Via NiceDeb, we find this.
It contains no earth-shaking revelations or radical ideas. It's far too wordy for the average MTV-nurtured attention span, and as a result will probably attract less attention than warranted. Toward the end, it drifts a bit from the formalized language of the preamble into unfortunately florid and casual hyperbole.
But I believe the man's got a kernel of a good idea there, and I suspect this audience is one that can give it a fair reading without getting bored halfway through and surfing Google Image Search for new LOLcats.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Okay, fine.
So nobody wants to talk about sports, at least not hockey. Got it. Let's get back to the decay of Western Civilization, then. Specifically, let's look at another example of how leftist philosophy in action is chipping away at our influence in the world as we give up and let other nations call the shots. I'm still going to tie it in with Canada, though.
There's a nickel mine in Sudbury, Canada, that's been around for over 100 years. The unionized workers there have been on strike for a few weeks. In fact, they might be better at striking than actually mining nickel since it seems they strike more often. Take a look at this timeline of strikes at the mine. There are two, one in the late '70s and one in the '80s, that have been glorified to the point of legend and I think they even made a movie of one of them. Workers still talk about the "gains" those labor pioneers made with a sense of awe. That's why they're striking now, because the evil corporation that cuts their paychecks, Inco, wants to take all of those gains away.
The thing I can't figure out when I read their reasons for striking and then I look at that timeline is why they have been striking so damn much in the past 15 years. The glorious strikes of the '70s and '80s were historical and yielded incredible gains, right? So what's going on? Apparently their company is always trying to scale back all of those historic union wins. One might wonder if perhaps all of those union wins were a little too incredible and are making the company unprofitable because they have to pay out too many pensions and nickel bonuses. That's not how the union sees it, though. They are convinced that Inco simply wants to take all that stuff back so they can make more money, presumably so a CEO somewhere can roll around in a pile of thousand dollar bills, or looney bills, or whatever Canada's currency is.
Did I mention that Inco was bought out by a Brazilian company a couple of years ago and is now Vale-Inco? This has become a sort of nationalist rallying cry for the downtrodden workers as they've put a new spin on the whole "they took our jobs" line. Now the line is that the foreigners are paying us to work, but they're trying to take our money. Nevermind that the unions have driven Canadian ownership away so that a company from the opposite continent had to come save their jobs. They are still greedy foreigners who are trying to roll back important things and take advantage of the working man. Of course, the left reminds us that the unions are going about this the wrong way:
This situation gets more interesting as the CEO of Vale-Inco has apparently told the unions to go screw themselves. They are going to hire new people, are already training them, and are planning on resuming operations in a few weeks. The unions don't like that too much:
Unions are largely detestable because they are businesses in themselves that force people to pay for something they already have in many Western nations under government laws: worker protection. They are also one of the worst types of pyramid schemes as the only way to move up is to be a member until the people over you die off or retire and make room. Union members are rewarded solely on seniority, not performance. It doesn't matter how hard you work, you'll be waiting in line just as long as the next guy, and that's if you're actually able to get work and it's not all being taken by more senior members. Unions are out for their own self-interest at the expense of whatever company their members work for. Unions produce nothing and they cannot exist on their own. They are parasitic organisms that feed off of the productive private sector but pretend to be doing workers a favor as they slip their grubby hands into the workers' wallets. They make businesses less profitable, more inefficient, and often bankrupt which means everybody loses their job. Unless, that is, the taxpayer at large can be made to subsidize them. Here's a great example of what I mean from an "anonymous picketer" in the New Socialist post above:
What would happen if Vale did pull out? Who knows? The Canadian private sector has already proven unwilling to run this mine. I'm guessing Sudbury would be considered too big to fail and the government would take it over, and the Sudbury mine would have the exact same problem with profitability they've been having since those courageous and bold strikes of yore. Even worse, if the Canadian government were hypothetically in a lot of debt of its own with massive entitlement spending, high unemployment and falling tax revenues, Canada and the residents of Sudbury may quickly decide that they're so desperate for income they'd be willing to take any sort of deal on Vale's terms. That's the sort of big picture thinking that these buffoons are incapable of, though, because it's not happening now, so who cares? Some people just don't know how good they already have it.
