MetaTalk posts tagged with obama

bad post, good discussion

localhuman — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:14:32 -0800

this is just to say that I thought the deletion of this post was on the whole spot on about the quality of the post, but i still think that the discussion/thread that was generated from the post perhaps was good enough to outshine the fact that the post lacks the due diligence of a metafilter front page post. I have no dogs either way in the deletion of the post, I just liked reading the discussion that followed it, and was disapointed when it came to such an abrubt end. I doubt this me-talk post will change anything but still I'd like to place my grievances here on this nice little web interface just in case any other users perhaps felt the same way.

Firas Alkhateeb profile in the LA Times

anotherpanacea — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:51:18 -0800

The LA Times has followed up with khateeb88. First, it's good to have him speak publically. Second, Brandon Blatcher scooped the LA Times! Ha! He's a history student. His family is Palestinian. He supported Kucinich but didn't vote in the general election. He thinks the socialism caption is wrong:

"It really doesn't make any sense to me at all," he said. "To accuse him of being a socialist is really ... immature. First of all, who said being a socialist is evil?"

Editorial or not?

SeizeTheDay — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:11:28 -0800

How was this post not an editorial? A link to Whitehouse.gov and a below the fold link to Talking Points Memo. This is clearly an important issue, but saul writes in the post: as brought to light by Josh Marshall's indispensable Talking Points Memo and a new site to attempt to counter concerns arising from the various factual distortions, misrepresentations and wild-eyed fears that some participants in the ongoing health care reform debate have loudly been voicing lately. Why are we to assume that Obama's press release is any better at making factual representations? I'm not trying to call out Obama's policy either way. I am suggesting that without more meat in the post, it comes across as just another editorial in favor of Obama's healthcare reform.

"the most dynamic public speaker of our generation"

anastasiav — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:27:34 -0800

Metafilter's own John Hodgman ("the most dynamic public speaker of our generation") headlines at the Radio & Television correspondent's dinner (YouTube: part 1 - part 2).

NOMOBAMA

dersins — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:42:31 -0800

You know what I love? The fact that Obama is now the president of the US. You know what I don't love? The fact that he also appears to be the president of the front page of the blue. As of this writing, the word "Obama" appears on the front page some 14 times, in 7 different posts. I'm as happy as anybody else about this, but enough already. Please.

You vetoed an open inauguration thread but you left this up?

Joe Beese — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:17:27 -0800

You vetoed an open inauguration thread but you left this up? A single link to whitehouse.gov ? Not even a mention of whatever technological issues were involved - just "Hey, look, new face!" ? Explanations welcome.

Raise a toast to Präsident Obama!

foxy_hedgehog — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:12:16 -0800

Wir feiern Obama in Berlin! Come join us. Hi Berliners! I'm gathering with some friends at an as-yet-unnamed bar in Neukölln to celebrate the inauguration. No jumbotron, but live internet transmission and a Bush pinata! Things get started around 16:00 Uhr at Schoenleinstrasse 6 (U-Bahn 8, Schoenleinstrasse Station).

SF Bay Area Inaugural Meetup?

iamkimiam — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:40:16 -0800

Any MeFites want to get together on Tuesday the 20th in the SF bay area and celebrate the day together? Preferably near a media source? And beverages?

Portland, OR Obama Victory Meetup!

velvet winter — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:16:29 -0800

Portland, OR Obama Victory Meetup! Some of us Portland MeFites were otherwise occupied and didn't have much chance to properly celebrate Obama's victory last night, so how 'bout a meetup? Yes, we just had a meetup recently...but this is a special occasion! Last time, several of us found the Deschutes Pub too noisy and crowded for our tastes. Anyone interested in meeting at a coffee shop instead? Or, say, some kind of restaurant that serves alcohol, but isn't really a pub? I'd vote for downtown or NW, but all suggestions are welcome. I'm thinking this Saturday, Nov. 8. I know it's short notice, but I'm ready to celebrate already! All the photos of people weeping with joy and screaming and dancing in the streets are getting to me, and it's hard to keep my mind on work. Anyone want to convene for some revelry?

