Nader's turned into a caricature of himself. Period. Why's he got to be so damned bombastic? Yeah, the situation is ridiculously grim right now, but you know what? Nader doesn't help the cause acting like that. He doesn't make things better acting like a dick.
Why do you think Obama won? Because he WASN'T flappable.
]]>Priceless.
re: Katrina clip: ....man. Shep seems to be something of a hell of a guy. I would recommend these clips to folk. Thank you so much for pointing these out to me.
]]>Is it possible that Shepard Smith has a conscience? A soul?
Damn, I guess change IS possible. Who knew? Next thing you know, Bill O'Reilly will stop shouting down his guests! Rush Limbaugh will advocate middle-of-the-road policy! Michael Savage will come out of the closet!!!
I am, for the first time in a long, long time, very happy to live in these times. I feel positively energized by the change in the air. Hell, I might even get off my ass from in front of this computer and go volunteer for a couple of hours before I go to work!
...Well, that's not gonna happen. Today is for blog fishing. Tomorrow, though. Heh.
]]>Is it possible that Shepard Smith has a conscience? A soul?
Damn, I guess change IS possible. Who knew? Next thing you know, Bill O'Reilly will stop shouting down his guests! Rush Limbaugh will advocate middle-of-the-road policy! Michael Savage will come out of the closet!!!
I am, for the first time in a long, long time, very happy to live in these times. I feel positively energized by the change in the air. Hell, I might even get off my ass from in front of this computer and go volunteer for a couple of hours before I go to work!
...Well, that's not gonna happen. Today is for blog fishing. Tomorrow, though. Heh.
]]>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIFEceopAUI
Very simply: if you're dealing with THIS system, then you have to deal with reality, not ideals. Nader's not gonna win, and he's not gonna get enough votes to get federal funding for a viable third party. Sorry, man. I wish it were the case, but it's not. So deal with the reality you're given, and make your plans, damnit. Vote Obama to make sure that the radical pro-life gun-toting nutso doesn't get within arm's reach of office, and then go volunteer for the green party and start talking to your local groups.
In fact, now I'm kind of upset at you. Are you the kind of person who does nothing and then bemoans this stuff every four years? Or are you an actual activist for a multi-party system? Because even if you're the latter, you've got to admit that McCain and Obama do have radically differing views, even if they are both in the pockets of corporations.
]]>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJDNzYp0Ecw
I'm not gonna bet money on this, but I will guess that it's the first time that he mentioned the Greenwood anecdote. It was also the first speech I saw of his that made me consider taking him seriously as a possible viable candidate for presidency.
This speech did two things for me. First, I was impressed by his ability to be... hell, holistic in his vision for the United States. His beliefs flowed like a river, encompassing everything from education to foreign policy to hope for the future. Second, I was seriously impressed by his chameleon-like ability to relate to different audiences. He can be the editor of the Harvard Law Review in his debates; he can be the wise statesman when he was answering questions during the Google Q and A; he can be the brother laying down some truth to his people in Manning, South Carolina, adding humor to his Greenwood anecdote by mentioning how, in addition to his tiredness and low spirits, the Black women in the crowd were nice and pissed off about how the rain was affecting their fresh perms. "Some of the sisters, their hair was kind of... you know how y'all all about your hair, too... they're lookin' at me like it's my fault."
It's really funny to me, to see that he's still using this instance, but that, depending on his audience, he relates it in an entirely fresh way each time. Now, how will this relate to his ability to lead this country into the next era? I've honestly got to shrug and say I don't know. But I do have a certain amount of confidence and comfort, thinking that our next leader is the kind of person who can relate to anyone and anything that comes his way. That kind of person is what we're going to need to get us out of our current messes and into something where as many people as possible can lead productive and happy lives.
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