Will everybody PLEASE stop begging other DU'ers for recs?

[ddeclue]

If you want a LEGITIMATE sense of how DU feels on an issue that's why DU has POLLS. This REC BEGGING stuff gives a skewed view since nobody gets to vote "no" and it clutters up the greatest list with these types of agenda oriented posts instead of interesting reading.

As for Roberts - NO his flub doesn't warrant an apology unless you can show that he intentionally flubbed it. I'm sure he feels embarrassed enough about it and doesn't need us to pile on.

Before you get all indignant:

Have you ever had to do any public speaking?

It's one of the greatest fears of most Americans. As Seinfeld once put it "most people would rather be in the coffin at a funeral than delivering the eulogy".

I've spoken a few times at county commission meetings, school board meetings, victory parties for candidates and to campaign events and party events and even when it is only a few hundred people it can be very nerve wracking and I actually usually am fairly comfortable with public speaking to a group of people (at least in groups smaller than 100) compared to most people.

Now imagine if you will having to speak live in front of TWO MILLION people and hundreds of millions on TV around the world.

Please give the poor guy the benefit of the doubt.

Obama is President - the day is ours.

Be Happy.

Thanks,

Doug D.

[DainBramaged]

1. You want a rec?

:P

[NYC_SKP]

2. Are you begging? Sounds like begging.

LOL, I, too am tired of the rec this thread. I did it once and never again.

Happy days to us all, Doug!!! :toast:

[NYC Liberal]

3. Rec'd

:P

But no seriously, I agree with you. Polls are the way to go.

[gristy]

4. K & R!

:P

Did he have the words written down on a piece of paper and did he have that paper in his hand? He should have. Did he practice giving the oath to his wife or another juror? He should have. Success comes to those who prepare and are prepared for any eventuality.

Bottom line is he screwed up. He has no excuse, nor does he deserve forgiveness.

[ddeclue]

5. I'm assuming it was on a teleprompter.

and I'm also assuming that as Chief Justice of the United States he has intimate familiarity with the Constitution (even if he and I disagree on how it should be interpreted). He just flubbed it - stage fright.

Just let it go and be happy.

:)

[gristy]

10. The teleprompters were to Roberts' left. Not in front of him.

I suspect Roberts assumed that he had such an intimate familiarity with the Constitution that this meant that he could recite those 35 words in his sleep. So he didn't need to practice. He didn't need to worry about it.

A sorry misjudgment in his own abilities.

[ddeclue]

11. Sometimes people screw up under pressure.

The best example I can think of would be the guy who appointed CJ Roberts.

Doug D.

[H2O Man]

6. Well,

I do think that Skinner should give free prizes to those who K&R my threads. I mean, I don't want to beg, but I think that this would improve everyone's participation on this forum.

[ddeclue]

9. DUZY!!

:rofl:

[On the Road]

7. Recmmended!

:D

[BanTheGOP]

8. I'm HAPPY that Barack Obama is President...Finally.....BUT...

I won't be COMPLETELY happy until the republican party is dead, dead, dead.

I won't be COMPLETELY happy until the US Military is dismantled and we defer our "national defense" paradigm to that of global control by UN consensus.

I won't be COMPLETELY happy until corporations are completely nationalized, including the transfer of priorities from profit (greed) to humanity (need).

I won't be COMPLETELY happy until we instill permanent, strict regulations that completely negate oil, coal, and nuclear from our energy sources and replace them with wind, solar, and thermal energy souces.

I won't be COMPLETELY happy until we criminalize private medical practice and priorities for modern medical technology and completely make it free for everyone, with no privileges of class that allow faster or more competent medical service.

I won't be COMPLETELY happy until we restructure the tax and wage earnings of all Americans so that we have a maximum wage that prevents anyone from amassing obscene amounts of wealth while ensuring that a minimum wage allows everyone to live comfortably and peacefully.

In short, I won't be COMPLETELY happy until the republican party is utterly destroyed and Socialist Progressive tenets are in everyone's head and heart, and we need to completely negate any such oppostiion to such tenets. Pure and simple.

[ddeclue]

12. Well you are entitled to your view but I don't happen to agree with it.

You are advocating a utopian socialist "paradise" which simply cannot exist because it ignores the fact that there are evil men in the world who would do us harm and there are greedy people in the world who will do their best to screw the rest of us.

You can't ignore these factors, you have to build them into your economic and government systems. If you ignore them, you are doomed to failure.

As for US sovereignty and military power:

I for one am not willing to give up US sovereignty or military power in a world with a Communist China that parks tanks on college kids or Tibetan monks for protesting for human rights and liberty.

I DO NOT believe that military power is an adequate substitute for diplomacy, a respect for human rights, treating other nations with dignity, and treating them fairly and even handedly.

America should NEVER start a war - but it should not be afraid to defend liberty, decency, and its vital interests from those who would threaten them with force.

This said, I for one am not willing to give up US military power period as it has been the bulwark of our protection since World War II against fascism, communism, terrorism, and tin horn dictators around the world.

I am NOT willing to unilaterally disarm this nation and rely upon the good will and good intentions of others in the world alone as our protection. It is clear that there are evil people in the world who will seek to do us harm whether or not we play nice and treat them well.

I for one am not very impressed with civil liberties in such supposedly enlightened countries as England and Germany which are becoming more "big brother" every single day and would not willingly cede the Bill of Rights and the US Court system for anything you would find anywhere else in the world.

As for foreign policy:

America should NOT have an empire.

America should make human rights the cornerstone of its foreign policy.

