tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post7133368704695843845..comments2024-03-28T14:52:13.218-05:00Comments on Stonekettle Station: No Matter How You Slice It, It’s Still BaloneyJim Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-77662149818943223342013-03-25T22:29:50.210-05:002013-03-25T22:29:50.210-05:00What's that saying...? The definition of insan...What's that saying...? The definition of insanity is to repeat the same action but expect a different result?<br /><br />So, sure, say exactly the same thing, louder and slower, and THAT will change EVERYTHING. Except the result.<br /><br />Sigh.<br /><br />AKDDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-47643036544409027362013-03-24T19:43:44.717-05:002013-03-24T19:43:44.717-05:00Interesting.
A lawyer in Colombia once asked me t...Interesting. <br />A lawyer in Colombia once asked me to translate his explanation about delays in adoption proceedings for an American couple. I guess he thought it would be no problem because I'm a lawyer and I speak Spanish well. But when I didn't get what he said, his response was to close in (literally), speak louder and faster, and repeat the word I wasn't understanding. In retrospect, the problem was both linguistic and cultural. He was trying to tell me the judges had gone on strike. But he was using a different word for strike than the one I was used to, and I never heard of judges going on strike! (This was in the late 80s. They were upset about the number of Judges who were murdered there in those days, and wanted more security. That was an explanation I would have understood.) <br />If he had slowed down and explained a bit, it would have been fine. However, repeating the same words, but louder, did nothing but make me feel like an uncomprehending idiot.<br /> John McConnaughy<br /> Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03390561483228513247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-18000458210555654692013-03-24T12:27:00.768-05:002013-03-24T12:27:00.768-05:00As an ardent Game of Thrones/George R.R. Martin fa...As an ardent Game of Thrones/George R.R. Martin fan, who has read all the books, I have to say you are very wrong. Varys is actually a very heroic figure. He works on behalf of the people of the kingdom, not the kings. Rove, exactly opposite. hedgewytchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-58453960669507427192013-03-24T11:55:31.029-05:002013-03-24T11:55:31.029-05:00Quoth the CWO:
"So says RNC Chairman, Reince ...Quoth the CWO:<br />"So says RNC Chairman, Reince Priebus (and seriously here, Conservatives think “Barack Obama” is a funny foreign sounding name? But I digress)" <br /><br />You think it's an accident that if you remove the vowels from "Reince Priebus" you're left with "RNC PR BS?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-747217188219416132013-03-23T22:02:36.692-05:002013-03-23T22:02:36.692-05:00First person I ever heard that from was John Fugel...First person I ever heard that from was John Fugelsang, who said it during the last RNC...<br />C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08469264092377867319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-71579152758139348352013-03-23T21:57:46.189-05:002013-03-23T21:57:46.189-05:00And I keep thinking that Chris Christie is very mu...And I keep thinking that Chris Christie is very much like Peter Pettigrew...C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08469264092377867319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-36122703927820871142013-03-23T15:10:02.618-05:002013-03-23T15:10:02.618-05:00Folks, please, I'd appreciate it if you could ...Folks, please, I'd appreciate it if you could have this conversation without making it personal, OK?<br /><br />Jim Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-79368463691441209922013-03-23T13:42:34.304-05:002013-03-23T13:42:34.304-05:00Refute your 'observations'? I've alre...Refute your 'observations'? I've already said your 'observations' are nothing more than fictional props for your fragile ego, misconceptions and erroneous presuppositions, they don't represent reality.<br /><br />Republicans blocked all attempts to boost job growth, it's nothing more than fiction to assert that Obama thinks the way you say he does. Nothing about his actual actions support your imaginary false narrative.<br /><br />The Federal Reserve and the OCC settled with the mortgage lenders, the president doesn't administer the Fed Reserve or the OCC. Who let's mortgage companies off? The Federal Reserve and the OCC crafted that settlement. The president doesn't make those decisions.<br /><br />Who designed a health care system that funnels money to insurance companies? Republicans did. Is there a better way? Sure, but the Republicans won't allow it. The Affordable Care Act is much better than what we had previous to passage of ACA. Republicans wouldn't have set it into motion. In the end, Congress made the decision.<br /><br />My point is that you invent fictional myth and fantasy solely in an pitiful effort to showcase your ego, it's apparently a sidelight to your pretensions to being a corvid. What you promote has no basis in fact, it's simply repetition of worthless punditry written by people as uninformed or deceitful as you appear to be. Take a civics class, learn how your government works, read some non-fiction for a change. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-67154983606754053922013-03-23T10:31:03.973-05:002013-03-23T10:31:03.973-05:00Whoops, Sig didn't take. That above is from m...Whoops, Sig didn't take. That above is from me, Captain Blight.Captain Blightnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-83273915884629603932013-03-23T10:29:08.478-05:002013-03-23T10:29:08.478-05:00"...served up at IKEA"
