(05/22/09) "No Wonder People Hate Us" (New Majority)

[Spang]

Conor Friedersdorf at the American Scene transcribes the following exchange (http://theamericanscene.com/2009/05/22/-i-don-t-know-why-your-husband-doesn-t-put-a-gun-to-his-temple-) from Mark Levin's radio program yesterday afternoon:

CALLER: I just wanna say, Obama is a lot smarter than you folks give him credit for. You guys were on a roll, I have to admit, with all those tea parties. Everything was rolling along, the Republicans were gaining momentum. And he managed to change your entire conversational focus. And you let those three hundred thousand people —

LEVIN: My God. He’s so smart. His own party voted against him on Guantanamo Bay. How stupid was that, Cindy? His own party refused to fund the closing of Guantanamo Bay.

CALLER. Yeah but you know he can just move those people over here anyway. He’s already doing it with the one guy.

LEVIN: Yeah, sure, he can do whatever he wants. Let me ask you a question. Why do you hate this country?

CALLER: No, I love this country.

LEVIN: (angrily shouting) I SAID WHY DO YOU HATE MY COUNTRY?WHY DO YOU HATE MY CONSTITUTION? WHY DO YOU HATE MY DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE? You just said it. He can blow off Congress. He can do whatever he wants, right?

CALLER: Well, he seems to, he just moved (inaudible).

LEVIN: Answer me this, are you a married woman? Yes or no?

CALLER: Yes.

LEVIN: Well I don’t know why your husband doesn’t put a gun to his temple. Get the hell out of here.

Conor gamely offers an intellectual rebuttal to Levin:

The host is weirdly blind to the irony that he himself thinks a wartime president possesses the power to house detainees where he sees fit, at least if the President asserts that his chosen policy is needed to keep America safe. As we all know, President Obama thinks that Gitmo is a PR disaster that helps Al Qaeda recruit more terrorists, and therefore makes us less safe. So by the host’s own standard of executive power—not to mention Dick Cheney’s standard — President Obama possesses the inherent power to close Gitmo, what Congress says be damned.

I'd offer a less sophisticated comment:

Imagine some commuter - a nonpolitical person, a family man or woman, a taxpayer and billpayer - who happens to flip the dial on the radio on the way home and hears that exchange. What would such a person think? Wouldn't it be something like, "I dont know what's wrong with that horrible man, but I do know this: whatever side he's on, any decent person would have to be on the opposite"?

The Source (http://www.newmajority.com/ShowScroll.aspx?ID=c88e2178-22c8-43a6-b85b-ac55624827e4)

[INDY4PUMAS]

...oh, that's funny. I happen to be listening to Levin's show when this exchange occurred. For the record, Levin had already been sparring with two Obots previous to this call. I imagine anyone would be cranky at that point. :laughing:




I'd offer a less sophisticated comment:

Imagine some commuter - a nonpolitical person, a family man or woman, a taxpayer and billpayer - who happens to flip the dial on the radio on the way home and hears that exchange. What would such a person think? Wouldn't it be something like, "I dont know what's wrong with that horrible man, but I do know this: whatever side he's on, any decent person would have to be on the opposite"?

Oh dear God, grow a pair...

What? We can't have a little passionate shouting in our debates? Due to the direction the country is heading, maybe there should be more shouting...

[cinnamongirl]

...oh, that's funny. I happen to be listening to Levin's show when this exchange occurred. For the record, Levin had already spared with two Obots previous to this call. I imagine anyone would be cranky at that point. :laughing:




Oh dear God, grow a pair...

What? We can't have a little passionate shouting in our debates? Due to the direction the country is heading, maybe there should be more shouting...

That wasn't a debate. That was someone with a microphone using cruel, sexist comments to shut down someone with a differing opinion, and questioning the patriotism of anyone who could dare to disagree with him.

[INDY4PUMAS]

I don't think Levin's outburst was about political disagreement. I think he was mocking the caller's assertion that Obama can do whatever HE wants.



CALLER. Yeah but you know he can just move those people over here anyway. He’s already doing it with the one guy.

LEVIN: Yeah, sure, he can do whatever he wants.

