Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Jack Rabbit

(45,984 posts)
157. Before that, he was a notable spokesman for left
Mon Dec 19, 2011, 08:56 PM
Dec 2011

There are at least some nice thing to remember about Christopher Hitchens.

You're right, Kim Jong Il didn't do much harm to the United States. In fact, the best thing that can be said about Kim Jong Il is that, for all his bluster, he seldom did harm any one outside of North Korea. Inside North Korea, he did immense harm and leaves behind a nation beset by famine.

But the gin-soaked former Trotskyist popinjay was really sorry later gratuitous Dec 2011 #1
He never changed his position, and what prejudice? inademv Dec 2011 #3
Hitchens was an outspoken atheist. Atheists are prejudiced, apparently... SidDithers Dec 2011 #13
Poor baby gratuitous Dec 2011 #58
There's that Christian spirit we all know and love...nt SidDithers Dec 2011 #62
I'm not a Christian... well not for 45 years now, but I agree with those upthread. He was a bigot. TalkingDog Dec 2011 #72
Don't confuse the issue with facts gratuitous Dec 2011 #73
I really hate to ask, Lunacee2012 Dec 2011 #88
He spoke quite vehemently about the importance of empowering women inademv Dec 2011 #94
Mostly from his own mouth gratuitous Dec 2011 #112
What misogynist divel? inademv Dec 2011 #134
Sorry, I gave you too much credit gratuitous Dec 2011 #136
Post removed Post removed Dec 2011 #137
Typical. Shoe Horn Dec 2011 #213
Really? gratuitous Dec 2011 #231
Thank you, he made the same mistake with Christians liberalhistorian Dec 2011 #193
Real Christians are great. dotymed Dec 2011 #218
This message was self-deleted by its author 12AngryBorneoWildmen Dec 2011 #223
The truth, it hoits! AlbertCat Dec 2011 #160
Christians are a much-insulted minority? UnrepentantLiberal Dec 2011 #66
No, atheists are a much-insulted minority... SidDithers Dec 2011 #68
+1 sarcasmo Dec 2011 #152
Let's face it. Theists and atheists insult each other all the time caseymoz Dec 2011 #203
I guess it's like forgivng Osama bin Laden demosincebirth Dec 2011 #5
Popinjay? Good one! n/t Peregrine Took Dec 2011 #85
Steal from the best, I say gratuitous Dec 2011 #86
Maybe you should learn more about Hitchens' actual position and his actual works in his life inademv Dec 2011 #2
Post removed Post removed Dec 2011 #18
Because he was cognizant of history inademv Dec 2011 #46
Right. Wrong for Saddam to kill Iraqis when we could do it instead. aquart Dec 2011 #63
Yes, and that's utter nonsense. Hissyspit Dec 2011 #156
You mean like in '07 where he was whining that we weren't killing enough Muslims? Posteritatis Dec 2011 #22
How about a quote instead of pulling things from your arse n/t inademv Dec 2011 #41
Tell us please. ForgoTheConsequence Dec 2011 #37
What are you trying to use that quote to say? inademv Dec 2011 #48
Apologize for him all you want. UnrepentantLiberal Dec 2011 #69
Not re-writting what you don't know inademv Dec 2011 #75
Hitch was one of the few people who volunteered to be waterboarded LynneSin Dec 2011 #4
did he renounce its use? i heard he didn't. roguevalley Dec 2011 #23
Oh he wrote about it in Vanity Fair LynneSin Dec 2011 #38
You heard that? July Dec 2011 #101
This message was self-deleted by its author Bucky Dec 2011 #108
A simple google search gave me this... Lost-in-FL Dec 2011 #131
So what? He was still dogshit. JVS Dec 2011 #39
Is your comment because he was an atheist? n/t RebelOne Dec 2011 #64
No, does being an atheist excuse him for being dogshit? JVS Dec 2011 #151
