Presidential Election Political Smackdown FFA

[Alan]

From the perspective of the turkey, the Thanksgiving day execution is a black swan event. It can't be predicted. The turkey simply doesn't have enough information to make that prediction. Maybe a particularly saavy turkey could distinguish the ravings of the mad turkey who claims that turkeykind created mankind to serve (pun not intended) from the ravings of the wise turkey who says that man will serve turkey (pun intended). Or maybe you just need to be lucky to do that.

I think the best course of action is to live your life as best you can. We can't predict if or when God will decide to halt the simulator or if there even is a simulator. Even end time prophecy says that no man will know when it will happen. If you believe in that sort of thing then you also believe that there is no point in trying to predict it. So you just go on about your business for as long as you can.

[rose-colored-coolaid]

That was kind of the point of my "for the sake of argument" statement. So long as those kinds of beliefs are treated as irrelevant when forming decisions, I don't mind if any given leader holds them. But, if our president were to believe that a) end-times = good, b) it's bound to happen soon, and c) that certain prophecies are required for it to come about, then I'm worried.

E.g. our foreign involvement in Israel should be prefaced on the fact that they are one of the few middle eastern democracies and not on that regions role as birthplace to the major monotheisms. Likewise, our role in Iraq should be limited to national security and the fact Babylon used to be a city there should in no way influence our policy. I'm more than a little concerned that Palin will struggle to make that differentiation.

[Charles Dean]

The best thing about McCain and Palin is that no lie is too big or too small!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/2 ... 28145.html

[rose-colored-coolaid]

[Charles Dean]

[rose-colored-coolaid]

[Charles Dean]

GOOD LORD THIS IS PAINFUL TO WATCH.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanm ... ml?showall

[WestSideBilly]

[rose-colored-coolaid]

[Charles Dean]

Like Jon Stewart said, don't you WANT someone who thinks they're better than you and is smarter than you to be President? I mean, it's the most difficult job in the world!!!!

[rose-colored-coolaid]

[Charles Dean]

I'd read that article before and almost immediately realized just how true it is.

Just like Joseph Goebbles said, "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

It amazes me that when I debate with some of my friends, even when you confront them with the truth, they continue to believe the lie.

A good example of that is this. My mom had a friend and co-worker recently whose husband tried to kill her up in Skagit County. He tried to beat her to death with a baseball bat, then assaulted a renter of there's as well when the renter tried to stop him. My mom went and saw her in the hospital 1-2 days after the assault and she described the whole thing in great detail to her and a couple of other friends.

Then a couple of weeks later, he came up with an elaborate story about how it was someone else who assaulted her and that he tried to fight off this assailant. Her and her kids believed this and tried to start this campaign to find the "actual assailant". Even though she had given very vivid accounts of exactly how he attacked her and even though another person had also been attacked by him at the same time.

When the prosecutor talked to her kids about it and laid out all of the evidence for them, pretty much their only response was a blank stare. When faced with actual facts, they still couldn't change their thinking.

I think this is not true for everyone, but it is for the majority of the population.

The rest of Goebbles quote is here:

"The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."

[uwp]

Her response to the whole "Russia is next door" thing.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4478156n

Yikes!

[Charles Dean]

I love that she still can't give an actual example where she's even talked to or met an actual Russian or had any actual dealings with Russia.

[WestSideBilly]