tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post5606803075617898547..comments2024-02-26T00:59:26.907-08:00Comments on Ana the Imp: Obama and the American NightmareAnastasia F-Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-8276564249237180822011-11-03T18:06:29.807-07:002011-11-03T18:06:29.807-07:00Jon, I could not possibly comment. :-)Jon, I could not possibly comment. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-4013165249607648522011-11-02T18:33:56.096-07:002011-11-02T18:33:56.096-07:00Ana, I think you write beautifully, and it's r...Ana, I think you write beautifully, and it's refreshing to visit an intelligent blog (they are certainly the exception). But, I have to say ...<br /><br />I just recently watched the House of Cards series (yes, I know, 20 years after the fact), and I thought the Francis Urquhart philosophy was an unfair exaggeration of a conservative world view. But I wonder if I was wrong.Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11031084152042320962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-47022773957228383132011-11-01T17:04:46.678-07:002011-11-01T17:04:46.678-07:00CB, how interesting. Thank you.CB, how interesting. Thank you.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-53998547710918066272011-11-01T17:03:27.172-07:002011-11-01T17:03:27.172-07:00Jeremy, thanks for that. I look forward to next N...Jeremy, thanks for that. I look forward to next November!Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-11412876721774255232011-11-01T08:34:22.782-07:002011-11-01T08:34:22.782-07:00Ana, as I recall it came in equal amounts from thr...Ana, as I recall it came in equal amounts from three different sources (roughly 1/3 of the total amount was illegal). <br /><br />The first of it was from his "Left Coast" bundlers - wealthy homosexuals from San Francisco, Silicon Valley investors, and Environmentalists.<br /><br />The second big chunk was from online contributions, but given the $2300 per contributor legal limit, it is more than a little suspicious that Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck, and Mickey Mouse each contributed over $20,000 to his campaign. I used to work in the consumer credit industry, and I was amazed when I saw that the DNC and Obama webpages didn't include any edits to confirm that they were valid credit card purchases which didn't exceed the $2300 limit. I wonder how much money the major cards had to "charge-off" when all of those clever college students defaulted on their balances. <br /><br />Finally, on the East Coast, despite that the Republicans are viewed as the party of the big banks and big business, Obama received 2 to 3 times the contributions from the big Wall St houses like Goldman-Sachs and Citicorp as did McCain. On the "Near East" Coast, two brothers that were known to be connected to the PLO would buy "Hope and Change" T-shirts from the Obama campaign and resell them in the Gaza Strip. $38,000 isn't much money, but illegal is illegal. Of course, his receiving millions from the various labour unions and College professors is a given.<br /><br />Regretfully, Obama's people have demonstrated one thing - if you win the election, you don't have to worry about being procecuted for inconsistancies surrounding your campaign finances.ColonialBoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14408255297226140956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-19230006600692005552011-10-30T20:06:27.179-07:002011-10-30T20:06:27.179-07:00"Do you think this discontent will turn to a ..."Do you think this discontent will turn to a Republican vote next year?"<br /><br />Actually Ana the evidence at the RCP Polling Average, one of the more scientific approaches to polling available, along with Special Elections, seems to indicate that it will. And the thing about the immigrants is that up until now a few GOP firebrands like Mr. Tancredo (ironic name, considering what he's famous for) have done a great job of making them feel like the GOP is against them, even when in many cases they really aren't the way the debates and the dialogue is carried only the most careful of listeners would be able to, and with Obama and his policies causing many of them to literally leave the country as they find themselves without any work or possibility of it, they're starting to change their tune. Keep in mind that Americas welfare state is nowhere near as elaborate as Britains (though ironically some other forms of state control may be more so), and as a result people and especially immigrants are much more connected to the economy and the results of bad economy policy.<br /><br />Unlike Tancredo, Herman Cain, a real American black growing up in the Jim Crow South to do and be so many amazing things, presents a starkly different face. Even if he loses the primaries, he's gotten far enough to leave an impression that someone else CAN win and that minorities are truly welcome and important to the GOP.<br /><br />The great irony is that America actually has more to be afraid of in terms of immigration and border then it did 4 years ago, but Americans in general don't consider the issue as important as they considered it then maybe in part because other concerns have grown more pressing. That helps the GOP greatly, as the antagonizers of the "Mexican Reconquista Watch Brigade" have largely gone home, stayed quiet or been ignored.Jeremy Jansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03218395232783877050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-9307937883556107272011-10-30T17:49:41.355-07:002011-10-30T17:49:41.355-07:00CB, where does the cash come from? That's som...CB, where does the cash come from? That's something that I must look in to.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-8734375044370650752011-10-30T17:48:38.185-07:002011-10-30T17:48:38.185-07:00Bob, many thanks. I shall have a look in a bit.Bob, many thanks. I shall have a look in a bit.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-72505277338662924682011-10-30T17:47:58.387-07:002011-10-30T17:47:58.387-07:00CI, as he wanders out of a speak-easy. :-)CI, as he wanders out of a speak-easy. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-64796741036740005752011-10-30T17:47:00.937-07:002011-10-30T17:47:00.937-07:00Nobby, yes, I understand. Religion is important i...Nobby, yes, I understand. Religion is important in American politics but it has never occupied the centre ground. The problem with The GOP's dalliance with fundamentalism is that it risks losing much of the moderate vote. The centre may be soft but it's still decisive.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-34434121249707875982011-10-30T17:44:02.425-07:002011-10-30T17:44:02.425-07:00Calvin, I certainly hope so, not just for your sak...Calvin, I certainly hope so, not just for your sake but for ours also.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-62142919629681464642011-10-30T17:42:25.929-07:002011-10-30T17:42:25.929-07:00Jeremy, my hunch, and I confess it is a hunch, not...Jeremy, my hunch, and I confess it is a hunch, not having looked at the figures you refer to, is that the new immigrants, particularly those from the Latin countries, are far more sympathetic to socialism and state intervention than the WASP community. I see these people as the backbone of the Obama vote, along with black Americans. The discontent, I suspect, is because the great change is not happening or not happening fast enough. Do you think this discontent will turn to a Republican vote next year? I suspect not.