Of course it does. Critters2 Dec 2011 #182
Do you piss on everyone's graves or just those that knew how to use the English language properly? truebrit71 Dec 2011 #219
You can't compare that silly stunt to actual waterboarding CrawlingChaos Dec 2011 #172
No you can't, even I know that LynneSin Dec 2011 #183
I remember reading that column. AngryOldDem Dec 2011 #210
Thats absurd. Hitchens had no political power or significant influence. phleshdef Dec 2011 #6
an internationally known writer has no influence? really? roguevalley Dec 2011 #24
Not if you're talking about the Iraq war inademv Dec 2011 #50
IDK let's look at his life Johonny Dec 2011 #54
Yea, friggin really. I didn't stutter. phleshdef Dec 2011 #61
His voice could barely be heard over Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, et al paparush Dec 2011 #148
Sorry, but that is just wrong CrawlingChaos Dec 2011 #140
Thank you for that read, thucythucy Dec 2011 #181
Not sure I really want to jump into this fray, but... kag Dec 2011 #162
Pitiful. kentuck Dec 2011 #7
In the end, he became a neo-con, many of whom claimed to be converts from the Left. Romulox Dec 2011 #8
How exactly was he a neo-con inademv Dec 2011 #51
Here's some extreme bloodlust from Hitchens cpwm17 Dec 2011 #166
I can see how you would get that impression from reading an evaluation by someone who listen to him inademv Dec 2011 #169
He was. He had my attention until he turned right wing. That pissed me off. nt Sarah Ibarruri Dec 2011 #9
he is like too many idiots. he lived at the extremes of left and right and mocked nuance roguevalley Dec 2011 #27
I sometimes think he switched because it allowed him to make more money. I don't know. nt Sarah Ibarruri Dec 2011 #34
That's what someone who had been close friends with him said deutsey Dec 2011 #45
Wouldn't surprise me at all. nt Sarah Ibarruri Dec 2011 #49
Quote/link? Which friend, I'm genuinely curious n/t inademv Dec 2011 #52
As I say, it was on KPFA's "Letters and Politics" deutsey Dec 2011 #71
Ah, Bob Baldock inademv Dec 2011 #81
I only know him as a voice in between shows, honestly deutsey Dec 2011 #82
looks like someone is itching for a fight. rurallib Dec 2011 #10
And Kim Jon Ill did vastly more damage to the entirety of the North Korean peoples. DFab420 Dec 2011 #11
Yea and what kind of liberals accuse writers of crimes against humanity over writing about opinions? phleshdef Dec 2011 #15
True, but the OP was about consequences for America eridani Dec 2011 #125
And Kim Jon Ill did vastly more damage to the entirety of the North Korean peoples. AlbertCat Dec 2011 #163
Colin Powell did it almost all on his own quinnox Dec 2011 #12
Yeah, that was ...something... Lunacee2012 Dec 2011 #90
I never did. He was always a careerist/opportunitst. His role in tblue37 Dec 2011 #173
I think the 29 Senate Democrats who voted to allow Bush to go to war deserve greater condemnation. MNBrewer Dec 2011 #14
Christopher Hitchens doesn't deserve any condemnation over it at all. phleshdef Dec 2011 #17
humanitarian reasoning for war?? roguevalley Dec 2011 #30
Yea. I also said he was very misguided about that. phleshdef Dec 2011 #59
Ending the sanctions. AtheistCrusader Dec 2011 #189
How exactly do you feel that he was wrong on his area of support for the war? inademv Dec 2011 #53
He believed it was a fight worth having for various reasons. I see his reasons, but I don't believe phleshdef Dec 2011 #65
His support for the war was for the removal of Saddam, not the occupation inademv Dec 2011 #70
