[Omen]

Weathermen: Home-grown US radicals

Sarah Palin has accused presidential candidate Barack Obama of "palling around" with terrorists - referring to his acquaintance with a former member of the Weather Underground. So who were the Weather Underground?

A newly-formed group of left-wing extremists, dubbed the Weathermen, went on the rampage in a well-planned protest in Chicago - the so-called Days of Rage riots.

A police station in the city was bombed, and protesters engaged police in combat on the streets. More than 250 of the rioters were arrested, and the FBI began to follow the movements of the Weathermen very closely.

They were a splinter-group from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) - a product of the student radicalism endemic in college campuses in the late 1960s.

According to the FBI, several of their members had travelled to Cuba and North Vietnam during 1969.

By the end of 1969 they decided to go underground and resort to bombing strategic targets - later changing their name in the process to the Weather Underground Organization.

From 1970 to 1975 the group bombed police stations, court and government buildings, and police cars.

In 1970 there were fatalities - a police officer died from his injuries after a pipe bomb was detonated in a San Francisco police station, while three of the group blew themselves up while building explosives in their New York apartment.

Many of its members became prominent professionals in US public life.

Bernardine Dohrn, the author of the Declaration of War, is now a law lecturer. Her husband, Bill Ayers, lectures in education.

Both were implicated in the group's most serious attacks, but were never convicted.

During the late 1990s, Mr Obama served on the same charity board as Mr Ayers.

Such was the threat engendered by the group that a tenuous association with a former member can still cause ripples in a presidential race three decades later.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Weathermen: Home-grown US radicals

Obama didn't respond to this issue, he said, and I quote:

"They'd rather tear our campaign down than lift this country up," he said.

"That's what you do when you're out of touch, out of ideas, and running out of time." "

BBC NEWS | Americas | Obama rejects terror link 'smear'

Pointing out that a candidate has terrorist friends is very valid, the fact that he's avoiding them raises suspicion IMO.

Opinions?

[Rugger]

He has too many ****ed up friends for me to consider him a qualified and acceptable President. I don't understand why the McCain camp or even the Clinton camp earlier didn't make more of a big deal of his relationships with certain people. Maybe the McCains are holding out for closer to election day. I think a commercial about the Ayers thing would be devastating for Obama.

[Mulletsoldier]

lol...

[Omen]

Originally Posted by Mulletsoldier

lol...

Elaborate!

[suncloud]

They were a splinter-group from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) - a product of the student radicalism endemic in college campuses in the late 1960s.

thats your quote? are you serious? obama was born in 1961. so he knew these guys when he was what? 8 at the oldest? maybe 5. yes, lets hold our kids accountable, and tell them that when they were 5 you didn't like their friends, which is why they're still not responsible... come on omen. i know you've got something smarter than this to say.

and the group was still around in 1975. so he was what, 14? how many 14 year olds follow older people around and see what they do? was he even still associated with them in 1975? can you prove that, or are you talking about nothing? this thread is silly. politics is silly.

and to say something so droll as to "in 1970 there were fatalities". so a 9 year old is responsible for what someone else did? i mean thats like saying that everyone who voted for bush is personally responsible for the deaths of our soldiers in iraq.

i've noticed how you've forgot to mention that mccain supported all of bush's war efforts. by your standard he is also responsible for our soldiers dying - and iraqi's. so's carter, since he put sadaam in power.

oh wait, thats it. it all traces back to lincoln for freeing obama to run for office. lets blame him next.

there's a reason i hate politics, and this is probably it - there's opinions backed by silly facts that have no bearing on whats going on.

i'm idly curious to know how anyone feels about FORD MOTOR COMPANY supporting the republican committee with funds, when they're supposed to be going bankrupt. guess that's your tax dollars at work, Ford giving funds that they themselves got from a republican president.

man. i was so happy when huckabee was doing good in the polls. now there's nobody i want in office.

