ﾠ Then George Will and others said the same thing. Including that thing about race being an advantage. My honest, polite assessment: you can't believe that Race is an advantage to Obama without holding at least an unconscious belief that blacks are somehow inferior to whites, on average. Yes, that's exactly what I think. ﾠ I can see many, many reasons someone might not want to vote for Obama, reasons that are intelligent, honorable, reasonable. But I also know that bigots, and those holding negative feelings toward black people are looking for reasons not to vote for him, and that my antenna should twitch at LEAST 33% of the time. ﾠ ﾠPowell's comments: 1) "I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." 3) "John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions." ## I note the "nondiscriminatory" comment, and will take it at face value. O.K.--whatever problems McCain has with Obama, I will not consider race one of them. ## Now, you can discount this, and I'm sure many of you will. Or you can grant it, keep your political and economic beliefs, but still take a stand against the bigotry and ignorance in your own party. If enough of you do, you have a chance of attracting more of the black vote. As long as you stay in denial about this, you don't have a prayer. ﾠ Believe it or not, I'm actually trying to help out here. ## I look at most exercise as generating energy, but yoga seems to unlock it and make that energy available. It is also important to note that exercise will mis-align your body in selective ways: it is trying to upgrade you to being a higher-output machine. But if you don't realign your body, especially your joints, tendons, and skeletal structure, you will accumulate micro-trauma wear and tear, and your body falls apart sooner. Tai Chi, yoga, Pilates, and other disciplines have much to offer in this regard. The Five Tibetans is very very good for the time expended, but I DO notice that if I do the Tibetans without other yoga, when I return to the yoga my joints "pop" a bit, and I can feel some muscle imbalances. ﾠ What's that line from "10"? "After 40, it's all patch, patch, patch..."
2) "I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists."
Monday, October 20, 2008
Patch, Patch, Patch
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16 comments:
Steve: "I can see many, many reasons someone might not want to vote for Obama, reasons that are intelligent, honorable, reasonable."
Steve, I am going to respectfully disagree with you on this, at least to an extent.
I can see the following scenarios:
1) Someone who sees in both candidates too many compromises that dilute political ideals in the face of grim reality. Thus, this person decides to not vote for either candidate, but perhaps will vote for a third-party or write-in candidate. This position I can respect.
2) Someone who will not be voting out of sheer apathy. I cannot respect this, but I can kind of understand it.
2) Someone who is in a high income bracket and would therefore benefit more from McCain than Obama. And, in this mind this benefit outweighs the grave risk of McCain kicking the bucket and Palin taking power. I also cannot really respect this, but I can understand it.
And... that's it. For any other scenario, where someone votes for McCain instead of Obama... well, I won't mince words. Such a person would be 1) downright stupid, 2) dishonorable, and 3) unreasonable. To be very honest, I fail to see how it can be otherwise.
Do you have a general take on joints popping?
When I do the Tibetans, my joints pop when I do T'ai Chi, and I've been assuming that it meant I was acquiring more mobility, but that's only a guess.
The good news is that the Tibetans seems to be very good for my knees. I can dance for an hour and a half barefoot on a wood floor, and it doesn't bother my knees at all. In general, they've been in better shape since I've been doing the Tibetans.
sb fan - well, they might agree that the Iraq war was a good thing, and / or they might be socially conservative.
If you're a libertarian, neither candidate is a good choice unless you decide that less government regulation of finance is an acceptable trade for more government regulation of morality.
Nancy --
If your joints never popped before, it might be a problem. If they always have, not so much.
From the time I can remember, maybe age nine, when I squat, people in the room duck, because it sounds like pistols going off -- you can hear them down the block. Doesn't mean anything, according the doctors I've seen over the years.
Hey,
I've been wondering how you worked out the 33% and 40% numbers you use.
Also, why talk about racism? Why not just give people NO REASON to "have a negative opinion."
