# Obama used the N word!



## Ralphy1 (Jun 24, 2015)

Critics are saying that this was not necessary to make his point about how racism still is a problem in American society.  I lean toward the less use of the word the better so I agree with the critics.  How about you?


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## Warrigal (Jun 24, 2015)

He chose his words carefully. 
Sometimes it is appropriate to call a spade a n*gg*r.
No apologies from me on this one in case you are thinking that I've gone too far. 

A gunman shoots nine black worshippers dead to start a race war and people are fussing about one word coming from the lips of the president. 
What about the rest of his message?

If Obama has slipped the leash of political correctness and plans to make a difference before his presidency ends then I say, "Go Barrack!"


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 24, 2015)

Your opinion has been duly noted, and I will let it pass without comment for the moment...


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## QuickSilver (Jun 24, 2015)

I believe he has every right to use the word in the context he did..  He was making a point that just because most of us don't use it any longer, it does not mean that racism is gone..  It's still alive and present.     Wonder how many times he has been called that in his lifetime...  Bet more times that can be counted.. particularly in the last 8 years.


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 24, 2015)

And I refuse to comment on your comment for the moment, too...


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## QuickSilver (Jun 24, 2015)

Just keep in mind... there is a HUGE difference in "saying" the word as he did... and "USING" the word toward someone.


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 24, 2015)

OK, but what if used the word kike, wop, chink, etc,?


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## Ameriscot (Jun 24, 2015)

I agree with QS.


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## Warrigal (Jun 24, 2015)

Ralphy1 said:


> OK, but what if used the word kike, wop, chink, etc,?



They wouldn't had had any context at this time. 
Stop stirring and be serious because the issue of racism and easy access to guns deserves serious treatment.


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 24, 2015)

No, no, I am trying to make a point.  You would probably chastise a white leader for using the N word or any slur word for a race, but it is OK for a member of a particular race to use a slur word about their race.  I stand my ground that this wrong...


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## Warrigal (Jun 24, 2015)

In the context Obama was using it, it would have been OK if it had been said by the Pope.


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 24, 2015)

The Pope?  He is all over the lot with his contradictions in thinking, but that is another story...


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## QuickSilver (Jun 24, 2015)

Ralphy1 said:


> OK, but what if used the word kike, wop, chink, etc,?



You just did..    Again, are you using the words to denigrate a person?  yes.. wrong.. BUT if you are saying the word as an example of words used against people, it is a different connotation.


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 24, 2015)

Ok, honky...nthego:


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## QuickSilver (Jun 24, 2015)

Ralphy1 said:


> Ok, honky...nthego:



See  Ralphy you still don't understand...  You USED the word Honky against me...  a person.    Had you said.. "It's really not ok for someone to call a person a Honky"  or..  "Some people still use the word Honky"  that is totally different.


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 24, 2015)

OK again, but I don't think that you have to capitalize honky...


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## oldman (Jun 24, 2015)

Without going into a long diatribe or pontification of remarks, I will just say that I feel that the President could have (or maybe should have) made his remarks in a different way, so as not to have a need to use the 'N' word. It is sort of like those people that use the 'F' word because they feel that they can better stress their point by doing so. Would that be acceptable also, if the President used that word, so long as he used it in the proper context? 

In other words, I guess what I am saying is that there are just some words that do not have to be used to stress one's point. We have over one million words in the English language, so I would imagine that a man with the President's intellect should be able to find another suitable word. 

From CNN: "It's not just a matter of it not being polite to say ****** in public," Or, "It's not just a matter of it not being polite to say the "N" word in public,"  http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/22/politics/obama-n-word-race-politics/
In either sentence, I get the point, don't you?


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 24, 2015)

Exactly...


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## QuickSilver (Jun 24, 2015)

NO... I think that the fact that the President is Black... and has experienced being called that in his life,  gives him a license that Whites don't have..  Sorry if this upsets anyone... but if you are a member of a group, you have more latitude..   For example, in another thread..  TrueSpock made a blind joke...  he added that he WAS legally blind.. so he could say that..   Don't you agree?

However the President wasn't making a joke...  which under the circumstances would be terribley  inappropriate..  He was stating a fact..


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 24, 2015)

Yes, he can, and many of the blind and visually impaired have great senses of humor.  They some times share it with the sighted when at times they call each other "a blink" in front of us...


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## Glinda (Jun 24, 2015)

In the context in which President Obama used the N word, he was essentially quoting those racists who use the word routinely.  If he had tried to disguise it, water it down, or say it differently, it would not have had the impact that it obviously did.  He is a wise man and he does not speak impulsively.  He knew what he was saying and he knew it needed to be said exactly the way he said it.  I support him 100%.


