tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4162431493776686444.post4754041718144641168..comments2023-10-29T05:13:15.825-05:00Comments on Another War-on-Terror Blog: America is Picking a Wartime President: Please be Careful!Brian H. Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13209697542675181894noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4162431493776686444.post-44818553399384678852008-04-14T21:52:00.000-05:002008-04-14T21:52:00.000-05:00Brigid, American English usage of the word is what...Brigid, <BR/><BR/>American English usage of the word is what you said. <BR/><BR/>Here are some more formal definitions: <BR/><BR/>"<B><A HREF="http://www.bartleby.com/61/26/C0512600.html" REL="nofollow">Commodity</A></B>" 1. Something useful that can be turned to commercial or other advantage: “Left-handed, power-hitting third basemen are a rare commodity in the big leagues” (Steve Guiremand, [Long Beach, CA] Press-Telegram June 2, 1995). 2. An article of trade or commerce, especially an agricultural or mining product that can be processed and resold. 3. Advantage; benefit."<BR/>The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition<BR/><BR/>The term, in Marxist theory, is similar: "<I><B>A commodity is,</B> in the first place, an object outside of us, a thing that by its properties satisfies human wants of some sort or another. The nature of such wants, whether, for instance, they spring from the stomach or from fancy, makes no difference. Neither are we here concerned to know how the object satisfies these wants, whether directly as means of subsistence, or indirectly as means of production</I>" <BR/>Karl Marx, from "<A HREF="http://english.emory.edu/Bahri/Marxcommodity.html" REL="nofollow">Marx and the Idea of Commodity</A>"<BR/><BR/>In the context of an American presidential candidate addressing American reporters, explaining her position in reference to the effect of an uncaring government on the welfare of the working class in an industrial state, my educated guess is that Hillary Clinton was using "commodities" in the usual American English sense, as the A.H. #2 definition, above, or possibly the A.H. #1 definition. <BR/><BR/>I find it unlikely that she meant it in the Marxian sense of the word, since the American electorate in general has not developed a positive attitude toward Marxism.Brian H. Gillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13209697542675181894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4162431493776686444.post-31646580086053615272008-04-14T20:29:00.000-05:002008-04-14T20:29:00.000-05:00"Commodities"?Isn't that something that can be sol..."Commodities"?<BR/><BR/>Isn't that something that can be sold or otherwise used commercially? I thought we *were* making commodities.<BR/><BR/>Or don't sugar beets count?Brigidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03796317915330760325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4162431493776686444.post-35272132866675955202008-04-14T18:10:00.000-05:002008-04-14T18:10:00.000-05:00Don't knock the steel industry. It was a vital par...Don't knock the steel industry. It was a vital part of the American economy in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. And, it's still important. Just not quite as central. <BR/><BR/>Seriously, I was very impressed by that anachronistic remark. <BR/><BR/>I'm not sure how much Obama's attitude toward what you call grass roots Americans is contempt, and how much is ignorance. <BR/><BR/>Either way, it's not a good quality for a potential president, in my opinion. <BR/><BR/>As to Obama and black Americans, I trust that you're right, but I found a remarkable post yesterday: <BR/><BR/>"<A HREF="http://gollygeeez.blogspot.com/2008/04/obama-in-his-own-words.html" REL="nofollow">Obama, in his own words............</A>" <BR/>geeZ! (April 13, 2008)<BR/><BR/>There's a little text, and a YouTube video. <BR/><BR/>I found the collection 'black power' rhetoric in this video drearily familiar, from my memories of the sixties.Brian H. Gillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13209697542675181894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4162431493776686444.post-80301303383285357702008-04-14T16:15:00.000-05:002008-04-14T16:15:00.000-05:00In a speech televised this morning (April 14, 2008...<I>In a speech televised this morning (April 14, 2008), another candidate said that, in sharp contrast to the other party, if elected she would have America "making things like steel and commodities again"</I><BR/><BR/>Oh my heck! Don't tell me Paris Hilton is running for president now! Seriously, 'making things like steel and commodities'? heh<BR/><BR/>Interesting and sober analysis. Obama shows such a deep contempt for grass roots Americans it's frightening. His rise to popularity is a really strange phenomenon when you consider he's so unlike the vast majority of Americans, including the Black American community, as to be unable to comprehend how they think and why. I read an excerpt from his book which quoted some of his remarks about the white boys of the South being 'sewn into' their underwear and who stunk (I can't remember the metaphor). The revulsion he feels towards many Americans is something which Americans will really feel if he gets into power.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com