Via Kathy Shaidle at Five Feet of Fury:
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Obama has an Egg of Power in the Oval Office
You think I’m kidding. It’s allegedly based on some “ancient African proverb,” which means that (a) the proverb was made up by some white dude 20 years ago and (b) it completely contradicts the horrid reality on the ground in Africa — the last place from which we should be adopting “proverbs.”
Especially proverbs about “power” — this sculpture doesn’t illustrate the Big Man phenomenon terribly well, does it?
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44 responses
Hillbuzz..wordpress.com has covered this in depth … and humorously.
Why would a man who thinks so little of a human embryo, think so much of a chicken embryo?
Maybe the One thinks the egg came before the chicken.
Or better yet - it is to reminder he’ll never have a moment of peace for the next four years when eating his morning “Hawaiian” omelette?
So he has a figurine in his office based on an African proverb–and this is relevant to this blog, um, why?
Because some right-wingnut made fun of him for it? Does Kathy Shaidle know for a fact that the proverb in question was “made up by some white dude 20 years ago?” Obama’s father actually was African; there’s a pretty good chance there’s an authentic proverb behind the thing.
And his possession of the figure does not imply that he believes it has magical powers. I own several Day of the Dead pieces from Mexico, yet I’m not a Catholic.
Uh, remind me again what “Counterknowledge” is supposed to be about…something about weighing evidence and basing opinions on said evidence, wasn’t it?
Stacy…look at the explanation in the upper RIGHT hand corner of this blog….
it completely contradicts the horrid reality on the ground in Africa — the last place from which we should be adopting “proverbs.”
Wouldn’t want to contaminate your caucasian mind with the received wisdom of traditional non-white cultures, would we? The fact that Obama’s got some kind of mystical voodoo statue scares you, doesn’t it. After all, if you don’t understand it, it must be eeeeeeeeeeeevil.
What on earth are you doing?
Man of African origin has African figure is no different from man of Catholic origin has crucifix. FFS even I have a crucifix tucked away in a draw somewhere, not because I believe in God but because it has sentimental value.
And the third ‘Big Man’ link goes to a site where somebody has very unscientific views on race and IQ.
“The fact that Obama’s got some kind of mystical voodoo statue scares you, doesn’t it.”
Likely made in China.
The link states he picked up this little treasure while visiting Kenya in 2006. Omitted is that Obama was actively campaigning for Ralia Odinga, his Luo tribe-mate, Kenyan presidential candidate, and later the instigator of the hacking and burning deaths of women and children when he didn’t win that presidential election.
Isn’t it obvious? He wants to hatch a tree…
Stacy Kennedy: Mexican Day of the Dead gear has nothing to do with Catholicism, as has been repeatedly stated by the Mexican Catholic hierarchy. The rest of you: insults are not arguments. This is not a very remarkable piece of news either way, and it does not become more significant by calling each other “wingnut” or “racist” or whatever.
Fabio, I’m just disappointed in a blog that I generally respect making a point by linking to evidence free political screeds and people on the unscientific end of the race/IQ debate.
Oh come on, gimpy - it’s just a bit of fun. Lighten up.
“people on the unscientific end of the race/IQ debate.”
What do you consider the “unscientific” position?
I’d consider it unscientific to loftily pronounce that one side of the debate was unscientific when there is simply not enough evidence to be certain one way or the other. You are elevating political dogma to the status of science.
Tempest in a teapot. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Mountain out of a molehill. And less relevant than the First Lady’s spiritual beliefs, whether African spiritualism, astrology, or secular humanism. We certainly have more important things to worry and argue about than a figurine and its associated proverb.
RWF- by unscientific I mean people pontificating about scientific issues raised by genomics using terms such as white, black, latino or whatever. This is not scientific terminology, haplotypes do not permit classification into these categories. These are the witless ramblings of people who think that social classifications of race have relevance to scientific classifications of ancestral populations. It is distorting science for political ends and is a fine example of counterknowledge in itself!