[Omen]

Thats your quote? are you serious? obama was born in 1961. so he knew these guys when he was what? 8 at the oldest? maybe 5. yes, lets hold our kids accountable, and tell them that when they were 5 you didn't like their friends, which is why they're still not responsible... come on omen. i know you've got something smarter than this to say.

and the group was still around in 1975. so he was what, 14? how many 14 year olds follow older people around and see what they do? was he even still associated with them in 1975? can you prove that, or are you talking about nothing? this thread is silly. politics is silly.

and to say something so droll as to "in 1970 there were fatalities". so a 9 year old is responsible for what someone else did? i mean thats like saying that everyone who voted for bush is personally responsible for the deaths of our soldiers in iraq.

LMAO! YES I DO

The fact that you didn't even bother to read the WHOLE article and here "During the late 1990s, Mr Obama served on the same charity board as Mr Ayers." When Obama was 29 years old ! DING DING DING!!

You really thought I would post an article about his friends when he was 5-8?

Soldiers sign up with their own free will, they know they might die in war, but I do agree the Iraq war is retarded as a monkey's uncle.

i've noticed how you've forgot to mention that mccain supported all of bush's war efforts. by your standard he is also responsible for our soldiers dying - and iraqi's. so's carter, since he put sadaam in power.

oh wait, thats it. it all traces back to lincoln for freeing obama to run for office. lets blame him next.

there's a reason i hate politics, and this is probably it - there's opinions backed by silly facts that have no bearing on whats going on.

i'm idly curious to know how anyone feels about FORD MOTOR COMPANY supporting the republican committee with funds, when they're supposed to be going bankrupt. guess that's your tax dollars at work, Ford giving funds that they themselves got from a republican president.

Mccain is a retard too, I never said I liked him, but I sure as hell don't like 29 yr olds who associate with TERRORISTS, hell I'm 21 and I'd put a bullet through someone's head if they wanted to blow up sh*t around me and DID before!

Is that it?

[suncloud]

Originally Posted by Omen

LMAO! YES I DO

The fact that you didn't even bother to read the WHOLE article and here "During the late 1990s, Mr Obama served on the same charity board as Mr Ayers." When Obama was 29 years old ! DING DING DING!!

apparently, its you that didn't read the article. this terrorist group hasn't done anything of note according to the article since obama was pre 16, and its obama's fault? you could read in between the lines, like you apparently did, and claim that Obama must have been "influential" in convincing mr ayers to not kill anyone anymore. this speculation is silly. so a few years later, they are on the same charity board. who cares?

so because i went to the arnold classic a few years ago i all of a sudden believe that children should get steroids? thats the same parallel you are making here.

let me ask you something. did you ever have a friend that did something really stupid? like drive drunk, beat someone up for no reason, etc? is what they did a reason you should be viewed as less of a person because they were your friend? i'm out of this thread. sorry omen, this is a silly argument. though on a sidenote, i'd shoot a terrorist too.

while we're at it, what charity was he in, and what did it do? oh, it was "The Woods Fund of Chicago, which is a philanthropic organization devoted to poverty relief and the promotion of social mobility, founded in 1941." yes, damn him, and anyone else for supporting this.... lol... i'm out of here.

[Fastone]

Originally Posted by Rugger

He has too many ****ed up friends for me to consider him a qualified and acceptable President. I don't understand why the McCain camp or even the Clinton camp earlier didn't make more of a big deal of his relationships with certain people. Maybe the McCains are holding out for closer to election day. I think a commercial about the Ayers thing would be devastating for Obama.

You've probably have had some so called ****ed up aquaintances too, does that make you them. You need to come down off of Mount Olympus. There's not a politician in the world that at some point in his or her career hasn't rubbed elbows with a nefarious character or two.

If he made bombs with this guy at 8 years old, I could see where that would be a problem. The McCain camp is in the position now of going on 4th down and it ain't converting, sorry. btw, there have already been commercials about this subject.

[Mulletsoldier]

Originally Posted by Omen

Elaborate!

