Sorry, In a Foul Mood
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
So, NPR, the paragon of fine journalistic reporting that it is recently aired a bit of info on Ayn Rand. As to be expected it is about as balanced as a lopsided watermelon, and as factual as calling Obama a Marxist.
Driving home from work last night my thoughts were largely focused on the circus that American politics {and governance} has become. That and the fact politicians, lawmakers, bloggers, think tanks, and yes, what is considered the main stream media have lost sight of the need to present accurate data and unbiased reporting. Somehow this seems to have given way to the 30 second sound bite and two minute read.
What has become a pet peeves of late is the political label game. The use of political labels has grown so commonplace they are rapidly becoming meaningless. Sure labels save time, but the downside is they quite often don't represent the truth. Especially when the label is attached to a person or a complex concept.
Political labels distract from active thinking and allow for disengaging from truthful and meaningful thought and or dialogue. Labels do come in handy however for those who like to do a quick stereotyping of a political figure or concept they don't like or agree with. Generally political labels are designed to give a negative impression of a person or concept. This is especially true in today's political jungle with its shallowness and lack of critical thinking.
Democrats and Republicans alike share the blame for voter dissatisfaction and the present disdain for our political and economic systems. With Congresses approval rating at 13% can there be any doubt as to the accuracy this statement?
Yet rather than focusing on the problems confronting the nation with a razor determination to find 21st century solutions to the 21st century problems of a global economy we continue to remain satisfied with tossing about terms and concepts wrapped in meaningless little labels so one or the other party can remain in power.
It is easier to vilify Ayn Rand, Barrack Obama, Ron Paul, or any other bogeyman (women) that suits the political thirst for power than it is to truly attempt to understand the depth of their thinking, determine how to best utilize the positives and solve the very real shared problems that face us all..
Ayn Rand would turn over in her grave if she saw how NPR misrepresented her philosophy. Just as Karl Marx would in his grave if he saw how The Cato Institute misrepresented him with their reference to the gulag.
We can all agree that honest disagreement is a healthy thing, and the attempt to influence the thinking of others is okay. We should also agree that the data used in the dialogue should have basis in fact, not faith or blind ideology.
Via: Memeorandum
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
So, NPR, the paragon of fine journalistic reporting that it is recently aired a bit of info on Ayn Rand. As to be expected it is about as balanced as a lopsided watermelon, and as factual as calling Obama a Marxist.
Driving home from work last night my thoughts were largely focused on the circus that American politics {and governance} has become. That and the fact politicians, lawmakers, bloggers, think tanks, and yes, what is considered the main stream media have lost sight of the need to present accurate data and unbiased reporting. Somehow this seems to have given way to the 30 second sound bite and two minute read.
What has become a pet peeves of late is the political label game. The use of political labels has grown so commonplace they are rapidly becoming meaningless. Sure labels save time, but the downside is they quite often don't represent the truth. Especially when the label is attached to a person or a complex concept.
Political labels distract from active thinking and allow for disengaging from truthful and meaningful thought and or dialogue. Labels do come in handy however for those who like to do a quick stereotyping of a political figure or concept they don't like or agree with. Generally political labels are designed to give a negative impression of a person or concept. This is especially true in today's political jungle with its shallowness and lack of critical thinking.
Democrats and Republicans alike share the blame for voter dissatisfaction and the present disdain for our political and economic systems. With Congresses approval rating at 13% can there be any doubt as to the accuracy this statement?
Yet rather than focusing on the problems confronting the nation with a razor determination to find 21st century solutions to the 21st century problems of a global economy we continue to remain satisfied with tossing about terms and concepts wrapped in meaningless little labels so one or the other party can remain in power.
It is easier to vilify Ayn Rand, Barrack Obama, Ron Paul, or any other bogeyman (women) that suits the political thirst for power than it is to truly attempt to understand the depth of their thinking, determine how to best utilize the positives and solve the very real shared problems that face us all..
Ayn Rand would turn over in her grave if she saw how NPR misrepresented her philosophy. Just as Karl Marx would in his grave if he saw how The Cato Institute misrepresented him with their reference to the gulag.
We can all agree that honest disagreement is a healthy thing, and the attempt to influence the thinking of others is okay. We should also agree that the data used in the dialogue should have basis in fact, not faith or blind ideology.
Via: Memeorandum
Actually, US Senator from Colorado, Michael Bennet, gave a presentation on Congress's horrid approval rating. It's not 14%, it's 9%, and lower than the approval rating of BP, the IRS, and communism.
