kpete
kpete's JournalWe should mock Carson's pyramid theory? - It reveals a very dim view of humankind & god.
Ben Carson Thinks You’re the Crazy OneAna Marie Cox
You can see the “thug” tale as self-aggrandizing, but to me it is strangely self-denying—on some level, a kind of blasphemy. In making up a story filled with drama, he has failed to credit God for the original and true, if subtle, miracle within Carson: that a soft-spoken, nerdy young man born in inner Detroit did not have to become a thug at some point, that he was wise and respectful of his own potential without needing God to perform a parlor trick.
I believe that God will do for me what I cannot do for myself, but I also know He won’t do for me what I can do for myself—and my daily miracle is the extent to which His original gifts to me allow me to not call upon Him for specific, material intervention in my life.
I think it cheapens the idea of miracles to think that humans needed one to create the pyramids, or that Carson needed one to put his life on the right track. It speaks to a lack of faith in humans—and, in some sense, God. His creation is so much more awe inspiring than Carson seems to realize.
MORE:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/08/ben-carson-thinks-you-re-the-crazy-one.html
From a young follower: We trust Bernie. He is the grandpa of American youth
From a young follower
By MNscrappyliberal
Sunday Nov 08, 2015 9:39 PM PST
I am 19, living in MN.
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My dad is a spitfire liberal. I grew up with spitfire liberals in a sea of old conservatives. Rural Minnesota is not as blue as the hipster den known as Duluth or the happy green pretentious beer garden called the Twin Cities. For this reason, the liberal discourse in my family seemed to ferment, getting so potent that I didn’t see my dad for a few days after the 2004 election. This is my origin story so you know where the next part is coming from.
Hillary just doesn’t fly with college kids. I have no facts to back this post up, but don’t abandon me yet. I can tell you I’ve never heard college kids talk positively of Hillary. Republicans are out of the question. Any college student who is a Republican is beyond the point of redemption, but they are a minority. There are more college libertarians, feel, but they are low key and less likely to vote.
Back to the point...Hillary, whenever she tries to touch base with us, ends up looking like an “alien space lizard” (a term coined by a friend). Don’t get me wrong, most college liberals would pick her over any Republican, and Bill Clinton’s legendary appearance on campus a few years ago still reverberates around the halls from time to time. Kind of like how, in Dante’s Divine Comedy, Hell was still experiencing earthquakes hundreds of years after Jesus came crashing through.
It’s just…Hillary just doesn’t seem to notice us, or understand us, or stand for us.
Why is this important? Yes, college kids are naive. Super naive. We also do a ton of stupid shit. But nothing is more infuriating to college liberals when the older generation regards us so condescendingly. I was told once that young liberals are too naive to accept the fact that Hillary will get the nomination. The things we ask for are brushed off by politicians as being the result of the recklessness of youth.
Recreational marijuana? Oh college kids. So cute.
You want free community college? You do realize this isn’t like kindergarten where everyone gets a medal for participating.
Bernie Sanders? You college kids are too unrealistic.
These are some of the things older Democrats have told me. It is disheartening. Furthermore, when we try to point out Hillary’s rather Machiavellian stratagem, we are disregarded as being “conspiracy theorists.” Even though some of Hillary’s top donors control a large contingent of the media.
Naive and idealist? Yes we are. But we are not stupid. We know what kind of world we want. Most college kids don’t vote, that’s a fact. But why? Yes, some are lazy, hungover, or busy with homework. Others just don’t connect with politicians. Hillary doesn’t put a spring in our step. She was an amazing Secretary of State, she sure can debate, and the Saudi family would be toned down a bit, but does she really understand American youth? It isn’t easy being young in America.
Look at Bernie’s rallies. Look at all the young people. Bernie gets us. He is the first candidate that lights a fire in our hearts. Hillary has changed her views and discourse so much to the point that no average voter could seriously know what opinions she really holds. Whenever Democratic discourse sways one way, Hillary is quick to jump on the bandwagon. Bernie is the bandwagon. Bernie wants to be president because he wants to fix America. Hillary wants to be president because she thinks it’s her turn.
We all know American democracy is always in danger. Some would even liken it to plutocracy- a country that is controlled by the rich. If Hillary gets elected, it is just another case in a long line of examples where rich interests get what they want. If no large donors were involved, what would the campaigns look like now? If Hillary wins it means that more people voted for her. That’s fair. But in today’s climate, we can’t discern if people voted for her because rich interests empower her and influence voters, or if that support is truly organic. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate whose support is undeniably raw- support built from the ground up, and not given the adrenaline shot that Super PACs offer.
