Propeller Week In Review: May 23, 2008 — May 23rd 2008

By James Marcus

LIVING IN THE U.S.A.

This week's most extensive conversation at Propeller, with 725 comments, was generated by "I'm Proud Of My Country." The post actually directed visitors to a YouTube video assembled by the Tennessee GOP, which tweaked Michelle Obama for her lack of patriotic fervor. But the comment thread was more or less a referendum on America, with responses of every stripe. Nixie opened the conversation with a question of her own: "We live in such a wonderful country, with so many reasons to take pride in our homeland. What makes you proud to be an American?" Replied capecoralIM: "As I have driven many a mile through America, through big cities and flyover country, I have seen small towns having strawberry festivals, crawfish festivals, swamp-buggy races, local stock-car races, Little League baseball games, high-school football games, [and] city council meetings.... I feel so blessed to have been born in such a great country." But there were other responses as well, which alluded to a less idyllic picture of America. Said jordan11: "I'm proud that I didn't vote for the con in the White House, and have spoken out against him and his pals who have screwed my country. And I don't refer to my country as my 'homeland.' Too Hitlerish for me. It's the nation of my birth." A comment from david nwpa was on a similar wavelength: "Patriotism is measured in many ways. Wearing lapel pins, saluting the flag, and grandstanding are not among the ways we show pride in our nation. When we work with the poor of this nation to lift them up from poverty, we show pride. When we teach the young of this nation, we show pride." HannibalBarca, a Canadian member, put in a good word for his neighbor ("It is a great country, just as mine is"), and noted that his own work in the energy industry was keeping the U.S. supplied with oil. This got a grateful response from ranchhand: "My diesel truck loves you and so does my tractor." Then came another testimonial to the entente between the North American neighbors, from cushi: ""Had a very good friend and coworker from Montreal! She loved wrestling, and we used to go to see it at our coliseum. Her name is Joan." (Joan, are you out there? Raise your hand, please.) And finally, Wolfie2007 returned to the conversation to fiscal nuts and bolts: "The United States economy has been named the world's number one for the 15th year in a row. That makes me proud of my country."

A STRICKEN SENATOR

"Ted Kennedy has malignant brain tumor" racked up 212 votes and 290 comments. For the most part, the comments were generous, even from those on the opposite side of the political spectrum. Said libsRfunny: "Given his age and the nature of the treatment, I would think this is the end of his political career. Good luck to him." Blackacereturn had only good wishes: "May god bless him. He is a great American and I wish him and his family well!" But there were those who saw a silver lining in Kennedy's illness. DebraJMSmith hoped that his advocacy for pro-choice legislation would now grind to a halt: "I am just glad to get him out of office, because of his voting for abortions, time and time again. I said one prayer for his 'salvation' in all of this.... [But] other than that, I hope the Lord keeps him from going back to his 'job' as a U.S. senator." Other members were outraged by such comments. Said tkyrchncs: "Blasphemy. You are commanded by your Savior to love. If this is an example of how you think Christians should speak or write, you do not know what a Christian is." Added tdash: "Fundamentalism is to religion as paint-by-numbers is to art." To which pianojan replied: "Let me enlighten you as to the he definition of a Christian fundamentalist. It refers to one who believes in the infallibility and inerrancy of the Bible." But V.O.R. turned the conversation away from theology, recalling the death of Ronald Reagan and his compassionate response to it: "I probably disagreed with his policies as much as you do Kennedy's. It was still an emotional week. Ridicule these people as we may for their politics, they are still giants of American history. They did what they felt was right and fought hard for what they believed in." (A related story, "Sen Edward Kennedy Rushed to Hospital," generated 146 votes and 166 comments.)

