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Liberals Love America Like O.J. Loved Nicole

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Ann... Ann... Ann.... :evil:


LIBERALS LOVE AMERICA LIKE O.J. LOVED NICOLE
Op/Ed | Ann Coulter

Even the United Nations sponge who called the United States "stingy" immediately retracted the insult, saying he had been misinterpreted and that the U.S. was "most generous." But The New York Times was sticking with "stingy." In an editorial subtly titled "Are We Stingy? Yes," the Times said the U.N. sponge "was right on target." This followed up a patriotic editorial a few days earlier titled "America, the Indifferent."

America's stinginess is a long-standing leitmotif for liberals -- which is getting hard to square with their love for America. When it comes to heaping insults on America, U.S. liberals are the nation's leading donors.

In 2003, the Center for Global Development -- funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, despite the fact that it could have used that money on future tsunami victims -- concluded that the U.S. ranked 20th out of 21 nations in helping poorer nations. This came as a surprise, inasmuch as the U.S. gives the highest absolute amounts of foreign aid to the developing world.

But as the study explained, the center "assesses policy effort rather than impact." As any liberal can tell you, it's not results that count, it's intentions! In other words, the CGD discounted some countries' foreign aid because the CGD decided it was the sort of aid that wouldn't work -- even if, in the end, it did work.

The CGD's evaluation of "effort" somehow managed to bump U.S. contributions from the No. 1 spot to second-to-last. Sending the military to liberate millions of people from ruthless dictators, for example, did not count as "aid," whereas sending in peacekeepers afterward did.

The U.S. did not merely write a check to help the oppressed people of Afghanistan and Iraq: The U.S. did most of the fighting and liberating as well as a significant share of the dying. Where's Michael Moore with that up-to-the-minute body count of U.S. soldiers when you need him?

But in the words of the CGD, military aid doesn't count because "one country's security enhancement is another's destabilizing intervention" -- you know, the way U.S. soldiers "destabilized" France in 1944. (My guess is, Presbyterian missionaries in the jungle don't get as many points as U.N. seminars on condom use either.)

Consequently, in 2003, Norway got 7.1 points for "peacekeeping." Denmark got 7.4 points. France got 5.2. The country that dispatched the Taliban and Saddam Hussein -- and, before that, ensured that the above countries would not be speaking German or Russian -- got 1.5 points for "peacekeeping."

But at least we beat Japan! Except in other studies by liberals -- who certainly do love their country -- that claim Japan beats the U.S. in foreign aid donations.

Among Al Franken's proofs that Bill O'Reilly is a "liar" -- in addition to his jaw-dropping revelation that O'Reilly's former TV show won a "Polk" and not a "Periwinkle" Award -- Franken attacked O'Reilly for having the audacity to say the U.S. gives more foreign aid than any other country in the world.

Responding to this outrage, Franken writes: "Japan gives more. Not per capita. More." (And Franken is the world's largest donor of mentions of his own USO tours.)

I guess there are as many ways to calculate "aid" as there are to calculate "love of country." According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in 2003, the U.S. gave $37.8 billion out of a total $108.5 billion in foreign aid from the world's major countries -- notable for being more than three times the amount from the next largest donor, the Netherlands, clocking in at $12.2 billion. Americans make up about 5 percent of the world's population and give about 35 percent of the aid.

So it's interesting that a great patriot like Al Franken -- who goes on USO tours regularly, in case he hasn't called you at home in the last 10 minutes to remind you -- would choose the method of calculating foreign aid most disparaging to his country and call O'Reilly a "liar" for using a different calculus.

At a minimum, in order to discount the largesse of the United States, one must carefully exclude gigantic categories of aid, such as military aid, food aid, trade policies, refugee policies, religious aid, private charities and individual giving.

However "aid" is calculated, it is not that hard to calculate someone's affection for their country based on their propensity to tell slanderous lies about it.

Let's review.

The New York Times calls the U.S. "stingy" and runs letters to the editor redoubling the insult, saying: "The word 'stingy' doesn't even come close to accurately describing the administration's pathetic initial offer of aid. ... I am embarrassed for our country."

