So, we are just supposed to deny all the wrong we have done as a nation in the world, blindly shout that we are always perfect, and tell the rest of the world get in line with us or face our wraith?
Oh, wait. That's what our government is doing right now. So, why are all of you complaining?
Wrath, not wraith...whoops. And grizzly, I now realized that you left this comment in relation to one I made in the Space thread.
The character of Hawkeye Pierce is one of the greatest and most honorabe fictional men every created. I can't say much for Rosie--don't liker her personally--but the "hate America" diatribe is sooo played. People who post here crticize our government and its laws. Are they haters of America? No, they are good citizens who constantly question things we are doing.
Why is there self loathing in our country? Why do "liberals" bring up unpleasant facts about our policies in the world? Because they are true.
Mark, thanks for proving Grizz's point so succinctly.
You know, when I write code and realize that I made a mistake, I don't delete the entire program and flagellate myself for years on end, preaching to people about my evils. I correct the error, note the correction, and move on.
People like you exude the sense that America is all bad, all the time, and that a majority of the world's problems are our fault.
I hate to tell you this, but without America, this planet would be a Grade-A shit hole. America makes this planet better, even for all our faults.
Robb, I don't think America is all bad all the time. In fact, I support my country 100 percent of the time. I support my government when it deserves it. Right now, it doesn't deserve it.
To use your analogy, we haven't corrected the error in the system. We still elect people who Grade A shit holes. That goes for Democrats as well as Republicans. Only when we actually start behaving like the morally superior nation that I know we can be can we then turn to scumbags like Achmenijad and Chavez and say, "Fuck you, we are better." Now we just look like hypocrites and if there is one thing I can't bide, it's hypocrisy.
See, Robb, admitting when you are wrong isn't a weakness. It's a strength. Facing the rotten shit you have done in your life makes you a better person. Or nation in this case.
I'll make you a deal, Robb. You read the book that I put up in the link above and I will read one you recommend. We can reconvene at some point after both books are read and share our thoughts.
Buy a book by or about Henry Louis Mencken. You'll note that back in the 1920's and 30's he was bitching about the crooks in government aided and abetted by the crooks in business.
This is what I do not understand about the Left: They somehow think that government won't be run by people who are corrupt or who can be corrupted. Let me quote Mencken: "The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable..."
And:
"A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker."
Given what we know about politics and politicians, why is it that the political Left's useful idiots seem to believe that we can fix human nature by voting for people who are "grade A shitholes" by definition?
Here's the deal, from my perspective: George W. Bush may be the puppet of Big Oil, but the invasion of Iraq was not done simply to make Bush and his cronies richer. It was the right thing to do for the national security of America, it was the right thing to do for the eventual safety of Iraq, it was the right thing to do for the eventual stability of the Middle East, and it was the right thing to do for the rest of the world. You don't believe that. I accept your disbelief.
Have some of our soldiers committed crimes against the Iraqi people? Absolutely. Some of them are going to jail for it, too. It's war. People are people, and shit happens. But we don't have a POLICY of raping women, murdering children, and cutting people's heads off.
First off, let me be perfectly clear about something. I don't blame the troops for anything. I'm sure that there are some bad apples in the bunch that may have done some illegal or awful things but on the whole, since I have known five people who have been there (2 still there), I know that they are good decent people trying to do their jobs as ordered.
It's the folks that do the ordering that I have a problem with and yes, I agree with what Mencken. I think that the Democrats right now are insidious. They know that public support is against Bush Co. Rather than try to stop him, they are letting him fuck up more and more so they can win next year. Just disgusting.
There are some people in both parties that are pretty decent people. Will they win? Can they break through the muck? I don't know...
I think we need to get off the whole "belief" thing and stick to what we know about the situation in the Middle East. How do you view the latest NIA?
for 07/31/07. I won't duplicate it here as it's just as easy to read it there. James Taranto's question at the end is a killer:
"What does it say about [House Majority Whip James, (D-S.C.),] Clyburn's party that if things go well for America, it would be "a real big problem for us"?
And that is what passes for leadership in Clyburn's party? I am so impressed.
Note:
All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost;
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If you notice any problems with this page or wish to have your home page link updated, please contact John Hardin <jhardin@impsec.org>
JS-Kit/Echo comments for article at http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/2007/07/quote-of-weekend.html (10 comments)
Tentative mapping of comments to original article, corrections solicited.
Amen
Amen! Say hallelujah brother!
I beg to differ. "I" am not part of the "we" who went anywhere. Those who "went" are as noisy as they ever were, but now they are easier to hear.
