All-Time Popular
- Another Dose of Common Sense (13965)
- It's "Dress Up Like a Whore" Day! (3284)
- Yeah, Because You Just Couldn't Do It Before Mac OS X (1608)
- We Live Near One of Those? (1325)
- Great News Comes All at Once (1084)
- Where the Hell Are the Notaries? (1007)
- Thank You Palm Bay! (997)
- Old Tricks Still Work (922)
- Pure Rage (916)
- Back From the Dead (907)
Chatter
- Sheer Stupidity at the TSA | Willfe.com (not verified)
- Willfe Answers Your Search Queries, May 10 2008 Edition | Wi (not verified)
- willfe
- willfe
- willfe
- willfe
- Anonymous (not verified)
- Richard Chapman (not verified)
- Adam J. College (not verified)
Shameless Plugs
Go check out lots of pretty charts showing my participation in the World Community Grid. Fight Cancer, AIDS, etc. by donating your computer’s spare cycles.
Current Activity
Behold the Art of Distraction
There’s a whole pile of distraction and broken thinking going on right now surrounding things said by Barack Obama’s pastor. Republican conservatives are of course trying to stir up as large a frenzy about this non-issue as they possibly can, but I’m left wondering what the actual problem is that has got everyone so supposedly fired up as the major press outlets are trying to convince me they are.
Is the complaint just about what this pastor said? Who actually cares? As an atheist, I officially do not give a rat’s ass what any pastor says, at any time, in any place, about any topic. That is not hyperbole. If you are a pastor, you can of course talk to me as a person and you’ll get all the same respect and courtesy I afford anyone, but you aren’t all that useful or interesting to me in your “religious” capacity. The people in this man’s congregation certainly have a right to have (and voice) their opinions about his sermons and his statements, but beyond that, why do any of you care specifically what this guy has to say, even if he’s a pastor/preacher/whatever in your religion du jour?
Is the complaint about this man being a friend of Barack Obama’s? Again, why is this an issue? Every one of us knows somebody that holds controversial opinions, but those people do not necessarily (or even directly) influence our thinking, our words, or even our behavior. This is a classic guilt by association logical fallacy — knowing, being friends with, or even counting among your closest friends, a person with controversial ideas doesn’t mean your ideas are automatically controversial, or that your friend’s controversial ideas will “rub off on you.”
Is the complaint that Barack Obama is somehow going to be “tainted” by this man’s thinking, or that somehow hearing that this man has “controversial” ideas now casts Barack Obama’s own ideas and character into question? Isn’t that a rather serious stretch of logic there?
What happened to judging a man by the actions he takes and the words he speaks? During his stay in Congress, he’s supported things I support and he’s voted the way I would have asked him to vote if he were my representative. I’d have voted for him in an election if he were running for a seat in my district, I did vote for him in the Florida primaries (that got ignored by the national convention — Hillary, are you sure you want my vote to count?), and I’ll vote for him again if Florida really does pull a “do-over” primary. Finally, if he is on the ballot in November, I will vote for him for President.
I don’t plan on voting for him because I like his friends, or because I like his speeches, but because I think he’s the best candidate for the job he’s applying for.
What the hell other criteria are you people letting pundits convince you is more important than that?
Technorati Tags: - willfe's blog
- 139 reads
Comments
an Obama nation, yes it would be!
You make the opposing argument with your own comment. You say “what happened to judging a person by their actions”. Well Obama proudly belonged to a church lead by a racist socialist (a black Hitler if you will). He claimed his aligence over and over again. Even though Wright actually sold videos of his racist rants, Obama claimed no knowledge of this behavior. That is until he was caught. Then he back peddaled quicker than his oppents husband.
You couldn’t possibly be supporting this empty suit of a puppet for the Chicago Daily political machine can you? I’m surprised. I thought maybe you were smart.
Hehehe!
Hmmm… so you translate his membership in a church led by a pastor whose (out of context) remarks occasionally offend people to mean we will soon have a “black Hitler” leadership if we elect Obama? Heh. Nice.
But let’s play this straight and pretend for an instant you’re not just a troll.
No, I really don’t.
Yes, I do. Except I ended it with a question mark. Just saying
And the point stands firm — judge Obama by his actions. What has he voted for? What has he sponsored? How do his actions correlate with his words? So far, they line up pretty well.
Ignoring the self-Godwin you just inflicted on your argument for a moment, he “proudly” (as in, “he was proud of his membership”) “belonged” (past tense … pay attention to that) to a church led by someone you call a racist socialist. Sorry, buddy, just saying “God damn America” in the midst of a rhetoric-laden speaking of the gospel (dude, have you ever listened to just about any pastor as he rants and raves at the pulpit?) is not an indicator of socialism.
To be blunt, I actually agree with the meaning of what the man was saying: if there really were a god, and it really did judge us by the rules put forth in the bible, it really would be pretty pissed at us as a nation. Particularly, it’d be pretty pissed at the rich guys.
And, as a final counterpoint here, even if your statement is 100% correct and accurate here, what is the actual problem? Again, are you suggesting Obama believes everything the pastor does? Are you suggesting he would turn us into a modern day Nazi Germany?
So Obama bought (and watched) those videos? And he attended each and every church session wherein this guy ranted and raved like this? And Obama cheerfully applauded and nodded in agreement?
Were you there? Have you watched these videos? Damn I wish you’d switch on the “critical thinking” part of your brain. I know it’s there.
“Caught?”
What kind of backpedaling has he been doing? You said yourself he “proudly” claims to be a member. How is that, combined with a speech about how stupid racism is (from all sides, including hid), backpedaling?
Your political, rhetorical nonsense amuses me. Are you asking me if I support Barack Obama for president? If so, yes I do. If not, rephrase this to take out just a few insults so I can actually parse your question. I know it’s important for people like you to throw in every possible insult against any candidate you dislike in any conversation you have about it (which makes dealing with your type unbearable), but please, narrow it down to the actual meat of the matter.
By “political machine,” by the way, are you referring to stuff like this? Can you please explain how he’s a simple tool of the “Chicago Daily political machine?”
That I’m actually able to look past this surface bullshit to figure out how a candidate is actually most likely to behave? Prepare to be stunned, dude — lots of folks out there do just that, and our collective ability to research past this name-calling nonsense will absolutely terrify you.
Well, I can’t argue with that one
I’ll never turn away a compliment 
Post new comment