The Media As Talking Dogs…
Democrats need to change their party mascot from the donkey to the squirrel. They divert the media’s and the electorate’s short attention spans with fleeting, fuzzy objects — like the main canine character in the animated Pixar movie “Up,” who was easily distracted from his main thoughts and serious duties by every last little moving trifle.
Embassy attacks? Quick, find a squirrel! Warnings ignored? Squirrel! American troops killed by long-plotting jihadis exploiting security weaknesses? Squirrel! First Amendment sabotage by White House officials in the name of political correctness? Squirrel! Chronic joblessness, high gas prices, exploding dependency? Squirrel! Squirrel! Squirrel!
That is absolutely brilliant. It finally dawned on me after reading why the latest cry of “squirrel” – the 47% thing – struck me as more effective than the previous ones. Romney has been making great headway post-convention given all the testimony at the convention of his personal generosity. The 47% thing is an actual counter to that, not merely a distraction. The 47% lays open the debate about HOW Americans are generous. On the one hand we have Mitt Romney being privately very charitable and on the other we have Barack Obama using the force of government to play Robin Hood. After all – he actually believes in redistribution. As I said the other day:
And Mr. President, could you please tell me where in the Bible it says to TAKE money from someone to use to “care for the least of these?” I think that command is telling me what to do with MY money – not telling YOU what to do with my money. Not a winning point there Mr. Obama.
I don’t know about the precision of Romney’s numbers, but what I do know is that there is a class of people whose votes he cannot win and whose redistributive desires put the government into the thievery business. And so this again is an attempt to cry squirrel – “Look at Romney’s ‘meanness,’ not at our thievery.”
And they are going to keep crying “squirrel.” This story is single sourced (HT: Roger Kimball) so it could be a red herring, but if true…
The U.S. State Department is actively considering negotiations with the Egyptian government for the transfer of custody of Omar Abdel-Rahman, also known as “the Blind Sheikh,” for humanitarian and health reasons, a source close to the the Obama administration told TheBlaze.
Well, the Brits did it for the Pan-Am bomber…. They’re going to need a really, really big squirrel if that proves to be true.
And increasingly stories are appearing the the great Mormon/Evangelical divide is no divide at all – Christian Post – Washington Post – VOA. And the latest Gallup poll among registered voters, that shows Obama’s “lead” as non-existent, when broken down by religion affiliation shows Romney with a commanding 53-40 lead amongst Protestants.
And in the New York Times, of all places, there appeared an extended philosophical discussion of the good things about Mormon theology. I think this guy must have read our own JMR. It would appear that the Mormon card is no squirrel.
The media, ably lead by the Obama campaign, does look good in the talking collars though.
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JLF9999 on 19 Sep 2012 at 7:42 am #
It is a good thing Mormon theology is not examined too closely by academics otherwise they would go apoplectic, especially if they examined the Pearl of Great Price seriously. The idea that Christ’s gospel is eternal (meaning before and after His time on earth) and not just a two thousand year old tradition. Mormons contend it was had by our first parents and widely distributed among all of Adam and Eve’s posterity. The notion that parts and pieces of it can still be found in all religious traditions is maybe the most interesting part of our modern history.
Anyway, back to today’s issues. Christ weeps and Satan laughs at our circumstances. The innocent are slaughtered in obscene numbers and yet those who can help do not. I don’t know what the solution is, but I believe the man best able to find out what can be done is the man who spends lots of time on his knees. That man is Mitt Romney and I have to think more and more people in the country, and some in the media, are coming to recognize that. If Mitt wins in November then maybe God is proving his interest in us by making his agent not so good in the finer points of politics.
Retrocon on 19 Sep 2012 at 8:37 am #
The Simon Critchley piece, despite its alluring title “Why I love Mormonism”, actually gets into some rather tall weeds and he ends up making some rather serious digs and utterly fallacious statements about the LDS Church, all of which can be seen as targeted at the candidacy of Mormon Mitt Romney.
