Friends and Phlegm
I had a good first half of the weekend. My friends John, Tiff, and Bob (all Brainerd or former Brainerd people) were in town, so we had a great time catching up and hanging out on Friday night and Saturday. It is always great to see these friends, as they are some of the best friends I have ever had.
But today has been spent getting exponentially sicker as I struggle with some sort of bronchitis-type nastiness. This has been a problem for me for years, and sometimes it seems like it never really goes away, but instead just goes into remission. I have had sinus problems for a long time (some of you will remember the two surgeries, nose tampons, etc.) but I am pretty sick of it. One of my former bosses joked that my chronic sinusits/bronchitis could be cured by one thing: "More beef, less carrots." Ha.
In other news, I am still cautiously optimistic about the election. I thought that Colin Powell was extraordinarily eloquent in his endorsement of Obama on Meet the Press this morning.
So, with two weeks to go, things will certainly be very exciting.
offered up to the world by CoachDub @ 7:34 PM
31 comments
31 Comments:
Saw this on ABC news today.
"Can John McCain make a comeback at this point?"
lol, roflmao, etc.
Colin Powell has lost some of my respect. Sort of like Oprah Winfrey, if she had had any of it to being with. Omg, Oprah endorses a presidential candidate for the first time ever! And guess who it is! And holy shit, colin powell endorses a democratic presidential nominee for the first time ever! And guess who it is! And how DARE rush limbaugh suggest it's race-related!?
Defending Rush Limbaugh is like defending the Clap.
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... and roaming blogs and leaving irrelevant liberal aphorisms is like spreading the clap...
Tom, just so you know, he is not "roaming blogs"--he is a friend of mine who has commented on many occasions.
What do you make of Powell's answer to such criticisms: if it were about race, he could have endorsed Obama 8 months ago?
What's wrong with a member of a minority group supporting another member of a minority group, especially because it's about fucking time we have a president that's not a white male?
sorry, I just get defensive. having conservative viewpoints in the blogosphere kind of makes you feel like you're that slave who got caught with the plantation owner's daughter... lynch-mobs around every corner and such...
anyway, i would say the delay was due to the fact that he was probably under a lot of pressure from both relevant groups - republicans, and african americans. no matter which candidate he had endorsed, he would be betraying someone, so i believe it came down to who he felt the most pressure from. i also believe that 8 months ago, he was undecided.
just considering the fact that COLIN POWELL is pedaling the same "we need change" mantra that imbecilic UMD freshman subscribe to is quite telling, to me anyway. he knows John McCain well enough to be fully aware that he wouldn't be another GWB, and i, for one, see right through it. i mean, what do you do when you don't fully believe in something that you're endorsing? you just go along with what the others are saying, and maybe if you're Colin Powell, you say it better than the man, Barack Obama himself, could have. bravo. to the masses, it might be a groundbreaking statement made by possibly the most highly respected man in politics, but to me it's an unfortunate compromise of a good man's dignity, and his morals.
c'est la vie. i won't say it's insignificant, but it's not going to win the election for obama, or rather, it won't lose it for mccain.
if abc says JM needs to make a comeback, can i get odds in vegas...? i could use some extra dough for the holiday...
omfg
there's nothing WRONG with it, I'm simply questioning his MOTIVES.
stop putting words in my mouth please..........
thank you
and yeah, because there is something inherently wrong with white males, right? since there have only been white male presidents, that means that, through sound logical reasoning, the best candidate for president cannot be a white male. am i correct? that is how it works right? people HAVE been screaming "CHANGE!" long enough now, that, the gods have finally heard you, and altered the laws of deduction, right?
this is me screaming into my pillow. (i have roommates)
aaaaaaaaaaand bring on the accusations of racism
tom, are you saying that powell is being insincere in this interview?
not that i'm against you. i like very much what powell had to say about the situation in iraq, and it distresses me a bit that obama will get elected this year just in time to oversee (and consequently be credited for) the American troops pulling out (supposedly by 2011, just in time for the next election!), a process which, as powell discussed rather plainly, is already in the works and is not coming from obama at all. but, as you said, c'est la vie.
Well Tom, I can certainly sympathize. But as is patently obviously, this is Dub's blig, and the liberal point of view is to be expected. Therefore, when people rip Rush with some asinine comment, I expect it. Not, perhaps, from Dub personally...I'll make that clear. But you have to relax. We go to college. I see 4 Obama/liberal editorials in the MN Daily for every moderate p.o.v., much less a conservative column.
