mindact's Comments (266)

“Isn't it the same brother Obama talked about in Dreams of my father, that seemed snobbish? If I recollect, he was the one who told Obama in a snubbish tone that he was at Stanford. He didn't want to have anything to do with the Obamas in Kenyan. He mom left for a wealthy kenyan man....”

“I think there is a point to this. I've always supported the public option and still do, but after listening to snowe and Ed on the Ed show, seems like the current public option from the house doesn't really help in driving down prices. The truth of the matter is that the public option isn't available to everyone, only a small fragment of the population. Hence there will be a parallel market, one for corporations buying insurance for their employees that private insurers already play in. The other is for majority of the current uninsured, which the private insurers would rather not serve.

If we have a trigger, with clearly defined trigger events that allows both employers, small business and individuals to buy into a public option, then we will have real competition”

“this is so idiotic, I'm suprised at my having to respond to it. Let's face it, Hillary had a negative favorability rating both before and during the elections. Her unfavorables ranged b/w 45% - 55%, which was the highest amongst all candidates. This infavorables ran high all through the primaries. It didn't start to reverse until after she started throwing her support behind barry. By implication, the only reason she developed positiive favorability ratings is because she supports the president and hasn't been a pain in the fanny for him.

One other point is that she's not in the line of fire like the President is on a daily basis. By keeping quite and doing her job, without causing a scene, people reward her for it. As for your suggestion that Obama needed her to buff up his "paper thin" resume, well Biden is more of an asset in that regards than Hillary. Let's not forget that even as we speak, it's clear that the president runs foreign policy. Hillary is a voice, just as Gates, Biden, Mitchell et all are all voices that provide counsel to the president.

Could she have been a better president thant Obama, I doubt it. One thing is clear, when it comes to legislative prowess and being a workhorse, she's probably better than the president, but when it comes to demonstrating leadership and developing a clear pragmatic strategy, Obama definitely trumps Hillary. That my friend is the more relevant quality for being the CiC”

“I think what's really troubling about this is the fact that Israel controls what goes into and out of Gaza. And the fact that only humanitarian aid is allowed. Is there any other country in the world experiencing blockade like this. The only reason why this can happen is because the palestinians don't have the ability to defend themselves.

This is not sustainable for the long-term.”

“In the case of Obama's decision on troops escalation, he's not driven by this ideology of world dominance and preemption, rather he's trying to figure out what's best for our national security. Afganisthan is the way it is today largelly beacause America got involved with the mujahadeen and left after the defeat of the soviet union. That's enough to cause anyone to be cautious on withdrawing. We might have a situation where Al Quaeda and other terrorists element regroup and no afghani will be willing to aid in crushing them later. But on the flip side, the war is probably not winnable in the traditional sense. Commiting more troops might lead to a soviet union style defeat that will bankcrupt this country. So these a tough choices and Biden can't resign simply because his position or approach wasn't taken”

“Arianna, I have to say you're way off base here. you've generally provided great insights on various issues, but this one here is just out there. Equating the run up to the war in Iraq to this situation is just crass. Here's why, in the case of the Bush administrations willingness to invade iraq, it was clear to the folks debating that there were ideological driven reasons to get involved in the war on the part of the bush administration, hence a case for one withing the administration to resign. Even at that, I can guarantee you that one of the best things that happened to America during Bush's first term is that Colin Powell was there to slow down the drive along the dangerous path the adminstration was taking us. Can you imagine if they had a Bolton running the state department? We would have been toast by now.”

“Definitely think it's racy and not racist and here's why. First of all, it's not blackface. This is blackbody:). Seriously, I think people need to take a chill pill. The concept of blackface is an american thing. The origins were based on the ministrel shows that had white actors in blackface acting like goons and buffoons and then attributed that to blackpeople. It was and is racist and demeaning. Keep in mind, those actors wore black faces with bright white or red lipsticks exaggerating the lips. Their bodies weren't painted black.

France has it's own issues with race, but blackface definitely isn't one of them. They don't have that history so it's not much of an issue for them to see a model painted totally in black. Keep in mind, the publication is French Vogue and not American Vogue. It was meant for french consumption. I saythis as a black man in America, who's experienced racism. When you've experienced real racism, yu definitely know what it looks like. There is no second guessing it. This on the other hand is far from it.”

“This has to do with his disguised beef with Glen Beck”

“Look here Jason, Keith has been a stand0up guy from time. Any smart person knows you have to work within the cofines of the parameters set for you, as long as your personal integrity is not compromised. Let's face it, Keith was not asked to lie by the powers that be at GE, he was asked to distort a story or even asked to squash a story.