1) His descriptions incorrectly portray the Church as a man’s dominion — for example when he states that only men receive revelation, and more particularly when he claims that “godhood”, or the striving to become like God is exclusively a male endeavor. (completely false on all counts)
2) He infers that the Mormon Church has a latent agenda to re-institute plural marriage, needing only sufficient power and money to get this accomplished. In doing so he quotes non-Mormon author Harold Bloom, who incorrectly assessed the issue himself. Bloom had predicted “that some day, not too far in the twenty-first century, the Mormons will have enough political and financial power to sanction polygamy again. Without it, in some form or other, the complete vision of Joseph Smith never can be fulfilled.” (also completely false)
3) He quotes part of the LDS Church’s 10th Article of Faith (which are statements of general Church beliefs) where it says: “that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent.” In this context he wonders if Benjamin Netanyahu might be concerned about this and speculates that this may influence Romney’s foreign policy. (rubbish)
[Note: There are several meanings for the word Zion in the scriptures, but in all senses referring to a holy place or dwelling place for the righteous. Mormons believe that a "new Jerusalem", aka Zion, or a center of millennial government on par with Jerusalem in Israel, will exist on the American continent during the thousand years of Christ's reign. (see Isaiah 2:3 for a supportive, though not definitive reference)]
There are many other digs at Mormons in the article, and in the end the article is of the “Mormons are off their rocker, do we really want a Mormon in the White House?” variety.
Retrocon on 19 Sep 2012 at 8:50 am #
I’m not sure if this has been linked to already, but there is a great article by Bret Stephens in the Wall Street Journal which takes direct aim at the Obama Administration’s display of utter hypocrisy during this time of Middle East violence.
Read it here
So tell me again, Obama acolytes, about the civility and deference we should be giving to religious belief.
GottaZoom on 19 Sep 2012 at 9:26 am #
The talking collar had a dial to change the speech to different languages . . of course, the dog seems unable to realize the setting or change it by himself . . if only we could find the media’s dial and change it from “liberal” to “objective”.
PS – retrocon nailed it above
Rockgod28 on 19 Sep 2012 at 9:51 am #
Squirrel!
The “47 percent” video has been discovered to have been selectively edited. The producers of the video, who demanded the full unedited videos of the ACORN and Planned Parenthood investigations, did not provide the full videos as promised due to “equipment malfunctions”.
That means the context or complete remarks of Mitt Romney are unknown to the public or other newa organizations. It is hypocrisy and desception to betray the trust of the American electorate at its basest form. As John said it is the media palace guards of Obama shouting “squirrel” when there isn’t one even there.
Team Obama has made a serious miscalculation on bringing up this video even without the full tape, context or full remarks. The discussion is put squarely right back on the economy. Back pn taxes and entitlements. This is not a winner for President Obama anymore than the president’s foreign policy right now.
The general math of the 47 percent is correct and it gives Team Romney a chance to explain economics, the evils of redistribution of wealth and slam the media for dishonesty in commentary, bias as well as violating the public trust.
What did Team Obama expect from Mitt Romney, an apology? To be back on the defensive?
None of that has happened and Team Romney is pressing their advantage from Obama’s blunder. The dogs of the media looked for the squirrel, but not the American people. We aren’t dogs and neither is the new media.
It is time for the Romney campaign to play fetch with the media just like in “UP”. Throw a tennis ball out and use their weaknesses against them like he did with his press conference at Solyndra.
Demonstrate the failure of redistribution and show the failure of the President of the United States to live up to his promises, duty and commitment to the American people.
So far I think he is doing a good job and will only get better as November approaches.
“The Spirit of Adventure” is calling, will you answer?
ROMNEY/RYAN! 2012!
kgbudge on 19 Sep 2012 at 10:44 am #
I agree with all of Retrocon’s points and echo his conclusion. I did not much care for the article.
The King Follett Sermon is not uncontroversial even among Mormons, and it’s never been canonized. Mormons do not believe that everything said by a prophet is necessarily prophetic, though unsurprisingly there is some strong difference of opinion on just when a prophet is speaking as a prophet. More specifically, the notion of man becoming like God is solid Mormon theology, though it could easily be read to resemble the creedal Christian notion of partaking of the divine nature; but the notion that God was once a man, with the implication of an infinite regress of Diety, is popular with the Mormons I’ve known but appears nowhere in the Church’s canon of scripture.
However, there’s no denying it has a lot of appeal for a lot of Mormons. I see it offering an elegant solution certain cosmological problems, but it also creates some problems, so I remain undecided.
