I enjoy the quote-taken-out-of-context-to-make-the-opposition-look-stupid tactic as much as the next partisan--indeed, who doesn't?--but to put your critique in context, consider:
1. The context of Palin's remark was budget discipline, and it was clearly intended to be a crowd laugh-maker regarding Obama's proposed spending increases rather than a serious statement of her beliefs about the value of scientific research. I could find hundreds of examples at Obama rallies of silly things he says to make the crowd chuckle at republican expense, things which, if we take them too seriously, would lead us to conclude he's dumber than he really is. On the other hand I could find things he says in all seriousness that ought to make us very afraid -- things like his comment that we need a civilian national security apparatus as strong and well funded as our military. Egads, ever here of the KGB? 2. At a time when the economy is struggling because of federal negligence and meddling in the housing market, the fruit fly budget line item was not picked because she is stupidly against "science", but because it sure sounds like a stupid thing for the federal government to be spending money on right now. Even Mccain proposes curtailing military spending--but so far Obama has not indicated a single program his "scalpel" will target outside of the military. We all (those of us who know what he's really planning to do) know that he plans to put the hatchet down on our armed services--but wither the scalpel? Why not here, in a Parisian fruit-fly paradise of academe? If not here, what do we mean by "sacrifice"? 3. If you want to argue in a time of war that the fruit fly research is more urgently a top spending priority of the federal government than winning the war and shoring up the capital markets, then by all means, come out and say so. Obama has wandered far and wide in his public promises from his earlier private claims to more radical constituencies to want to gut military spending, so that he might sound more palatable to a center-right electorate primed for "change". But we all know he wants to pay for most of his robbing-peter-to-pay-pedro-and-tupac social programs at the expense of our national security infrastructure and capital markets. Who is the stupid one? Well it looks like we'll find out the hard way, if the polls are right. - Bob > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Ed Leafe > Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2008 1:38 PM > To: ProFox Email List > Subject: Re: [OT] Countdown: Palin Wants To Help Special Needs Kids By > Doing Away With Science > > On Oct 26, 2008, at 12:22 PM, Helio Wakasugui wrote: > > > What an ignorant person Sarah Palin is. Her level of stupidity is > > astonishing. > > > I especially like the comments to that article, claiming that > criticizing Palin for her actual words and deeds is somehow > "prejudice". Obviously ignorants attract. > > > -- Ed Leafe > > > > > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
