Inviting Ahmadinajad to Columbia was beyond stupid

[pscot]

It's like dumping a can of gasoline on a fire; absolutely guaranteed to singe the hair off anybody who gets near it. It gives the repukes an excuse to beat up on pointyheaded liberal elitists, while the Democrats fall all over themselves running around frantically looking for somebody to surrender to. It will widen an already dangerous breach between us and the Iranians and inflame the public in both nations. And it will provide endless fodder for Islamic extremists and neo-con propagandists. I hope the soon to be erstwhile president of Columbia has plenty of foundation directorships to fall back on, because his next gig in higher ed is likely to be at Slippery Rock Community College.

[trumad]

1. LOL

That's America pal... It's called free fucking speech and if you don't like it...move to fucking Iran.

[Cleita]

4. So true.

I'm sick of censorship like what we had to endure during the cold war when all things Russian were banned from the USA even Russian movies. Although I used to see Russian movies all the time in South America, it wasn't until the late fifties that we were able to get any here.

[Atman]

5. I like the quote I heard on CSPAN earlier...

"I want to hear what they have to say before I'm told to disagree with them."

.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

21. perfect statement! nt

[WillyT]

35. Absolutely Perfect !!!

As George Carlin says:

"I have this 'bad' habit, I like to THINK!"

For myself!

:shrug:

[redqueen]

11. ...

:hi:

[trumad]

15. Hi back Red...

[Breeze54]

2. I'm happy to hear his answers and

as Trumad said, it's free speech! This is America!

[TwilightGardener]

3. Huh? What is wrong with letting the people of this country see this man

and his bullshit for ourselves? We are a better country than that--I think we can handle it. And, WTF about "Dems looking for somebody to surrender to"?

[trumad]

6. Damn right===

unfortunately this country has thought police too and proven by the OP.

[eShirl]

14. my husband and I are here LOFAO listening to him spout his bullshit

It's reminiscent of listening to Cheney.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

18. you must be watching a different person.

I am not hearing bullshit

[eShirl]

22. you forgot the sarcasm tag...

[cali]

23. Really? So "there aren't any homosexuals in Iran" isn't

bullshit? You must have a high tolerance for bullshit.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

25. learned from our leadership.

[eShirl]

30. OK maybe I was wrong... do they execute gays in Iran? n/t

[ChairmanAgnostic]

32. Do Dobson, AFA, and others wish to

make homosexuality, abortion, etc a crime worthy of jail or worse?

[cali]

36. Probably, but it doesn't actually happen here

Big difference. Very big.

[eShirl]

43. probably. Do you have a point?

[piesRsquare]

38. Yes. Big time.

http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/iran/iran.htm

[ROakes1019]

27. agree

I am hearing a reasonable, educated man talk diplomatically, more than can be said for his distractors.

[MADem]

7. No, it wasn't. It gave intelligent people an opportunity to challenge him.

It gives FauxSnoozers an opportunity to get all 'exorcised' over nuttin', though. That's what they seem to do best, lately. They can't handle dissent, so they dissent about it--it's the Murdoch way!

[Taverner]

8. Personally, I think the GOP went about this all wrong

Now, if anyone had any balls, they'd call on the GOP and their attacks on Freedom of Speech.

The GOP, and the entire anti-Iran crowd COULD have made no beef with him coming here, and secretly buy tickets and then call Ahmadinajad on every stupid thing he's said.

Start off with "What did you mean by wipe Israel off the map?" "Why are you killing Jews and Christians in Iran?" and of course "When do you plan to invade Iraq?"

Think, people, think :)

[lligrd]

42. You Forgot, Why Do You Hate America? nt

[LakeSamish706]

9. Not trying to pick a fight, but.....

On the other side of the coin, I personally don't see anything wrong with it....
He is a democratically elected head of state, like it or not.. Just like the "dim whit" that sits in the WH. Hell, he travels where he wants to go, so why not Ahmadinajad?

