Letters to the Editor
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Barry Obama's Greatest Hits
Terrorist America's chickens came home to roost on 9/11
God Damn America
I was never proud of my country until my husband ran for president
I did coke (and then joked about it in a speech later, which will be featured in future 527 ads)
Anyone who thinks the above alone won't sink a Democratic candidate is off his rocker.
Some people love to lose. It's a sickness.
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I suppose those chickens got some speed
Busy chickens, screaming Allahu Akbar in India, and the Sudan, and Algeria, Pakistan, and Israel, and Russia, and the Philippines, and Indonesia, and Nigeria, and Thailand, and Spain, and Egypt, and Bangladesh, and Saudi Arabia, and Ingushetia, and Dagestan, and Turkey, and Kabardino-Balkaria, and Morocco, and Yemen, and Lebanon, and France, and Uzbekistan, and Tunisia, and Kosovo, and Bosnia, and Mauritania, and Kenya, and Eritrea, and Syria, and Somalia, and Argentina, and Kuwait, and Virginia and Ethiopia and Iran and Jordan and United Arab Emirates and Tanzania and Germany and Australia and and Belgium and Denmark and East Timor and Qatar and Tajikistan and the Netherlands and Scotland and Chad and Canada and China and Nepal and the Maldives. But I suppose you get the point.
Fourteen hundred years of Islamic religious conquest and violence, millions and millions dead; over 10,000 Islamic religious attacks everywhere on the planet since "our" chickens returned. God damn America indeed, because obviously Bin Laden and his warriors of Allah are inspired in their mass murders by the travails of highly educated, wealthy, and privileged black people like the Obamas.
And I'm supposed to believe this bilious, racist, hate-spewing cleric, bloviating at length before his little smooth-faced, smooth-brained camp-follower nodding in the pews beside his Princeton-educated, spoiled and sullen wife, is supposed to be part of the new team to "save" America. From what? Common sense?
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it's not loving America that's problematic
Speaking for myself, it's the idolizing of America.
Why does a love of America need to translate to making America a sacrosanct idol?
Actually, there are strong historical reasons for this, I'm sure, among them the fact that America was established as a pluralistic society and as such, the creation ex nihilo of a common identity probably demanded some degree of idolatry.
Founding Fathers, scriptures, patriotic songs, etc., all needed to do the work previously done (to varying degrees of success) by Christianity to create a sense of community.
Anyway, by all means, love America, but if the love is genuine and deep, why would those who seem not to love it be so menacing?
That's a bit insecure, isn't it?
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"Last week's ridiculous uproar over Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons proves yet again that America has still not come to terms with the most rudimentary facts about race, 9/11 -- or itself."
I would say more importantly, america has not come to terms with the toxic role religion has come to play in our politics and society.
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Oh Gary
The only consolation for the 3000 dead on 9/11 is that they weren't subjected to this drivel...
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It's already beyond too much
The wright controversy as rewritten by the carnival barkers of the republican three ring circus, is like a sleazed sideshow of pin the tail on the nigga preacher.
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@lolcait
"Write articles about how open-minded you are all you like. It won't matter in the 2008 election. Barack Obama will never be president because he is viewed as weak and unpatriotic. Democrats have learned this lesson time and again but they keep making the same mistake.
I would only vote for Clinton or McCain because BO is weak and unpatriotic."
Point of clarification: do you view Obama as weak or unpatriotic?
The first paragraph seems to suggest that others view him such (passive voice), but then you claim you view him as such.
Why do you view him as weak and unpatriotic?
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Whoever controls the words controls the world
The problem here, and the letter responders show this, is people fail to see nuance in arguments or beliefs. It is highly possible to believe that US foreign policy aggravated people around the world enough to hate us AND also believe that the attack on 9/11 was horrific and unjustified. Especially since it killed civilians who do not have much power over their government's foreign policy. People in the US do not understand how much power we have in the world and yes people have reason to dislike us.
People here cheered the death of Saddam Hussein and would likely cheer the death of Osama Bin Laden. If they aired this in Muslim countries we would look bad in their eyes. We are all connected. Osama Bin Laden may have reasons to attack us that have nothing to do with our foreign policy but Al Qaeda sure could recruit a ton of people to kill us after the Iraq war. It makes our enemies stronger.
I support Obama and I find it interesting that everyone has ignored the economic populism in his speech. He correctly pointed out that racial, class, gender divisions only serve the corporations who want to distract us while they continue to threaten our livelihoods, exploit our labor, and destroy the planet. This is the real issue. Patriotism is just one big distraction.
The Dems are in a really bad place right now. We need to reframe the whole patriotism issue. I actually think Obama is in a better place to do it than HRC, because he has the intelligence and rhetorical skills to pull it off ... at least enough to win the election. HRC will just try the whole Republicanlite scheme, which didn't work for John Kerry. She just tries to beat them at their game, which is impossible.
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@ saintzak
ACtually, I think the point of the essay is that our politics and society have themselves become religious.
The essay is about what might be called the cult of nationalism.
It's not organized religion per se that's the problem, but rather setting up idols where none need be set up.
The essay is about "religious" (more precisely, idolatrous) behavior in the secular sphere.
Does that make sense?
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Hail, President McCain
Mr. Kamiya may be correct in saying that McCain may well be elected president. Republicans, it seems, is still an exclusionary party and those who wear that label must also adhere to their dogma no matter how wrong they may be. Democrats are inclusive, and hence the fractionalizing within the party.
The Rev. Wright said nothing that was erroneous. American has layed its eggs of terrror and manipulation all around the world. Those eggs have hatched and the chickens have come home to roost.
I served in the military from 1964 through 1968 and saw firsthand America's "policies" inflicted overseas. I am a patriot, but I am not blind to the warts and wrinkles of America. I have lived in 3 foreign countries and in half the states in our union. I would not trade places with anyone outside our borders. Loving my country means wanting to see the best features rise to the top. This will not happen if we blindly accept and condone all behaviors.
I took an oath when I entered the military. With hand raised I uttered my commitment to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The Bush administration, with the consent of Congress, chose to violate the Constitution and rendered it a meaningless parchment written a long time ago.
I still believe that the American experiment can survive, but it will take an honest appraisal of where we are and what we truly believe before we can say where we will be going.
To those who believe that Barack Obama is unproven on the international field of experience, I agree. However, what he gives is hope. He paints a picture of a brighter future where America lives up to its ideal in the world and regains the worlds admiration and trust.
During these disasterous years of the Bush presidency I almost lost hope. America was no longer governed by and for the people but by a small cabal of secretive men who do not let trivialities such as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights get in their way. It is time to retake the government and to let America be the beacon on a hill.