Noam Chomsky blasts Obama: He has no moral center (VIDEO)

Sunday, January 13, 2013 In a video published by Al Jazeera English on Saturday, MIT professor and activist Noam Chomsky slammed President Barack Obama for using aerial drones to kill suspected terrorists. Chomsky said that a black activist had recounted a story in which a group of African American women visited the President following his inauguration in 2009. After the meeting, the disappointed women told the black activist, “this man has no moral center.” “I think they’re right,” Chomsky said. “If you look at his policies, I think that is what they reveal. Just some nice rhetoric here and there. If you look at the actual policies, they’re pretty shocking. The drone assassination campaign is a perfectly good example. I mean, that’s just a global assassination campaign.” Critics of the use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Pakistan and Yemen worry the practice violates international law and kills civilians. The well-known leftist activist also downplayed Obama’s efforts to block Israel settlements into Palestinian territory. Though the Obama administration has repeatedly criticized Israel’s settlement activity, they had not imposed any actual penalties, unlike previous presidents, Chomsky said. “In fact, Obama is actually the first president who hasn’t really imposed restrictions on Israel,” he added. Watch video, uploaded to YouTube by Al Jazeera English, below:

http%3A//www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/13/noam-chomsky-blasts-obama-he-has-no-moral-center/



• Yeah, health insurance for kids and everyone, and fair treatment under the law for hated gays, and equal pay for women! What a degraded soul!

• Does Chomsky ever talk about the dictatorships around the world or does he just attack the US?

• Yeah, I don't think Obama will be too concerned with what Hezbollah fan Chomsky thinks of his Israel policies.

• [quote]Yeah, health insurance for kids and everyone, You make it sound like we're getting single payer system. The truth is, no one has really come up with any numbers for the monthly premiums coming in 2014.

• One doesn't have to be a fan of Hezbollah to know Israel's policies are bullshit defended by Zionists with no soul and arrogant enough to think Israel is above the law.

• ...but it helps.

• Obama is a deliberately, malevolent evil unleashed upon the world ... really, Noam, just know when to shut the fuck up.

• It's hard to take Chomsky's criticisms seriously when he picnics with Hezbollah and sticks up for Holocaust deniers.

• Has this elitist hypocrite Chomsky ever met a dictator he didn't like? See, this fucker is the reason I detest champagne-socialists like him almost as much as Christian bible-thumpers: such an arrogant, self-righteous fucking snob who lives in a fantasy world that never has and never will exist.

• Same can be said about Jimmy Carter, r9.

• Ever since Chomsky refused to face the truth about 9/11, he has no business criticizing anybody else's morality.

• [quote]You make it sound like we're getting single payer system. Exactly. Obama is still very conservative - it's amazing how some people have been fooled. If he was truly progressive he would have fought for single payer like they have in the other Western countries.

• And what is that truth, R11?

• Chomsky has been an exceptional window into the vile activities of the US government for decades, but age was going to eventually catch up to him and I think we are seeing that happen now. What happens when Chomsky turns from an intellectual into an angry old man?

• Chomsky is an intellectual giant in his field - which is linguistics. Many people make the mistake of transferring this status onto his political work, which has always been that of a crank.

• Of course he has no moral center. He's a successful American politician. HELLO!

• I'm more inclined to the thinking of Nim Chimpsky.

• He's right. I voted for Obama twice because he was the most liberal candidate, but he's always been too mild and meek.

• Some of these pro-Israel people are plum crazy!

• Obama gets a free pass from the Gay community for historically being the first President to support full equality for Gays. Chomsky loses.

• Obama only supported the gay community because over the past few years it has become financially beneficial for people to support gay causes. If Obama had been president during the Bush years, he never would've come out in favor of gay marriage because back then it was financially beneficial to be anti-gay. For example, gay marriage only passed in NY because some republicans realized they'd make more more out of supporting it than not. They became pro-gay and financially benefited from it. If it hadn't been for money, those NY republicans would have never done the right thing. That's why I don't buy George Obama's sudden support. It's like the tv/movie personalities who come out after their careers are pretty much over and they need attention but never when they have anything to lose. Gays are like the jews of sexuality. We are a minority but a rich minority that can buy it's way to the top. That's the only reason Obama flipped on his views.

• The alleged influence of the Pink Dollar is just a fantasy, R21. The reason that support for gay issues has increased is because straight people are less prejudiced against us. The old demagoguery and religious extremism doesn't hold water any more. The world is changing.

