rikibeth

well, he's got kind of a crappy record on reproductive rights.

But this rocks.

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flewellyn.livejournal.com

Aye, that is true on both counts.

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as an american, you can have any hero you like..but how does it feel to have a hero who can't get more than few percent of the votes even in his own party?..are you so out of mainstream?

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la-directora.livejournal.com

Because the most important quality of a hero is their popularity? Honestly, I gave up that way of picking heroes by about the 8th grade.

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no, it is not the most important quality..i can't argue about this..but does it tell you something about yourself?..does it tell you something about your values? dissent is good, but how does it feel to be on the fringe?

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bigbrotherinlaw.livejournal.com

not only is dissent good, but don't believe that our current electoral systems accurately reflect the positions of the electorate. Most people will vote for the person closest in values to their own who they believe has a chance to win. This is known as 'not wasting your vote'. Our media coverage tends to reinforce these tendencies, such that marginal candidates who are unlikely to win an election get very few votes as their would-be supporters shift their votes to the next most palatable candidate or give up and fail to vote altogether.

My preferences in this year's democratic primary were:
1) Kucinich
2) Edwards
3) Obama
4) Clinton

By the time Super Tuesday (when Connecticut's primary was held) rolled around, Kucinich and Edwards had already pulled out, leaving me with less exciting choices.

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At least you honest about your views and consistent with your choices. If someone would ask me to make a list of candidates from left to moderate I would do it exactly like you did...and than you have to admit, that the top 3 are open socialists. Witch is not a crime, but how many people in this country (forget about elections) are really believe in socialism?

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I'm calling bullshit. I am SICK unto DEATH of the way people like you warp an argument beyond recognition.

You take a word calculated to get an emotional response, and you use it and misuse it and abuse it in ways that make it absolutely clear you have NO FISTING IDEA what it means, until no one who listens to you can keep straight what it means either. So the word becomes MEANINGLESS except as an emotional buzzword.

Until you read up on socialism and can explain its REAL definition, do NOT use the term.

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I grew up in russia...i did study socialism as you study english...you don't have to tell me what it means, i can teach it...what about this word makes you so uncomfortable?

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The fact that you're blatantly misusing it after the manner of thousands of other TROLLS just like you, from Bill O'Reilly on down. You're a liar, Michael. If you grew up under the Communist regime in Russia you would damn well know what socialism is and what it ISN'T.

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whats wrong with Bill O'Reilly?...He is a right-of-center guy, so?...many people are watching him, does it surprise you? And i am not a liar. I grew up in Kiev, would you like to ask me questions so i can prove it? I will let you see how wikepidia describes it, and let's see what part of it you don't understand.

Socialism may refer either to a socio-economic system, or to a political ideology. As a system, socialism is primarily defined by public and democratic control over productive property and the distribution of wealth,[1] with the goal of achieving a degree of social and economic equality.[2] This control may be either direct — exercised through popular collectives such as workers' councils — or indirect — exercised on behalf of the people by the state. In particular, collective property over the means of production is seen as an important element of socialism.

As an ideology, socialism refers to a commitment to create the kind of society described above, though there is disagreement between socialists on many other issues, including the proper extent of equality and collective ownership, the best means to achieve them, and whether the state should be strengthened, kept as it is, or abolished. In this sense, it is debatable whether socialism is a single ideology or a broad movement containing several related ideologies. The modern socialist movement largely originated in the late-19th century working class movement. During this period, the term "socialism" was first used by European social critics, who spoke against capitalism and private property. Karl Marx, who helped establish and define the modern socialist movement, wrote that socialism would be achieved through class struggle and a proletarian revolution

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Nice cut and paste job to avoid using your own words, troll.

Read it again. And a third time. And until you can pull quotes with proper citation to demonstrate where and when Kucinich, Edwards and Obama have advocated "public and democratic control over productive property...exercised through popular collectives" or "on behalf of the people by the state," you are perfectly welcome to go gibber to yourself in the corner away from anyone having a rational discussion.

You might consider citing some sources for all those conveniently round-number percentages in your own posts, too. Oh, wait, you don't have any sources, do you?

And what's wrong with Bill O'Reilly is that he's a whinging hypocrite with casual disregard for the truth. Rather like you.

