Monday, September 1, 2014

Start at about 2:48 for a really thought provoking sentence.



"...folks are getting’ a little further ahead of where we’re at (uh) than we currently are."


Well! Our well-tuned (if somewhat bedraggled looking) leader explained that pretty well, don’t you think?

15 comments:

Shaw Kenawe said...

Since we're being told to listen to a "thought provoking sentence," I thought you would be interested in this "thought provoking" article by Byron York, a conservative writer and pundit on how he handled his mistake in spreading the misinformation about Maj. Gen. Greene's funeral and the Obama administration's role in it:


Byron York:

On Sunday, I sent a note to Col. Morris Davis asking why, given the credibility that comes with his military career and law school position, he had distributed information he knew to be false. As he had in his earlier tweet, Davis claimed the falsehood was "sarcasm." Here is his response, in full:



"A couple of days ago I saw several people observe that President Obama was somewhere between disrespectful and treasonous for not attending the funeral of Major General Greene, which triggered the usual flood of anti-Obama hate that is prolific in some right-wing circles. I knew from my 25 years of military service that it wasn't common for Presidents to attend military funerals and I figured this fell into the same category as Obama is a communist because he was seen without an American flag pin on his jacket lapel or Obama hates the military because he didn't go to Arlington Cemetery on Memorial Day; in other words, I knew he was getting bashed again for doing exactly the same thing most of his Republican predecessors had done in similar circumstances.

To note the hypocrisy of the Obama-haters, I used sarcasm and tweeted that he had broken with the tradition Presidents Nixon and Bush 43 set when they attended the funerals of the last General killed in the Vietnam War and the highest ranking officer killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, which, of course, neither of them had done. And in the right-wing's bash Obama glee, my tweet has been retweeted a couple of hundred times without anyone taking two minutes to Google to see if it's true. It's similar to a Chinese news agency reprinting that Kim Jong-un had been named the sexiest man alive without checking and finding that The Onion is a satirical site. It's also a sad commentary on how gullible people can be and how willing they are to latch onto "news" that supports the narrative they want.


Just to summarize the facts in this convoluted affair: Hagel did attend the Greene funeral. Obama and Biden did not. Nixon did not attend the Dillard funeral, and Bush did not attend the Maude funeral. There is no "tradition" of presidential attendance at generals' funerals that Obama "bucked."


Byron York:

The Hagel misinformation (passed on erroneously by me) came from Drachenberg's tweet, amplified in the Legal Insurrection post. The Nixon and Bush misinformation was a deliberate falsehood spread by Davis.

There are several lessons to be drawn from the affair. The first, and most important, is to be skeptical about everything one sees on the Internet and make a good-faith effort to ensure that information one passes on is accurate. I will certainly redouble my efforts on that score in the future. The second lesson is that when one makes a mistake, correct it as quickly as possible.


And that, Joe, is how it's done, yes, even by a conservative, when he realizes he made a mistake.

Thought provoking, isn't it.

I'm just doing what Ducky refers to as helping you live the life of the mind.

I hope you had a restful Labor Day.

Dave Miller said...

Thanks Shaw... it is puzzling to me why Joe has not stepped up and done the right thing...

Whether one is a Christian or not, simple human decency and honesty seem to demand a response.

Ducky's here said...

Joe, that statement was poorly worded but strategical it makes good sense.

He is simply saying that, unlike "Knuckles" McCain he understands that just diving in like Chucklenuts Bush did to get this whole mess started isn't the best idea,

One thing we know, this isn't something you want to make worse. And the worst thing you can do is get behind the group who think massive military action is a panacea.

Joe, did you read that ISIS is waterboarding captives? Why don't you ask your avatar, Dick Cheney, where they got that idea.

Ducky's here said...

And Joe, what about that suit?

Armani?

Dave Miller said...

Ducky... waterboarding is not torture... they were/are just using enhanced interrogation techniques...

Re Suitgate... now the meme is that Tan was stylish in Reagan's day, so it was okay...

Ducky's here said...

Suitgate.

I swear, Dave, is it any wonder we can't have nice things.

Anonymous said...

How about putting the jack--- before the cart?

Dave Miller said...

I keep waiting to hear someone, anyone share a reasonable response ISIS...

It seems all many care to do is carp about Obamas admittedly lame "we got no strategy yet" statement.

Apart from simply bombing people back yo the Stone Age, which I've seen offered as a strategy by the extreme right, what options are the people upset at a lack of US action offering?

We're listening guys... give us your best ideas...

Dave Miller said...

And Joe, we're still waiting for your thoughts on your unfactual post... it's very unlike you to not respond and at least tell us how we're wrong...

Joe said...

DM: I have worked 2 12 hour shifts, one Labor Day and the other today.
I'm tired.

Dave Miller said...

Joe, I figured it was something like that... glad you're okay...

Ducky's here said...

One thing to notice, Dave, is that IS has been stopped and taken defeats at the dam and the village it had put under siege.

Obviously the result of poor planning.

Dave Miller said...

Ducky, maybe they just out ran their supply lines...

Unfortunately, America is going to have to respond in some sort of military fashion.

Pres. Obama mentioned the other day the impact of social media and the net on the public discourse here in the US.

In a continuing evolution of a trend started in Vietnam, this new media, rather than reasoned professionals are driving our responses.

It is less about a good response, and more about a powerful response, yesterday as the extremists demand quick, seemingly decisive action, even when there is none to be had.

This cannot be the most effective way to manage our foreign policy, but it is what we got... policy driven by the loudest partisans... as oppose to quiet, professional state craft...

Shaw Kenawe said...

"This cannot be the most effective way to manage our foreign policy, but it is what we got... policy driven by the loudest partisans... as oppose to quiet, professional state craft..."

Luckily we have a temperate, deliberative man as CiC who does not go off half-crazed at every threat that explodes on this planet.

The right wing howls about his measured responses, not having a clue about how foreign policy is done.

It's all about a narrative (disengaged golfer) and nothing about the reality of doing what is best for America.

Lisa said...

he has a stragety for ISIS,raising the minimum wage.