Christopher Hitchens Dead At Age 62

[Truth Teller]

Right-wingers loved Christopher Hitchens and they hated him.

Left-wingers (inlcuding myself) loved Christopher Hitchens and we hated him.

He has died at age 62.

Link: http://www.vanityfair.com/online/dai...chens-19492011

[jwreck]

Why does your illiterate ass insist on reposting stories?

[antiquity]

TT is all you do is comb the obituaries?

[GanjaFreebird]

Why does your illiterate ass insist on reposting stories?

Shut the fuck up, troll, thanks in advance.

[Truth Teller]

Why does your illiterate ass insist on reposting stories?

1. Unlike you and Snouter ,I don't have a lot of time on my hands to read evey post.

2.It belongs here because Hitchens was not an artist ,musican or an entertainer.

[jwreck]

1. Unlike you and Snouter ,I don't have a lot of time on my hands to read evey post.

2.It belongs here because Hitchens was not an artist ,musican or an entertainer.

Archaix disagrees and Archaix is much more smarter than you.

[Archaix]

It belongs here because Hitchens was not an artist ,musican or an entertainer.

"Arts, Entertainment, Music & Literature"

Archaix disagrees and Archaix is much more smarter than you.

I'd be more proud of that if 'being smarter than TT' didn't consist in this case of 'adhering to forum criteria'.

[Truth Teller]

Archaix disagrees and Archaix is much more smarter than you.

TROLL WHO HAS TOO MUCH TIME ON HIS HANDS ALERT!

"Arts, Entertainment, Music & Literature"

A stretch at the very least.

He didn't write novels ,he was a news pundit.

[Šñøü†ê®]

...thanks in advance.

^IS YOUR NAME TELLER?

Folks, what I find troubling is that Teller characterizes "left wingers" and "right wingers" but I beh honest, I don't think Teller has ever provided evidence that he has any idea what he is typing. Clearly he does not read the forums in an intelligent manner. There are not that many threads. Well, again, I do not know what kind of reading disorder Teller has so we have to give him a break in that regard. Which is why he typically gravitates toward his own dumb threads over and over.

[GanjaFreebird]

Happy Hannukah, Snouter!!

[lily]

He was definitely an interesting person.

But imo he is a perfect example of how someone can be intelligent, yet lack wisdom. (Yeah, I know, that will probably piss some people off... but we all have our own thoughts on him) He kind of reminds me of my dad in that regard...who is also a hardcore atheist.

And I honestly don't mean to sound heartless here, but.... (and even HE admitted to this) we reap what we sow. He was a smoker, he got cancer. He was a hard drinker. And hey, if that's your thing, you're free to do what you want of course. But as I was saying... we reap what we sow. That's just a basic rule of life. He knew that though. He wasn't dumb, he just seemed to be very strong-willed.

[lily]

I just wanted to add, I did admire him for speaking out against Clinton. (He was majorly anti-Clinton.) It is definitely refreshing to see someone like him (who was mostly liberal) put principle above politics. He didn't march blindly in lock-step with other libs, like so many did during the whole Clinton era...which was disgusting, imo. He also disagreed with them on the Iraq war and other things, so he wasn't afraid, obviously, to be like a fish who swims upstream.

[GanjaFreebird]

But imo he is a perfect example of how someone can be intelligent, yet lack wisdom.

Oh, what a surprise, comming from you.

He kind of reminds me of my dad in that regard...who is also a hardcore atheist.

As a believer in God myself, I hate to say it, but Hitchens (and probably your dad) are MUCH more wise and intelligent than most religious people, just sayin'.

And I honestly don't mean to sound heartless here, but.... (and even HE admitted to this) we reap what we sow. He was a smoker, he got cancer. He was a hard drinker. And hey, if that's your thing, you're free to do what you want of course. But as I was saying... we reap what we sow. That's just a basic rule of life. He knew that though. He wasn't dumb, he just seemed to be very strong-willed.

WOW, really. He didn't even die from smoking-related cancer, it's not like it was lung cancer or throat cancer.

However, I know/knew quite a few non-religious people who drink and smoke and live/lived to be very old...did Jesus forget to punish them, or something?

I just wanted to add, I did admire him for speaking out against Clinton. (He was majorly anti-Clinton.)

His ridiculous criticism of Clinton wasn't among his best moments.

It is definitely refreshing to see someone like him (who was mostly liberal) put principle above politics.

No, he was mostly a conservative who didn't believe in God, had no respect for the religious right and was very critical of Israel.

He didn't march blindly in lock-step with other libs, like so many did during the whole Clinton era...which was disgusting, imo. He also disagreed with them on the Iraq war and other things, so he wasn't afraid, obviously, to be like a fish who swims upstream.

He supported the Iraq war and opposed Bill Clinton, which are about the worst things about him. He was right about religious freaks, however.