ReplyDeleteLet that sink in: Communism is more popular with the American people than is Congress!
As the American people watch while Congress protects the very wealthiest and the most powerful among us at the expense of those who have less and less of the American dream, Congress's approval rating will go down to zero.
Meanwhile, where are the jobs John Boehner promised us last November when the GOP took over the House???
I don't think anyone at NPR is smart enough to accurately analyze and coherently articulate the pros and cons of Rand's philosophy.
ReplyDelete@Shaw,
ReplyDeleteYou said:
"Meanwhile, where are the jobs John Boehner promised us last November when the GOP took over the House???"
They are in the same place with all the jobs and economic health that Obama promised the Nation three years ago.
Obama trumps Boehner.
Hope and Change, indeed.
It's kind of like those idiots at "Rolling Stone" reviewing a Joni Mitchell record. Certain things just shouldn't be done by certain people.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteInstead of trying to one-up people with schoolyard tactics, how about addressing the fact that Congress's approval has fallen off the cliff and the fact that that means the American people have no respect for a Republican led House and a Democratic led Senate. the Republicans in Congress have done nothing to move this country forward, and have refused to work with this president to solve America's very difficult economic policies.
ReplyDeleteWhen George Bush was the president, he did not face such a uncooperative House and Senate. Democrats voted with the Republicans during the Bush administration [see his Tax Cuts voted in in 2001 and the Iraq War resolution--two important issues], but the Republicans, once Mr. Obama was in office, ended bipartisanship and any hope of digging this country out of the mess it has been heading toward for the past 30 years.
This economic tragedy did not start on January 20, 2009. It was a long time coming due to the incompetence on the part of the GOP and the Dems.
@Shaw,
ReplyDeleteHistory lesson time:
When Obama took office, or His Throne to you, Congress had a Republican minority. Like, in a bad way. The Socialists didn't need the Republicans for anything, they had a total majority.
Your 111th Socialist-led Congress was hardly bi-partisan. Those arrogant Socialists strutted about like the pigs from Animal Farm, and the GOP was rendered helpless. Your side coined the term "Party of No", referring to the GOP, when it didn't matter if the GOP voted no or not.
Blaming Bush is simply an admission of YOUR failures.
"When Obama took office, or His Throne to you,"
ReplyDeleteNo, not to me. This is something wholly made-up by the conservatives. No one on the left thinks of Mr. Obama as the king, messiah, "The One." It's the right's little pouty way of dealing with a guy whom they apparently feel inferior to.
"Congress had a Republican minority. Like, in a bad way. The Socialists didn't need the Republicans for anything, they had a total majority."
ecc102, I'm not going to engage with someone who uses hyperbole to argue. Your need to use labels is somewhat of an indication of your weak points.
Socialsts, socialists, socialists. It's really rather tiring.
And silly.
Shaw said: "When George Bush was the president, he did not face such a uncooperative House and Senate."
ReplyDeleteBush did during his last two years of office. That's 1/4 of his Presidency. And, not uncoincidentally, it was then that the wheels came off things. The economic meltdown, the worst deficits, all of it.
Shaw said: "No, not to me. This is something wholly made-up by the conservatives. No one on the left thinks of Mr. Obama as the king, messiah, "The One." It's the right's little pouty way of dealing with a guy whom they apparently feel inferior to. "
ReplyDeleteThere really is something to do this. Someone forced children to sing Obama hymns. That just didn't happen with other Presidents. Really creepy
@Shaw,
ReplyDeleteOhhhh, did I offend your sensitive sensibilities? So sorry. I'll try to be more politically-correct and empathetic to your brain disease of liberalism.
I'm typing this slowly so you can keep up.
See? I'm already accommodating your handicap. :)
And do you really want to talk about hyperbole? Have you seen the signs The Children of Obama are carrying for their Occupooper Movement? I mean, sure, according to you guys a little Jew hatred never hurt anyone, right?
Shaw is correct. At least partially anyway. GWB bears some responsibility for the economic meltdown. No truly rational thinking person can dispute that. So does the Congress and now Obama after 3 years.
ReplyDeleteI commend Shaw for the following... "Instead of trying to one-up people with schoolyard tactics, how about addressing the fact that Congress's approval has fallen off the cliff and the fact that that means the American people have no respect for a Republican led House and a Democratic led Senate."
