Thank you for your opinion

A nice little opinion piece, a cut above the general support pieces found here....

by ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 8:02:05 AM
 

But still delusional..

Let's all just go along to get along, eh?

A political leader will never save you. That's your own job. 

by Ferdinand (16 articles, 3 quicklinks, 17 diaries, 180 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 11:40:05 AM
 

Key Phrases to this piece

What exactly do these phrases mean?

"...a strong America, where our economic and military strength is leveraged to persuade nations to follow the policy of live and let live and imbibe the democratic principles of honoring the voices and acknowledging the validity of every voice..."

"...The Chinese philosopher Fo-Sho-Hing-Tsan-King meant to pass the following wisdom to our War mongers in the Republican Party "Conquer your foe by force, you increase his enmity; conquer by love, and you will reap no after-sorrow."  It is time to stop keeping the idol of an imaginary enemy and cursing it every minute of the day..."

Obama will continue the U.S. foreign policy that is "what we say goes." What's even worse is that he will be regarded as a liberal evangelist and a moderate that the Republicans can trust to uphold strength and security through military aggression and occupation of the "unpeoples" of the world. 

I ask that those who read this article also read Chomsky's "Why Isn't Iraq in the 2008 Election?" and ask, "What role will Obama play in the repudiation of U.S. imperialism, interventionism, and aggression?"

To change towards a climate of peace, America has to face up to the crimes it has committed as a nation. If Obama is not willing to confront the wrongs of our past, we have no reason to support Obama the Shepherd.  

by Kevin Gosztola (187 articles, 96 quicklinks, 63 diaries, 771 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 11:41:12 AM
 

Obama the Shepherd

Kevin you wanted to know what these sentence mean?"...a strong America, where our economic and military strength is leveraged to persuade nations to follow the policy of live and let live and imbibe the democratic principles of honoring the voices and acknowledging the validity of every voice..."In simple words, the first paragraph in you quote means, peace through strength in international dealings and encouraging other nations to value the voices of dissent within and not reject them outright. Encouraging democracies and not imposing.If George Bush had listened to Fo-Sho-Hing-Tsan-King. We would not have generated Al-Qaeda in Iraq, we are causing and giving reason to them to multiply by our arrogant presence. http://terrorismcounter.blogspot.com/2007/09/laser-barking-at-terrorists.html   Obama has an instinct for a Just world. When there is Justice, there will be peace, Obama is the man. To be a peace maker is to be religious; one who constantly seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; life and matter. Indeed that is the purpose religion 

by Mike Ghouse (10 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 13 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 11:57:16 AM
 

O man..

"God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; life and matter. Indeed that is the purpose religion."

S/He (It) certainly does.  But "life" and "matter" are one in the same, with your discriminating consciousness creating the difference. But that is beside the point.. for now.

Do you honestly think peace and harmony can be achieved through an inexperienced politicians at the helm of the most destructive empire in history? He would not be placed atop the machine as a demi-god with the power to save the world in the way you would hope, but would rather be assimilated into the machinations. He would allow the wheels to keep turning, leading to catastrophe. 

Obama is not a shepherd. Sure, he's popular, but that is because he is a televangelist - he is out there to sustain profit, but offers no substance.

Ever question his familial relation to Dick Cheney and what that implies?

I will not follow this man to the slaughter, but I do hope to rescue as many of you sheep as possible before I go.

by Ferdinand (16 articles, 3 quicklinks, 17 diaries, 180 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 12:27:11 PM
 

Did you ever...

question your own familial relationship to Ghengis Kahn? No? How about Mao Tse Tung? No? What about Rich Little?

Obama's relationship to Dick Cheney was discovered by a geneologist, and that is as far as the relationship ever went. They weren't buddying up at family reunions, not even as much as playing volleyball on the same court. Nevertheless, you seem to suggest here that some sort of nefarious conspiracy is present because they may share a similarity in one of their chromosomes.

Everyone shares everyone as a family member if you let a geneologist cast a wide enough net.

by John Sanchez Jr. (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 1015 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 1:57:28 PM
 

Yes I have!

I know quite well of my lineage. The Hunt Brothers who tried to corner the world silver market? Sons of H.L. Hunt, the oil tycoon? And way before that, the Hunts seem to claim descendance from the Huns. All they had to do was add the Christian T to the end of the name to come to prominence in the Western world. This is why people who rode horses and had skillful aim were called "hunters" in our language. And even before that, the claim was that the lineage came from the Gods in the heavens - remember Orion, the hunter?

So yes - I know why I have blue eyes, received a fabulous education, can see things others cannot, and why my family always talked about our relation to Abraham Lincoln. I have been given many wonderful gifts through being part of their world, but I have come to reject the conspiracy as evil.

There is no coincidence, sir.  

by Ferdinand (16 articles, 3 quicklinks, 17 diaries, 180 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 2:52:59 PM
 

And we can go even further..

And explore my mother's maiden name of "Markes," but again, it would simply appear to the untrained eye as coincidence.

You are correct to point out that although someone might be related to powerful people, they are not inherently evil. Unfortunately, the acorn does not fall too far from the tree.

