BS: Palin quotes are a hoax

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Riginslinger
Date: 14 Nov 08 - 10:30 AM

Just using that for an example, Charley:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: pdq
Date: 14 Nov 08 - 10:59 AM

"...You've never been in any danger of getting even a slightly left wing president..."

The United States is not a breeding ground for revoltionary Marxists because people can go up or down in wealth and social position with few (if any) restrictions. The usual structure with a small class of rich and powerful and a much larger class of poor (often hopelss) workers is the norm throughout most of the world. Still found in Dicken's books, I guess. In Mexico, most of South America, Saudia Arabia (list is almost endless) there are a few families who are pre-determined to own the businesses and make the politcal decisions. In the US, people who start with very little like Bill Gates, Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, several members of the Walton family, Barbara Sreisand, all four Beatles (at least, at this time, their estates), and many others are billionaires and have a powerful influence on the lives of others.

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Riginslinger
Date: 14 Nov 08 - 11:12 AM

"...several members of the Walton family,..."


             I think you can only say that about Sam--all of the rest of them were heirs of his.

             And that picture is changing. Since the election of Reagan, the divide between rich and poor has grown hugely.

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: CarolC
Date: 14 Nov 08 - 11:27 AM

At this point in history, the US is actually worse than India in terms of income disparity.

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Donuel
Date: 14 Nov 08 - 11:28 AM

Its not a hoax

its god's will.

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: PoppaGator
Date: 14 Nov 08 - 05:02 PM

pdq ~ The Beatles are hardly examples of social mobility "in the US."

I'm very surprised that anyone involved with Mudcat would ever think such a thing, let along write it!

(For those not in the know: the Fab Four were/are citizens of the UK, not the US ~ from Liverpool, England, as a matter of fact.)

And to address your larger point: the fact that certain members of our society's tiny economic elite came from humble origins may demonstrate that no one is automatically excluded from the very limited number of opportunites for exceptional wealth, but has no bearing at all upon the unquestioned fact that we are experiencing a growing gap between a tiny class of the super-rich, and the vast majority of citizens who have become accustomed to "middle-class" status, but who are in actuality paycheck-to-paycheck working class, and getting poorer every day.

A thriving economy can only exist where most people can buy stuff. When unbridled greed has allowed the most overprivileged to grab up all the goodies for themselves, and the rest of us are left with little or no "disposable income," it hurts everyone. To reverse an old cliche, even the bad have to suffer with the good.

Back to Sarah:

I'm a little surprised at Joe Offer "giving her a pass" and accepting that she is truly more knowledgeable than generally acknowledged. I have heard and read enough of her airheaded talk to believe without a doubt that she is entirely innocent of a great deal of very basic knowledge that I learned in grade school, or learned outside of school during childhood from reading books and newspapers, looking at maps, etc.

What is scariest about her, to my mind, is not the right-wing platitudes that she repeats without truly understanding what the hell she's talking about. I mean, she recites the approved doctrine that she is "against socialism" while at the same time distributing fat oil-royalty checks to every Alaskan citizen, much in the same manner that she declares herself opposed to "Washington lobbying" and "earmarks" despite having been the nation's most successful small-town mayor in acquiring pork for little Wasilla ~ because she hired a Washington lobbying firm!

In other words, her mouthing of the right-wing platitudes she has been taught by rote does not mean that she will carry out conservative policies.

No, what is scary about Sarah is that she has absolutely no shame about her ignorance, never exhibiting the slightest self-doubt, even when she should stop and consider her uncritical sentiments before blabbing them out as though they were solidly established facts. This unjustifiable self-assurance is the main reason she always projects an air of conviction, no matter what kind of crap she is putting out. The effect upon any listener who doesn't already know more about a given subject than Palin does is to make such a listener much too likely to believe everything that comes out of her mouth.

Her massive self-confidence is at the very bottom of what makes her so magnetically attractive. It is not only unfortunate, but dangerous, that this political "strength" of hers makes her:
~ less likely than a normal person to stop and think, and to learn something new; and
~ very likely, and exceptionally able, to convince large numbers of followers of just about anything that she accepts as true.

And, oh yeah, Joe: do you really believe that attendance at a sequence of way-too-many backwater community colleges guarantees that a "student" will learn even one-tenth of the wisdom and knowledge that you acquired from those Jesuits?

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Riginslinger
Date: 15 Nov 08 - 07:30 AM

"No, what is scary about Sarah is that she has absolutely no shame about her ignorance,..."


                   That pretty much describes the basic personality of a politician, any politician.

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Genie
Date: 15 Nov 08 - 07:10 PM

Look, to this day there are millions if not billions of people who think Al Gore claimed to have invented the internet and that Howard Dean let out a wild and crazy scream SOLO (i.e., without a crowd cheering and screaming with him as loudly). Why? Because once these myths and myth-understandings get "out there" in the media, hardly any of our "journalists" bother trying to disabuse the public of their false beliefs.   (I mean, it's far more important to have some good jokes to pass around than for the electorate to be fully and accurately informed - right?)

