Timothy Egan, who works for the New York Times, tells us.
This was the one where Bill Ayers finally came up. The "old, washed up terrorist" in John McCain's words, who went from entitled brat with bomb fantasies to Chicagoan of the year to Willie Horton with an earring and a PhD.
The braying kooks on the far right demanded it. Sarah Palin threw slabs of Ayers' sirloin to angry crowds, delivered in that crinkly-nosed, oh-honey-I-shrunk-the-kids style.
(And we can guess, from this post, what Egan thinks of unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers. Ayers is just fine with Egan. Though I must add that Egan does not show much sign of knowing very much about Ayers — and no sign of wanting to know very much about Ayers.)
It is fortunate, I must say, that our "mainstream" journalists are not into stereotyping and name calling. They help make our political discussions far more civilized.
Cross posted from Jim Miller on Politics because Mr. Egan has a connection to the Seattle Times, a very close, personal connection.
(From time to time, Egan writes about areas of Washington state that I know personally. When he does, he is almost invariably misleading. I have been unable to decide whether he is being deliberately misleading — or whether he is more of a novelist than an accurate reporter.)
Posted by Jim Miller at October 18, 2008 05:43 AM | Email ThisThus the universal hatred of Sarah Palin, and the recent spate of made up baloney about angry racist crowds that the left believes en-masse.
To the left, the people that watch NASCAR races, come to their homes to fix their plumbing, or repair their hybrid cars are lower forms of human life. Leftist are snobs, and very unpleasant ones at that.
Posted by: Bill Cruchon on October 18, 2008 06:11 AMPerhaps Egan should interview the families of the people that Ayers tried to kill and see if they agree with his assessment that it was just fantasies.
Posted by: Calvin A on October 18, 2008 06:50 AMI couldn't care less what they think period, let alone what they think of conservatives.
Ignore them and continue to enjoy the steady crumbling of their empire.
Posted by: jimg on October 18, 2008 09:26 AM"You sexist, you can't leave out Bernadine Dhorn. You know, the felon protecting the cop-killers?
It was her living room too.
Posted by: Al on October 18, 2008 10:00 AMHere's a smoking gun video showing Obama and Michelle campaigning in Kenya for the genocidal communist Muslim Raila Odinga.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/5411
Digest the above. If you're still voting for Obama, then you're a communist, a fellow traveler with communists, or a good reason to bring back literacy tests.
Marjorie Kostelnik is the Dean of the Department of Education at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, who invited Ayers to speak. The invitation was withdrawn after a firestorm of outrage from thousands. Let Marjorie know what you think.
Marjorie Kostelnik - Dean
Deans Office
(402) 472-2913
mkostelnik2@unl.edu
My dad was a CPA working for a Big Eight firm in Manhattan in the late 60s. He worked in the Exxon building on Avenue of the Americas. Every week, there was a bomb scare. My dad had to be evacuated out of his building several times. I used to go to work with him during tax season to help with his paperwork...and play with the calculators.
How did Bill Ayers affect me? Just as in 9/11, I had to fear for my dad's life during this time. I had to wonder he would be a victim of Bill Ayers terror. And we had to live in fear...people who were just going to work, were middle class had to fear being blown up by disaffected rich kids with nothing to do but pour their anger on regular folks.
Bill Ayers is a terrorist.
He terrorized me as a 9 year old.
He founded a group that terrorized me.
Bill Ayers should be in prison for that.
Posted by: John Bailo on October 18, 2008 10:30 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH7kT4xwddg
Don't let this crooked bastard get in The White House.
Posted by: Handy Randy on October 18, 2008 10:49 AMI believe that had Bush not invaded Iraq and removed Saddam the left long ago would have been complaining that "Bush has ignored a bloodthirsty dictator in Iraq and has left the world in peril". It's the way the left works.
Posted by: Bill Cruchon on October 18, 2008 01:10 PMLet's think about what would have happened if Gore won, and did exactly the same thing as Bush. Would Republicans be equating patriotism with unwavering support of the Iraq War? Hell no.
Posted by: demo kid on October 18, 2008 01:12 PMhad Bush not invaded Iraq
4,000 soldiers would be alive today, who are not ...
