Yes I left the site, but holy fuck Booman, you have totally jumped the shark with this post. Wishing that a 5000 lb would hit his children? Insisting that history's most tolerant and forgiving religious people would "bitch slap" him?

Wow. Unbelievable.

I've wished Cheney a heart attack more than once this week as for Bush, I'll spare you the gory details. Bad thoughts don't kill kids, American made bombs do.

Oh Dear Gods...that is what we face.  I cry for every life lost and for every dream shattered.  As I watch this travesty unfold, I just cringe in horror.  And as I hear more and more people say, "well, that's war" and "one more future terrorist bites the dust", I just lose faith in America and the human race.

"For the love of God, Monseignor", make it stop.

Yuck. That's an ugly post. Dershowitz really is scum and, ironically, using the exact same logic that supporters of terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians use - that is opinions that he seems to believe make you a fit candidate for getting blown up. But nobody deserves to be killed for their opinions, and to suggest their children do is beyond the pale.  

What I'd like would be for someone could go through his scholarly work with a fine tooth comb like people did with Ward Churchill to see if there are any grounds for firing him.

Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but I doubt the litany of people you mentioned at the end of your post would have an iota of agreement with your first sentence.  Just a hunch.

We are condemned to kill time, thus we die bit by bit - Octavio Paz / Latino Político

Booman will not smite. He has no bombs to drop on peoples' children and never will (other than his share of those funded by Our Tax Dollars).Yes it's a nasty little diary but I believe he's: 1)too angry to write straight,a state I recognize well, and/or 2) saying that Dershowitz couldn't figure out what's going on unless his own kin was under the bomb. I'm of the opinion that even that wouldn't work.
I often rant about wanting bad things to happen to bad people despite my loving nature. Why? Because I'm often an idiot as are most humans. Fortunately it's just words, just the venting of a pained heart.

'soup

NO children EVER deserve to be hit by bombs.

I feel bitch slapped... just seeing this on the front page of Booman Trib.

ONward!

Slightly over the top ol Boo yet I have to admit that you have obviously stirred up a hornets nest. Well, I think that possibly that's agood thing for all.
 I think that given the corporate lock on the media, acts such as this are the only way that the progressive point of view will ever have a chance of being heard. Granted that there are no justifications for the killing of children and there is no way that you or anyone else can justify that wish, the responses to your post may well contain the kernal of some successful ideas.
I do think however that these acts and statements may well have to get even more radical cause the bastards in control have zero scruples and they know that if they lose control of either house or both houses, the sht will hit the fan.

Booman's primal scream of rage, and pain, and frustration is really ugly to face and completely predictable. He's a good man in the troes of horrible feelings.

Situations of war, violence, and hatred nearly inevitably trigger a violent, hateful reaction.  This, in turn, triggers more of the same. The circle goes on and on and on.

I hate seeing this diary, but I do understand it.

Yesterday at work, some orthodox Jews came in. I treated them courteously and gave them them best customer service I could.  But when they left, I found my hands trembling with rage. I was having a horrible, hateful reaction to people I did not know at all. I don't know how they conduct their lives, who they vote for, what they teach their kids. So there I was, little Miss Peace and Love, trembling in rage at people I didn't even know.  It was a humbling experience and made me realize that despite my self-righteousness, I have a long way to go to promoting the causes of peace.

If you want things to get better, be prepared to deal with change.

When we become that which we are fighting...
then that which we are fighting has won.












I didn't post this diary as a response - as I hadn't read this FP entry when I submitted it - but it might well serve as one.  I understand the reaction, but this FP post is full of heat, when it could have shed light.  A missed opportunity.

Join Soulforce-seeking Justice for God's GLBT children.

Alan Dershowitz's children should be hit by a 5000 lb. bomb made by an American military-industrial corporation, sold to Israel, and misfired into his home.

I know we all have our differences here, but I thought children being hit by bombs was something we were all against.

Don't let them suck you down to their level, Boo.  You're better than that.

Nothing wrong with being angry; we all are.  Might I suggest a trip to the beach, a banana split, or a roll in the hay?  Blow off some steam and treat yourself.  No more talk of killing kids.  Not cool.

Also not cool: "bitch-slap."  

Go buy a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and give them to the first elderly lady you see.  You'll both feel better and it'll repair your karma a bit.  

I just pulled a book off the shelf that I read a few years ago - "Revenge - a story of hope" by Laura Blumenfeld. She's Jewish American and her father was shot (although not killed) in Israel by a Palestinian named Omar, who was caught and put in prison.

