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Wow. Dr. West chose to read Wittgenstein over going to an Al Green concert? Now that's knee-deep.

cornell jest...

Can we please stop with the "my brother" BS? It sounds so phony and contrived.

Well, that was fun!

peter 4
you're right he has not been 'silent '
i should have said "obama's STAND on gay marriage is shameful"

The wows are the problem

Ludwig Wittgenstein was not a contemporary of Johannes Brahms or Gustav Mahler - they were at the end of their lives when he was a child. He and his brother had three siblings who committed suicide - what a Vienna - their father made his wealth by coming to America and copying our capitalist ways, bringing them to Vienna. Vienna was the high point of neurosis in the 1800's, the breeding ground of genius and had nothing in common with the African American experience politically, socially or culturally.

two days of guests calling BL "brother brian."

The best is hearing Brian say, "WOW," after one of Brother West's riffs...

He gave us 3 "WOW's" in 12 mins.

A new record.

Does Brother West care about rich WASPs on the UES too?

what a pompous man

well said on Obama!

Has West considered going to a university that does NOT cater the wealthiest Wall St brats?

Brian does he have to rhyme

Could you ask Dr. West if he has a musical practice - plays an instrument or sings - besides talking and dancing (those are enough, of course)?

I can't understand how a guy with his level of erudition can be a religious believer.

This is one of the most uninteresting interviews that I have ever heard on the radio.

What a pompous pseudo intellectual. If he were white he would not be on this show. Brian of course is blinded by awe of his intellect.

Will Mr. West ever have a radio show of his own? I would be an avid listener!

seriously uninteresting interview.

This guy is postmodern clown shoes.

Brother Brian,

I heard brother West talking to sister Goodman on democracy now how he was disappointed with President Obama on appointing Larry Summers to a post in the administration..
Does he think that Obama did that to show some legitimacy? And does he think that he'll bring in some real progressive brothers and sisters if he has a second term.. i.e. Samantha Power, Paul Krugman etc..

hjs,

Gay marriage is an issue for all law - national, state and local. If a state, any state, were to pass laws allowing slavery or the stoning of women, that would quickly become a national issue and handled under national law. Calling gay marriage a states issue is just a way for you to let President Obama off the hook for having bigoted policy.

I will add hjs that President Obama is far from silent on the issue of gay marriage. Obama has said time and time again that marriage is between a man and a woman. People then erupt with clapping and Obama is rewarded for being bigoted and for disrespecting the human rights of gays and lesbians. As you said, shameful.

obama silence on gay marriage is shameful, but I guess he has a lot on his plate right now, what with the olympics and everything else.
but gay marriage is a states issue as they control marriage laws. state governments will change those laws when the progressives do the hard work of getting true progressives elected. if you want to say it's a human rights issue then it's the supreme court's role to change the state laws when they violate the constitution.

I'm interested in Professor West's thoughts on democratic socialism. What is his opinion of Michael Harrington and the prospects for building a left political structure in this country?
Thanks

In 2003, Tavis Smiley asked Cornel West about gay marriage on NPR.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1530602

Mr. West painted those who oppose gay marriage as being conservatives and those who support gay marriage as respecting humanity. At the end of the conversation, Mr. West stated that he supports gay marriage. Does Mr. West think that President Obama is a conservative and that President Obama is disrespecting gays and lesbians?

The claim was (and probably is still) made by some that god approves of slavery. President Obama and Vice President Biden have publicly said that gay marriage is wrong because it goes against god. Does Mr. West have any concerns that President Obama is using the same argument to oppose gay marriage that folks used to oppose equal rights for African Americans?