As far as the idea that "it's about time" a non-white male becomes POTUS, seriously I just don't get it. If you liberals (I use that term generically) are so race neutral, or whatever the politically correct term is, who f'ing cares? If J.C. Watts was the nominee, I would support him 100%, and he's black. Conversely, I don't support Obama nor would I support say Jesse or Al or Charlie Wrangel and they're black. I could also give a crap if an Asian person ever becomes POTUS. I really could. I just don't understand it. If one does, well great. But that won't validate me, or my race, or anything else about me personally just b/c an Asian person wins an election. I think the entire race thing is ridiculous and 100%...well...I'll stop before this becomes profane.
As far as Powell, I was surprised. But of course people are going to question the racial aspect seeing as he's black.
I guess I have a couple race grievances.
1) Essentially in this country Asians aren't even a minority. Remember Michigan's admissions points bruhaha and how Minorites (AfA's, Hispanics, NA's) got extra points in the admissions scale? Guess which racial group didn't? Yep. Also. Black History Month. What do Asians get? Nothing. Maybe a week, although that might be an urban legend. I have read articles in USN&WR and Newsweek detailing that colleges are selecting against AA's because we're already overreped as a percentage of college students. Etc. etc. So, in the true spirit of narcassistic pride, I want some kickbacks dang it.
Okay I'm kidding on the last.
What I am mad about is that I can't be president b/c I spend 6 months in Korea. That's bogus.
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Also, all the typos in that post are because I can't type. It's a problem obviously. or is that obvious? hmmm.
Jason, I think politicians become very good at mixing sincerity with insincerity while (most importantly) seeming 100% sincere throughout. The thing is, in the past I've seen Powell as one of the few that are always sincere and genuine. I'm distressed now because not only do I believe that he has compromised this virtue of his, but in doing so he is potentially hurting my candidate of choice.
I just need to say that because Powell is certainly not the first Republican (many of them white!) to endorse Obama, it is sort of belittling to him to say that he cannot rise above race.
When old white guy Dick Lugar endorses Obama in the next week or so, it will obviously be because Obama is black.
Tom, I have also seen Powell as a stronghold of integrity, genuineness and true wisdom in a political scene where all of those things are in short supply. You just must have understood something in that interview - something that I missed - that has caused you to reverse this opinion.
Now, Parker, you're not being honest.
When I went on your computer last year to check my fantasy scores I noticed a link in your favorites that read "my hero." I was curious, and I clicked on it. The link was to Rep. David Wu's website. David Wu is a Democrat from Oregon, and if not race, why is he your hero?
You've got some explaining to do, my friend.
Jason, it could have been my 6th -- or even 7th -- sense.
He basically said what everyone says about Obama, just with more grace and eloquence than most. I firmly believe he owes his republican admirers a better explanation than simply regurgitating the the campaign slogans, regardless of whether or not the vomit smells better than my grandma's thanksgiving dinner.
I feel betrayed, as someone who believed in Colin Powell, when he subscribes to a movement characterized by glamor, flash, and inexperience, for the simple fact that Powell himself has been seen as a steady, trustworthy, stalwart in Washington, among shifty, conniving rats, and all he can do to reassure and convince me of the soundness of his endorsement is to put the campaign rhetoric into his own, pretty, Colin Powell words; and what makes it even harder to swallow is that, of any possible candidate, republican or not, John McCain is the sort of person that Colin Powell seemingly could relate to and support-- a moderate republican with tenure and a solid, honest, respectable record in congress.
What I saw, Jason, was a man, who normally would have something profound and constructive to say in such a situation (provided he believes in what he is saying), simply regurgitating the campaign rhetoric, and that is enough for me to question his motives.
Woah. That's crazy. I don't remember this, but there had to be a reason. I Wiki'ed him...Chinese. Therefore that rules race out. Democrat, so that rules a lot of things out.
He must have done something noteworthy. But Wikipedia just had the Klingon speech, which I doubt qualified. Man. I am stumped as to my own thought processes.
That rules race out? Chinese? Korean? Same thing, right?
jk
Wait, no I'm not.
