Comments on: Episode 20: The Word Assassins

By: Alan Smithee

Alan Smithee — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 13:38:44 +0000

Great. One moment your recycling rightwing bullshit about Cockburn being a “stalinist” and the next your mocking rightwingers for being stuck in the Cold War era. I just looove that kind of faux-liberal demo-wingnut reasoning. What’s next? Blaming Ralph Nader for the Iraq war? Bwa!

By: Again

Again — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 08:29:30 +0000

hizzhoner

I don’t know if we can turn back.

why would you want to go back? Going back means back to the same state you started with - after Nixon America should have learnt how aristocrats think and how steadily (Episode 5 “The “Man” Behind The Curtain”) and secretly they operate to able to destroy democracy

but America didn’t want to see it (Episode 22 “It couldn’t happen here, right? Not here. Not in America . . .”)

and so she wasn’t armed to defend herself against Bush, Cheney and Rove

you must not go back - e.g. you must learn that a president (a single person!) cannot be allowed - under no circumstances - to bypass any law, because bypassing the lawmakers means bypassing the separation of powers, one of the basic foundations of a democracy

America must learn that even “bypassing laws” must be done by the lawmakers - under the one and only condition of strictly well defined “interfaces” in the “bypassed laws”

America must learn that it isn’t enough to have laws - each modern totalitarian nation had laws - you must have laws at least “touching justice” and so you must do something like “ILM” for laws - “simple” laws may be unprotected against violation, but “important” laws should never ever be changed without an overwhelming majority

and some - like the guarantee for the human dignity - must be protected against anything and anybody

By: hizzhoner

hizzhoner — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 23:53:29 +0000

My former neighbor, who has gone completely “snowbird” on me and will never return to the land of ice and snow, used to take particular pleasure in taunting our neighbors at cookouts by asking “Who’s day is it to be the CRAZY NEIGHBORHOOD LIBERAL?”

We actually reached a point where our most ardent Right Wing neighbors would actually debate the issues and ask questions about the issues. I fear those days are gone now because the neighbor is gone and several other RW neighbors have become so defensive about the policies of GW Bush that rational discussion is no longer possible. I am saddened by the fact that the the great right wing “wurlitzer” has “upped the ante” in the debate. They cannot admit they were or are wrong on any issue. They must defend the personality cult of GWB at all costs and that means that “liberals” must be villanized beyond anything we have seen in the past.

The polarization is complete.

I don’t know if we can turn back.

hizzhoner

By: alwayshope

alwayshope — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 19:31:23 +0000

I am a proud liberal and thank you for asking.
And ,man, I love the bit about Cockburn! I wrote a very angry letter to him about 4 years ago. He fired back a hateful e-mail in which he called me “a silly girl”. That day my computer melted. I have no proof, I’m just saying, it was strange.
Another reason I liked this post: confession time for me; My Mom turned me into a Cubs fan from the cradle. I own a copy (hardback) of George Will’s “Men at Work”. If only he knew that one of the unwashed masses and a tree-huggin liberal he loves to hate, actually paid money and enjoyed his book. Of course, It wouldn’t surprise him, he thinks everyone should worship at his vocabulary anyway.
And “words are easier to assassinate than ideas”
You are so right. We shouldn’t be playing this war of words, we should turn it into a war of ideas.