I've tried as hard as I can to avoid politics in this space, but something I heard on television this morning crawled under my skin. Both the presidential candidates have said some pretty stupid things over the past few months, and I just can't take it anymore.
At a rally in Ohio yesterday, John McCain introduced Joe the Plumber as "an American hero."
Now wait just a minute.
This is the guy who asked Barack Obama a question which was, essentially: If I were really a licensed plumber, and if I weren't already a tax delinquent, and if I wanted to start my own business, and if that business were successful enough to make more than $250,000 in profit, would my taxes go up from 36 percent to 39 percent?
So, now he's an "American hero," just like the brave and unselfish soldiers who have thrown themselves on hand grenades to save the lives of their comrades.
What a sad denigration of heroism this is.
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Ironically, it’s the MSM that has made Joe a hero and, at the risk of sounding theatrical, he is one of the martyrs of this campaign. I think Americans realize that the extensive computer investigations and the media revealing every detail of Joe the Plumber’s life could easily happen to them and they will remember with uneasiness the harassment this man has endured for making Obama sound Marxist.
I guess everyone's a hero when nobody keeps score. It seems there are many "True Believers"/lemmings about to vote or, for that matter, hoping to be elected.
Let's get real here, first anonymous responder. Joe the Plumber would have been forgotten and left alone in anonymity had McCain not latched onto him like a leech.
After all, it IS McCain who is still using the soundbite from the youtube clip...
Yup, Brant, after that darn third debate, poor Joe was subjected to computer checks to see if he owed back child support, taxes, or received welfare payments, the results of which were leaked to the media. It also appears that these computer checks were even more egregious, but I’m not sure of all the facts right now. Don’t you think this is contemptible? Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship or limitation, or without fear of punishment. Poor Joe would be embarrassed to be compared to that multitude of heroic soldiers who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. But, geez, that dude brought this invasion of privacy on himself by insinuating that Obama is a tad bit Marxist. Joe and his big mouth. Have you read 1984? The similarities give me the willies.
It seems to me, these days people don't know when to shut up. I just saw a bumper-sticker that said, "Heros Never Die"; it also seems that since 9-11, everyone's a hero. Wasn't the overuse of "Hero" what the gripe was about in the first place?
Before the the nit pickers out there get all excited, "Heros" should have been "Heroes".
The idea that Joe is a poor victim here is asinine. The guy was only too happy to make himself the center of attention. For gawd's sake, he was campaigning with McCain yesterday in Ohio, happy as a clam about all the attention he's getting. He could have put an end to this any time he wanted by closing his front door and shutting his mouth. McCain turned him into a national figure, and when you become a key figure in a presidential campaign, people in the media, right or wrong, are going to look in every nook and cranny to see what kind of skeletons might be in your closet.
Joe the plumber is an American heroe. He exposed what Senator McCain couldn't seem to be able to convey to the American people. And that's expose this sinister tax plan of Barack Obama's. Even the liberal media is asking where all the money is coming from that Obama plans on spending? I know you folks at the newspaper don't make a lot of money, but do you realize that you will be helping Obama achieve his spending goals? How else is he going to be be able to tax and spend over a TRILLION dollars in additional governmental spending? Joe the plumber is an American heroe. He has helped all American's know what Obama's tax plans truely are. If the businesses are taxed more, that will equate down to higher costs of goods and services, and fewer jobs to be had. Which is exacally opposite to what Obama is telling us. I just can't understand why the O-R and it's employees have fallen into line, just like hypnotized sheep?
"...when you become a key figure in a presidential campaign, people in the media, right or wrong, are going to look in every nook and cranny to see what kind of skeletons might be in your closet."
Cool segue into Halloween fright night, Brant. Since you brought up the subject of skeletons, do you want to discuss Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Ayers, Rezco, and Khaladi?
Sinister? Come on... it's a 4% increase... and it's still 10+ percent LOWER than the highest bracket that Jesus Christ himself Regan had...
Oh, and I can do one of those high tech super future computer searches too... I can probably even find who owes taxes on what... That kinda stuff IS available... Isn't that the same kinda stuff these computertards are doing with Obama's birth certificate, his being born in Kenya/Philippines/Mars, and everyone he has ever passed in an elevator?