In the book she goes to the middle east on a pilgrimage to learn how she can get revenge. She meets Omar's family posing as a journalist and develops a close relationship with them. In the end, she testifies at his trial asking for his release from prison after getting a promise from him to never hurt anyone again. Here's what she wrote:

"Transformation was the word I had written on the scrap of paper.... the shooter - my symbol of evil - could be good. But it would take a radical act, something impossibly optimistic, to transform him. That act would leave me vulnerable, and possibly the fool. It would be riskier than anything I had done so far, but my mother's faith in the goodness of people gave me the courage to try."

She never ONCE gave an inch on the immorality of what Omar had done. But she made herself vulnerable and risked being the fool for the possibility of transformation.

I hope this doesn't come off as sounding "preachy." I'm honestly trying to sort out my feelings in thinking about different responses to outrage, revenge, and the possibilities for peace.


Doesn't information itself have a liberal bias? Steven Colbert

.

A bit OT when I googled for ADL and Dershowitz :: ADL Smear Campaign

I suppose by shelling the Gaza beach, Dershowitz would argue as permissable pre-emption. These civilian deaths are of less value, as there is a likelyhood that in the near future these Palestinian children will use their democratic right to cast a vote for Hamas. By its nature this would place them in abating terrorism and the destruction of the state of Israel. Pre-emption is the way to go. Go Bush Go Condi - have you not a position on Gonzalez' team to permit torture?

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY

Booman, Alan really pissed in your beer. I understand the frustration, and certainly do not understand the non-action of the rest of the world on this clear cut violation of the Geneva Conventions. Does someone have to attack a "white" country in order for a rebuke. WTF!
Add me to the biatch slap list. Sheesh.

Don't tread on me

Well said, I empathise with your antipathy. Dershowitz and his ilk should have to register as agents of a foreign government. Our regime's support for Israeli intransegence, our financial backing and supply line is a travesty of epic proportions. We are all made culpable for the actions and support of our government.

We as responsible citizens need to organize and demand an end to this madness.

Yet another example of lefty insanity - expect a visit from the secret service.  Remember there's a double standard in political debate in this country - the right wing can be as vitriolic as they want and threaten actual violence and they're simply participating in political discourse (just ask Karl).

On the other hand, expect this post to live in infamy as an example of the out of control, hate mongering, anti-semitic left wing...

Guess it's also a question of whether you want to blog to people who know you and know what you mean vs people that are new or don't necessarily agree with everything you say...  For some of them it will be over the top and you'll lose them, which is a pity.  You're talented enough to express your rage without turning people off with what some would consider over the top (not jumping the shark)...

 Lamont supports Israel, I eagerly await you denouncing him as a killer and bitch-slapping him.
Apparently, using your logic and vitriol, Mr. Lamont is scum who should have a bomb dropped on his children.  (if he has any, I don't know)

I don’t think jumped the shark quite covers it. Seriously people.. When we take our domestic political disagreements so far as to wish harm or death on those Americans with whom we disagree. I'm sorry but you've then crossed the line that separates the rational from the irrational. The moderate from the fundamentalist. Sane from the insane. You're no longer operating in the realm of the political. You've now entered the realm of the pathological. And no, you can’t shrug it off as just being passionate about what you believe. I'm passionate about what I believe, as are many others. But I, along with many others, understand that what I believe is just my opinion. Shaped as it is through my experiences and understanding of things. As such.. I have to acknowledge the subjective nature of my opinion. Accept the possibility that it may be wrong in part or in total. And KNOW that no matter how strongly I feel about anything. Neither I nor anyone else for that matter holds a patent on knowing what is right or wrong. Such absolutism is for fundamentalists and their pathological next of kin who are so absolute in their righteousness that they find it totally reasonable to express publicly their wish that harm come to those who differ with them politically.

Oh but it’s just a joke some say.. Oh please..We've all heard or read this crap time after time coming from supposedly progressive minded people. There's nothing progressive about this mindset what so ever. It’s the definition of regressive. Primitive man settled his family disputes by killing, harming or banishing the offending other.. Great company you choose to keep.
With supporters like this.. Its no wonder progressive candidates have a hard time getting any traction with much of the electorate. Those people don’t want to hear the message because they're completely turned off by the Neanderthals who claim to agree with it. Maybe think about that next time you're wishing death upon some politician while standing in a room full of people. Most of the laughter you think so approving is just polite.. Really most of em now think you’re a wack job, head case.

MS