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## Jackie22 (Jun 24, 2015)

Glinda said:


> In the context in which President Obama used the N word, he was essentially quoting those racists who use the word routinely.  If he had tried to disguise it, water it down, or say it differently, it would not have had the impact that it obviously did.  He is a wise man and he does not speak impulsively.  He knew what he was saying and he knew it needed to be said exactly the way he said it.  I support him 100%.



Exactly!  Well said, Glinda.


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## Jackie22 (Jun 24, 2015)

I think when President Obama was elected, it accelerated racism in our country, he does an excellent job of pointing out the wrongs so that all are aware and trying to keep the crazies calm.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 24, 2015)

Jackie22 said:


> I think when President Obama was elected, it accelerated racism in our country, he does an excellent job of pointing out the wrongs so that all are aware and trying to keep the crazies calm.



I for one was gobsmacked at how racists and racist comments came out of the woodwork after his election.  I fully admit to being one of those unaware caucasians who really believed that was left back in the 60's..   Sadly... it had just gone underground... which is why so many talking heads take exception to him using the "word"..   it embarrasses them, and shines a light on their true feelings..   No..  they don't use the "N" word in public.... only sometimes in private.. and most often in their heads.


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## justino0o0o0 (Jun 24, 2015)

Waiting for his dismissle.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 24, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> I for one was gobsmacked at how racists and racist comments came out of the woodwork after his election.  I fully admit to being one of those unaware caucasians who really believed that was left back in the 60's..   Sadly... it had just gone underground... which is why so many talking heads take exception to him using the "word"..   it embarrasses them, and shines a light on their true feelings..   No..  they don't use the "N" word in public.... only sometimes in private.. and most often in their heads.



I too was naive in believing racism was dying out.  I thought things were getting better, but actually people just got quieter about how they felt. Now it seems racism has been revived and become more like pre civil rights day in the attitudes.  A lot of whites have heard they will be in the minority in the US in the future and it scares the crap out of them.  Tough. Deal with it.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 24, 2015)

What's unfortunate is that it is spreading on to many young, uneducated, low information,  and easily manipulated people.


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## AZ Jim (Jun 24, 2015)

Under the circumstance I see how anyone can justify his use of the word.  At the same time I feel he should have avoided it due to the fact that so many haters were just waiting for another reason to attack him. As to the OP it supports the latter of my first two sentences.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 24, 2015)

AZ Jim said:


> Under the circumstance I see how anyone can justify his use of the word.  At the same time I feel he should have avoided it due to the fact that so many haters were just waiting for another reason to attack him. As to the OP it supports the latter of my first two sentences.



I really think he doesn't give a rat's patoot any more..   Why should he.. ?


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## AZ Jim (Jun 24, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> I really think he doesn't give a rat's patoot any more..   Why should he.. ?



One reason would be to deny more anti-Obama rhetoric which has the habit of becoming anti-Democrat once the detractors decide to run with it.


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## SeaBreeze (Jun 24, 2015)

Glinda said:


> In the context in which President Obama used the N word, he was essentially quoting those racists who use the word routinely.  If he had tried to disguise it, water it down, or say it differently, it would not have had the impact that it obviously did.  He is a wise man and he does not speak impulsively.  He knew what he was saying and he knew it needed to be said exactly the way he said it.  I support him 100%.



I agree with you completely Glinda, the President used the word to make a point and convey a message, there's nothing wrong with what he said, it needed to be said.  I'm not surprised that the conservative talk shows were jumping all over this yesterday, to me it was very childish.  They try to blow it out of proportion and make something out of nothing, that's how they roll.  Those people prove daily that racism is alive and well in America, even in 2015...so sad.  Here's a short clip, very thoughtful.


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## SeaBreeze (Jun 24, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> A lot of whites have heard they will be in the minority in the US in the future and it scares the crap out of them.  Tough. Deal with it.



You hit the nail on the head Ameriscot.


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## oldman (Jun 24, 2015)

I totally disagree. It is not OK for some people to use the word and not others, regardless if you are included or not. I have read many, many posts that have been in severe opposition and have denounced to using this word, but now that the President has used it and that he is partially black, it's OK. It's not a gray area, either we use it or we don't; no matter the context. I don't go around calling myself a whitey or a cracker or whatever, although I have been called those names on occasion and there is no reason why when referring to my heritage I ever would. We have all heard black comedians use this word when speaking of others in their race. I remember a "Sanford & Son" segment where Lamont had to go to traffic court because he was given a ticket by a white cop. Fred thought he was being a hero by standing up and telling the judge that he was Lamont's legal counsel. There were many blacks in the courtroom. Fred asked the white cop why he never arrested any white drivers. The white cop said he does. Fred answered by asking, "You do? Well where are they? Look around in here. There's enough n_______s in here to make a Tarzan movie." How would that have gone over if a white man would have said that? 

