BobQueuePublic's Comments (18)

“An eminently sensible perspective on the political rot in Washington, D.C., that's so simple in its analysis, it could only have come from one who stands outside the system.”

“Here we go again. As I said last night about why I disagree with Ariana's argument...

stration momentum for an Afghanistan pull-out. I prefer Biden staying in Obama's ear, playing the "Jiminy Cricket"/gadfly role.

THE TWO BIG COMPETITORS OF ANY PULL-OUT DECSION:

1) Obama's ego: POTUS may feel a pullout is inconsistent with campaign promises. It's not; things change (unless your last name is Bush). Also, there's the macho swagger-factor to do what Bush couldn't: win a war. This would feed O's troublesome overtures to conservatives, to boot.

2) Big Oil. Even if POTUS wants to pull out, he's likely a prisoner to the generations of back-room dealings by Big Oil. The U.S. oil cowboys and the OPEC boards have been ordering-around generals for years, and POTUS in this situation is reduced to an ephemeral P.R. frontman. (Have you read Greg Palast lately?)

We NEED Biden to nudge Obama toward the kind of epiphany that will get him committed enough to take full advantage of his primary weapon: the ability to reach beyond the Beltway and galvanize public opinion. But he needs to REALLY WANT IT, first. And Biden's the only hope.

The only OTHER miracle? An economic alternative to the herion-based economy that makes long-term stability impossible in Afghanistan.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/why-joe-biden-should-resi_b_320929.html?page=58&show_comment_id=32821311#comment_32821311”

“Hey, digi-man, I added a comment just after yours because I had too much on my mind to say in this indented rely box... and it was your comment that cemented my comment directly following yours. Thanks, --Bob”

“As I see it, Biden's indefatigable efforts could do more in the Oval office than on the book tour. I feel that a veep resignation would punish our potentially great president while killing any administration momentum for an Afghanistan pull-out. I prefer Biden staying in Obama's ear, playing the "Jiminy Cricket"/gadfly role.

THE TWO BIG COMPETITORS OF ANY PULL-OUT DECSION:

1) Obama's ego: POTUS may feel a pullout is inconsistent with campaign promises. It's not; things change (unless your last name is Bush). Also, there's the macho swagger-factor to do what Bush couldn't: win a war. This would feed O's troublesome overtures to conservatives, to boot.

2) Big Oil. Even if POTUS wants to pull out, he's likely a prisoner to the generations of back-room dealings by Big Oil. The U.S. oil cowboys and the OPEC boards have been ordering-around generals for years, and POTUS in this situation is reduced to an ephemeral P.R. frontman. (Have you read Greg Palast lately?)

We NEED Biden to nudge Obama toward the kind of epiphany that will get him committed enough to take full advantage of his primary weapon: the ability to reach beyond the Beltway and galvanize public opinion. But he needs to REALLY WANT IT, first. And Biden's the only hope.

The only OTHER miracle? An economic alternative to the herion-based economy that makes long-term stability impossible in Afghanistan.”

“Short & sweet.... the writer who can edit. Nicely done, NL.”

“Honored to draw extra comment from you, Brian. I have to agree with you. It's very frustrating to see what appears to be a very earnest attempt by Obama to reach across the aisle, only to be met with the right-wing reaction. I'm not well-enough studied on the goings-on, however, I suspect the Congressional Dems' may be the real factor in shutting the Right out of policy-making. The Dems might also be Obama's biggest problem. I hope Rahm can hell them soon, because I fear Obama's getting cut off. I don't want to see him be a Jimmy Carter domesticallu (or for that matter a LBJ on "Viet-ghanistan).”

“News cycles roll-over so fast these days my head spins. But I will share this bit of "yesterday's news" with friends (under a separate FaceBook account). I'm astonished at how far the Republican party has sunk; they now appear to be a gang of anarchistic thugs out to destroy a president I, too view not as a liberal but a staunch centrist.”

“As a Damn Yankee in Tennessee - now looking to move back north - I just need to make sure to add my support for this article so I Can look it up here if I ever forget it.

Anti-intellectualism is the greatest weapon in the march toward a U.S. collapse. It amazes me.”

“Sean, this is brief and to the point. Just clear-headed. Thank you.”

“This piece is appreicated. Everyone's fallen all over themselves to praise Stewart and skewer Cramer (myself generally included).

But what we need is for reporters to understand all these arcane banking, investment and corporate shell-gaming mechanisms. The problem is reporters aren't paid very well as a whole, and even those who are are woefully ill-equipped to understand the inside baseball of money.

On the other hand, journalists don't need to understand the topic they are covering so much as dig deep into their beats. To get good reporting, management would have to support more long-term investigative work, which is in short supply because it costs more per column inch at a time when budgets won't allow it. I fear for the Fourth Estate. But I hope we can get through this and come out the other end with some kind of print-and-online amalgam that works.”

