"It is unclear to me why the Right wing is so insecure. Everything has been going their way for decades, why bother to try to snuff out even embers of dissent?"
I've been wondering the same thing. I think it's indicative of the winner-take-all, unconditional surrender (and frankly, eliminationist) mind-set of the american right-wing. It's why they love or tolerate guns, nukes, a vastly disproportionate military, personal attacks/racism, monopolism, inequality, etc so much. Any means to get to the end where they can say, "ha...now that's gone/out of my way - forever - now I can be god!" IMO, in general, they can't function unless all challenges/hindrances to their ego/power/money hoarding is completely destroyed.
I've read both sides of the debate (And Juan, you present the one side very convincingly) but I have to say I'm not as gung ho as Juan is. At this point I'm in a wait and see mode. I see your points Juan, but I think it is partially based on the assumption that the Pres has a lot of say in these matters... I don't think he (or past presidents) really have that much power - the Pentagon, CIA, NATO, and Big Oil hawks are the real deciders - IMO based on a hunch.
Maybe Mr Cole was referring to the ethics of the Old Testament prophets (who were rejected...) or the ethics of one jewish carpenter from Galilee some 2000 yrs ago...(his ideas were rejected too) The rabbis you mention are really just carrying on tradition... I mention this not to imply they deserve some kind of anti-semitic punishment/retribution but to acknowledge a sad truth in the hopes of encouraging remorse, repentance and a change of heart/action
I don't just think - I know we deserve the dung heap of history ... the only way 'up' from the free fall to that heap, is doing the opposite of what right-wing neocons want... ie humility, dismantling the empire, apologizing and begging the world for forgiveness, giving up our rights to commodity control, etc... I'm fully aware that this might be painful in the short term but ultimately saving in the long run.
Brilliant David - your right-on points give me hope. And Lisa, you're on to something that immediately crossed my mind as I read this...what is in it for these neocon-warmongers? Surely it's not fiscal responsibility... it can't be personal war glory as they surely won't be the ones personally leading the troops into battle... is it commodity stock gains when the price of oil jumps up? ...Sometimes I think I understand (not agreement btw) their rationale but then I try to think through it myself...and it turns to craziness - insanity -...I can't compute what the neocons would gain from such a move and wonder how they can rationalize it - unless they really are so full of hubris and selfishness it's fried every brain cell they ever had... (oh...maybe it's the secret Israeli citizenship...)
"It is unclear to me why the Right wing is so insecure. Everything has been going their way for decades, why bother to try to snuff out even embers of dissent?"
I've been wondering the same thing. I think it's indicative of the winner-take-all, unconditional surrender (and frankly, eliminationist) mind-set of the american right-wing. It's why they love or tolerate guns, nukes, a vastly disproportionate military, personal attacks/racism, monopolism, inequality, etc so much. Any means to get to the end where they can say, "ha...now that's gone/out of my way - forever - now I can be god!" IMO, in general, they can't function unless all challenges/hindrances to their ego/power/money hoarding is completely destroyed.
I've read both sides of the debate (And Juan, you present the one side very convincingly) but I have to say I'm not as gung ho as Juan is. At this point I'm in a wait and see mode. I see your points Juan, but I think it is partially based on the assumption that the Pres has a lot of say in these matters... I don't think he (or past presidents) really have that much power - the Pentagon, CIA, NATO, and Big Oil hawks are the real deciders - IMO based on a hunch.
Maybe Mr Cole was referring to the ethics of the Old Testament prophets (who were rejected...) or the ethics of one jewish carpenter from Galilee some 2000 yrs ago...(his ideas were rejected too) The rabbis you mention are really just carrying on tradition... I mention this not to imply they deserve some kind of anti-semitic punishment/retribution but to acknowledge a sad truth in the hopes of encouraging remorse, repentance and a change of heart/action
I don't just think - I know we deserve the dung heap of history ... the only way 'up' from the free fall to that heap, is doing the opposite of what right-wing neocons want... ie humility, dismantling the empire, apologizing and begging the world for forgiveness, giving up our rights to commodity control, etc... I'm fully aware that this might be painful in the short term but ultimately saving in the long run.
Brilliant David - your right-on points give me hope. And Lisa, you're on to something that immediately crossed my mind as I read this...what is in it for these neocon-warmongers? Surely it's not fiscal responsibility... it can't be personal war glory as they surely won't be the ones personally leading the troops into battle... is it commodity stock gains when the price of oil jumps up? ...Sometimes I think I understand (not agreement btw) their rationale but then I try to think through it myself...and it turns to craziness - insanity -...I can't compute what the neocons would gain from such a move and wonder how they can rationalize it - unless they really are so full of hubris and selfishness it's fried every brain cell they ever had... (oh...maybe it's the secret Israeli citizenship...)