Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Obama's Mana

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  • Carol Stewart,

    The whole thought of Obama’s presidency coming to an end is filling me with that emotion that David Haywood described so beautifully – høstens vemod.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Gabor Toth,

    He has also just become the first sitting president to publish a scientific paper in a peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the American Medical Association).

    http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2533698

    Wellington • Since Dec 2006 • 137 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Boden,

    The anti-Clinton hysteria is a fully and intentionally manufactured product of the republican witch hunts against the Clintons which have been doing on for 25 or more years. And for anyone who wants to make claims that Hillary is corrupt, please provide proof. If the republicans in Congress had any proof they would have done something about it (other than hold "show hearings").

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 97 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    Let's not forget George Bush at that same event ....

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    (not sure whether it's the Alzheimers or the coke)

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Hugh Wilson,

    Just on the Gil Scott Heron reference … back in the 90’s the likes of Coldcut and Steinski caught my ears, with Coldcut sampling Jello Biafra’s quote ‘don’t hate the media, become the media!’ and conveying that sentiment through their live shows and many recordings … At the time there weren’t a lot of channels for the sentiment to be realised, but clearly times have changed

    Melbourne • Since Feb 2013 • 168 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Joe Boden,

    The anti-Clinton hysteria is a fully and intentionally manufactured product of the republican witch hunts against the Clintons which have been doing on for 25 or more years.

    True, but it's interesting the way it's jumped the tracks so that a lot of lefties believe it – even to the extent that some of them are calling Sanders a traitor for negotiating a notably progressive platform as a quid pro quo for his backing of Clinton. I would note that a lot of those people don't seem to have a deep grasp of history ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Paul Campbell,

    not sure whether it’s the Alzheimers or the coke)

    Whatever it is, Michelle is clearly wondering wtf is going on.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Boden, in reply to Russell Brown,

    True, but it's interesting the way it's jumped the tracks so that a lot of lefties believe it – even to the extent that some of them are calling Sanders a traitor for negotiating a notably progressive platform as a quid pro quo for his backing of Clinton. I would note that a lot of those people don't seem to have a deep grasp of history ...

    The genius of the right wing and their complicit media in the US is that they recognize that what they are saying doesn't need to be true... simply repeating it will cause people to believe it. They don't quite know why they don't trust her, but they don't.

    I think the recent primary has shown also that there were a lot of people becoming politically aware who were too young to remember what the Clintons were subjected to in the 90s (a person aged 18 this year and voting in their first election would have been born in 1998, at the height of the Lewinsky scandal - the one thing they did "get" Bill Clinton for). They have no memory of Whitewater, Vince Foster, or any of the other material that was fodder for the republican-controlled Congress from 1994 in their attempt to take down Bill and Hillary.

    Having said that, there are things that people may legitimately object to. Her vote on the Iraq War Resolution (in support of... but note also that to understand her vote it helps to hear her speech concerning her reasoning, in which she states that force should be used only after definite proof of WMDs were obtained, and delivered on the Senate floor in 2003), her prior support of free trade deals (she is now opposed to the TPP), and some of the policy choices concerning regime change in the Middle East during her tenure as Secretary of State. But to take these things and conflate them into a situation in which she is "just as bad as Trump" is just ludicrous.

    There's a segment of the voting population who appears to believe that the only way to change the system in the US is a disaster on a Trump-ian scale. They are forgetting that we had such a disaster from January 2001 to January 2009. The world definitely does not need another one.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 97 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Joe Boden,

    prior support of free trade deals (she is now opposed to the TPP)

    perhaps because it is not a 'free' trade deal

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • bob daktari,

    could it be that lefties aren't all that pro clinton because she like Obama (democrats) are not really of the left?

    auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 540 posts Report Reply

  • John Morrison,

    All I know I will miss Obama as he is a bastion of humanity and sanity in an increasingly inhumane and insane world.
    We hear he might be coming to Queenstown once he retires.

    Cromwell • Since Nov 2006 • 85 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Boden, in reply to bob daktari,

    could it be that lefties aren’t all that pro clinton because she like Obama (democrats) are not really of the left?

