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Pardon My Laughter - Watching the US Presidential Primaries in Canada
News Type: Opinion — Seeded on Wed Jan 9, 2008 12:38 PM EST
Article Source: counterpunch.org
"Americans are the only people I know who believe their own propaganda."
--Deborah Eisenberg, American writer
I think relatively few observers appreciate the severe limits of America's 18th-century Constitution, the document shaping offices which so many now scramble to fill. Change does not come easily, no matter how eloquent the speeches, how worthy the promises, or how great the need. It would be easier to raise the Titanic intact than to make one authentic change of consequence in America.
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| The Coffee House | Politics and News Discussion Forum | jakekallis | Mon Jan 7 | 0 | |
 | Bill Clinton Targets Media Coverage of Obama | CNN | Tue Jan 8 | 59 |
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What are we, Barbarians?
Apparently. I wish I could take exception to 90% of this article but I really can't.
I'm afraid the only thing to do is invade Canada.
I know faust,
My first response was "Damn Canadians", until I realized he was absolutely right on. It's a very sad commentary on the American Political Process, how gullible the public has become, being so easily managed by TV Marketers.
Yeah right!
If you can't handle Iraq or Afghanistan (and they live IN CAVES!), how the hell do you think you could win in Canada?
Iraqi's can blow up your tanks...and they don't even have Home Depot's over there!
There is a saying in Canada by the Military...1 Canadian soldier is worth 3 Americans.
Come on up Yank...and say good bye to the Baldwins! LOL
phree,
I wouldn't want to try, I've seen hockey....;)
Hamid:
Glad to see this seed. When I go to work, I see this absurd response, by so many delusional, uninformed public, thanks to the corporate media and their inability to think through history and ideology. "Change", "experience", are used between two corporate thugs, anointed by the corporate media, Obama and Hillary. Yet when I ask them what is change, and what is experience, these know nothing sterile abstract non thinkers, cannot come up with real concrete political analysis. No wonder politics in America is all about the United States of Amnesia, cluesless about impeachment, criminal war threats against both Iraq, and Iran, and clueless about anti war candidates who have been filtered out, from Ron, to Kucinich. Idiot culture in Amerika.
Yep Eric,
We know Newspeak when we hear it. Change actually means status quo, experience, well for Hillary, means I slept with Bill Clinton for 8 years in the White House. Yeah, I'm sure she got lots of foreign policy experience that way. Most people, like robots, hear the words from the candidates, then accept it blindly, they've been indoctrinated well Eric...
That corrupt, "bourgeois" class feminist, Gloria Steinahm, moaning about the inability of women to put their version of Colin Powell in drag, or in a skirt, is typical of what is wrong with both liberal class whores, and conservative class thugs. It is not about women or minorities in power, when in fact it is about class whores, and class thugs being power. Colin Powell already went down in flames being a class thug for Amerikan Empire and his lies in the U.S. Gloria Steinham thinks that substituting a white boy network serving class criminals, with criminal corrupt feminsits like Hillary Clinton is a real choice. NOT!!!!!!!!!!
Golria Steinham needs to talk to feminists, civil rights activists who do not sell their soul to imperialists, corporate thugs. She is a joke. A liberal class whore.
Phree,
LOL, thanks for the laugh today, my comment was meant as a joke obviously. I love Canadians! I live right across the border. By the way, I'm always up for a good fist fight if you're up to it, I'll buy the first pint after I pick your ass up off the ground!
As an aside, you actually want the Baldwins?
As long as it's Canadian Beer!
Canadians hate Baldwins, haven't you seen South Park? ;)
Not really into South Park, no time. Perhaps we could offer up the Baldwins as a peace offering (do with them as you will)?
Canadian beer is fine, but perhaps I should buy it down here and bring it up there as I understand it's a lot cheaper that way.
But you can't get the 9.6 alc/vol down in the states.. you need to go to Canada to get some Molson XXX.
Canadian beer is like moonshine!
Wow, now that's beer, not the watered down gorilla piss in the States...
Hamid:
In Amerika they think that participation in imperial and class corrupt corporate policies equals "experience" MORONS!!!!!! In Amerika they think that hope for change while the guy, Obama supports fascist foreign policies, is all about truth??? NOT, MORONS???? What does it take for people to think beyond the superficial liberal and conservative class paarameters, which is no real alternative, but phony democracy, phony debates, and phony alternatives.
Good posts Eric, but you really gotta stop this:
or is there a good reason for the misspelling?
Also, great seed Hamid, although I would have liked to hear his opinion of Paul and Kucinich despite how irrelevant they are since clearly they aren't going to win...which is why I'm guessing he didn't bother to mention them.
Schwab,
Yeah, I think that's the really sad reality of this campaign. Kucinich, Paul, and Gravel got virtually no press or debate coverage leading, of course, to their poor performances at the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire primary. The media is now the "Decider" determining which candidates we, the people, get to know about. They're now in the business of influencing elections, apparently.
They have the balls to speak truth. If ever there was evidence of media bias, this is it. You would think it would be bigger news for the press to cover these guys and what they have to say... shake the tree so to speak. So much for free press and democracy, we've lost both somewhere down the line.
Eric, I love to read your comments, but I would really love it of you would right an open letter about what you think the citizens of the United States need to do to get out from under the "class whores, and corporate fascists". Since it's obvious you don't think we can do so simply by continuing to vote and and participate in local government.