Mr O. might actually believe he can do great things for the world, but that will not be the case I am afraid. Besides, if he tries - he dies. The same happened when the Kennedy family line got "too big for their britches" - just the way the Hunt brothers in the 80s had to be taken down a peg or 3. 

by Ferdinand (16 articles, 3 quicklinks, 17 diaries, 180 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 2:59:10 PM
 

Further problems

1) "Peace through strength in international dealings" is a bad strategy because of what kind of policies that will entail. And what policies it will entail will be no different from the policies America has employed in the past century on innocent peoples and "unpeoples" of the world.

2) What to Obama is a Just world? And why does Obama's Just world involve capitalizing the J in just?

3) Why would America want to elect a religious shepherd to helm this "war on terror" when America is engaged in a war on Islamic fundamentalism (and in many ways Islam itself)?

Do we really want to bring on the "clash of civilizations"? Is that really necessary?

by Kevin Gosztola (187 articles, 96 quicklinks, 63 diaries, 771 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 1:58:26 PM
 

The Pleasin' Man

How is it that a black man with a Muslim name becomes the Democratic front runner in competition with a white former First Lady in the midst of the "war on terror"? Who's writing this script?

Is it fate? Is it another spontaneous twist on the road of America's destiny?

Who controls the Democratic Party apparatus? Who engineered Obama's senate victory in '04? Scandal sank both his opponents, first in the primary and then in the general election, guaranteeing Obama's victory. Jack Ryan, the Republican opponent was sunk when sealed divorce records in Family Court were made public against the wishes of both parties involved. Wealthy Jack was exposed as a sex fiend and forced out.

Invisible people in high places have selected Obama. No candidae becomes a candidate by means of grass roots acclimation. Election scripts are developed and implemented by political engineers. A candidate with suitable populist appeal is presented to the electorate and this candidate then becomes the vehicle to represent the interests of the elite faction that has put him or her in place.

From what little we actually know about Obama's invisible support, the image of Zbigniew Brzezinski begins to materialize. If we study Zbig, read his book The Global Chessboard, we may be able to gain some insight into what Obama actually represents.

If we listen to Obama's rhetoric we will most certainly be deceived and disappointed. This man has no track record to speak of. Politicians make names for themselves based on years of voting and supporting a particular range of policy. Obama has not been around long enough to prove to the electorate that he is consistant. We do not have enough evidence to say there is a "there" there and what that "there" might actually be. He says the right things.

He respects the Constitution, he says, and taught it as an academic subject. That's reassuring, but he evidences no understanding of the Constitutional prohibition against militarism. And so on and so on.

The point is, one will get a better understanding of what Obama actually represents by studying the views of the faction that has put him in place. Brzezinski is the public face of that elite faction. Zbig has been a harsh critic of the Bush policy and the Iraq adventure.

Do you like Zbig? Then, you'll like Obama, too.

by Joseph Danison (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 7 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 12:32:02 PM
 

If only Obama and his supporters would go the way of Paul

Both groups display the worst about the American public: how utterly gullible they are, how they can be manipulated by slick language; how they lack critical thinking, how they succumb to personality and celebrity.  Obama's supporters show exactly the same religious zeal for their messiah as Paul's supporters showed.  Of course, Obama's supporters have manners and are not in-your-face-obnoxous as Paul's supporters.  But we would benefit from seeing the similarities in the mindsets of the two groups.  They are totally frightening.  Anyone who really digs into the facts will see that Obama is just another dishonest, insanely ambitious politician that has stepped on many people to get ahead.  His judgement???  His connection and dependence on Tony Rezko shows that his ambition trumps his judgement.

by Joel S. Hirschhorn (116 articles, 22 quicklinks, 52 diaries, 469 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 1:17:14 PM
 

Please reconsider, Joel

I hope you understand that I share your antipathy for both candidates, Paul and Obama, well more repelled by libertarianism and th  ealmost cult like devotion of the Obama supporters. But to call for the silencing of any political endeavor is to further cheapen and weaken the dmeocratic process.

One must support an opponents right to voice an opinion, though with those like Anthony Wade, Michael Shaw and , sadly and increasingly, Rob Kall himself, voices that place reason and logic far behind personal motivation and loyalties it does get rather difficult to support.......

by ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments) on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 7:04:19 AM
 

Obama the Shepherd

Gandhi did not have a track record, neither did MLK.

Neither Jesus, Moses, Krishna or Mohammad. But they all have the instinct for justice tempered for right judgment. They were peace makers. They did not get dragged into petty fights, their goals were higher.

 When Hillary made a big deal that she will be making the history as a first woman president... she wanted to drag him into labeling himself - he did not. He was for nation building

when Hilary dramatized the sky will open, the angels will fall.... he simply said it was good humor and moved on.

You have to judge his judgement in small things.

Hey, this is the first time in our history, we have some one who expresses the sentiments for a majority of us, where as others are focused onbullying bombing and destroying others. The more we mess with others, the more insecurity we heap on ourselves.

I have not studied him deeply, but I hope to. He is consistent with his intinctive judgments, that comes with moulding one's mind to be just.