Although some people on the "left" whom I respect are guilty of gullibly (and gleefully) spreading the ridiculous idea that Palin didn't realize Africa is a continent (C'mon, REALLY?), such misrepresentation of the mean-mouthed and mendacious Palin is trivial compared to accusing of VP Gore of being so delusional as to try to take credit for inventing the technology of the internet.   
(In the case of Gore's statement and Dean's "scream," the press all along had the actual transcript and/or video that revealed the truth.   In the case of what Palin may or may not have said about Africa, we have no such original source for corroboration or refutation.)

What I'd really like would be for the press to do their jobs and quit trying so hard to find "juicy" stories or be comedians.    Let them show ALL such hoaxes, misrepresentations, and false accusations to be just that.

G

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 06:28 AM

""I had no idea he'd do all the stupid things he did. I don't know why that wouldn't be possible on the other side.""


WHAT other side, Rig??

You have an extreme right wing party, and a moderate right wing party.

You wouldn't recognise a REAL left winger if he bit you in the arse.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Riginslinger
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 08:46 AM

Don - I was talking about Ronald Reagan. And I would agree with you analogy of the two major parties, but if you take a coin and flip it way out into right field, it still has two sides, right?

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: CarolC
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 09:18 AM

Two sides like this?

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: akenaton
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 10:23 AM

Good post Genie, I agree with most of that.

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Alice
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 11:19 AM

Palin herself showed her confusion about a country called Africa (not South Africa) when she stated this:

"If there are allegations based on questions or comments that I made in debate prep about NAFTA, and about the continent vs. the country when we talk about Africa there, then those were taken out of context."

There is no "country" of Africa there - or anywhere.

Even though a 'source' name now is proven to be a fake name, that does not change the fact that Palin herself thinks there is a country called Africa based on her own statement.

LISTEN TO HER OWN WORDS IN THIS INTERVIEW
She still seems to think there is a country called Africa.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws3pagGP158

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Genie
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 12:17 PM

Alice, George W Bush once remarked that "Africa is a very big country," but I don't for one minute believe that he really didn't realize Africa is a continent and includes such countries as Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.    Just as, when Joe Biden quipped that President FDR, back in 1929, after the stock market crash, got on TV to talk to the American people ... , I have no doubt he knows that FDR wasn't President in 1929 and that he addressed the nation on radio (since TV hadn't been developed for consumer use while he was in office).
Sometimes the mouth gets ahead of the brain and people say dumb things which they KNOW are wrong, if they reflect for a moment.    No need to make a Federal case over it.

Palin may well have been confused about what many of the African countries ARE. Maybe she thought there was a country called "Africa" within the continent, sort of like we in the US refer to our part of "North America" as "America" and within the US we have both a "Virginia" and a "West Virginia."   Who knows?   But she does have a high school diploma, in addition to her bachelor's, and most kids learn basic geography in grade school.

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Alice
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 12:25 PM

It's a moot point, but Palin showed in this and many other ways that she is just as inarticulate and ignorant as George W. Bush has shown himself to be.

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Alice
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 12:36 PM

and yes, I already knew about Bush and his Africa quote.

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 01:46 PM

Look, to this day there are millions if not billions of people who think Al Gore claimed to have invented the internet and that Howard Dean let out a wild and crazy scream SOLO (i.e., without a crowd cheering and screaming with him as loudly). Why? Because once these myths and myth-understandings get "out there" in the media, hardly any of our "journalists" bother trying to disabuse the public of their false beliefs.

People who believe lies like those are believing them because they want to believe them. And they choose to believe the media outlets which confirm what they want to believe. You can only be "disabused" of false beliefs if you are willing to be.

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Barry Finn
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 06:12 PM

Here in New England we consider Texas to be a part of South America & from where we stand we don't usually like to see it from here either, We're rethinking our position though with the loss of Tom DeLay.

It's not jus the one comment Sara made reguarding Africa, it's her disdain for the educated, the attempt at dumbing down intelligence & her constant show of her own lack of worldy knowledge & common sense, even though she was 'some educated'. She turned out to be a buffoon. "I'll have to get back to you on that, Katie"!

Barry

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: Genie
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 10:01 PM

Right on, Barry.

The problem with Palin is not so much that her education might need updating and upgrading as that she openly displays and encourages contempt for education, science, and even articulate speech as "elitist" and therefore, somehow, "not really American."

Genie

Subject: RE: BS: Palin quotes are a hoax
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 11:11 PM

Joe:
"Aw, CamiSu, give Palin some credit. She's bright, articulate, and moderately sexy. "

Sexy is a matter of taste, but as to the rest...what are you gonna believe? Me or your lyin' eyes?" If one can give any credence to
William of Occam, she's a mush-mouthed ignoramus.