What the health care argument does is crowd out much consideration of the administration's frenzied attempt to expand (i.e., win) the war in Afpak. Polls show a majority of Americans now disapprove of the war, but you wouldn't know that from the media, where what we hear is puerile boilerplate like what Obama gave the VFW this week, e.g.,
"Those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again. If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which Al Qaida would plot to kill more Americans. So this is not only a war worth fighting; this is fundamental to the defense of our people ... No matter the mission, we must maintain America's military dominance."
"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum -- even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate" [Noam Chomsky]. --CGE
Mr. X wrote:
> Reason falls flat..the right uses emotions while the left still tilts at the
> windmills of Reason and loses. Barney did the right thing with humor
>
> peace,
>
> Jim Davis Ozark Bioregion, USA Planet Gaia
>
>
> http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/historical-materialism/7346550
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
>> Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 2:21:01 PM Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Barney
>> Frank at the top of his form
>>
>> Wouldn't it have been better if he'd found out why the woman made the
>> comparison she did and what the source of her information was, and refuted
>> it, if he could?
>>
>> This bit of low theater just keeps the argument going -- which may after
>> all be the point. --CGE
>>
>>
>> Doug Henwood wrote:
>>> The video of Barney Frank's "what planet?" exchange:
>>>
>>> .
>>>
>>> He's the most entertaining guy in public life.
>>> ___________________________________