Smart as a Whip, Dumb as a Hoe Handle

Special to FreeRepublic ^ | 11 July 2008 | John Armor (Congressman Billybob)

[A'elian' nation]

Hey John/Billybob,

I always look for your pieces on FR too. Thanks for all your contributions.
By the way, I’d add a fourth to your esteemed list - Wes Pruden. He has retired as Washington Times editor, but he still writes his bi-weekly opinions. Love his craftsmanship of words.

[RipSawyer]

“They aren’t black.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

There are exceptions to this, I have known a few truly black people.

[El Gato]

Still a dark brown I suppose but as someone pointed out, we are almost all a shade of brown because we have the same melanin molecule that is the same color, some just have more of it than others.

Except for albinos who have none.

[allmendream]

Yeppers, albinos and some people I have seen whose skin looks so pale you can see the veins beneath because what melanin they do have is few and far between.

The point being that the same genes that make my skin “wop” brown are the same genes that make a black person's skin black. All the genes necessary to make a black skin color are present within the white population (and vice versa), but the chances of it coming about purely by chance are negligible. People from light skinned population just have a higher frequency of “melanin OFF” alleles at those genetic loci, and dark skinned populations have a higher frequency of “melanin ON” alleles at those loci.

[Reily]

I seem to remember it being a diving accident.

[FreedomOfExpression]

[allmendream]

My lab is Dark Chocolate. He is a very good boy who likes to lay on peoples feet. I call it “laying down on the job”.

[FreedomOfExpression]

My lab is Dark Chocolate. He is a very good boy who likes to lay on peoples feet. I call it “laying down on the job”.

I was going to insert a comment to the effect that if we were all considered flavors of chocolate instead of colors, there may not be less comments from the ignorant and the race baiters, but they would probably be a lot more humorous.

BTW, I like Labs. They are very friendly and pretty easy going, from what I've seen.

[jimmango]

Outside of the city of Dallas, he has no credibility.

Even when I lived in Dallas, I didn't think he had much credibility. Based on his logic, I should be offended by the saying "slim pickings". Like I tell my wife ..I'm in shape. Round is a shape. :^)

[Bigun]

Excellent!

I would add Dr. Walter Williams to your list of columnists.

[Publius6961]

That'd be altar, John. =o)

Unless your subtlety escaped me and a < /sarc > tag applies, "alter" is the precisely proper word, Arasina.

[Publius6961]

I was thinking about this today. The entire issue and classification system seem flawed. I don't call myself anything but an American. I never say I'm a white American, or an Irish American, and so on.

This Balkanization of our unique culture (or multiculture) is a trend that will destroy us. But it's not new. A hundred years ago, it was worth commenting on...

"A hyphenated American is not an American at all. This is just as true of the man who puts 'Native' before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance." -- Theodore Roosevelt

[Publius6961]

I like the way you think.

: )

It's as if none of our leadership have even heard of Churchill; or Macchiaveli; or Sun Tzu; or Clausewitz...

[Publius6961]

Those who ACCEPTED his demands for apology should have told him of his error. By not doing so, THEY demonstrated contempt for the language.

I agree totally.
I would only add, "Unless they share his ignorance," which I don't view as far-fetched.

[Congressman Billybob]

Many people have said the same, that Dr. Walter Williams should be fourth on my list. I know and respect Williams, and agree with that suggestion. But the article is published in many places and cannot be conveniently changed, now.

John / Billybob

[Bigun]

“There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americans... The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of it continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities.”

Theodore Roosevelt October 12, 1915

[Publius6961]

Sounds like the old boy was quite opinionated on the subject!
And consistent.

: )

[Bigun]

Not to mention clear as crystal!

;>)

[arasina]

Unless your subtlety escaped me and a < /sarc > tag applies, "alter" is the precisely proper word, Arasina.

You might want to tell Charles Krauthammer that, then. =o)

Hard Power's Soft Landing

This in foreign policy establishment circles is called "hard power." In the Bush years, hard power is terribly out of fashion, seen as a mere obsession of cowboys and neocons. Both in Europe and America, the sophisticates worship at the altar of "soft power" - the use of diplomatic and moral resources to achieve one's ends.

(no sarcasm...just pedantic observation from years of reading)

[DuncanWaring]

robertpaulsen hasn't posted anything since early April.

robertpaulsen got banned in early April.

Someone calling himself "Vincent Freeman" popped up shortly after, making many of the same arguments RP made, but was ultimately also banned.