And what do you by ‘not enough evidence’ - your link is broken, are you implying that there may be IQ differences between populations? Of course there may be, but these populations won’t be defined by reference to skin colour so much as reference to genotype or are you falling into the James Watson fallacy of making sweeping statements about genetically diverse populations based on the presence of alleles linked to skin pigmentation but not to cognitive ability?
Milo, it would be a bit of fun if the links weren’t so insane and actually proved the points they were making.
Pattio, you are right. Odinga is another hidden fact about BHO and thanks to 40 years of government school, that have dumbed down our voters, they don’t even care, or know how to use google to look these things up. U-Tube has a great video of BO on stage with Odinga, surrounded by adoring tribal members.
What have we done….Hang on everybody - ruff ride ahead.
I’ll try doing the link again.
“are you falling into the James Watson fallacy of making sweeping statements about genetically diverse populations based on the presence of alleles linked to skin pigmentation but not to cognitive ability?”
I’m not making any generalisations sweeping or otherwise. There is insufficient evidence to support any conclusion at this point.
*Wouldn’t want to contaminate your caucasian mind with the received wisdom of traditional non-white cultures, would we? The fact that Obama’s got some kind of mystical voodoo statue scares you, doesn’t it. After all, if you don’t understand it, it must be eeeeeeeeeeeevil.*
the `received wisdom’ of non-white cultures?
This blog is about science and NOT about the superstitions of ANY culture - black, white, whatever.
So please, multiculturalists, take YOUR stupid-stitions and go back to your Puffington Host or whatever, the adults are talking here.
RWF - your link works but I’m not sure what your point is? The article linked to sets up a false dichotomy between heritable and environmental components in the first sentence, it’s been established for decades that intelligence, as it can currently be defined and measured, is influenced by both. The debate is over the relative contribution of each component at various stages during an individuals lifespan. There is sufficient evidence for many conclusions, except that that ‘race’ and intelligence are linked, not least because social definitions of ‘race’ don’t correlate with scientific definitions of populations.
Touche, Joe Haberman, touche.
This blog is garbage. Thanks for the laugh.
I showed this to a bunch of people, and someone quipped that this could be a leftover of the Clinton days; could be the hand of Hillary Clinton holding Bill Clinton’s ball after the Lewinsky clusterf***.
Kirby: “hang on everybody. Ruff ride ahead.”
LOL. You are a sub-literate moron accusing others of being illiterate. This is why I love the internet. USA all the way baby.
franglo- I am nobody , poor, a reg. person , educated in public school, some college. After 911 i just wanted the facts, so i could make correct decisions when i vote in a leader of our country. Just start with some facts- study the enemy- No Not Obama- The middle east and its customs for starters- , that will give you some place to start. The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright -Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner- counterterrorismblog.org is a great site. Lots of hours of reading from mulitple sources of information . The libs don’t want us to have all this info. they like you to read the one line headline in the news and make decisions based on emotion. I challenge you to go to counterterrorsimblog.org and it will blow your mind on all the info out there. Our very lives now depend on how well informed the voters are. Gov, schools are garbage, 7 to 12,000per child and they learn nothing . You have to depend on yourself to get the facts. Did not mean to call anyone a moron. “Goverment powerful enough to give you everything you need is powerful enough to take everything you own”. Thomas Jefferson-
Oh, read the federalist papers also- i started with 2 and 10. Got me interested.
As any egg farmer can tell you, an egg should be held the other way up.
The Ovoid Office
It’s not based on an African proverb.
It’s from a Greek fable.
That egg is the the last golden egg, the final measure of wealth seized from the producers before the goose of capitalism is killed.
Everyone has this all wrong. This is a symbol of Obama having whitey by the cajones - nothing more.
“Omitted is that Obama was actively campaigning for Ralia Odinga”
Omitted, that is, because it isn’t true. Unless you think that any time two politicians make a public appearance together, each must be “actively campaigning” for the other.
Kirby, well said, well read, I wish more would take the time to study who they vote for = the Obama mania is blind - I did not vote for him but I wish him and his party nothing but good things, for all of us. 8 years of Bush haters have hurt our country, and turned uninformed voters into change addicts, and they can’t even tell you why they voted for him, they just say because of “change”.
