Comments on: Is Michele Obama a Bigot?

By: mcfly

mcfly — Fri, 20 May 2016 20:01:14 +0000

Well said, Bowser

By: bowser

bowser — Wed, 18 May 2016 04:17:32 +0000

I note that the Supreme Court is going to allow relatives of 9-11 to sue SAUDI ARABIA repeat SAUDI ARABIA! Now how could that be? Bush, et al, explained it was Iraq that was the bad guy.

Kinda hard to defend a country that bombs hospitals and invades the wrong country after lying their asses off. (WMDs, for instance!)

Whose the badguys? Try to find some goodguys before you are foolish enough to choose sides.

By: BuckGalaxy

BuckGalaxy — Wed, 18 May 2016 03:43:19 +0000

I agree, supporting a reformation in Islam is a good idea. I think the worst abusers of humans rights like Saudi Arabia are already feeling the scorn and foreign disapproval from around the world from their exportation of jihadism, and from free societies for their horrific human rights abuses. We need to keep it up. It’s about basic human decency, not bigotry. No need to bomb them, just keep letting them know all the time what we think of some of their specific cultural practices.

Liberals and seculars in the muslim world are in a difficult situation. The fact that their very lives are at risk if they speak their minds says volumes. Those who make false equivalence between conservative muslims and conservative christians gloss these kinds of things over with historical references. Yes in the Middle Ages christians were the bigger problem, but we don’t live in the middle ages. The problems we have in our time are what we need to address.

You’ve heard of The Book of Mormon play on Broadway I’m sure. Do you think there would a problem if someone tried to do a play like that on The Book of Islam?

By: BuckGalaxy

BuckGalaxy — Wed, 18 May 2016 03:14:38 +0000

This discussion gets heated for me because it continuously goes off the rails. Hardly any reason to hold a grudge.

By: BuckGalaxy

BuckGalaxy — Wed, 18 May 2016 03:12:24 +0000

At one point he said Harris and Maher’s arguments sounded like anti-black southern racism. They had said absolutely nothing about race. Harris made it very clear this was about ideas. But the hysterical cries of bigotry by both Affleck and Kristof are not atypical of liberal rank and file when anyone criticizes any element, no matter how vile, of islamic culture.

By: mcfly

mcfly — Wed, 18 May 2016 02:33:12 +0000

It’s ok to disagree. Doesn’t mean you guys have to become mortal enemies.

And remember–”winning” an argument on the internet has roughly the same significance as…well, as something truly and profoundly insignificant.

By: mcfly

mcfly — Wed, 18 May 2016 02:03:40 +0000

I think he’s a talented filmmaker, but inviting him to such a discussion is a typical show-biz mistake. He’s not there to make any real intellectual contribution, he’s just there to be Ben Affleck. And for good or bad, star-power makes some people listen. It’s why Jim Carrey can, in some people’s minds, successfully challenge medical doctors in debates over medical science. It’s the democratization of communication, baby–for better or worse, everyone has a voice.

FWIW, I actually think there’s less daylight between you and ER on this matter than you might think. But that’s up to the two of you to determine, of course.

By: mcfly

mcfly — Wed, 18 May 2016 01:16:59 +0000

Tricky business, though. Shining any sort of light on secularists in the Muslim world could simply serve to shorten their lives. Perhaps those whose safety is under imminent threat could be provided sanctuary.

But I don’t think we can white-splain this one to the Islamic world, and I doubt it will happen quickly in any case.

And let’s clean up our act here at home too. There are plenty of people here for whom the law provides inadequate protection from persecution and abuse. As well, we really should try to avoid starting unjust wars–our lectures to the world about “right and wrong” might have more impact if we gave the impression that we knew anything about it ourselves.

By: ER

ER — Wed, 18 May 2016 01:07:36 +0000

Left wingers are just a bit less doctrinaire and fixed in their orthodoxy than righties, but of course, you already know that.

So what do I think we should do? Exactly what we are doing now. Maintain our principles and Constitution, defend ourselves if attacked, but adhere strictly to the Prime Directive. Meddling around in the evolution of other cultures is not only wrong in principle, it often turns out in ways very different to what we expect.

And by the way, you were not “attacked for bigotry”. You were just warned about getting too close to it.

By: BuckGalaxy

BuckGalaxy — Wed, 18 May 2016 00:37:25 +0000

Again a long rant about Trumpian religious restrictions when no one was saying anything about that?

LOUDSPEAKER ON: For the record, we all agree, no religious liberties should ever be restricted in any way (unless they harm someone).

Now, what do you think we could do, if anything, to help bring about human rights change in the muslim world?