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America Under Barack Obama -An Interview with Nat Hentoff
Review Messenger ^ | December 11, 2009 | John W. Whitehead

Posted on 12/14/2009 1:30:28 PM PST by The Big Boo

America Under Barack Obama - An Interview with Nat Hentoff - By John W. Whitehead - December 11, 2009

Nat Hentoff has had a life well spent, one chock full of controversy fueled by his passion for the protection of civil liberties and human rights. Hentoff is known as a civil libertarian, free speech activist, anti-death penalty advocate, pro-lifer and not uncommon critic of the ideological left.

At 84, Nat Hentoff is an American classic who has never shied away from an issue. For example, he defended a woman rejected from law school because she was Caucasian; called into a talk show hosted by Oliver North to agree with him on liberal intolerance for free speech; was a friend to the late Malcolm X; and wrote the liner notes for Bob Dylan's second album.

A self-described uncategorizable libertarian, Hentoff adds he is also a “Jewish atheist, civil libertarian, pro-lifer.” Accordingly, he has angered nearly every political faction and remains one of a few who has stuck to his principles through his many years of work, regardless of the trouble it stirred up. For instance, when he announced his opposition to abortion he alienated numerous colleagues, and his outspoken denunciation of President Bill Clinton only increased his isolation in liberal circles (He said that Clinton had "done more harm to the Constitution than any president in American history," and called him "a serial violator of our liberties.").

http://www.reviewmessenger.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3704:america-under-barack-obama&catid=19:guest-opinion

(Excerpt) Read more at reviewmessenger.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: america; constitution; hentoff; interview; liberal; obama
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Fascinating reading by an original independent thinker.
1 posted on 12/14/2009 1:30:30 PM PST by The Big Boo
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To: The Big Boo

ping


2 posted on 12/14/2009 1:30:58 PM PST by unkus
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To: The Big Boo

I always liked this guy even when I disagreed with him — because his stands were principled and based on a rational extension of his world view.


3 posted on 12/14/2009 1:33:53 PM PST by Alberta's Child (God is great, beer is good . . . and people are crazy.)
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To: The Big Boo

He used to call himself Nat. :)


4 posted on 12/14/2009 1:34:34 PM PST by Misterioso (Common sense is a simple and non-self-conscious use of logic. -- Ayn Rand)
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To: The Big Boo

Thanks for posting. Bookmark for later reading.


5 posted on 12/14/2009 1:34:43 PM PST by fullchroma (Obama: GET OUT OF MY DOCTOR'S OFFICE!)
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To: Alberta's Child

I used to think he was rational—until he went “pro-life.”


6 posted on 12/14/2009 1:37:37 PM PST by Misterioso (Common sense is a simple and non-self-conscious use of logic. -- Ayn Rand)
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To: The Big Boo
Hentoff is also one of the foremost writers/experts on the history of Jazz music. He cofounded Jazz Review magazine, produced records by Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, and Abbey Lincoln, wrote reviews for 30+ years in the NYT, New Yorker, and Village Voice, and wrote liner notes for many jazz records in the 1960s and 1970s.
7 posted on 12/14/2009 1:38:12 PM PST by oblomov
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To: Alberta's Child

He stands with the few true liberals as an independent thinker not a ideologue.


8 posted on 12/14/2009 1:38:13 PM PST by dervish (I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself)
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To: Misterioso

“Pro-life” isn’t rational?


9 posted on 12/14/2009 1:39:32 PM PST by Pyro7480 ("If you know how not to pray, take Joseph as your master, and you will not go astray." - St. Teresa)
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To: The Big Boo

Well, he certainly says what he thinks, as usual.

For instance: “I try to avoid hyperbole, but I think Obama is possibly the most dangerous and destructive president we have ever had.”

And a number of other statements along those lines.


10 posted on 12/14/2009 1:42:40 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Pyro7480

I think pro-life is very rational. I think abortion is irrational to the extreme.


11 posted on 12/14/2009 1:43:51 PM PST by GeronL (Join the Palin Beer Summit Putsch!!)
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To: The Big Boo
Here's a couple of quotes from the interview which jumped out at me.

Nat Hentoff: I try to avoid hyperbole, but I think Obama is possibly the most dangerous and destructive president we have ever had.

So in answer to your question, I am beginning to think that this guy is a phony. Obama seems to have no firm principles that I can discern that he will adhere to. His only principle is his own aggrandizement. This is a very dangerous mindset for a president to have.


Wow!
12 posted on 12/14/2009 1:47:01 PM PST by Ticonderoga34 (Free Obama's Birth Certificate!)
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To: The Big Boo

the usurper

http://gunnyg.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/another-full-page-ad-obama-a-usurpervisual-by-devvy/


13 posted on 12/14/2009 1:48:19 PM PST by gunnyg (Just An Old Gunny ~ And *Still* Not A F'n Commie Basterd!)
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To: The Big Boo

I never put Hentoff out there as a conservative by any means, and actually thought of him pretty much as a liberal. He may very well be the true centrist in his ability to think clearly. Krauthammer and Victor David Hanson also come to mind.

BUT READ THIS ARTICLE FROM SOMEONE WHO PROBABLY IS MORE ALLIGNED WITH THE LEFT. HE PUTS THINGS SQUARELY THE WAY WE ALL FEEL HERE. GREAT GREAT POST!!!!!!!!!!


14 posted on 12/14/2009 1:56:56 PM PST by nikos1121 (Praying for -20)
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To: The Big Boo

later


15 posted on 12/14/2009 2:02:14 PM PST by mel
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To: The Big Boo

Hentoff is our Solzhenitsyn.


16 posted on 12/14/2009 3:38:57 PM PST by flowerplough ( Pennsylvania today - New New Jersey meets North West Virginia.)
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To: The Big Boo
The interviewer failed to ask the most important question of all, “Is Obama a natural born citizen?”
17 posted on 12/14/2009 3:41:44 PM PST by wintertime (qw)
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To: The Big Boo

I can’t believe Nat Hentoff is 84! He was young when I knew him.


18 posted on 12/14/2009 5:08:13 PM PST by Palladin (Holder and Obama are terrorists.)
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To: nikos1121
I never put Hentoff out there as a conservative by any means, and actually thought of him pretty much as a liberal. He may very well be the true centrist in his ability to think clearly.

Hentoff has always been what I call an "honest liberal". We can disagree with him on policy points, sure. But he knows "right" and he knows "wrong".

And unlike most on the left, he actually loves his country.

19 posted on 12/14/2009 5:47:27 PM PST by okie01 (THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA: Ignorance on Parade)
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To: The Big Boo

That is truly an awesome interview. If anybody reading here hasn’t looked at it, then go straight to the link and read it. Solid gold.


20 posted on 12/14/2009 10:46:45 PM PST by TheMole
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