questor Posted October 15, 2008 Report Posted October 15, 2008 Recent violent protests.. September 2, 2008Republican Convention protests turn violent as 250 arrested.link: Republican Convention protests turn violent as 250 arrested - Times Online Violence Breaks Out at Anti-War Protest in St. Paul Email Share September 01, 2008 4:49 PM UPDATE: As of Tuesday morning, police have arrested more than 280 demonstrators throughout the downtown St. Paul area, according to the Associated Press.link: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/violence-breaks.htm Quote
questor Posted October 15, 2008 Report Posted October 15, 2008 “the right of the people peaceably to assemble” means that people have a Constitutional right to "use confrontation and civil disobedience to make a point". To think otherwise would seem to suggest a disfavor of peaceful assembly. Does the dictionary now define ''peaceful'' as confrontational or legally disobedient? People who assemble have NO right to litter, confront, obstruct, attack or infringe on the rights or space of others. They have no right to attack policemen or vandalize cars and buildings. They do have what is written in the Constitution..the right to PEACEFULLY ASSEMBLE. I have no statistics on how many gatherings are held each year. I'm sure most are peaceful, such as the Million Man, but there are many others which are violent or confrontational and make the news. I believe strongly in the first amendment, but I do not believe in violence and civil disobedience. I also live in the DC area and am very aware of what large gatherings on the Mall produce, even when peaceful. Quote
REASON Posted October 15, 2008 Report Posted October 15, 2008 To clear up some misconceptions.. William Ayers and Bernadine Dorn.. link:30-Y.O. Unsolved SF Murders Reopen (Bernadine Dohrn suspect in murders of two police officers?) also.. link: Family Security Matters » Publications » Exclusive: William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn – Friends of Barack Obama These people are now college professors and friends of Obama Nice job producing real evidence, questor. :( The speculation continues. Keep in mind, Bill Ayers turned himself in to the police in 1980 when Barack Obama was attending school in Los Angeles. By 1987, the evil terrorist Ayers had earned three degrees in education, including early childhood education, from Bank Street College and Teacher's College at Columbia University, not from prison. Currently, the horrible domestic terrorist is a distinguished professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Education. This attempt to link Obama to Ayers in an effort to caste him as some sort of terrorist sympathizer, is baseless smear, and will only appeal to Right wing-nuts who easily succumb to speculation and inuendo over truth, evidence, or facts, particularly if it damages their political enemies or supports their precious party affiliation. We can only hope that the general American public is wise enough to see through these shameful tactics. Based on current polling data, that appears to be the case. Quote
pgrmdave Posted October 15, 2008 Report Posted October 15, 2008 Civil disobedience is a good thing when the laws themselves are unjust. So long as it is done responsibly (say, african americans sitting at "white-only" counters and being arrested) and not irresponsibly (harming people or damaging property) then I believe that it can be a powerful force for social change. Quote
questor Posted October 15, 2008 Report Posted October 15, 2008 Z, could you give an example of what Ayers teaches? Just because someone has a teaching job does not mean you would like him to teach your children does it? Are you familiar with Ward Churchill? Radicalizing students until he was fired. I wouldn't want to have that for my kids.Here is a little about Obama and Bill Ayers: Obama's claims that “I have not received some official endorsement from” and “not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis” are both wrong. True, Ayers has not publicly endorsed Obama during the current presidential campaign, but Ayers opened his home to Obama very early in his first campaign for the Illinois state Senate and threw a fundraiser for him. Undoubtedly, that counts as some type of official endorsement. The issue of not exchanging ideas regularly is clearly wrong, too. Ayers and Obama served on two boards together: the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995 to 2001 and the Woods Foundation from 1993 to 2002. For the first five years with the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, Obama served as chairman of the board and handled its fiscal matters. Ayers was the Chicago Annenberg Challenge’s founder and he served as the chairman of the foundation’s other body that set education policy. Since they served together with a foundation that gave out over $100 million to groups that they both generally agreed with, there had to be some regular exchange of and agreement on ideas. Agreement on views seemed particularly crucial, since Ayers hardly has what most Americans would consider “traditional” views on education. The Chicago Annenberg Challenge gave money to infuse students with a radical political commitment. Just in 2006, Ayers told Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez that, “We share the belief that education is the motor-force of revolution.” Ayers apparently told an author, who was writing a book on 1960s radicals shortly before the foundation was set up in 1995, that “I’m a radical, Leftist, small ‘c’ communist.” Why would I want this man trying to indoctrinate my kid with his ideas? Quote
