Dennis Kucinich and the UFO (744 hits)
Category: PoliticsRating: 0.78 on 19 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by <robitfuel.at.gmail.com> (View user info) at 2007-10-31 14:09:56 EDT
Last night towards the end of the Democratic Presidential debate Tim Russert asked candidate Dennis Kucinich about his encounter with a UFO from Shirley MacLaine's new book, "Sage-Ing While Age-Ing.". Basically the encounter consisted of seeing a large triangular craft in the sky speed away at an incomprehensible speed that made him feel all warm and tingly inside.
Kucinich, she writes on page143-144 of the book, "had a close sighting over my home in Graham, Washington, when I lived there. Dennis found his encounter extremely moving. The smell of roses drew him out to my balcony where, when he looked up, he saw a gigantic triangular craft, silent, and observing him. It hovered, soundless, for ten minutes or so, and sped away with a speed he couldn't comprehend. He said he felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind."
Now while I've never seen a UFO myself that could be considered extraterrestrial I'm not completely closed minded to the possibility that life on other planets could exist. After all there is an edge to what we are able to see and could ever possibly see in the universe. Light travels at the intense speed of 186,411 miles per second but that's relatively slow in comparison with distance needed to travel to the nearest known galaxy (Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy), an estimated 25,000 light years away.
"We could never see a galaxy that is farther away in light travel time than the universe is old—an estimated 14 billion or so years. Thus, we are surrounded by a "horizon" that we cannot look beyond—a horizon set by the distance that light can travel over the age of the universe." Or, as Douglas Adams put it, "Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."
With the mind shattering scope of the universe in mind I can entertain the possibility of life on other planets. I find it unlikely they would take an interest in us or even bother getting that close (I'm sure their research equipment would be far beyond what we could even imagine at this point) but the possibility is there. What I find discouraging is the reverberating effect this question may have on Dennis Kucinich's campaign. While I'm not naïve enough to think he actually has a shot at winning I do respect what he is trying to bring to the political table. He's the only democratic candidate who filed impeachment proceedings against Dick Cheney.
Among other things he wants to end the war on drugs, repeal the Patriot Act, legalize same sex marriage, provide a non-profit universal health care system covering all Americans by passage of the United States National Health Insurance Act, prevent the privatization of social security, ending the H1Band L1 Visa programs and he's one of only 2 presidential candidates (that I'm aware of) who voted against the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
There are things I disagree with that he proposes but his overall stance, I feel, is respectable.
Cut to last night and the UFO question and now, I would wager, this one aspect is going to be reverberated around the rabid sound bite political nature of our newscasts. I fear it will be ping ponged from network to network until the most prominent fact people who do not follow politics will know about Dennis Kucinich is that he saw a UFO and therefore, must be crazy. That is, if he wasn't already thought to be crazy by filing impeachment proceedings against the current administration. Last night you could see the other candidates amusement at this revelation and hear many members of the audience outright laughing. This close minded nature is disconcerting to me and always has been.
My sole point is that the basis for forming a political opinion about Kucinich or any other candidate should be measuring their current stances and past political history and by measuring what they say they will do against what they've already done. I find it annoying when I speak with people who have bought into the news medias character assassination without ever having done the research themselves about a political candidate. I'm speaking about all candidates, Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, Green or Constitution.
All I would ask of people is that before they come to a conclusion politically that they find out for themselves through their own extensive research just what a candidate stands for, what he's done in the past and what he plans to do in the future.
This is of course not factoring in the theory that the entire political process is a show meant to convey the illusion choice we're supposed to think we have.
But that's another matter entirely.
And...on a somewhat related note, I found the major media networks brands embedded within the flag that made up the platforms background a nice, subtle touch.
Pictured below is the capital steps from a war protest on Sept 15th. Those are Iraq war veterans their hauling to jail on the upper right steps. It was very interesting being around such unbridled HATE from the pro-war people. All in all though, it was an extraodinary experience and nice symbol for democracy but ultimately useless.
Congress wasn't even in session.
(kinda switched gears there, apologies)
User Reviews
Submitted by icanbecool (user info) at 2007-11-01 10:41:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
"those are Iraq war veterans their hauling to jail on the upper right steps. It was very interesting being around such unbridled HATE from the pro-war people." should be "they're"
Submitted by robotfuel (user info) at 2007-11-01 08:44:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
"Arresting people who are trespassing and refuse to leave is unbridled hate?"
It was a legal protest. Ze papers had been signed and everything. Have you ever seen a 60 year old womans face contorted in a mask of rage, screaming at you while you smiled back and holding up a sign that says "Die you peace loving cocksuckers!"?
Quite interesting to say the least.
Submitted by MudWhistle (user info) at 2007-11-01 08:05:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Is it odd to look and point fingers at a man in politics for spouting about seeing a UFO and then watch as Congress approves another lump of money to Fund NASA's SETI program?
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2007-11-01 07:56:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Well, I think it's more the faux pas that people find so ludicrous rather than the actual "Ah done seen it with ma own two eyes" statement itself. I mean to say that when a political candidate is on the trail there's a certain protocol to the whole process that he ought to be following, namely not going off on some manner of bender and generally not doing anything in public that might be construed as weird.
As an Englishman I can quite appreciate the standards of propriety that has been set. There's a reason for them too, afterall should this guy get elected he'll come into contact with international representatives. It simply would not do to have a high ranking government official attending a conference on international trade start ranting and raving about extra-terrestrial visitors. It'd be embarrasing, not to mention unproffesional.
Submitted by Fartman (user info) at 2007-11-01 07:55:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I'm less concerned about him seeing UFOs than I am about him hanging out with Shirley MacLaine. She hasn't had all of her oars in the water for about 20 years.
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2007-11-01 07:26:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
"It was very interesting being around such unbridled HATE from the pro-war people."
Arresting people who are trespassing and refuse to leave is unbridled hate?
Interesting take.
Submitted by rob_berg (user info) at 2007-10-31 19:48:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I like the cut of your jib, rookie.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2007-10-31 19:23:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Kucinich is a nutjob...and ultra liberal.
I know that's redundant.
Submitted by Constitution (user info) at 2007-10-31 18:31:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Anything bad you can say about Kucinich is negated by his hot wife with a tongue ring who is half his age.
I'm voting for Ron Paul though.
Submitted by HadToBeDone (user info) at 2007-10-31 15:49:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2007-10-31 15:11:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
DON'T BLAME ME, I VOTED FOR LAROUCHE
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We need 3 million LaRouche write-ins....
Submitted by triangle_man (user info) at 2007-10-31 15:36:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
our associations queer our goals
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-10-31 15:29:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
.
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-10-31 15:29:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2007-10-31 15:11:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
DON'T BLAME ME, I VOTED FOR LAROUCHE
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2007-10-31 15:02:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
i'd rather a candidate see nonexistant aliens in the sky than nonexistant bombs in iraq/iran/sudan/jordan/kuwait/palestine/pakistan/afghanistan/saudi/uae or wherever he's looking at next.
Submitted by Lambchop (user info) at 2007-10-31 14:59:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by MudWhistle (user info) at 2007-10-31 14:13:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
http://thebrinkofsanity.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/ronpaul.jpg
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"the biggest fight since rocky and apollo"
Submitted by Yozz (user info) at 2007-10-31 14:42:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
He's got a fucking hottie for a wife too. But that's beside the point....
Well written.
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2007-10-31 14:41:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Well, Kucinich IS kind of a wack-job... but he's a loveable wack-job.
Submitted by MudWhistle (user info) at 2007-10-31 14:13:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
http://thebrinkofsanity.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/ronpaul.jpg