Who would you like to see at Obama's next "Beer" Summit?

[ColbertWatcher]

Poll question: Who would you like to see at Obama's next "Beer" Summit?

[Blaze Diem]

1. Me and 100 friends from DU. And a band..

Now that would be a summit.

[derby378]

3. You beat me to it!

:rofl:

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Thank you. n/t

[Xipe Totec]

2. German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Let's get somebody who understands and appreciates beer.

[ColbertWatcher]

5. Merkel's already been to the White House, and ...

... I don't remember Obama doing/saying anything to/about her that warrants an apology or "clarification."

[Xipe Totec]

6. This is a summit about important issues

like beer.

Don't get trivial stuff like international relations involved...

[ColbertWatcher]

9. Then Obama should go visit Germany again!

[cherokeeprogressive]

21. Whoa. The blatant sexism in that cartoon is so thick I COULDN'T cut it with a sharp knife.

Shame on you.

[ColbertWatcher]

31. Sorry.

That was supposed to be satire.

[maglatinavi]

7. obama beer summit

Count me in!!!

[Strong Atheist]

8. Leaders from oppressed groups. nt.

[ColbertWatcher]

10. Like the group of Armenians Obama joked about when he was in LA?

[Strong Atheist]

11. I think it would be nice if he kept a spotlight on injustice by having

regular (as time permits) public meetings with various minority/oppressed groups...

[ColbertWatcher]

12. I'm beginning to wonder ...

... if he only extends a hand to his enemies? Keep your friends close, your enemies closer kind of thing?

[Strong Atheist]

13. Don't know. I admire the man; I think he really cares about truth, equality, and

justice, corny as that sounds... :blush:

[ColbertWatcher]

14. Agreed.

And, I understand the idea of picking your battles, but I find it curious who he chooses to ignore and who he devotes any time to.

[Strong Atheist]

15. Sigh. How does ANYTHING become national news, when many similar things

do not? I do think he is picking his battles based on many factors; including his time, many pressing big problems, and, yes, how far up the instant-news chain they are...

[timeforpeace]

20. I assure you he takes his base for granted.

[ColbertWatcher]

24. But who is his base?

Liberals? Progressives? Moderates? Pragmatists?

[ColbertWatcher]

16. In regards to keeping the spotlight on minority/oppressed groups ...

... I wonder if one of the reasons why some Americans are against healthcare for everyone is based in part on the belief that Americans are above needing to ask for help? Isn't government assistance for starving African children or people who live in other countries?

Is there some lingering macho mythology that Americans are above being victims of oppression and asking for help?

[Strong Atheist]

17. Sounds right... nt.

[Betty Karlson]

18. True

It set in with the presidency of Grant.

[ColbertWatcher]

25. Oh? Do tell!

Welcome to DU, btw!

[Betty Karlson]

28. Well, it boils down to this:

In the aftermath of the American civil war, America needed to reinvent itself. Or rather, it needed to reinvent its core values. The South was held down, was disadvantaged, was denied any opportunity to exit the union, flagrant racism sprang up (KKK as its ugliest face), and there was a need for an explanation how so much distrust and inequality could be geld together. The only thing the war had brung about was the emancipation of African-Americans and of veterans. They were the ones for whom class had come to mean less and less.

Just as all those Southern States were about to re-enter the union (or had just done so), Grant was elected. - That is the man who had led the North to military victory. So his presidency would come to define the new core values all of America held in common. The awkward situation had been brought about by the war, but the respinse would be brought about by Grant's administration.

Politically, Grant was beholden to two philosophies:
1) The North had won through its economic superiority (partly brought about by bloccades of the South's economy) - so the North's economic philosophy, aggressive capitalism, would define his presidency.
2) His veterans needed welfare for their past services. So arbitrary decissions to benefit the veterans would define his economic policies as well. Now that the South would cease to be a target for plundering, it should remain a target for brutal entrepreneurs from the north.

The result was a toxic cocktail of less oversight and less normative standards. The Grant administration, according to Kinder and Hilgemann, was the United States' darkest time of corruption.
But as it profited the North (the veterans), and as the North was culturally dominant (the South's economy had just been upturned; there was no money to be culturally dominant), and as Grant had the status of a hero (the slaves were free at last!), nothing was done against him. Rather, the myth came to be (under influence of new theories like darwinism) that the North was dominant and the South subdued, because of a quality only the north possessed: the American Dream. That is: grab what you can and dare to speculate with it. No holds barred, free for all, if you lose you're a loser. Anyone can succeed - and if you don't it's your own fault.

This is a rather unflattering presentation of the American Dream. In laer years, America has been a beacon of opportunity to many, and the new core value (the land of opportunity) worked as a true melting pot.
But, as with any system, those who profited from it tried to exclusivate their position by denying to others what they had enjoyed themselves. If you look for the moment America stopped to essentially be a land of opportunity, look for the moment the melting pot stopped melting.
And the American Dream could be exclusivated becourse of an undercurrent it had had from the beginning: that aggressive capitalism was there to serve a limited group of men. And that if the civil war had been fought on your behalf, you should be gratefull not to be a slave and let the veterans' decendants have their exclusive opportunities.

(Sorry if I rant a lot in this post. Having sipped some alcohol, I am not in the mood for subtlety)

[ColbertWatcher]

33. Fascinating. I have much to think about. n/t

[timeforpeace]

19. Some government officials or heads of state cuz THAT'S HIS JOB, not this foolishness

[The Hope Mobile]

22. Me! nt

[Hugabear]

23. Bush and Cheney

And a whole slew of federal marshals hiding around the corner.

[eridani]

26. Noam Chomsky and Naomi Klein n/t

[AngryAmish]

27. The Sandman

[semillama]

29. the thing I like about this whole beer thing:

A lot of people said they'd want to have a beer with Bush, but Obama is the type of guy who wants to have a beer with YOU.

[ColbertWatcher]

35. LOL! Thank you! n/t

[donheld]

30. Amy Goodman and Jeremy Scahill

[bertman]

32. Bill O'Reilly and Jesse Ventura.

After a couple of beers, O'Reilly would get loud and ugly forcing Jesse to body-slam his sorry ass.

B-)

[backscatter712]

34. Real beer instead of Bud Light!

I'd suggest something from my hometown of Fort Collins: Fat Tire, or 90 Shilling, or Easy Street, or one of many brews made in town.

[johnaries]

36. GWB! I'd love to see him get falling down drunk and choke on

a pretzel. Only, of course, if Obama does the Heimlich and saves his life. It would be just so, appropriate.

[taught_me_patience]

37. SKINNER! n/t