Month: July 2012

Ethics, Philosophy, PoliticsLeave a comment

Crude, Aristocratic and Mean

Podritske

The president of the United States holds a dim view of humanity. It is crude, aristocratic and mean. This was revealed in his famous “you didn’t build that” speech. First, despite the media reprieve afforded him—first by the Colorado movie theatre massacre, and now by Olympic sports coverage—Barack Obama’s alleged gaffe is still news. While Obama’s defenders argue he was quoted out of context, Charles Krauthammer and Philip Klein have both noted that quoting more from Obama actually makes matters worse. Mr. Krauthammer suggests that Obama’s comments could be so damaging to his re-election campaign that opposition Republicans should replay … Continue reading Crude, Aristocratic and Mean

Media, News1 Comment

Terror Rises

Podritske

Murderous assaults and massacres of the innocent accomplish more than a temporary shift of media focus away from election-year politics. They terrorize society by leaving people feeling helpless, fearful and uncertain about the risks in an otherwise peaceful community. Capitalizing on the fear and confusion, or reflecting it, media coverage of the mass murders in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater seemed at once erratic, frenzied or even ridiculous. Emerging from the chaos of this coverage were three common themes: Why did the perpetrator do it? How can we prevent such events? Descriptions of the event. Why Did the Perpetrator Do It? People … Continue reading Terror Rises

PoliticsLeave a comment

Lessons in Buck Passing

Podritske

President Truman famously said of his office “the buck stops here”. President Obama apparently believes that the buck stops wherever and whenever he finds it most convenient. In levelling yet another spurious attack against candidate Romney relative to his former role at Bain Capital, president Obama was quoted from a recent interview at a television station in Virginia: “So, you know, as president of the United States, one of the things I’ve learned…was anything that happens on my watch is my responsibility. That’s what people expect.” A couple of observations come to mind. One is that I guess there really … Continue reading Lessons in Buck Passing

PoliticsLeave a comment

Don’t Blame Romney

Podritske

I don’t like Mitt Romney the politician. However, based on his appearance before an assembly of the NAACP recently, I have some respect for the man. He showed a commitment to principle by standing before that crowd and vowing to work toward getting rid of non-essential, expensive government spending programs if he is elected president. When he included a mention of “Obamacare” as one of his targets he was booed by the audience for 15 seconds. Romney retained his composure throughout. He did not deserve to be treated this way. Apparently, people represented by the NAACP voted nearly 95 percent … Continue reading Don’t Blame Romney