October 21, 2008
The Worst of the Campus in the White House
In a chilling piece, yesterday, Andy McCarthy argues — I would phrase it — that Barack Obama is the fruit of the leftist lunacy that has flourished on American campuses:
For Obama, that society is an ineradicably racist "white world." He is more opaque than mentors like Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers, who mince no words in portraying America as an apartheid state. Still, as Hank De Zutter wrote in a fawning 1995 profile, Obama learned to see "integration was a one-way street, with blacks expected to assimilate into a white world that never gave ground." One hears the echoes of Obama's wife, Michelle, whose Princeton thesis decried the thought of "further integration and/or assimilation into a white cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society; never becoming a full participant."...As Obama wrote in his chapter [in a tribute to Saul Alinsky], "Why Organize? Problems and Promise in the Inner City":
The debate as to how black and other dispossessed people can forward their lot in America is not new. From W.E.B. DuBois to Booker T. Washington to Marcus Garvey to Malcolm X to Martin Luther King, this internal debate has raged between integration and nationalism, between accommodation and militancy, between sit-down strikes and boardroom negotiations. The lines between these strategies have never been simply drawn, and the most successful black leadership has recognized the need to bridge these seemingly divergent approaches. [Emphasis added.]Breathtaking. Observe that the organizer does not reject separatism, menacing, and civil disobedience. They are iterations of the hard power he "bridges" with soft power, the exploitation of the system's regular politics. And in a society that venerates dissent and free association, there is much to exploit in the blurry line between critiquing our society and advocating its destruction.
In his partial review of laws likely to be signed into law by an "unchecked" Obama, David Freddoso is correct to note that Republicans' abandonment of their principles has helped to bring us to the point at which the likes of Obama have a shot of running the country, but if he wins, dark days seem to be looming for freedom in the American sense.
If Clinton's era was a "vacation from history," Obama's will be nostalgia for the fantasies of co-ed years, during which several generations learned to pump their fists in a show of disconnected, play-acting vanity. He'll be a "transformative" figure, indeed, but not in a way amenable to the spirit in which that banality has so often been uttered.
From Our Socialist leader, Comrade Barbara Ehrenreich. I'm a secret capitalist agent and thought that you might like inside details on the insidious socialist plot. Arise capitalists, you have nothing to loose but your bonds.
OldTimeLefty
Surely you have heard by now of the imminent socialist takeover of America, and if you find the prospect unlikely, ask yourself: How many socialists do you know who lost millions in the recent stock market crashes? Just as I thought -- none -- and that's not only because you don't know any socialists. The truth is that we, the Socialist International Conspiracy, not only saw this coming, we are the ones who made it happen.The plan took shape during a particularly intense criticism/self-criticism session at our 2000 annual convention in a booth at an Akron IHOP. We realized that we'd been recruiting no more new members per year than the Green Bay Packers and that, despite all our efforts, more Americans have been taken aboard UFOs than have embraced the historic promise of socialism. So we decided to suspend our usual work of standing on street corners and hissing, "Hey, how'd you like to live in a workers' paradise?" Instead of building socialism, one worker at a time, we would focus on destroying capitalism, hedge fund by hedge fund.
First, we selected a cadre of crusty punks from the streets of Seattle, stripped off their Che T-shirts, suited them up in Armani's and wingtips, and introduced them to the concepts of derivatives and dental floss. Then we shipped them to Wall Street with firm instructions: Make as much money as you can, as fast as you can, and as soon as the money starts rolling in, send it out to make more money by whatever dodgy means you can find -- subprime loans, credit default swaps, pyramid schemes -- anything goes. And oh yes: Spend your own earnings in the most flamboyantly gross ways you can think of -- $10,000 martinis, fountains of champagne -- so as to fan the flames of class resentment.
These brave comrades did far better than we could have imagined, quickly adapting to lives of excess and greed punctuated only by squash games at the Century Club. But we could not have inflicted such massive damage to capitalism if we hadn't also planted skilled agents in high places within the government and various quasi-governmental agencies. When all this is over, Phil Gramm, for example -- the former senator and McCain economics advisor -- will be getting a Hero of Socialism award for his courageous battle against financial regulation. That's the only name I can name at this moment, but I will tell you this: If you happened to have been in a playground in the suburbs of DC any time in the last few years, and noticed an impeccably dressed elderly man poking around under rocks, that was a certain Federal Reserve Chairman, looking for his weekly orders from the central committee.