Inauguration meetup planning inside!

brain cloud — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:52:34 -0800

Hear Ye: Exploratory committee for the formation of an Inauguration Day meetup in/around DC. WHEREAS there are many MeFites in the DC and surrounding area, and WHEREAS these MeFites are likely super happy right now about the election of Barack Obama to President of the United States, and WHEREAS many more MeFites, their families and their friends may be making their way to DC to mark the historic occasion of the inauguration of Barack Obama, I hereby request we start planning a huge meetup for this momentous day. All in favor, say AYE. Disclaimer: I am making this request from far away from the center of activity. I have plane tix and a place to stay for the duration, but have been out of touch w/ the DC scene for long enough that I don't have any great suggestions for a meetup location, especially a spot for a meetup that may potentially be pretty large. Locals, please hope me! I'll do whatever I can from my faraway location to make it happen once we settle on a time and place. Also: If we can somehow assemble as a group for the parade/big moment itself, that would be awesome too, but perhaps a bit more of a challenge to organize.

The Meme Equivalent of Grey Goo: Tomorrow's FPP

WCityMike — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:59:54 -0800

Just out of curiousity, tomorrow, there's going to be about five million, four hundred thousand, six hundred fifty-two attempts to write a "first black President" FPP. Do the mods have any specific plans, or is it going to be whomever jumps the gun first? And are you guys going to be able to enjoy the festivities, or are you going to be too busy deleting everyone's massively respawning dupes? ;-)

Stunty McStuntster

davidmsc — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:58:13 -0800

Yes, this stunt post was a bad idea... ...but I felt it was just in light of the absolutely not-FPP-worthiness of this post. And I knew that mine would likely be deleted. But come on. I'm no newbie. I've been here at MeFi for a long time. I know what's good and what's -filter. And posting a few images - no matter how good they might be - is REALLY stretching "Best Of The Web." Look, I know I'm in the minority here at MeFi. Not liberal. Not Democrat. Not progressive. But I'm not exactly a McCain fan, either. But the level of worship here of The One is astounding. And to be honest - really - I'm OK with that. I know where MeFi stands, mostly. I was just trying to inject a tiny wee-little bit of perspective with my admittedly bad and stunty FPP. And demonstrate how awesomely lame such an FPP is/was/will be. Photo galleries as FPP? Eh. Maybe. But a photo gallery about a politician who is in the public eye as no one before in history (probably), both here and on the TV and on the radio and on blogs and on various filters, nearly every moment of every day, often accompanied by doe-eyed worship, and being photographed more than any other politician ever? Come on.

Smells like Jessamyn Spirit

wfrgms — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:45:30 -0800

Barack Obama's initials are not a smell. The unfettered censorship in this AskMe is so obscene that I feel it warrants this MeTa. jessamyn was first in with a non-answer that basically legitimizes what would otherwise be standard chat filter fare... She writes, "...he smelled like nothing, nothing at all." Seriously, jessamyn? That's your answer? That's the summation of your experience? Please. You're being a hypocrite - you want your own chatty comment to stand, because it's oh so apt with it's cute little linky lead-ins, yet you want to zap all the others. And then in mefi mail you explain that the "he smells like B.O." comment is legit because "B.O." are his initials? For the record, I said that Obama smells like Kevlar... because you know, he's bulletproof... Oh, but that's far, far, more deletion worthy than saying, "he smelled like nothing, nothing at all," or saying he smells like "B.O." Please. Close the thread if it's chat-filter, or delete abusive non-answers, but don't cherry pick the comments you like while censoring those you don't. That's bullshit.

