On to the somewhat serious response to the post:
sgtmac_46 said:
Everyone needs to be offended from time to time. It keeps them honest. I hear whinning about liberals being called traitors, from people who are the first to call conservatives fascists. Again, if the shoe fits... Also, keep in mind, the hurtful comments above are taken directly from things said by those very leftists themselves. Nobody is labelling anyone anything without context. It's not my fault some moronic leftist thought Bin Laden was building daycare centers.
Who's being sensitive? I'm certainly not whining, i've got nothing to whine about. I was merely denigrating the asinine statements of a few morons. I'm hardly offended by them, except, maybe, at the shear blatant stupidity behind them. It's just fun to laugh at moronic thinking in all it's forms, whether some leftist senator says it, or Bush says it. I mean, you were just talking about labelling people, and now i'm a war-monger? Way to take the high-ground. Again.
It's ok because he's an entertainer, and not directly in charge of any branch of government. I'm far less concerned with the moronic statements or behavior of entertainers than I am elected officials. The fact that an elected official of the US Senate thought Bin Laden was building daycare centers in Afghanistan frightens me. It seems that many on the left have placed all their eggs in one basket in their contempt for Rush Limbaugh. It's almost as if they believe that if they can just demonize Limbaugh enough, they can win the country back. Sorry, it's nothing like that easy.
Then why are you acting as though you are offended. As an independent, why bother jumping on the bandwagon to defend their asinine behavior and statements?
You never heard me say anything like that. You also don't hear me defending asinine thinking on the part of Republicans. I don't defend the "faith based" rantings of many conservatives. But I find it a far cry from the type of "Hate America at any cost" behavior of many on the radical left. Claiming that America deserves to lose the war on terror is beyond the pale.
I think it's the "Hate America at all costs, until we can change it in our image" behavior of the radical left that has given the conservatives their power in the last 20 years. That's what I want to expose, the moronic thinking of the radical left. That's not a free pass for all conservatives, as a moron in their midst is a moron none the less.
You might want to keep that in mind.
And it is up to us in the middle to expose the radical extremists of all stripes. That includes precious leftist ones with big mouths, as well as right wing religious extremists. I find it a bit myopic to claim that I can only criticize right wingers. The left seems to give a free pass to even the most asinine statements of their fellows. I won't leave them to police themselves, thank you.
1- I wasn't picking on you personally Sgt- don't take it as such
2- I have not ever called conservatives "facists". I have called facists facists. A conservative is merely a conservative. I consider myself a fiscal conservative and a social liberal- thus my registry as an Independant. I think when anyone pulls out the "facist" argumment, they are bordering on losing the debate. If they throw out the "Nazi" card- debate over and you lose. Anytime I've heard the far left decry Bush as a Nazi, in my mind, whatever argument or position they had is lost. Bush is not a Nazi. To my knowledge, he has not advocated the extermination of some 6 million people of one ethnicity or another (though, admitedly, I haven't been in on the latest White House Staff Meetings, so I can't say for certain... ok, there goes the sarcasm again
).
3- I have a problem with either side labeling the other as "un-American" because of their differing political views. Discention IS the foundation of this country. The fact that we can disagree and still shake hands at the end of the day should be the cornerstone of our political and social process. Finding a solution in the middle should be our goal- but we have all become so bogged down with partisan BS that we can't see past it. I am not un-American for having a different opinoin from ANYONE. While the left is guilty of this to some degree, it is the right that is more vehemont about calling any left thought, idea, or policy as stupid and treasonous.
4- The "Hate America" lefties are just as stupid and wrong as the "Faith Based Policy" righties- on that we both seem to agree Sgt. But there is a dramatic difference between hating America, and not accepting the policies and actions of our government and trying to change them. There is nothing more American than that. The right and the left both share that right and responsibility. Both ideals cannot be correct at the same time, but both sides are very much American- until they go so far right or left that they have lost sight of reality.
5- Yes, Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. So are many of the people quoted on this thread (and many like it) by the right to slam the ideology of the left. There is a difference here though, Rush is a
political entertainer. People listen to Rush to hear his take on politics and the American way of life. Some may even associate their own views with Rush since he is a conservative without doing the research themselves. I look at Rush and Bill Maher as similiar types of entertainers. Maher, however, has always passed himself off as a comedian. Rush passes himself off as a flag-bearer for the conservative cause. Maher's invictive and dialogs have not smacked of hypocricy (agree with him or not- he means what he says), Rush's have.
Barbara Streisand is an entertainer- and a favorite target of the right. She, however, is not a political entertainer. She is a singer. Personally, I think she is ridiculous and hurts the Dems more than she helps them, but she has a right to her opinion- wacky as it may be. What she does not do is go on the air 5 days a week and quote chapter and verse from the internal goings on within the beltway. She hosts a political dinner, says a lot of dumb things, raises some money for the cause, and moves on. Do I think she should be held accountable for what she says? Sure, just like anyone else in this country should. Do I give her statements much weight? No- she's a singer. I don't know anyone who decided where they stand or how they vote based on what she has said. I do know many who have done swo based on what Rush has said. For that reason, I don't think he gets the automatic "oh, he's just an entertainer" write-off. He should be held
at least as accountable as she is.
My butt's been in the seat too long- time for some sit-ups, or a snickers....