[lily]

Oh, what a surprise, comming from you.

Having a bad day Ganja? Don't take it out on me. And btw, whether you agree or not, imo it's an important point that a person can be intelligent yet not wise. But I get the feeling you don't understand the difference.

As a believer in God myself, I hate to say it, but Hitchens (and probably your dad) are MUCH more wise and intelligent than most religious people, just sayin'.

^ Case in point.

WOW, really. He didn't even die from smoking-related cancer, it's not like it was lung cancer or throat cancer.

You disagree with the principle that we reap what we sow? I didn't realize you knew more and were wiser than Jesus. Your reply here is not surprising though.

However, I know/knew quite a few non-religious people who drink and smoke and live/lived to be very old...did Jesus forget to punish them, or something?

*sigh* I never said that everyone who does unhealthy things is going to die young. You're missing the overall point, and your post above is showing that you either don't understand, or have a real problem with the "reaping and sowing" principle.

I don't want to open a can of worms here, but I can see that you have some of that same anger that Hitchens had, towards a God who he didn't know and who he was waving his fist at, until his dying day. It's kind of like a petulant child who thinks his parents are mean and evil for "punishing" him when he does something like touch a hot stove, or eat candy all day. The kid who throws a tantrum and waves a fist at his parents and stubbornly refuses to trust and acquiesce to authority.

His ridiculous criticism of Clinton wasn't among his best moments.

He was absolutely right about Clinton, and imo you only make yourself look ignorant for not realizing that.

No, he was mostly a conservative who didn't believe in God, had no respect for the religious right and was very critical of Israel.

He was not a conservative. He seemed to have very eclectic political views, I wouldn't call him either a rightie or leftie.

He supported the Iraq war and opposed Bill Clinton, which are about the worst things about him. He was right about religious freaks, however.

Your bigotry is showing.

[Notalibtard]

Having a bad day Ganja? Don't take it out on me. And btw, whether you agree or not, imo it's an important point that a person can be intelligent yet not wise. But I get the feeling you don't understand the difference.



^ Case in point.



You disagree with the principle that we reap what we sow? I didn't realize you knew more and were wiser than Jesus. Your reply here is not surprising though.




*sigh* I never said that everyone who does unhealthy things is going to die young. You're missing the overall point, and your post above is showing that you either don't understand, or have a real problem with the "reaping and sowing" principle.

I don't want to open a can of worms here, but I can see that you have some of that same anger that Hitchens had, towards a God who he didn't know and who he was waving his fist at, until his dying day. It's kind of like a petulant child who thinks his parents are mean and evil for "punishing" him when he does something like touch a hot stove, or eat candy all day. The kid who throws a tantrum and waves a fist at his parents and stubbornly refuses to trust and acquiesce to authority.



He was absolutely right about Clinton, and imo you only make yourself look ignorant for not realizing that.


He was not a conservative. He seemed to have very eclectic political views, I wouldn't call him either a rightie or leftie.



Your bigotry is showing.

You slapped him down with class lily, GJ.

[GanjaFreebird]

Having a bad day Ganja?

I'm having a wonderful day, thanks for asking.

Don't take it out on me. And btw, whether you agree or not, imo it's an important point that a person can be intelligent yet not wise. But I get the feeling you don't understand the difference.

Of course I know the difference, but being religious/atheist has nothing to do with that at all. The social conservatives who have a problem with his hardcore atheism are at least as arrogant as he was at his worst, as NONE of you guys didn't/don't know what the "truth" is, as none of us REALLY know. It's all a matter of one's beliefs, and stop pretending otherwise.

^ Case in point.

Religion has nothing to do with wisdom.

You disagree with the principle that we reap what we sow?

No, but it doesn't apply to Hitchens in this case.

I didn't realize you knew more and were wiser than Jesus. Your reply here is not surprising though.

I'm sure as hell wiser than a lot of his "followers", that's for damn sure.

*sigh* I never said that everyone who does unhealthy things is going to die young. You're missing the overall point, and your post above is showing that you either don't understand, or have a real problem with the "reaping and sowing" principle.

No, I have a problem with people talking out of their ass and thinking they are being so smart.

I don't want to open a can of worms here, but I can see that you have some of that same anger that Hitchens had, towards a God who he didn't know and who he was waving his fist at, until his dying day.

I don't. I have a great relationship with God, I have no anger towards God, and unlike Hitchens, I'm not going to waste my time trying to prove to a bunch of delusional believers of fairy tales that their "god" is bad or doesn't exist, as much as it was entertaining to watch him do it.

I don't have to prove anything to anybody, I'm entitled to my own beliefs and so does everybody else, and we should all respect each beliefs as long as nobody is trying to promote their views as the absolute "truth". He gave religious freaks their own medicine, for better and for worse.

