The Running Man: Go, Arnold, go!



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Topic: Sociology > Education
User: "Dana"
Date: 08 Aug 2003 09:50:10 PM
Object: The Running Man: Go, Arnold, go!
http://www.reason.com/sullum/080803.shtml
The Running Man
Go, Arnold, go!
Jacob Sullum
Years ago I was handing out place cards at a banquet sponsored by the Reason
Foundation when I was approached by a square-jawed man with bushy eyebrows
and a prominent forehead. "Schwarz-e-neg-ger," he said helpfully.
The flat, Austrian-accented delivery was familiar, but I was surprised that
a big movie star would pick up his place card personally. Didn't he have
people for that sort of thing?
I also was impressed that Schwarzenegger did not count on being
recognized-or, at least, pretended not to count on it. The appearance of
humility was not what you'd expect from a man who'd been publicly cocky
since his days as a Mr. Olympia contender. Also, he was shorter than I'd
imagined.
But the weirdest thing about my encounter with the bodybuilder turned action
hero, who announced Wednesday that he's running to replace Gray Davis as
governor of California, may have been that he was there at all. What was the
Terminator doing at an anniversary celebration for a libertarian think tank?
The Reason Foundation (which publishes Reason magazine, where I work) may be
based in Los Angeles, but it's a world away from the glamour of the movie
business. The only plausible explanation for Schwarzenegger's presence was a
genuine interest in the ideas promoted by the foundation, which focuses on
maximizing individual freedom and minimizing government.
That impression was confirmed by the actor's enthusiasm for Milton and Rose
Friedman's PBS series Free to Choose, which explores the connections between
personal, political, and economic freedom. When the series was reissued in
1991, Schwarzenegger taped an introduction in which he said:
"I come from Austria, a socialistic country. There you can hear 18-year-olds
talking about their pension. But me, I wanted more. I wanted to be the best.
Individualism like that is incompatible with socialism. I felt I had to come
to America, where the government wasn't always breathing down your neck or
standing on your shoes."
Schwarzenegger's attraction to individualism can only have been reinforced
by his unlikely success story. After immigrating to the United States at the
age of 21 "with little money and even less English," as The Wall Street
Journal's John Fund puts it, he conquered first bodybuilding and then
Hollywood, making money in real estate along the way.
The most remarkable thing about Schwarzenegger is that he seems so
unremarkable. He's not tall, he's not handsome, he's not much of an actor,
and he's got a heavy, vaguely menacing accent, not to mention a
hard-to-pronounce name. Yet through hard work, determination, wit, and
charm, he managed to become one of the most successful movie stars in
history.
Does that qualify him to be governor of California? I don't know. Is Gray
Davis qualified to be governor of California? Most Californians don't seem
to think so.
Davis portrays the recall as "an effort by the right wing to steal back an
election they couldn't win last November." But if the recall is a theft,
it's one that's perfectly legal, and it can happen only with the agreement
of most voters. That doesn't sound like an assault on democracy.
Davis' supporters (I've counted at least half a dozen) say Schwarzenegger's
candidacy only enhances the "circus," "carnival," or "sideshow" quality of
the recall vote. Notice what all those things have in common: Unlike
politics as usual, they're fun.
So even if Schwarzenegger's libertarian tendencies have been exaggerated, he
can still strike a blow for freedom by encouraging people to take
politicians less seriously. Running for governor was "the most difficult
[decision] I've made in my entire life," he told Jay Leno, "except the one I
made in 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax."
Judging from their dismissive comments, the members of California's
political elite recognize the threat to their self-importance. "The
Terminator!" Davis harumphed in response to Schwarzenegger's announcement.
"I just don't want to comment."
State Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres told the Los Angeles Times:
"People are derisive and kind of like joking, 'the Terminator running,
you've got to be kidding.' I think it's one thing to see a movie or to see a
bodybuilding exhibition, but to have this guy as your governor..."
If Jesse Ventura, who had a much smaller role in Predator, can be governor
of Minnesota, why can't Arnold Schwarzenegger be governor of California? His
political career should be judged by the same standard as his movie career:
its entertainment value.
--
"The Declaration of Independence... [is the] declaratory charter of our
rights, and the rights of man."
-- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), 3rd President of the United States
(1801-1809)
.

User: "Cary Kittrell"

Title: Re: The Running Man: Go, Arnold, go! 11 Aug 2003 11:14:29 AM
In article <vj8o10at5onu8f@corp.supernews.com> "Dana" <yourname@example.com> writes:
<http://www.reason.com/sullum/080803.shtml
<The Running Man
<Go, Arnold, go!
<Jacob Sullum
<
Ah, a gay-friendly, pro-environment, pro-choice Republican who publicly
denounced the Clinton impeachment and who married into America's
liberal dynasty...and whose election would have the incidental side-
effect of removing the governor of one of our most influential states
from consideration for the presidency.
Please, Brer Dana, PLEASE don't throw us in no briar patch!
heh heh heh...
-- cary
.

