I feel badly about picking on Duncan Black twice in a week, because as far as lefty types go, and especially as far as popular leftyish blurghers go, he's almost admirably unfatuous, but this can't go without comment:
I know I've been a bit cranky lately, but it's just rather distressing to see that even with Democratic control elites just aren't up to the task of governing this county in an adequate fashion. I didn't have high hopes for a great liberal revolution, but I did expect, well, better.Okay, DB. That's because you were, and I am saying this in the most non-judgmental, positively-reinforcing, more-in-sadness-than-anger sorta way . . . that's because you were a huge fucking sucker, a boob of colossal scale, a blinkered, magical-thinking dummy who let rump party affiliation and an East-Coaster's snide belief that a guy who don't call 'em no nukyoular weapons must certainly be like me convince himself that an insane, death-worshiping, peeping-tom war monster was some kind of admirably competent and reasonably ethical technocrat . . . that Barack Obama was, in other words, not running for President of the United States, but applying to be Director of Institutional Development at some nice two-year business college. Your bad!
15 comments:
oh lulz.
Oh, IOZ, I'm hella glad you didn't let him have your judgmental critique. Lulz indeed!
Don't feel bad about dumping on Duncan. He's as big a shill as Digby and a defender of Israel on top. He also runs the world's most phone-in blog.
"Open Thread. Enjoy"
He is not equipped to wipe your ass monsieur.
it truly cannot be said often enough. those who expected more from obama should not be disappointed in obama; they should be disappointed in themselves.
Don't pull your punches, man, tell us what you really think.
McCain must be laughing up his sleeve, muttering, 'He wudda liked me soooo much better. And Sarah's twice the man Joe Biden is!'
But he was a community organizer.
And...uh...hope for change?
Defender of Israel? I've been reading Atrios for years now. He stays away from discussion of Israel almost religiously.
Defender of Israel? I've been reading Atrios for years now. He stays away from discussion of Israel almost religiously.
'ALMOST' religiously. When he does enter it he is of the 'conflict is too complicated to have an opinion about but I can't help noticing that the left's concern with Israel seems suspiciously disproportionate'. IE, we who criticize Israel are anti-Semitic.
Here's an example:
http://www.eschatonblog.com/2002/05/i-try-and-stay-out-of-whole-israel-vs.html
Also, during Israel's atrocious attack on Lebanon a while back, he kept posting snarky comments like 'Meanwhile, in that OTHER war' linking to bad news about Iraq, as if the current media an blogger focus on Israel was a diversion.
He also defended Israel's right to 'take out' a nuclear reactor in Iraq.
If that isn't a defender of Israel, I don't know who is. He is not ardent certainly. No doubt that has to do with keeping some of his more leftward fans in the fold without pissing off the mainstream approval he courts.
That example is from 2002, you know. And it's consistent with the Lebanon thing in that he sees the constant leftist focus on Israel as a distraction. Which he's right about, to a certain extent. Given all the horrible things done by the USA's foreign policy, and all the fuckups it does to its own citizens within its borders, why is there such an obsession with Israel and Palestine?
I disagree with the "anti-Semitism" charge from that post, but I can see how he would be frustrated.
It's a pretty big stretch to go from "willfully ignoring" to "defender of." Like calling me a vuvuzela fan because I watch the World Cup without complaining about the noise constantly.
It's a pretty big stretch to go from "willfully ignoring" to "defender of."
You haven't shown that he willfully ignores it. A search of his blog shows more than that one post I provided. I provided that one because it is fairly comprehensive and demonstrates the extent to which Black -- when he does address Israel -- hews to the talking points favored by Zionists of the agonized, liberal variety.
1. It's so complicated that no rational person could possibly take a side. This is, of course, complete bullshit. There is absolutely nothing complicated in either moral or legal terms about Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.
2. The left's intense focus on Israel can only be explained as anti-Semitism.
3. Anti-semitism is on the rise in Europe and the European left is particularly anti-Semitic.
4. Israel has the right to defend itself via offensive acts like blowing up nuclear reactors
I should add that Black is more explicit on these points when taken to task for them in his comments section.
Even if it were true that Black 'willfully ignores' Israel, not commenting on Israel can be tantamount to defending it, if, like Black, you do comment on atrocities committed by Palestinians. It is unlikely that if Palestinians had murdered nine relief workers including a 19-year-old American, Black would have stayed silent as he did when Israel did that very thing.
The date on the post I mentioned is irrelevant. He makes his position clear and it informs the way he approaches Israel on his blog.
Like calling me a vuvuzela fan because I watch the World Cup without complaining about the noise constantly.
Do I really need to point out how stupid this analogy is?
Donkey Schwarz should know, as a long-standing Eschatonian, that it's not about "competence" -- I mean, can a dude like Donk-Can Negro really pay that much attention to federal machinations and NOT see what is going on?
It's pretty fucking obvious that The Obamessiah is VERY competent at governing in the way he was tapped to govern -- fascistically, albeit with a merit-stuffed resume and a keen cafe au lait skin tone and a totally bitchin' exotic name.
Dinkin' Bloch REALLY thinks the Donkle are about "quality leadership" of a type that levels playing fields, equalizes economic advantage, and removes obstacles to social happiness?
What the fuckin' fuckety fuck is he smoking?
Besides O-Boy's johnson, I mean.
If he says those things in the comments, then so he does. I don't read the 1000-comment threads. I just read the blog, and what I see without going to trying to read the tea leaves for is a disregard for the centrality of Israel in American political discourse.
He's also generally not a total moron, and anyone above that slight level of intelligence knows that the very mention of the word "Israel" is likely to set off an explosion amongst commentators at liberal or progressive blogs.
So it's possible that he may hold all the positions you say he does, but it seems to me to be almost totally irrelevant for anything except character assassination.
Seriously, though, the Blue Cherub isn't setting the bar very high. "Adequate"? Even slightly better than what we've got? Hell, at least LBJ did a couple of decent things domestically that weren't simply cribbed from Republicans of fifteen years previous and then watered down.
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