Fact is Bill O'Riley is not our biggest problem. Compared to folks like Hannity and Beck, Bill O is like a catholic school girl. The reason I bring this up is to point out the fact that the reason Keith goes after Bill'O is because they share the same time slot. honestly, it's nothing more than a ratings game. Keith can afford to forgo that battle and focus on more pressing issues.

Smart people weigh out their options and make the most pruent decision. I believe that's what Keith did. We have a voice via MSNBC. Let's keep it that way. MSNBC brings in about 3% of GE's overall revenues. That my friend is an expendable resource”

“Done what? Joined a gang or flashed a gang sign? Look, we all pay taxes that covers the payroll of the police force, municipal hospitals and infrastructure. That means we have a right to comment on issues related to gang violence. There is a social cost borne by all as a result of it.

Yes we understand the pressure inflicted upon young kids to join gangs, but yet again, we see the casualties as a result of gang violence. It ought to be condemned and spoken out against. Derrick didn't have to throw the sign at the party. He wasn't in a neutral zone and felt a need to strike a pose with gang signs. That was wrong and he rightfully apologized”

“Dude, not sure what your relationship with Derrick is, but to go ahead and brand people as ignorant cause they don't know how it is in the hood is flat out shamefull. Here are the facts, more than 30 kids have been killed in Chi-town this year due to gang violence. You said you know this people and people in the hood aren't scared of them. Well, were the dead kids scared of them?

Here's the point, I take Derrick at his word that he's not gang affiliated. He apologized for his actions and rightly so. We do accept his apology, but it doesn't change the fact that it wasn't smart of him to do what he did. Gang violence is some serious stuff with serious consequences for families both of the gangbangers and victims. We cannot and should not make light of it period. Derrick realizes that, so should you”

“Let me ask my own set of questions. What articles of the constitution prohibits the government from nationaliziing or regulating certain industries if it's deemed to be in the national interest? Please point to me the words that says the federal government can't mandate salaries and wages in any situation?

I'm sire they don't exist. You sound like the atheist who says proof to me that God exist. I say to you, proof to me He doesn't exist. Look, the constitution does not address every single situation that exists out that. The Fed is allowed to sign executive orders as long as they do not violate any part of the constitution. Likewise, the legislative body can put law in place as long as it doesn't violate the constitution. If those new laws violate theconstitution, then they can only become law if the constitution is ammended. And we all know that the constitution can be ammended. Case in point, the ammendment negating the definition of blacks as thre-fifth human...”

“hah, Iran and Venezuela set up a "$200bln" dollar fund to undermine the US. How plausible does this sound? both countries can actual have a slush fund waiting to be utilized in undermining America despite their domestic problems. even Saudi Arabia can't afford to set aside $200bln.

By the way, I though intelligence reports were for internal consumption. Why does it focus so much on Venezuela and Bolivia's disdain for America, like we need Israel to defend us by providing us intelligence. This is more or less propaganda, rather than intelligence”

“True statement. Unfortuantely, blacks in America tend to want to think that America is got the worst race relationship. Any black man who's travelled extensively will know that's not the case. Yes America seems to be a little more polarized when dealing with interracial marriages and all, but there is enough protection in the law to protect minorities. Unfortunately, most Latin and South American countries as well as European countries act like racism isn't a problem for them. The reason they claim they don't have issues on racism is because it'll force them to address the problems. that means they'll have to enact laws to protect minorities. In a lot of these countries, minorities (blacks in particular) have to accept their second class status.

I was in Sao Paulo last year and Cost Rica this year. I noticed that going into upscal bars and restaurants, I was the only black person over there. Not that I felt uncomfortable, but in countries ike these that boast diversity, it's ironic that you can barely find people of color in key influential”

“the problem is not that she has an opinion and she expressed it. We all have opinions, s0me we keep to ourselves amd the others we express. The context in which we express our opinion matters to most rational people. We all know that officially, the President is against gay marriage, but we're not up in arms against him. Why? because hes not an activist against gay marriage.

Her problem is that she's not just expressing her opinion, but has morphed into this activist crusading against gay marriage. For me personally, gay marriage is one issue that I refuse to take a stand on. Why, because it doesn't affect me. However, I'll take a clear stand against discriminating against gays....”