User: "ralph gibbons"

Title: Re: The Running Man: Go, Arnold, go! 09 Aug 2003 01:42:02 AM
LaRouche Says:
If you know someone in California, tell them to
Vote for the man, not the machine.
We need Gray Davis.
Germany tried importing one right-wing head of state from
Austria. It didn't work out.
We need Gray Davis.
http://larouchein2004.net/pages/pressreleases/2003/030808cadavis.htm
"Dana" <yourname@example.com> wrote in message news:<vj8o10at5onu8f@corp.supernews.com>...

http://www.reason.com/sullum/080803.shtml
The Running Man
Go, Arnold, go!
Jacob Sullum

Years ago I was handing out place cards at a banquet sponsored by the Reason
Foundation when I was approached by a square-jawed man with bushy eyebrows
and a prominent forehead. "Schwarz-e-neg-ger," he said helpfully.
The flat, Austrian-accented delivery was familiar, but I was surprised that
a big movie star would pick up his place card personally. Didn't he have
people for that sort of thing?
I also was impressed that Schwarzenegger did not count on being
recognized-or, at least, pretended not to count on it. The appearance of
humility was not what you'd expect from a man who'd been publicly cocky
since his days as a Mr. Olympia contender. Also, he was shorter than I'd
imagined.
But the weirdest thing about my encounter with the bodybuilder turned action
hero, who announced Wednesday that he's running to replace Gray Davis as
governor of California, may have been that he was there at all. What was the
Terminator doing at an anniversary celebration for a libertarian think tank?
The Reason Foundation (which publishes Reason magazine, where I work) may be
based in Los Angeles, but it's a world away from the glamour of the movie
business. The only plausible explanation for Schwarzenegger's presence was a
genuine interest in the ideas promoted by the foundation, which focuses on
maximizing individual freedom and minimizing government.
That impression was confirmed by the actor's enthusiasm for Milton and Rose
Friedman's PBS series Free to Choose, which explores the connections between
personal, political, and economic freedom. When the series was reissued in
1991, Schwarzenegger taped an introduction in which he said:
"I come from Austria, a socialistic country. There you can hear 18-year-olds
talking about their pension. But me, I wanted more. I wanted to be the best.
Individualism like that is incompatible with socialism. I felt I had to come
to America, where the government wasn't always breathing down your neck or
standing on your shoes."
Schwarzenegger's attraction to individualism can only have been reinforced
by his unlikely success story. After immigrating to the United States at the
age of 21 "with little money and even less English," as The Wall Street
Journal's John Fund puts it, he conquered first bodybuilding and then
Hollywood, making money in real estate along the way.
The most remarkable thing about Schwarzenegger is that he seems so
unremarkable. He's not tall, he's not handsome, he's not much of an actor,
and he's got a heavy, vaguely menacing accent, not to mention a
hard-to-pronounce name. Yet through hard work, determination, wit, and
charm, he managed to become one of the most successful movie stars in
history.
Does that qualify him to be governor of California? I don't know. Is Gray
Davis qualified to be governor of California? Most Californians don't seem
to think so.
Davis portrays the recall as "an effort by the right wing to steal back an
election they couldn't win last November." But if the recall is a theft,
it's one that's perfectly legal, and it can happen only with the agreement
of most voters. That doesn't sound like an assault on democracy.
Davis' supporters (I've counted at least half a dozen) say Schwarzenegger's
candidacy only enhances the "circus," "carnival," or "sideshow" quality of
the recall vote. Notice what all those things have in common: Unlike
politics as usual, they're fun.
So even if Schwarzenegger's libertarian tendencies have been exaggerated, he
can still strike a blow for freedom by encouraging people to take
politicians less seriously. Running for governor was "the most difficult
[decision] I've made in my entire life," he told Jay Leno, "except the one I
made in 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax."
Judging from their dismissive comments, the members of California's
political elite recognize the threat to their self-importance. "The
Terminator!" Davis harumphed in response to Schwarzenegger's announcement.
"I just don't want to comment."
State Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres told the Los Angeles Times:
"People are derisive and kind of like joking, 'the Terminator running,
you've got to be kidding.' I think it's one thing to see a movie or to see a
bodybuilding exhibition, but to have this guy as your governor..."
If Jesse Ventura, who had a much smaller role in Predator, can be governor
of Minnesota, why can't Arnold Schwarzenegger be governor of California? His
political career should be judged by the same standard as his movie career:
its entertainment value.

.

User: ""

Title: Re: The butt-tounging Man: Go, Dana go! 09 Aug 2003 12:48:13 AM
On Fri, 8 Aug 2003 18:43:07 -0800, "Dana" <yourname@example.com> wrote:
---------------------------------------------------

ladies use my tongue for your pleasure
</groups?q=author:danaraffaniello%40worldnet.
att.net&start=210&hl=en&lr=&ie=UT>F-8&selm=
63j187%24nji%40bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net&rnum=226>
swm very oral will orally worship any female that wishes to be worshipped.
will kiss and lick your feet and butt .
might be wiling to be your toilet paper if you
are that aggressive

.


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