Propeller Week In Review: March 28, 2008 — Mar 28th 2008

By James Marcus

CASUALTIES OF WAR

With 171 votes and 445 comments, "US Death Toll in Iraq War Hits 4,000" was among our hottest stories over the past week. Not surprisingly, the comment thread turned into a referendum on the war itself. For LordyLordy, the conflict was the only was to deal with a relentless foe: "These radical Muslims? You think you're going to make peace with them. More or less like trying to sleep with a rattlesnake. If you want to sleep peacefully you will have to do something... These are not nice creatures at all." In return, Candida peppered him with rhetorical questions: "What are you suggesting to do? Exterminate them? Which ones? How do you separate the radicals from the non-radicals, or are they all the same? Are you proposing a new Holocaust?" For tanglang, the mere idea of negotiating with Islamists was an absurdity: "We've tried that road [and] it got us nowhere. All it did was give them time to strengthen their forces and learn how to fly planes." To which mesodude replied: "The terrorists flew planes into our buildings because we were asleep at the wheel. Those who preach about personal responsibility should acknowledge that fact." A related story, "Sadr urges 'civil revolt' as battles erupt in Basra," clocked 147 votes and 223 comments. GWHayduke saw the resurgence of the Mahdi Army as an obvious poke in the eye for George W. Bush: "This is evidence that al-Sadr has far more influence on violence in Iraq than any surge." Lurch was in sardonic agreement: "The 'surge' was 100% successful. It bought the Bush admin enough time to keep the killing and dying on both sides plus the unfunded theft of our treasury going through the end of this term." Meanwhile, joeblowe had some concerns about nomenclature: "It does seem as though this al-Sadr guy has an inordinate amount of military effectiveness for a so-called cleric. Why, I doubt if the [Pope] himself could raise as much hell as Moqtada, and he has much fancier headgear."

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

"So, You Want to Talk About John McCain?" generated 155 votes and 237 comments. (It also had the distinction of being written by the very same member who submitted it: Bkumm.) Given the Arizona senator's opposition to gun control, the thread veered toward a lengthy debate about the Second Amendment. Among other things, we learned that the Propeller community is, well, heavily armed: on the basis of this thread alone, the arsenal includes a pair of AK-47s, a Chinese Army SKS, an M-1 Garand, a Steyr HS .50, and yet another AK-47 with 30-round and 100-round magazines. But there was also some conversation about those ambiguous commas in the amendment itself. AtheismIsReality said: "I've been in a deep debate with some other friends over the language of the 2nd Amendment during the past couple of days. It all depends on if the starting absolute clause actually modifies the independent clause or if the absolute clause is just parenthetical information." But BigBadJohn666 was having none of this grammatical shilly-shallying. "If the commas are meaningless, then commas in everything ever written are meaningless.... If the people had not had guns to fight the Revolutionary War, we would all be talking funny and be under the queen's dictatorship today." Another, equally skeptical story about the candidate, "Old 'Fogey of War' McCain," rang up 113 votes and 155 comments. It was chevydog who put in a good word for McCain: "Mr. Bush is an intellectual featherweight who's worked very hard to get and stay that way. I see McCain in a little different light, as one who might be able and willing to learn. Not perhaps the be-all and end-all, but suitable. Certainly don't see him as a warmonger." There was a disbelieving response from panzerv: "Americans might as well get used to the fact that this country will never not be at war again. McCain obviously has been chosen by those who control the government because he will push the Bush agenda of total war and occupation." Nor was pongping impressed by the candidate's savvy: "McCain, an expert on foreign policy? He thought Putin was President of Germany. Nuff said." But aniokly countered with a bold prediction: "Here is something I bet you didn't know about McCain, he will beat Obama in November by 10 points." True or false? Check back here in nine months.

MIDDLE-CLASS WOES

The shifting terrain of the American economy was the focus of discussion in the thread for "Middle class hanging by thread as rich get richer." The story produced 176 votes and 339 comments, including this rueful bit from walden3: "How many of us are really any more than one, two or three paychecks out of the poor house? Or more than one medical crisis removed from bankruptcy?" TOD396 dismissed the discussion as pure whining: "I come across people every day who sit in a chair and complain about everything, from the cost of the Starbucks coffee on their desk to how much gas they had to put in the Escalade yesterday. Then they complain that the cable internet in the house was messed up and they couldn't watch the game on the 72-inch plasma." But crespi fired back: "Have you been to the deep South, any ghettos, any barrios? Talked to any normal people who work multiple jobs and can't support their kids?" It was baddad59 who split the difference between these opposing viewpoints. "The hard working American is still there," he said, "but the companies and corporations have made the bottom line more important than the worker or the country. The other side is, yes, we have become a nation of spoiled brats, [who] have come to expect every convenience and luxury as their birthright." At this point Uncle Dave spoke up from the Amen Corner. True, he argued, we have become a bratty republic, but there is also adequate reason for blue-collar resentment: "When the CEOs are paid 400X what the guy on the factory floor is getting paid and the CEO hasn't the slightest idea of what it takes to make the product, the workers have a right to be angry when the guy at the top deploys his golden parachute while everyone else is left to fend for themselves." What erupted next was a debate about the meaning of wealth itself. Who, in latter-day America, is certifiably rich? For dissent, the question boiled down to a display of plumage, and he went on to recommend a classic text for further study: "It's all just a meaningless game that most of us are myopically fixated on. For deeper insight, I recommend Dr Seuss's Star-Bellied Sneetches, which pretty much covers it."

AND DON'T OVERLOOK....

"Obama Demands Probe Over Passport Breach" got the most votes last week (188), and also generated a substantial comment thread. Blackacereturn cried foul at the State Department's lax behavior: "This is why our country is going to hell in a handbasket. There were times in my lifetime (and I am not an old man) when Americans would have been outraged at this type of action. [T]oday we are nothing more than a bunch of whining crybabies, pointing fingers at our fellow Americans." Another member, questionseverything, had a more cynical response: "One more thing to put on new Attorney General's list not to investigate." Elsewhere, there were lively stories about dreams, lobbyists, and Rush Limbaugh. The collapse of a huge sheet of Antarctic ice (nine times the size of Manhattan, in case you're curious) elicited another mudfight about global warming and a terse judgment from Obaku: "Armadillos are moving north. Case closed." And finally, there was a YouTube video of Nana Mouskouri singing "Amazing Grace." The footage of this indestructible hymn racked up 127 votes and 51 comments. And on the YouTube page itself, there was a major bonus: adjacent links to performances of the song by Mahalia Jackson, Elvis Presley, Steven Tyler (pouting, but impressively fervent), and an electrifying Aretha Franklin. How sweet the sound!

Tags: week-in-review, wir

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