Propeller Week In Review: May 8, 2008 — May 9th 2008

By James Marcus

TORA BORA OR BUST

Which was the most popular story on Propeller this week? That would be "Bush Says We're Winning In Afghanistan, State Dept. Says Not," with 191 votes and 239 comments. The thread didn't showcase a great deal of enthusiasm for the president or his policies. As scriblerus1 put it: "Shrub had to say something, didn't he? Don't misunderestimate him." Another vote of no confidence came from tchef: "This whole situation is just insane. Do our leaders learn nothing from history? No one has been able to control this region, not the British, not the Russians, no one. What makes us think that we can?" Added koranagirl: "And on the same day, articles came out [stating] that Afghanistan has one of the highest infant and maternal death rates in the world. There are almost no women doctors or nurses there. Women routinely bleed to death during or after childbirth." But memestryker argued that the president was capable of more effective advocacy than he displayed during the Rose Garden press conference: "I've occasionally seen him get angry and the real Bush comes out and he's fairly eloquent (amazingly) and I finally see someone really is home. Or when his daughter called him from a TV show, and he seemed downright human." (By the way, the president's family also came in for a drubbing in our second most popular story, "History Of Bush Family Crimes," with 184 votes and 278 comments. But 1-2-Oscar dismissed the charges against Prescott Bush, accused of playing footsie with Nazi plutocrats, as partisan nitpicking: "Few American businessmen who were involved in such business dealings were ever linked to any of the war crimes or crimes against humanity. If everyone who did business with these German companies had been prosecuted, it would have been necessary to lock up thousands of unsuspecting Americans, including the board of trustees and officers of the University of Tennessee, which bought (and still buys) many elevators and other equipment from Thyssen.")

PRIMARY TARGETS

The contest down in North Carolina also got the community's attention in a big way. "Obama wins North Carolina primary" bagged 175 votes and 316 comments. The Illinois senator's victory led to a debate about his electability, with lucid arguments on both sides. Said mackiemesser: "Obama's wins in the 31 states [are] illusory because they came mostly from normally Republican states that he will in all probability not win in the general election. Clinton's wins have come from strong blue-collar support in the normally Democratic states." Responded tkyrchncs: "There are plenty of people who would vote for my dog over McCain, and he's black too and not even human." (CRYMTYPHON had some good follow-ups: "I would need to know a lot more about your dog. Does he wear a flag lapel pin? Can he get the cat vote? Is he too old to learn any new tricks?") But at least one member, doppich, wasn't getting on the Obama bandwagon: "In a few years, if [he] is elected, the Obama fan base will be sounding just like Bush's unrepentant 29 percenters--in denial of his failures." Meanwhile, a related story generated the highest number of comments this week: 364. This time, there was a fascinating digression on Southern voters, who confounded at least some of the pundits by not deserting Obama over the Wright fiasco. Georgia50 said: "You left out the part where liberals owe Southern whites an apology." To which Leemck02 replied: "Southerners are very astute, always known as independent thinkers and take humor in the silly notion that anyone has an advantage on them; I am one of them. All races and education levels are losing jobs and the American Dream." At the same time, aceofspades1 refused to celebrate: "Hillary was the best hope America had after Bush. But the cult of Obama has won out--McCain is as presidential as my garbageman, [and] this is a sad day for America."

TRAGEDY IN MYANMAR

"Cyclone Death Toll Soars Past 22,000" generated 149 votes and 48 comments. There was some discussion about how much aid the U.S. should send to the beleaguered nation. HMMace advised a miserly approach, citing past ingratitude from earlier benefactions: "We saved France twice in one century--then they undercut us in iraq." There was a disgusted response from hamy: "The world reacted with enormous generosity towards us when we had a tragedy. Now this idiot wouldn't want to return the same favor? How sad." One member, nostalgia, cited the funds America had already released: "The US will send more than $3 million to help victims in Myanmar, up from an initial emergency contribution of $250,000." Another, quackpot, thought this a fairly stingy sum: "$3 million is one penny each. About the cost of one advanced missile used in Iraq. I'm happy to increase my ante to a whole ten cents (and still contribute to the American Red Cross). The real problem is not the generosity of the U.S. citizens, but the whims of the 'leadership' of Myanmar." However, at least one participant saw a potential silver lining to the disaster. Said thoughtforsale: "Myanmar is one of the most difficult places for journalists to work in. The country is totally closed up from the rest of the world by its government. I hope that this terrible cyclone will be the start of an opening process."

AND DON'T OVERLOOK...

Alchemists have always sought the transformation of iron into gold. News flash: it's been done. "Marvel turns 'Iron Man' into income with $100M-plus debut" racked up 171 votes, and if the comment thread was a little scanty, there was plenty of enthusiasm. "Marvel should be proud," said cosmogenium. Added TemplarScribe: "I'm not only happy for Marvel's success, I'm also happy for Robet Downey Jr. He's a real talent, and his droll personality in the role of Iron Man's alter ego, Tony Stark, is a significant element of the film's success." Elsewhere, Propeller members sounded off about Ronald Reagan, Sun Myung Moon, and antioxidants. "L.A. Mayor to answer Rush Limbaugh race swipe" earned 124 votes and 251 comments, including some diverse opinions about the radio personality's talents. Said dunkirk: "What's disconcerting are the people who listen to him and treat his ramblings as truth." Replied DaneL: "Maybe, just maybe, he says what a large number of people agree with." And finally, there was "A Special Moment on Family Feud," with 110 votes and 96 comments. Spadecaller, who posted the video, declared himself completely undone by Richard Dawson's attack of the sillies: "It caused me to laugh so hard that I had to open my belt buckle and dry my eyes." But as the conversation wandered, Uncle Dave came up with the hardest-hitting question yet posted to anybody in the Propeller community: "Francisca, do you put on brightly colored clothes and sit motionless in lawn chair for hours hoping to attract hummingbirds?" That depends on how you define hummingbirds, doesn't it?

Tags: week-in-review, wir

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