Perspective... perspective.
PS... my secret word is "brando"
Pimp
I think Wright, Ayers, and Rezco have been beaten into the ground... but as far as Khaladi (sp?) is concerned... doesn't McCain have a history of sending him money also?
For the record, I have no problem with Ayers, have the same issues with Wright as I do ANY pastor/priest/minister, etc... and don't really think much of the Rezco issue... also, I don't think much of Keating either. McCain and Obama were both awesome candidates when this whole party started... McCain has fallen far in the integrity department since, oh, I don't know... the 2000 primaries.
"just can't understand why the O-R and it's employees have fallen into line, just like hypnotized sheep?"
The press pants for him. Chris Matthews' pants are on fire for him.
"The press pants for him. Chris Matthews' pants are on fire for him." The effect seems widespread... like 50-60% of the population...
PS... secret word is "boating" this time... this is getting funner and funner :-)
Ellipses,
Speaking of "boats", I like this snippet from Iowahawk:
"One imagines him at the helm of the Ship of State, basked in the sunlight diffusing through the seaspray over the bow, like some beautiful rugged Othello from a rapturous Ralph Lauren catalog, calmly issuing instructions to the deck crew in that magnificent mellifluous baritone of his."
What is a hyptnotized sheep?
There's a unwritten rule -- maybe it's even written somewhere -- "Before you open your mouth, clean the skeletons out of your closets."
You could also state it a number of other ways:
Pot calling the kettle black.
Put your own house in order.
Physician, heal thyself.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
When you stick your puss in front of a camera with a presidential candidate, you should expect to draw some coverage. May "Joe" isn't deserving of having an anal probe, but I have no sympathy for such a total schmuck.
The real loser is not Joe the Plumber, but the American media that has shot away any semblance of fairness during this presidential election. But they've paid accordingly with declining viewership and circulation. The O-R is no exception.
He is a Hero because he asked a question which lapdogs like you and the American Media wouldn't ask. How you gonna make all this magic happen? We will take from one group and give to another - real simple. Obama has gone unquestioned on his socialistic positions. It is all about hype and style over substance.
As usual your facts are completely distorted and biased He wasn't starting a business. He was buying an existing one. Through illegally obtained information thanks to Democrats (Oh your privacy is important) he was smeared.
He didn't jump on a grenade, but he is a hero for asking a question knowing that he would scourged by Obamabots like you. The definition of hero a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities would be applicable. As for you I think the word lackey would apply someone who does menial tasks or runs errands for another.
Comrade Burroughs explain to me what this "Civilian National Security Force" that Obama is talking about? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2yGzHfy7s
"He is a Hero because he asked a question which lapdogs like you and the American Media wouldn't ask."
That's because I can do math and already knew the answer...
-ellipses
To the last anonymous poster: Are you kidding? If you want to define hero that way, it's fine and acceptable, according to the dictionary. A take a stricter view of the word. But even by your definition, Joe is not a hero. A man admired for his achievements and noble qualities? What a joke. And your allegation of illegally obtained information. Since you don't provide specifics, I'll assume you're talking about his failure to pay taxes and the fact that he's not a licenses plumber. Tax liens and business licenses are public records. Nothing nefarious is required to access them.
How is it that "civilian nation security force" became capitalized and made into an acronym? It seems to me that Obama was talking in very general terms, saying that in order to fight terrorism, we need to defend ourselves at home as much as we do abroad, and that the civilian forces that protect us here - i.e., police, FBI, border patrols, etc. - have to be as well-funded as our military forces. Where did the idea of an entirely new agency come from? Bloggers? But maybe you're right. Maybe Obama plans to abolish all the police departments in the country and replace them androids in black uniforms who will come to every house and take your money and give it to the poor, confiscate guns and make all female residents have abortions, whether they need them or not.
Have you noticed that the main arguments against Obama stem from whack-job conspiracy theories? What ever happened to McCain's explosive temper and black babies?