Obama and abortion

davar — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:06:12 -0800

Obama and abortion. Jessamyn said this should be in metatalk, so here it is. There was some discussion in the Palin Straight Talk thread about Obama's stance on treating babies who survive abortions the same as any other babies. Obama repeatedly voted NO on a bill that would do so. His reasoning now is that he felt they would undermine Roe v. Wade, but his reasoning has changed over time and he changed his explanation about what his reasoning was on his webpage. When the subject was brought up again, people argued that it was already debunked. This was not the case. Jessamyn's debunking was: Leaving babies to die is a crime in and of itself. The language used in many of these "partial birth abortion" discussions is not the language of doctors, it's the language of people who want to control doctors. World Net Daily is not a reliable news source. The baby Jill Stanek is highlighting on her blog claiming it was "born alive" post-abortion was from 1977. This is not debunking of an argument. Just because someone has an old picture on her personal website to make her point, does not mean her (recent) testimony (before a court) is invalid!. And just stating "leaving babies to die is a crime" does not make it so, because the exact issue here is "when does a baby become a person". A few other people weighed in, saying things like Now, davar, is there anything else you want to say in defense of allowing anti-abortion extremist busybodys to jam feeding tubes down the throats of nonviable infants, despite the parents' wishes? (jonp72) and If you believe that shit, as I said, you're either disingenuous or easily misled because you're stupid. Or both (fourcheesemac). In the meantime, nobody actually debunked the fact that Obama voted against this bill. People just disagreed with the implications. It is true that in Illinois there already is a law that for abortions where the aborting doctor expects there to be a reasonable chance for sustained survival of the infant, there should be a second doctor present to look after that child. But that was not what this bill was about. This bill was about children who unexpectedly survive an abortion, and were left to die in a utility room or in a trash can. Obama says now that the only reason he voted against the bill was because he was afraid it would undermine current Illinois abortion laws. But he did not say that before (see the factcheck article). In interviews about this, he never reasonably and calmly says that of course he is in favor of this bill, if only it had [insert specific wording here]. He sounds angry and defensive, talks about how burdensome it is to arrange a second doctor, how hard this is for the parents who made a decision to abort. On the question "when does a baby become a person" he answers with the cop-out: "That's above my pay grade". I don't know why people in the thread assume that treating a 23 week old surviving baby the same as a 23 week old stillborn baby means throwing tubes down their throats. Do you do that in the US with 23 week old babies, against the parent's wishes? To me, treating them the same means basically to hold them in your arms and see if you can do anything to alleviate their pain. I already said that I know he means well and I mostly disagree with his interpretation of the threat that this bill would pose, or with the fact that he did not do anything to change the wording of the bill. In fact, he (or his collegues in the IL senate) did make an amendment to the 2003 bill, which was accepted, and after that he (and the collegues) voted against it anyway. He could have proposed an amendment that worked for him. I also understand that it is rare that babies survive abortion and that McCain kills much more babies than Obama. But I still disagree with Obama on this. That does not make me stupid or an anti-abortion-extremist. I agree with much of the points in this article.

MeFites for Obama

one_bean — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:20:44 -0800

Did you know there's a Mefites for Obama group? Over 3,500 calls made, nearly 6,000 blog posts (ah, what we do best), over $10,000 raised! If you're part of the social network that is the Barack Obama campaign, why not come on over and join this little group -- boost those stats, and whatnot. If you're an Obama supporter and haven't done anything for your candidate, why the hell not? Close the Palin thread and make a call or two (it's easy -- you can do it from the website, they give you a script). I'd link the MeFites for ~~Palin~~ McCain group as well, but such a thing doesn't appear to exist.

A trip down MeFimory lane to Obama's 2004 convention speech

Kattullus — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:31:42 -0800

Here's a little trip down memory lane. Obama's 2004 speech at the Democratic convention caught MetaFilter's attention. On July 28th, 2004 there was swift's MeFi post Obama's been lauded (which, in a refreshing change, derailed into a discussion of Canadian politics) and later that same day ronv asked what's more realistic/ which will happen first in the united states: a minority president or a woman president? It's fun to go back and see how opinions and analyses hold up in the harsh light of hindsight. Personally I think kickingtheground hit the ball out of the park in his answer to ronv. If you're interested in Obama's famous address at the 2004 convention there's no better article about it than Chicago Magazine's The Speech.

pre-empting Obamaveepfilter

gauchodaspampas — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:37:03 -0800

Obama is expected to announce his VP choice tomorrow via text message to the masses. Dozens, or perhaps hundreds, even thousands, of mefites will be notified of the selection all at the very same instant. Several of them may want to make the first crappy post on the subject. Shall we let this happen? Up until now, the only guideline regarding crappy news/election/obit-filter is basically "take your time so if you post newsfilter, it's worthwhile". More so than with almost any news in the past, there exists the possibility for a few people all to be racing to be the first to post to metafilter all at once. Newsfilter still isn't banned, so it seems undesirable to just forbid posts on Obama's selection. Time limits before posting have been discussed in the past, and seem like a good solution at least in this case. However, for most news stories it's hard to pin down exactly when a story first breaks. Or perhaps we could come up with a clever one time solution just for this case, and continue with the status quo.

