BEAUTIFUL: Chris Hitchens Mops The Floor With FRC's Ken Blackwell- Satisfying

[tomm2thumbs]

Run time: 08:49 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZUPtdWyijw   Posted on YouTube: April 08, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: April 08, 2009 By DU Member: tomm2thumbs Views on DU: 3898

 

Hitchens at times can wear on me, but there are days & subjects when he has his moments.

[grantcart]

1. well if the clip doesn't actually include Hitchens getting waterboareded it won't get much of

a response here.lol.

[AlbertCat]

10. The trouble with Hitchens

is he's right about a lot of things. I mean, all those bad things he wrote about Mother Teresa were true, y'know. (not :sarcasm:)

It's just... for a man who champions logic and reason, his takes him into some weird places sometimes. Logic and reason require you consider the foibles and stupidity and illogic of the human animal as well. He dismisses it to absurdity.

He's also sleazy and snobby.

[theFrankFactor]

32. Love that animated gif. I'd like to see the whole episode.

[stopbush]

40. What Hitchens wrote abut Mother Teresa was true.

Read the book.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

2. I'm watching the show now ............

Blackwell needs waterboarding and SOON.

Asshole doesn't even know his own country's history.

Please explain to this dickwad that the First Amendment supports freedom FROM religion, the narrow-minded dumb fuck........

[tomm2thumbs]

3. my favorite part is Blackwell putting the pilgrims & founding fathers together

That ship must have been really big to hold all those Pilgrims AND our founding fathers - I mean 13 colonies worth all crammed into the Mayflower - WOW!

[burning rain]

24. Why an advocate for religion would bring up the Pilgrims here is beyond me.

They were nasty theocrats and hardly provide Blackwell or anyone of his ilk with an appealing argument.

[Enthusiast]

43. Blackwell didn't even recognize

the weakness in his ridiculous argument. Stuuuupid! He doesn't really even know who the Pilgrims were. These neo-cons make up history as they go along, make it up to suit the circumstances. Reminds me of how they pick and choose biblical passages to suit the circumstances.

[FiveGoodMen]

4. Blackwell is one condescending schmuck!

[baldguy]

5. My god, what was Blackwell thinking when he agreed to that debate?

He doesn't understand the basic issues being discussed, and can't match his arguments with his thesis. All he can do is spout worn-out & long debunked talking points.

[Graybeard]

12. Blackwell was way, way out of his league.

He just kept spouting gibberish and double-talk. That crap may go over big on RW radio or FauxNoise but in this debate he looked and sounded like a fool.

[burning rain]

26. True, but the fatheads will say Blackwell prevailed anyway.

The real religious zealots -- and they are many -- are impervious to logic and reason. In fact they will fault Hitchens for being educated and well-spoken: they will call it snobbism and arrogance. They employ a perverse form of "reasoning" in which mush-mouthed ignorance is a virtue; they call it it "plain-spoken wisdom" or some such.

[Number23]

39. For real! And what is the damn point of constantly talking about "Pilgrims" if you can't pronounce

the word "Pilgrim!" :crazy:

He sounds like a lunatic, and not just because he is hideously misinformed. He actually said "Pi-grum." And more than once!

[chollybocker]

6. Why do Ken Blackwell et al

continue to go on teevee to get themselves publicly and summarily pwned? They never learn anything.

[Hardrada]

7. It's Publicity. No such thing as bad publicity.

[chollybocker]

21. I've always believed that mantra, too

but in this case, any rational person would try to avoid this kind of public humiliation. ('rational' being the key word here.) :)

[Pastiche423]

8. Why isn't blackwell in prison?

[baldguy]

14. +1

[veganlush]

9. blackwell is annoying as he tries to drown out hitchens..

..alternately with giggling and stuttering....

[Juche]

11. I'm not surprised

A conservative who has never engaged in any introspection his own opinions faced against someone who has read multiple sides of the issue.

I liked Hitchen's end point that this isn't like the war on communism when we can claim our enemies are 'godless communists'. Our current enemies (Al Qaeda) are more religious than we are.

[tomm2thumbs]

35. it's true - and that was when the 'godless communists' ended up changing our pledge

to include 'under God' - so I guess if we are now up against godly folks, we should revert back to the previous pledge to be appropriately prepared for them.

[Gator_Matt]

13. It was like Hitchens was debating a child

Blackwell's ignorance of history, his lack of critical thinking, and reliance upon dogmatic refrains precluded any rational discussion. As an agnostic, this is why I don't bother debating this sort of thing. These people have been brainwashed since birth and -quite frankly- tend to be (far) less intelligent.

[fascisthunter]

15. Christopher Hitchens Nailed It

I do not agree with him a lot, but on this issue, I do.

[Qutzupalotl]

16. One quibble with Hitchens' statement:

He said Benjamin Franklin was "doubtless" an atheist. Actually, I doubt that very much. Franklin was a Mason, and Masons are required to affirm their faith in God.

Masonic affiliation is atypical and considered by some to be outside the mainstream, but it in no way implies a person is an atheist; just the opposite, in fact.

[grantcart]

18. Well that may be but however annoying Hitchens is, his most provocative

statements are usually well researched and I would be interested on why he thinks that.

His remarks about Jefferson were very accurate and non remarkable, except that conservatives seem unaware that he tried to rewrite sacred scripture with a rationalist mind.