Al Franken flies into a rage upon discovering that O'Reilly imagines the U.S. is the most generous nation in the world.

The Washington Post criticizes Bush for not rushing back to Washington in response to the tsunami -- amid unfavorable comparisons to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who immediately cut short his vacation and returned to Berlin. (Nothing snaps a German to attention like news of mass death!)

The prestigious Princeton "ethicist" Peter Singer, who endorses sex with animals and killing children with birth defects, says "when it comes to foreign aid, America is the most stingy nation on Earth."

And has some enterprising reporter asked Sen. Patty Murray what she thinks about the U.S.'s efforts on the tsunami? How about compared to famed philanthropist Osama bin Laden?

In December 2002, Murray was extolling Osama bin Laden's good works in the Middle East, informing a classroom of students: "He's been out in these countries for decades building roads, building schools, building infrastructure, building day-care facilities, building health-care facilities, and the people are extremely grateful. It made their lives better." What does Murray say about bin Laden's charity toward the (mostly Muslim) tsunami victims?

Speaking of world leaders admired by liberals, why isn't Fidel Castro giving the tsunami victims some of that terrific medical care liberals tell us he has been providing the people of Cuba?

Stipulating that liberals love America -- which apparently depends on what the meaning of "love" is -- do they love America as much as they love bin Laden and Castro?
 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,737
1,820
chez moi
N8 said:
Ann... Ann... Ann.... :evil:
Wow, I hope she doesn't have any kids...talk about a manipluative vision of "love."

I can see her telling a teenage son, "Why are you spending so much 'time' with that Jenkins girl, Craig? Don't you LOVE your mother anymore?" [insert creepy, creepy Ms.-Robinson-is-your-own-mother grin here]

Seriously, though, how can you honestly criticize people's "love of America," especially on these grounds?? Criticize their thoughts and actions...but keep it to that. Oh, wait, that'd be too non-emotive and ineffective.

Gotta hand it to the current crop of conservatives...they know their audience and don't mind shedding any sense of intellectual integrity to get results. I guess this is sort of preferable to the current Left's complete inability to do anything right...

MD
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
MikeD said:
Wow, I hope she doesn't have any kids...talk about a manipluative vision of "love."

I can see her telling a teenage son, "Why are you spending so much 'time' with that Jenkins girl, Craig? Don't you LOVE your mother anymore?" [insert creepy, creepy Ms.-Robinson-is-your-own-mother grin here]

Seriously, though, how can you honestly criticize people's "love of America," especially on these grounds?? Criticize their thoughts and actions...but keep it to that. Oh, wait, that'd be too non-emotive and ineffective.

Gotta hand it to the current crop of conservatives...they know their audience and don't mind shedding any sense of intellectual integrity to get results. I guess this is sort of preferable to the current Left's complete inability to do anything right...

MD
We can all blame W though... right?

:p
 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,737
1,820
chez moi
N8 said:
We can all blame W though... right?

:p
I guess I don't love America either? WTF did I say about George Bush?

Goddamn, man, you're getting as good at the sleight-of-brain as Ms. Coulter...

MD
 

Silver

find me a tampon
Jul 20, 2002
10,840
1
Orange County, CA
N8 said:
Factual error..first line???
Yep, he didn't call the United States stingy, he called Western Nations stingy.

Here's the quote:

"It is beyond me why are we so stingy, really," the Norwegian-born U.N. official told reporters. "Christmastime should remind many Western countries at least, [of] how rich we have become."

"There are several donors who are less generous than before in a growing world economy," he said, adding that politicians in the United States and Europe "believe that they are really burdening the taxpayers too much, and the taxpayers want to give less. It's not true. They want to give more."

Now, since it's always all about us, our government immediately got defensive, which is something I can't really blame them for because the initial pledge was in fact extremely ****ing stingy.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Silver said:
Yep, he didn't call the United States stingy, he called Western Nations stingy.