“Hyjanks, you just earned yourself a fan. Coming up with your predictions was an even finer use of time than mine as I read through the comments on this HuffPo item! Congratulations! IF this were one of my music sites (where I have a different user name), I'd collaborate with you on a song predicting your future.”

“This is a nice bit of satire, David, and so on the money, it barely passes as fiction. RepugsOuto8, you are justified in criticizing the sore winners among us Libs* but you do, however miss the point when you say Sarah Palin is liberals' "worst nightmare!"

She almost became teh entire nation's worst nightmare. She was singularly unqualified to be picked, despire her years-long lobbying of national evangelical leaders. Sadly, 40-something percent of voters have that "talent," and they tend to be anti-intellectuals and what I would call the U.S. version of extremist fundamentalists, a.k.a. evangelicals. Yes, I know educated right-wingers also voted Republican, for many reasons, many if not most of them unfounded:

-->ANTI-PATRIOT? Jeremiah Wright, Ayers... despite the tangential irrelevance of the claims;
-->GUNS: Apprehension that gun owners will see more restrictions, which seems unlikely;
-->"COMMUNITY ORGANIZER? A laughable attack against Reagan-esque volunteers;
--> SOCIALIST? Hel-lo! ALL taxes redistribute wealth; the Big Bailout paints all pols the same;
--> EXPERIENCE: Just about the only valid claim made, other than policy preferences.

*NOW THE ASTERISK: I call myself and Barack Obama a "Lib" only in relation to conservatives but NOT in relation to reality, where there is no liberal party in Washington, just moderate and right. Obama is a moderate. McCain is a panderer who needs to stop calling himself a "maverick" or he'll need no help from SNL to remain a caricature, a self-parody.”

“John, it's been around 20 years since I ran in the same Chicago circles you did. (Remember that hack avant-garage guitarist who sat in on a rehearsal/casting meet-up for Alagazam? Old Town Ale House? Hah!)

Anyway, I've been following you for your entire career and especially now, despite the risk of being a... a... celebrity-- ! -- I couldn't respect you more. Thanks for contributing your sensibility to the pile, here and on film.”

“I don't know how this story got past me for a few days before I found it, but I'm glad it did. This is one of the more thoughtful pieces I've read here lately. Even better, the comments are as thoughtful. I suppose in posting this flattery I might simply want to be in this good company. Thanks to Dave Winer and all commenters to date.”

“Let's take the emotional responses out of this, fellow Lefties; there's no need to bash Powell. Take any endorsement for what it is: a well-known former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who offers some credibility and comfort for some, largely non-Democratic voters.

The fact that he has kept quiet as long as he has may not comfort us Obama-ites. But in doing so, he has at the same time retained his Republican "cred," as opposed to whose who have come out earlier with anti-Bush statements, interviews and tell-all tomes. In that respect, an endorsement may well mean more than you think among fence-sitting voters.

I'm not certain, and I'm not counting any chickens that have yet to "come home to roost." I'm just saying...”

“Kirk, the premise of this piece sheds an optimistic light on the future, however, I have to pan it for lack of a better developed argument. You seem to beg the question of this " polar opposite navigational system," never spelling-out what it is except to say that this generation grew up with computers and are less likely to believe their success is "dependent upon the failure" of other cohorts.

I think you need to follow-up here by defining that "navigational system" along with some examples and the kinds of decision-making that results from this new direction.”

“I'm a further-lapsed Jew than you, Dan, having similar background in my youth, but having married "out of the tribe." My daughter will, I hope, grow-up to be a human being with a good soul, hopefully without the dogma of those I believe carry a heavy and illogical burden of an anthropomorphized G-d--who I thought was supposed to be unknowable to the human mind. The "in his image" line, I believe, refers to a soul, not the physical form. So. I recently attended the only synagogue within at least 100 miles of my new home in East Tennessee to find comfort in the old traditions. But I just can't feel the pull of those traditions in my daily life. I prefer to live the best life I can without them.

Living in the Bible Belt for a year has led me to believe church leaders are promoting an undercurrent of anti-intellectualism perpetuates racism and social myopia. I am glad to know your experience is not the same, but I don't think I will stay in the South. I just don't see the educational and cultural opportunities here. It makes me sad.

On Atheism? Since the 1980s I've had a good handful of friendly debates--really discussions--with an atheist friend. BOM2007 makes a valid point, that "Atheists do not have "beliefs," but also arguable is that atheists believe in many things... a God not being one of them.”

“It doesn't matter who Obama chooses as a running mate so much as it matters that he sells himself AND his running mate to the public. I'm still waiting for some energy to come back that McCain seems to have sapped with his newfound, juvenile negativity.

I favored Hillary early in the primary but became dismayed (okay, disgusted) at the tone of her campaign. But I respect her political and policy chops, and could like her a whole lot if she helps get Obama in office.

This is a provoking thought-piece of writing, don't shoot Rebecca, she's entitled to air these thoughts. She does so better than us blathering commenters!”