Some want to take down the Confederate flag because of what it stands for in their eyes, yet we don't go so far as to say, "Well, some can say the 'N' word, but only if they are black." Makes no sense. It's like wanting our cake and eating it to. I have a friend that is a judge in the bordering county. We got to talking about race one day and the subject of hate crimes came up. Meanwhile, another person stuck his nose into our conversation and asked the Judge if he yelled the 'N' word at a black man across the street, would he be charged with a hate crime. The Judge said no, but if he would use the word along with a threat, then probably. This would be like yelling, "Hey, 'N', get off of our street or I'll kick your black a$$." That could be considered a hate crime. On the other hand, if he would just yell, "Hey, *YOU*, get your black a$$ out of here." Totally different. Again, it really doesn't make a lot of sense to me. 

We had an issue with a black man on a flight from Miami some years ago. He was pretty upset over a company policy, but there just wasn't anything we could do until we reached our destination. During the conversation he said to one of the flight attendants, "You crackers would't understand." No big deal. We passed it off and took care of his issue when we reached Chicago. It's just like when we dealt with black people we would never think to say, I'm sorry, but we crackers just don't understand." Who in their right mind would say such garbage? 

I agree with what the columnist wrote in his blog. The President has normally only addressed race issues when the right time presented itself, like with the police issues. For that, I give him credit for being smart enough to know when to pick his battles. However, he has never gone this far to actually say the word that so many of us repudiate in our life. My last word on this is that I believe that his saying what he did and in the context that it was said; it was a slip of the tongue. Perhaps, as some say, a Freudian slip. I would almost bet that if he had it to do over again, he would choose different words. 

God Bless America!!


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## QuickSilver (Jun 24, 2015)

Again... there is a huge difference in "Saying" the word and actually "Using" the word to denegrate or demean an individual or a group of individuals..  He did not use the word against or toward anyone..  He was saying the word in an illustrative sense..  BIG difference.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 24, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> Again... there is a huge difference in "Saying" the word and actually "Using" the word to denegrate or demean an individual or a group of individuals..  He did not use the word against or toward anyone..  He was saying the word in an illustrative sense..  BIG difference.



It made his point and got attention.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 24, 2015)

I can only think of one other word that is so odeous it needs to be called by it's first letter... and that being the "C" word.


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## Davey Jones (Jun 24, 2015)

Interesting...
niG## A cigar, rello, usually of the Swisher Sweet or White Owl brand. These normally grape or white grape flavored cigars are used by the people in the hood to break down and roll up BLUNTS.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 24, 2015)

Davey Jones said:


> Interesting...
> niG## A cigar, rello, usually of the Swisher Sweet or White Owl brand. These normally grape or white grape flavored cigars are used by the people in the hood to break down and roll up BLUNTS.



I used to enjoy a Swisher Sweet once in a while... I liked the peach flavor..


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## drifter (Jun 24, 2015)

There's a number of good posts here but I like this one. I wish I'd said it.

He chose his words carefully. 
Sometimes it is appropriate to call a spade a n*gg*r.
No apologies from me on this one in case you are thinking that I've gone too far. 

A gunman shoots nine black worshippers dead to start a race war and people are fussing about one word coming from the lips of the president. 
What about the rest of his message?

If Obama has slipped the leash of political correctness and plans to make a difference before his presidency ends then I say, "Go Barrack!"​


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## Butterfly (Jun 24, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> See  Ralphy you still don't understand...  You USED the word Honky against me...  a person.    Had you said.. "It's really not ok for someone to call a person a Honky"  or..  "Some people still use the word Honky"  that is totally different.



Agree!


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## applecruncher (Jun 24, 2015)

Wow. Now I understand why tigers eat their young.


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## Warrigal (Jun 24, 2015)

Tigers eat their young? 
I thought they ate our*** young.

*** By our I mean the young of Indian villagers.


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## tnthomas (Jun 24, 2015)

Has anyone actually heard the word "honky" in Real Life?   I've only heard it in '70s sitcoms and a few movies.


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## Warrigal (Jun 24, 2015)

It's not a common term in OZ but we are familiar with it from TV.

Anglo Aussies were once referred to as "skips" derived from "Skippy the Bush Kangaroo"
Hardly an insult but it was used by kids who were being called "wogs" as a return retort.

Aboriginees have a word for whites. We are "gubbas" but it is only commonly used in the north of Australia.
Whether it is an insult or not depends more on the tone of voice more than anything else.