Here's the quote:

"It is beyond me why are we so stingy, really," the Norwegian-born U.N. official told reporters. "Christmastime should remind many Western countries at least, [of] how rich we have become."

"There are several donors who are less generous than before in a growing world economy," he said, adding that politicians in the United States and Europe "believe that they are really burdening the taxpayers too much, and the taxpayers want to give less. It's not true. They want to give more."

Now, since it's always all about us, our government immediately got defensive, which is something I can't really blame them for because the initial pledge was in fact extremely ****ing stingy.

So why does it sound like he's saying the US is stingy then?
 

Silver

find me a tampon
Jul 20, 2002
10,840
1
Orange County, CA
Yes...he was. Along with every other Western country.

This is like a kid who is in a class that gets yelled at by the teacher and then goes home and whines "The teacher yelled at ME today. He's a mean guy!"

Oh, and the much vaunted American private aid that closes the gap? The Brits have given close to the same amount privately on an absolute basis as of January 5. The Germans have given pledged much more from the government and the've given more privately. Japan's pretty stingy on a private basis, but they're just a hair under total US giving, according to a neat little graph in this weeks Economist.
 

TheInedibleHulk

Turbo Monkey
May 26, 2004
1,886
0
Colorado
Last I checked...

govt provided tsunami relief

Austrailia-718 million
US- 350 million

I understand that australia is close by and therefore has an immediate interest in the well being of the area, just thought it was interesting. N8, Ann Coulter makes you look like a genious. Her arguments are childish and shallow to the point where I dont even know where to start, I feel that the editorial speaks for itself in its stupidity. If it was better written, I would think it was from the onion. The old "well if you dont agree you must not love america" argument is one that should never be used by anyone past the age of 12, but it seems to provide the bulk of debate ammo for most conservatives. My advice, if you want any legitimate respect in a political debate, come up with some actual points that are relevant to the issue, just a thought.

On another topic, that stupid B*&%$ coulter does accidently bring up an interesting point about how you count things. I was struck by this problem during the debates this year. When one side gives you one figure, and the other side an entirely different figure, and both can be confirmed by different outside sources, what the hell are you supposed to believe? Im sure both sides use creative counting and the true figure is probably somewhere in the middle. But it sure is annoying when even the "facts" cant be trusted because of the god damned political spin.
 

Andyman_1970

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2003
3,105
5
The Natural State
Silver said:
"It is beyond me why are we so stingy, really," the Norwegian-born U.N. official told reporters. "Christmastime should remind many Western countries at least, [of] how rich we have become."

"There are several donors who are less generous than before in a growing world economy," he said, adding that politicians in the United States and Europe "believe that they are really burdening the taxpayers too much, and the taxpayers want to give less. It's not true. They want to give more."

Now, since it's always all about us, our government immediately got defensive, which is something I can't really blame them for because the initial pledge was in fact extremely ****ing stingy.
At first I skipped all the stingy threads, but then I got to thinking.

Conservatives for the most part tend to view the US as some sort of last safe harbor for a Christian nation (or something to that effect) - which falls along the lines of W is God's canidate.

[disclaimer, I'm not trying to turn this into a religious discussion - this is used only to make a point] Now according to the Bible, most of the time when Jesus refers to Hell or someone in Hell, it's becasue that person had plenty (ie rich) and yet ignored the poor around them (as a Jew was to do per the Torah) - note they did not end up in Hell because they did not have the right things lined up in their brain - it boiled down to how they lived.

Now since this nation is suppose to be a predominatly Christian nation - why is the perception that we are stingy (regardless if it's reality or not, the perception is still there). Shouldn't for a Christian nation that be the opposite, shouldn't the perception be that we are generous?

Anyway, just some thoughts................
 

Chutney

Monkey
Jul 27, 2003
155
0
Tacoma, Wa
N8 said:
Ann... Ann... Ann.... :evil:


LIBERALS LOVE AMERICA LIKE O.J. LOVED NICOLE
Op/Ed | Ann Coulter

(Nothing snaps a German to attention like news of mass death!)
I wasnt going to reply to this until I read that quote.