“In reality, I don't think most folks are angry at Miss California because she answered a question posed to her. If the question wasn't asked by the sweet one, we wouldn't have gotten the answer she gave. Matter of fact, Hilton looked like the intolerant one for attacking miss California.

What changed was miss California going from someone responding to a question to being an activist crusading against same sex marriage. Californians are split amost 50/50 on the gay marriage issue. However most folks on both ends of the issue aren't activist for such a hot button issue. by stepping into the realm of activism, she's implicitly dragged the miss california pageantry into the fray and that's not a good place to be....

Lastly, knowing that she's fundamentally flawed as a spokes person on issues pertaining to the religious right, it's only a matter of time before she becomes a source of embarrassment to them...”

“Watch ladies, Joe the plumber is horny. Be very careful, I see and aggressive glint in his eyes. He could be a rapist”

“Read the article. he didn't say there were no bonuses before. What he said was that under his tenure, bonuses were based on performance. The company wasn't contractually obligated to pay it. Liddy and his co-horts were responsible for the contracts that required them t pay the employees those bonuses”

“He'd left the company before bailout was needed. He left i 2005, bailouts weren't needed until 2008. get your facts rights”

“Any clear evidence of how naive people are. You want to talk about through history? Well, Palestinians have been slaughtered by Israeli forces over time. From Ariel sharon's permission of christian militants murdering Palestinians in refugee camps in beirut to the last intifada, through to this last incursion. Yes it's true that the palestinian terrorists have murdered israelis as well, however israel hasn't experienced anything like our 9-11.

For every one Israeli killed, 10 palestinians are killed. The only thing saving the palestinians is their high birth rate”

“Not sure of the facts you present, but here is what I know, when I look at a lot of Jews in Israel today, they look European. When I look at lot of Arabs today, they seem of semitic stock. We know that the Jews of back in the day were of semitic stock.

Amongst the European Jews, obviously, there must have been some conversion to Judaism, some inter-marriage etc. This brings me to a question I've pondered, is there a difference b/w Jewish people and people practising Judaism?”

“Arabist? I've never heard that word before. Why does it seem to have a racial connotation to it? hmmm, oh I forgot, your alias is "Bubba"”

“I agree with you wholeheartedly. However, let me also add that most American deaths are at the and of fellow Americans. As for the cleansing of neighborhoods in Iraq, we heard a lot a about it. Remember, most Americans were introduced to new lexicons such as Sunnis, Shia and Kurds because of the Iraq war. We heard an earful of the conflict and attrocities committed by muslims. We also saw the dastardly acts such as the televised beheadings. We know for a fact that there are evil terrorist in the muslim world bent on destroying western civilization.

However, we're also aware that the power the Muslim terrorist or right wing Likud party weilds is based on what the masses are willing to give them. When hamas sends a sucide bomber to Tel Avivi, moderates run to the tough talking elimate the arab terroist arms of Likud. When Israel conduct incursions into Gaza after several days of aerial bombing, the masses sympathise with Hamas and not Abbas.

If the moderates in Israel step forward and work out an acceptable 2 state solution with moderate palestinians, the power of Hamas and Likud diminish”

“Here we go again with another very simplistic and shaved off version of events. What constitutes as a reasonalbe peace plan? When did Israel offer the reasonable peace plan and what does it entail?

The Clinton administration worked hard to reach a peace accord b/w Israel and the Palestinians, but he started to late and tried to cram several years of a peace plan into a few days in a lame duck administration. The official line put out by the Clinton folks was intended to give Ehud Barak cover. Fact is Barak was nervous about the deal, just as Yasser Arafat was. Second point, the bush adminsitration scuttled the talks by telling the Israelis not to accept Clinton's deal, because they could give them a better one. Lastly, Sharon make it politically impossible for Barak to take the deal, by taking the trip to the mosque and saber rattling, knowing that it would lead to the intifada. Those are the real facts. Let's stop with all this talk about the Israelis giving the palestinians a deal and they refused”

“Our only Ally? Last time I checked, allies don't conduct espionage against thier partners. There are countless cases of espionage by Israeli agents in America. Israel's policyy in some cases are just as bad as that of it's Arab neighbors. The Saudi's, Jordanians, Emirates and few others have been allies to the American government over several decades.

Point is each one of these nations have allied with America as long as it's in their strategic interest. We as Americans have to make sure that our relationship with countries in the region is in our strategic interest. We don't side with a Saudi government that oppresses it's people, neither should with side with an Israeli govenrment engaged in Aparthied activities in Palestinian refugee camps”