[Qutzupalotl]

19. There's also this quote from Franklin:

"Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy."

Again, not traditionalist, but not atheist either.

[grantcart]

22. Well alot of the stuff that he wrote in the almanac would have been for

public consumption and not a real reflection of his personal beliefs.

[Qutzupalotl]

25. I'm not sure the quote is from the Almanack...

not sure where it is from. But there's also this (and it's sourced!): :)

* I've lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing Proofs I see of this Truth — That God governs in the Affairs of Men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that except the Lord build the House they labor in vain who build it. I firmly believe this, — and I also believe that without his concurring Aid, we shall succeed in this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our Projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a Reproach and Bye word down to future Ages.
o Speech to the Constitutional Convention (28 June 1787); Manuscript notes by Franklin preserved in the Library of Congress.
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin

(emphasis mine)

[Paul_Edwards]

28. Founding Fathers.....

Ben Franklin was not a atheist nor was he a Christian

"I have found Christian dogma unintelligible. Early in life, I absenteed myself from Christian assemblies." Ben Franklin

Ben was not an athiest by this quote in his autobiography.... "Here is my creed. I believe in one God, Creator of the universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render to him is doing good to His children."


"Lighthouses are more helpful then churches." Ben Franklin

"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma." Abe Lincoln Not a founding father butstill a great American.

"This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it." John Adams Founding father and POTUS.

"What influence in fact have Christian ecclesiastical establishments had on civil society? In many instances they have been upholding the thrones of political tyranny. In no instance have they been seen as the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty have found in the clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate liberty, does not need the clergy." James Madison

"Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man." Thomas Jefferson

"The Christian god can easily be pictured as virtually the same god as the many ancient gods of past civilizations. The Christian god is a three headed monster; cruel, vengeful and capricious. If one wishes to know more of this raging, three headed beast-like god, one only needs to look at the caliber of people who say they serve him. They are always of two classes: fools and hypocrites."

Thomas Jefferson again.

[SkyDaddy7]

36. Franklin was an Athesit...

Just read what the French said about him. If the French say you are an Atheist then there is no questioning it.

Franklin like many Mason's today like hangin out with the guys . That is all Masons are one big adult boys club.

[mikehiggins]

17. Christian smishian, it was those godless Masons who were behind

the founding of the US. For pete's sake, everyone knows that the Freemason General staff of King George's army threw the fight.

This was a Masonic country, first last and, well, not always.

Its hard to run a country when you can't even run a meeting right :toast:

[MrPerson]

20. The founders owned Blackwell's ancestors.

Why is he glorifying them?

[Beam Me Up]

23. Would a Christian nation condone the use of torture?

Would a Christian nation allow itself to be hoodwinked by a bunch of murdering crooks and thieves into wars of aggression resulting in untold death and destruction? Would a Christian nation allow the parties responsible evade their accountability and responsibility under the law?

Apparently so.

So, what's the point of thinking of oneself as a "Christian" nation? If thinking of oneself as a citizen of a "Christian" nation doesn't mean we hold ourselves, and our government officials in particular, to a higher moral standard (not to mention national and international law) -- then, really, what is the f'n point?

[laconicsax]

27. Yes.

You may recall hearing something about a little event known as the Spanish Inquisition. Spain, a Christian nation, wanted to maintain the orthodoxy and to that end, tortured people over a period of about 400 years.

Torture was the Christian thing to do for nearly half a century.

[Paul_Edwards]

29. A Bit Of A Mixup Here

You are confusing Christianity and the church with the teachings of Jesus Christ.
One has nothing to do with the other.

[theFrankFactor]

31. Nobody Cares About the "Teachings OF Jesus"...

invariably the multitude of "Christians" turn in to two types; the exploiters and the exploited. Loving enemies, lending without interest, turning the other cheek, meeting evil with goodness- that is to say, anything "good" about Jesus is irrelevant.

He is a Superman/Godman with super power blood sent to apease a pissed off asshole of a father that is in fact Jesus himself. Utter, raving lunacy! No different than Scientology, Mormonism and any other cult of personality and power.

The ascent of man into the future will be measured by his ability to stop sucking on the pacifier of religion and see life for the "miracle" of its own reality.

[laconicsax]

33. So Christianity has nothing to do with Christ?

That's a new one.

[AlbertCat]

37. So Christianity has nothing to do with Christ?

As far as I can tell, in this day and age, Paul has more to do with Christianity than Christ.

Most of the stuff that all kinds of religions fight over are not in the original sacred writings. It's usually stuff made up after the fact.

[Enthusiast]

44. Exactly +1 nt

[theFrankFactor]

30. Ken Blackwell, Epic Asshole

[FlyByNight]

34. Talking point, rinse, repeat

He fits right in with the FRC. Goddamn fool.

:eyes:

[gtar100]

38. Don't you all remember back in 1981 when people were saying Christianity was dead?

Yea, neither do I.
:shrug:

[stopbush]

41. I do. That was the year Reagan took office. I distinctly remember people asserting

that his election was proof that there was no god. :evilgrin:

[kenfrequed]

42. Blackwell should be in prison

period.


Oh and Hitchens won, but then he wasn't arguing with a brain trust.

That said Hitchens is kind of a jerk. I have seen interviews where he takes the worst possible element of any argument regarding the middle east and runs with it as far as he can and as fast as he can.