We trust Bernie. He is the grandpa of American youth
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/11/8/1447349/-From-a-young-follower
KRUGMAN: Despair, American Style: Mortality-linked to Despair & Volatility of Right Wing Politics
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Basically, white Americans are, in increasing numbers, killing themselves... Suicide is way up, and so are deaths from drug poisoning and ... drinking... But what’s causing this epidemic of self-destructive behavior?...
In a recent interview Mr. Deaton suggested that middle-aged whites have “lost the narrative of their lives.” That is, their economic setbacks have hit hard because they expected better. Or to put it a bit differently, we’re looking at people who were raised to believe in the American Dream, and are coping badly with its failure to come true.
That sounds like a plausible hypothesis..., but the truth is that we don’t really know why despair appears to be spreading across Middle America. But it clearly is, with troubling consequences for our society...
I know I’m not the only observer who sees a link between the despair reflected in those mortality numbers and the volatility of right-wing politics. Some people who feel left behind by the American story turn self-destructive; others turn on the elites they feel have betrayed them. No, deporting immigrants and wearing baseball caps bearing slogans won’t solve their problems, but neither will cutting taxes on capital gains. So you can understand why some voters have rallied around politicians who at least seem to feel their pain.
At this point you probably expect me to offer a solution. But while universal health care, higher minimum wages, aid to education, and so on would do a lot to help Americans in trouble, I’m not sure whether they’re enough to cure existential despair.
the rest:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/09/opinion/despair-american-style.htmlhttp://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2015/11/paul-krugman-despair-american-style.html
Yachts with helipads that have openings to release smaller yachts, boats, jet skis, whatever.
Amazing personal anecdote on reddit:
My parents used to live in the Virgin Islands, and the level of wealth that passes through there every day is just mind-boggling. Yachts with helipads that have openings to release smaller yachts, boats, jet skis, whatever. Dining rooms that expand out of the side of the boat. Servants to drive boats to shore and cordon off sections of the beach so these people don't need to be too near everybody else. There are dozens of these ships there at any given time, alternating between there and the mediterranean. They are rarely movie stars or famous people - except for people like the Rolling Stones, this degree of wealth is beyond them. It's super-wealthy families that will never have to even think about money, because they have so much of it that they could live like they do for centuries just off of the interest on their accounts. It's unbelievable.
And when those brothers told me what they were earning, I said, "You ought to be marching with us"
:large
http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/documentsentry/doc_the_drum_major_instinct/
Ben Carson Redeems Himself – Proves How Roger Made It To The Ark
(With Ancient Video Footage)
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"Ignorance & Confidence"
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/ignorance-and-arrogance
Hillary Rodham Clinton: "I had no idea there was such a woman.”
Hillary in History
NOV. 7, 2015 515 COMMENTS
Gail Collins
IT’S officially one year until the presidential election. Amazing how time flies, isn’t it?
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Clinton is the only woman who’s ever won a presidential primary. The only others who ever featured as even remote factors were the Republican Margaret Chase Smith in 1964, and the Democrat Shirley Chisholm, who got 152 delegates in 1972. (There were lots of ways to get little chunks of delegates without winning a primary back then.)…
We do have to talk about Margaret Chase Smith, the first woman to have her name placed in nomination at the convention of a major party. “The first woman in politics I was aware of was Margaret Chase Smith,” Clinton recalled. “I can remember opening up Life magazine and reading about this woman who was in the United States Senate. I had no idea there was such a woman.”
Well, there certainly weren’t a whole lot. Smith, who spent much of the 1950s and 1960s as the only woman in the Senate, was the first senator with enough guts to stand up to Joseph McCarthy and his witch hunt. Her courage made such an impression that some Republicans talked about Smith as a possible vice-presidential nominee in 1952. But the party leaders thought a much sounder choice would be Richard Nixon…
The Democrats’ first big moment came in 1972 when Shirley Chisholm ran for the presidential nomination. Chisholm, an African-American, would have been a double historic first. But her party was in no way ready to make symbolic gestures. They needed a winner! So they nominated George McGovern.
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MORE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/opinion/sunday/hillary-in-history.html?_r=0
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