Hard News: Dial O for Obama
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"more conservative/"hardnosed" social policy, less of a progressive tax approach etc that can actually argue a reasonable and considered line."
hardnose , i hate that word. I want to throw cans at it.
less of a progressive tax approach etc that can actually argue a reasonable and considered line."
a flat tax approach? I know where you can find them but they never make any sense.
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Gareth: Sorry.
AND SO YOU SHOULD BE, WHOLE THING IS A PINKO COMMUNIST LIE CONDONED BY THE POLICE TO RUIN MY REPUTATION.
Sorry, just trying out that centre-right blog thing. Not going too well, will get back to you... -
"Gareth: Sorry.
AND SO YOU SHOULD BE, WHOLE THING IS A PINKO COMMUNIST LIE CONDONED BY THE POLICE TO RUIN MY REPUTATION.
Sorry, just trying out that centre-right blog thing. Not going too well, will get back to you.."you've got to start slow and then ramp it up, you went to capitals far to early..
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I trust Mr Brown doesn't object to the suggestion he's to the left of centre...
Not at all. On the other hand, I'm orthodox economically, have long argued for trade liberalisation, etc, so the labels only go so far. It would be safe to say that I'm socially liberal as all-get-out ...
I might not always agree with Craig, but I can respect his political philosophy. I can see why people venerate Margaret Thatcher, even though I drank two bottles of champagne the glorious day she was bundled out of office.
I got used to being assailed as a filthy lefty by Kiwiblog crazies, but I was startled one day to be browsing the forums on Trade Me and discover that I was "an extreme Marxist". I think at the time I was already a company director and writing an award-winning column for a business magazine ...
I really only gets bothersome when it starts to threaten my livelihood, as was the case with Deborah Coddington's absurd "Saving Public Radio" report, which also denounced Rod Oram as a dangerous left-wing influence. And I made it clear to John Drinnan what I thought about his angle on me hosting Media7 (which might have been summarised as "Labour lickspittle gets taxpayer-funded soapbox in election year shock"). That does piss me off.
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<quote>will get back to you...<quote/>
Gareth: Please do!
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I can see why people venerate Margaret Thatcher, even though I drank two bottles of champagne the glorious day she was bundled out of office.
Russell: Well that's vision for you. May I humbly request that you share it.
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I might not always agree with Craig, but I can respect his political philosophy. I can see why people venerate Margaret Thatcher, even though I drank two bottles of champagne the glorious day she was bundled out of office.
Then again, if you're a champagne socialist of the John Mortimer school, a mere two bottles would be a sign of deep mourning. :)
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Colin Espiner's blog seems to attract some extreme right ranters, but there are some very interesting and varied views that seem neutral politically and therefore address issues. eg Throw Away the Key.
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And I made it clear to John Drinnan what I thought about his angle on me hosting Media7 (which might have been summarised as "Labour lickspittle gets taxpayer-funded soapbox in election year shock"). That does piss me off.
Hey, I'm still a Socialist lick-spittle (eww!) for working for you, you extreme Marxist you. To which the only rational response is, "It's a free market, smeg-heads, and when you're paying my bills you get a say."
And when it comes to bizarre wing-nuts insults, I think I've still got you trumped: "Morally equivalent to a Jewish Nazi".
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Colin Espiner's blog seems to attract some extreme right ranters, but there are some very interesting and varied views that seem neutral politically and therefore address issues.
That's not "neutrality", Ian. You can have perfectly strong -- and strongly expressed -- views on either end of the political spectrum, and still maintain a modicum of civility and regard for objective reality. Doesn't have to be a zero-sum game.
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but I was startled one day to be browsing the forums on Trade Me and discover that I was "an extreme Marxist".
Let me guess - Redbaiter was selling off his Ann Coulter memorabilia collection?
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I can see why people venerate Margaret Thatcher, even though I drank two bottles of champagne the glorious day she was bundled out of office.
I have some friends who did similar, although beer was more their style. While I admired Thatcher a lot of the time, a few things about her grated.
She tended to remind me of the sort of girl I used to set off stink bombs behind in school. And not because I secretly fancied them, either.
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Let me guess - Redbaiter was selling off his Ann Coulter memorabilia collection?
Probably something more like this wonderful piece of eco-friendly furniture (Hat-tip: BoingBoing SERIOUS WARNING LINK REALLY NSFW) It's designed for what Ms. Coulter does to my head.
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Craig:,
That's not "neutrality", Ian. You can have perfectly strong -- and strongly expressed -- views on either end of the political spectrum, and still maintain a modicum of civility and regard for objective reality. Doesn't have to be a zero-sum game."