[MADem]

24. He's not democratically elected...you're forgetting the boatloads of

candidates culled from the preliminary selection process by the Guardians!!! He was chosen by them, and touted by them, and they ensured he was the one who was gonna get the slot. Karl Rove is a piker compared to the voter supression/caging tactics used by the Guardian Council and their loyal minions populating the mosques throughout Iran.

He's about as Democratically Elected as Saddam was. They just attached a lot more fanfare and fake sincerity to the process.

That said, I say let's hear from the asshole!!! By their own foolish words we shall know them.

[LakeSamish706]

26. How about, he's as Democratically elected as your current guy in the WH?

[MADem]

44. Well, no. That's not correct, either.

We have more than one Ayatullah picking our party slates.

And, we had to wait until the General election for the vote rigging/voter suppression-caging to happen in earnest.

[emilyg]

45. I agree with you.

[lpbk2713]

10. It's not about agreeing with him or his philosophy.

It's about hearing what he has to say.

[radiclib]

12. Only if you play by their rules and surrender to fear

In this case, fear of FREE SPEECH x(

[babylonsister]

13. Oh, please. What's wrong with a conversation? I'd like to see * in a

venue such as this, without hand-selected audience members, to get a similar grilling. I don't believe I've EVER seen that.
This is America, and prior to this admin, this wasn't such an unusual event. The hatemongering of this bunch has made it so, as has their lack of the use of any kind of valid diplomacy. Whether anyone agrees or disagrees with what Ahmadinejad is saying, I think Columbia did the right thing.

And while I'm at it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1891000

[Zandor]

16. K & R

[ChairmanAgnostic]

17. No, I think your position is stupid

I'll bet you aren't even hearing this guy.

He explained his reason for wanting to visit the 9/11 site, and is earning applause for it.

being closed-minded, putting one's head in the sand is just what Bush would do, not what a rational thinking person would want to do with someone with whom we disagree.

[stillcool]

19. I think the big no-no...

is the fact that he puts Bush to shame in his ability to speak the English language.

[babylonsister]

28. LOL! Even when he's speaking Persian, or whatever the name of the

Iranian language he's speaking is! :rofl:

[stillcool]

33. er...ahm...er...

umm..well..hmmm..you see...what was the question?

[leftofthedial]

20. yeah, last thing any of us wants

is dialog with the bush cabal's next "hitler"

[mark414]

29. everybody deserves a chance to be heard

is basically what it boils down to...fairly simple, really.

[Cleita]

31. Look, how much fun we would have missed if they hadn't

invited him.

[FreepFryer]

34. Threatening to disallow him from speaking would have been far stupider.

Bad ideas need to be heard to be rejected. Bad leaders need to be understood to be defeated.

Columbia did the right thing, and the conservative outcry is both expected and (typically) Anti-American at its core.

[Skidmore]

37. It gave Evil Dick and the Neoconettes a reaon to

form an Iran War Conga Line. Proceed with beating the drums.

[piesRsquare]

41. LOL! n/t

[Green Mountain Dem]

39. Why are we...

so uncomfortable listening to the view of others, no matter how "whacked" we think they are, I just don't understand this attitude!!
I have a 30yr old "mentally challenged" daughter and am constantly amazed at the reaction of others when she expresses her opinion on a variety of issues..it is usually immediately dismissed because no one considers that she really does have a grasp of things, but has difficulty expressing her feelings. I have probably influenced her outlook on how she views the world, but as Sally Field tried to say, if she ruled the world there would be no more goddamn wars!

The realty of it is that we are so fucked that I am at wit's end in trying to explain to her what is happening...and what is about to happen!
My 63 yrs have failed to give me the knowledge and wisdom to assure her that her life will be so much better than mine, because as I see it, she will be faced with challenges that I have never even come close to facing and have no idea how to advise her.

I only hope my sig line will be her future!

Edit...Meant to post on separate thread...sorry!

[devilgrrl]

40. Fine. Move to Saudi Arabia if you don't like it.

:eyes:

[goodgd_yall]

46. I don't think any of the dire things you suggest will happen

It was a good thing to have Ahmadinejad speak and be challenged.