I see what you ..."...served up at IKEA" <br /><br />I see what you did there.Jim Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-70675691818346968222013-03-23T10:28:30.829-05:002013-03-23T10:28:30.829-05:00I've heard from a number of Conservatives that...I've heard from a number of Conservatives that they don't dislike Barack Obama, the man; they dislike what he represents. He is a walking avatar for The Other, he is the very embodiment of xenophobic paranoiac fears made manifest and in control of De Gubbimint. I think it really is difficult to overstate the clannishness of the modern GOP (parenthetically, I believe this to be rooted deeply in the Dominionist Southern/Mountain West, and its Scots-Irish "Borderer" heritage) and their fears.<br /><br />Conservatives are by nature cowards. I can't think of another word to describe someone whose life is driven by their fears. Cowards and, in a big enough group, bullies. And if you stand up to them, they just punch harder. But effecting political change is like fighting a gorilla: you don't stop when YOU get tired -- you stop when the GORILLA gets tired. So getting the nation past this latest group is gonna mean that we who wish to change things are going to get a little bloody. Well, so what? What's a dust-up between friends?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-88732584511100635682013-03-23T09:34:10.290-05:002013-03-23T09:34:10.290-05:00Late observation - - " So says RNC Chairman,...Late observation - - " So says RNC Chairman, Reince Priebus (and seriously here, Conservatives think “Barack Obama” is a funny foreign sounding name? But I digress)."<br />It isn't a foreign name but rather a clever construction. Remove the vowels and you are left with:RNC PR BS.<br />(I stole that from someone, but don't remember who)bearsensehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000858896207125033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-58828410626077693122013-03-23T02:39:14.730-05:002013-03-23T02:39:14.730-05:00+1 to that.+1 to that.Raven Onthillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06634556869209594389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-45184245200599440782013-03-23T02:37:48.913-05:002013-03-23T02:37:48.913-05:00Pain is the common denominator of failed governanc...Pain is the common denominator of failed governance; not an equivalence but a measure.<br /><br />I have specifically rejected the idea that the parties are same, except in their desire to paper over hard truths, which I suspect is a political universal.<br /><br />In my original remarks I said, "Who really wants a president who thinks that reducing the Federal deficit is more important than jobs? Who lets the mortgage fraudsters off while their victims lose their homes? Who designs a health care system that funnels money to the hated health insurance companies?"<br /><br />Can you refute any those observations about this Administration? If not, for heaven's sake, what's your point?Raven Onthillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06634556869209594389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-11590905613764676682013-03-23T01:32:18.039-05:002013-03-23T01:32:18.039-05:00Same thing happens to me at the McDonald's dri...Same thing happens to me at the McDonald's drive-thru. Sweartagod. Then again...I've done that job (back when I was in high school, which was before the internet even!), and you don't get paid enough to care if that burger is coming out of the window with the contamination of putrescent pickles or evil onions.<br /><br />My son is in the Navy (in A school at the moment), and he's hoping to get to go to Japan. He's extremely excited about learning Japanese. Meanwhile, the only words I learned from my Italian grandmother can't be used in mixed company. I envy him his language-friendly brain!NC Narratorhttp://nc-narrations.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-51942705161659754032013-03-22T22:47:06.779-05:002013-03-22T22:47:06.779-05:00I know what the common understanding of Ugly Ameri...I know what the common understanding of Ugly American is but in the book of that name, the Ugly American is a good guy. The authors called him that as a contrast to the professional diplomats and politicians who were trying to help a backward country but didn't, in fact, know what they were doing. The Ugly American was a small business owner and technician who went to the country, lived with the people, didn't put on airs and observed. He wasn't handsome, polished, and expensive, he was ugly, thus the name. I own an old paperback copy of that book and I've re-read it several times and it has always bothered me that the title is so misused. So, when I can, I put in a good word for the correct meaning. Oh, and the country that they were trying to help was Vietnam and we know how that turned out.