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Maybe you are missing something. Does Obama. Edwards and people like them talking class warfare? How many times Obama repeats how wrong it is that executives receive 100 times more than secretaries, and it is wrong. Wrong according to whom? Does your goverment have a saying in how much people earn? By taxing 'evil rich' and creating programs for the poor does he advocate re-distribution, or is it my sick imagination? Does he belives that goverment has to achive a role of economic equality, and not people themself? And of course, O'Reilly is the most popular cable show because Americans are not as smart as you are and don't see him being a whinging hypocrite..:)

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Sources, I said. Quotes with proper citation or go peddle your nonsense elsewhere. Lots of unfounded claims don't feed this bulldog.

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Could you maybe take this to e-mail with him? I'm not all that interested in the argument, and don't feel like making my journal the place for it.

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bigbrotherinlaw.livejournal.com

leges sine moribus venae was the motto of my first college. The fact that there is no law to dictate an obvious moral wrong is no fault of the law. And by the way, it's the poorer executives who are paid a mere 100 times the salary of an entry level secretary.

All taxes are a form of redistribution of wealth. Are you against all tax schemes, or only those which fund programs that benefit the 'poor'? By the way, can I see your math on that one?

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could you take it to email with him? This is my journal, not his, and I didn't make this post to give him a platform.

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bigbrotherinlaw.livejournal.com

So which was it? Russia? or Kiev? I call bull.

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you know this bozo?

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No, I had a look at his own LJ. Been there since March of this year. Three public posts, all right wing dogmatic political crap. No friends, no friends of. Claims to be from Brooklyn, in his 50s. I also love how his writing has been in perfectly acceptable English up until this very last reply when he started making stereotypical mistakes that look deliberate, as if trying to pass for a non-native. And he claims he grew up under socialism, studied it all through school, but had to resort to Wikipedia for a definition rather than being able to give one himself.

You couldn't find a more blatant pile of shit outside the line of porta-castles at Warped. Or the O'Reilly Factor.

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I'm just wondering why he bothered with me. Randomly googling people who were blogging about the situation so he could go argue with people who were Wrong On The Internet?

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sapphorlando.livejournal.com

Uh.. I seriously doubt that the 'socialism' taught in Soviet Russia was the same 'socialism' taught academically in most of the west. I'm firmly of the conviction that the 'socialism' taught in Soviet Russia was Soviet propaganda, and nothing more.

The word 'socialism' is used in different ways here, with different intent, and rarely used correctly. When someone who is not a leftist calls someone else a 'socialist' they don't really mean it like that; they're trying to evoke images of Soviet leaders.

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la-directora.livejournal.com

I hardly think that admiring something that Dennis Kucinich did puts someone "on the fringe". He's a member of Congress, which is a VERY elite organization. Fewer than 600 members out of a population of 300,000,000. So, sure, he may have not been a viable candidate for President, but that hardly puts him "on the fringe".

What it tells me about my values is that I'm a fellow vegetarian, agree with his stances on MANY political and social issues, and think he's a nice guy, especially for a politician. Hardly "fringe" material.

Edited Date: 2008-06-10 02:33 pm (UTC)

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First of all, who the heck are you? Your journal doesn't have a friendslist, and I have no idea how you found me. Certainly, this is a public entry, and anyone is welcome to comment, but I'm no Internet celebrity, and I'm a bit bemused by comments from people I've never seen before.

Second, you're not reading carefully: that "new hero" sentence was still part of the blockquote from

pixel. While I found his sentiment appealing, it's part of what I reproduced from his journal, and you should more accurately address your question to him.

My own sentiments are slightly more complicated: I'm glad that the issues are being raised, and VERY happy to have the charges a matter of Congressional record, but I don't think the timing is all that useful.

As for being part of the mainstream... have you noticed Bush's approval ratings lately? Kucinich may not have scored well in the primaries, but I believe his stance towards Bush has pretty broad support by now.

Not that "broad support" is my deciding factor in a situation like this. The accuracy of the charges, that's what matters!

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sapphorlando.livejournal.com

If I were to follow that logic, I would have to choose Budweiser all the time, because all other beers are 'losers'.

The fact that the majority of Americans are sleepwalking ignorati is no excuse for the rest of us to throw our hands up and just follow along.

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epj.livejournal.com

Oh, I love that man.

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He does some pretty impressive things.

Hi and welcome! I hadn't noticed you reading me before, but the people we have in common are good ones. :) If you just dropped in because of this, I warn you, my journal is usually pretty frivolous. Recipes, roller coasters, and rock concerts.

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pentane.livejournal.com

I can't find the article now, but I believe the trib posted that he's already brought articles against Cheney, and Pelosi isn't having any part of it, so it's just grandstanding.

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