No. I heard and read Hitchens argue in favor of continued fighting in Iraq post saddam. phleshdef Dec 2011 #77
So do you find it more morally acceptable inademv Dec 2011 #78
Yes. I do. phleshdef Dec 2011 #83
"we have a moral obligation to do right by the societies we upheave" inademv Dec 2011 #89
I never said we didn't have a responsibility to do something. phleshdef Dec 2011 #92
So how is it morally acceptable to have left Saddam in power? inademv Dec 2011 #96
Wait for something like an Arab Spring to occur and treat it with a similar fashion as we did Egypt. phleshdef Dec 2011 #106
Well we were having a debate about it, if you don't care to continue that then that is unfortunate inademv Dec 2011 #109
Does that mean we should take out Saudi Arabia? Rozlee Dec 2011 #124
Thank you, Rozlee polly7 Dec 2011 #129
"Saddam was a secular leader for all his brutality" inademv Dec 2011 #130
Saddam was considered secular by the west Rozlee Dec 2011 #153
Yeah Hitler was totally secular too man </sarcasm> inademv Dec 2011 #165
Yes. If you've noticed Egypt and Tunisia lately, you'd easily see-- eridani Dec 2011 #126
Halabja poison gas attack inademv Dec 2011 #132
Nowhere near as many casualties as the US invasion eridani Dec 2011 #155
Arguing from hindsight doesn't make or support your case n/t inademv Dec 2011 #164
It certainly does, as most of the consequences were predicted in advance eridani Dec 2011 #168
If someone trashed your house, would you want to hire them to rebuild? eridani Dec 2011 #123
Sort of, yes. I'd expect them to supply the resources one way or another. phleshdef Dec 2011 #147
It was not possible to remove Saddam without becoming an occupier MNBrewer Dec 2011 #104
So we're doing the wrong thing in Libya? n/t inademv Dec 2011 #107
The two situations are nothing alike. MNBrewer Dec 2011 #111
They are very analygous inademv Dec 2011 #135
No, they dont deserve ANY condemnation. There was nothing wrong with that vote as I explained here stevenleser Dec 2011 #55
Actually I'm pretty sure they do inademv Dec 2011 #74
Nope, they don't. The IWR authorized war only if UN Resolutions were not followed. At the time IWR stevenleser Dec 2011 #87
So wait, because they voted to go to war before the inspection was complete they get a pass? n/t inademv Dec 2011 #91
Which makes sense if you remember the conditions under which the IWR was created stevenleser Dec 2011 #114
No level of weapontry they had or could get in a small timeframe would have been a threat to inademv Dec 2011 #133
That was my guess in 2002 too, but it was a guess. It was the UN stevenleser Dec 2011 #197
They knew they were giving Bush the green light to invade MNBrewer Dec 2011 #105
Nope, they didnt and the IWR was not written as a green light. nt stevenleser Dec 2011 #115
yes, they did MNBrewer Dec 2011 #120
The wording is right in the resolution. You ignore it because it proves you incorrect. nt stevenleser Dec 2011 #122
IWR text Section 3: SOS Dec 2011 #194
keep bolding. "in order to... defend the us.. and enforce UN resolutions stevenleser Dec 2011 #200
Will gladly continue bolding SOS Dec 2011 #228
I didn't know about the Lunacee2012 Dec 2011 #192
we hardly needed Hitchen's war cheerleading to get us mired in Iraq... hlthe2b Dec 2011 #16
Talk about over the top sharp_stick Dec 2011 #19
I don't think he would take credit for that war. And it wouldn't be false modesty. immoderate Dec 2011 #20
On the one hand, I understand it, he hated religious zealotry particularly as the ruling order of a stevenleser Dec 2011 #57
Agreed. He was zealously anti-theocratic. But it's not an excuse. immoderate Dec 2011 #80
