The Sage Garden

[morgieb]

What is sage?

One of Snowstalker's classes at high school is called sage class - a 'stupid name' for the Gifted & Talented students.

I think Snowstalker makes a lot of edgy posts and appears a self-parody which leads to his posts being described as sage. Ask oakvale or Hashemite or someone.

[morgieb]

The favorite of the forum Democrats (and real Democrats to an even greater extent) in 2016 seems to be former First Lady/CarpetbaggerSenator/Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Given her name recognition and the fact that she's admittedly done a good enough job as SoS, this current frontrunner status is natural. A lot could change over four years, but it seems likely that she will be in the public eye of speculation for at least the next two years (if she chooses not to run).

I've made it apparent before, but I do not support Hillary Clinton. Though Obama was at least perceived as a progressive and may yet move a little left in his second term, Clinton seems to be fairly "moderate" on domestic policy. If her husband is any indication (plus, you know, the 2008 campaign), she's at best a centrist and at worst a mainstream European conservative. In an effort to counter the crypto-fascist trend of the Republican Party since Reagan, Democratic politicians including Gary Hart and the Clintons have advocated retaining (or doubling down on) cultural liberalism while moving towards a neoliberal economic position.

Though big money has done a good job hiding it, the new attitude of unrestricted free trade, austerity, deregulation, and privatization has fundamentally failed, yet the Democratic Party has failed to move towards sensible leftism on anything besides same-sex marriage and possibly immigration. Obama is being tarnished as a "socialist" at the bare minimum for being marginally to the left of Bill and Hillary.

I will concede that Hillary Clinton would not really be different from Obama in terms of her policy as hypothetical president. If she's the nominee, I'd probably vote for her, and she'd probably be at least an okay president. So what really got me mad? Her supporters. In the forum, in the media (I could make a second rant about how all the liberal talking heads, even the so-called "progressives", are shilling her as much as possible and failing to talk to any Democrat who isn't also on board), and with most of the Democrats I meet. Every other new topic in the 2016 boards is about her.

When anyone, Democratic, Republican, or Independent, says anything remotely negative, they're faced with a swarm of mindless drones, many of whom probably viscerally opposed Hillary's 2008 run (for good reason). The enthusiasm of their support when Obama's second term has just started really reminds me of the hordes of Ron Paul supporters we thankfully won't have to deal with again.

My advice to the Clintards? Before mindlessly jumping on the bandwagon that the voice on the TV is telling you to jump on, take a good look at Hillary's record in the Senate, her statements during the 2008 campaign (also remember that her campaign was the first to dig up the birther crap). If you're still a Hillary supporter, then at least you have something to back it up with.

The first known sage from our Dear Leader.

It's a shame he deleted his 'new ideology' post.

[morgieb]

http://pastebin.com/i5qqBjJ3 for the sagest post out.

[morgieb]

Another victory for the international financiers and another blow to the Mexican worker and farmer.

Given that the sitting president of Mexico is literally a murderer (seriously look it up) and almost certainly a cartel puppet, also utterly unsurprising.

[morgieb]

An oldie but a goodie. Not really 'intellectual' but still edgy. Context required.

Decades of Northern Aggression.

[morgieb]

Neither; anyone who likes either is a supporter of murder and torture.

[morgieb]

Being liberated from the shackles of social norms and tradition isn't easy for others to accept! I think posters here may underestimate how radical I am in spite of the PM scores.

[morgieb]

Wow. I think Snowstalker has been outsaged. Well done.

[morgieb]

Better GOP dominance than dominance by the current Democratic Party, which on the one hand manages to silence opposition from progressives to it enacting a neoliberal agenda. The Obama administration is a far more reactionary one than even the Bush administration, with the deterioration of the social safety net proceeding at full speed under Obama, as well as the continued obliteration of human rights in the face of a now larger and more powerful (as well as legally sanctioned - Thanks Obama!) national security state. Obama has governed markedly to the right of Bush throughout his tenure. A Democratic Party in his image is a danger to literally every progressive, and should not be welcomed or supported with open arms, as it's primary goal is the implementation of neoliberal policy outcomes with a 'progressive' veneer.

[morgieb]

The brutal silencing of enemies of the regime--not even for violations of the TOS--sets an awful precedent which will surely spiral into more executions of those who displease the powerful. I fear for my own survival on this forum.

[morgieb]

It will come, but not over Crimea. Hopefully it will be the class war.

[morgieb]

Involved in at least one presidential assassination and one attempted assassination.