. It's kind of like a petulant child who thinks his parents are mean and evil for "punishing" him when he does something like touch a hot stove, or eat candy all day.

I've always believed that my parents are the best people in the world, even when I was pissed off at them and when they tried to punish me, which was never succesful anyways...I was always too "crazy" to respect authority and I would respond to orders with even more rebellion, and if anything, I did the "right thing" to avoid my parents being disapointed with me, rather than out of fear. Eventually, my parents have grown to accept me as I am and appreciate all of the positive things about my unique character.

The kid who throws a tantrum and waves a fist at his parents and stubbornly refuses to trust and acquiesce to authority.

I love my parents more than anything, and I always listen to their advice and consider everything they say seriously, however, you are correct as far as my trust and respect for authority goes...the only way anybody can tell me what to do is when they hire me...then, they might even get me to play Lady Gaga songs (if the $ is right, of course).

He was absolutely right about Clinton, and imo you only make yourself look ignorant for not realizing that.

No he wasn't. Show me ANYTHING that he criticized Clinton that was reasonable!! Clinton deserves plenty of criticism, but not the kind that he was getting from Hitchens.

He was not a conservative. He seemed to have very eclectic political views, I wouldn't call him either a rightie or leftie.

Fair enough.

Your bigotry is showing.

"religious freaks" aren't a racial group, an ethnic group or even a religion. I repsect all religions, however, I have no respect for religious fundementalists who try to force their views on others and too arrogant to admit that it's just a matter of their beliefs, not proven facts.

[Truth Teller]

^IS YOUR NAME TELLER?

Folks, what I find troubling is that Teller characterizes "left wingers" and "right wingers" but I beh honest, I don't think Teller has ever provided evidence that he has any idea what he is typing. Clearly he does not read the forums in an intelligent manner. There are not that many threads. Well, again, I do not know what kind of reading disorder Teller has so we have to give him a break in that regard. Which is why he typically gravitates toward his own dumb threads over and over.

TROLL ALERT!

And I honestly don't mean to sound heartless here, but.... (and even HE admitted to this) we reap what we sow.

I've seen no proof he "reaped" his illness.

I just wanted to add, I did admire him for speaking out against Clinton.

And I curse him for that.

He had no proof ,he just bought the bill of good presented by Richard Mellon Scaife.

I'm sorry Hitchens is dead,I like somethings he wrote ,but overall ,I think Hitchens was an asshole.

He also disagreed with them on the Iraq war

Strike two.

and other things

Strike three,he's out.

Oh, what a surprise, comming from you.



As a believer in God myself, I hate to say it, but Hitchens (and probably your dad) are MUCH more wise and intelligent than most religious people, just sayin'.

However, I know/knew quite a few non-religious people who drink and smoke and live/lived to be very old...did Jesus forget to punish them, or something?

His ridiculous criticism of Clinton wasn't among his best moments.

Amen.

No, he was mostly a conservative who didn't believe in God, had no respect for the religious right and was very critical of Israel.

Very true.

He supported the Iraq war and opposed Bill Clinton, which are about the worst things about him. He was right about religious freaks, however.

Yup.

Having a bad day Ganja? Don't take it out on me. And btw, whether you agree or not, imo it's an important point that a person can be intelligent yet not wise. But I get the feeling you don't understand the difference.

You and Snouter both condescend a lot.

Just sayin'.

I don't want to open a can of worms here

You say that a lot,yet you wind up doing that a lot.

[Archaix]

Folks, what I find troubling is that Teller characterizes "left wingers" and "right wingers" but I beh honest, I don't think Teller has ever provided evidence that he has any idea what he is typing.

When I argued with him about Israel/Palestine, he accused me of permitting misogeny in Islamic societies and generally of being a fake leftist. So I think you're right.

[on why my post was in the wrong place]A stretch at the very least.

He was an polemic essayist, and contributed to culture through championing the New Athiesm in a series of bestselling books, and prefaced books like Tom Paine's Rights of Man. I think it's fair to say he was part of the 'arts' and 'literature' even if he never wrote a piece of fiction, and most other people seem to agree. I also think he deserves more than some ephemeral 'In The News' thread.

No, he was mostly a conservative who didn't believe in God, had no respect for the religious right and was very critical of Israel

He wasn't conservative, not by British standards and certainly not by American standards. I think Optimus' description of him as 'hawkish' is probably more accurate; he saw the Iraq War as a means to introduce rational, democratic secularism into what he saw as a region dominated and fouled by Islam. But he lumped that religion in alongside every other one (including Christianity and your own Judaism) and avoided making it a queenlillian-style special case, which I think is significant.

I can see that you have some of that same anger that Hitchens had, towards a God who he didn't know and who he was waving his fist at, until his dying day. It's kind of like a petulant child who thinks his parents are mean and evil for "punishing" him when he does something like touch a hot stove, or eat candy all day. The kid who throws a tantrum and waves a fist at his parents and stubbornly refuses to trust and acquiesce to authority.

