tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post1155501096313996572..comments2024-03-28T12:50:25.792-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: PITCHING HORSESHOESRobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-20014261352706404152013-08-03T17:30:13.238-04:002013-08-03T17:30:13.238-04:00I too was a devoted antiwar.com reader from 2001 t...I too was a devoted antiwar.com reader from 2001 to probably 2006. What I now see that I failed to be alarmed by was the antiwar libertarians' willingness to cater to white supremacists and other bigots (in retrospect there were signs of this in the site's editorials all along). This flaw is an inexcusable one and renders them toxic from the point of view of anyone whom bigotry might harm. <br /><br />And at the end of the day, can we really trust that someone like Rand Paul will prove to be as devoted to civil rights and peace as he claims? He is already quite willing to deny abortion rights, make life more difficult for the children of immigrants, shame homosexuals, and make other authoritarian gestures. One is reminded of Lysander Spooner who "hated" slavery, but even more than that hated all workable methods of ending slavery, and who instead chose as his life's work the destruction of the US Postal Service. Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14943136764424893492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-59716640763836114672013-07-30T22:13:17.908-04:002013-07-30T22:13:17.908-04:00There is a typo in the title of your post: you hav...There is a typo in the title of your post: you have "Ptiching" for "Pitching"David Gordonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03491884384604322669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-72481792935800888842013-07-30T22:12:56.921-04:002013-07-30T22:12:56.921-04:00There is a typo in the title of your post: you hav...There is a typo in the title of your post: you have "Ptiching" for "Pitching"David Gordonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03491884384604322669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-9439866225531277992013-07-30T20:17:34.680-04:002013-07-30T20:17:34.680-04:00I am afraid in this I have to agree with Chris.
I...I am afraid in this I have to agree with Chris.<br /><br />I'm not an American citizen or resident, neither am I knowledgeable about the intricacies of American politics, so I apologize if I offend or say something stupider than usual, but I had, clearly naively, placed great hopes in Obama.<br /><br />And, let's be clear, when I say great hopes I don't mean I expected the revolution from him. No.<br /><br />What I expected was a more progressive stance on race relations or immigration; towards international relations or security. God, at least closing bloody Guantanamo. You know, the kind of thing that don't really touch the pockets of our (and his) masters.<br /><br />Not even that.Magpiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07528637318288802178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-36033469657658003622013-07-30T09:20:38.267-04:002013-07-30T09:20:38.267-04:00If you want a broader analysis by an authority on ...If you want a broader analysis by an authority on the matter, check out Jeremy Scahill at Socialism 2013:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWOPhmYr-mcChrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08250295324149056708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-44138952942357731572013-07-30T09:10:12.513-04:002013-07-30T09:10:12.513-04:00Wolff,
The following is 100% false:
"The sec...Wolff,<br />The following is 100% false:<br /><br />"The second difference is that although we now have a genuinely more progressive administration in office which is a good deal more cautious about the use of military force abroad, it has embraced and extended the surveillance state of its predecessor in ways that it will be extremely difficult to roll back."<br /><br />I'm just going to list off a few things I can remember off the top of my head:<br /><br />1. Supported the NDAA bill which allows for the indefinite detention of Americans.<br />2. Hid the NSA roving surveillance from Americans until Snowden brought it to light.<br />3. Forced Evo Morales to land his plane in Austria in search of Snowden.<br />4. Left Bradley Manning locked in a one room cell without any contact for extended periods of time (the UN called this torture).<br />5. Sent Manning to trial for life charges, and didn't prosecute the murderers in Iraq that Manning revealed in his video leak.<br />6. Has used the espionage act more times, and prosecuted more whistle blowers than all previous administrations combined.<br />7. Keeps Guantanamo open and force feeds prisoners, even though something like 70% of them are cleared for leave.<br />8. Has used more drone strikes in the first few months in office than Bush ever did.<br />9. Redefined all MALES in a strike zone as "enemy combatants", therefore making himself as Cornel West said, the Geroge Zimmermen of foreign policy.<br />10. Killed three American citizens without due process, one of whom was 16 years old. ZERO evidence has been produced to suggest that he was guilty of ANYTHING 'anti-american.'<br />11. Obama has us involved in numerous "dirty wars" across the globe, including in regions never reported on like Somalia and Yemen.<br />12. Drastically set a new precedent for the war powers act when he invaded Libya, which has officially made Congress's voice on all future wars moot - so long as the precedent stands.<br />13. Fought tooth and nail to keep troops in Iraq up until the final moment SOFA was enacted. Ironically it turned out that the Bush policy (SOFA) is what got us out of iraq, against the wishes of the Obama administration.<br />14. He drastically expanded the war in Afghanistan.<br />15. The Defense Budget has gone up under him.<br /><br />As Jeremy Scahill said, when it comes to foreign policy, Obama has out Cheneyed the Cheneys.<br /><br />That list could go longer, but it gets the point across.<br /><br />Obama is not a progressive. He's not "more progressive" than Bush. If anything he's taken the Bush and Cheney wet dreams, and made them a reality.<br /><br />Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08250295324149056708noreply@blogger.com