Things were going swimmingly until about a week ago, when the capitalists suddenly staged a counter-coup. We had thought that the nationalization of the banks would bring capitalism to its knees, but instead, the capitalists were craftily using it to privatize the government. Goldman Sachs, former home of Henry Paulson, has taken the lead, planting its agents so thickly about the erstwhile public sector as to earn the nickname "Government Sachs." Among the former Goldman Sachs operatives now running the country, in addition to Paulson, are the president's chief of staff, the chairman of the New York Fed, the man appointed to take over A.I.G., and the 35-year-old boy wonder selected to oversee the bail-out program.
According to the New York Times, "Goldman supporters" insist there is no "conspiracy" and not a black helicopter in sight -- just a bunch of public-spirited investment bankers sacrificing their normal 8-figure salaries for the good of the nation. But we socialists know a conspiracy when we see one, and some in our ranks are complaining bitterly that as capitalism began to collapse, the bankers seized the life raft that was intended to save the laid-off, the foreclosed-upon, and the exploited masses in general.
Ah well, we socialists still have the election to look forward to. After months of studying the candidates' economic plans, we have determined that one of them, and only one, can be relied on to complete the destruction of capitalism. With high hopes and great confidence, the Socialist International Conspiracy endorses John McCain
Posted by: OldTimeLefty at October 21, 2008 6:33 PM
Well done
OldTimeLefty
Signed
The Folks at
BANK OF AMERICA
BAC--NYSE
Posted by: Brian Mc at October 21, 2008 7:54 PMI watched a 3 hour interview with John Hope Franklin,an Afro-American history professor at (I think)Duke.He's about 90 years old,but very astute mentally.
He was a history professor at Brooklyn College when I was in high school!
He delivers an unsettling and pessimistic view of race relations in the US.He remembers every slight he encountered in his life for just being Black.Can't say I wouldn't feel bitter either.It depends who you are.
He is no Farrakhan or Jackson or Sharpton.He is a very accomplished historian,but he is depressing to listen to.It's the hopelessness of his tone that comes through.Ironic, given his middle name.
It was on CSPAN.
The only thing chilling about that piece is that you consider it legitimate journalism.
McCarthy (the irony is too rich) makes many declarations about what Obama believes. The problem is that other than one quote from one of Obama's books and a few words from an interview from the mid-1990s, McCarthy provides no support for his assertions.
A good deal of science fiction for the NRO crowd, but not a serious examination of Obama's beliefs. Of course, since Obama is a thoughtful author and a serious thinker, I would not expect an NRO hack to waste his time on legitimate criticism.
Poor Bill Buckley, turning over and over again in his grave as the anti-intellectualism of the right reaches ever new heights. What is worse, the right now revels in it. Ivy League educations are a source of embarassment. Plumbers and mayors of third-rate towns are now the standard for our political leadership.
Posted by: Pragmatist at October 21, 2008 10:29 PM Socialism, Arab ties...
Coming up next: Barack Obama kicks dogs.
But seriously, folks...Osama bin Laden wasn't vilified this much.
Rhody, you have got to be kidding me. Ever heard of Sarah Palin? If you think Obama has been more vilified her then you have your eyes closed or are totally blinded by partisan-ism.
Not saying that Obama hasn't been unfairly attacked - as opposed to any Presidential candidate. But not in the league of the venom and mud spewed toward Sarah Palin by the MSM.
Posted by: msteven at October 22, 2008 11:52 AMOTL,
Never has anyone used so many words to say so little.
Nostrovia
Palin brought it upon herself with her arrogance and sense of entitlement from Day One.
I'm sure plenty of Republicans feel the same way, too.
As for those who foisted her upon McCain because they wanted a storyline, well, sometimes in life you gotta take the bad with the good.
Palin brought it upon herself with her arrogance and sense of entitlement? As opposed to the behavior of some woman named Clinton?
Come on, Rhody - at least be honest. She's a woman. She's conservative. It is clearly unacceptable to be both in today's culture. This proved it.
Posted by: msteven at October 22, 2008 4:44 PM I completely agree Hillary brought her problems on herself. She managed to pull defeat from the jaws of victory with her sense of entitlement.
Men can do it too - look at Romney and Guiliani.
Hey Rhody-how about Obama?Publicizing the menu for the victory party and all.
I mean he looks good to win,but the fat lady hasn't even farted,let alone sang yet.
If you're talking about the New York Post Page 6 kerfluffle...three words:
Consider the source.
Now if Palin won and wants to have Bugaboo Creek cater the party, most of us would be down with that.