It’s amazing how much counterknowledge the comments section generates when you let the wingnuts out to play. Ellen Kennedy talks confidently about those who succumbed to “Obama mania”, the “change addicts” who “can’t even tell you why they voted for him.” What is Ellen Kennedy’s sample size, from which she determined that this was a significant constituency? Was it even one or is the “change addict” a straw man who lives nowhere but the recesses of Ellen Kennedy’s own mind?
Uh oh, Ellen, here is another live one!
That’s Ahmamadjihadi’s hands holding one of Obama’s testicles. Talk about a power play.
http://freeyourmind-hiddentruths.blogspot.com/
For lack of a more complex statement: Holy smokes people. It’s a statue of an egg, and the man who owns it is doing far more for the betterment of this country then the vast majority of us will ever do. So quit it. At this point, you look more like a petulant teenager then a respectable adult.
I find it laughable that anyone could take this as seriously as some of you are taking it. This really does lend truth to the fact that we really are just dumb Americans.
If your spending so much time reading into “Exposing conspiracy theories, cults, quack medicine, bogus science and fake history”, chances are good your spending your nights hunkered down on “Brittany Watch.” So, go read a book, the Constitution, or really anything that may broaden your mind, a prevent you from further damaging the image of the American people.
Ok thats all, never been to this site before and I’m damn sure not coming back, Enjoy.
This explains a lot!
As an aside, why are you linking to a racist’s site? Here’s a compilation of other stunning insights from Kathy Shaidle:
http://warrenkinsella.com/index.php?entry=entry090212-084727
So it is really POWER that Obama seeks, not civil service????
Now the truth is really out..
If anyone else laid this claim to power over the American people they would be booted back to Africa..But antichrist is untouchable at this present time..His day of reckoning coming soon..
Iaiah 59: 5.…They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper…THE EGG IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SERPENTS WISDOM..
Gimpy, you’re in good company. “Wimpy” ought to be the name of the “skeptic” movement of the past twenty years.
The facts are in and skeptics are playing it safe. From their safe havens they laugh at the worst of the fundies and mock the housewives (er, house-people) who believe in all kinds of pseudo-scientific crap. But they know better than to foul the nest where they sit. They never (but never) take on the bullshit that’s believed by the people with whom they actually work, and sleep and drink beer.
Yah, Gimpy. See, you;re just stupid. You actually believe that there’s really no majorly important scientific and social issues to look at vis a vis race. WIMPY though, usually knows better. He tries his damnest not to know better by turning his head away from the evidence that he doesn’t want to see and by actively seeking out confirmation bias but deep down.. deep down… he knows DAMN well better.
Which is what makes him a wimp.
mnuez
P.S. These guys could give you a clue if you wanted one. http://www.gnxp.com/
Of course though you can play “9-11 Truther” though and find the occasional error in something that someone there wrote and thereby mock the entirety of the libraries full of evidence but who really are we fooling then? Me? no. Just you.
I read a bit further Gimpy and you’re actually far worse than I had thought/hoped. No, you aint stupid. Fuck, it could hardly be proper to call you a wimp either. You’re the actual obfuscator!
Now look, for all I know we may be political allies. Like Plato, I believe that sometimes it may in fact be good to lie to someone or even to everyone for the sake of some greater good and I myself am in no way convinced that the truth of the matter regarding racial averages is something that will improve society sans any major top-down changes in our entire social system. So, again, it may be that you and I are practically identical but that you have come to the conclusion that - for whatever reason - you’re willingly misleading the masses.
That would be cool.
Sadly though, I think it’s unlikely.
I doubt you’ve really thought this through and made any sort of conscious decision to delude people by speaking irrelevant truth about (probably) differing alleles for skin color and cognitive ability and therefore moving everyone away from the evidence that you don;t want them to see. I consider it far more likely that you’re just following the orthodoxy of your social group.
i hope I’m wrong though. a deliberate deluder would be cool.
mnuez
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