Hats off to you, Local 6500 of Sudbury! With one hand you would take the paycheck from the foreign corporation and with the other would try to punch them in the face. You expect the company that gives you a job to go without profit for an indefinite period of time so you yourself don't have to lose any of your union privileges. You can't put two and two together to figure out that your company running at a loss is actually a very, very bad thing for you. If Vale-Inco doesn't break you, though, I will be quite amused to see your rage when they decide to pack up and leave you high and dry. Then you'll be demanding that somebody do something to make them stay and keep paying you, and they're so greedy and this and that and the other thing. Everybody is greedy except for you because you have compassion and safety concerns as your only motivation. I smell an Oscar-winning film adaptation of this strike on the horizon!
There's a nickel mine in Sudbury, Canada, that's been around for over 100 years. The unionized workers there have been on strike for a few weeks. In fact, they might be better at striking than actually mining nickel since it seems they strike more often. Take a look at this timeline of strikes at the mine. There are two, one in the late '70s and one in the '80s, that have been glorified to the point of legend and I think they even made a movie of one of them. Workers still talk about the "gains" those labor pioneers made with a sense of awe. That's why they're striking now, because the evil corporation that cuts their paychecks, Inco, wants to take all of those gains away.
The thing I can't figure out when I read their reasons for striking and then I look at that timeline is why they have been striking so damn much in the past 15 years. The glorious strikes of the '70s and '80s were historical and yielded incredible gains, right? So what's going on? Apparently their company is always trying to scale back all of those historic union wins. One might wonder if perhaps all of those union wins were a little too incredible and are making the company unprofitable because they have to pay out too many pensions and nickel bonuses. That's not how the union sees it, though. They are convinced that Inco simply wants to take all that stuff back so they can make more money, presumably so a CEO somewhere can roll around in a pile of thousand dollar bills, or looney bills, or whatever Canada's currency is.
Did I mention that Inco was bought out by a Brazilian company a couple of years ago and is now Vale-Inco? This has become a sort of nationalist rallying cry for the downtrodden workers as they've put a new spin on the whole "they took our jobs" line. Now the line is that the foreigners are paying us to work, but they're trying to take our money. Nevermind that the unions have driven Canadian ownership away so that a company from the opposite continent had to come save their jobs. They are still greedy foreigners who are trying to roll back important things and take advantage of the working man. Of course, the left reminds us that the unions are going about this the wrong way:
Instead, [Gary Kinsman, a Professor of Sociology at Laurentian University in Sudbury] urged strategies that emphasize international solidarity among workers. Nationalist rhetoric, he argued, “sets up a precarious position if you are trying to build long term relationships among working-class people around the world in the context of global capitalism.”Hmmm.International worker solidarity? Haven't we heard that sort of talk before somewhere else? Did that prove to be a successful economic blueprint? How strange that this website calls itself "New" Socialist and talks about radical ideas for change, but there's nothing new about it. Very surprising.
This situation gets more interesting as the CEO of Vale-Inco has apparently told the unions to go screw themselves. They are going to hire new people, are already training them, and are planning on resuming operations in a few weeks. The unions don't like that too much:
Peter Digby, a 21-year veteran with Vale Inco, said starting any production at Vale Inco’s operations with inexperienced staff could be dangerous.So you see? The unions aren't the ones who are worried about the money. They just care about safety. Whoever these new workers are, they don't have 20 years of experience standing around drinking coffee and reading the newspaper while seven people do the work of two. I'm actually worried about the safety of those new workers, too, but more about their safety as they cross the picket lines and whether or not union thugs will try to threaten and intimidate them out of work.
“I think it’s an extremely dangerous precedent (to set),” he said. “They don’t have people who are qualified or capable of doing a lot of jobs. I would be extremely concerned for those people and their safety because this company doesn’t care about anyone’s safety.”
Unions are largely detestable because they are businesses in themselves that force people to pay for something they already have in many Western nations under government laws: worker protection. They are also one of the worst types of pyramid schemes as the only way to move up is to be a member until the people over you die off or retire and make room. Union members are rewarded solely on seniority, not performance. It doesn't matter how hard you work, you'll be waiting in line just as long as the next guy, and that's if you're actually able to get work and it's not all being taken by more senior members. Unions are out for their own self-interest at the expense of whatever company their members work for. Unions produce nothing and they cannot exist on their own. They are parasitic organisms that feed off of the productive private sector but pretend to be doing workers a favor as they slip their grubby hands into the workers' wallets. They make businesses less profitable, more inefficient, and often bankrupt which means everybody loses their job. Unless, that is, the taxpayer at large can be made to subsidize them. Here's a great example of what I mean from an "anonymous picketer" in the New Socialist post above:
He continued, “[Vale-Inco] want to never have a loss. That’s not realistic in the mining industry.” He said that the history of Inco has been one of occasional losses alternating with periods of huge gains. In the current market, the company is going to briefly lose money “unless we come in here and do volunteer work.”That's right, because there is no middle ground between extravagant pay and working for free. Who are these greedy, selfish CEOs who want to make a profit every year? I wonder...how many years do the union bosses tighten their belts, take pay cuts and operate on losses? In the end this isn't different from any other progressive pipe dream. They assume that people will always need nickel and that Vale-Inco will give in to them because they want to make money from the mine. Somehow, they are incapable of understanding that if Vale's management doesn't make what they consider to be enough money, or if they end up losing money because of union tributes, it's not going to be worth all of the time and energy and they'll just pull out. I wasn't in on the Vale board meeting, but when they decided to buy Inco I'm pretty sure their reasoning wasn't, "You know, if we buy that mine in Sudbury I bet that we can eke out a meager profit after making grotesque payments to the local labor unions."
