January 23, 2008

Feeling jaded and cynical

Reading the news and see that Huck is at it again:
"Mike Huckabee compared America to Nazi Germany. He first implored the audience to renew their 'commitment to Christ' and 'to our nation, to its heritage, as well as to its future,' adding 'do we expect the seculars [sic] to do it? Do we expect the unbelievers to lead us, and if so, how will they lead us and where?'"
See. American needs to be run by a Christian like Huckabee and we shouldn't see that as a call for his version of a theocracy? Oh, and he goes on to compare America to Nazi Germany because of abortion. Nice. I am starting to dislike Huckabee tremendously.

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Speaking of people I don't like, Republicans in congress once again upheld Bush's veto of the SCHIP program. As I have said to Steve and others on this blog, I understand concern about government programs. This one helps kids who have parents who can't afford health insurance. But Bush won't do it.

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Speaking of Republicans I loathe, a man named Roger Stone has created a 527 group to mock Hillary Clinton. I won't tell you the name, but just check out the group's initials. And they will be selling T-Shirts. It is enough to make you weep.

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At least there are some not fooled by Huck.
"Huck's very bright, and he could be a quick study if he applied himself to an in-depth study of policy and political theory. But that's not who he is.
He's spent his entire adult life as a message shaper -- translating ideas into marketable slogans, memorable catch-phrases, and heart-felt passion. He's very good at what he does, but beyond the surface glitter of his rhetoric, there's no there there. This is not a man who can (or would want to) discuss the finer details of Kirkean conservatism; even though he is a seminary-trained preacher, he has little patience for, nor interest in, the complexities of theology that underlie Christian social thought. He's a pragmatist and a technician, not an ideologue or philosopher...
I love the man, but he's almost as superficial as his enemies paint him to be. His destiny is to be, as Ross says, a motivational speaker or talk-show host. It would be wonderful if he broke out of this mold he's created for himself, but don't count on it. That's just not who he is," - a former Huckabee staffer,

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Under the "not news" for most of us:
The Associated Press reports the study, published on the website of the Centre for Public Integrity, concluded the statements “were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanised public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretences”.

According to the study, 935 false statements were issued by the White House in the two years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The real question is does anyone care? Has anyone learned a damn thing? Will people make the same mistake if given a chance to bomb another country?

Sigh.

7 comments:

leighton said...

I have to disagree with Andrew Sullivan in one particular: I don't believe people who drop out of seminary after a year have earned the right to have people call them "seminary-educated."

I think Native English speakers might legitimately disagree on this point, but to me, "X-educated" has connotations of successfully completing what Institution X considers a program of education. I don't call myself a logician because years ago I dropped out of my Ph.D program with a terminal master's.

I think describing Huckabee as "having attended seminary" or "having completed coursework in theology" (or whatever introductory curriculum he studied) is perfectly fair, but "seminary-educated" gives him too much credit, especially considering that he's lied about his record on that front.

leighton said...

Sorry, "native" shouldn't be capitalized in my last post. Got a little shift-happy there.

And my first draft left the 'f' out of 'shift.' Good typing night I'm having here!

Anonymous said...

I myself am shit-happy this evening, especially after seeing my thinking on this so well-reflected in your skillful prose.

leighton said...

Thanks, ubub. Though with the night I'm having, I might be happy if I can just take a sh!t right. ;)

I now realize that what Sullivan actually said was "seminary-trained," not seminary-educated. I think I still stand behind my earlier observation, given that the seminaries I'm familiar with view their purpose as vocational just as much as academic. When I hear seminary-trained, and I don't know better, I think it's referring to someone who has completed the training program.

steves said...

Like I said before, I don't know the ins and outs of the SCHIP program, but I have always thought that the gov't should provide health care for people that are unable to afford it. My concerns usually center around what is the best way to deliver the services.

I have kind of a crude sense of humor at times and I am not easily offended. That group from Roger Stone is disgusting and sounds like it was made up by someone that was still in high school (my apologies to any reader here that is still in HS).

Streak said...

Steve, I understand and think there is a good discussion to have about the best way to provide medical care to the most people. But this program works, and in fact, Bush is vetoing it because it works.

This 527 is more than juvenile high school humor. It is pure hatred of women. To use this term to attack Hillary shows that level of misogyny that the far right doesn't want to acknowledge.

steves said...

I agree. The "C" word is on a small list of words I would never use under any circumstances.