November 2008
“Obama isn’t President yet and he already seems to be running the show. Thank...”
– Sarah Palin, sit down and shut the hell up! (via feedly)
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Torture and the Problem of Statelessness
The argument against torture, at its most basic level, has never been that terror suspects necessarily should be granted the full Constitutional rights of American citizens (the answer and extent are different, and later, questions), but that we grant them basic status as human beings. Basic status as human beings: this is distinct from the concept of universal human rights. It is not a statement...
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“When I read an American use the meaningless euphemism - “under coercive...”
– “Under Coercive Conditions”
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Now, granted, there are some Christians on the lunatic fringe who take their beliefs a little too far. Take my coworker Karen, for example. She’s way off the deep end when it comes to religion: going down to the homeless shelter to volunteer once a month, donating money to the poor, visiting elderly shut-ins with the Meals on Wheels program—you name it!
But believe me, we’re not all...
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I’m not gay. I don’t have gay friends or family. This isn’t about homosexuality. This is about civil rights. I attended the rally in Portland, ME (no pictures, sorry) with my wife and 4 year old son. A lovely older gay woman in the crowd thanked me for coming, and I thanked her right back. I don’t support gay marriage as a favor to gays, and I’m not owned anything for...
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To this day, the willingness of a Wall Street investment bank to pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars to dispense investment advice to grownups remains a mystery to me. I was 24 years old, with no experience of, or particular interest in, guessing which stocks and bonds would rise and which would fall. The essential function of Wall Street is to allocate capital—to decide who should get it and...
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“The election of Barack Obama is an historic moment for our country. There are a...”
– George Bush
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Politics, properly considered
Politics, properly considered, has limited aims. Attempts to use it to create heaven on earth, whether motivated by secular or religious thinking, usually backfire. Fortunately, most practical people realize this. We should be looking to build political bridges across moral divides by lowering the temperature of such debates, and keeping our expectations of what politics can accomplish...
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Ha ha ha, it was bad enough learning that “super-nigger” was elected prezzy, but you guys found out what kind of allies you had thanks to Prop 8, huh? All your little marxist jiggerboos come out to the pols to vote for Osama bin Nigger, and they ALSO voted down faggot weddings! Ha ha ha at least ONE thing went right election night, and you fucking queers are stuck with a whack-o coalition and some...
In a sane world, Palin would be a plaintiff on Judge Judy - and not potentially vice-president of the United States. And Judge Judy would have been a lot better at sussing her out than the national press corps.
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (November 06, 2008) - Dissent Of The Day
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It’s not that Barack Obama is black, some sort of token. It’s not that he squeaked by on some perverse affirmative action program. In fact, very early the whole issue of race dropped out. Barack Obama is president because, in these times, America finally recognized that we don’t need a president that we want to have a beer with. We need on bright enough to solve the problems of the presidents...
“Anyone who does care should be getting ready to vote against this humiliating...”
– John McCain’s appalling attack on Rashid Khalidi. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine
“We witnessed from him this year something unique in American politics: He took...”
– Peggy Noonan: Obama and the Runaway Train