[hobbitt]

From an official Obama fundraiser...(which was immediately wiped from the campaign schedule webpage, and declared in a separate section of the website to be unaffiliated with the official campaign). (Just like Austan Goolsbee. First you see him, then you don't, then you see him).




"What a ***** Geraldine Ferarro is! She's such a f**king *****. . Hillary is a big f**king *****, too. "


Comment from the candidate decrying this outrage..." ".
Comment from party chair Dean decrying this outrage...." "

[cinnamongirl]

From an official Obama fundraiser...(which was immediately wiped from the campaign schedule webpage, and declared in a separate section of the website to be unaffiliated with the official campaign). (Just like Austan Goolsbee. First you see him, then you don't, then you see him).




"What a ***** Geraldine Ferarro is! She's such a f**king *****. . Hillary is a big f**king *****, too. "


Comment from the candidate decrying this outrage..." ".
Comment from party chair Dean decrying this outrage...." "

First, the Randi Rhodes thing was not at an official Obama fundraiser, it was at an Air America-specific event in San Francisco. Why should there be an official apology from a candidate for something neither he nor his surrogates said?

Second, there are jerks on both sides of the talk radio aisle. That's not the issue here. That doesn't make what Levin did any more of a "debate." He didn't mock her on the issue at hand. He went straight for the "you clearly hate America" straw man, and said that her husband should kill himself.

If you think that's fair and appropriate political discourse, I feel sorry for you.

[Laura Cereta]

From an official Obama fundraiser...(which was immediately wiped from the campaign schedule webpage, and declared in a separate section of the website to be unaffiliated with the official campaign). (Just like Austan Goolsbee. First you see him, then you don't, then you see him).




"What a ***** Geraldine Ferarro is! She's such a f**king *****. . Hillary is a big f**king *****, too. "



Comment from the candidate decrying this outrage..." ".
Comment from party chair Dean decrying this outrage...." "

hobbitt, once again... score. =D>

For the record, though, Levin telling a caller that her husband should kill himself is completely unacceptable, ridiculous, and juvenile.

[sojourner]

hobbitt, once again... score. =D>

For the record, though, Levin telling a caller that her husband should kill himself is completely unacceptable, ridiculous, and juvenile.

I have on a number of occasions said the someone should be shot or if I found myself in certain situation I hoped that someone would just shoot me, but I have among friends and close acquaintances and my words were received in the spirit they were delivered.

Saying them over the national airways is another story.

I know I have gotten into trouble on this site where people interpreted what I said totally different from what was intended.

[hobbitt]

First, the Randi Rhodes thing was not at an official Obama fundraiser, it was at an Air America-specific event in San Francisco. Why should there be an official apology from a candidate for something neither he nor his surrogates said?

No, you are repeating the revisionist version. Plausible deniability And I did not see the campaign refusing the funds from that event or any other similarly disturbing events.

And of course Obama should not have commented on the excesses of some of his supporters; that would have been honorable. Like that Old Man was.



Second, there are jerks on both sides of the talk radio aisle. That's not the issue here.

That was exactly my point. And it is the issue here. That the only reason to quote these blithering idiots is to create a false link between the extremists and those you wish to demean.

If you think that's fair and appropriate political discourse, I feel sorry for you.

I appreciate your concern. But I am saddened by your hebetude.

[cinnamongirl]

No, you are repeating the revisionist version. Plausible deniability And I did not see the campaign refusing the funds from that event or any other similarly disturbing events.

And of course Obama should not have commented on the excesses of some of his supporters; that would have been honorable. Like that Old Man was.




That was exactly my point. And it is the issue here. That the only reason to quote these blithering idiots is to create a false link between the extremists and those you wish to demean.



I appreciate your concern. But I am saddened by your hebetude.

I'm dull because I refused to fall in line with your misdirected point? Maybe you're right. But I'd be even more boring if I scoured a thesaurus just to score a point against someone in an online forum.

[Ikasu]

I'm dull because I refused to fall in line with your misdirected point? Maybe you're right. But I'd be even more boring if I scoured a thesaurus just to score a point against someone in an online forum.

hobbitt has a large vocabulary, don't take offense. I had to look it up. No shame there. :cool:

[Suzan]

hobbitt has a large vocabulary, don't take offense. I had to look it up. No shame there. :cool:

:rotfl: We all had to look it up.