What would happen if Vale did pull out? Who knows? The Canadian private sector has already proven unwilling to run this mine. I'm guessing Sudbury would be considered too big to fail and the government would take it over, and the Sudbury mine would have the exact same problem with profitability they've been having since those courageous and bold strikes of yore. Even worse, if the Canadian government were hypothetically in a lot of debt of its own with massive entitlement spending, high unemployment and falling tax revenues, Canada and the residents of Sudbury may quickly decide that they're so desperate for income they'd be willing to take any sort of deal on Vale's terms. That's the sort of big picture thinking that these buffoons are incapable of, though, because it's not happening now, so who cares? Some people just don't know how good they already have it.
Hats off to you, Local 6500 of Sudbury! With one hand you would take the paycheck from the foreign corporation and with the other would try to punch them in the face. You expect the company that gives you a job to go without profit for an indefinite period of time so you yourself don't have to lose any of your union privileges. You can't put two and two together to figure out that your company running at a loss is actually a very, very bad thing for you. If Vale-Inco doesn't break you, though, I will be quite amused to see your rage when they decide to pack up and leave you high and dry. Then you'll be demanding that somebody do something to make them stay and keep paying you, and they're so greedy and this and that and the other thing. Everybody is greedy except for you because you have compassion and safety concerns as your only motivation. I smell an Oscar-winning film adaptation of this strike on the horizon!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Football's here, but it's not on my mind.
If I could be a pro athlete, I'd be a hockey goalie.
I need to take a short break from the heavy stuff. I don’t want to be negative all the time. There are a few good things still out there and they are worth being reminded of. We've talked about the current state of sports in this country and how many of us feel our enthusiasm slipping away more with each passing year. The Mike Vick situation is like a knife in the heart of some Eagles fans, and understandably so. Even for those of us who don’t like the Eagles, it still puts a damper on the whole season. He will be hyped up and we will be reminded of him constantly. Even before Vick came back, I realized at some point last year that if I didn't participate in a fantasy football league I probably wouldn't be half as interested in the NFL as I used to be. Basketball has never really done it for me, I like baseball but not that much (a story for another time), so what does that leave me with? Golf? Tennis? Soccer? No, no and hell no. Hockey is the last sport I get excited, dare I say even passionate, about. There may be some eye rolling and scoffing going on right now in the audience. That's okay, I've gotten used to it when bringing this topic up, but allow me to take a moment to explain why it’s a great sport.
Most people I've spoken to think of hockey as nothing more than a bunch of mindless brutes beating the crap out of each other with sticks. Plus it's from Canada, so how good can it possibly be? I used to think that, too, until I actually sat down and watched an entire hockey game. I never completely understood what was going on in hockey, but one night I was flipping through channels and noticed a game was just starting and decided I would finally figure it out and give it a chance. It was a playoff game between the Colorado Avalanche and the L.A. Kings that went scoreless until at least double overtime, maybe even triple. Final score was 1-0. I sat spellbound through the whole thing and have been hooked ever since.
Ray Bourque and Patrick Roy: their playoff journey got me hooked.
