tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post6263198188347616225..comments2024-03-28T06:42:49.252-05:00Comments on Althouse: New Obama ad criticizes Romney for saying that Obama said "If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen"Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger167125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-24295085974975469292012-07-20T08:16:03.826-05:002012-07-20T08:16:03.826-05:00Of course Obama was talking about roads and bridge...<i>Of course Obama was talking about roads and bridges. But oh well!</i><br /><br />Idiot.<br /><br />The pronoun "it" is singular and refers to a singular antecedent. The antecedent nearest "it" - and the only one that is singular - is <i>business</i>. "It" refers to singular "business", not plural "bridges" and "roads".<br /><br />Apparently, both you and Obamarama are illiterate asswipes.gerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865564381083435425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-26684904834727011882012-07-20T08:11:39.997-05:002012-07-20T08:11:39.997-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.gerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865564381083435425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-26185706421819005292012-07-20T07:39:44.884-05:002012-07-20T07:39:44.884-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.gerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865564381083435425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-6387262727296592352012-07-19T22:31:23.246-05:002012-07-19T22:31:23.246-05:00phx
Basic skills of critical thinking. What has th...phx<br />Basic skills of critical thinking. What has that to do with politics?wyo sishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00985513448269574373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-22238708133294629992012-07-19T22:22:37.919-05:002012-07-19T22:22:37.919-05:00I hope nobody minds this elementary reference. Thi...I hope nobody minds this elementary reference. This is from Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Basic Skills" Hughes & Lavery, found on Google Books.<br /><br />"Thus in any discussion we have a moral obligation to treat our opponents fairly. When they are <br />present, we ought to give them the opportunity to clarify what they have said. When they are not present, we have a moral obligation to follow the principle of charity, that is, to adopt the most charitable interpretation of their words among the possible interpretations suggested by the context. The most charitable interpretation is the one that makes our opponent's views as reasonable, plausible, or defensible as possible. According to the principle of charity, whenever two interpretations are possible, we should always adopt the more reasonable one (unless something in the context suggests that another interpretation is what the person meant."sakredkowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15652250985982301492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-78412573568251475832012-07-19T21:54:39.154-05:002012-07-19T21:54:39.154-05:00I could stipulate that they deliver it in a car th...<i>I could stipulate that they deliver it in a car they manufactured themselves as well, and laugh at their incompetence when they fail to deliver it. But that would be stupid.</i><br /><br />Now that you mention it, modern roads and bridges wouldn't have been built without specialized motor vehicles. So yeah, if the government has a road there, they didn't build it themselves.AndyNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10606619090267041871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-31982180678613240182012-07-19T21:34:30.372-05:002012-07-19T21:34:30.372-05:00No one can challenge my judgment on that. It's...<i>No one can challenge my judgment on that. It's explicitly against the rules.</i><br /><br />I hope you're trying to be ironic.Bob Ellisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10446972838620138676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-29510081896061654612012-07-19T21:32:01.889-05:002012-07-19T21:32:01.889-05:00Regarding the "personhood" of corporatio...Regarding the "personhood" of corporations, the law is clear, no? See: 1 USC § 1 - Words denoting number, gender, and so forth - <i>In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, unless the context indicates otherwise—<br /> <br />words importing the singular include and apply to several persons, parties, or things;<br /> <br />words importing the plural include the singular; <br /><br />words importing the masculine gender include the feminine as well; <br /><br />words used in the present tense include the future as well as the present; <br /><br />the words “insane” and “insane person” and “lunatic” shall include every idiot, lunatic, insane person, and person non compos mentis;<br /> <br />the words “person” and “whoever” include corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as well as individuals;<br /> <br />“officer” includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office;<br /> <br />“signature” or “subscription” includes a mark when the person making the same intended it as such;<br /> <br />“oath” includes affirmation, and “sworn” includes affirmed; <br /><br />“writing” includes printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by photographing, multigraphing, mimeographing, manifolding, or otherwise. </i>SC Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00495164349378358991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-55664446321103082912012-07-19T21:10:05.297-05:002012-07-19T21:10:05.297-05:00Garage, Obama's biggest problem with all his r...Garage, Obama's biggest problem with all his recent blunders is he's actually making me <b>like</b> Romney. <br /><br />Honestly? As the pressure rises, I expect Obama to screw up more and more. The part of me that has come to loathe Obama takes pleasure in this. The part of me that nonetheless understands he's still President of the United States isn't at all happy. A President can do real damage when sloppy.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05900300303751364008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-61465324469284768232012-07-19T20:15:06.597-05:002012-07-19T20:15:06.597-05:00There were roads and bridges before there was an i...There were roads and bridges before there was an income tax. How can that have happened? There were militias before there was a federal government. Militias that kept the peace, the maurader at bay. How?Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08258681007386089907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-56300113020055439202012-07-19T19:06:39.326-05:002012-07-19T19:06:39.326-05:00Isn't it odd that the Elizabeth Warren stateme...Isn't it odd that the Elizabeth Warren statement of individuals being successful is only on the back of government largess and without them success of businesses wouldn't be possible? So, now it's being attributed to Urkel making a gaffe, a mistake that Romney is now pouncing on, yet Romney is saying that the success or failure of the government is built on the back of all of us. What Urkel and Warren mistake is that government is its own entity that doles out success via it's legislation, regulation, and entitlement. We little people clasp our hands in wanton hope that government can throw us a dash of success as well.<br /><br />These are the fools that need to die in a fire and today. My success is due to me and my tax money. The roads that were built, the infrastructure that was built was all done on the collective success of sovereign individuals and their tax dollars that government re-purposes for itself. It's still our money, hence, it's still our success and government had zero to do with that.Methadrashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07828014989470539375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-2410231060532768122012-07-19T18:52:19.674-05:002012-07-19T18:52:19.674-05:00garage mahal said...