[Horizon]

:rotfl: We all had to look it up.

***waves*** lazy here. What the hell did it mean??:rotfl::rotfl:

[cinnamongirl]

:rotfl: We all had to look it up.

I knew what it meant, but found the whole thing vexatious. :)

[cinnamongirl]

***waves*** lazy here. What the hell did it mean??:rotfl::rotfl:

It means "dullness," in pretentious-speak.

[sojourner]

I knew what it meant, but found the whole thing vexatious. :)

:laughing::thumbsup:

[Horizon]

It means "dullness," in pretentious-speak.

The hebe was making me think it was not a compliment!
Thanks for clarification.:)>-

[hobbitt]

I'm dull because I refused to fall in line with your misdirected point? Maybe you're right. But I'd be even more boring if I scoured a thesaurus just to score a point against someone in an online forum.

No, of course not. Merely because you missed the point of the original post.
And of the next.

And although I applaud your enterprise, you need a better dictionary; "hebetude" does not mean boring.

And some of us do have vocabularies, retained and even augmented way, way, way after SATs.

[cinnamongirl]

No, of course not. Merely because you missed the point of the original post.
And of the next.

And although I applaud your enterprise, you need a better dictionary; "hebetude" does not mean boring.

And some of us do have vocabularies, retained and even augmented way, way, way after SATs.

I thought, "Maybe Professor Holier-Than-Thou has a point, and I'm remembering it wrong." So I ran it through Merriam-Webster, which I believe we can all agree is a fine American dictionary. Hebetude (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hebetude).

I, too, have that advanced vocabulary, honed through advanced English degrees. I'm not an adolescent. So maybe we can get over ourselves, and move on from your need to "school" me?

[Horizon]

hebetude
One entry found.

Main Entry:
heb·e·tude Listen to the pronunciation of hebetude
Pronunciation:
ˈhe-bə-ˌtüd, -ˌtyüd
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Late Latin hebetudo, from hebēre to be dull; akin to Latin hebes dull
Date:
circa 1621

: lethargy, dullness
— heb·e·tu·di·nous Listen to the pronunciation of hebetudinous ˌhe-bə-ˈtü-dən-əs, -ˈtyü- adjective


Dull, boring. What's the big difference?
Geez, cinnamon, this is twice in the last month someone has felt the need to either school you, or comment on your intelligence. What ever.:rotfl:
And from what I read of your posts, this is pointless. You seem perfectly intelligent to me.:thumbsup:

[cinnamongirl]

Dull, boring. What's the big difference?
Geez, cinnamon, this is twice in the last month someone has felt the need to either school you, or comment on your intelligence. What ever.:rotfl:
And from what I read of your posts, this is pointless. You seem perfectly intelligent to me.:thumbsup:

Thanks! I think because I put "girl" in my name, some assume I'm a kid (I'm not), and therefore I must not make valid points--and should be taught, dammit.

[Ikasu]

Thanks! I think because I put "girl" in my name, some assume I'm a kid (I'm not), and therefore I must not make valid points--and should be taught, dammit.

Yea I assumed you were 16 or something. I never questioned your intelligence though.

[sojourner]

It’s said that one day a colleague of the famous scientist Dr. Albert Einstein asked him for his phone number. The colleague became perplexed when he watched Einstein grab a phone book to look it up. Baffled, the colleague asked, “You don’t know your own phone number?” Einstein replied, “Of course not! … Why would I remember anything I can look up?”

Einstein made it a regular practice not to cloud his thinking with anything he could look up in under two minutes. I think there’s a lot to be learned from that mentality. By depending on readily retrievable resources rather than our own memory, we are relived of the mental burden of ‘having’ to remember.

I don't remember my phone number. Why should I? I never call it. Same goes for words and definitions I seldom use.

[mavfin]

Oh dear God, grow a pair...

What? We can't have a little passionate shouting in our debates? Due to the direction the country is heading, maybe there should be more shouting...