 Mike Ghouse

www.MikeGhouse.net

by Mike Ghouse (10 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 13 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 1:23:30 PM
 

Obama the Shepherd

Joel, In fact the opposite is true.  The supporters of Obama are making that call because of Obama’s inclusive approach, he is not out there to bash, but challenge the opponents and that is the American way, the majority way.  The hard core republicans are horses with blinders, they cannot see another point of view, and you can hear it out loud on shows  like Riley, Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck and others. What is wrong with hope? It is preferable to fear. Even if Obama were not to do anything substantial in his presidency, he will not destroy our nation like Bush/Cheney have done; bigger government, trillion dollar deficit, a million Iraqis killed, 4 thousand Americans sacrificed, Iraq destroyed… and load us Americans with a guilt like the holocaust.  We owe an apology to the Iraqis. We don’t need to be chest thumping Rambos, we need to be civilized human beings and Obama is the one to give that turn.

by Mike Ghouse (10 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 13 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 1:34:10 PM
 

Your eloquence is not enough, sorry

You really have jumped off the deep end here, Mr. Ghouse. Sooner rather than later you will have to nurture the ability to see things from perspectives other than your own. You appear very guilty of believing that your own personal opinions are handed down to you from a higher power. Join the ranks of the Tony Wades and the Michael Shaws if you wish, but that is a sad and sorry place to live.

by ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments) on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 7:07:35 AM
 

Obama the Shepherd

Joseph DanisonJoseph thanks for writing this “How is it that a black man with a Muslim name becomes the Democratic front runner in competition with a white former First Lady in the midst of the "war on terror"? Who's writing this script?”

2009 will go down in the history of the world as the most civilized moment of the world. Where Americans would have demonstrated to the world that, we are a nation of individuals who accept and respect the god given uniqueness of each one of the 301 Million Americans and that has led us into removing the conflicts and finding the solutions as one, yes, one nation under God. Other nations will have a good role model to emulate and shape their nations. We are one people, one nation under one God.

(For my atheist friends, we will say one source or cause of creation in place of the word God).

Mike Ghouse

www.Foundationforpluralism.com

by Mike Ghouse (10 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 13 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 1:43:37 PM
 

Most civilized moment of the world?

In respect to that idea, I encourage Mike Ghouse to expand and write an article explaining how this moment will be the most "civilized moment of the world."

I challenge him to compare to other civilized moments the world has experienced and detail how Obama's election will be the most "civilized."

I also ask him to give us his interpretation of the meaning of "civilized." Perhaps, when we figure out what that means, we will truly know and understand the gift Obama has given America.

by Kevin Gosztola (187 articles, 96 quicklinks, 63 diaries, 771 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 2:12:06 PM
 

Start at home. End at home.

     Appreciate your thoughts Mr. Ghouse.

     Obama? Sorry to say, He is no shepherd.

     When will we learn?

     peace

by mikel paul (8 articles, 1 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 348 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 2:39:19 PM
 

Shepherd Implies Sheep

Just the title alone of this article, "Obama The Shepherd", is enough to make any logically reasoning person uneasy, at the very least. A shepherd (and that is what the author continues to portray for Obama) implies sheep. Is this how the author thinks of the citizens of the US (most simply by birth, not by conscious choice)? Creatures to be lead to and fro and around in circles, if that is the plan of the shepherd?

I am not a sheep. And even though this author is writing only of Obama Barack, I think that the other candidates - as well as the current White House occupant - view the citizenry as little more than a very large flock of sheep. Yes some are reticent to be herded, but then that's what the dogs are there for - to snap at the heels and even on them a bit if necessary. And if a few are really troublesome, well break out the barbecue and have roast mutton....

**Kitty Antonik Wakfer

MoreLife for the rational - http://morelife.org
Reality based tools for more life in quantity and quality
Self-Sovereign Individual Project - http://selfsip.org
Self-sovereignty, rational pursuit of optimal lifetime happiness,
individual responsibility, social preferencing & social contracting

by Kitty Antonik Wakfer (14 articles, 3 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 100 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 2:50:22 PM
 

Who wants to be part of the "majority"?

Have you seen the majority of America? Has it occurred to you that the majority is often wrong? They have been led to think within a certain framework and have been guided on the issues. 

"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard."-Henry Mencken

We need a restoration of the Republic. Although someone compared Paul's supporters to Obama's, I would have to argue that the comparison is absurd for many reasons. 

1. Obama is loved by the media. They fawn over him day and night. Can't say that for Paul.

2. Paul wants to return sovereignty to the individual, get rid of the Fed, shrink the size of government, and withdraw troops from all foreign nations. That kind of radical talk is not what inspires Obamania. 

3. Ron Paul has principles and a long record of voting and books to indicate where he stands. Obama is an inexperienced Senator and a skillful orator.

4. Paul has inspired true intellectuals, radicals, and revolutionaries. Obama causes people to faint.

I could go on.. 

by Ferdinand (16 articles, 3 quicklinks, 17 diaries, 180 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 3:09:39 PM
 

You should go on

Please do.

by Kevin Gosztola (187 articles, 96 quicklinks, 63 diaries, 771 comments) on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 3:57:05 PM