tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post3345104922614615019..comments2024-03-25T17:38:55.490-07:00Comments on Dar Kush: The New Year Begins...Steven Barneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13630529492355131777noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-13622062537642457792008-01-16T08:28:00.000-08:002008-01-16T08:28:00.000-08:00Frankly (and this might sound bizarre) but the wro...Frankly (and this might sound bizarre) but the wrong scandal would be worse (for the country, not for Obama or his family!) than assassination. Can you even imagine the outpouring of grief, self-searching and genuine no-b.s. emotion that would outpour if some racist capped him? Everyone dies. The only question is the impact of our lives.<BR/>##<BR/>But on the subject of secret service...I have it on good authority that he has more than the usual security detail. It would not be wise for me to be more specific, but Mr. Obama is as protected as a head of state.Steven Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13630529492355131777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-91655396277721429252008-01-15T23:22:00.000-08:002008-01-15T23:22:00.000-08:00nancy:I've had the same worries for Obama from the...nancy:<BR/><BR/>I've had the same worries for Obama from the beginning. I keep hoping his Secret Service guys are on their toes. <BR/><BR/>I have no idea how much more of a threat he faces than the other candidates, and I don't even know where I'd start trying to come up with an estimate. I do recall that Powell didn't run for president at least partly because of worries about assassination, and I have to guess he *would* have some idea how to come up with an estimate. <BR/><BR/>Assuming it doesn't end in disaster of some kind (assassination being the worst, scandal being not as bad), Obama's run for office strikes me as a good thing for the country, black and white. I keep thinking that my kids will have their whole world picture shaped by seeing a race for president in which Hillary and Obama are making a serious run. The next time, it won't seem so unusual, and two or three elections from now, maybe having serious female, black, hispanic, etc. candidates will just seem part of normal life, no more surprising than having a Catholic running.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-50596486298944499722008-01-15T09:34:00.000-08:002008-01-15T09:34:00.000-08:00On the MLK gaffe, I found this rather funny:http:/...On the MLK gaffe, I found this rather funny:<BR/><BR/>http://www.scrappleface.com/?p=2858<BR/><BR/>Obama: It Took Men to Give Women the Vote<BR/>by Scott Ott for ScrappleFace <BR/><BR/><BR/>(2008-01-14) — Democrat Sen. Barack Obama today seemed to indirectly respond to presidential rival Sen. Hillary Clinton’s suggestion that Martin Luther King’s dream would have gone unfulfilled if not for President Lyndon B. Johnson who signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.<BR/><BR/>Sen. Clinton’s comment was meant to contrast her vast record of accomplishment and political prowess, with Sen. Obama’s mere rhetorical skills and inspirational persona, but the rookie Senator offered an analogy of his own.<BR/><BR/>“The 19th Amendment to the Constitution grants women the right to vote,” said Sen. Obama, “and while women, like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, marched, and spoke and held inspirational rallies, ultimately it took men in 36 state legislatures to fulfill that dream.”<BR/><BR/>“Now, I would not suggest,” the former Illinois state legislator added, “that it takes a man to really make change in this country, nor even that it takes someone with experience in a state legislature. I’m just sayin’.”<BR/><BR/>Sen. Clinton refused to respond directly, but the campaign release a statement in which she said: “I have nothing but respect for Barack Obama, especially because he’s currently the only African American in the U.S. Senate. I’ll do whatever it takes to help him retain that distinction.”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-21069810139490820012008-01-15T07:34:00.000-08:002008-01-15T07:34:00.000-08:00Lynn: I understand where you are coming from emoti...Lynn:<BR/> I understand where you are coming from emotionally, but experience really counts. If I need heart surgery I go to a heart surgeon, not another heart attack victim. Lyndon Johnson was not my favorite president, but he got a lot of legislation passed, civil rights and otherwise, because of his long experience in congress and his relationship with its members.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-46444186771662426672008-01-15T05:19:00.000-08:002008-01-15T05:19:00.000-08:00Everyone keeps talking about experience but what w...Everyone keeps talking about experience but what would impress me in a candidate would be <I>recent</I> experience of being an ordinary American - experience working for a living, experience worrying about how to pay all the bills, experience wondering how you're supposed to figure out what your health insurance covers and what it doesn't. Lawyers and rich people shouldn't be allowed to run for president.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-8915016424456368772008-01-14T20:04:00.000-08:002008-01-14T20:04:00.000-08:00I hope you're right about Wesley. That was a whole...I hope you're right about Wesley. That was a whole lot of money he didn't pay taxes on, though -- and Uncle might look to make an example of him.<BR/><BR/>In my ideal world, someone with the credentials and experience of a Bill Richardson or Joe Biden would've been a more effective debater or campaigner in this presidential race.<BR/><BR/>Yes, Obama and I share something of an ethnic identity...but I also know that if he were a white candidate, I wouldn't even <I>consider</I> someone who hadn't completed so much as a single Senate term and was fairly undistinguished in that. <BR/><BR/>I'm still torn.