April 04, 2010

Answers

Why does Barack Obama have so many who can be legitimately called Marxists in his orbit?

This has been a very difficult question to answer correctly, because it can very easily devolve into assuming I can peer into a man's soul to question his motives and I am loathe to do that. I must admit that this is pop psychology conjecture on my part, but I believe it is because it is what he knows and reflects the environments he grew up in. Many of these environments were from his childhood and he had little control over that, but as he grew into manhood he seemed to continue to seek out similar people with similar backgrounds rather than disassociating himself from people who frankly don't hold the same beliefs about America, human nature, or liberty that I have.

A music teacher once told me that we like what we know. Here is what we do know about the environments and influences on Barack Obama as he grew up. From his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, who he has stated is his core influence and whose life story reads as someone who desperately wanted to be something she wasn't; to his father, Barack Obama, Sr., a post-colonial socialist whom he never knew and rarely met but oddly projects onto in his biographies; to his comfortably leftist grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, who he lived with from the age of ten while his mother studied and worked in Indonesia and who introduced young Barack to Frank Marshall Davis who is a real piece of work (communist and author of a novel glamorizing child molestation); to his time at Occidental College, Columia University, and Harvard Law School, of which we know very little because Barack Obama refuses to open the records on these periods in his life, necessarily leaving the door somewhat ajar for wild conjectures by those inclined to do so; to his wife, Michelle Obama, whose hostility to her native country was epitomized by her famously saying in 2008, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country;" to his minister, Jeremiah Wright, whose racism and anti-Americanism has been thoroughly documented; to his alliances with ACORN; to political and social connections in Chicago with the communist terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn; well, as I wrote earlier, it is what he knows and seemingly is comfortable with.

A more compact and vicious version of this that frankly does question motives by Spengler can be found in the last paragraph here. John Podhoretz composed a rather hostile response to Spengler. And as Jonah Goldberg says, Michael Ledeen moderates here. Finally, Joseph Bottum asks, can't we all (on the right) just get along?

Now that the McNabb detractors in Philly got what they wanted, will the Eagles finally get over the hump and win a SuperBowl in the new "Kevin Kolb era"; or will this move simply highlight the lack of supporting cast a pro-bowl caliber QB (McNabb)had surrounding him all those years.

No and no. I won't argue that trading McNabb was the wrong thing to do. This is analagous to the situation Green Bay faced a couple of years ago with Bret Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, the Cowboys are getting better faster than the Eagles in the NFC East, the Giants remain only two years removed from beating the juggernaut New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, and who knows, maybe Mike Shanahan will be able to keep Dan Snyder at bay long enough to take advantage of the talent that Washington does have before he wears out his welcome in four, no, make that three years. It was unlikely the Eagles were going to win a Super Bowl with Donovan McNabb or Kevin Kolb. It is true that Donovan McNabb was long underappreciated by the fans of Philadelphia and while they will miss him they will also be pleaseed with Kevin Kolb, at least until the next QB in waiting shows up on the Eagles bench. Before Jay Cutler arrived I kept hoping Donovan McNabb would end up in Chicago, but that isn't going to happen now.

Will the Congress and Administration succeed in enacting a VAT (Value Added Tax) this year to pay for (a portion of) ObamaCare?

Only if they act before the 112th Congress is sworn in.

ANSWER REVISION

Will C.J. Spiller be the first RB drafted?

Probably not. In fact, I doubt that he will be the second running back drafted. The first two running backs drafted will probably be Ryan Mathews and Jahvid Best, unless Jerry Jones somehow gets a top ten draft pick in the next week and decides he need another Felix Jones type of player to back up Felix Jones. As to which of those rookie running backs would be the best fantasy pickup will depend a lot on who takes them. I just know that I am feeling good about heading into next season with Michael Turner, Rashard Mendenhall and LeSean McCoy as my top three running backs, especially with the latter two each taking over the starting job a year earlier than I expected.

Posted by Charles Austin at April 4, 2010 08:55 PM
Comments

That was an entertaining roundup, starting with Spengler. Thanks.

Posted by: Scott at 08:07 PM
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