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Orwell meets Disney
In a comment to a Mark Steyn article over at the Orange Country Register I found the following comment by someone who signs in as "livingtheoc" that gives one of the best descriptions of what I find the "George Orwell meets Walt Disney" effect of the Obama campaign: its massive control and its opaque touchyfeelyness, the effort made to suppress questioning and the cooperation that the media and its potential victims are giving to that effort.
The following excerpt from livingtheoc's post is especially succinct:
(....)Don't you find it odd that Senator Obama is now scrutinizing "Joe the Plumbers" personal life, but when it comes to his life, nothing will be released?! I am appalled that this is happening. Is this how he will treat all American citizens? This among other things do not sit well with me as an American and it should not sit well with you. The American people hold the power right now, as we, the American people are the deciding factor as to whether he gets into office. It's beyond any logical thinking why people are accepting his word and not questioning his character and his associations. Isn't Obama's refusal to release this information enough to spark enough doubt as to who he really is?If Obama gets elected after such a surrealistic process and everything turns out fine and he is a wonderful president, it will be a miracle, like Lazarus arising from the dead or a temporary suspension of the law of gravity.
1. Occidental College records -- Not released
2. Columbia College records -- Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper -- not available, locked down by faculty
4. Harvard College records -- Not released, locked down by faculty
5. Selective Service Registration -- Not released
6. Medical records -- Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule -- 'not available'
8. Law practice client list -- Not released
9. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate - - Not released
10. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth -- Not released
11. Harvard Law Review articles published -- None
12. University of Chicago scholarly articles -- None
13.Your Record of baptism-- Not released or 'not available'
14. Your Illinois State Senate records--'not available'
You couldn't get a job at McDonalds and become district manager after 143 days of experience.
You couldn't become chief of surgery after 143 days of experience of being a surgeon.
You couldn't get a job as a teacher and be the superintendent after 143 days of experience.
You couldn't join the military and become a colonel after 143 days of experience.
You couldn't get a job as a reporter and become the nightly news anchor after 143 days of experience
AND NOW Obama is AGAIN lying to the American people about his Aunt! Stop being zombies people, wake up!
America will have shown that not only can it "reinvent" itself, it will have shown that in fact, it can "create reality"... just like the neocons always maintained.
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I hope you working at coming up with a second trick. You one trick will be irrelevant in just a couple days.
November 1, 2008 5:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Scary to find you agreeing with anyone in Orange County. Do you have reason to accept all this list at face value, from an obvious opponent?
"...media and its potential victims ..." I am not a victim. You are, are of your fears.
November 1, 2008 5:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yep, this is an inaccurate, nitpicky little list making the rounds in wing-nut circle.
A couple minutes at snopes or factcheck tend to debug the spin pretty much.
November 1, 2008 6:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
But 143 days! 143 days!!! Aren't you afraid? LOL... It's the usual schtick of making people feel ignorant and then taunting them about the monsters hiding in the darkness. It's how know-it-alls get people to listen, which, after all, is the object of the game.
November 1, 2008 6:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, that or appealing to their fear of not knowing as much as these folk cuz they wouldn't do something like that if it wasn't true. I can't say how many times I heard that from my elderly mother over the last 8 years. Problem is, we've all been somewhat desensitized to that stuff.
Every day for years and years it's been 7 impossible things to believe before breakfast from the GOP. Some folks wised up, (like my dear mum, early voted for Obama in Florida) Others become so accustomed to it, to the idea that "everyone" is "that" bad, it's like, buying into the unlikely story in this post is no big deal. After all, they back folks that are just as bad if not worse.
It is a problem, people need to get used to expecting better behavior and holding elected officials to a higher standard. I think it worth noting, that Obama has time and again held to a higher standard of behavior. Oh, sure maybe once or twice he gave in, (or his campaign did) but he's still pretty much the most decent man standing, and standing head and shoulders above McCain.
That's worth our support, if nothing else, because as sleaze goes, there just is no bottom to where some will go. I look back to FDR, one decent man CAN make up for years of greed and corruption. It will do us ALL some good to be able to hold our heads a little higher, and treat each other better. Maybe then, we can start healing some rifts that the GOP has so shamelessly nurtured for mundane and ugly ends.
Obama just might be that man. I sure hope so.
November 1, 2008 7:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
May cause nausea and/or vomiting : : :
November 1, 2008 5:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can't let this alone.
We do not have McCain's version of essentially every one of these points. I have not seen his school transcripts, or his business dealings, or his health records. I have not personally tried to acquire them since I'm not a journalist. Neither is this OC jerk.
I will therefore ask, have you tried to get these pieces of information about anyone?
