? Or do you say to yourself, in that moment, "I don't much care for Newt Gingrich--nor does anyone else--but I bet he hates that goddamn poster as much as I do"? Then there was the pooh-poohing of elections--any elections. Former soldier Stan Goff (supposedly of the Delta Force, Rangers, and Special Forces) spoke at length about the evils of capitalism and declared, "We ain't never resolved nothing through an election." It wasn't just that I was missing what might be lovely canaps (or perhaps spring rolls being brought about on trays with delectable dipping sauce); rather, it was the thought that the speaker was dismissing something that Afghanis of all ages had recently risked their lives to participate in, something Iraq's insurgents view as so transformative that they are murdering scores of Iraqis to prevent it. No, what I needed to counter this speaker was not a Democrat like me who might argue that elections were, in fact, important. What I needed was a Republican like Arnold who would walk up to him and punch him in the face. But the worst came with the final speaker, a woman by the name of Sherry Wolf, who is supposedly on the "editorial board of International Socialist Review." terms like "architects of the slaughter," "war criminal," and "Noam Chomsky" wafted about the room; Sure they were bad, she admitted: "No one cheers the beheading of journalists." But, she continued, they had a "right" to rebel against occupation. is riddled with opportunism, local rivalry, demagoguery, and criminality. But if we were to only support pristine movements, then no resistance will be worthy of our purity." In sum, Wolf said, the choice boiled down to supporting occupation or resistance, and we had to support resistance. Apparently, we were to view the people who set off bombs killing over 150 peaceful Shia worshippers in Baghdad and Karbala as "resistance" fighters. I wanted John Ashcroft to come busting through the wall with a submachine gun to round everyone up for an immediate trip to Gitmo, with Charles Graner on hand for interrogation. I left early (I couldn't stomach the question-answer session) and made my way to the Metro. In the station were people wearing fur coats and tuxedos and lovely gowns and shiny shoes. I assumed they were in town to celebrate Bush's reelection, and, for a moment, I wanted to join in. After my session with the ISO, they suddenly looked--well, so appealing. Having attended college in New York City, I know what it's like to be confronted with some of the more irritating forms of campus leftism. Yet I never quite understood why, ultimately, such leftism should drive sensible people away from liberalism. But yesterday's display made it a little more understandable: Maybe sometimes you just want to be on the side of whoever is more likely to take a bunker buster to Arundhati Roy. A Fighting Faith At the dawn of the cold war, liberals rose to meet the challenge of a new totalitarian threat. Today, three years after September 11, they still have not--and time is running out. |
| en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd Robert C Byrd Honors Scholarship Program was create d by Congress as a federally funded, state-administered program. It awar ds $1500 per year to graduating high school seniors who continue on to h igher education on the basis of academic merit. Senate Majority Whip, announced tha t he would run for President as a "favorite son" candidate, only campaig ning in his home state of West Virginia. Like many Democrats, Byrd thoug ht that perhaps if the Convention were deadlocked, he could use his dele gates to hold some influence in the selection of a nominee. Byrd focused most of his time on campaigning for the majority leader sea t, more so than for re-election to the Senate, as he was unopposed for h is fourth term. In the interview Byrd was asked about race rela tions: "They are much, much better than they've ever been in my lifetime ," Byrd said. I just think we talk so much about it that w e help to create somewhat of an illusion. I'm going to use that wor d" "We just need to work together to make our country a better country, and I'd just as soon quit talking about it so much." "I apologize for the characterization I used on this program. The phrase dates back to my boyhood and has no place in today's society. As for my language, I had no intention of casting aspersions on anyone of another race." United Nations approval, Byrd told the Senate floor: "Today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one of strong , yet benevolent peacekeeper. Around t he globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned. Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, w e demand obedience or threaten recrimination." The Emperor's new clothes, By rd said of the president :"the emperor has no clothes." Byrd further lam ented the "sheep-like" behavior of the "cowed Members of this Senate" an d called on them to oppose the continuation of a "war based on falsehood s" Byrd condemned what he saw as the stifling of dissent and the marginaliza tion of the Legislature: The right to ask questions, debate, and dissent is under attack. The drum s of war are beaten ever louder in an attempt to drown out those who spe ak of our predicament in stark terms. Even in the Senate, our history and tradition of being the world's greate st deliberative body is being snubbed. This huge spending bill -- $87 bi llion -- has been rushed through this chamber in just 1 month. There wer e just three open hearings by the Senate Appropriations Committee on $87 billion -- $87 for every minute since Jesus Christ was born -- $87 bill ion without a single outside witness called to challenge the administrat ion's line. Herman Goering: We got around to the subject of war again and I said that, contrary to hi s attitude, I did not think that the common people are very thankful for leaders who bring them war and destruction. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whethe r it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Commu nist dictatorship. In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United Sta tes only Congress can declare wars. Oh, that is all well and good, but voice or no voice, the people can alwa ys be brought to the bidding of the leaders. All you have to do is tell them that they are being attacked and denounce the pacifis ts for a lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. Byrd's criticism has made him the unlikely hero of the anti-war movement who spread his speeches via e-mail. |