When you capitalize words and acronymize them, they sound sinister and dark in a futuristic dystopia kinda way... It's funny when you step away from it and play with the technique... see:
TLA's will reduce our language into dialectic, regionalized jargons and lingo's that are indecipherable to outsiders and will cause a social fragmentation that will cause our nation to implode under the weight of it's own inability to communicate...
BTW, TLA= Three Letter Acronym :-)
Secret Confirmation Word (SCW) for this comment is "chili"-- I think the guys at Google are having fun with me.
I hope everyone is aware of Dick Cheaney's (now there is a true American hero) backing John McCain: the ultimate kiss of death. Happy election day and no hard feelings. If nothing else George W. Bush did a great job of dividing the country, and of making us look like a bunch of fools to the rest of the world.
For rant check this out:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/29/joe30.html?sid=101
It is okay to find out about Joe the plumber, yet it is a dirty trick to find out about Obama's aunt who is an illegal alien, who defied court orders, living on welfare in Boston, and illegally gave $265 to Obama.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15161.html
Journalism is dead. You can not rely on MSM to give you the straight scoop on anything. Everything has to be viewed as being skewed and biased.
Is Obama a hero? Everytime you ask an Obama supporter why you are voting for him and all you get is he is black and talks good. He is also clean(Joe Biden's words). He is an empty suit. What accomplishments does he have that are material? A wishy-washy Illinois Senate career of voting present on controversial items. A limited U.S. Senate career spent mostly being late for meetings and participating in shameless self promotion. At least Palin has made some decisions.
Obama hates coal and wants to bankrupt companies that use coal. Another thing you will never hear in OR.
http://media.newsbusters.org/stories/hidden-audio-obama-tells-sf-chronicle-he-will-bankrupt-coal-industry.html?q=blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/11/02/hidden-audio-obama-tells-sf-chronicle-he-will-bankrupt-coal-industry
And yet, in that very clip, he says:
"What I have said is that for us to take coal off the table as a (sic) ideological matter as opposed to saying if technology allows us to use coal in a clean way, we should pursue it."
-ellipses
Nice spin ellipses. Maybe you could explain some of Obama's tangible accomplishments.
Sure... just so I know what it is, exactly, you find to be a "tangible" accomplishment, how 'bout you list some of McCain's first?
-ellipses... has played this game before
PS... word verification is "grate"... reminds me of the Grate Steak in Hampton, VA...
Oh, and that wasn't "spin"... it was copying and pasting a direct quote...
-ellipses
McCain Feingold campaign Finance Reform Law. Oh I forgot Obama lied saying he would use the public system and then didn't. He was getting too much money from people like is illegal alien auntie on welfare giving him $265. Your turn.
Ah! McCain Feingold... legislation that limits freedom of speech via restricting my personal funding of politicians who believe as I do...
Ok...
Wrote the best selling "The Audacity of Hope"
-ellipses
A vote for McCain is a vote for W. God forbid little George should go to jail for his crimes against American humanity. Elect McCain- let Bush ride.
Wow, was that "Audacity of Hope" the phrase he took from one of Jeremiah Wright's sermons that he never listened to. Again sophistry. Obama says he not in favor of Gay Marriage, But opposes prop 8 in California. Way to take a stand.
Hmmm... I am not in favor of the recital of the pledge in schools, but I would oppose a legislative ban on it...
-ellipses
Come on ellipses you must have examples of where he raised the dead or made the lame to walk.
OK. To hell with it. Let's stop.
Vote for McCain/Pailin and have our children pay for our racism.
"Come on ellipses you must have examples of where he raised the dead or made the lame to walk."
I think that is the stuff best left to Palin...
-ellipses
Pay for racism, man are you on a guilt trip. What is it if you vote for a halfroamerican all guilt will be raised from your shoulders.
Unfortunately Palin has had to make decisions - she could not vote present 129 times. Still haven't given any evidence of executive decisions or legislation that isn't smoke and mirrors.
What is a "halfroamerican"? As for guilt, it seems to me, since you are the one making up words- it's not my shoulders, it's yours.