• R21? There aren't enough gays in this country to give Obama a win. He actually didn't have to come out for gay marriage. He still could've been tepid in his support and won - but with some of you, unless he himself marries a man, it isn't enough.

• Noam touched a lot of sensitive little nerves. What, six posts before he was deemed a Holocaust denier? Is taking that stance still such a threat in the face of all the evidence? If so, why? Because fearing that someone saying there was no Holocaust despite the reams of proof has nothing to do with reality.

• [quote]The world is changing. It was changing in the 70s as well. Don't put so much faith in the good will of others.

• Noam Chomsky says pink elephants walk on water! He must be stopped! It's a lie! People might believe him! Pink elephants don't walk on water! He must be called out on this! What if others believe him? He must be stopped!

• I agree, R25. I said "less prejudiced". There is still a lot of prejudice and there probably always will be, unfortunately. The reason the world is changing is because good people, mostly gay but some straight, have made it happen. Progress is incremental.

• R22, yes, support among normal people has increased but normal people don't get to decide whether we have rights or not, that's the government which is filled with people who are NOT normal and only care about money. Politicians only care about money. Nothing else. And how is it a fantasy? You saying that the republicans in NY who became pro gay marriage did so because they wanted to do the right thing? No! Is it a coincidence the republicans who supported gay marriage all got tons of money from gay rights group after their vote? For example, a large number of republicans on wall street are pro gay marriage, not because it's the right thing to do, but because it benefits them financially. R23, when did I say there were enough gays to help Obama win? I said it is NOW financially beneficial to support gay causes because the gay dollar is now worth more than an average dollar. Gays are a small group but a financially strong one. Jews are a small group too but they get more "respect" than larger minority groups because of their wealth. More and more republicans are becoming pro gay marriage solely because they realize that's where the money and power is now.

  R21

• [quote]No! Is it a coincidence the republicans who supported gay marriage all got tons of money from gay rights group after their vote? For example, a large number of republicans on wall street are pro gay marriage, not because it's the right thing to do, but because it benefits them financially. Link please.

• It's always disturbed me as well that some "intellectuals" with degrees in completely unrelated disciplines consider themselves experts in politics and policy -- and that people actually listen to them.

  I.E.%2C%20Cornell%20West%20%26%20Noam%20Chomsky

• I drink diarreah!

  R30

• I'm still waiting for you to back up your claims, R21/R28 (a.k.a. Just Wandered In From Freeperville). Or did you just pull those "facts" out of your ass?

  I%20thought%20so.

• R32, there is this thing called google. What claims? That the bill only passed because some republicans flipped to the pro side? You can google that. That the republicans who flipped all got large donations from gay rights groups? You can google that. That a large number of wall street republicans are pro-gay marriage (and we all know they only care about money)? You can google that too. That it's financially beneficial to be pro gay now? You can also, gasp, google that. Why do you think anti-gay companies like ChickfilA tend to backtrack on their hateful views once said views are exposed and they face a backlash? Money! But thanks for proving you have no brain. You can't argue my points so you resort to calling me names and trying to make fun of me. If you do have a point, then state it. I'm a man, so I can confirm your points by doing my own research instead of expecting a random stranger online to do it for me.

• [quote]You can google that Yet you can't, R33? No, of course you can't, bullshitter.

• Is Chomsky still wearing that sweater?

• I did google it, just to make sure I was right about it showing up. Do you also expect people to wipe your ass for you, r34? And if I'm bsing, well, then it's pretty easy to prove that yet you won't. Why? Because you're a lazy ass who is incapable of doing online research for himself?

  r33

• Not really fair R21. He supported the gay community (and single payer healthcare) in the 90s. Politics is the art of the possible and somebody persuaded him that leftist ideas were not possible to be implemented.

• "What, six posts before he was deemed a Holocaust denier? Is taking that stance still such a threat in the face of all the evidence?" Yes?

• R37, can you explain how he supported the gay community in the 90's? Curious as I don't know much about that. As for your second point. I agree with that and it's basically what I'm saying. When he first became president, it was still financially beneficial to be anti-gay so he didn't support gay marriage. That changed around the time gay marriage passed in NY. Money made it possible for those leftist ideas to be implemented. Those four republicans in NY all received backing from pro-gay groups. They also received tons of backlash from crazy conservatives, but the support they received from rich gays outweighed the backlash from poor uneducated anti-gay conservatives.

  r21/33

• Noam Chomsky makes my gorge rise.

  He%20does.