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-67606942501379489852008-01-14T19:45:00.000-08:002008-01-14T19:45:00.000-08:00Wesley is most likely to have to pay a hefty fee. ...Wesley is most likely to have to pay a hefty fee. I hope he doesn't go down for this. He's a good man.Steven Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13630529492355131777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-39903769673680971072008-01-14T18:15:00.000-08:002008-01-14T18:15:00.000-08:00I think the IRS doesn't care a whit about Wesley's...I think the IRS doesn't care a whit about Wesley's color, save where it is green. Just like Willie Nelson's.Steve Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12079658447270792228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-85451238623937756602008-01-14T16:48:00.000-08:002008-01-14T16:48:00.000-08:00Here's the actual link for the Snipes article: htt...Here's the actual link for the Snipes article: http://pajamasmedia.com/2008/01/wesley_snipes_the_irs_and_the.php<BR/><BR/>I've been talking about the possibility of Obama getting assassinated, and the white people I've mentioned it to have all reacted with surprise that I could worry about something so odd. However, all I have to do is tell them that Obama was given Secret Service protection much earlier than any other pre-candidate and then assert that violent white supremisists haven't completely gone away, and my friends take my concern as reasonable.<BR/><BR/>In a way, this is good news-- violent racism has been moved far away from most white people's lives.<BR/><BR/>For what it's worth, I think there will be at least one very serious attempt at killing Obama, but I have no strong opinion about whether it will succeed.<BR/><BR/>I'm planning on voting for him if he runs--he seems like the most harmless of the major candidates, and all I want is a no-disaster presidency.<BR/><BR/>By the by, does anyone actually believe in the secret ballot any more, or is it just that the people who want to keep their votes confidential not talking about it?<BR/><BR/>As for choosing the candidate who looks like me....the odds of getting two candidates both of whom I like equally with one of them being female and/or short/ and/or fat and/or Jewish is so low that I'm not worrying about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-26621036406467083952008-01-14T15:55:00.000-08:002008-01-14T15:55:00.000-08:00There aren't enough one-eyed piratical handsome ba...There aren't enough one-eyed piratical handsome bald white men out there for that principle to work for me ... and then we get into the issue of tattoos. If the guy doesn't have the same tattoos I do, I don't believe I could vote for him ...Daniel Keys Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12992599044462413412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-8851821589067043982008-01-14T14:55:00.000-08:002008-01-14T14:55:00.000-08:00"If two candidates were approximately equal, I’d g..."If two candidates were approximately equal, I’d go for the one that looks like me."<BR/><BR/>Now there's a thought to inspire, well, okay ... if not terror, then at least ... wonder ...Steve Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12079658447270792228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-23632900748136273752008-01-14T11:58:00.000-08:002008-01-14T11:58:00.000-08:00http://pajamasmedia.com/2008/01/wesley_snipes_the_...http://pajamasmedia.com/2008/01/wesley_snipes_the_irs_and_the.php<BR/><BR/>Though the above might interest you, Steve.Marcohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09562946882785291437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-56543076279135770832008-01-14T10:44:00.000-08:002008-01-14T10:44:00.000-08:00In my view a politician is a politician. Whether t...In my view a politician is a politician. Whether they are wrapped in a half-black or east coast lilly white skin is of little consequence. Most of them lie like rugs to get into office and then only do things for those groups and people who donate the most money to them. <BR/><BR/>That said, if I was pulling down at least six figures, I'd vote for either Obama or Hillary as both of them are safe, nonthreatening, establishment candidates that won't rock the boat. <BR/><BR/>So for me I wouldn't cast a vote for either. Neither has any interest in helping out the working class. Hillary is ass deep in more corporate contributions than McCain and has never stood up for anything unless it has been focus grouped. Obama has no record to speak of in the senate for supporting working class folk.<BR/><BR/>Both are just more of the same IMO.<BR/><BR/>RodgerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-58588562235014515062008-01-14T10:32:00.000-08:002008-01-14T10:32:00.000-08:00That sentiment:1) he can't get elected because Whi...That sentiment:<BR/>1) he can't get elected because Whites won't vote for him and<BR/>2) He'll get assassinated<BR/><BR/>is all over the black blogosphere,and in conversations across America. Let's say that it's NOT true: this reflects 400 years of really bad history. We can get over it, but expecting black folks to extend more faith than white folks ain't reasonable. Obama existence says that the game has changed. How much? Remains to be seen. But so far, so good. Even a good, solid second place is phenomenal.Steven Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13630529492355131777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-40081417439577129802008-01-14T10:03:00.000-08:002008-01-14T10:03:00.000-08:00I know several black people who say that Obama can...I know several black people who say that Obama cannot win because he is black, so they are not voting for him. If he wins the nomination without their support, I hope they will support him in November. For myself, I still prefer Edwards, but if he drops out, Obama gets my primary vote.Pagan Topologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01611788563582362688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339191.post-39030063148317727912008-01-14T08:31:00.000-08:002008-01-14T08:31:00.000-08:00Oh man! All that holiday food! I love it, and yet,...Oh man! All that holiday food! I love it, and yet, every year it seems like it takes longer to get through all the leftovers and before we get to the end of it all I'm actually tired of eating.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com