Good lord. Discounting the fact that the german chancellor actually cares about the non-western world by pointing out something that happened 60 years ago before he was even an adult. Even though it is a joke, its quite an offensive one.

No wonder people hate us.
 

TheInedibleHulk

Turbo Monkey
May 26, 2004
1,886
0
Colorado
That cought my eye too, can you say racism. Cheap insults are all republicans have to work with. If their actions are inexcusable, they make fun of someone else. I woulda have just gone with "The President would have reacted sooner, but he was unaware of what a 'Tsunami' was, replying simply "Im sorry, I dont speak jibberish."

OK did just make a cheap insult about W, hehe oh well.
 

Chutney

Monkey
Jul 27, 2003
155
0
Tacoma, Wa
making a quip about bush being an idiot is nothing like a holocaust joke.

I tend to be a anythings game kinda guy as far as jokes go in private, but nothing that will be published nationwide and probably read worldwide.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
This ties in nicely....

Kabbalah leader's Holocaust 'slur'
BBC News | 12 Jan | John Sweeney

A senior figure in the controversial Kabbalah Centre - the sect championed by stars including Madonna and Demi Moore - seems likely to spark a storm of protest by saying Jews killed in the Holocaust brought their downfall upon themselves.

Eliyahu Yardeni, of the London Kabbalah Centre, made the astonishing claim to an undercover reporter investigating high-pressure sales techniques employed by the group, which promotes its own brand of beliefs, part ancient Jewish mysticism and part pseudo-science.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/4158287.stm
 

Andyman_1970

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2003
3,105
5
The Natural State
N8 said:
This ties in nicely....

Kabbalah leader's Holocaust 'slur'
BBC News | 12 Jan | John Sweeney

A senior figure in the controversial Kabbalah Centre - the sect championed by stars including Madonna and Demi Moore - seems likely to spark a storm of protest by saying Jews killed in the Holocaust brought their downfall upon themselves.

Eliyahu Yardeni, of the London Kabbalah Centre, made the astonishing claim to an undercover reporter investigating high-pressure sales techniques employed by the group, which promotes its own brand of beliefs, part ancient Jewish mysticism and part pseudo-science.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/4158287.stm
Kabbalah (as it's "taught" by these Hollywood types) is a hoot, it's the Jewish'ish version of Scientology except a whole lot older.

BTW Jesus taught some aspects of Kabbalah (in it's proper context of course)..........LOL
 

Silver

find me a tampon
Jul 20, 2002
10,840
1
Orange County, CA
N8 said:
This ties in nicely....

Kabbalah leader's Holocaust 'slur'
BBC News | 12 Jan | John Sweeney

A senior figure in the controversial Kabbalah Centre - the sect championed by stars including Madonna and Demi Moore - seems likely to spark a storm of protest by saying Jews killed in the Holocaust brought their downfall upon themselves.

Eliyahu Yardeni, of the London Kabbalah Centre, made the astonishing claim to an undercover reporter investigating high-pressure sales techniques employed by the group, which promotes its own brand of beliefs, part ancient Jewish mysticism and part pseudo-science.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/4158287.stm

Actually, that doesn't tie in at all, with the exception of the Holocaust being mentioned.
 

fluff

Monkey Turbo
Sep 8, 2001
5,673
2
Feeling the lag
Andyman_1970 said:
BTW Jesus taught some aspects of Kabbalah (in it's proper context of course)..........LOL
I heard that Jesus also taught some aspects of the Uncertainty Principle and other areas of Quantum Theory. In their proper context of course...

And suggesting that the 'Christian' USA is acting in a less than Christian fashion is sure to earn you the wrath of the frothers...
 

Andyman_1970

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2003
3,105
5
The Natural State
fluff said:
I heard that Jesus also taught some aspects of the Uncertainty Principle and other areas of Quantum Theory. In their proper context of course...

And suggesting that the 'Christian' USA is acting in a less than Christian fashion is sure to earn you the wrath of the frothers...
If that happened I would consider myself in good company.