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Blanche,
thanks for your additional comment. I didn't know about Newt's treatment of his wife, which, if true, shows him in a very bad light indeed, and I would certainly agree that he would deserve being called a cold-hearted bastard.
However, in principle, and at the risk of being called a cold-hearted bastard myself, when dealing with a man's work, statements, views or whatever, my only concern is whether he is correct or not (and, since I ain't God, I hasten to add, correct in my view, and, as you may have noticed, I give reasons for my judgment, rather than simply saying 'you're wrong'.) You might say that I 'bracket' the questions of his character. For example, that Einstein was constantly cheating on his wife is totally irrelevant to me when dealing with his work. Nor is it relevant to me that he was in fact rather naive, some might say stupid, when it came to politics.
I remember that I had a professor once whom I didn't like at all, but he had important things to say and influenced me in important ways. On the other hand, I know people I like, but their views, well...I think you get the picture...
posted by
Nautikos
on July 19, 2006 at 4:13 PM
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Nautikos, I'm getting back to this post belatedly, and I agree, that a
a poltician's love life is of little interest to me, espcially in view of the fact these are (mostly) men who live in a high-stakes, high-stress world. I've had only a very little experience with a much smaller scale version of that in a corporate law firm, where the stakes were not as high, but pressure considerable, and can say that the average person has no idea how much pressure there is on these people to perform, to keep cool, and keep impossible, conflicting expectations, so if they have to blow off steam with sexual escapades, I'm not condoning it, but it is irrelevant to me, as to how well they do their job. In the scheme of things, oral sex is the least of all pecadilloes, if it's consensual.
My problem with Newt specifically, and I'll just say this and leave it alone, is that he violated his marriage vows, the contract that says til death do us part, by handing his wife who was coming out of anasthesia for surgery for her life-trheatening cancer, hir divorce papers in the hospital. That to me makes him one cold-hearted bastard.
Anyway, getting back to the original subject, WWIII, I agree, things are going to get worse before they get better. I'd rather have the politcians arguing about serious substantive issues, than the idiocy of whether or not a blow job constittutes real sex and the definition of the word, "is":. Weasels, all of them.
posted by
Blanche.
on July 19, 2006 at 2:16 PM
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MC,
I can only go by an analysis of the evidence, and a reasonably good understanding of history...and evidence as well as history tell me there wont be the kind of Armageddon-like war that some people think is coming, usually based on prophesy...
posted by
Nautikos
on July 18, 2006 at 8:36 PM
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Nauikos, These are post 9/11 days, and with a Hitler in charge
in Iran, anything is possible -- Don't sell short this possiblity of WWWIII -- This war is coming some day maybe in mine and your lifetime, and it will usher in our Creator's will for the ending of this world as you and I know it!
posted by
MountainClimber57
on July 18, 2006 at 7:38 PM
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Corbin,
green tea can be deadly, as can coffee, the odd scotch...
posted by
Nautikos
on July 18, 2006 at 7:30 PM
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Naut......
Sorry I didn't reply right away......my keyboard suffered an assault from green tea and several letter wouldn't function rendering me speechless.....a frustrated soul I was.......
I do agree with you on you last comment........
posted by
Corbin_Dallas
on July 18, 2006 at 5:26 PM
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Corbin,
thinking a little more about this issue, could we say that a new and different era requires new and different definitions? Maybe that's what I was after here...
posted by
Nautikos
on July 18, 2006 at 11:31 AM
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Corbin,
Thanks for your detailed response! I agree with you whole-heartedlythat we have a huge, global conflict on our hands! I also agree that 9/11 is the day when it became apparent that the world had changed! I remember the day vividly (don't we all?), and remember calling a friend of mine with whom I had discussed a few political issues, and telling him in so many words that we were living in a different world, as of that moment!
I agree that my reaction to Newt's statement may have been a bit too harsh, but let me explain what my main problem is with the WW image: when people fail to see any signs of the kinds of cataclysmic events associated with WW's, and they probably won't, they will simply take the position that things ain't all that bad. The truth of the matter is, as I see it (and again, I agree with you and hope that we are both wrong!) that things are going to get a lot worse, but that it will take a different, more appropriate 'vocabulary' to convince them of that.
posted by
Nautikos
on July 18, 2006 at 8:08 AM
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TAPS,
thanks,
posted by
Nautikos
on July 18, 2006 at 7:45 AM
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bel,
I'm not sure whether anyone listens to Newt these days, I certainly haven't been, and was a little surprised by his statement...
posted by
Nautikos
on July 18, 2006 at 7:43 AM
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Blanche,
I must confess I have never paid much attention to a person's love life, certainly not when it comes to judging their thinking and actions in other spheres of life...
posted by
Nautikos
on July 18, 2006 at 7:37 AM
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Blanche01
I'll have to remember that reasoning methodology when referring to a former President and his sexual proclivities...thanks.
posted by
Corbin_Dallas
on July 18, 2006 at 7:17 AM
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Naut......
Many of the historic ways to appraise things radically changed on 9-11. Enemies no longer wear uniforms or necessarily have allegiance to a specific country....
Have we even had any declared wars since WWII?
So technically, we do not currently have a "World War" in the historic context.....but we certainly have a "Global Conflict" going on.....Indonesia, India, Russia, Spain, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the US, to name the most prominent, have all been attacked in varying degrees.......Supersonic bombers and battleships? No....
But in today's electronic age when news is so freely dispersed around the globe.....it has become a media driven World War........
Monumental shifts have occurred in America's history since 1776. The Civil War, our emergence as a world power in WWI, The great depression and WWII, and the events starting with 9-11.......
This Global War...or global conflict, if you prefer.....whether you add a number to it or not...has the likelihood of impacting the entire world....and that is why I think Newt said as such.
posted by
Corbin_Dallas
on July 18, 2006 at 7:13 AM
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Nautikos, I love the way you wrote this as if you were just having a good little patronizing talk with Newt.
posted by
TAPS.
on July 17, 2006 at 11:39 PM
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Does anyone really even listen to him anymore?
Very well stated Naut!
posted by
bel_1965
on July 17, 2006 at 8:35 PM
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Nautikos, considering ol' Newt's track record for dumping his wives
in very indelicate circumstances, I'm not inclined to believe much of what he says. The personal is political in some sense. If one doesn't have integrity in one aspect of life, it's likely to carry over.
posted by
Blanche.
on July 17, 2006 at 3:59 PM
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Justi,
I try...
posted by
Nautikos
on July 17, 2006 at 3:55 PM
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Rumored,
yeah, Newt should now better...
posted by
Nautikos
on July 17, 2006 at 3:54 PM
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Nautikos
You appear to have this all worked out. Thr skrimish should burn itself out you thank? Thanks for sharing.
posted by
Justi
on July 17, 2006 at 10:41 AM
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wow..newt better go back to sleep..making staements like he did...
is going to just scare people further...good refute, Naut!
posted by
Rumor
on July 17, 2006 at 10:35 AM
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VJ
thanks for dropping in! Using hyperbole is never a good strategy!
posted by
Nautikos
on July 17, 2006 at 10:29 AM
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Very good point!
posted by
VickieJean
on July 17, 2006 at 6:31 AM
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