I don't think what he sa...<i>garage mahal said...<br /><br />I don't think what he said *was* a gaffe. It was pretty obvious what he was talking about.</i><br /><br />Hey silly sputter, you're left arguing either that the "<i>smartest man ever to be president</i>" doesn't understand the basic rules of grammar ("that" cannot refer to "roads and bridges" because "that" is singular (as is "business") and "roads and bridges" is plural) or that he meant exactly what his critics say he meant.<br /><br />So is Obama stupid or what?Brian Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01772632205321099314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-86141117090801441422012-07-19T18:29:38.192-05:002012-07-19T18:29:38.192-05:00"When I lived in the Philippines, I learned t..."When I lived in the Philippines, I learned that there was a common idea there it was pure luck that you had something that somebody else didn't have;"<br /><br />Interesting, especially since I would guess that those who don't share this assumption are among the massive amount of Filipinos who have emigrated to the United States, and once here express the Asian-American drive for success. <br /><br />I'm actually not kidding about that. I've long thought that we don't get a random selection of immigrants from any country, but that the people who immigrate tend to do so out of a shared drive.Paddy Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10442537362540160512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-55261472408514707142012-07-19T18:01:01.225-05:002012-07-19T18:01:01.225-05:00No one else built those roads except the road comp...<i>No one else built those roads except the road company. Using that same logic only the road construction company can claim success by using the roads.</i><br /><br />I've been thinking that the road-building and bridge-building companies should be most pissed off of all. Why is Obama taking public, collective credit for the work of <i>those</i> business owners?<br /><br />Of course, if they're privately owned and run, Obama would tell <i>them</i> that they can't run their business without the payroll-accounting software they purchased, which is tuned to the tax rules the software company derived from the government's laws. Which makes the whole thing vacuous.<br /><br /><i>It still shows that Obama doesn't think the business owner is responsible for his success. By extending that logic it is impossible for an individual to have success.</i><br /><br />Unless they cheat, of course, which is the sub-text of the whole speech and campaign.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00523149944531670559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-71086236229134344452012-07-19T17:55:13.299-05:002012-07-19T17:55:13.299-05:00When I lived in the Philippines, I learned that th...When I lived in the Philippines, I learned that there was a common idea there it was pure luck that you had something that somebody else didn't have; therefore they had as much right to what you had as you did. That's a great philosophy for Malay Pirates, who most people in the Philippines are descended from. But, it also means that anyone who can afford it hires security guards to guard their house. Basically, this is a third-world idea, which is where Obama really came from.ken in txhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14345764031059905578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-65945718655384193752012-07-19T17:49:11.186-05:002012-07-19T17:49:11.186-05:00Even if what Ann can contort his meaning to i.e. Y...Even if what Ann can contort his meaning to i.e. You didn't build those roads or bridges, it doesn't help Obama. That is a complete non-sequiter.<br /><br />No one else built those roads except the road company. Using that same logic only the road construction company can claim success by using the roads.<br /><br />It still shows that Obama doesn't think the business owner is responsible for his success. By extending that logic it is impossible for an individual to have success.<br /><br />Collectivism at it's finest.brainpimphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15930482429132651304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-58697289710364861802012-07-19T17:24:46.482-05:002012-07-19T17:24:46.482-05:00And that phrase is an internet buzzing, t-shirt se...<i>And that phrase is an internet buzzing, t-shirt selling, liberty affronting gaffe that is sweeping the country</i><br /><br />Whatever you say, Calypso. Maybe I need to get out more.garage mahalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06485491995866513686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-63920263977368159632012-07-19T17:20:06.332-05:002012-07-19T17:20:06.332-05:00"I have said repeatedly that the core idea is..."I have said repeatedly that the core idea is actually a shared belief. But there is a problem with a govt official lecturing people about this. It's one thing for a business owner to say: I couldn't have done this on my own. I own my success to my parents, my wife, to this community, to my church, and to the grace of God. <br /><br />It's another thing for govt officials to butt in and tell you you haven't accomplished your own accomplishments. But it's not even them telling you that. They're saying it to another crowd, to the people who are supposed for feel unsuccessful, trying to make them feel entitled to wealth redistribution, as carried out by the government official who is making the speech.