I have always loved football since I was little, but there's something about hockey that is compelling to me like no other sport is. Hockey is the only non-PC sport left. Hockey is a paradox. Hockey is war, but there are rules. It is brutal and violent, but not complete anarchy. You are allowed to get into fist fights during a game, but there is still a code of conduct for that. Even though you must be tough and ruthless to compete, you also need a graceful skill: ice skating. You might need a couple of bruisers on your team, but you also must have those with the ability to skate well, control the puck, and accurately shoot it at the net. If you've never seen a deflection goal before, do yourself a favor and watch the clip below. Make sure you pay attention during the replay or you’ll miss it:
That is practically art. The player making the slapshot has to have enough power to speed the puck toward the net but also has to keep it on goal so the goalie will bite as to where he thinks it's going. At the same time, there must be teamwork and timing to pull this off because the shooter's teammate must be in position to make the deflection, which he does by finding the puck in the middle of the shot and changing the trajectory. This has to be done just right or the deflecting player will stop the puck, make it miss the net, or slow it down too much so the goalie can reverse himself and make a save. When it works, the goalie ends up rushing to fill a space where no puck will come because it is entering the net in the area he just left undefended. It is a thing of beauty.
Hockey has a lot of other unique things going for it. The NHL postseason is not merely a tournament; it is a saga. It is long, grueling, and wonderful. The Stanley Cup is my favorite of all championship trophies, and the ceremony where it is awarded is the best in sports. Nothing beats the look on a 20-year veteran’s face when he wins his first championship, takes the Cup in his hands and skates around the ice. Nothing. The team picture with everyone surrounding the Cup before leaving the ice is also classic. There’s the tradition where each player gets to spend a day with the Cup in the offseason, or the fact that you have to defend the Cup because there is only one; you don’t get a replica that stays in your trophy case forever. And no matter how bloody a series may get or how much the teams may hate each other, there is the tradition of the mass handshake at the end of a series where every player lines up and shakes hands. That is especially awesome to watch when there are two great goalies who have been dueling the whole series.
Another thing about hockey is that it has a smaller following than the “big three” other sports, and I think that actually helps. The PC-ridden big networks are too busy fighting over everything else. The NHL has been televised on Versus (formerly the Outdoor Life Network) since their lockout season a few years ago. That may sound laughable, but I prefer the Versus game and studio crews to any other professional sports crew. They want to be there and they want to talk about hockey because they love the sport. You can tell that the game announcers and studio crew are enjoying everything just as much as you are. More importantly, they know what they're talking about. It's the only sport on TV where the announcers probably know more than you do and don't sound like idiots. It's so refreshing. The only exception is when NBC televises a game. They have to be the worst network for sports as they have an ability to turn almost anything sour, but at least they don't throw Keith Olbermann into the mix. Versus also airs the best playoff promos I’ve ever seen. No Gatorade or Nike promotions, no inane hip-hop or trendy chart-topping song blaring at you, no epilepsy-inducing graphics, just goosebumps. Turn your speakers up:
Which brings me to my favorite thing about hockey: the goals. A playoff hockey goal is the most exciting scoring play in sports except for, perhaps, a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 9th with two outs, two strikes, and the home team down by three. In hockey, the fans are right there, surrounding the action. The playoff atmosphere can't be matched; it's electric. Every goal matters. The reason hockey goals are so great is because, just like the commercial above says, it only takes one second. If you blink, you’ll miss the whole thing. Once a shot is taken, there is that split second where you wonder, "did it go in?" and the next thing you know the red lamp is on, the buzzers and sirens are going off, and the crowd is going crazy. A game winning goal in overtime is all of that on steroids.
I'm a Washington Capitals fan, and I feel very fortunate right now because Alexander Ovechkin is on the team. He is something special. He is wild, he is fearless, he wants to carry the whole team on his shoulders, yet he celebrates just as much when one of his teammates scores a goal and he's on the bench. Fans on other teams hate him because they fear him. He is capable of turning a game or a series around all by himself. The NHL tried to make his nemesis, Sidney Crosby, the face of the league but fans outside of Pittsburgh respond much better to Ovechkin even though he's Russian and doesn't speak the best English. Take a look at the clip below and see if you can understand why (keep your speakers turned up for the full effect):
If you can, look at his face on the replay right after he gets up and realizes his wild shot went in. This kid simply loves to play hockey.
Goals work in reverse, too. Watch this game-winning overtime goal in Pittsburgh (start at 0:40) and listen to the energy in the crowd building up to the face-off while the announcers are talking and then hear it fall off a cliff:
This was game six and the Caps were on the ropes. This was a very intense series and every Pittsburgh fan knew they were going to win that night and wouldn’t have to go back to DC for game seven. Dave Steckel had other ideas. You can almost feel the life sucked out of the entire arena and hear every Pittsburgh fan thinking, "That went in??" You know the goalie was definitely thinking that as he bangs his stick against the boards and storms off the ice. It was a harmless, weak shot, but it went in and it won the game. Look at the Washington coach's elation on the bench before he composed himself. Look at Steckel jumping up and down while getting mobbed by the entire team. Look at the handful of Caps fans cheering while the mob of sickened Pens fans files out in silence. Those moments are why I watch sports in the first place and I don't see them around so often any more. Of course, the Pens obliterated the Caps in game seven, but other than that it was a fantastic series.