It's not that I disagree with you, but your comments entice me to learn more about how you feel we can rectify the horribly decayed state of our country/government/political process.
. Written by a bachelor,no doubt, an any intelligent wife has a great deal to do with her husbands decisions....be it business decisions or if he' a politician, political decisions.
Anyone who thinks that because she does not demand credit, that she had no part in it...is sleeping.
An most likely sleeping....... alone.
I get the sense he's right on with Edwards as well. Play the system and go back and bite the hand that fed you so well over the years.
The thing that gets me is there are a lot of smart people in this country, liberal and conservative... but for everyone of them there are ten that can't see past their hood ornament.
I agree faust, and Tom below makes the point well. We won't see any real change until things get painful at home, when it hits them in their own living room. And for Edwards, I've been liking his anti-corporation stance lately, but the author makes a good point, he negotiates with them as much as he fought them. I keep telling people that if we keep voting for the wealthy, they're going to keep protecting the wealthy. The fact that they're running and getting attention from the media means they've already been vetted and approved by the corporate establishment...
Faust, liberal and conservative ideologues, are class apologists, corporate apologists, imperial apologists, false choices.
when you're comfortable, as so many Americans are, there's no incentive to make an effort to discern propaganda from truth.
Right on Tom,
Ignorance (and comfort) is bliss. It will take some sort of all encompassing event to bring about real change in America. As long as there's food on the table and the mortgage is getting paid, and 300+ channels on TV, we're placated as a country. It's such a shame, we could be so much better...
Tom:
So were the German Nazis....comfortable and stupid.
Hamid:
When the dollar drops, the empire crumbles, and foreign troops invade and occupy us, then will we wake up????
Eric,
I'm pretty sure you meant the "Good Nazis", before the Newsvine Nazi's chime in....;)
Yes, Hamid...turn the screw into these imperial liberal apologists....completely clueless.!!!!
i have the sneaking suspection i'm one comment away from being compared to Hitler.
is there a "six degrees of separation" for Hitler references? something like All comments on the Internet are no more than three comments away from being linked to Hitler.
(there should be)
LOLcats
Hmm, give the Loonie a good year and people get cocky.
On the whole, the American experiment is my cup of tea. To some of our other discussions here on Newsvine, propaganda is sponsored disinformation disguised as unsposored information. At the end of the day, America is far from living up to its ideals, but at least it has them. I'd rather have the sometimes violent and inefficient American system than a system that takes few chances.
Like Quebec, I suppose? :o)
Here's one excerpt from the column that caused the old ears to ring:
Following that rather flawed logic, wouldn't Bush and his entire crew be long gone by now? Or is he insinuating that only positive change puts leaders in crosshairs?
To rhodezone's point, for better or worse Bush exerted enormous change on America. Johnson exerted enourmous change. Reagan exerted enormous change. FDR exerted enormous change. Lincoln exerted enormous change.
What enormous change on the world or Canada has been exerted by the Canadian system of government?
When you get ol' Bess of your coins please come to us and talk about the willingness to change.
rhodezone,
What the author was referring to was change from corporate fealty on the part of the president. Bush has been extremely good to lobbyists as part of his "Leave No Lobbyist Behind" program. For example, the oil industry with record breaking profits are still getting billions of dollars of tax breaks (Welfare). He also privatized the Medicare prescription program which is causing tremendous grief to many seniors. Heck, he's even privatizing the military with companies like Blackwater. I could go on, but I'm sure you get the point.
That's the biggy in my book right there. Where do congressmen go to work after they leave office? To work for the buddies that kept them in office in first place. It's about the club, and hey 99.9% of America is not a member.
It's the land of opportunity, there are lot less attractive places to live, run a business, raise a family, but we have to face the fact that we use most of the world's resources to keep our bloated lifestyles from dissipating. That means controlling the world's resources. Who can do that better than huge corporations in collusion with big government?
Well as much as I'd like to muse at the idiocy of Americans. I would like to this opportunity to correct some very poignant stereotypes being perpetuated by this thread. First and foremost, Americans are not dumb nor lazy. To think that would be a grave underestimation of the majority of Americans. However I would concede our younger generations, and how we're perceived internationally adds some merit to the claims of the lethargic ignorance of the American public. But to write off America as some sort of one minded Borg colony (star trek reference, yes I did it). Is nonsensical, and wrong. America produces the best, scientists, businessmen/women, actors, musicians, Olympians, politics, and soldiers.
When the world has been in disarray it has been largely because of America that it has not fallen apart. Think of Europe with out America? Where would it be? Think of Canada where would Canada be? I think that the article for which this topic was seeded. Largely mocks the American public, and perpetuates the authors pet ideas of what "Democrats" are great. The fact of the matter is this --- America is above anything, complicated. No one man or woman will by their lonesome change anything. It takes a well coordinated effort and the publics will to successfully get thins done. The simple idea of national health care, and economic redistribution are hard ideas to sell, not because they don't feel good to think about. But because the people know better, than to believe in dreams with out means. America is not Switzerland, Britain, or Canada. We have HUGE land borders, and an enormous mass of populous which in comparison to our larger rivals in terms of numbers India, China, Indonesia, and Brazil. Compare those nations to our standard of living and America is at a much better standard of living. We can't expect the same management styles in other foreign nations of smaller numbers to work here. It is like asking a school teacher to manage a country when you compare some of those small European powers to the size of the United States. Remember who is your ally? Because war is always a bomb, explosion, assassination, or land violation away. Sincerely,
The Whiz