I believe the notion that God came after the universe is a misreading of King Follett. I think a more correct reading, consistent with the LDS canon, is that God is coeval with His universe, an idea I actually find pretty interesting. It may provide a partial solution to the problem of evil, though not perhaps in the way you’d guess, but this isn’t the place for a long essay expouding my reasoning on that.
Virginia on 19 Sep 2012 at 4:43 pm #
The Simon Critchley article was one long “The Mormons, bless their hearts . . .” in the Southern sense of the phrase. That kind of condescension we don’t need.
coltakashi on 20 Sep 2012 at 5:47 am #
The real reason the left wing media have been incensed by Mitt Romney’s candor about the political bias of almost half the citizenry, who pay no income taxes, is that it reveals the reality of the Democratic Party program to make more and more voters dependent on the whims of government officials. When people are dependent, the human psychology is to fear loss of the “gift” but to transform that fear into a feeling of attachment, to.convince the giver that the dependents will give their loyalty in return, because that is the only way they can reduce their anxiety about the potential loss of the gift.
In extreme situations, such as kidnappings, this enthrallment of people who have lost control of their lives is called Stockholm Syndrome. It is the foundation for a host of unhealthy human behaviors, including the extreme loyalty of abused wives to their abusive husbands, to the point that when a police officer arrests the man who has been beating them, they will attack the officer.
The Democrats hate the fact that Romney was pointing out their master plan, to make voters so dependent on government that their fear of being cut off would convert them into loyal thralls of the party that claims that it can finance everything by making somebody else pay for all those.increasing gifts. That psychology is why Obama is constantly talking about getting taxes from the wealthy. He knows that it will never be a significant source of revenue to the government, but his objective is to reinforce the psychology of more and more voters that by simply pledging their loyalty to the government, they can ensure that the stream if “gifts” continues, gifts paid for by someone else. It is the psychology that has bound so many blacks to the Democrats, not because Lyndon Johnson pushedbthrough the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but because.he instituted an expanded welfare state that made blacks more dependent on government. Obama’s immigration policy is another element in the dependence program. Obamacare is tge nationalization of a whole aspect of life that will make millions more dependent on the arbitrary moods of government bureaucrats and paradoxically the more at risk they are of losing control of their lives, the more intense us their devotion to the dictators who can give or deny life at a whim.
That is also why the Left has to destroy other institutions that can interfere with that psychology of enthrallment. Churches that teach people that they can have faith in God and lose their fear of men in power are sand in the gears of the “I love Big Brother” orwellian program of the Democrats. That is why the Left has chosen to push the same sex marriage agenda, not because gay people are actually being deprived of any freedom to share their lives with others, but because.it creates a.means for government to weaken churches that are not on board with the enthrallment program. Eventually, tame churches will find that government will start financially subsidizing them to reinforce their loyalty to the real religion of the Left. After all, state churches are a basic feature of the European socialisms and of communism in Russia and China.
The fact that the enthrallment program is hraded for a financial disaster is not a bug, it is a feature. Every new severe crisis will be an excuse to nationalize even more of the economy, and take away more freedom. Enthrallment is the driver behind loyalty to the global warming agenda, because it is a story that tells people that the actions of other people.in simply driving cars and heating and cooling and lighting their homes, and eating their food, are things that harm YOU and that government gets to control. The inconvenient truth is that global temperatures have veen flat for 15 years, and exyreme weather is no more extreme now than it has always been. Only proponents of the Left could classify carbon dioxide, with water the most fundamental molecule to sustain life, as an “air pollutant”. When such absurdities are enforced as “truth” we have entered the realm of George Orwell’s nightmares.
coltakashi on 20 Sep 2012 at 6:02 am #
one glaring omission in the Critchley article is his faikure to acknowledge the similarities behind Mormon ideas about exaltation to become “joint heirs with Christ” and the ancient Christian doctrine that the ultimate redemptive grace is theosis, becoming like God. It is still the teaching of the Orthodox churches, and Catholic theologians know.it is a legitimate part of their tradition but one.not often taught. The Protestants lost it as they cut themselves off from the Catholic Church. The Protestant view if theosis as heresy is turning an ancient teaching on its head, denying it in favor of an Aristotelian deity who is.unapproachable and utterly Other.
