dagblog - Comments for "Excusing Petraeus"

Well, aa, I never said she

Doctor Cleveland — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:33:23 +0000

In reply to Paula Broadwell: not exactly

Well, aa, I never said she was a victim. Broadwell seems to be a thoroughgoing asshole in many ways. That doesn't mean that the way the press is playing this isn't sexist.

Rielle Hunter is also not a victim, or a nice person. That doesn't make it okay to slut-shame her in the national news.

It isn't sexism when it happens to people you like and not sexism when it happens to people you don't. Fighting sexism means fighting sexism against all women, including the assholes.

Paula Broadwell: not exactly

artappraiser — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 03:15:22 +0000

In reply to Excusing Petraeus

Paula Broadwell: not exactly the victim type.

As a woman the train of

synchronicity — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:34:36 +0000

In reply to Excusing Petraeus

As a woman the train of thought arising from this that I find amusing is the suggestion that a woman who has an 'affair' is bad, a brazen hussy, etc. But when a man has an affair... 'men' say 'well of course, he is a man, after all'.

How old fashioned... how very masculine.

It reminds me of 'men' that claimed to be enlightened suggesting that it is much more difficult for women to become enlightened because of their emotions.

Just another form of bigotry and hypocrisy espoused by 'men' who are 'certain' that they 'know... like back in the day when men didn't believe women should trouble their little heads with voting and such.

a twin sister involved in all

artappraiser — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 04:56:33 +0000

In reply to This entire matter would also

a twin sister involved in all of this chaos.

Both Generals claim (Petraeus this last Sept 20,) on official letterhead, that the twin sister is a fine upstanding mother, but Family Court judge nonetheless has "profound concerns about Ms. Khawam's poor logical thinking and her extreme distortions" and "severe psychological deficits."

The big question here as I see it: Who had access to these letters to be able to turn them over to CBS and what does that person have to do with Benghazi?!

I take it back about Aristophanes and the chorus, this has all the makings of biggest Telennova evah!

This entire matter would also

Richard Day — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 03:54:25 +0000

In reply to and on FBI vs CIA: Friendly

This entire matter would also make the case for a new Marx Bros movie. hahahaahaha

Turns out that there is a twin sister involved in all of this chaos.

I do know one thing.

If Issa and some repubs think they are going to gain capital laying the blame of all this on Obama...they shall just add to the comedy!

And of course, this could all be made into a monster movie with the FBI and the CIA MORPHED into two great creatures of terror.

hahahahah

Oh I almost forgot the value of advertising; I wrote a partial beginning to a script at Creative Corner!

Some people trade in the

erica20 — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 02:52:52 +0000

In reply to I would add, when I related

Some people trade in the fakery of the search for/illusion of perfection for the dull reality and mature joys of everyday life. Others do not; they keep beavering away at the unattainable long after their best-by dates, fighting the subtle protestations of wrinkles and flab with equal parts denial and exercise, until the stench of desperation sets in and someone or something--an annoyed spouse, a disastrous conquest, or an uprising in the workplace--finally lets them know that it's time to knock it off.

all I can say is what I said

Elusive Trope — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 01:12:07 +0000

In reply to Most of the people involved

all I can say is what I said below is...Lord of the Flies

Most of the people involved

acanuck — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:46:18 +0000

In reply to Yes; it's this, which makes

Most of the people involved this story seem to be military junkies.

Artappraiser has hit on something here. I'd instead use the generic term "power junkies." Of which sex, especially sex in defiance of convention, is a major manifestation. It's hardwired into our DNA, from when the biggest, strongest ape or elk began getting all the lady apes and elks in the forest. People who focus on accumulating wealth misunderstand: money is merely liquid power, and power easily transmutes into sexual excess.

At first glance, Petraeus and Broadwell are both power junkies. Someone raised the issue "maybe it's love." Of course it's love! They are mirror images of each other. In my mind, neither is a victim. It's possible to see both as exploiters and users. But so what? That's what power junkies do. Clinton, Edwards, Hart, Weiner, Spitzer, Petraeus are not aberrations; that their recklessness actually cost most of them their power is what's unusual.

The main issue the doctor raises -- of media fawning over strong, heroic leaders who in turn feed that obsession -- is valid. But it's a skill we select our leaders for, no? What was special about Petraeus is that, for a soldier, he was such a political animal. There have been others -- like Patton, MacArthur -- but the U.S. military tends to reward competence and solid judgment rather than flash or star quality. (Can you name even one of the Joint Chiefs? I can't.)

Bottom line, I hope this ends Petraeus's political ambitions.

I would add, when I related

Elusive Trope — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:36:17 +0000

In reply to It isn't so much that hubris

I would add, when I related this statement to my co-worker, her response was to ask, why aren't more men like this?:

My spouse, on the other hand, not only sees my feet of clay but has to remind me twice a week about the clayey footprints I've left on the rug. That is just one of the many reasons I prefer her.

I explained to her that men grow up as young boys in the culture of young boys is in large part about always proving you're perfect. I.E. King of the Hill: those who deny our perfection must be eliminated and defeated. Lord of the Flies anyone?

It isn't so much that hubris

Elusive Trope — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:27:44 +0000

In reply to Excusing Petraeus

It isn't so much that hubris leads powerful men to chase younger women for sex. It's that such men have sex with younger women in order to get more and more hubris.

There is so much here in this blog to discuss in terms of our culture and its perception and discourse on women, but the above quote is to me pure brilliance. Recently, I had discussion with a co-worker about why men have mid-life crises. This catches in a nutshell the dynamics behind them.

The average joe has a crisis because he wakes up one morning and finds that he hasn't achieved what he thinks he should have achieved and the trajectory of life indicates he never will. Guys like Petraeus wake up having achieved what they think they should achieve and it isn't enough. They need more.

Among the concepts that come from the Tibetan strain of Buddhism is the notion of the Hungry Ghosts. Clinton, Edwards, Petraeus et al show achieving power and adulation is somehow not fulfilling. Maybe that is why Hollywood is f'd up.