WilliamBentley2's Comments (34)

“I was thinking about what should be written in response to this post, but as it turns out the only thing that crossed my mind was "my God, you have no clue." To be honest, had this happened in a vacuum, you might be able to string together five or six assumptions that bring you to that conclusion. However, it is the preponderance of events stemming from the last 145 years or so (and before) that gives those of us who have actually experienced untoward behavior from police some pause.

The professor (mind you, eminent intellectual) was not acting childish from what I understand. Angry, probably, irritated, most definitely. Your responses demonstrate that you flat out just don't get it. Maybe you like it better that way. Cozy in there in your glass house, eh?”

“As someone who uses graphics-editing programs on a daily basis, I can say that the only thing that seemed unecessary was the color change to the shorts. But, I see why they did that (because his shorts would not stand out against a black background). Otherwise, they did nothing to radically alter the photo. Even the so-called "glistening skin" is bogus. That was likely a color/tone correction that is often automatic in adjusting photos.

What the author does not realize is that a photograph *alters an image* as much as a tone adjustment from a graphics program. It is a tempest in a teapot and not at all well researched. She likens this photo to some of the other "clear" adjustments made for graphic effect.”

“Probably at least partially right here. I think that the sad thing is that many people most likely don't honestly care what the government does, just so long as the average person has a job, a home and a chance to raise his/her children. The social policies are on the periphery for most of us. When the Republicans start moving away from these basic tenets, no matter *how* they propose to get us there, they are going to lose more people.”

“I absolutely agree with your sentiment 100 percent. I believe Mr. Burris understands that he has traded his professional integrity for an opportunity to be a United States Senator--no matter for how long. He probably understands better than anyone that his being sworn in would forestall any potential removal of Blagojevich via impeachment by "proving" he wasn't trying to sell the seat.

I believe Blagojevich's first attempt was with Representative Davis (failed) to put a candidate who might have a reasoned chance to win in 2010, but not a perfect chance. It seems his second (riskier) move was to select someone who on the face appears to be a upstanding guy but whose ambitions outstrip his ability to fulfill them--leaving the door open for a Republican senator from IL in 2010. This would be Blagojevich's final revenge, in my opinion.”

“Don't let the door hit you on the buttocks on the way out.”

“Dude wouldn't get enough signatures on a single state petition to be placed on a primary ballot.”

“Good grief.”

“I am afraid I can't agree here with your assessment. Even though I am as cynical as the next guy, I think that much of this should have played itself out in the primaries. I know that a legion of morons is likely to come out against Senator Obama. However, a roughly equal share of people who never vote who -will- vote for Senator Obama are just as likely. What should be interesting is to see who has more numbers.”

“ONLY $3,000? There's a problem right there.”

“Hehe. I think it should be interesting to see if she continues to say that over the next month or so....so, her kid will be 6 months old and she's calling him 4 months old...hey, when you've had 5 of em, you tend to lose track I guess.......?”

“That's right. The only caveat I might offer is that we both know that the electorate is unfortunately not entirely (or even mostly) made up of educated and informed people. But, I have seen that the more knowledge you give people, the more their opinions change (often in our favor) --when it comes to this campaign. So, those of us who feel like we know what is going on, we just need to keep letting folks know what's up”

“Bull. Thank you.”

“Spoken like a 21st-century de Tocqueville! I think you are spot-on in your assessment of these people and how they would approach things. For a little more on Biden, go here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden”

“Strong points. I started to get that feeling myself. On Wednesday, I was as irritated as any other strong supporter of Senator Obama. By today, that feeling has started to wear off--already.”

“My man ran out of time. I had this odd feeling that McCain didn't want to pull the trigger out of general disgust or he wanted to do something against the wishes of his handlers. Well, I think he had made up his mind on Pawlenty and Thursday night had a talk with Steve Rove-boy and decided, "the heck with it, let's go for it. This is America, right?" and called up Gov. Palin and gave her a nod. I think if he didn't *have* to make the selection now, he wouldn't have. Someone should see if they can learn what the real story behind how this decision went down is.”

“Should I be proud that Clarence Thomas is on the Supreme Court? I think not. Just because he is of African descent doesn't mean that I appreciate any aspect of his being on the court. Frankly, I would settle for a liberal/progressive or even moderate of any ethnic background or either gender over Justsice Thomas.

And, I am personally offended (at least in part) by the selection of Governor Palin. Not only because she seems to add very little outside of ideology and a vague notion of commonality with McCain but also because there are at least a dozen female potential candidates from the GOP who would seem more suited to being president than Gov. Palin.

I suppose there is at least one more thing that offends me: that every Republican on TV today had the same three talking points: 1) she has more executive experience than the other three candidates (and thus, more qualified--er, sorta; 2) that she is running for Vice President and not President; and 3) that she can appeal to a wider audience (hoping that noone actually pays attention to her long enough to ask her the toughest questions).

It frankly just kind of makes me sick that we have so many problems going on and we gotta wonder what's the deal with the republican VP candidate....god. If she had run for president, at least you would have known that she could stand up to the pressure.”

“Seriously? I'm just checking...you're -serious- right? Shouldn't we at least hear what this voice is saying before deciding if it is fresh or not? You really may not like what you hear from her.”

“Right-the-heck-on! Thank you for saying that. It's really not about ideology or partisanship. I am so tired of having to feel like I can't listen to conservatives or representatives of the McCain campaign without having to cut through the insults and attacks FIRST. I know we all can be thoughtful like this, no matter what your ideological or political leanings are. Thank you very much.”

“I believe you to be mostly right. The part you left out is that we need to be working with each other once we have made sure we're doing what we can for ourselves. The combination of those two factors gives us all the best chance to thriving.”

“You like Cynthia McKinney.”

“Cynthia McKinney? You have invalidated your entire point with that.”

“Yeah, okay. How many people actually think the Republican Party will nominate a 36 year-old Indian American guy for President. You do recall that They. Are. Republicans. right? :)”

“Get. Over. It.”

“Exactly. Give me a break, Rove. Same ole story. Except this time, you're talking to people who've seen it all and heard it all before. Nice try.”

“Fake intellectual. A gun can be treated like any other lethal device in that a reasonable society can be expected to put reasonable restraints on access to it. Do you see people walking around with rocket-propelled grenades, C-4 explosives or biological weapons? No. Why? It's because these devices are meant to cause "mass destruction." Remember that phrase? As in "WMD" ...? A gun is somewhat akin to a high-end sports car: noone is stopping you from getting it, but if you don't know how to use it safely, you're asking for trouble. Since a gun's main purpose is to destroy things (largely, living things) there should be reasonable restraints put on it (like age limits, permits, restrictions for ex-felons and those deemed mentally incompetent). To me, this means an individual doesn't -exactly- have the right to own arms, but is -granted that right under the auspices of the common will of the people- to own arms. If you hold up a bank and get caught, we're not going to let you have your gun...just like we don't let you walk free, and pursue life, liberty and happiness.

Bottom line to me: guns -do- kill people. So do cars, knives, ladders and a bunch of other things...especially when they are -meant- to kill people. Society is the enabler.”