Shaw may be a partisan democrat, and I may be a cantankerous old partisan classical liberal (I do not believe in political parties) but hers is not a totally partisan statement.
So, perhaps addressing all issues facing the nation based on factual information might just work. If we stick to facts and honestly engage in dialogue over our different interpretation of the facts.
Ours is a diverse nation. The classical liberalism of the great thinkers of the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment, and the principles of limited government and individual liberties can still work today.
They however must be applied to 21st century economic and political realities.
dmarks: "There really is something to do this. Someone forced children to sing Obama hymns. That just didn't happen with other Presidents."
ReplyDeletedmarks, you're wrong. You apparently never saw this, which outcreeps your link.
dmarks: "That's 1/4 of his Presidency. And, not uncoincidentally, it was then that the wheels came off things. The economic meltdown, the worst deficits, all of it."
GWB ran two wars while cutting taxes [the first time any US president did that] and gave us Medicare Part D--all before the last two years in office. That and other contributing factors [credit default swaps, the housing bubble, etc. and other reckless policies, that you ignore and try to pin the blame for our financial meltdown on the Dems is pure nonsense
@Shaw,
ReplyDeleteIt is common knowledge that the housing bubble was the direct result of Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and the failed Fannie and Freddie.
Bush tried to regulate it in 2003. The Democrats shot him down, claiming there were no problems with Fannie or Freddie.
(This is one of the few things GWB got right.)
ecc102 has a reality problem. When Newt Gingrich was pocketing One and a Half million dollars from Freddie Mac the White House, House of Representatives, and Senate where all solidly in Republican hands. Additionally, "it's common knowledge" is conservative speak for I am totally making this up become it soothes my fevered brain and I have no evidence to back up my bs assertion.
ReplyDelete@Grung_e_Gene,
ReplyDeleteFor your perusal and education:
''These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ''The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.''
Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed.
''I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing,'' Mr. Watt said.
Taken from this article from the NY Times- http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/business/new-agency-proposed-to-oversee-freddie-mac-and-fannie-mae.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
Also....
http://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/obama-barney-frank-fannie-mae-freddie-mac-democrats-cause-of-crisis-mccain-warned-mccain-reformer-youtube-video-democrat-coverups-bailout-truth/
Class dismissed. I hope you took notes.
ecc102, it's easy for you to dismiss class as you have none.
ReplyDeletePrivate sector loans were responsible, During those same explosive three years [2004-2006], private investment banks — not Fannie and Freddie — dominated the mortgage loans that were packaged and sold into the secondary mortgage market. In 2005 and 2006, the private sector securitized almost two thirds of all U.S. mortgages, supplanting Fannie and Freddie, according to a number of specialty publications that track this data.
Hope you can read...
Grung_e_Gene,
ReplyDeleteI would enjoy reading the info on your statements. Do you have any references available?
2008, mortgage bubble crisis bursts. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are directly responsible. Both Fannie and Freddie had been noticed by others and a solution was sought, years before. Barney Frank said there was nothing wrong with Fannie and Freddie, and it was more important to make sure the unqualified could get mortgage loans. This social-engineering experiment of the Democrat Party, and with GWB too, came to its brutal conclusion and our economy as a whole took a huge hit.
This is fact.
Hope you can give me evidence of your claims, for I gave evidence of mine.
Sure, how about you start with the link I provided in my last post :)
ReplyDeleteAlso here is a nice rundown of what actually happened, when the Myth of Self-Regulation was applied via the Republican controlled Government!
Thanks ecc102, always a pleasure to provide real knowledge to someone
@Grung_e_Gene,
ReplyDeleteI totally missed the first time you linked that article. My apologies.
It didn't change my mind, however. It actually only drew me further down this rabbit hole.
I would say that you blame Wall Street and I blame Freddie and Fannie. Perhaps we are both correct to certain extents. I vilify the social-engineering agenda of people like you, and you vilify the Wall Street mentality. (Sorry, I don't support Wall Street, so...)
The reality is we now live in an America where in 2008, this ugly mortgage bubble burst wide open, and well, look at us now as a Nation.
I do blame Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, I do. I would be lying if I said I did not look squarely at them as architects in this mess we are now in. However, I am not so close-minded as to not consider what you linked.
Thank you, G_e_G, for providing me with a different perspective.
Now that the old reified yet incorrect beliefs I held on Rand have completely fallen away NPR now is a sensible argument.
ReplyDeleteBetter when the mind finally opens as vast as the sky.