15,000 soldiers would be whole today, who are not ...
150,000 Iraqi civilians would be alive today, who are not ...
America would not have spent $1 trillion on credit on behalf of a losing war ...
The Middle East would be more stable today than otherwise ...
Warmongering patriotism differs very little from treason.
Posted by: David Mathews on October 18, 2008 01:18 PMYou two missed my point entirely.
Saddam Hussein wasn't a threat back in 2003 and her would remain not a threat today, were he still alive and ruling Iraq.
George W. Bush has slaughtered more civilians abd killed more Americans than Osama Bin Laden.
Posted by: David Mathews on October 18, 2008 02:24 PMI wonder what percentage of the "100,000" actually work for a living and how many are justing licking their chops in anticipation of all the "free stuff" the taxpayers will be forking out in a Yo-Bama administration?
Posted by: Saltherring on October 18, 2008 03:00 PMI wonder what percentage of the "100,000" actually work for a living ...
Well, Saltherring, Barack Obama's got a tremendous, insurmountable lead over John McCain the polls. I suspect that the vast majority of these people have jobs except for those who have lost their job because of the incompetence of George W. Bush.
how many are justing licking their chops in anticipation of all the "free stuff"
Well, you are a stupid idiot! Perhaps you haven't noticed the $1,000,000,000 that George W. Bush, Hank Paulsen and Ben Bernanke have just handed to the banks ... did you know that these same banks have just handed $70 billion in bonuses to their big-money employees?
Talk about a handout! But conservatives are more than happy to provide handouts to billionaires and millionaires while they complain about the government providing nickels and dimes to the poor!
Posted by: David Mathews on October 18, 2008 03:11 PMAnd don't just vaguely say "deregulation". I'm looking for specifics.
Truth is the economy has rolled along nicely for most of the Bush years...with low unemployment and decent economic growth.
Posted by: Bill Cruchon on October 18, 2008 03:32 PMWhat did DEMOCRATS say at the time about IRAQ?
"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003 | Source
"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002 | Source
"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
- President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998 | Source
"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
- President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998 | Source
"We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction."
- Madeline Albright, Feb 1, 1998 | Source
"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
- Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998 | Source
"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton.
- (D) Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, others, Oct. 9, 1998 | Source
"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998 | Source
"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999 | Source
"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them."
- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002 | Source
"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002 | Source
"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002 | Source
"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002 | Source
"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002 | Source
"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002 | Source
"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002 | Source
"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002 | Source
"Well, you are a stupid idiot! Perhaps you haven't noticed the $1,000,000,000 that George W. Bush, Hank Paulsen and Ben Bernanke have just handed to the banks ... did you know that these same banks have just handed $70 billion in bonuses to their big-money employees?"
OBAMA voted for that $1,000,000,000 you IDIOT!
If you want to know who's the Party of the KKK, then look no further than Robert "Sheets" Byrd, that ESTEEMED leader of your Slavery Party.
You leftists ARE the party of Slavery - nearly 200 years of Slavery history stain your hands. The death of millions lay at your feet, and the deaths of hundreds of millions at the feet of your ideology.
You're the racist, homophobe, slandering haters...
Judge a man by the content of his character, not the color of his skin.
I assume you were a full supporter of that? And you supported all the REPUBLICANS who pushed the color-blind initiatives in CA and WA? What should the Government care about your color, unless you want that same Government to be RACIST in its treatment of people?
You are the racist bigot...
Posted by: Shanghai Dan on October 18, 2008 04:24 PMI'd like just one liberal to state specifically what Bush did to cause this economic situation.
George W. Bush encouraged Americans to shop after 9/11 as if that would constitute a patriotic act in response to terrorism.
In addition, George W. Bush ran up the national debt until it has now reached $10 trillion ... a debt, incidentally, that our country will never repay.
George W. Bush also encouraged the Housing Bubble with the assistance of Alan Greenspan and a gullible and greedy American public buying the lie that everyone could become wealthy simply by flipping houses.
And so forth ...