Orthodox churches quote the same New Testament and Old Testament passages Mormons do. The Lorenzo Snow quote.is eerily prefigured.in statements from.Irenaeus of Lyon and Gregory of Nazianzus, who spoje of Christ saying “God became man, so that man may become God.”
Critchley.is a theologian, and surely knows he left.out something that would show the distinctive doctrine he highlighted about Mormons is a legitimate doctrine of the.original Christians that was somehow recovered.by a preacher who never visited an Orthodox monastery.
coltakashi on 20 Sep 2012 at 6:45 am #
The president of Libya was interviewed.by National Public Radio as sorrowfully stating he had notified the American State Department three days before the attack that an assault was in the works, managed by al Qaeda. Obama’s UN ambassador denies that the White House knew about it and took no protective measures. But there it is, on NPR for gosh sakes! Obama was warned of an attack on American embassy people on 9/11by al Qaeda, and he did nothing, and now he is calling the president of Libya a liar! Obama is so engrossed in campaigning he can’t be botheted with warnings about another al Qaeda attack on 9/11! After all, how likely is that, really? The arabs all love Barack Hussein!
The blood of four Americans is on the hands of Obama. He gloried in the blood of Osama.bin Laden. But he isn’t man enough to take respinsibility for his stupid mistake. Didn’t he expect that killing bin Laden would make him and other Americans into targrts if al Qaeda? Didn’t he put resources into protection of Americans? Guess not.
This story needs to get more air time. Every American needs to know that Obama is aslerp at the switch.
mahonri on 20 Sep 2012 at 6:51 am #
While a discussion on Theology probably won’t satisfy anyone on this blog, I would think the idea kinda goes against the A6Blog’s premise. And speaking of that, I’m wondering if we, as 21st century Americans, are even ready for a devout Muslim candidate for POTUS. My own honest opinion is no.
However, back to the WSJ article. The article brings to my mind the notion of what does “free speech” really mean to Americans in the 21st century. And, is that citizen’s bill of right – which is a truly American value – something that is embraced in the muslim world?
I personally don’t know the answer since I don’t live in that environment or culture.
The point is this – what does free speech really mean to Americans, and how are we to apply it in a global community (that may not share our western values) with instantaneous global communication that didn’t exist in circa 1790 America.
And to my LDS friends, while I think the WSJ article is good support, it fails to take into account The Mountain Meadows Massacre… which also happened on 9/11.
coltakashi on 20 Sep 2012 at 6:55 am #
Obama wants Americans to believe that the only reason a Muslim would want to kill Americans is a stupid video. How about Barack Hussein Obama assassinating Osama bin Laden? Wasn’t there some video about that going around YouTube? Don’t they know we ticked off the guys who worked for bin Laden? Don’t bin Laden’s people have a stronger motive for murder? The notion Obama’s people are.pushing, is that people in Benghazi were just rioting and, spontaneously, they said “Hey, I’ve got.my Rovket Propelled Grenade.in my back pocket, if you’ve got yours, let’s demonstrate on their consulate!” Seriously!
Obama is totally out of touch with reality in Libya.
JLF9999 on 20 Sep 2012 at 7:02 am #
I know there will be some readers who do not understand the Mormon view of theosis. So, with deference to the Colonol and his comments above, think of it this way: Father in Heaven is God with a capital G. The other gods talked about in Genesis and elsewhere are gods with a lower case g. The other gods (lower case G) are the believers who are co-heirs of the fullness of Christ’s inheritance as discussed in Romans chapter 7. Additionally, this earth was not the only planet God the father created and populated. As I understand it, that is where the other gods (lower case g) came from plus Christ as Jehovah. Before Christ came to earth he was Jehovah of the Old Testament and created the universe at the direction of God the Father. Just to take it a step further, Christ’s atonement covers all of God’s children, before and after this earth and throughout all eternity to come – just to fill in some blanks for interested folks.
Gonna Need A Really Big Squirrel | Article VI Blog | John Schroeder on 20 Sep 2012 at 9:53 am #
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kgbudge on 20 Sep 2012 at 10:52 am #
Mahonri,
The Mountain Meadows Massacre? Look, squirrell!!