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-46790989356651030012011-10-30T17:39:37.913-07:002011-10-30T17:39:37.913-07:00I know.I know.anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02931330128135957439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-53326353260369508642011-10-30T17:37:48.935-07:002011-10-30T17:37:48.935-07:00Anthony, I'm teasing you. :-)Anthony, I'm teasing you. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-24939321988811709962011-10-30T15:35:33.809-07:002011-10-30T15:35:33.809-07:00Ana, I very much agree w/your opinion of BHO, and ...Ana, I very much agree w/your opinion of BHO, and was horrified when he was elected President of the US. What little record he had demonstrated that he was little more than a far-left wing political hack. Then again, as the main-stream media refused to vet him, and he outspent his opponent 7-1 for political advertisements, I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised. I am more than a little concerned that he already has $1B of campaign funds on hand (compared to the ~$679M he spent against McCain the last election).ColonialBoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14408255297226140956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-65942562435533896572011-10-28T15:13:15.650-07:002011-10-28T15:13:15.650-07:00Hi, Ana. I re-posted your essay today with a small...Hi, Ana. I re-posted your essay today with a small preface of my own:<br /><br />(http://crockettlives.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/an-unnatural-disaster/)Bob Mackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13452703873713992208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-11911409737721496352011-10-28T13:58:18.798-07:002011-10-28T13:58:18.798-07:00Barack Obama is President 'cos he Speakseasily...Barack Obama is President 'cos he Speakseasily. <br />:-)Canary Islanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12559374655320416333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-72697890753367547412011-10-27T21:48:37.640-07:002011-10-27T21:48:37.640-07:00Ana, As you know Americans are less embarrassed ab...Ana, As you know Americans are less embarrassed about their religious beliefs than most English people who are often condescending in their attitude towards what they describe as 'fundamentalism'. It is a different culture and Americans are often less inhibited about religious expression. Conversely, in the UK, if someone even mentions the word God in public the chances are they will considered a nutter. This is quite strange when you consider how religious the rest of the free world is - I mean societies not previously under the yoke of atheistic communism. What I am saying is that in this respect it is not the Americans that are odd it is the English.Nobbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088033081316289008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-48673504630212546622011-10-27T21:02:08.547-07:002011-10-27T21:02:08.547-07:00I don't believe Obama himself is historically ...I don't believe Obama himself is historically or politically significant, except as a sign of the desperation of statism to find ways enact its towering dreams of centralized command and control over every aspect of life . . . while all around us the existing edifices are decaying and collapsing faster than new ones can be constructed. He is poster boy selected by committee with no more autonomy than a glove puppet. His failures are the failures of one sterile branch of the ruling class, just as the idiotic campaigns of Palin, Bachmann, Perry, et al represent the failed imagination of the other branch.<br /><br />Party politics has been over-massaged and sterilized by vested interests who fear any true liberty and innovation in politics and commerce will allow others to prosper and displace them. They fear change will sweep them away - and they are right. But change will come nonetheless.Calvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10640148105202971907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-89264603960593695412011-10-27T19:45:47.999-07:002011-10-27T19:45:47.999-07:00Indeed the Big Government and the moves towards So...Indeed the Big Government and the moves towards Socialism are in place, and America is not happy about it, including even many groups that were previously considered very pro-Socialism (e.g. Latinos, Young people, and the City of New York). Why do I say this? A combination of polls showing Obamas support among Latinos collapsing to under 50% and his support among young collapsing to near 50%, and a series of elections in which urban Democrat districts in the Northeast have shockingly changed hands, even when (as in the case of the district in Queens) the opposing candidate was actually pretty good.Jeremy Jansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03218395232783877050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-24191829694409105912011-10-27T18:06:33.353-07:002011-10-27T18:06:33.353-07:00No, the old white man!No, the old white man!anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02931330128135957439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-68777562519492701472011-10-27T16:59:40.905-07:002011-10-27T16:59:40.905-07:00HIM, thanks. In the light of your comment you mig...HIM, thanks. In the light of your comment you might be interested in <i>The Manchurian Candidate</i>, a piece I posted on 10 February of last year.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-52237995934228538172011-10-27T16:57:56.852-07:002011-10-27T16:57:56.852-07:00Michael, I retain faith in the GOP...and the TP. ...Michael, I retain faith in the GOP...and the TP. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-10036360214803695782011-10-27T16:56:26.336-07:002011-10-27T16:56:26.336-07:00Wilson, I absolutely agree.
On the Oxford series ...Wilson, I absolutely agree.<br /><br />On the Oxford series I've only read McPherson's <i>Battle Cry of Freedom</i>, his account of the Civil War era, which I thought was superb, both as a piece of writing and as a work of scholarship. That was a few years ago now but I shall try and draw from the wells of memory sufficiently to write a review. :-) I'll catch up with the others in due course.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-20310739380004772812011-10-27T16:48:57.470-07:002011-10-27T16:48:57.470-07:00Jeremy, yes, that's an important point about c...Jeremy, yes, that's an important point about corruption, the pork-barrelling and Tammany Hall tradition, if I can put it like that. I would not be too sanguine about the impossibility of socialism, though. There have been major demographic changes in the country over the last twenty years or so that make this a distinct possibility. Big government is already in place. Socialism is just the next step.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.com