Weak. Very weak. MineralMan Dec 2011 #21
You are BENDING OVER BACKWARDS TO MISS THE GODDAMN POINT! DeathToTheOil Dec 2011 #25
ok, that just shows your comparison is even dumber quinnox Dec 2011 #28
Dumber? How does one get any dumber than the Hitchensia? DeathToTheOil Dec 2011 #31
"Did Kim Jong Il vehemently argue for your invasion of Iraq?" quinnox Dec 2011 #33
Yeah, well...welcome to DU to YOU, too.... MADem Dec 2011 #44
i blame bu$h* and cheney.....hitchens is just a reporters opinion. spanone Dec 2011 #26
lol -- I don't think Hitchens support was a deciding factor fishwax Dec 2011 #29
North Korea's role in nuclear proliferation (and thus global destablization) Bolo Boffin Dec 2011 #32
Most Americans have no clue who Hitchens was.. trumad Dec 2011 #35
Kim was also a better golfer. JVS Dec 2011 #36
I agree surfdog Dec 2011 #40
Post removed Post removed Dec 2011 #42
Yeah, ya think? frazzled Dec 2011 #56
Wow! Spazito Dec 2011 #43
None whatsoever is vastly more? dmallind Dec 2011 #47
Sheer, bloodcurdling FAIL. nt Dreamer Tatum Dec 2011 #60
Hitchens went after Kissinger which no one else did lunatica Dec 2011 #67
“Sometimes people are good, and they do just what they should. But the very same people... Ian David Dec 2011 #76
One more Book spirit of wine Dec 2011 #79
I thought he covered it well enough in Hitch-22 n/t inademv Dec 2011 #93
So much fail I don't even know where to start. Both death tallies are zero, LadyHawkAZ Dec 2011 #84
Whether Hitchens was for or against the Iraq war made no fucking difference Burma Jones Dec 2011 #95
Always good to read opinions that have null value here. GoneOffShore Dec 2011 #97
Christopher Hitchens worked for The Pentagon? Throd Dec 2011 #98
The No. 1 cheerleading chickenhawk? LeftishBrit Dec 2011 #99
limbaugh and sons, with 1000 coordinated radio stations and paid callers, endorsed by our universiti certainot Dec 2011 #119
And by the way.. LeftishBrit Dec 2011 #100
What a load of crap. Deep13 Dec 2011 #102
So... Only American lives matter? Ohio Joe Dec 2011 #103
He can't. Ms. Toad Dec 2011 #113
The US government chose to go to war without any input from Hitchens. ChadwickHenryWard Dec 2011 #110
no one heard hitchens compared to team limbaugh, the real chickenhawk cheerleaders for iraq attack certainot Dec 2011 #116
RIP unrec RZM Dec 2011 #117
Hitchens did NO damage, he just talked..... djean111 Dec 2011 #118
wrong, wrong, wrong CrawlingChaos Dec 2011 #143
I read that yesterday...... djean111 Dec 2011 #158
I could have posted a number of other links CrawlingChaos Dec 2011 #178
And if Obama loses because enough people on the left stay home next year RZM Dec 2011 #199
LOL....one of the least informed OPs I have seen this month. n-t Logical Dec 2011 #121
I agree up to the "this month" part. great white snark Dec 2011 #127
Where does Dan Savage fall on this scale? cemaphonic Dec 2011 #128
With all due respect, your statement is utterly absurd. Lost-in-FL Dec 2011 #138
Oh god, here we go again... Taverner Dec 2011 #139
Hitchens was wrong like so many in his assessment of the Iraq war, however, he did not vote or make Pisces Dec 2011 #141
indeed...nt and-justice-for-all Dec 2011 #146
I Would Forget About Christopher Hitchens' Iraq War Comments. AlBratt Dec 2011 #142
Hitchens had a tart tongue and was 100% wrong about the war, but was often right on issues REP Dec 2011 #144
I disagree with the OP title, what a pile of shit that is... and-justice-for-all Dec 2011 #145