Some people on this forum have never seen a criticism of Obama that they couldn't explain away, or twist to make the originator of the criticism look bad. I don't even bother to debate them anymore. They don't want to hear it. :D

<shrug>

[Laura Cereta]

Some people on this forum have never seen a criticism of Obama that they couldn't explain away, or twist to make the originator of the criticism look bad. I don't even bother to debate them anymore. They don't want to hear it. :D

<shrug>

It's not this forum; that has been standard Bot mentality from day one. I am learning, though, that there is a difference between Obama supporters and Obots.

[NativeSun]

Some people on this forum have never seen a criticism of Obama that they couldn't explain away, or twist to make the originator of the criticism look bad. I don't even bother to debate them anymore. They don't want to hear it. :D

<shrug>

I think that there's this glass fire safety box in their minds that says "In case of being unable to justify Obama's actions, break glass, use racism."

[Horizon]

I think that there's this glass fire safety box in their minds that says "In case of being unable to justify Obama's actions, break glass, use racism."

Fortunately, we have none of those here. Take a look around, all our Obama supporters are quite respectful and post some very well thought out views. Check the "Curious" thread, you will see their responses to being asked why they backed Obama. They were very honest, and very well spoken in their explanations.=D>

I for one, have become quite fond of our Obama voting members. They have stayed here with us for months now, sometimes we all agree, sometimes not. But they have tolerated being called Obots, told they are insane, told their candidate is a moron, and still they post with us and continue to contribute here in very positive ways.:thumbsup:

[musgrrl]

Fortunately, we have none of those here. Take a look around, all our Obama supporters are quite respectful and post some very well thought out views. Check the "Curious" thread, you will see their responses to being asked why they backed Obama. They were very honest, and very well spoken in their explanations.=D>

I for one, have become quite fond of our Obama voting members. They have stayed here with us for months now, sometimes we all agree, sometimes not. But they have tolerated being called Obots, told they are insane, told their candidate is a moron, and still they post with us and continue to contribute here in very positive ways.:thumbsup:

I have to agree. I may disagree with them politically, but the ones that have stayed around are very good forum contributors and I enjoy their comments. It contributes to the culture of the forum which is diverse. I also appreciate the conservative/republican forum members as well. I'm glad to see people with such different views able to debate here without being completely nasty.

I'm not sure about Savage comment...sounds to me that he has a low tolerance for an opposing view. We have freedom of speech in this country, but man, telling that lady that her husband should kill himself is no joke!

[Spang]

I'm not sure about Savage comment...sounds to me that he has a low tolerance for an opposing view. We have freedom of speech in this country, but man, telling that lady that her husband should kill himself is no joke!

This comment was made by a different irrational right-wing radio personality nut-job. There's so many of them it seems.

Are there any rational right-wing radio personalities?

[musgrrl]

This comment was made by a different irrational right-wing radio personality nut-job. There's so many of them it seems.

Are there any rational right-wing radio personalities?

Haha...you are right...I just lumped him with Levin. They are all so much alike. Thanks for pointing that out.

[NativeSun]

Fortunately, we have none of those here. Take a look around, all our Obama supporters are quite respectful and post some very well thought out views. Check the "Curious" thread, you will see their responses to being asked why they backed Obama. They were very honest, and very well spoken in their explanations.=D>

I for one, have become quite fond of our Obama voting members. They have stayed here with us for months now, sometimes we all agree, sometimes not. But they have tolerated being called Obots, told they are insane, told their candidate is a moron, and still they post with us and continue to contribute here in very positive ways.:thumbsup:

I agree with you that racism isn't thrown around here on this forum by Obama supporters. I was actually thinking of those in public media using the racism excuse (ie Janine Gerafalo) and should have said that in my comment.

[Horizon]

I agree with you that racism isn't thrown around here on this forum by Obama supporters. I was actually thinking of those in public media using the racism excuse (ie Janine Gerafalo) and should have said that in my comment.

Thank you for clarifying that, cause our Obama friends here are very conscious of that kind of behavior and do not ever participate in it.

We have had a few oddities wander in and spout off and Murr showed them the door. I really enjoy those that have stayed.@};-