• [quote]You make it sound like we're getting single payer system. I guess you read it that way, but that's not my intention. MANY people were precluded from getting insured because of pre-existing conditions. Plus, there were few to any safeguards to protect policy holders from the whims of the insurance industry. Look, it was absolute magic that Obamacare passed at all, and was not rejected by the Supreme Court. Are you seriously going to make the perfect the enemy of the good? He got freaking death threats because of it as it is! Grow up.

• I spent a summer once after college rooming with Noam's son Harry, during which I learned his father, when not writing about the evils of capitalism, was obsessed with legally keeping people from trespassing on the lawn of their Cape Cod summerhouse on their way to the beach. What a hypocrite.

• Obama is a lameduck President. President Bush had shit for brains but at least he had a strong coalition that knew how to manipulate Congress to serve their interests. Obama is a wuss. He is not an ''all or nothing'' negotiator. He meets people halfway too frequently and that leads us with halfassed legislation. I am sure he is a staunch liberal personally but he presides as a moderate just to appease the other side and that's cowardly.

  Anonymous

• O.k, troll @ R21 etc., you're right about one thing: I easily found a NY Times article referring to the four NY republicans who helped pass the NY gay marriage bill and, yes, they did benefit from increased donations BUT only after making a principled stand and voting for the bill. You made it sound like they were bribed for their votes. It's also a bit rich knowing that the rabid right-wing of the Republican Party has been sucking Koch (and other corporations) so earnestly to fund their hideousness. Tea Party, anyone? These four NY senators will also pay a high price at the next election as the religious right tries to oust them for more conservative candidates. I'll link to the Times article but this quote is relevant: [quote]The senators will need the help. Same-sex marriage opponents have promised to target them when all state lawmakers face re-election in November. “All the money in the world isn’t going to buy them out of the fact that they’re about to lose an election,” said Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage, which opposed the New York law and has said it will spend heavily to oust the four senators.

  http%3A//www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/nyregion/money-flows-to-gop-backers-of-gay-marriage-in-new-york.html%3Fpagewanted%3Dall

  R22%20etc.

• [quote]What, six posts before he was deemed a Holocaust denier? That's not accurate. He was called out for sticking up for Holocaust deniers. [quote]Is taking that stance still such a threat in the face of all the evidence? And what evidence would that be? [quote]If so, why? Because fearing that someone saying there was no Holocaust despite the reams of proof has nothing to do with reality. They are loathsome people who disregard evidence and invalidly re-interpret evidence to support a political goal. And they are invariably anti-semites.

• R22/44, they were technically bribed though. Cuomo, and other pro-gay republicans were going around for private meetings with those four republicans prior to the vote to "convince" them. The only way to convince a politician to do ANYTHING is to convince them they will financially benefit. Many were promised support from wall street firms before they even voted. Many were told by Cuomo and other high powered politicians that they'd support their opposition if they didn't support gay-marriage. And of course they said they were taking a "principled stand," did you think they'd tell the truth: We're pro-gay marriage now because we're getting richer as a result! Also, you think a quote from NOM qualifies as relevant? NOM the organization that is know for making up BS 24/7? They were swearing up and down gay marriage wasn't going to pass in ME and WA. Plus, the price they have to "pay" won't be as high considering conservative NY republicans might as well be considered moderates when compared to the average republican. They're easier to reason with. Yes, many will turn on them but not enough to oust them. Many will stop donating but the money/backing they received from pro-gay groups will more than make up for what they lose. In NY, rich gay New Yorkers have more power than poor religious anti-gay conservatives.

  r21

• r1. Things don't cancel each other out. So if I lauded Bush's AIDS work (for example), does that excuse him from every other policy?

• To continue what I'm saying. We're not cheerleaders nor do we work for his campaign. They work for us and he is the president. It's not our job to turn off our brains and grin at everything he does. I've seen him do a 180 (whether I agree with his 1st position, 2nd or neither) and people just jump right with him. Either you never held the first opinion, the 2nd, or neither, because you can't tell me WHY you changed your position. Do people have any principles? Even with the drones. I literally got the response, "well, it's Obama. I trust him so if he's ..."

• R48, I have a friend who dragged me out of bed during my college years to go march with him against GWB pro-war policies. I was hungover and didn't want to go, so he gave me this grand speech about how you can't let your president gt away with murdering people on foreign soils. He got to me, and I went marching. Great experience. A few weeks ago, I started criticizing Obama over his drones, and the same friend accused me of being negative and how we had to trust Obama to end the war his way. The hypocrisy among Obama idiots amazes me. Don't get me wrong. I voted for Obama because he's better than Romney, but I didn't vote for him because I think he's untouchable like those drinking the kool-aid think.