I was laughing at the very apparent comedy that so soon before an election the main focus of these threads is still rhetoric, conjecture, misinformed character references and not the most important facet: The very platforms of the candidates; platforms, which stand to cause changes in the contemporary fabric of the United States; platforms that may reverberate for the coming decades based on the fragility of both the American economy and foreign relations dynamic.

These caricature portrayals of the personal lives of these candidates are pundit fodder; do they truly matter? If we truly want to identify personal traits as indicators of Presidential performance and electability, none of these four individuals are fit. Ironically enough - based solely on personality and character references alone - G.W. Bush is more fit - obviously, such is not the case.

Threads such as these, and the political discourse which they reflect, work against the very premises of representative democracy. In simpler terms: Who the fuck cares? Plainly, more people are aware of the company Palin and Obama keep, the personality disorders of McCain, and the complete ineptness of Joe Biden than their platforms; that is scary.

[Omen]

Originally Posted by suncloud

so this terrorist group was active from the time he was 8 to when he was 14. they haven't done anything since then of note, according to your article. so a few years later, they are on the same charity board. who cares?

so because i went to the arnold classic a few years ago i all of a sudden believe that children should get steroids? thats the same parallel you are making here.

let me ask you something. did you ever have a friend that did something really stupid? like drive drunk, beat someone up for no reason, etc? is what they did a reason you should be viewed as less of a person because they were your friend? i'm out of this thread. sorry omen, this is a silly argument. though on a sidenote, i'd shoot a terrorist too.

You're comparing terrorism, killing LEOs, Bombing structures to weaken the American government and cause it's collapse (their goal) to someone who had a DUI ? OMFG are you serious man? wow.........

If ANY presidential candidate had a friend who was a member in AL Qaeda but is now not a terrorist, been 10-20 years since he last killed an American, it's fine right?

Only in California.....

[suncloud]

Originally Posted by Omen

If ANY presidential candidate had a friend who was a member in AL Qaeda but is now not a terrorist, been 10-20 years since he last killed an American, it's fine right?

guess they're friends too right, because they're shaking hands. and its fine right...? i give up.

shoulda killed him when he had the chance. mission accomplished could have been done without sending in troops, but they were friends.... this is still a silly argument.

you can make the quote "only in california" but you're now doing the same bigoted thing that palin is doing - using where i am at one point in time in my life to define me as a person. where are you from again, or are you afraid of me saying "only in..."

[walugi]

Originally Posted by Rugger

He has too many ****ed up friends for me to consider him a qualified and acceptable President. I don't understand why the McCain camp or even the Clinton camp earlier didn't make more of a big deal of his relationships with certain people. Maybe the McCains are holding out for closer to election day. I think a commercial about the Ayers thing would be devastating for Obama.

McCain is a friend of Bush, who many consider to be a terrorist. It just so happens most Americans don't think so..

And like it was said before, every politician has "****ed up friends". ****ed up people aren't just born into a river of gold. They're powerful and well connected, that's how they can

a. afford
b. facilitate

their ****ed-up-ed-ness.

To say that Obama has "****ed up friends" that needs to be exposed by Hillary or John is absurd and simplistic. They'd be making commercials about everything if it were like that.

Sarah Palin... to me anyone that wants to teach creationism in schools is thinking parallel to any evil islamic fundamentalist sheik.

[Omen]

Originally Posted by walugi

McCain is a friend of Bush, who many consider to be a terrorist. It just so happens most Americans don't think so..

And like it was said before, every politician has "****ed up friends". ****ed up people aren't just born into a river of gold. They're powerful and well connected, that's how they can

a. afford
b. facilitate

their ****ed-up-ed-ness.

To say that Obama has "****ed up friends" that needs to be exposed by Hillary or John is absurd and simplistic. They'd be making commercials about everything if it were like that.

Sarah Palin... to me anyone that wants to teach creationism in schools is thinking parallel to any evil islamic fundamentalist sheik.