BUSH PILOT

Not for the first time, a clutch of stories about George W. Bush put POTUS back in the center ring. "Bush Bashers Beware," with 187 votes and 538 comments, was a tailgunning defense of the president. And yes, the conversation was a contentious one. Candida called the article "pure progaganda." AlphaGnosis, who posted the original link, fired back: "The whole gist of the article was to show that regardless of everyone trying to vilify the president, the facts were different, and that [these doubters] would one day regret doing so." But dissent predicted that not only AlphaGnosis but the publisher of the article, Investors Business Daily, would be proven wrong: "Don't worry, AG. [Investors Business Daily] will be sucking eggs along with you and the author of this article too. In that respect, at least, you're not alone." GLee rebounded to Dubya's defense: "Not afraid to make the unpopular decisions. A man's man. History will judge him well. Thanks for your service, W!" But pybo wasn't buying: "When Bush was first elected, or whatever you want to call that debacle in 2000, I thought, oh well, he's a bit of an embarrassment, and he has no class, but how much harm can he do in four years? Well, it has gone way beyond my imagination." A related story, "Biden calls Bush comments 'bullshit'," racked up 73 votes and 186 comments. Bkumm cheered on the senator from Delaware: "Awesome! Go Biden! I never thought he should be President, but he'd make someone a heck of a Secretary of Call It Like He Sees It." Another member, aniokly, defended the remarks made by Bush before the Israeli Knesset: "[Obama] is an appeaser, and that is why he was so sure President Bush had [singled] him out. Do the Democrats really think Americans believe a word that old Arab sympathizer utters?" (Putting aside the question of whether Obama is an Arab sympathizer, can a 46-year-old candidate really be called "old"?) But Lurch came to the defense of Obama and Biden alike: "Chamberlain is a tiger compared to Bush. Who let 9/11 happen on his watch despite the dire warnings, and then let OBL go from Tora Bora, and still cannot be bothered to go after the terrorist behind 9/11, USS Cole, and more?"

TILL DEATH DO US PART

"California Supreme Court approves gay marriage" bagged 170 votes, 384 comments, and this protest from tweetie08: "This world was made for men and women to get married and not [people of] the same sex getting married." Mark Stevens begged to differ: "People that are against same-sex marriage are not 'Christians,' they're just self-centered jerks. Why isn't there an outrage against adultery? That has ruined the meaning of marriage more than all the homosexual weddings could ever do!" One member, abntv, took a regional approach to the issue: "You can always count on California for a laugh. They deserve themselves." Responded NoWayMan: "Then maybe the rest of the country doesn't deserve the 1 out of every 6 federal tax dollars that [CA] provides for the entire nation." For quiescence, this was a cause for celebration, plain and simple: "I look forward to the day when marriage rights will be extended to gays in all states. To deny someone a basic human right based on their sexual orientation is not only immoral, but it is utterly inconsistent with the notions of equality intrinsic in the U.S. legal system." Replied Locky12: "Maybe you're confusing 'freedom' with 'license'." To which Tangent001 responded: "The 'freedom' to marry is assumed. The government 'licenses' marriage to ensure no harm is done by the union (e.g. the marriage of close blood relatives)." For tanglang, it was the activist approach from the bench that rubbed him the wrong way: "I would think that even the gays who would normally be happy about a victory such as this would be outraged at how the decision came about. Do we really want judges who legislate from the bench making our decisions for us?" But 1-2-Oscar argued that the court's advocacy was part of a great American tradition: "[The] courts have (properly) struck down many laws, including those which mandated racial segregation and denied equal rights to women. What we have here is simply an extension of that very valid principle to a group of citizens who do not enjoy widespread public support--but they are still citizens." Let's leave the last word to Global Warmer, who seems to consider the issue a matter of non-compatible formats: "California was pushing Beta when the rest of the country had VHS. Now this?"

AND DON'T OVERLOOK....

"Veterans peace group blocked from D.C. parade" clocked 196 votes and 257 comments. ETproductions objected to the antiwar contingent's exclusion: "Both sides have the right to free speech. Barring either side is a direct violation of their First Amendment rights. In this case, you only need to bar the opposition to the war to turn the parade into a political speech in favor of it." But joeblowe felt otherwise: "I'm with the guys that want to shut down the Iraq debacle. But I don't want them detracting from the time spent to honor those fallen in WWI or WWII or Korea or Vietnam or even those KIA in Iraq or Afghanistan. I don't really think it's appropriate." Elsewhere, Propeller members sounded off about caves, Karl Rove, and canine obedience. And this video, of Chris Matthews pummeling radio host Kevin James for his historical ignorance vis-à-vis Neville Chamberlain, occasioned a good deal of jollity in the thread. Granted, James didn't win any points for simply shouting appeasement over and over again. But as DeadXXXManXXXTalkin pointed out, there's nothing wrong with a little ignorance, as long as you're willing to admit it: "I'll show you how. I didn't know Chamberlain ceded part of [Czechoslovakia] to Hitler. I probably heard it before, and it was probably in there somewhere, [but] its current cranial location may be occupied by the roster of the '95 Indians or something." So that's where that roster went!

Tags: week-in-review, wir

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