questor Posted October 15, 2008 Report Posted October 15, 2008 Essay, thanks for the nice compliment. As you may have noticed, I don't get much love on this site. I'll tell you what, why don't you pose a question to methat you want answered and I will do it. I will forego comment on Reason's post, and YES, I do think peaceful civil disobedience has a place in improving society. The goal mentioned was noble and needed to be done. Quote
pgrmdave Posted October 15, 2008 Report Posted October 15, 2008 The people of Chicago, who know him far better than I do, have embraced him as an upstanding member of the community. I'm much more likely to base my thoughts of him on their judgment of him than off of things he did forty years ago. As for the sharing of views - are you denying the possibility that people can serve on boards together and not indoctrinate each other? That simply seems silly, and almost laughable. Quote
REASON Posted October 15, 2008 Report Posted October 15, 2008 Why would I want this man (Ayers) trying to indoctrinate my kid with his ideas? Who said you have to? You seem to be suggesting that because Obama has had aquaintance with Ayers, he therefore subscribes to his educational philosophy, and is destined to force America's children to subscribe to it as well. What, exactly, does Ayers' beliefs have to do with Obama as president. McCain was openly endorsed by the radical fundamentalist religious nut John Hagee, and McCain welcomed his endorsement. Should we believe, therefore, that McCain is going adopt Hagee's foolish notions and force them upon American's children should he become president? McCain has since repudiated Hagee based on some of his nutty comments. But Obama has repudiated Ayers' past transgressions as well. Sarah Palin's husband was a member of the Alaska Independence Party from 1995 to 2002. The AIP was formerly a secessionist party, which has been openly contemptuous of the US Government. It was founded by the rabidly anti-American Joe Volger who was quoted as saying, "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government," before he was murdered in 1993 during an illegal sale of plastic explosives that went bad. Palin attended the 2000 AIP Convention, gave the keynote address at the 2006 convention, and recorded a video greeting for the 2008 convention. If Palin were to become Vice President, and maybe even President, should we be concerned about her and her husband's affiliations with this group as well? Do we want our kids to be indoctrinated into the notion that Alaska should no longer be a part of the USA? Are these real fears we should be having about the candidates, or a distraction from the issues that are truly important to the success of our nation? Quote
Zythryn Posted October 16, 2008 Report Posted October 16, 2008 Why don't you read some information about Ayers teachings and beliefs? It's public record. Good idea (really, no sarcasm, it was a good idea).Here is the first quote Ayers put on his "Teaching" web page on his site describing his teaching concepts:The paradox of education is precisely this—that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he [sic, throughout] is being educated. The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not. To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity. —James BaldwinThe site/page can be found here:Teaching Bill Ayers Sure, I would not have wanted him teaching my kids when he was blowing up bathrooms. But that was many decades ago. I forgave Bush his smoking of MJ when he was young, and tend not to hold things against people that they did 30-40 years ago if they show they have changed.Considering the respect he has in Chicago and the awards received and the work he does, I feel he has changed. Quote
freeztar Posted October 21, 2008 Report Posted October 21, 2008 I'd like to petition to put Rage Against The Machine on the "terrorist list". They are certainly an unruly bunch, and I love them! :D But I learned to burn that bridge and deleteThose who compete...at a level that's obsoleteInstead I warm my hands upon the flames of the flagAs I recall our downfallAnd the business that burned us allSee through the news and the views that twist reality EnoughI call the bluffF**k Manifest destiny Oh, gee golly, I didn't mean to associate you guys with terrorists! :doh::D Quote
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