What decisions did Palin make that are so important? Simply standing on the quarter deck doesn't make you a real captain, now does it? In a state where there is so much unique revenue from oil profits that you can just send everyone a check each year to placate them, what were those tough decisions that she made? Do you believe she has the intellect to be vice president, let alone PRESIDENT?
I haven't given another Obama example because no one has responded with another McCain example... I anticipated a back and forth... so far, we have only gone back.
-ellipses
"What a sad denigration of hero this is."
Spoken as a typical elitist. At least she was on the quarterdeck. Okay Liberman-McCain that one pleases greenies. I must remind you that Obama is running against McCain not Palin.
If Obama wins everything gonna be free.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=381gFG4Crr8
I'm not certain I have a problem with being an elitist- certainly better than being a moron. Also, what quarterdeck?
read the comment above doofus.
When someone presents themselves in a way that leads me to believe that they are a genuine intellect, I am more than happy to recognize that... This thread started off as Obama/McCain, but then someone had to point out that Palin has made decisions... So I am more than happy to throw down on Yukon Barbie...
Now... McCain-Lieberman... is this the "Climate Stewardship Act" ??
If so, didn't that measure fail?
If you want to point to a failed "achievement", then my counter to that would be to posit Obama's service to the Annenberg Challenge... Public School Reform Project that had a negligible effect on Public school performance...
-ellipses... this is fun :-)
My apologies. I lost track of who's who. However,it still seems to me that you...; listen we can call each other names (doofus) all night and where is that going to get us other than where we already are?
Given that the American mind has such a short historical memory, Obama would be good for this country. Why? He can teach the current generation exactly why it was that communism was so bad for the world. I'm looking forward to Sen. Obama's lesson in how government can best liberate us from the burden of our wallets and their fleeting, green contents.
Joe the Plumber, what a fool. How dare he assert that he somehow hold on to his dollars. Doesn't he know about things like "fairness" and "patriotic" liberation of his money from the oppressive confines of his back pocket? Probably not.
I thought it was the kind of attempt at greenie legislation, which would get you all excited. Has Obama had any legislation as a United States Senator of any importance? Now now you shouldn't be name calling - Yukon Barbie.
Joe the Plumber... the fool... yes, because it has been shown that he would benefit from Obama's tax policies (both if he made 40k or 250k+)...
Let's be clear... I am not fundamentally opposed to McCain... I just like Obama MORE... but I am reveling in the straw grasping going on in my former refuge of the "right"... McCain is being painted as the model of steady predictability (what was the definition of "maverick" again?)... and yet, he is the SAME person that the right cast as volatile and unpredictable in 2000... he is shown as the candidate of experience while he is the SAME person whose experience was not sufficient to beat George Bush in the primaries in 2000... No, sir, I don't dislike McCain... I dislike how his campaign has been run, I dislike his running mate... but he is a good guy. However, Obama is THE choice in this election... for the Joe the Plumbers, the Joe Sixpacks, the Joe CEO's, the Joe Schmoe hobos...
-ellipses
I am excited at the prospect of having an intellectual as a president... I gotta go to bed, I will be up every two hours with the baby... night night all...
-ellipses
Dear Ms. Three Dots,
If it takes a Democrat from the extreme left of the Dem party to unite Republicans in this country, perhaps it is not such a bad idea. But the idea of a divisive president (Obama) at the helm of an atrociously poor Democratic Congress (ratings lower than Bush!?) is not a CHOICE but a travesty.
If Obama wins this election, I will have a Death of Freedom Party Jan. 19 that you are free to attend. Being that the economy is so bad and Obama will liberate my money anyhow, could you please bring a case of beer? Thanks.
Regards,
Anonymous the Great
Anonymous the Great-
The way the Congress works is that the Senate must pass an act, passed on to them by the House of Representatives, by a majority, and to override the Presidents veto they need 60 votes, therfore Mr. Bush reigned supreme no matter how elected representatives of the people voted. George is a criminal and should have been impeached
Obviously last writer was edumacated in a teacher union school utilizing outcome based education. In his case it wasn't a pretty outcome. George Bush never had a 60 seat majority in the senate.
Obviously, the last anonymous poster went to an even crappier school, because he or she can't read.
