September 25, 2015

Agreed.

It's hard to reason that she would NOT run for state office. After all, she got the position she's in now by election and she's taking in $80,000 a year, which is great pay anywhere, but especially so in Kentucky. She's achieved lots of fame and attention--even got to raise her hands before an adoring crowd to the strains of "Eye of the Tiger." She's been making frequent TV appearances and been hobnobbing with U.S. senators and congressmen.

From her perspective, taking elective office as a county clerk has caused God to just shower her with blessings. Is it not obvious God wants her to pursue this political path further?

Let us all now speak in tongues to celebrate Kim and the glory of her Apostolic righteousness: "Hee-buh-baba... wah-kuh-shee-huh... shee-muh-baba-matta... dunkin'-donuts-coffee-coolatta!"

P.S.: If anyone thinks I'm being too hard on the ridiculous practice of speaking in tongues, I encourage you to watch the video below.

September 25, 2015

Oh my gosh, this story brings back memories.

Years ago, I had a Japanese girlfriend who adored two Corydoras catfish I had in a tank for cleaning purposes. The names she gave them, if I remember correctly, were "Pish-pish" and "Poh-poh." I think she named them that because she thought it was comical the way they chugged their stocky little bodies back and forth as they made their rounds on the bottom of the tank. They were her favorite fish in the tank, by far, and the only ones to which she gave names.

Sadly, I made the big mistake of not marrying that girlfriend and Pish-pish and Poh-poh are no more. Life goes on. Let us all pause for this wabi-sabi moment.

Okay, anyway... ~collecting self~ ... Ms. Kasuga has a point. Corydoras catfish are cute.

September 18, 2015

I've stopped responding to the charges of racism in this thread.

I've been called a racist, a house slave, an apologist for bigots... I can't even keep track at this point. Every time my "My Posts" tab goes yellow, I sigh and wonder, "Okay, who's going to call me a racist monster now?"

All because I disagree with a Facebook post that argues, through a false dichotomy, that no one at any point had any legitimate concern for safety in that school.

I have stated in virtually every post that I believe the response to the perceived threat was an outrage and was almost surely fueled by anti-Muslim racism. No one seems to notice those sentences.

The groupthink permeating this thread makes any attempt to discuss the topic futile.

September 17, 2015

Oh my gosh.

Now a couple of you seem to be arguing that unless I can prove the police handled the situation perfectly, then the logic of the Facebook post stands.

I don't think they handled the situation correctly. I think they mishandled it horribly. Ahmed Mohamed should have been apologized to and returned to class once it became clear that this student had not built the "infrastructure for a bomb."

Allow me now to turn the question back to you folks:

You seriously believe that the teacher and the police never thought there was cause for concern about the device? You believe that they all knew it was a harmless clock and acted only so that they could, in the words of the Facebook post, "humiliate a little Muslim boy"?

I think truth and reality often come in shades of grey. I think the teacher and the police were genuinely alarmed when they first saw the device. I think the investigation then went off the rails because of anti-Muslim prejudice and an unwillingness to admit error. I do not, for one minute, buy what the Facebook post posits, namely, that they either believed it was a bomb that was about to blow everyone up at any second OR they never believed there was any cause for concern and their only motivation was to humiliate.

September 14, 2015

If you'll look at post #9, and re-read it with an open mind...

... that may help. There are a few posters in this thread who are trying to tell you that you're missing the point. It isn't about issues; it's about language and tone and attacking America's first black president with some of the most vitriolic language I can ever remember an academic using in the public sphere.

If you insist on holding fast to your original question, I guess one "single issue" where I can say I favor Obama over West is the use of vitriolic, racially-charged language. West seems to be for it; Obama's never stooped that low.

"America's first n*****ized black president"? Really?! Can you defend that? I can't.

Incidentally, I'm a Bernie supporter and I generally agree with Cornel West. But if a POC says they can't abide Cornel West, I can accept and understand it (especially after reading post #9).

I don't think it's at all helpful to respond with: "You do?! Why? Prove to me that your dislike is justified by citing policy differences." Forgive me if I've got it wrong, but that really seems to be what your post is doing.

September 14, 2015

Not yet.