<br /><br />That's the problem!"<br /><br />Concur. Well said.David R. Grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16416692639208634879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-89080544749007284602012-07-19T17:14:10.695-05:002012-07-19T17:14:10.695-05:00Obama is quite good, as are other highly accomplis...Obama is quite good, as are other highly accomplished lefty politicians, at putting in enough weasal words that they get away with the far left beliefs. Here, Obama tried to do the same thing. I think he honestly was saying the business owner did not build the roads and bridges, but he did not make it clear in his bad sentence. If he would have just said the business owner did not build the roads and bridges, he would be fine. He got too amped up and just said did not built that in a way that sounded like he did not build the business. What I can't understand is why he did not quickly explain what "that" meant. It may now be too late to effectively explain.Kansas Cityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16630367629067743935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-50123621086859651242012-07-19T17:07:21.680-05:002012-07-19T17:07:21.680-05:00While we're on the topic of the "Roads an...While we're on the topic of the "Roads and Bridges" defense, and how that's what the government does best:<br /><br />Golden Gate Bridge: finished under budget using private equity and non-union labor, even and despite delay and obstruction from federal government.<br /><br />SF-Oakland Bay Bridge: 25 years after Loma Prieta earthquake new section is almost half way across the Bay (exciting!!!!) and causing daily traffic delays on old section. Nobody even mentions about the budget anymore it's such a work of fiction. (Unlike the shovel-ready "budget" for the Jerry Brown Memorial slow train to nowhere that will never be built.)Amartelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11636450794507517534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-30809171272687584202012-07-19T17:06:29.857-05:002012-07-19T17:06:29.857-05:00Obama said: If you were successful, somebody along...Obama said: <i>If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. <b>Somebody invested in roads and bridges.</b> If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. <b>The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet</b> so that all the companies could make money off the Internet. The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.</i> [emphasis added]<br /><br />If Republicans wanted to show up Democrats, they could point out the <i>military</i> orgins of those wonderful Government endeavors, <i>viz</i>., <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET" rel="nofollow">ARPANET</a> and Eisenhower's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System" rel="nofollow">Interstate Highway System</a>. Defense Department initiatives were always the bain of Democrats, so I suppose this wouldn't be playing "fair."chickelithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10773887469972534979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-19388615945139869092012-07-19T17:03:30.183-05:002012-07-19T17:03:30.183-05:00I've always wondered why lefties don't sli...<i>I've always wondered why lefties don't slip up more.</i><br /><br />They do. But some slip-ups, even a totally in-the-bag media can't keep quiet or paper over. They're trying, even in this case, bless their hearts they're trying, but they can't get this genie back in the bottle.Rocketeerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05277758566013062712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-24072495021354449102012-07-19T17:02:31.580-05:002012-07-19T17:02:31.580-05:00Reason had a nice take on this: http://reason.com/...Reason had a nice take on this: http://reason.com/blog/2012/07/18/how-you-didnt-build-that-became-he-didntCharlie Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586506407851173416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-65045021440944248032012-07-19T17:00:39.779-05:002012-07-19T17:00:39.779-05:00Obama was mostly saying something we agree about
...<i>Obama was mostly saying something we agree about</i><br /><br />No he wasn't. "No man is an island, so help me take more money from those people over there" is ridiculous and disturbingly left-wing.bgateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14094313567630214207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-72856098710828859912012-07-19T17:00:22.598-05:002012-07-19T17:00:22.598-05:00Garage: It does not change the meaning. The full ...Garage: <i>It does not change the meaning. The full quote is just as damning.</i><br /><br />Really, Obama acted stupidly, and he's gonna pay for it in at least 57 states, maybe one more.<br /><br />I guess the upside is at least he'll finally be able to enjoy that waffle.Rocketeerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05277758566013062712noreply@blogger.com