<br /><br />That said, I'm a Canadian and as baffling as our Conservatives are, yours are beyond understanding. But I love your description of Karl Rove. Thanks for the article.<br /><br />FrancesMC <br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-60450200291506274732013-03-22T17:42:30.077-05:002013-03-22T17:42:30.077-05:00Like Humpty Dumpty said "Words mean exactly ...Like Humpty Dumpty said "Words mean exactly what I say they mean. Nothing more, nothing less" - Lewis Carroll<br />Hopefully, they'll fall off the wall soon (perhaps they have and simply don't know it).<br />Bearbearsensehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000858896207125033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-22117570485150237792013-03-22T15:33:57.030-05:002013-03-22T15:33:57.030-05:00Not silly at all, Nancy. I believe we've seen ...Not silly at all, Nancy. I believe we've seen some of what you're hoping for in regards to cross cultural responses to television and radio. Anytime additional communication and dialogue are injected into cultural exchanges, the opportunity for greater understanding is heightened. The web, and open media in general help foster positive behavioral exchanges.<br /><br />We also can look toward generational change to help alleviate much of the polarity and bigotry which survives in a portion of the older generation. CPAC being notable proof of that polarity and bigotry. Yes, there is always hope.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-33386045505925387582013-03-22T15:17:06.620-05:002013-03-22T15:17:06.620-05:00No, it's not the same, and neither you, nor so...No, it's not the same, and neither you, nor some halfwit pundit can dictate a change in reality simply because you wish to find a way to falsely bolster your own misconceptions and presuppositions. <br /><br />In 2010 it was Bush's economic chicken that was, (and is still) 'coming home', the difference between the 2010 election and the 2012 election is that it took a majority that extra two years to figure out that what the pundits told them was total bunk. <br /><br />In 2010, the pundits and the so-called 'common knowledge' generated by the pundits was that the economy was not recovering because of Obama's policies. It took two more years of steady Republican obstructionism to finally put the lie to the misconceived popular notion that the economy would recover if only we instituted Republican policies.<br /><br />Today, the majority know that is total bunk. Today the majority knows without question that no amount of Republican economic sleight of hand is going to help anyone but the richest few among us. Today the majority knows Republican policies ran us into the ditch and no one sane believes a return to Republican economic policies will help anyone but the wealthiest among us.<br /><br />The pundits haven't been willing nor able to convey actual political realities for quite some time, in today's 'news market' entertainment trumps reality and the pundits have been competing amongst themselves to see which one of them can spin the biggest fantasy for your entertainment dollar. <br /><br />You are not, nor are they, actually conveying political realities, you and they are trying to create simplistic false narratives and imaginary scenery in order to make themselves look, 'prescient', 'learned' and 'wise'. Neither you nor they are succeeding, except in your own minds.<br /><br />CPAC is not now and never will be a suitable vehicle upon which to attempt to build comparisons between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats simply have no homologous functioning organization which even slightly resembles CPAC.<br /><br />CPAC is not an opportunity for a disquisition on false equivalencies, not for you, and not for the pundits who try and fail just as fully as you did. <br /><br />There are distinct ideological differences between the two major parties and attempting to promote 'messaging' as problematic is avoiding the reality, underneath any 'messaging' is fundamental ideology that does not bend to 'messaging'. <br /><br />Republicans pundits can tell you there is a need for a new 'message' but that won't change anything but the false narrative being created to mislead and deceive. You can be deceived if you wish to be deceived, just don't try to sell that B.S. as a substitute for reality expecting not be to challenged for the attempted mythmaking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-40516761248993402732013-03-22T13:48:56.625-05:002013-03-22T13:48:56.625-05:00The funny part is that people keep pretending - re...The funny part is that people keep pretending - republicans chief among them - that republicans are actually conservatives. They're not, they're just Democrats Lite. And their Stockholm syndrome voters refuse to hold either side of that dirty coin accountable for their continued economic destruction.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-50805826402718736112013-03-22T13:07:18.980-05:002013-03-22T13:07:18.980-05:00No, I think it's just trying to make something...No, I think it's just trying to make something you don't understand fit into the parameters of something you do. I find myself trying to hear Spanish in any language other than English. Wait, is that Republican?