S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
30
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forums10
Topics38,934
Posts550,879
Members14,460
|
Most Online1,344 Apr 29th, 2024
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,814 Likes: 2
Sidelock
|
Sidelock
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,814 Likes: 2 |
Well, Joe those pics were posted and commented on, you must not be reading the right stuff...I have had enough of this post, skipping it from now on, this last above has nothing to do with anything I want to read about....Trash
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 11,464 Likes: 133
Sidelock
|
Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 11,464 Likes: 133 |
"I detest what you write, but I would give my life so that you can continue to write" looks pretty close. I'll have to see if I can track down the original. The exact wording may have even fooled me, with an MA in French Lit.
Will, what part of the famous "When you call me that, smile!" line is unclear to you? You've never had anyone say to you, "Why you old SOB!" in a friendly manner? In order to know what Jim really meant, your only choice is to ask Jim. He may simply have been suggesting that Dems are misguided, unintentionally aiding the terrorists. (As a former intelligence officer, I can verify to you that not everyone in a "sleeper" cell is fully aware of the operation in question. Just like many loyal Americans joined the Communist Party back 50 or more years ago--not because they hated their country, but because they thought Communism was the best system.)
But what we can certainly say is that Jim's "offensive" tag line did anything but "stifle" discussion. Here we are on page 5, still discussing it. Maybe "stifle" has a different meaning in some folks' dictionaries than it does in mine.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,155
Member
|
Member
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,155 |
...simply a reflection of the poster's philosophy...maybe a "term of endearment" from a friend...It's simply an expression of the individual's philosophy (or perhaps an attempt at humor).
He may simply have been suggesting that Dems are misguided, unintentionally aiding the terrorists. (As a former intelligence officer, I can verify to you that not everyone in a "sleeper" cell is fully aware of the operation in question. Legg’s tag line is obviously intended to offend. But the most self-advertised intelligence officer since Valerie Plame believes that equating Democrats with terrorists is philosophical, maybe endearing, perhaps humorous (and by the way, Democrats may be inadvertent al Qaeda sleepers). And he conflates sleepers with sympathizers - two totally different things. With airy-fairy "intelligence" like that, it’s no wonder bin Laden’s still on the loose! As thousands of Americans have already been murdered by terrorists, it’s hard to see the “humor” in calling anyone a terrorist.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 349
Sidelock
|
Sidelock
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 349 |
<<Je ne suis pas d’accord avec ce que vous dites mais je me battrai pour que vous puissiez le dire>>. I've always understood that it was Voltaire - not that it matters, as most of the eejits here would ignore him because he was FRENCH! Great photograph on the front of the Irish Times today, http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage/2007/1121/index.html but I'm not sure which one is the turkey ;-) K.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 9,350
Sidelock
|
Sidelock
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 9,350 |
Where you may err, Larry, is appearing to find approbation for a view of dissent "unintentionally aiding the terrorists." Our governments use that line all the time when, in fact, Canadians and Americans support their troops but criticize the lying and cover-ups weakening the values we're ostensibly fighting for. Dissent is the gospel.
I find "aiding the enemy" notions specious, to say the least. al Qaeda and Taliban monitor our national and international newscasts. They know our public support to the decimal point, as we do. Canada's Chief of Defence Staff spends 70 per cent of his time strengthening public support for our Afghanistan mission.
Last week, our defence minister, my Member of Parliament, had barely arrived at one of our outposts---imagine the security detail--- when the Taliban dropped rockets within its perimeter. With a wry smile and relief that no one was hurt, the outpost commander said he didn't think the stonk was coincidental.
Last edited by King Brown; 11/21/07 01:53 PM.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 696
Sidelock
|
Sidelock
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 696 |
I simply find it mind boggling that as America as we have known it in the past circles the drain after nearly eight years of Republican rule, that there are people like Jim and others who apparently see no problem with that, and in the same breath, equate Dems with terrorists. Wow.
As an American first and foremost, a veteran, an avid sportsman and gun owner, and as a Dem (and former Republican), I don't find it offensive as much as I do pitiful and misguided. There is a word for it however:
my·o·pi·a /maɪˈoʊpiə/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[mahy-oh-pee-uh] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun 1. Ophthalmology. a condition of the eye in which parallel rays are focused in front of the retina, objects being seen distinctly only when near to the eye; nearsightedness (opposed to hyperopia). 2. lack of foresight or discernment; obtuseness. 3. narrow-mindedness; intolerance.
Imagination is everything. - Einstein
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 625
Sidelock
|
Sidelock
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 625 |
Kerry, Eejit. New word for me. I find the definition easily enough but not the pronunciation. Is it with a hard e and soft i? Regards, Jake
R. Craig Clark jakearoo(at)cox.net
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 122
Member
|
Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 122 |
King has responded to this thread far better than I can. I wasn't going to wade in, but the temptation has won out. The good news is that the American middle is alive and well again. The extremes on the right and the left have reminded us all how much we reject what they are trying to pass off. Americans will listen to the candidates and make a reasonable choice in the upcoming elections, and this time, it won't be a response to our fears that have been appealed to.
My brother-in-law just returned from a trip to China. He is the Vermont Secretary of Agriculture and he headed up a group that went over to look at China's agricultural system. He came back talking about new cities, one with a population of over 6 million and it did not exist ten years ago, new highways, bridges, industrial plants, schools, hospitals, very advanced modern farms; the list goes on and on.
We are bogged down fighting the world's wars and it is going to cost us dearly. We need leaders that remember we are part of a larger world community and are not opposed to including the rest of the world in its business. We cannot continue to try to be the "Lone Ranger." It was ridiculous seven years ago, and it is more so now. We also need leaders that do not try to use their skills in parsing our language to deceive us with their intentions.
I am very tired of the partisanship and I believe I am not alone in this. Democrats can defend this country and so can Republicans. Neither party has a monopoly on all the right ideas or choices of action. Where the idea came from that only Republicans can defend this country baffles me. I am pretty sure that our Presidents in WWI and WWII were Democrats. I am sure that both parties are represented in our current Armed Services.
About the only one being convinced by these silly jingoes, tag lines, and bumper stickers is the person using it. The rest of us are not going along for the ride. Don't kid yourself.
Ed Pirie West Topsham, Vermont
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,996 Likes: 493
Sidelock
|
Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,996 Likes: 493 |
Ed, You are a smart guy. Nice post.
Brent
_________ BrentD, (Professor - just for Stan) =>/
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 298
Member
|
Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 298 |
Marklart and Ed among some others have provided very thoughtful posts. Thank you. I just want to add: When someone writes something offensive and then says, in effect ---
'I (or he) was only joking, gee it's no big deal. Wow what's the big deal?!'
---That is even more offensive, and most people would even conclude rather cowardly. It reminds me of what a bully would say in the fourth grade when someone in authority catches him launch some taunt meant to injure and/or invoke a fight.
Saying democrats are the largest sleeper cell of Al Queda is offensive to many... including me. I did not serve and put my life on the line in the US Marine Corp to be told I am part of Al Queda. Not by anyone. Moreover, I do not think ducking under the fabrication that it is just a harmless little joke is being truthful. Not at all. It was NOT intended to be harmless. It may have partially been intended to make right wing nuts laugh, and to be sure it was meant to injure and/or invoke a fight in a fashion that is uncanny in its similarity to the tactics and mentality of a 4th grade bully.
|
|
|
|
|