Alan (formerly Blue Line Bloggers) here,
Tom, thou doth protest too much. Powell thinks Obama would be a better president because he thinks he'd make a better president. The sooner you accept that, the more rationally you'll be able to speak.
Your posts are what I imagine mine must've looked like in 2004: 'everyone in the world is stupid - I can't believe everyone has bought into this bullshit.' Only my whining started Nov. 5th - you've started a bit earlier.
Questioning Colin Powell's motives is asinine. He could've said nothing, and no one would've messed with him. He could've supported John McCain, and America would've continued to respect him. Instead, he supported a candidate that he believes in - reaching across the aisle - and you deride him? Outrageous.
And hating on Rush Limbaugh isn't just the liberal thing to do. I think that you'll find that most of America is justifiably wary of anyone who "tells it like it is" who has never once strayed from a party line.
But there I go, questioning Rushie's motives.
I absolutely LOVE the fact that all you got out of any of my comments is "My name is Tom. I am Rush Limbaugh's number one fan. Also, solely because he is endorsing Obama, I think Colin Powell is a worthless piece of shit".
I'm not stupid enough to have made my comments here and expected everyone to agree, but I think it's pretty reasonable to ask that people not misconstrue my comments, and purposefully degrade them into bullshit that is easy and entertaining to tear apart.
A couple things, and I'm done.
First, I QUESTION Powell's motives; you claim to be certain of them. Either you are psychic, or I am, in fact, the more rational one.
Second, I know about as much about you as you do about me. Political beliefs are something that can be overlooked when judging someone's character, and often must be to maintain a sort of mutual respect between individuals. So, when I walk away from this discussion devoid of respect for you, it will be solely due to your willingness to insult someone whom you don't know, and aim your rude remarks (DRIPPING with condescension) at someone who had previously only responded to your petty chirping in kind. I'm not going to go much further with this, simply because it's rude to attack a somebody's friend on that somebody's blog, but trust me, I've got a lot to say about people who get off on assigning opinions to someone, then tearing them down for the sport of it.
Can we be condescending? Because this would totally be fun.
And Alan, comparing Limbaugh to the clap is asinine. Besides, you've got to be kidding me. Olbermann spews his same old trash every night and he "tells it like it is" just as stridently as Limbaugh. So let's not get into a pointing fingers battle here, because for every Coulter, the left has their resident nut job too.
And Pelk, I actually hope you are kidding. I'm not Chinese, and I certainly don't consider myself the "same" as a Chinese person, no matter how much I joke about my slanty eyes.
I am different. Chinese and Japanese people are the same. In the sense that their ancestors both rampaged over Korea in the attempt to fight each other.
It's a rather indirect similarity, but there you go.
Tom,
I wasn't attacking you personally. I don't think I've ever met you, so that'd be a tough thing to do. You could have some terrible yet comic deformity for all I know, and I've let it go unexploited. If you're mad because I attacked what you said in your own condescending remarks about mindless college students, well, tough cookies. Your words painted those agreeing with the Obama campaign as unthinking, irresponsible jeunesse doree or political figures acting with ulterior motives. Saying these things facing a 10 point national lead is either evidence of zealotry or absurdity; I'll leave it to you to decide which.
p"n"k, I don't think it's that asinine. They're both widespread and irritating. You could blame getting either on poor parenting. As far as Olbermann and Franken go, they can fuck off, too. Bill Maher with them. Olbermann and Franken may not be as latently racist as Rush, but they're about as helpful in increasing knowledge/raising the discourse/blahblahblah - that is to say, not at all. And Maher is just as sexist as Rush is. So, the lot of them can peace out and the country would be better for it. I just mentioned Limbaugh because Tom was yelling in caps about him.
In closing: http://xkcd.com/386/
well, i'm voting for obama because
he looks cool smoking.
but i think colin powell might have given a this little more thought than i have.
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Sorry, they're either all the same or all different. Just because both the Chinese and the Japanese enjoy pissing on Korea doesn't mean they're are the same and the rest are different.
Until you give me a convincing argument otherwise, I'm just going to assume squinty eyes = squinty eyes.
Again, I'm kidding.
Actually, I'm not.
Then there is the fact that Colin Powell lied in front of the UN Security Council about nuclear weapons in Iraq and then supported a war he did not believe in for years before he finally quit.
So, Tom, you should not be TOO surprised that Powell might sell his soul.
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