But I suspect, once it becomes clear to her that she's about to lose the nomination to Bernie Sanders, she will. I mean, this is a politician who has adopted a southern accent when addressing southerners.

And I can predict what her speech will sound like:

~Hillary, in a blue pantsuit, is holding a microphone and addressing a not-very-enthusiastic audience~

"You know, I have been for government solutions all my life. And America has a long tradition of social solutions, like firemen. And policemen. And public libraries. In fact, you could say I've been a socialist my entire political career. And since I have more experience in public service, you could say I'm the socialist who can get more done in Washington than any other socialist!"

~a few quizzical looks from the audience ("Did she just say she's a socialist?&quot , followed by tepid applause~

September 10, 2015

Please reconsider the decision to not serve on juries.

If you're a conscientious juror and have not been abusing the system, please don't remove yourself from the jury pool. I understand you're viewing it as a form of protest, but who's getting the message you're trying to send? The software running on the server? More importantly, it means that the rest of the DU community is being denied your good judgment.

In other words: By trying to protest the jury system, you're increasing the odds that it will be even more unfair and will render bad judgments that will hurt real individuals.

With an eye toward improving a system rather than boycotting it, I wholeheartedly agree with suggestions already made in this thread:

1. Redact the poster's username from the jury.
Yes, a minority of obsessed individuals will no doubt get around this by doing a search for the thread to identify the poster. But at least it's an emphatic reminder that the post is supposed to be judged on its own merits or failings, regardless of who posted it.

2. Implement more restrictions on alerting.
I don't think any individual should be allowed to make more than one alert every 24 hours or even one alert a week. After all, if a post is a problem, it should be a problem to a majority of the people reading it. The issuing of alerts should be spread broadly among the population, and not the demesne of a handful of individuals who are spending hours every day cruising threads just looking for posts to alert on.

Lastly, for what it's worth, I too thought 1StrongBlackMan's post should not have been hidden, and I'm a Bernie supporter. I wish I were on the jury. By continuing to participate in jury service, at least I have a chance to weigh in on such crucial decisions in the future.

August 31, 2015

Here's a photo of some of what was destroyed.

I see someone has already done the sad labor of changing many of the sentences in the Wikipedia entry to past tense. From "The temple is an outstanding example of..." to "The temple was an outstanding example of...."

To think that it withstood 2,000 years of human history to be destroyed in an instant by a band of idiots with a crate of explosives.

August 31, 2015

Three serious questions for my fellow Bernie supporters

I'm as excited about the Bernie Sanders phenomenon as anyone. But I'm also a realist. And from the beginning of all this, I've viewed a Sanders presidency as a very difficult thing to achieve. Three things lately are concerning me. Can anyone share some insights on these potential stumbling blocks below? I often see Hillary supporters or people in the media refer to them, but I don't often see possible solutions discussed.

Note: I'm hoping this post is acceptable to the Bernie Group. I think it's vital that we occasionally discuss challenges and not just focus on the happy stuff.

1. Campaign money
In these early stages, Bernie's doing great. I worry, though, that over the long haul he's going to get deluged with wave after wave of negative ads from, first, Hillary, and second, the Republicans. I'm old enough to have learned that you can get the majority of Americans to believe anything if you repeat it enough (see: Kerry, swift-boating). I don't know the figures, but I think Hillary's war chest dwarfs Bernie's and that concerns me. How is Bernie going to counter this? I've heard something about a possibility of accepting public funds, but apparently that has some restrictions; unfortunately, I'm not clear on any of it and would appreciate any insights.

2. Minority support
I keep hearing that Sanders's support among people of color is very low. Are there any signs in the polls that he's making progress? How much support is he going to need among African Americans to be viable? And do you think he can get it? It seems to me that a lot of the AA voters are wedded to Hillary and I don't see this changing.

3. The Biden factor
Biden is still trending at around 14% in the polls. If Biden does not run, does anyone know where that 14% is likely to go? If most of it goes to Hillary, the progress Bernie has made toward Hillary's number will evaporate overnight. I'm concerned more of it would go to Hillary than Bernie because I'm thinking Biden appeals to voters who are supportive of the Democratic status quo.

* * *

That's it. I'll be reading any and all answers carefully and with appreciation for your insights. I come to DU to learn and I'm hoping you guys can help me out.

Thanks!