tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post1357054976099442512..comments2024-03-28T16:08:29.578-04:00Comments on Sardonicky: The Big ChillKaren Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-69164363840244564412013-12-24T03:39:08.922-05:002013-12-24T03:39:08.922-05:00Hal from Chicago (in the NYT comments section) had...Hal from Chicago (in the NYT comments section) had a jolly good idea, "Oh, and it being the season of giving, let's ask Mr. Obama to re-gift his Peace Prize to Edward Snowden...in the Oval Office...as an American hero."<br /><br />Valerie<br />Valerie Long Tweedienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-84066088670182560722013-12-23T22:47:30.401-05:002013-12-23T22:47:30.401-05:00A Small Step Toward More Mercy
By THE EDITORIAL BO...A Small Step Toward More Mercy<br />By THE EDITORIAL BOARD<br /> Published: December 22, 2013 91 Comments<br /><br /> President Obama’s decision on Thursday to commute the outrageously long drug sentences of eight men and women showed a measure of compassion and common sense. But it also served to highlight the injustice being done to thousands of prisoners under federal sentencing laws.<br /><br />Another decent editorial with very interesting responses. Hopefully, many black citizens wrote the comments on this issue which unfairly targets black citizens. <br />Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-21425940613051496562013-12-23T00:27:09.648-05:002013-12-23T00:27:09.648-05:00And Obama supporters are only NOW noticing that Ob...And Obama supporters are only NOW noticing that Obama has betrayed his base? Where have these people been living? Under a rock? Anyone with half a brain in his head should have had Obama's number within a year-and-a-half of his first term. I am not impressed with anyone who voted for him a second time and is only now realizing that Obama has betrayed the people of this country.<br /><br />It seems we have the government that all but those who voted for a third party deserve. Neither candidate was EVER going to work in the interests of the 99%.<br /><br />The sad thing is when 2016 rolls around, all those who voted for Obama a second time will obediently go to the polls and vote for Hillary or another Democrat. "Do it to me once, shame on you. Do it to me twice, shame on me."<br /><br />ValerieValerie Long Tweedienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-72623375801458573502013-12-22T22:38:18.542-05:002013-12-22T22:38:18.542-05:00We have another fairly decent editorial in the NYT...We have another fairly decent editorial in the NYTimes today called 'Bad Times for Big Brother' with excellent comments following once more. I hope these responses encourage more editorials of this nature and touching on other transgressions besides the NSA secretive activities. The editors also mentioned the affect of Snowden's revelations in their article. The media has a right to be scared by the lack of privacy affecting their reporting <br />and hopefully will begin to really fight back. <br />Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-33679461287973826552013-12-22T18:03:11.624-05:002013-12-22T18:03:11.624-05:00@Pearl--
Thanks for recommending that we have a l...@Pearl--<br /><br />Thanks for recommending that we have a look at the comments regarding the NYT editorial “Mr. Obama's Disappointing Response.” I read the NYT and Reader Picks just as far as I could stand, and was surprised at the uniformity of anger and contempt expressed for The Disappointing Mr. Obama.<br /><br />I found only one remark that came even close to excusing the Prez, and that was because, in the eyes of the commenter, Obama had accomplished a few good things during his tenure thus far that offset the NSA scandal. Though most of you Sardonickistas out there—like me—would regard most of those “achievements” as bogus, too:<br /><br /><i> “His performance in ending the war in Irag, winding down the war in Afghanistan, avoiding US military action in Syria, using diplomacy in Iran, getting a health care bill through congress, reversing the deregulation of the financial services industry, bringing the Country out of the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression, extending the civil rights of gay Americans and setting a personal standard of conduct in the White House that is characterized by dignity and industry are all notable hallmarks of his Presidency.” </i> --Marv Raps, 12-21-13, 8:59 AM<br /><br />Two comments stood out for me, at least. The first, standing out for its pithiness, is:<br /><br /><i> “"...that he sees this issue as basically a question of public relations and public perception."<br /><br />That is the way he sees every issue. It is more than about time that you noticed tha [</i>sic<i>].”</i>--Michael F, 12-21-13, 9:05 AM<br /><br />The other, standing out for the hope it holds forth, is:<br /><br /><i> “Two of my dearest friends have grandsons at West Point. While we were all sitting around the table after dinner this past Thanksgiving, I asked the elder brother, now a cadet in his next-to-last year, what he thought about Edward Snowden. His answer, pretty much verbatim: <br /><br /><b> 'What Snowden did had to be done. The way he did it was the only way it could be done. He did it despite being fully aware of the all the bad things that would probably happen to him as a result.'</b><br /><br />It's my very strong impression that this young man is intellectually and attitudinally hardly an exception at today's Army Academy. I took great heart from this and many other parts of our conversation.” </i>--Tom Benghauser, 12-21-13, 3:34 AM (My bold emphasis.)<br /><br />I was also impressed by the number of commenters who saw Obama as merely an extension of Bush, or even worse, and who felt utterly betrayed by him.Zeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-50068307266566763742013-12-22T11:09:25.763-05:002013-12-22T11:09:25.763-05:00Karen:
Readers' responses to 'Mr.Obama'...<br />Karen:<br />Readers' responses to 'Mr.Obama's Disappointed Response' by the NY<br />Times Editorial article you mentioned in your column, were the most<br />outspoken ones I have ever read in that paper.<br />It included outright denouncements of the President (I notice the title is<br />Mr.,not President in this article) from people deeply regretting their<br />support of him. Evidently the handling of the NSA activities and poor explanations thereof have really truly outraged many former supporters and alongside the Obamacare fiasco which gets worse and worse has helped to expose the larger garbage pile of mishandled major issues. And if these readers are only the progressives writing, that in itself is a miracle as well.<br /><br />It doesn't mean any kind of revolution is around the corner, but just reading so many very intelligent and well written responses with high<br />recommendations makes one's heart take a few cautious happy skips. People who have been silent and not sure what to say, are saying it now and there was high praise and encouragement to the editors for writing such an article. As you<br />said it is mild (disappointed?) but some of the terms used by readers about their reactions were very much stronger.<br /><br />I hope this encourages some of the bolder editors as well as readers, to <br />discontinue backing off from writing the raw truth about Mr.Obama and not continue using the Republican hordes as the reason for his political failures and inability to connect with lawmakers of all stripes. There were many comments and questions about his constitutional education and choices which have resulted <br />in unending meltdowns.<br /><br />Maybe this darkness is the prelude to some enlightenment after all, <br />hopefully followed by action. I hope Ed Snowden and Chelsea Manning are <br />aware of the tremendous contributions they have made to civilization by <br />shining the light on its destructive failures and encouraging other brave <br />souls to come forward as well.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-76182931067629308512013-12-22T09:27:02.756-05:002013-12-22T09:27:02.756-05:00Back to the matter of self-censoring, one high-pow...Back to the matter of self-censoring, one high-powered effort in the works to counter junk news and corporate propaganda is the Omidyar/Greenwald/Poitras/Scahill et al. attempt to create a powerhouse journal friendly to investigative journalism. Think of it as a replacement for the handcuffed Wikileaks but with a suit and tie and money in its pocket.<br /><br />I presume “First Look Media” will have a product on line within the next few months; otherwise, Greenwald will have been effectively iced for the good part of a year. We’ll know by December 2014 whether FLM turns out to be, as advertised, a revolution on the press front.<br /><br />More detail here about FLM from Jay Rosen’s site, plus comments that suffer the trolls: <br />http://pressthink.org/2013/12/a-first-look-at-newcos-structure/Jay–Ottawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10360356126450612113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-75287227102641373202013-12-22T06:51:30.084-05:002013-12-22T06:51:30.084-05:00Solstice, shmolstice, Jimmy T and the rest of you ...Solstice, shmolstice, Jimmy T and the rest of you pagans, much as i love you. For the rest of us it’s the Chanukah season or the Christmas season. You know, a time for giving and good cheer. Here’s a little present for you and yours and, most especially, our Thought Leaders, compliments of David Suzuki who isn't given to self-censoring.<br /><br />http://www.upworthy.com/a-smartypants-scientist-makes-an-easy-analogy-about-our-planet-and-now-im-scaredJay–Ottawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10360356126450612113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-41310037451554496572013-12-22T02:43:08.077-05:002013-12-22T02:43:08.077-05:00It's not only writers, the whole integration w...It's not only writers, the whole integration with social media into comments on major websites is going to silence a lot of people. We are going to lose our ability to anonymously communicate online. Then things will get very quiet.<br /><br />But until then, happy solstice everyone!The Black Swanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03988752808485377434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-62714298894097175492013-12-21T20:46:38.041-05:002013-12-21T20:46:38.041-05:00Yes, Pearl, Happy Solstice everybody! A celebrati...Yes, Pearl, Happy Solstice everybody! A celebration my tribe used to engage in ( I'm told, at the crossroads, wherever the hell that was). Until Patrick and others convinced them of the error of their ways. Except for the abolition of human sacrifice, I vehemently disagree with my forebears capitulation to Rome - for that is what it was. I remain an unrepentant pagan.<br /><br />Thank you Pearl, Will and Fred (in the prior thread) for your attempts at cheering me up. And you, Karen, for enduring my occasionally outrageous posts.James F Traynornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-27979300615638441922013-12-21T19:15:34.341-05:002013-12-21T19:15:34.341-05:00Dear Everyone:
Thank you Karen for today's co...Dear Everyone:<br /><br />Thank you Karen for today's column and I will repeat your final statement:<br /><br />"Have a happy Solstice, everybody! (It's always darkest right before the <br />Enlightenment)". Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-75329054274776909342013-12-21T15:02:51.280-05:002013-12-21T15:02:51.280-05:00Is that what Dave Eggers is writing now?
http://ww...Is that what Dave Eggers is writing now?<br />http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/introducing-90-days-90-reasonsKatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-73546437385533479802013-12-21T14:43:59.305-05:002013-12-21T14:43:59.305-05:00kudos Karen
best writing the internetkudos Karen<br />best writing the internetUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07765945514902599337noreply@blogger.com