tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post2374333019662760913..comments2023-10-30T19:03:59.225+01:00Comments on David Seaton's News Links: The old shell game: act twoDavid Seaton's Newslinkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00269813419598042699noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post-15550977033639049072009-12-24T17:57:11.571+01:002009-12-24T17:57:11.571+01:00On being black in America - from Ralph Ellison'...On being black in America - from Ralph Ellison's the Invisible Man - the protagonist is given advice as to how to get along -<br /><br />"Overcome ’em with yesses,<br />undermine ’em with grins,<br />agree ’em to death and destruction,<br />let ’em swoller you till they vomit<br />or bust wide open."<br /><br />Times have changed since this was written in 1948, but Obama has mastered "agree 'em to death". He put "Change" on his posters but not in his platform. He will be perceived as having won a tremendous victory over the Republicans while actually increasing health industry profits.Forensic economistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post-48368165717190156292009-12-23T07:38:41.062+01:002009-12-23T07:38:41.062+01:00I had sympathy for the Obamites avant la lettre it...I had sympathy for the Obamites <i>avant la lettre</i> it was obvious to me that it was a classic American "sale". Now I am finding some reason for optimism. Eight years of Bush with an Obama chaser may actually create some consciousness in this age of the Internet, and consciousness is the only hope.David Seaton's Newslinkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00269813419598042699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post-36082671028832363662009-12-23T01:55:57.889+01:002009-12-23T01:55:57.889+01:00"Obama did not lie to anybody. If anyone both..."Obama did not lie to anybody. If anyone bothers to read his speeches or autobiographies, he was clearly a centrist. He was quoted by Forbes during his campaign as saying "the business of America is still business." So all those who thought he was "The One" were projecting their hopes on him and not using their eyes."<br /><br /><br />I suppose you couldn’t nail Obama for perjury in court, but he certainly did not go out of his way to disillusion those who thought he represented a genuine alternative to Clinton-style hawkishness and centrism and indeed he encouraged such notions, although not in so many words. From the beginning he cast himself as the candidate of change, and the clear subtext for lefty Democrats was change not only from Bush but from the previous Democratic administration. <br /><br />There are indeed a number of Obama's followers who are now saying, by way of discrediting the vocally disappointed as hopelessly naive, that they knew all along he was nothing more than a bloodless centrist technocrat, but some of them were singing quite a different tune during election season. <br /><br />Of course, some of us always regarded him as little more than Bill Bradley with a suntan but I for one would have been happy to dine on crow should it be called for. So far, that hasn’t been necessary. But that doesn’t keep me from having some sympathy for the people who donated and licked envelopes and went door to door proselytizing for Obama and are now realizing they may have purchased the proverbial pig in a poke.Stephanienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post-282625662020668712009-12-22T04:24:22.453+01:002009-12-22T04:24:22.453+01:00Almost no need to invent strawmen here, folks. We...Almost no need to invent strawmen here, folks. We have Adam the Merciless, Despiser of Fools. Makes this old man nostalgic for Marvel Comics villains.oldfatherwilliamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05772846617790858976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post-9689073846111103852009-12-22T02:03:33.532+01:002009-12-22T02:03:33.532+01:00On naivete and the abysmal quality of the Amerian ...On naivete and the abysmal quality of the Amerian news media:<br /><br />Obama did not lie to anybody. If anyone bothers to read his speeches or autobiographies, he was clearly a centrist. He was quoted by Forbes during his campaign as saying "the business of America is still business." So all those who thought he was "The One" were projecting their hopes on him and not using their eyes. Likewise all those who thought he was "that one" or worse "uppity" were projecting their fears. Did you know that his current popularity among whites is <40% and among non-whites is >90%?<br /><br />I get my news from various internet sites, from NPR, from various magazines,trade and otherwise, including the Economist. Most Americans get their news from TV. My wife has the TV on in the morning to Good Morning America. Instead of a discussion of the health care debate we have been hearing all about Tiger Woods. Before that was Baloon Boy (don't ask).<br /><br />I take the local newspaper, the Hearst family owned San Francisco Chronicle. Yes, that Hearst, made famous by Citizen Kane. Most of the front page today told me that "Restaurants Turn Table on Conventional Dining"; another front page article discussed "Mall Santa Right Jolly About His Seasonal Work." The only substantive front page article discusses earmarks tacked on to the defense funding bill. It turns out that four billion dollars was added for various projects such as $1.6 million being spent to help Children's Hospital Oakland get their records into electronic format. The gist of the article was that Democrats are pork barrel spending. <br /><br />In other words, the media doesn't really report the news while telling us more than we need to know about celebrities. Most newspapers tend to have a right wing slant. <br /><br />However, most Americans do not look further than this. We get the media we ask for.forensic economistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post-71570800165889287632009-12-21T23:41:01.461+01:002009-12-21T23:41:01.461+01:00Setting the stage for an "American Thatcher&q...Setting the stage for an "American Thatcher"??? We haven't had anything but "Thatchers" since Ronnie took office.David Seaton's Newslinkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00269813419598042699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post-71640960028653643002009-12-21T11:59:24.653+01:002009-12-21T11:59:24.653+01:00...I'm starting to miss Bush too....I'm starting to miss Bush too.Kurzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08001397093695690457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post-22752514168453323442009-12-21T09:00:39.302+01:002009-12-21T09:00:39.302+01:00That's what progressives get for being naive, ...That's what progressives get for being naive, simple Simons. If they were such fools in this area, wouldn't they be equally foolish in other areas? <br /><br />Since your blogs only push an outdated left-wing view I doubt you'll post this, but do progressives know how handle anything besides pissing into the wind? Especially the American Left?<br /><br />Once again, the American people are the most powerful lobby in this country, and their "collective action" is directed against every dinosaur policy you and your kind (see Matt Taibbi or "El Presidente") believe in. That's your real problem here. Even a knuckle-dragging redneck could have figured this out by now. What's your excuse? These dinosaur ideas, however, will most likely die before you do. The handwriting is on the wall, not just in this country, but in Europe as well. You can blame it on corporate straw men or "entrenched interests", but then, how are you different from Obama? <br /><br />The truth, both simple and difficult, is Obama's presidency has done nothing but set the stage for the rise of an American Thatcher. I'll leave it to your poetic mind to figure that last part out.<br /><br />Don't be an intellectual coward and post an unedited token right-wing nutjob point of view to go along with the left-wing crackpots you regularly post on here. Fox News is more balanced! And for the record, I hate Murdoch.<br /><br /><br />AdamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36646589.post-27216393627866389422009-12-20T22:42:46.900+01:002009-12-20T22:42:46.900+01:00Interesting... much as I would like to blame Copen...Interesting... much as I would like to blame Copenhagen on Obama, if he had accepted anything more ambitious Congress would've voted it down, as with Kyoto.<br /><br />PS: Chávez stole that phrase from Ecologistas en Acción.Kurzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08001397093695690457noreply@blogger.com