Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Articles 53 and 57

Shame that Barry's charm and Flip Wilson bump skills couldn't convince the Venezuelan coca-chewing dictator to sign on to the little bitty statement (66 pages) that is being called the "Declaration of the Summit of the Americas." What could possibly be bothering Hugo? Well, he and his pal, Danny Ortega, who spent the better part of an hour spewing venom on the United States don't like the following two articles in the declaration:


53. We reaffirm our commitment to the defense, protection and promotion of human rights and to the independence and strengthening of the Inter-American System of Human Rights.

57. We recognise the important role of the OAS in the peaceful resolution of our differences and in support of the objectives of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. We commit to improve the capacity of the OAS in its efforts to assist in enhancing peace and the democratic, social and economic stability of our region.

Hmm, "promotion of human rights," and "peaceful resolution" must be phrases that are anethma to these thugs. That Barry wants to sweeten up to them is only further evidence that he is either a) frightfully naive or b) that he agrees with their philosophy. I opt for c) he is both.

This was a shameful display by our President. Never once speaking out to defend the principles of freedom and democracy that are the real keys to success. Last week he had Jefferson spinning in his grave...this week, Monroe and Madison take a spin.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find it strange that you remain unable to process the simple declarative statement "when disagreeing nations discuss said differences, sometimes solutions are forthcoming". W. acted like a spoiled prat or a bully 100% of the time, and international relations were strained with even historically staunch allies like Britan. O is talking to everyone and gathering data. I can tell that you personally have the barest of affinities for factual data, but i for one am glad that my leader is NOT, in fact, an unengaged douchebag all the time.

Lecturing the crazies in the developing world is simply not going to work. actually talking to them, and forcing them to factually defend their positions, is how grassroots support for real american-style democracy can take hold. pissing on people's feet all the time simply does not work. (are we unclear on how successful that 'act like a dick constantly' method worked for Captain Misunderestimate?)

so, it is clear that you just hate Obama personally. I dont really care about your specific personal opinion, but i wanted to point out how strange it is that we finally have a leader capable of actual discourse with other nations, and you find fault. clearly the sign of a bankrupt intellect; far more concerned with your own insular worlview than America's actual real-world success as a leader of nations. is there a reason for your unwillingness to see the strength of the "i actually talked to their leaders" method, or is it simply because rush said you are supposed to want O to fail, and you as a loyal GOP sheep are doing as you were told?

whiner.

Marty Heflin said...

Oh this is rich! Barry "iPod DVD" O has wrecked our relations with Britain completely and is the laughingstock in Europe. They recognize him for the featherweight he is.

And I loved watching "The One" be lectured by Danny Ortega and doing bro-bumps with Hugo Chavez...anyone else he ought to hug and bow to? Shame that Mao, Stalin and Hitler are dead - Obama would no doubt love trying to suck up to them to.

What you lefties don't realize is that the United States IS a special place and is the envy of the world...sometimes being liked doesn't come with that. But I would much rather be respected than liked.

I don't hate Obama personally though your visceral hatred of anyone that disagrees with you is pathetically obvious. I hate what he is doing to this country. You people on the left love seeing the United States berated and humiliated - I don't.

Anonymous said...

incorrect. i was embarrassed and ashamed every time i saw W acting like a putz around world leaders, and am damned proud that at last our leader appears to be able to use complete sentences and follow a train of thought from beginning to end. anti-intellectualism is all the rage for the dying breed of red-staters, but don't forget that you guys LOST this last election, and will continue to lose them until you provide something besides whiny complaints and manufactured strawmen to beat on.

obama is aware that we are indeed a part of the world, rather than in some hermetically sealed bubble of the 1950s where we stand alone on a pedestal making threats and reading bibles. that time, and that sort of unilateral decision-making, is GONE FOREVER. this is the new world. and no amound of kansas-style education, or whiny complaints by rush, can change that.

are you aware of the truth behind that statement, or do you see an alternative outcome?

final thought: it is not at all that i love to see america berated/humiliated. that is an incredibly dumb statement. we were humiliated when W spoke out loud. we are humiliated when other countries see our lawmakers forging policy based on religious superstition. we are DAMNED PROUD when we see leadership that is aware of the real world and spends its times seeking downstream answers to real life problems. see how that is the exact opposite of whatever it is you think you know?

"WAAAAA! our team lost, so im taking my marbles, and complaining about how the other guy plays marbles!"

Marty Heflin said...

Ahh, we're back to the "anyone who is religious in the least is an idiot." Is that why your guy left Reverend Wright's church? You guys are busy trying to replace THE Savior with the false hope of Obama...sad.

Anyhoo - W is no longer President, the O is...and he is a sight to behold without a teleprompter! Even with a teleprompter he can't pronounce common words like "Orion."

But continue your mythology, you wear it so gracefully!

Anonymous said...

thats all you've got, huh? teleprompter jokes? (i'll eschew the obvious rejoinder about the leader from the blue-states' ability to READ being an integral part of that...)