Posted by: David Mathews on October 18, 2008 04:27 PMYou said:
What did DEMOCRATS say at the time about IRAQ?
The democrats were only repeating the administration's lies and propaganda. If the administration did not lie America would not have engaged in an illegal, immoral, unnecessary war.
pbj also says:
OBAMA voted for that $1,000,000,000 you IDIOT!
You idiot, the plan was authored by the Republican administration and John McCain voted for it as well.
Congress really didn't have a choice, either ... had the plan not been accepted our country would have already plunged into a depression from which it would never recover. With the plan, our country has bought itself several months ... and only several months. The depression will begin in 2009.
Posted by: David Mathews on October 18, 2008 04:32 PMThe name calling, the lies, the convenient overlooking of facts.
There is a part of me that hopes Obama wins and modern Democrats finally come out of the closet and show America that they are in fact socialists. Obama slipped up the other day with his "spread the wealth" comment to Joe the Plumber, whom the left immediately savaged without mercy. Nice folks, aren't they?
Posted by: Bill Cruchon on October 18, 2008 04:40 PMHere is my real name whats yours, want to talk, come from behind your white sheet. Stand as a man David, what a puss, you want to call names but I like to take apart punks and bullies. What a chicken sh..t liberal puss you'd rather fight your own countryman than the true enemy. David do you realise that the jihadists will kill you just as well. What an idiot. come on David come out of your hiding place. What a puss. Lying sack of ...
Posted by: Jim Keilman on October 18, 2008 05:27 PMThe trolls here share the same attitude their counterparts in the mainstream media have towards conservatives.
The truth is painful, isn't it?
As if anyone needs any more evidence of the sheer idiocy and stupidity of conservatives, Jim Keilman feels a need to demonstrate:
Here is my real name whats yours, want to talk, come from behind your white sheet. Stand as a man David, what a puss, you want to call names but I like to take apart punks and bullies. What a chicken sh..t liberal puss you'd rather fight your own countryman than the true enemy. David do you realise that the jihadists will kill you just as well. What an idiot. come on David come out of your hiding place. What a puss. Lying sack of ...
Incidentally, Jim, it is your irrational fear, prejudice, hatred and perpetual need to fight which has driven the American people away from the Republican party, thereby guaranteeing your own future irrelevance from a political standpoint.
On November 4th, the American people are going to throw both you and your ideas into the dustbin of history. Too bad for you!
Posted by: David Mathews on October 18, 2008 05:44 PMIf you can stomach reading his posts, they are nothing more than the lies Yo-Bama and his leftist media spew to the masses of indolent welfare recipients and gang-banging illegal aliens day after day.
God help this country.
Posted by: Saltherring on October 18, 2008 05:50 PMThat single statement crystalized for me...and should for everyone...what ideology drives O-blah-blah.
Compare O-blah-blah's statement with this one:
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."
---Karl Marx
The KLOWNS are desperately trying to spin this statement. O-blah-blah has teed one up for McCain. If McCain cannot capitalize on this statement, he deserves to lose.
Posted by: Mr. Cynical on October 18, 2008 06:45 PMJoe the Plumber
Oh, please, Mr, Cynical. Stop all the crying for the unlicensed plumber who isn't buying a plumbing business and has never earned more than $50,000 a year.
John McCain is abusing his followers with this sort of cynical stupidity.
Posted by: David Mathews on October 18, 2008 07:11 PMI think the vast majority of Americans, rich and poor, would agree that the rich should share some of their wealth with those who have been less fortunate. Indeed, there has been a bipartisan consensus for nearly a hundred years on this. How much spreading, and how it should happen, of course is debated. But people understand the difference between this and Marxism.
Posted by: Bruce on October 18, 2008 07:51 PMOdd, isn't it... that both that lying, empty suited, anti-American racist bigot and 3 letter word "Jobs" that you support have spent so much time addressing something that you merely find "amusing."
And if THOSE 2 morons seem frightened by it... what do you suppose THEY know... that YOU don't?
Posted by: Hinton on October 18, 2008 08:29 PMSO glad I have my assets overseas now...
Posted by: Shanghai Dan on October 18, 2008 08:44 PM