Nathan Donarum
- : VT and NY (when I'm at school)
- : 20
- : Rational Progressivism
- : Democratic
- : http://chronospark.blogspot.com
- : "Man is by nature a political animal." -Aristotle "The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'." -Larry Hardiman
A Split in the Left; A Blatant Divide
There has been a split in the left, a very blatant divide. Division is not surprising. There was a divide during the Democratic Primary: Obama vs. Clinton. But the new divide is malicious and virulent, and I fear that perhaps...more »
Posted on July 14, 2008 1:55 PM
McCain raises $22 Million in June - His "Best Month"
Reuters is reporting that John McCain raised $22 Million in the month of June, and follows by saying it was, "his best month of fundraising." A little pathetic, it being his best month, but the fact is, McCain has been...more »
Posted on July 11, 2008 1:42 AM
Absolutism, The Far Left, and the Abandonment of Reason
There is something that I have realized this election, more than anything else, and it's bound to piss a lot of people off, but it really needs to be said.Let me begin by saying that I am about as far...more »
Posted on July 4, 2008 3:49 PM
Understanding Obama and National Unity
Recently, I've noticed more and more talk about Obama, that he's a centrist, he's a conservative, that he's abandoning progressive ideals, that he's destroying the constitution, that we can't trust him, that he's gone back on his word... The list...more »
Posted on July 2, 2008 6:20 PM
Twisting The Truth: A Statistical Dead Heat? I don't think so
I just dropped by CNN.com when I noticed an interesting headline: "Obama, McCain in statistical dead heat". Well, of course such a headline jumped out at me, so I thought I'd check it out.With just over four months remaining until...more »
Posted on July 2, 2008 1:29 AM
Going to the Unity Rally and Shredding the Negativity
Today, I was at the Unity Rally with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, in Unity, New Hampshire. It was quite an experience, I must say. I was originally going to write a long, boring, redundant post about how my day...more »
Posted on June 27, 2008 11:31 PM
Pictures From the Unity Rally
It's nothing extremely special, but I uploaded the 309 photos I took at the Unity Rally to a Photobucket album. Some of the pictures are useless and pointless, I know. I haven't, as of yet, gotten around to cleaning up...more »
Posted on June 27, 2008 11:29 PM
This Is Exactly What The GOP Wants
I've noticed something that I hadn't seen in a long while, if really ever, as a result of this FISA debacle: we're fighting. We're fighting amongst ourselves. When did it get to this point? How did we get to this...more »
Posted on June 22, 2008 5:59 PM
Obama, FISA and My Revised Thinking
I originally wrote this as a response to Pangaea's post. He quoted my original post concerning the FISA bill. I thought it deserved its own post to clear some things up, and clear up the air.I wrote to Senator Obama...more »
Posted on June 22, 2008 2:08 AM
FISA, Retroactive Immunity, and Obama disappointment
I'm going to make this simple: Obama is on the verge of making a decision that could bring widespread disappointment to many of his supporters. His statements concerning FISA are so vague that I'm not completely sure what he means.Is...more »
Posted on June 20, 2008 5:21 PM
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I can completely understand the need to "suck it up," and I definitely think Obama can be held accountable once he's elected. Not just for the things people are currently upset about, but also other issues. People can truly hold him accountable for his campaign promises, and I think he fully expects people to do just that.
Posted at July 15, 2008 12:45 AM in response to A Split in the Left; A Blatant Divide
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Thanks so much, Aunt Sam. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope more people read it, rec it and enjoy it as you have.
Posted at July 14, 2008 6:57 PM in response to A Split in the Left; A Blatant Divide
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IMO, the author seems to have presented a balance of pluses and minuses in regard to detrimental vs. constructive criticism of Sen. Obama.
Thank you kindly.
Posted at July 14, 2008 4:14 PM in response to A Split in the Left; A Blatant Divide
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I'll respectfully disagree. Perhaps we're just having a very different experience with the current climate of the blogosphere, the left, and the Democratic party in relation to Obama. I see way to many ideologues on both ends of the spectrum, and very little compromise of opinion and belief.
This, in essence, is an extension of my other post on absolutism. If you want to criticize Obama, you're helping McCain. If you won't criticize him, you have no principles. But there's a healthy way in which these two things can coexist. I'm not seeing it. At least not as much as I'd like to. And that's the issue for me.
I also continue to see tons of mindless drivel that tries to pass itself off as analysis in terms of Obama and his decisions and choices. Rather than actually trying to understand, people jump to the easiest (and often times wrong) answer that fits their ideology best.
A great example of this is FISA. Many people jumped at Obama by claiming "political expediency," but that answer is way too simplistic, given the explanations he made for voting for the bill, which were far beyond normal politics (see: blog post on his website, for example, after already having made press releases concerning his decision). Not to mention the damage he took from many on the far left. I'm sure he knew he'd be suffering as a result.
The point here is not about trying to say whether he was right or wrong, but trying to actually understanding what would compel him to make the decision. Though I've seen people do this, the vast majority of people, as I said, just write it off as something along the lines of "political expediency." As I said, such an answer is way too simplistic if one takes the time to actually look at different angles.
Posted at July 14, 2008 4:09 PM in response to A Split in the Left; A Blatant Divide
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This is precisely what I'm getting at. Thanks for simplifying it. I tend to get over-wordy in my explanations, so I appreciate the elaboration.
Posted at July 14, 2008 3:58 PM in response to A Split in the Left; A Blatant Divide
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Thanks for your deep and thoughtful insight.
Posted at July 14, 2008 2:04 PM in response to A Split in the Left; A Blatant Divide
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Bien sur. I understand what you mean completely. =)
Posted at July 14, 2008 10:18 AM in response to Where the Elite Meet to Tweet
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Thanks for this Ripper, as always.
It's interesting, because I agree with everything you say, and I am a complete political junkie. I have decided who I support, and I decided long ago, and (as I'm sure you already know), that person is Obama.
I understand what you mean when you speak of political junkies being "fence-sitters", but I don't think it's all of them. I'm evidence of that. I have endorsed Obama, and I am by no means sitting on a fence.
I critique him personally, but I try to understand why he does he things he does, takes the positions he does. And I've found that the easiest answer to find is most likely never the right one. I think too many people fall into the trap of labeling and name-calling before they've really thought and analyzed the situation from different rational perspectives. That, I find, is unfortunate, but so it is. Even many intelligent people do this, because emotions tend to take precedent to reasoned thought, and it's understandable. I think everyone is guilty of this.
But we need to take off the emotional blinders, if only for a second, and clearly look at the whole, big picture.
Posted at July 14, 2008 12:25 AM in response to Where the Elite Meet to Tweet
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Apologies. I've had a tough time recently and my snark detector has been short-circuiting a lot lately.
Posted at July 13, 2008 3:52 AM in response to Is Obama America's Tony Blair?
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Oh, ok, good to know. =) Thanks, guys.
Posted at July 13, 2008 3:49 AM in response to Is Obama America's Tony Blair?