<br /><br />NaluGirlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-10561661962330053282013-03-22T10:30:25.160-05:002013-03-22T10:30:25.160-05:00Marvelous as usual, Jim, and as usual I agree with...Marvelous as usual, Jim, and as usual I agree with you completely. Your critique of the GOP is a thing of beauty, but it was the story of your travels that nailed my heart to the wall. I'll tell you why it resonates with me. My Dad was in the Army, WWII, South Pacific and was on a troop ship in the Sea of Japan, waiting for he knew not what. Then the bombs were dropped and the shock waves rocked the ship "like a cradle". He worked as MP in concert with the Japanese police, <br />"holding down the lid of a boiling kettle". A Japanese police captain took Dad under his wing and taught him some of the language, the culture and even took him home for a real Japanese supper, despite what had to be the disapproval of his community. On top of that he gave Dad a rice bowl, a family heirloom, when Dad made the mistake of admiring it. <br />That rice bowl took the spot of honor on our mantle piece where it still rests. Another thing Dad brought home with him was the custom of gifting things when someone admired them. All his kids picked up that habit.<br />Dad stayed mad at the nations that fought against us, but he never hated their people. It's that distinction that made a big impression on me. I've often thought that it takes one man at a time to win peace and alliance between nations; the unknown, singular contacts that leave good impressions, compiling to change attitudes, winning people, when the war is done. <br />Now, perhaps, it's the net that will unite people in ways that can't be calculated, yet. I'm reminded of a TV ad that sent shivers through me; that Cisco commercial where a class of American school kids have a video visit with kids from the orient. It's conceivable that the future will have nations that can't continence wars against each other, because their people grew up together, understand each other and are friends, via the net. Silly? Maybe, but there's always hope. Nancy Alborellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09670097162853715770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-49786210221305686032013-03-22T10:16:24.003-05:002013-03-22T10:16:24.003-05:00I think the subject is the substitution of style f...I think the subject is the substitution of style for substance, message for reality. The radical right has many flamboyant figures who it is fun to lampoon. They decisively lost the last election, so they're easy targets. Their loss, however, did little to weaken the big banks and the military-industrial complex. It's the slow turning of screws rather than the sweeping blow of a sword, but it is still agony, every bit of it.<br /><br />In 2010, when the economic chickens came home to roost, sweeping the Republicans to power in the House, the Obama administration and the Democratic leadership decided that it had sent the wrong message. Not that people were angry about being out of work and being thrown out of their homes. Sent the wrong message.<br /><br />It's the same damn failure.Raven Onthillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06634556869209594389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-27580998683742423702013-03-22T07:02:43.444-05:002013-03-22T07:02:43.444-05:00Thanks Jim, great post. Reminded me that drinking ...Thanks Jim, great post. Reminded me that drinking (and eating) with foreign folks slows things down and enables communication even if you don't speak Swahili or Basque. Coffee or tea and the ceremony of sharing normalizes both sides approach toward willingness to talk things over (even if u can').<br /><br />Alcohol turns out to be an outstanding means of enabling communication. Drink what they are drinking and lots of it, and amazingly you begin to hold forth in articulate and learned discussions in some sort of common language. (Helps if u are buying.) Smart phone translators are cool and all, but booze is more fun (more painful too). <br /><br />However, drinking with Republicans generally results in their buttholes getting tighter and tighter (and their wallets). After a couple or ten long necks, your new found bar buddy may descend into one long rant of FNC spew on ferners, brown Muslims, FLOTUS's butt, guns from cold fingers, the French and how all the women at the Embassy Suites are Lefty lezbo's cause they don't wanna boom-boom with him. Or dude barfs into the potted plant. <br /><br />Sharing a drink with many of the world's people results in warm companionable experience. Even if u can't understand them. Drinking with a hard core GOPer usually confirms that they are just assholes. Tommy DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-10776952813144017472013-03-21T22:01:43.750-05:002013-03-21T22:01:43.750-05:00Ya, just speak louder. Case in point, @GOPespanol....Ya, just speak louder. Case in point, @GOPespanol.<br /><br />Check "http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022536113."<br /><br />You can't make this shit up.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com