You may now refer to me as Sahar Massachi, friend of Mike Gravel.
More news at 11. And by 11 I mean after I get a good night’s sleep.
edit– Granted, it didn’t go quite as I’d hoped. I really wanted to hear his critique of the American Empire and Military/Industrial complex. Instead I ended up as the vehicle through which he vented his frustration with the Democratic Party. Well, I didn’t wilt under all that; I’m still alive, I got to ask one of my many questions, and we bonded after the official lecture. All in all, a success.
I agree.
Whoa there Sahar. We better have a little talk about “rambling, disconnected rants”, because I sure didn’t say anything about Obama being as bad as McCain. Sounds like your stretching this farther than it goes.
Anyway, seeing as Gravel served on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and chaired the Energy, Water Resources, and Environmental Pollution subcommittees, maybe he was just the person to correct you on your mistake.
But frankly, this little argument is becoming more pointless by the minute.
Oh, really? So you’re telling me that Obama would be as bad a president as McCain? Or that Al Gore did more for the environment than Mike Gravel, who proudly was responsible for the Alaska Pipeline, ever was?
I accidentally gave Al Gore credit for the EPA, rather than holding the first congressional hearings and being really the only congressman for a significant period of time to care about Global Warming. Nixon created the EPA. Gravel created the Trans-Alaska pipeline
Then I tried to correct myself later, but he was too busy trying to make me a spokesperson for Obama. It’s not my place to be an apologist for Obama or Feingold or anyone else.
I agree with Gravel on a lot of issues. Instead of the debate and dialogue he promised, he launched into a rambling, disconnected rant. That’s his right, I suppose. Just as it’s my right not to be intimidated by him.
And by the way, Gravel deserved to be pissed off when, intentionally or not, you gave Al Gore credit for something he did.
I think the person who was right came out looking better. And it sounds like he had you on every point you made.
Or maybe he made himself look ridiculous, screaming and spitting and so forth, while I held my composure.
He made himself look like a fool; getting all upset and trying to make it personal. I brought the focus back onto the issues and showed how petty he was acting.
Sure, I said “spearheaded the EPA” rather than “held the first congressional hearings on global warming”, but it’s hard to keep all your wits about you when the guy who ended the draft is sputtering 10 feet away from you.
So came out looking better? The earnest student who asked a straight answer and stood up for himself and his ideals, or the old man who tried to bully said student into submission?
May I refer to you as friend-who-got-new-asshole-ripped-by Mike Gravel? For serious good job trying to question him and stand up to what he was saying, but he owned you.
Sahar, don’t listen to them. It was a question-and-answer session. It was a political event, at which Gravel was promoting direct democracy. What could be more appropriate for such an event, than to debate? I’m actually pretty pissed at everyone else for being so passive and throwing softball pitches right across the plate. The man needs to be challenged.
Or perhaps he tried to pick on me, I held my ground, he realized it wasn’t working and then stopped.
Later, when I finally was able to ask him a question, I asked him a serious question and got a serious response.
In the aftermath, I talked to the SDS organizers and many other people and they said I was fine. I also talked to the Senator himself several times, and he was very courteous, thoughtful, and gentlemanly, as was I.
You’re confusing “assertively and politely defending my position” with something else entirely.
Uh, in the most ironic of ways, yeah. You were actually pretty rude, though I suppose he appreciated that you walked into a room and pissed everybody off.