Like not wearing jeans and tshirts all the time, etc.
Like putting up everything to get good movies out there, even at a loss.
Like not naming a major network Better Black TV.
What the hell is black TV, or for that matter black cinema? Let's get rid of that. We're all Americans whether some of us appreciate it or not.
Stop buying into the hype that if white men do it it's noble. NOT!
Oh yeah, I'd give Obama an 80% chance of getting elected and around a 30% chance of losing.
He played it almost like I would. No mention of race. Only the task at hand, to repair this country.
Maybe he'll give me a job. I can definitely clean up the schools.
Josh: "they might agree that the Iraq war was a good thing"
If so, this would be as unintelligent as it gets. Let's face the truth: the invasion and occupation of Iraq is indefensible.
Josh: "they might be socially conservative."
Meaning what exactly? No gay marriage? No abortion? Please clarify.
Josh: "If you're a libertarian, neither candidate is a good choice"
That's kinda covered in my scenario #1.
Josh: "unless you decide that less government regulation of finance is an acceptable trade for more government regulation of morality."
Sorry, don't know any Libertarian who thinks that way. Can't imagine any either. I think you are off the mark on this point.
sb fan: So anyone who disagrees with you on social, economic or foreign policy issues is stupid, dishonorable, and/or unreasonable. Sounds like the thoughts of an intelligent, reasonable person to me???
SB fan -
Meaning what exactly? No gay marriage? No abortion? Please clarify.
Also, anti-feminism, anti-environmentalism, anti-welfare, etc...
The Rush Limbaugh crowd are probably mostly voting for McCain. Those who're not are either voting Libertarian or Constitution party.
Sorry, don't know any Libertarian who thinks that way. Can't imagine any either.
Those would be people who claim to be libertarian, but vote Republican.
1) Joints popping: I agree with Perry. Might just be a bit of misalignment being worked out.
2) Sorry, but there are intelligent, fine people who believe the Iraq invasion was a good thing. I disagree with them, but can understand the perspective from which this is true.
3) Christian: dressing and acting in perfect accordance to social norms will reduce racism but not eliminate it. Some of it is hard-wired. The 33% figure was a recent poll (was that Google and CBS? I forget) that had 1/3 of white Liberal Democrats harboring negative racial feelings, and 40% of the general population. That means that you have about 47% of Conservative Republicans, unless my math is way off.
If you think the playing field is level, then it makes sense that there is something seriously wrong with black folks. My attitude is that black culture is badly damaged, AND the playing field, in America, is about as level as it's going to get anywhere. But that still doesn't mean it's level. And so I like to poke at people's assumptions that it is. Sue me.
Let me make it clearer about policies I disagree with: if those who hold them are all a bunch of knuckle-draggers, I feel free considering it b.s. The guy who believed in a Flat Earth lived in poverty in a trailer somewhere. Smart, but very damaged. I know Conservatives who are among the smartest, most successful, healthiest people I know. They see the world differently than I do. Doesn't make them dumb, or bad, or even "wrong" in any ultimate sense. All either side can do is amass opinions and information for their POV, and then nod sagely as they agree with themselves. I try not to operate that way.
Josh: Your characterization of social conservatives highlights the problem we currently have in this country. It doesn't allow for a middle ground. In every issue you mention, gay rights, abortion,feminism, environmentalism and welfare I am neither wholly anti nor wholly pro. Having spent fourteen years in my company's environmental technology group, I am more familiar with that area than others. I know first hand that most environmental issues involve trade offs. sometimes the potential harm to the environment is greater than the benefit to us humans from whatever action we might be taking that could harm the environment. Other times the benefit to us humans out weighs the potential harm to the environment.
Josh: Your characterization of social conservatives highlights the problem we currently have in this country. It doesn't allow for a middle ground.
Actually, I've found more middle ground among democrats, who're actually pretty moderate, globally speaking.
Josh can you inform us?
You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your blog.
You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your blog.
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