5 ms·

I voted for Obama, but when he says "Let us be clear", you know some bullshit is coming.

by RexRollman 15y ago

Jgrubb 15y ago
Quote of the day.
Pelayo 15y ago
And anything that starts with "Look...".
jimbokun 15y ago
To me, bullshit indicates that the speaker does not actually believe what he says. Is it possible that Obama just has different values from you? The way I read it, he very plainly is in favor of prosecuting copyright violators, and simply wants to eliminate some of the more egregious provisions of the currently proposed law. I don't think Obama is trying to obfuscate that view in any way, and is being very clear about it.
- cema 15y ago
  Perhaps values themselves can be bullshit. The word sounds more like cursing than terminology, so when someone says that something is bullshit, it is not clear if the meaning is "something is a lie" or "something is incorrect" or something else.
  - philwelch 15y ago
    I believe Harry Frankfurt had something to say about that.
  - espeed 15y ago
    Read the essay "On Bullshit" by Harry Frankfurt (http://press.princeton.edu/titles/7929.html http://press.princeton.edu/titles/7929.html).
    - ams6110 15y ago
      Yes, if he doesn't believe what he says he is lying. If he doesn't care whether it's true or false, but feels what he's saying will further his goals, he's bullshitting.
  - joe_the_user 15y ago
    "Bullshit" is generally a messy combination of lies, misdirection and words intended give one impression but have a different meaning.
- SilasX 15y ago
  Unless the WH response stated that explicitly, it's probably phrased specifically to sound like a reasonable position to everyone who reads it, regardless of their position. So no, it's not clear.
bendotc 15y ago
While I agree with the sentiment, this isn't written under Obama's name. Its listed authors are Victoria Espinel, Aneesh Chopra, and Howard Schmidt.
- HowDidIGetHere 15y ago
  Attempting to alienate the President from an official press release from the White House is pushing a bit too far on a technicality. His administration is responsible for the ideas expressed in that release, whether his name is on it or not.
  - bendotc 15y ago
    I didn't mean to "alienate the president" from this in policy position terms, but speaking of rhetorical style and flourishes, it seems a little silly to use "Obama says" to cover anything written by anyone officially on behalf of his administration.

I voted for Obama, but when he says "Let us be clear", you know some bullshit is coming.

Jgrubb 15y ago

Quote of the day.

Pelayo 15y ago

And anything that starts with "Look...".

jimbokun 15y ago

To me, bullshit indicates that the speaker does not actually believe what he says. Is it possible that Obama just has different values from you? The way I read it, he very plainly is in favor of prosecuting copyright violators, and simply wants to eliminate some of the more egregious provisions of the currently proposed law. I don't think Obama is trying to obfuscate that view in any way, and is being very clear about it.

cema 15y ago
Perhaps values themselves can be bullshit. The word sounds more like cursing than terminology, so when someone says that something is bullshit, it is not clear if the meaning is "something is a lie" or "something is incorrect" or something else.
- philwelch 15y ago
  I believe Harry Frankfurt had something to say about that.
- espeed 15y ago
  Read the essay "On Bullshit" by Harry Frankfurt (http://press.princeton.edu/titles/7929.html http://press.princeton.edu/titles/7929.html).
  - ams6110 15y ago
    Yes, if he doesn't believe what he says he is lying. If he doesn't care whether it's true or false, but feels what he's saying will further his goals, he's bullshitting.
- joe_the_user 15y ago
  "Bullshit" is generally a messy combination of lies, misdirection and words intended give one impression but have a different meaning.
SilasX 15y ago
Unless the WH response stated that explicitly, it's probably phrased specifically to sound like a reasonable position to everyone who reads it, regardless of their position. So no, it's not clear.

bendotc 15y ago

While I agree with the sentiment, this isn't written under Obama's name. Its listed authors are Victoria Espinel, Aneesh Chopra, and Howard Schmidt.

HowDidIGetHere 15y ago
Attempting to alienate the President from an official press release from the White House is pushing a bit too far on a technicality. His administration is responsible for the ideas expressed in that release, whether his name is on it or not.
- bendotc 15y ago
  I didn't mean to "alienate the president" from this in policy position terms, but speaking of rhetorical style and flourishes, it seems a little silly to use "Obama says" to cover anything written by anyone officially on behalf of his administration.