In Our Lifetime

fourcheesemac — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:38:45 -0800

Not sure if (justifiable) politicsfilter objections trump history in the making, but I don't know whether this merits an FPP or not. Hence it seems legit for MetaTalk, even if only to get a moderator to rule on whether we can have what I think will be an FPP comment thread for the ages. But dammit, Barack Obama, the son of a Kenyan immigrant and a Kansas farm girl, is about to be the nominee of the Democratic party for president of the US of Doggone A, and it is a moment worthy of of being marked and reflected upon for many in this community, I am sure, regardless of our political commitments.

Fightin' Obama and the howlin' wingnuts

Artw — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:22:45 -0800

Hmm. I thought the WWII Post/Obama post was interesting and don't see the excessiveness GYOBness. What's that all about?

Should we FPP the Obama speech?

Artw — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:39:35 -0800

Should we FPP the Obama speech? Some debate here. On the one hand it seems like it would be doomed to deletion as we have two open Obama related threads. On the other hand it's a really big deal, and (IMHO) rises above NewsFilter into Best Of The Web because it's such an incredibly good speech. Also those other threads are way below the fold. Thoughts?

A house at the intersection of technology and politics.

markkraft — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:16:27 -0800

So... I was doing some research online regarding the whole Obama/Rezko real estate issue re: Obama's house, the lot next door which Rezko bought, etc. As a result of my research, I have located Obama's house on Google Maps, which actually has overhead and *VERY* zoomable street-level views of the whole area. I've also checked Zillow, which shows all the nearby property prices. This information is new and very revealing, in that it suggests that Obama might have even slightly overpaid for his house, and that Rezko bought a potentially very profitable piece of real estate. But there are some issues involved, as you may have guessed... I could link people to the various maps, street-level views, etc., but the images are very high detail... as in, you can read the nearby licence plates, determine the alarm company, make some determinations as to the nature of the security around the house, etc. I could also put screenshots of the images up on a free host I have access to, taken with the intent of not showing anything that would give away the house's location and potential security, but that might technically be seen as self-linking. I was also planning on adding supporting links and text from Barack Obama's very detailed 13 page Chicago Tribune interview on Rezko that he did over the weekend, but I don't want to be written off as newsfilter or Obamafilter. Alternately, I could post the whole thing to my blog, and see whether anyone else wants to post about it, as I think there are some very revealing and important issues on this story that have to deal with technology, privacy, and the likely private motivations of some very public people. So... what do you think would be the best way to post this original, quite interesting information on MeFi?

DC/VA Obama meet-up?

empath — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:42:59 -0800

Anyone going to the Obama town hall in Alexandria on Sunday? Barack Obama in Alexandria, VA Stand for Change Town Hall with Barack Obama TC Williams High School Gym 3330 King St Alexandria, VA 22302 Sunday, February 10, 2008 Doors Open: 12:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Free tickets can be picked up at either of Obama for America's Northern Virginia offices.Tickets are limited to two per person. Tickets will be available beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Obama for America Falls Church Field Office 6066 Leesburg Pike, 4th Floor Falls Church, VA Open 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Phone: 703-778-6866 Obama for America Falls Church Phone Bank 400 North Washington St, 3rd Floor Falls Church, VA Open 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Phone: 571-297-4590 --- I'm picking up my tickets after work.

MeFi Baracks the vote.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:01:23 -0800

This just in: Metafilter endorses Obama. Is this ad (links here) supposed to be there for logged-in users? I'm not surprised or anything, just thought it was interesting.

Fears for Obama's safety not a reasonable topic?

flotson — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 09:33:06 -0800

This post which raised the issue of fears among some in the African-American electorate that Barack Obama would not be safe as president. The thread was shut down for reasons of WTF. Not exactly sure what the problem was, and I was disappointed, as I had recently heard about this and was hoping the thread would shed some light on the issue. This NYT article would be a good starting point for discussion.

21 months away...

dw — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 18:30:41 -0800

So, if this is election minutiae, is this? And can we assume that a ElectionFilter FPP formulated like this is OK?