(An aside, since you seem to be all hung up on my obvious contempt for faith-based decision making): religion has no place in political discourse. Strangely, it is you on the far-right want to legislate morality when governing. everything from archaic blue laws to the anti-abortion movement is a 'facist' attempt to force your beliefs on others. and you think O is a communist/facist/whatever? somehow that doesn't pass the laugh-out-loud test...

so... need i point out that you have again failed to actually support your complaints with anything meaningful? care to give it a try? i was reasonably concise in my reasoning for my current pride, and past shame, vis-a-vis america on the world stage... is your contention that you just don't care? no matter how well things turn out, you will simply complain about teleprompters in a void as you become more and more an artifact of history?

Marty Heflin said...

Religion has no place in politics. Hmm, have you ever looked at a dollar bill or read the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence? Does the phrase "divine providence" mean anything to you?

Do you not understand where our legal system comes from?

If you want a society without morals and ethics, then take religion away. It worked very well for the Soviets, the Nazis and the Cubans. Lead on oh wonderful Obama!

You obviously believe that America is not a special place with a special role in the world - yup, we're just like the French without the cheese or the Saudis without the oil...that's us! So I guess we should apologize to everyone for being us and ever thinking we were something better, never thinking that the ideas of freedom, individual liberty and limited government were somehow more noble than an oligarchy or a monarchy or a dictatorship.

Anonymous said...

you really believe that, dont you? you are honestly convinced that somehow america is 'special', that we are somehow above the rules that everyone else plays by. but we aren't. and the scary part is that as long as there are people like you, humanity as a whole will never evolve past exactly where we are now. someday, the backwards-thinking people will have to realize that we are, in fact, the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, even if we happen by accident of birth to live in america. i bet you would not feel quite the same of you were a pagan tribal leader in one of the -stan countries. when america makes a unilateral statement followed up with unilateral force (ohh! we're so tough!) rather than opening DIALOGUE, it just forces people into radicalism and rebellion. want proof? (try reading that paper. how's that "we'll kill 'em all, and convert them to christianity too" thing we tried under Commander Flightsuit going so far?)

i can tell you dont understand that, but that is not the fault of the facts (which are there for all to see if they care to) or the people like me who know that america's strange cowboy diplomacy combined with religious archaism is not the basis for a stable future world.

when you envision your perfect world, does it still have america as the top consumer of everything, while other people around the world live in squalid poverty, berefit of even the most basic luxuries? (how do you prevent radicalism and revolt? try making life better for the people who would otherwise become radical and revolt).

do you really just not care at all about anyone besides yourself and those who share your narrow, insular views?

(i'll reply to the 'religion in america' part after the budget meeting - no way i'll let u get away with those sweeping, irrelevant generalizations)

Marty Heflin said...

Case eloquently made.

America is not different nor special...we should all evolve to happy mediocrity!

The problem is your lack of understanding of American history. Who has FREED more Muslims than any nation in history? USA.
Who has defeated tyranny in the USSR, Germany, Japan and Italy? USA.
Who has been the engine of growth for the world helping to bring more countries and people out of darkness than ANY nation in history? We have.

No we are not individually better than everyone else - but we have a tradition and culture and belief system that has created more jobs, freed more people and done more good than ANY nation in history.

Are we flawless? Of course not! But should we stride the world stage in shame? Absolutely not.

Anonymous said...

"The problem is your lack of understanding of American history. Who has FREED more Muslims than any nation in history? USA.
Who has defeated tyranny in the USSR, Germany, Japan and Italy? USA.
Who has been the engine of growth for the world helping to bring more countries and people out of darkness than ANY nation in history? We have."

I would point out that that REASON for those things (which are true, i grant, at least more or less) is that we continually adapt to the changing state of the world. you think backwards, we think FORWARDS. to the future. and as the number of people radically increases, and everyone is connected to everyone else at all times through the ever-increasing presence of the 'series of tubes'... we will again have to adapt or become marginalized.

You are clearly a Boomer-generation thinker. You lack a fundamental understanding of the future of the information society. it is not a fault of your education, or your upbringing, or anything else ... it is just the simple fact that the world we currently live in bears no resemblance to the world you see in your memory. Military might is irrelevant against a disorganized enemy that just hates us because they dont know to hate their own leaders for failing to build roads and clean-water wells and all the other myriad 'luxuries' you dont even think about. how do we change that? INFORMATION. The currency of the future world.

so - from my point of view, you and yours rely on data that is decades out of date. you hear only what you want to hear and know only what you have heard. but the information age means that the real facts are out there, and will become MORE available with each passing day, and each subsequent generation. stop thinking in Industrial Age terms and join us in the future!

(OR, follow Rush and Hannity over the cliff... that's cool too. just so long as you know that you wont get to do any of that 'decision-making' you hear about any more).

Marty Heflin said...

Fair enough. I plan on staying clear of cliffs and if I get in a war, I will put the combination of strength and information against weakness and naivete anytime.

Anonymous said...

it is clear that you didnt even read the meat of the last post - why is it that you bother with this blog if you just talk to yourself?

the changing pace of world events? the ever-increasing future interconnectedness of the world's people? do none of these thoughts have even the slightest chance of penetrating your lifetime of inculcation?