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## SeaBreeze (Jun 24, 2015)

tnthomas said:


> Has anyone actually heard the word "honky" in Real Life?   I've only heard it in '70s sitcoms and a few movies.



No.


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## NancyNGA (Jun 24, 2015)

Never, but I heard the term hunky used a lot when I was a kid.   I believe, in the following sense... 
_
(Honky_ may be a variant of _hunky_, which was a deviation of _Bohunk_, a slur for Bohemian-Hungarian immigrants in the early 1900s)


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## Warrigal (Jun 24, 2015)

Thanks for the interesting post, Nancy.


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## Butterfly (Jun 24, 2015)

tnthomas said:


> Has anyone actually heard the word "honky" in Real Life?   I've only heard it in '70s sitcoms and a few movies.



Yup -- heard it (and worse) a lot in late 60s in DC.  Lotta racial hatred there at the time.


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 25, 2015)

Ladies call me hunky but I don't take it as a slur...nthego:


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## Ameriscot (Jun 25, 2015)

Ralphy1 said:


> Ladies call me hunky but I don't take it as a slur...nthego:



Geez, I'd better put on my hip waders to get through this BS!


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## QuickSilver (Jun 25, 2015)

Never heard honky....  BUt I've heard the word cracker...which I have heard is a slur for Whites..  coming from slavery days when the white overseer would carry a whip and the word cracker comes from the sound the whip made.

My Alabama relatives always called folks from Gerorgia "Crackers"..  Not sure why... They claimed that the folks from Georgia called them "Pea Pickers"


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## Warrigal (Jun 25, 2015)

Aaargh! Double post.


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## Warrigal (Jun 25, 2015)

I don't think that any slur can hurt very much when you are a member of the dominant and privileged group. It hurts a lot more when you are disadvantaged every day and the slur rubs this in. People of colour are not the only ones who feel this. The poor, the handicapped and the disenfranchised also feel it but the children of slaves must be especially sensitive.

To illustrate: if someone calls me a name that conjures up my skin colour (fair) it doesn't trouble me very much. At most it is an annoyance but if you belittle me as a female, because I'm a female, then the hackles will rise because I've had enough of that. More than enough.


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 25, 2015)

I am also called a WASP, but I dropped the P some time ago...


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## Warrigal (Jun 25, 2015)

You're a WAS? Is that the same as a HAS BEEN?


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 25, 2015)

Yikes!  I have never looked at it that way!


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## QuickSilver (Jun 25, 2015)

I don't think WASP is really a slur though... White Ango Saxon Protestant is a description.


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 25, 2015)

Around here it can be though many wish they were...


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## QuickSilver (Jun 25, 2015)

I still don't think its a slur...  Kike... WOP...Heinie...chink....   slurs...  WASP  not so much


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 25, 2015)

OK, you can call me one with a small p...


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## Warrigal (Jun 25, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> I don't think WASP is really a slur though... White Ango Saxon Protestant is a description.



Correct QS and WOG originally meant Western Oriental Gentleman but even so, when you call someone a wog in Australia it had better be one of your friends and you had better be smiling. Otherwise you might just lose a tooth.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 25, 2015)

I'm not sure someone here would be upset being called a WASP.... or Waspish... It wouldn't bother me.. but who knows.


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## Warrigal (Jun 25, 2015)

I don't think so either. It has no power to offend. 
If someone were to be offended there would have to be something else happening because the word is very tame.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 25, 2015)

I think the ability to cause offense comes with the history.   If the group referred to had been powerless... or otherwise looked down on the word will have more power.  WASPs were never powerless... in fact they were ususally the group wielding the power.


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## Warrigal (Jun 25, 2015)

Exactly. I tried to make the same point earlier but you have been much more succinct.


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## truespock (Jun 25, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> I agree with QS.


Me too.  The President is trying to take a decisive stand on one of our biggest crises and all the PC whiners can do is snivel about his dynamic terminology?  Run for Congress, complainers; all they need is a few good wimps!


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## QuickSilver (Jun 25, 2015)

truespock said:


> Me too.  The man is trying to take a decisive stand on one of our biggest crises and all the PC whiners can do is snivel about his dynamic terminology?  Run for Congress, complainers; all they need is a few good wimps!



What is so damn funny is that the group getting the vapors over his use of the word, is ususally the same group that complains everyone else to too PC..  They are kidding no one...  they use that word...if only in their heads..  They just want something to berate Obama over.


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## Warrigal (Jun 25, 2015)

It is a distraction and we have been distracted too.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 25, 2015)

But at least we have had a pretty good discussion..


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