STOP IT! It's a beautiful day out there. Why don't you go for a walk instead of cyber-arguing all day long.
That'd be cool... if I had a window without an office instead of the other way around :-)
-ellipses
According to ABC polls, 83% of Americans say that they are Christians.
How can anyone calling themselves a Christian, vote for Obama?
Abortion…Obama wants to make into a law that a woman can have an abortion up to the day she conceives her baby, for ANY reason. That makes me sick, no matter who the candidate. Do any of you have young children? Do all of you agree with him?
Murder is murder. It’s a terrible sin. And the last time I checked, it’s also a crime. Well, maybe that will change too, if Obama gets elected. Murderers have rights too, and I’m sure they will want some of that “shared wealth.”
“Hypnotized sheep”
Have any of you figured out what that means yet?
How about pulling wool over someone’s eyes?
Don’t believe a word Obama says. Your children’s futures are at stake. Not to mention our futures. America as we know it today will be a society of the past. Something we can tell our grandkids about, and they will never believe how good we had it.
If any of you are on the fence…jump off, don’t look back. And vote what your heart has been telling you all along. Don’t be hypnotized any longer before it’s too late.
Vote McCain.
Anonymous...
Where would you draw the line as to when a woman can get an abortion?
-ellipses
Ellipses,
When would you be comfortable with disposing of an embryo/fetus?
The embryo at 4 weeks, probably the earliest most women can detect pregnancy, is C-shaped and measures 4.0 mm. The upper limb parts are like flippers and the lower limb parts have begun to form. The heart is prominent and is easily recognized. By the time the fetus is 8 weeks, the hands bend at the wrist, and the feet have begun to lose their webbed appearance. Eyelids are beginning to cover the child’s eyes.
Take a tour through a Planned Parenthood facility sometime. All tissue has to be accounted for. The volume of aspirated tissue must correspond with the gestational age. In pregnancies of 13 weeks or more, all fetal parts must be accounted for, i.e., feet, legs, arms, eyes. You get the picture.
If the tissue is not readily identifiable, the tissue is examined by flotation in water or vinegar and inspected. These procedures should be done while the patient is still in the procedure room to determine if a leg, arm, or other body part was left in the mother.
If this sounds gruesome and/or exaggerated or untrue, I’d be glad to send you a Manual of Medical Standards Guidelines for Planned Parenthood. I’ve not described the more gruesome procedures.
On my way home, I realized I had mis-spoked about conceiving. What I meant was a woman can have an abortion a day before she delivers her child. It's been a long day...
Anonymous said...thanks for the support. These babies need a voice before theirs is riped out of their esophagus.
McCain and Palin want to outlaw partial birth abortion, as it should be.
Vote McCain
Dear Anonymous the Lesser,
Hark! Tidings and greetings.
You said unto me thus: The way the Congress works is that the Senate must pass an act, passed on to them by the House of Representatives, by a majority, and to override the Presidents veto they need 60 votes, therfore Mr. Bush reigned supreme no matter how elected representatives of the people voted. George is a criminal and should have been impeached
Behold, I say as follows: No, sir/madam. Both the Senate and House can pass bills, but both houses must vote on the identical piece of legislation. Second, a 2/3 majority is needed to override a presidential veto.
Finally, if there was so much groundswell to impeach George Bush, why did this not happen? With a Democratic controlled House, articles of impeachment should at least have been a possibility. Yet materialize it did not.
Once again, not ally anonymi are created equal. Some are greater.
Your self-righteous servant,
Anonymous the Great
Mystery word: Fookin
As in: Hey the Steelers are on the "fookin" TV; why dont we try to enjoy the evening!
LOL
Suisun City
On the abortion topic... I will happily answer your question in my response... but I am trying to outline the reason against a ban on late-term abortions... if you would kindly answer my question, the conversation will flow freely.
Thank you,
-ellipses
Anonymous the Great-
Sorry to have offended your sterling sensibilities. You are absolutely correct.
Yours truly,
Anonymous the Lessor
Dear Anonymous the Lessor,
All is forgiven, my fellow anonymous.
Kind regards,
Anonymous the Great
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