On the Obama/Joker poster...

If you're reading blogs, I'm sure you've seen it; if not, here's a good reference article.

Couple of quick thoughts:

- All the outraged liberals should be ridiculed for being hypocritical scum; there was a nearly identical image of Bush published in a magazine during his tenure, and Bush/Cheney have been called much worse explicitly.

- To say that the "socialist" label is hurtful and dangerous is like saying an expose of illegal activities is hurtful and dangerous to the perpetrators; it may be so, but it's accurate, and free speech is a right we still (mostly) enjoy in the US, at least for now. Whether or not socialism is good for America is debatable, but anyone who doesn't at least acknowledge that Obama's policies are socialist is too stupid to vote, in my opinion.

- There are many potentially applicable quotes from the movie which could be applied to Obama, but I particularly like this one: "And in their desperation they turned to a man they didn't fully understand." It kinda sums up the whole Obama administration pretty well so far, and we've got several years to go.

Comments

  1. CJAugust 4, 2009 at 6:35 PM

    We've got seven years to go, and I still have high hopes for them.

    I don't think Obama is socialist b/c socialism is an ideological belief in worker ownership of the means of production. He has made some steps in that direction, ostensibly in response to a crisis. President Bush made steps toward fascism, ostensibly in response to a crisis. IMHO Pres Obama is to socialism as Pres Bush is to fascism.

    In any case, even if the post her no merit, and I think it does b/c of the above reasons, it is still exactly what the 1st Amendment protects. People win elections and really feel like it's right to use their influence to stop baseless criticism of them. If winning an election gives you power to stop even baseless criticism, though, the whole system falls apart.

    I would point out that President Bush's supporters were as bad or worse than President Obama supporters in arguing that criticism of the president was almost tantamount to fighting against the US as a nation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The LawAugust 5, 2009 at 12:13 AM

    I am with CJ all the way on this one. As for dangerous... well (and I say this as a black american) you can't always play the race card everytime someone mocks Obama. I don't think this particular cartoony attack is dangerous, and the person who created it is well within their right to do so (not that I agree with it). The reason why I think it is unfair to cal Obama a socialist is because his programs (with the exception of healthcare, which I now beleive has turned into a giant mess) are temporary. He's using the government as a way to stimulate people to action. Whether or not this is the right approach is debatable, but the goal of his adminstration is not to turn everything into a government run institution.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Andrew33August 7, 2009 at 8:03 PM

    CJ, President Obama is using both fascist (government increasing power by joining with huge corporations) and socialist (government gaining power by taking over private industry simultaneously. Bush did make steps toward fascism, but the Federal Government grabbing 60% of GM is exactly what Hitler did to Daimler, Messerschmidt, etc. to manufacture his war materials. So Obama has not only continued all the mistakes of Bush, but increased them.
    Obama's programs excluding healthcare are not temporary, only federal funding of those programs is temporary. After the 2-4 years of federal funding runs out, the law is written that states are forced to continue and fund those programs themselves. That adds up to a backdoor way of socializing states like Florida where taxes and programs leading to excess spending have been kept to a minimum.
    I can speak without guilt here because I was not a Bush supporter, and was very critical of him and his excess spending. Obama promised "change" and has continued every bad policy Bush started. Obama is now making good use of the "Patriot Act" surveillance measures that he tried to fillibuster.
    Given all the moronic portrayals of Bush by his political enemies, especially ons showing Bush as some kind of ape, the race card needs to be taken off the table very quickly or there will be a massive "white" backlash. I supported the right of those who criticized Bush, when it was done for his policy errors and not just for baseless party politics.
    I'm sorry but when Obama in a speech today makes the economy sound rosy when housing, durable goods, and job losses continue, I trust him less and less. When I discovered he is using Gestapo tactics to find out who those who are against government run health care, he became a Nazi in my book. Now, the "brownshirts" beat up a (Black American) tea party supporter in Missouri which simply confirms my Nazi beliefs and reinforces my anger about the situation. He was a "community organizer" who is now doing everything in his power to prevent communities from organizing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Libertarian AdvocateAugust 9, 2009 at 4:19 PM

    For the most part, very nicely articulated Andrew33, BUT you may want to re-phrase this one "which simply confirms my Nazi beliefs". I understand what you meant by it, but I sure did a double take.

    ReplyDelete

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