November 1, 2008 6:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm pretty sure Obama didn't even attend Columbia College (it's a women's school in SC), so I can understand the difficulty of getting Obama's thesis from there. But the baptism record? I'm pretty horrified about that. How can we elect a man without seeing his baptism record?
In all seriousness, if the Illinois State Senate records are somehow "not available" (I thought they were public), what is this stuff I keep hearing about babykilling and "present" votes?
My crazy Republican uncle wouldn't even forward me something this flimsy.
November 1, 2008 6:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
There is a Columbia College in Chicago, www.colum.edu.
Obama probably took one or two arts courses there. BFD, their admin dept is lousy (my son attended there).
Beginning to think Mr. Seaton is a closet racist, who can't quite accept that a darky is both smarter and more accomplished than John McCain, or most of us for that matter. It couldn't be that he got to preside over the Harvard Law Review because of merit. It couldn't be he learned anything or made allies while organizing in Chicago. It couldn't be that bulldog Patrick Fitzgerald has given him a clean bill of health while thoroughly roughing up close associates of the Illinois governor. It couldn't be he knows anything about governing or legislation.
There must be a conspiracy to suppress damaging information, on the part of that corporate media that wants to pay more taxes to prove its patriotism, that wants to be regulated. There must be a conspiracy of bewitched Republicans that have endorsed him. There must be something in the water.
I get angry at this stuff because it is always implied that Obama supporters are glamor-besotted naifs. Just piss off.
November 1, 2008 7:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Last phrase directed at Mr. Seaton, not you.
November 1, 2008 7:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think they meant Columbia University, since he got his BA there in '83.
Seaton's afraid of being made a fool, so he protects himself with suspicion. (Which is wise at Disney World or Airstrip 1.) That's only part of it, though; there's also the fun of being the smart skeptic. We all do what we have to do to be "happy." Seaton does what works for him; it's just really annoying (well, sometimes fun and engaging) for the rest of us.
November 1, 2008 7:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Beginning to think? I thought that was clear six months ago :)
November 1, 2008 8:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
I know I already commented, but fee I must add that the following is about the silliest most nonsensical combination of thoughts I can remember encountering.
November 1, 2008 8:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
And hat's the Time Bandits excerpt supposed to mean?
November 1, 2008 8:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
what, not hat...
November 1, 2008 8:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm afraid your asking the wrong person.
November 1, 2008 8:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually much of this is true some of it is complete garbage. It is very superficial even when correct and obviously biased against Obama.
The birth certificate story is total bull. There are photos of his birth certificate with close ups of the embossed seal. I saw it some months ago and did a quick search to find it again. As for the baptism certificate, I doubt that many people could produce that.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
As far as I know obama has not released his medical records, neither has McCain. Obama released a summery from his doctor. McCain released a summery as well and allowed reporters to look at his records for about 3 hours. After which they were resealed.
Obama has not released any of his college transcripts, neither has McCain. Bush and Kerry both released their transcripts in 2004 as have some but not all previous candidates. There is virtually no official information about his time at Occidental college or Columbia University except that he did not graduate with honors.
As for Harvard all we know from official sources is he graduated magna cum laude and was president of the Law review. No other information has been released by Harvard. The Naval Academy hasn't released much more information than that about McCain. Just that he graduated at the bottom 1% of his class and received many demerits.
Obama has not released his final thesis from Columbia. He says he does not have it and Columbia did not keep undergraduate thesis at that time. In fact there was no requirement to write a final thesis as a pol sci major at Columbia at that time though he did write what was an extended final paper, in essence a thesis in all but name. The professor he wrote it for says that it was lost in a move about 8 years ago. While some candidates have released their thesis Hillary had her's sealed for a few years at the begining of Bill's presidency. It was available before her senatorial run. Michelle Obama has released her senior thesis though it was temporarily sealed at the beginning of the primary.
Obama apparently wrote only one article for the law review during his time at Harvard.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12705.html
As far as I can find he hasn't published any scholarly articles during his time at the University of Chicago.
The only confirmation I've ever found that he register with SS was in a blog somewhere with a copy of an e-mail from an official in the SS administration. Not a convincing source but it seemed so trivial to me I never explored it in depth.
As for his Ill senate records. Several boxes from his office were removed when he moved on to the US senate but Obama says he did not save them.
November 1, 2008 9:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think a review of history would be appropriate
You should have written this 8 years ago.
If BUSH gets elected after such a surrealistic process, knowing his record of partying, his inattention, and his connection with the Harkin Oil failure and everything turns out fine and he is a wonderful president, it will be a miracle,
It did not turn out fine, he is not a wonderful president and a miracle is what we need now.
November 1, 2008 10:11 PM | Reply | Permalink