    Possibly. It’s hard to know what the political left in the US actually is, to be honest, because it’s not terribly well organized and lacks much of a national presence. The Green Party, for example, a well-known and high profile group here in NZ, barely exists in the US outside of a few states (they will appear on only some state ballots in November as they do not qualify for Federal matching funds). Bernie Sanders was clearly a member of the old (60’s) left, an actual socialist if not a full-on communist, and his message seemed to have a lot of resonance this year (especially among young people), but it hasn’t yet coalesced into anything like an organized political movement.

    What is clear is that the Democratic Party is “relatively” left as compared with the republicans. In all other universes they are squarely at the center, if not slightly rightward.

    Disclaimer: I’m an American who has lived here in NZ for 14 years.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 97 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie, in reply to Joe Boden,

    Bernie Sanders was clearly a member of the old (60’s) left, an actual socialist if not a full-on communist...

    Oh ffs. How would you establish that he was a communist? Chuck him into some Vermont village pond and see if he floats?

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • Tony Kennedy,

    We hear he might be coming to Queenstown once he retires.

    No way, he would not be able to afford to buy a house and I can't see the family living in a prefab.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 225 posts Report Reply

  • andin, in reply to Joe Boden,

    “relatively” left as compared with the republicans. In all other universes

    And so were a lot of fascists, thats not saying much.
    And we can only infect one small planet in one universe with our politics. Lets keep it that way shall we.

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • Trevor Nicholls, in reply to Russell Brown,

    I appreciated the way the Obamas clearly decided about halfway through to spare his embarrassment by moving around a bit themselves, albeit in a low-key kind of way. I think that was a gracious thing to do.

    Wellington, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 325 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Young, in reply to Joe Boden,

    That was largely due to the utter stupidity of Ralph Nader, standing as a spoiler presidential candidate which split the left vote and insured that George W.Bush presided over his reign of error for the next eight years. The US Greens deserve to suffer for that, sorry.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 573 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    And here we go ...

    Facebook Live video lit up all around Turkey:

    https://www.facebook.com/livemap/

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Todd, in reply to John Morrison,

    Yes.

    What I like about President Obama is that he is a loving and faithful husband to Michelle, and a loving father to his daughters.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2013 • 125 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Todd, in reply to Craig Young,

    Craig. US presidential elections are littered with third- (or fourth-) party candidates. It's a democracy (of sorts) after all.

    It's not Ralph Nader's fault that he did quite well in the crucial battleground state of Florida in 2000. That's just the way the cookie crumbled, on that particular occasion. You are being most unfair, and indeed, unreasonable. Shame on you.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2013 • 125 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Joe Boden,

    I think the recent primary has shown also that there were a lot of people becoming politically aware who were too young to remember what the Clintons were subjected to in the 90s

    I just got a bit snippy with a local Bernie fan on Twitter for trying to play gotcha with someone who doubted the current Bernie-fan meme that Hillary was an unreliable come-lately on Citizens United.

    Citizens United was of course a legal action by the group of the same name to try and have a Hillary attack documentary not considered as an election broadcast. Pretty sure she's been against that since it was a thing. And she has reiterated that opposition pretty firmly.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to Craig Young,

    That was largely due to the utter stupidity of Ralph Nader, standing as a spoiler presidential candidate which split the left vote and insured that George W.Bush presided over his reign of error for the next eight years. The US Greens deserve to suffer for that, sorry.

    Which is set to happen again, with the "Bernie or Bust" rabids swinging over to Stein and the Greens. And when you try to point this out:

    Then Trump will win. :-( I would love to see President Sanders, but that's not going to happen. Stein can't get elected because they can't even get on the ballot in some states. I understand and share the distaste for Clinton, but not voting Democrat means a Trump presidency, which means a Republican Supreme Court for the next 50 or more years. Please don't do this.

    you get:

    DO NOT TELL ME HOW TO VOTE! And KEEP YOUR SCARE TACTICS AND BULLYING TO YOUR OWN DAMN SELF!

    Rationality has left that building.

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie, in reply to ,

    Was it a real coup attempt, or some sort of conspiracy?

    Cairo cartoonist Doaa Eladl has a pretty good track record on calling it right. Here's her latest.

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic,

    Since Dallas there's been a copycat shooting of cops in Baton Rouge east of the Texan border. In both cases, is this the "taking up arms against a tyrannical government" that the NRA & GOA had in mind? Or are they browning their pants that their self-proclaimed copyright on the 2nd Amendment might be well and truly infringed?

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

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