So *, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, etc. played no part in taking us to war? laconicsax Dec 2011 #149
Actually, Dick Cheney was the #1 chickenhawk. Iggo Dec 2011 #150
Hitch was wrong on many things...but got this one right knocklindquist Dec 2011 #154
72% of Americans opposed Bush's idiotic invasion, SOS Dec 2011 #196
support on DU for the horrid Libya invasion refutes you stockholmer Dec 2011 #211
Before that, he was a notable spokesman for left Jack Rabbit Dec 2011 #157
Yeah Hitchens was a useless fascist, neocon warmongering piece of shit ButterflyBlood Dec 2011 #159
"Hitch" was the #1 cheerleading chickenhawk for the Iraq War. AlbertCat Dec 2011 #161
Hitchens was an ass spooked911 Dec 2011 #167
Let it die, folks, DTTO has been evicted from the thread by virtue of two hidden posts. n/t Ms. Toad Dec 2011 #170
Hitch chose Obama questforpatriots Dec 2011 #171
It almost makes me regret voting for him... ( n/t ) Make7 Dec 2011 #174
I like Hitchens the same way I like Trey Parker and Matt Stone...... SleeplessinSoCal Dec 2011 #175
Are you saying that if there had been no Hitchens skepticscott Dec 2011 #176
Nonsense post. Where did anyone say that? (n/t) CrawlingChaos Dec 2011 #179
The war was inevitable, whether Hitchens had said a word about it skepticscott Dec 2011 #184
re-worded nonsense is still nonsense CrawlingChaos Dec 2011 #187
Hitch wasn't all bad. questforpatriots Dec 2011 #177
This thread is going to inspire a lot of jury duty... n/t Mojambo Dec 2011 #180
How many legions had Hitchens? Survivoreesta Dec 2011 #185
More than Bush, Cheney, or Powell? beardown Dec 2011 #186
What point could you possibly be trying to make with this thread? shoutinfreud Dec 2011 #188
He got that one wrong. Jester Messiah Dec 2011 #190
So he was wrong. AtheistCrusader Dec 2011 #191
Shitty thread; stupid premise; non-sensical comparison. AmericaIsGreat Dec 2011 #195
bon Jovi did more damage than both of them put together Enrique Dec 2011 #198
Has anyone made a comparison to the Nazi's yet? BootinUp Dec 2011 #201
+1000!! nt Lost-in-FL Dec 2011 #202
Why would it occur to you to compare those two? caseymoz Dec 2011 #204
This thread belongs on Jim Robinson's MB intaglio Dec 2011 #205
Yes, he knew he could be wrong . . . caseymoz Dec 2011 #227
Wow! HowHeThinks Dec 2011 #206
interesting is`t it. madrchsod Dec 2011 #208
Obviously, there's no factual support for the claim. None whatsoever. AnotherMcIntosh Dec 2011 #207
Just a wee bit over the top. AngryOldDem Dec 2011 #209
What a fucking joke RetroLounge Dec 2011 #212
indeed. TZ Dec 2011 #214
Amen...a fucking joke Stuckinthebush Dec 2011 #222
Has Hitchens even been buried yet? sulphurdunn Dec 2011 #215
That's it? That's all you've got? deacon_sephiroth Dec 2011 #216
Religion and our thirst for oil have done VASTLY more damage ... sarchasm Dec 2011 #217
This post hurts my head Stuckinthebush Dec 2011 #220
He was the #1 cheerleader? Do you not get Fox news where you live? truebrit71 Dec 2011 #221
These threads are handy since we can see the recs. ZombieHorde Dec 2011 #224
And a list of those whose own rigid dogma LanternWaste Dec 2011 #232
No one in this thread is rationalizing war. ZombieHorde Dec 2011 #233
I imagine we all of us see what we want to... LanternWaste Dec 2011 #234
Welcome to DU. redqueen Dec 2011 #225
Is it opposites day? Chan790 Dec 2011 #226
No one is 100% right all the time... kentuck Dec 2011 #229
This is the most ridiculous post I have ever seen on DU... ingac70 Dec 2011 #230
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»This message was self-del...»Reply #157