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jml510

jml510's Journal
jml510's Journal
September 6, 2013

Fireworks: MSNBC's Alex Wagner vs. Ron Paul On Syria, Liberty, Anti-Semitism

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Link: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/09/05/fireworks_msnbcs_alex_wagner_vs_ron_paul_on_syria_liberty_anti-semitism.html

Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) joins Alex Wagner to give his take on the situation in Syria, how Obama has handled the situation, and why he thinks the "grand deception" of the Syria debate is that this is a question of national security.

Alex Wagner: With your emphasis on liberty, I have to ask you about some of the folks that are in your coalition. And this weekend you are going to be giving an address at the Fatima Center, a conference in Canada for the Fatima Center, which has been called a hard-core anti-Semite group. Is this something that you would reconsider doing?

Ron Paul: No. As a Catholic…

Wagner: Go ahead.

Paul: I even talk to Republicans and they disagree with everything I say. When I’m on a Republican stage and I say we should have a foreign policy of the golden rule, they boo me. I’m trying to covert people. But I’m going to a conservative Catholic group that is pro-peace and wants to hear my foreign policy and my take on economy. If I go only — I wouldn’t be on this station if I had to have a litmus test. I mean, you have an opinion. … I’m on your station, why can’t I go there?

Wagner: We appreciate you coming on this station, but at the same time this station is not advocating, as the Fatima Center has, to “the duty incumbent upon Catholics of combating valiantly for the integral rights of Christ the King and opposing Jewish nationalism and preaching about Satan’s plans against the church, among which include the granting of full citizenship to the Jews.” Is your appearance at an event like this not some kind of endorsement of…

Paul: What I would say is, yes, there are disagreements within the Catholic Church, and they’re debating its theological — I have nothing to do with that. I am not even going to pretend I know anything about that. Sounds to me like you have me on here to bash Catholics.

Wagner: I was raised Catholic, so that’s the last thing I’d want to do.

Paul: Yeah, well you ought to be more courteous to them and give them a break. I mean, you know, why can’t we have discussions with people that might have a difference? And I’ve put up with a lot of this in the last 40 years because not too many people agree, but why I’m excited is the country is coming toward the way of peace and this coalition of libertarians and progressives. We’ve had too much war, too much spending, too much Federal Reserve printing of money. And that’s what’s important. For you to bring this stuff up about the infractions of some group that I have no idea what their theology’s all about…that just astounds me.

Wagner: You know, there have been a lot of folks that have been involved with your campaign — supporters. There’ve been newsletters that have been accredited to you that have strong anti-Semitic, racist undertones and I think the American public is curious about how you endorse or do not endorse or deny involvement with any of that. And that’s why it’s a relevant line of questioning.

Paul: You know, the first month after I was elected in 1976 … I was a practicing physician for all these years. And I run for office, I had no expectation of winning. … The first month they put my picture in a magazine with a swastika. So this is just horrible and it just goes on. When people disagree with you on ideas, they have to destroy your character. That’s what they do. The main reason I get attacked from anybody, like you, it’s because there’s disagreement on my foreign policy. I want peace and I don’t want to support the war-mongers. So you have to go after somebody’s character. That’s wrong.

Wagner: I don’t think that constitutes a character attack, Dr. Paul, but we really do appreciate you coming on the show. (transcript via Washington Post)

August 23, 2013

Brock Obama

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August 14, 2013

Why do some people keep calling Obama "center-right"?

I hear self-proclaimed liberals on DU call him that all the time, in addition to "Third Way", "DINO", and "moderate Republican". Considering all of the things that he has advocated such as higher top tax rates, women's right to choose, voting rights, gay rights, stricter gun laws, and health care reform, I just have a hard time understanding how people can make that claim about him with a straight face, especially when the average Republican/conservative opposes these things, and especially considering how hostile they have been towards his agenda since January 2009. Also if he is that far to the right, then why is approval rating with all liberals (in general) still above 80%?

Your thoughts?

Edited: *******************FYI this is Posted in The Barack Obama Group************

August 14, 2013

Quick question: Were non-Black minorities also considered "colored" when segregation was legal?

For example, did Asians, Native Americans, Hispanics, etc. also have to use "Colored" facilities? Or were they allowed to use the "White" ones?
I have been curious about this for a while, since virtually all of what I have heard about segregation is what Black people experienced.

August 8, 2013

A Brief Wal-Mart Discussion I had with my Mom

Less than an hour ago, my mother was helping me move some boxed appliances to my bedroom in preparation of me moving out of town in less than 3 weeks. She had suggested that I go shopping at Wal-Mart for an alarm clock, and I told her that I would feel guilty about shopping there after hearing all the horror stories about how the owner underpays his employees and is hostile to unions. In my entire life, I have only shopped once or twice there, and the last time was maybe half a decade ago.
She told me I was crazy, and that the main thing that the employees are concerned about right now is that they at least have a job. She essentially went on to say that the workers there can't be held responsible for the foolishness of the owner, and are all working-class people like us.
So anyway, what are everyone's thoughts? As for me, I'm now sort of torn on this issue.

Edit to add: I already have an alarm clock on my iPod Touch, but my mother didn't know this, and I thought I'd share this discussion, anyway.

August 1, 2013

The world’s most and least ethnically diverse countries

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/05/16/a-revealing-map-of-the-worlds-most-and-least-ethnically-diverse-countries/
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Ethnicity, like race, is a social construct, but it’s still a construct with significant implications for the world. How people perceive ethnicity, both their own and that of others, can be tough to measure, particularly given that it’s so subjective. So how do you study it?

When five economists and social scientists set out to measure ethnic diversity for a landmark 2002 paper for the Harvard Institute of Economic Research, they started by comparing data from an array of different sources: national censuses, Encyclopedia Brittanica, the CIA, Minority Rights Group International and a 1998 study called “Ethnic Groups Worldwide.” They looked for consistence and inconsistence in the reports to determine what data set would be most reliable and complete. Because data sources such as censuses or surveys are self-reported – in other words, people are classified how they ask to be classified – the ethnic group data reflects how people see themselves, not how they’re categorized by outsiders. Those results measured 650 ethnic groups in 190 countries.

One thing the Harvard Institute authors did with all that data was measure it for what they call ethnic fractionalization. Another word for it might be diversity. They gauged this by asking an elegantly simple question: If you called up two people at random in a particular country and ask them their ethnicity, what are the odds that they would give different answers? The higher the odds, the more ethnically “fractionalized” or diverse the country.

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Hometown: Oakland, CA
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