Seriously. Read this.
Keith Olbermann | A Special Comment About Lying
We need to hear more like this, please.
Keith Olbermann | A Special Comment About Lying
We need to hear more like this, please.
in my NOT so humble opinion
My rants, raves, comments and criticism—movies, games, politics or the weather. Whatever strikes me at the time.
Comments
But, seriously...if there is ANYONE on this planet who "hears what he wants", it is unequivically Keith Olbermann. He is a deluded nutcase on an ego trip. He even had the temerity to end his show, "good night and good luck" the other night.
Just another blind Bush hater who MAY have a point here about habeas corpus. But, because of his track record of outrageous white noise, I am no longer listening.
Q
Ummm...that looks like a lie to me, Mr. Olbermann. Either that, or you are seriously math challenged.
Q
Mr. Bush fabricated that, too."
No, he didn't. He concluded it based upon the most vociferous Democratic leaders out there. This IS, essentially, the Democratic platform right now.
Again, Olbermann needs to check his opinions at the door and label them as what they are.
I hate this guy.
Q
I was surprised at Olberman's defense of Clinton. It was way too over the top, whether anyone agreed or not, it seemed too personal. That was a little surprising to me from the anchor. He is the anchor over there, right?
Chris
I don't know about "blind Bush hater". He may be going over the top to make his point, but a lot of what I'm hearing from Bush and his team strikes me as patently offensive and does seem to equate any opinion that differs from theirs with being either treasonous, clueless or simply not worth considering. If it takes over the top rhetoric to blow through that noise, then I'm probably okay with that. ("Good night and good luck" does seem to be a bit much, however.)
As for Clinton going after Bin Laden, in his interview with Chris Wallace, he makes the point that he wanted to go after Bin Laden and was constantly challenged on it by the Pentagon and Congress. How true that is may be open to debate, but that's what he's saying.
I hate Olbermann...and I hate being put in a position where I actually have to defend Bush. If people like Olbermann could curb their blind Bush hatred and focus on the facts, they would have plenty to rip on Bush about.
Olbermann is no anchor. He has his own magazine show. And, it is a joke.
This rant isn't about Clinton, but that one was a joke too. I frankly don't care what Clinton did about Bin Laden. He didn't get him. Neither did Bush. They both blew it. Move on.
As for Bush saying things like, "Democrats take a law enforcement approach to terrorism. That means America will wait until we're attacked again before we respond." That's not "they're treasonous or clueless." He's saying he does it his way, they want it their way and his way is better and their way is wrong. Isn't that good politics? It's a crapload better than all the mudslinging! I'm waiting for the Democrat who stands up and says, "I want to leave Iraq, and this is why it is good and why staying there is bad." The problem is, there is no such argument. At least not one I've heard.
Do I wish there were more freaking content and less name calling in today's elections? Of course. And the quote you mention is not an example of Bush's name calling. It probably is as close as you'll get to a policy discussion from the man.
But I have heard things that set me on edge (and no, I can't source any at the moment… too much effort on a Friday afternoon). So everything he says gets colored with that same brush and I react to the tone of his rhetoric and not the actual words. Frankly, when it comes right down to it, that's probably a more honest reaction, since Bush can say whatever the hell he wants… it's the intent behind what he says that matters. And I don't trust that intent.
He is an idiot and a parrot, but his heart, I think, is mostly righteous.
He believes he's doing the right thing to protect America. Had he not screwed the pooch so terribly, he might have been prove correct! We'd be mostly done and dotting the i's in Iraq right now and hold most of the cards.
No...I can't get on Bush for intentions. That is the only thing he has going for him.
Assuming, for the moment, that his heart IS righteous and his intent is to protect the country, the problem is, that's not his only intention. Along with whatever good intentions he may have (and let's take a moment to acknowledge that old "road to hell" proverb) he's also got the intentions of Dick Cheney (who's still harboring his resentment over the way Nixon was treated and has waged a concerted campaign to "restore" presidential power) and Karl Rove (who's referred to Bush as the first step in a plan for 20 years of Republican "leadership"). Whether you subscribe to the theory that these two are the real power behind the Pres, they are undoubtedly his closest and most trusted advisors, so their intentions are, by extension, his.
He also has to answer to the intentions of the Religious Right, whom he courted and used so successfully in his campaigns. Every time he steps up to a mic, he's got their intentions, to impose their brand of morality on the rest of the country, to take into consideration. And then there's Big Business/Big Money, another leg of his base, bringing us back, of course, to Dick Cheney, Haliburton and his mysterious Energy panel and their decisions that have helped to drive oil company profits through the ceiling, at the expense of everybody NOT a big oil shareholder. He's got their intentions to take into consideration as well.
So he's got a lot of potentially conflicting intentions that he's got to accommodate whenever he opens his mouth. And as we've all seen, he's not that well-spoken and the thought of him possibly juggling all these intentions effectively is frankly laughable.
So maybe intent wasn't the word I was looking for. Maybe it's the effect he's having… the fallout, as it were, from what he says. For instance, his simplistic approach to politics seems to be that, when he says we need to reach consensus and work together, what he means is "I know what's best, so everybody needs to just shut up and agree with what I'm saying and we'll have consensus." Since we're at war, emotions are polarized already, but this kind of reductive reasoning just promotes this asinine "us vs. them" red state/blue state b.s. regarding every goddamn policy decision, position statement or freaking TV show out there.
And finally, the quote that started this discussion was from one of his campaign stops here in California, where he was trying to demonize Democratic candidates and convince people the only safe route is to vote Republican. His intent here, no matter what his road-to-hell good intentions may be otherwise, was purely to promote a Republican victory in November (thus fulfilling Karl Rove's chief intent). And the only way this fits in with his "protecting the country" intention is if you buy into his "I'm right and everyone that disagrees with me is wrong" mentality as the best way to protect the country.
All this, of course, is my interpretation of what's going on with this man and the way he's running the country. IMNSHO, as it were. But you all knew that from the title of the blog, right?
If I'd known you were talking about politics, I'd have left it alone.
Your final comment clearly illustrates exactly what is wrong with American politics today. The mere fact that I have to consider ALL that bullshit for each and every politician? Man...no wonder no one votes anymore. These corrupt nutbags have hijacked our government.
Foley talking dirty to some guy is, by far, the least of our problems.
Oh, and this too: "Foley talking dirty to some guy is, by far, the least of our problems."
DAMN. That is a good show.
I wanted to make the point too that I think politics is different than the intent.
It is a socio-political thriller series based in a very advanced sci-fi universe.
How are you NOT watching it?
It's also the smartest show on TV...and, the smartest sci-fi show ever.
Rent the DVD's, watch the first two seasons while you horde the new season on your TiVo, and then watch this season.
It's bad enough you're not playing WoW...don't miss out on this sensation (and make sure to see last week's South Park called "Make Love, Not Warcraft").
And I just figured that, once we started talking about Battlestar Galactaca, you were done.
I'm off to iTunes tonight, I guess. (Is South Park ON iTunes? Seems almost too mainstream for them.)
I like sci fi. I just don't understand it. I especially enjoyed you and Quentin's discussion last week regarding the difference between sci fi and fantasy. So interesting.
I can't get over Starbuck being a woman. I love Dirk Benedict. However, I did enjoy Serenity and the Firefly series and Quentin recommended them. I will also never forget that Quentin made me watch the X-Files and I loved that series. Also he made me watch the Matrix and I loved it. Soldier I will not mention and he is forgiven because of the X-Files.
Chris
Who knew??!
Some people I know swear it is a great movie and I 'don't get it'. Lameasses.