He didn't believe God existed, and wrote some awesome deconstructions of the Abrahamic religions. His whole point is: if the Bible's false (and there isn't a good case for it being true or uncorrupted through the ages, by the way) that means we're wasting time adhering to pointless rules. And handing influence to people who don't deserve it. And causing so many mental health problems through telling people how to behave.

[optimus]

That second video is great. Hannity is mind numbingly stupid.

[lily]

Of course I know the difference, but being religious/atheist has nothing to do with that at all. The social conservatives who have a problem with his hardcore atheism are at least as arrogant as he was at his worst, as NONE of you guys didn't/don't know what the "truth" is, as none of us REALLY know. It's all a matter of one's beliefs, and stop pretending otherwise.

So many straw men...so little time. (I'm babysitting right now so I don't have a lot of time but I'll try to quickly reply.)

Religion has nothing to do with wisdom.

I never said it did.

No, but it doesn't apply to Hitchens in this case.

You really believe that his chain-smoking and heavy drinking had nothing at all to do with his overall health, and did not contribute in any way? I don't mind when you and I disagree, but now you're just being intellectually dishonest.

I'm sure as hell wiser than a lot of his "followers", that's for damn sure.

I'm sure you really believe that.

No, I have a problem with people talking out of their ass and thinking they are being so smart.

I never claimed to be smart. I just said that it's possible for a person to be smart and not wise, and that Hitchens was a perfect example of that. Obviously you didn't like that, you're being testy and defensive. I think I know why, but I don't have time right now to get into any big debates about religion, God, etc.

I don't. I have a great relationship with God, I have no anger towards God, and unlike Hitchens, I'm not going to waste my time trying to prove to a bunch of delusional believers of fairy tales that their "god" is bad or doesn't exist, as much as it was entertaining to watch him do it.

Of course you don't have any anger for the 'god' you've concocted in your mind. Why would you, he's the god who doesn't require you to change or grow, or have any sort of spiritual renewal. He's as unobtrusive with your "I am my own boss" state-of-mind as some joe schmo you see walking down the street. No need for anger towards that 'god.'

I was talking about anger that I don't think you even realize you have.... but it shows sometimes towards people who have certain beliefs that you hate, and follow a God that you claim to not hate.... or maybe don't realize you hate?

I don't have to prove anything to anybody, I'm entitled to my own beliefs and so does everybody else, and we should all respect each beliefs as long as nobody is trying to promote their views as the absolute "truth". He gave religious freaks their own medicine, for better and for worse.

I didn't say you had to prove anything to anyone. I never said you weren't entitled to your own beliefs. See, this is that anger (at least a hint of it) and defensiveness I was just talking about.

I've always believed that my parents are the best people in the world, even when I was pissed off at them and when they tried to punish me, which was never succesful anyways...I was always too "crazy" to respect authority and I would respond to orders with even more rebellion, and if anything, I did the "right thing" to avoid my parents being disapointed with me, rather than out of fear. Eventually, my parents have grown to accept me as I am and appreciate all of the positive things about my unique character.

I love my parents more than anything, and I always listen to their advice and consider everything they say seriously, however, you are correct as far as my trust and respect for authority goes...the only way anybody can tell me what to do is when they hire me...then, they might even get me to play Lady Gaga songs (if the $ is right, of course).

I wasn't really talking about authority in general. I was using an analogy of how certain hardcore atheists are like children who are stubborn and rebellious, and refuse to trust and submit to their parents, because they want to be their own boss. And I probably pissed off at least half the site with that comment, but oh well... this is DA, that happens.

No he wasn't. Show me ANYTHING that he criticized Clinton that was reasonable!! Clinton deserves plenty of criticism, but not the kind that he was getting from Hitchens.

I haven't read his book about Clinton, ("No one left to lie to") But I'm pretty sure that Hitchens wrote a lot about Clinton's corruption, and I know from doing my own years of research (you know I had a site about Clinton) that Hitchens was correct about the corruption. You just don't want to believe it, because you seem to have so much hatred for conservatives - who were mainly the ones who spoke out against Clinton. (Along with a few decent libs who put principle above party.)

"religious freaks" aren't a racial group, an ethnic group or even a religion. I repsect all religions, however, I have no respect for religious fundementalists who try to force their views on others and too arrogant to admit that it's just a matter of their beliefs, not proven facts.

Bigotry is not just about race, or even religion. It's complete intolerance or dislike for ANY group of people or belief. And btw... I know I've said this before but I'll say it again... I always think it's ironic when libs talk so much about tolerance, but they usually are the MOST intolerant of all, namely when it comes to conservatives and Christians.

I gotta leave the house for a while, but I'll probably be back later.