In healthcare:

America should adopt a national healthcare system like Canada or England but it should not be illegal for people to hire a doctor or other health care professional or service privately.

In the economy:

America should require a living wage for everyone who works full time but NO it shouldn't confiscate wealth on the assumption that all who are wealthy became so by immoral or illegal means.

If you don't realize that ALL people are inherently greedy to some extent then I really can't help you realize that capitalism, as long as it is regulated and as long as there is an adequate social safety net is really the most efficient system for improving the standard of living in America. Without a profit motive, people really have no motivation to do anything productive.

Regarding energy:

As an engineer I only partially agree with your statement on alternative energy - nuclear power is in fact the safest form of energy available to us on a large scale, far safer than even hydro power - the other western industrialized nations all use a much higher percentage of nuclear than we do and there has never been a death in the US due to a commercial nuclear accident in 50+ years of operation, nor has the US Navy ever had such a death that I've ever heard of in 50+ years of operating a nuclear navy.



Doug D.
Orlando, FL

[BanTheGOP]

13. You have many excellent points...

...that actually render some of my arguments open for debate. My positions, however, may not be based on hard engineering principles, but with an understanding of the detrimental cost of human advancement.

The profit motive has been the single biggest progenitor of human greed, territorial expansion, and an heretofore irreversible divide between the haves and the have-nots.

And you can't have a valid living wage without ensuring that the rich do not get richer. Why have few people make billions of dollars at the expense of millions of poeple making peanuts?

With energy, it is more than the environment. Of COURSE wind, solar, and thermal have a near-zero impact on the carbon footprint. But energy such as you describe can be manipulated so that the rich do not have to pay (via subsidization of the rich), but the poor will always pay an ever-increasing part of their low or non income to such endeavors. With a progressive, socialized approach to energy production, we can integrate true economic growth with an emphasis on human need, not corporate/repblicanist greed.

And China may be a big country, but they will not attack the US. I trust the Chinese far more not to attack the US than for the US to attack China, for instance; most DU'ers would agree as a matter of fact.

And hiring medical health is a slippery slope. That's why it must be nipped in the bud and severely penalized. I will have to disagree with you there with no recourse on coming together on that.

All in all, I think it's a matter of relativity, but also a matter of human evolution. The republicanist/ capitalist model of property ownership, exclusion, and environmental destruction is rapidly being replaced with the progressive/socialist model of community property, inclusion, and environmental standards that enhance the longevity of the planet and its living beings.

[ddeclue]

14. well again...

Greed exists in the absence of wealth or financial systems - it is written into our genetic code and is the result of hundreds of millions of years of evolution and it really can't be replaced unless you want to engage in genetic engineering.

And what you say about China is what many people in the 1930's said about Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. The parallels are truly frightening - we helped re-industrialize these nations and provided them with much of the technology and raw materials that they then used against us later on.

I really doubt that the US would ever attack China but if the US unilaterally disarmed itself, I really don't agree that China wouldn't be tempted to attack the US or blackmail and intimidate it. CHINA isn't going to unilaterally disarm - that's certain.

And your assumption is false that the only reason that a person can make billions is by forcing someone else to be poor. It is ALSO false to assume that you can't have a living wage without confiscating wealth from the wealthy.

And you really have no real grounds to try to tell doctors that they can't make a living as they see fit and to try to criminalize private medicine. That's just crazy.

I'm sorry but your vision of the world isn't going to come to pass and you are going to have to realize that you aren't going to be able to shove your version of an uber-socialist utopia down other people's throats because it is NOT the view of 98% of Americans nor is it likely to be any time in the foreseeable future.

[cherokeeprogressive]

15. Your last statement DOES NOT describe a place I'd be comfortable living in.

"...until ...Socialist Progressive tenets are in everyone's head..." "...need to completely negate ANY (emphasis mine) such opposition to such tenets."

"criminalize private medical practice" - Does that mean that someone from the government will decide who gets FORCED to attend medical school? Because I don't think many of today's young would be enticed into a career that takes a decade of hell to get off of the ground but pays no more than what YOU think it's worth.

Trust our national defense to global control by UN consensus? What size tunic do you wear? We have two colors: Light Gray and Light Gray. Oh, and the slippers come in EIGHT shades of black! Won't you be happy!

Just like a squirrel having sex with numerous acorns, YOU are fucking NUTS.

[BanTheGOP]

17. I have no comment, other than to say...

...that caring for humanity is much more preferential than the republicanist model. Doctors should NOT be doctors if money is their goal! And war should never...NEVER!!!...be a first, middle or even next-to-last option...and when it is decided, it MUST be upon a GLOBAL concensus, not by rote of a single despotic political party.

At least I walk the walk.

[cwydro]

16. Kick.

[bridgit]

18. Agreed! Begging for recs, or requesting them through the PM function creates a 'push poll'...

and so is a less than reasoned perspective on whatever topic sits behind it. Same with people rec'ing *just cause* they like a person. Or someone/everybody else likes a person. Chinese society discourages flattery in that it can generate less-than-true opinions, as well stratify what should be a cohesive unit for the sake of personal ego.

Your point here:

"Now imagine if you will having to speak live in front of TWO MILLION people and hundreds of millions on TV around the world."

Is understood by me and well taken having been on the stage quite a bit; a point for which I was called a fascist enabler when I made it just yesterday. John Lennon used to vomit routinely before going on stage. But there's little point for some to think much past what they are able to.

Yes, the day is ours. But already some are thinking it is more their's than others and so the cohesion risks disunity.

Agreed: Be Happy; Adding: If Possible

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