So, we are just supposed to deny all the wrong we have done as a nation in the world, blindly shout that we are always perfect, and tell the rest of the world get in line with us or face our wraith?
Oh, wait. That's what our government is doing right now. So, why are all of you complaining?
Wrath, not wraith...whoops. And grizzly, I now realized that you left this comment in relation to one I made in the Space thread.
The character of Hawkeye Pierce is one of the greatest and most honorabe fictional men every created. I can't say much for Rosie--don't liker her personally--but the "hate America" diatribe is sooo played. People who post here crticize our government and its laws. Are they haters of America? No, they are good citizens who constantly question things we are doing.
Why is there self loathing in our country? Why do "liberals" bring up unpleasant facts about our policies in the world? Because they are true.
Read this book. Find out for yourselves.
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-History-American-Empire-Corruption/dp/052595015X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4759804-2818328?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185742386&sr=1-1
Mark, thanks for proving Grizz's point so succinctly.
You know, when I write code and realize that I made a mistake, I don't delete the entire program and flagellate myself for years on end, preaching to people about my evils. I correct the error, note the correction, and move on.
People like you exude the sense that America is all bad, all the time, and that a majority of the world's problems are our fault.
I hate to tell you this, but without America, this planet would be a Grade-A shit hole. America makes this planet better, even for all our faults.
Robb, I don't think America is all bad all the time. In fact, I support my country 100 percent of the time. I support my government when it deserves it. Right now, it doesn't deserve it.
To use your analogy, we haven't corrected the error in the system. We still elect people who Grade A shit holes. That goes for Democrats as well as Republicans. Only when we actually start behaving like the morally superior nation that I know we can be can we then turn to scumbags like Achmenijad and Chavez and say, "Fuck you, we are better." Now we just look like hypocrites and if there is one thing I can't bide, it's hypocrisy.
See, Robb, admitting when you are wrong isn't a weakness. It's a strength. Facing the rotten shit you have done in your life makes you a better person. Or nation in this case.
I'll make you a deal, Robb. You read the book that I put up in the link above and I will read one you recommend. We can reconvene at some point after both books are read and share our thoughts.
Mark:
Buy a book by or about Henry Louis Mencken. You'll note that back in the 1920's and 30's he was bitching about the crooks in government aided and abetted by the crooks in business.
This is what I do not understand about the Left: They somehow think that government won't be run by people who are corrupt or who can be corrupted. Let me quote Mencken: "The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable..."
And:
"A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker."
Given what we know about politics and politicians, why is it that the political Left's useful idiots seem to believe that we can fix human nature by voting for people who are "grade A shitholes" by definition?
Here's the deal, from my perspective: George W. Bush may be the puppet of Big Oil, but the invasion of Iraq was not done simply to make Bush and his cronies richer. It was the right thing to do for the national security of America, it was the right thing to do for the eventual safety of Iraq, it was the right thing to do for the eventual stability of the Middle East, and it was the right thing to do for the rest of the world. You don't believe that. I accept your disbelief.
Have some of our soldiers committed crimes against the Iraqi people? Absolutely. Some of them are going to jail for it, too. It's war. People are people, and shit happens. But we don't have a POLICY of raping women, murdering children, and cutting people's heads off.
THAT is why we're better - hypocrisy be damned.
First off, let me be perfectly clear about something. I don't blame the troops for anything. I'm sure that there are some bad apples in the bunch that may have done some illegal or awful things but on the whole, since I have known five people who have been there (2 still there), I know that they are good decent people trying to do their jobs as ordered.
It's the folks that do the ordering that I have a problem with and yes, I agree with what Mencken. I think that the Democrats right now are insidious. They know that public support is against Bush Co. Rather than try to stop him, they are letting him fuck up more and more so they can win next year. Just disgusting.
There are some people in both parties that are pretty decent people. Will they win? Can they break through the muck? I don't know...
I think we need to get off the whole "belief" thing and stick to what we know about the situation in the Middle East. How do you view the latest NIA?
You might want to read this, Kevin:
http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/
for 07/31/07. I won't duplicate it here as it's just as easy to read it there. James Taranto's question at the end is a killer:
"What does it say about [House Majority Whip James, (D-S.C.),] Clyburn's party that if things go well for America, it would be "a real big problem for us"?
And that is what passes for leadership in Clyburn's party? I am so impressed.
Note: All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost; references to haloscan comments have been partially automatically remapped, but accuracy is not guaranteed and corrections are solicited.
If you notice any problems with this page or wish to have your home page link updated, please contact John Hardin <jhardin@impsec.org>