I was excluding the ranters who seem to be somewhere on the right (if such a thing exists). It seems that when you can't tell from the post whether the person is one or the other, then it seems the issues are easier to cope with. For me anyway.
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Craig: the eco-friendly furniture is labelled GREEN. If that's what you get when you vote Green, they will govern alone!
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@Russell
That would be cool. I can't join a discussion at Kiwiblog without receiving direct, personal abuse these days, and it would be nice if there was a place to go and discuss ideas with a different crowd.
I remember when the comments were introduced here (2 yrs ago next month) that Russell made the comment:
The Public Address Café and Forum: Yes, finally, comments - although yer standard blog comments is precisely what I'm seeking to avoid. You'll need to register to post, our preference is for people to register and post under real names, and we will be moderating for quality. I'm keen to expand the pool of people engaged in online discussion and I think an atmosphere of respect is vital to that aim.
That seemed to set the scene, and those of you who don't use your real names (and I understand the varied reasons for that) still respect the guidelines and the atmosphere here.
Slightly early, but Happy 2nd birthday PAS!
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Craig: the eco-friendly furniture is labelled GREEN. If that's what you get when you vote Green, they will govern alone!
Or in a loose coalition with the Leather Wipes Party.
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Or in a loose coalition with the Leather Wipes Party.
Fantastic site - did you watch the videos? I certainly hope they wiped that one thoroughly beforte selling it to some punter.
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That seemed to set the scene, and those of you who don't use your real names (and I understand the varied reasons for that) still respect the guidelines and the atmosphere here.
I've always been surprised by how little I've had to moderate. The odd word in someone's ear, a few posts deleted or edited, and (I think) five people banned in two years. Which is brilliant, really.
Slightly early, but Happy 2nd birthday PAS!
Thanks! I'm always the last one to remember these things. But I am summoning the tribe together next month for feasting and merriment ...
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Craig: the eco-friendly furniture is labelled GREEN.
The shade on offer was labelled 'Pistachio' and was a tad... gaudy for my taste.
Fantastic site - did you watch the videos? I certainly hope they wiped that one thoroughly before selling it to some punter.
All the Better Half had to say on seeing the guide to use was, "I feel a cramp coming on." Soul of romance and sensual experimentation he is... But, for all their faults, you've got to love the way Americans can make a sex sofa seem so damn wholesome. (The testimonials from satisfied customers are priceless.)
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The truth is not that hard to agree on
Wrong. Or rather, its a category error to think that there is such a thing as a true or false answer to the questions of politics (all of which boil down to "what should we do?").
There are facts about the world, and these should affect our political answers (at least if we're remotely reasonable people). But at the end of the day, there's no truth in politics - only interests.
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But at the end of the day, there's no truth in politics - only interests.
Idiot Savant: Yes - and the interests are as real and as varied as we are. Some people see a personal interest in living in a healthy society which is not too divided and some see the interests only of their own - and then on top of that all of us have different ideas about how to achieve what we want - with the exception of the person I once heard who said he'd vote for anyone who took the tax off golf-balls - and I don't think he was joking.
Maybe we need more often to preface our arguments with how we view our interests. I, for instance, want to live in a society where nobody is locked out of the mainstream, either educationally or economically. If I'm brutally honest I have these interests because I'm a nice middle-class dog who doesn't want people robbing, raping, assaulting or murdering me and mine, just because I seem to be middleclass. And also because when people feel locked out, they are locked away from me - and often they are more interesting than the people who aren't.
Oh dear. What a rave. Is this election fever I'm feeling?
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I seem to remember that we can't handle the truth.
To tie to into the US election, there seems to be an inverse relationship to the truth going on over there. While the ship sinks they are telling lies about how good they are at arranging the deckchairs. -
"Wrong. Or rather, its a category error to think that there is such a thing as a true or false answer to the questions of politics (all of which boil down to "what should we do?"
Sure truth was the wrong word...I didn't like it when i wrote it..but there is measurement and most of its pretty interpretable, our science of us , we have facts , we have the amazing world of SCIENTIFIC stats and unfortunately we have political machines that will distort or totally ignore facts to make large political points.
e.g big billboard brother says we are extremely overtaxed, we are business unfriendly, we have out of control crime, we have unprecedented floods of migration of our best people.
the data doesn't back these claims up, it's absurd when we can't even see eye to eye on data and stats. We owe so much to the study of data, why fuck with it at election time?
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Jeremy E: In the words of Barack Obama, too many people take pride in being ignorant.
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