Why am I writing this out of season? When college and NFL season start back up, I know I will follow along because I am still fond of football, but my heart is not in it like it used to be. Even though college starts next week, I find myself wishing that the NHL playoffs were about to start instead. I still get pained watching some of the clips I’ve posted here because even though they are great, they remind me how the playoffs ended for the Caps. I don’t dwell on football games like that anymore. I know none of this matters in the grand scheme of things, but everybody needs a few distractions. I have a few TV shows I watch, movies are nice, but none of them can hold a candle to hockey. I hope the NHL can buck the trend that other professional sports have set and I can share the sport with my boys as they get older. I imagine that sooner or later the same destructive forces that are working their way through the other big sports will turn their attention to hockey. I just hope it doesn’t happen any time soon.
And if you watch no other clip, watch the one below. It's a hat trick goal (3rd goal in one game) during game two with the Pens not long after a very nerve-wracking seven game series with the Rangers. Watch how Ovechkin throws himself into the boards afterward, and not in a Chad Ochocinco TD antics way, but in joint celebration with the fans who are banging on the boards at the same time. If that doesn't get your blood pumping, nothing will (assuming you aren't a Pens fan). Again, make sure your speakers are up good and loud:
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
This Is Not Bosnia.
This is not Pripyat.
This is not a "black thing" or a "white thing." This is not a "rich thing" or "poor thing."
This is a pride thing. A damning illustration of what happens in its absence.
This is not the federal government's fault. This is not the state government's fault.
This, Detroit, is your fault.
This is not a "black thing" or a "white thing." This is not a "rich thing" or "poor thing."
This is a pride thing. A damning illustration of what happens in its absence.
This is not the federal government's fault. This is not the state government's fault.
This, Detroit, is your fault.
Monday, August 24, 2009
I'm not in a good mood.
I've been trying to craft a few different posts to share here, but I find myself either getting into intellectual fisticuffs over Cat People or family obligations happen and I haven't quite been able to polish them up. Excuses aside, I did want to share this post.
I could go on at length, as some of you probably know, but I've got to wrap this up before I get in trouble for neglecting Mrs. Eduardo. I am sick and tired of these social gospel-infected, liberal Catholics. Jesus is not a communist. Why are John Kerry and Nancy Pelosi still receiving Communion, especially when Pelosi is either ignorant or lies about what the Church says regarding when life begins? Why does one of my local priests, from Europe, find a way to twist the weekly Gospel reading into some sort of anti-American guilt vehicle? Why did the bishop of my diocese write a special, fawning letter congratulating Obama on getting elected?
The United States is, quite possibly, the pinnacle of human achievement. It's not perfect, but nothing in this world is. Man was meant to live with individual freedom, liberty and responsibility. Man was meant to fight to survive in this world; to defend himself and his family. Man was meant to be able to get into his pickup truck and drive across the country any time he damn well pleases and not have to pay $4.00/gallon to do it. Americans are not supposed to sit around, wracked with guilt until the day they die. I have the opportunities I have today because my ancestors were brave enough to come here and start a new life, not because George Washington or the CIA stole it from somebody else.
There is a quote from 1984 where Winston muses to himself that somehow one felt that they were being cheated out of life in his world. That's what they want for us. Everybody equal in misery: nobody above anybody else (except them, who are above us all). I've had to start fresh on my own three times in my three decades of life and each time has been at once both terrifying and exhilarating. Each time has reminded me of what true freedom is: shaping my own destiny for better or worse. I love where I am right now and it enrages me to think that it might end due to the actions of politicians in Washington who created this mess in the first place. There is nowhere else left to go in the world that can give us what we have here. This is the hill we die on. If we can't make things work here, then humanity will go back to being serf-like robots, either through Islam or socialism.
So help me God, the next mealy-mouthed, wishy-washy, progressive priest that tries to tell my wife and me that we need to feel guilty for working 40 hour weeks while trying to raise our kids because Pedro Pablo the illegal alien has a miserable life despite his free medical care and the state's reluctance to keep him in jail despite his 15 DUI arrests...that priest is going to get an earful from me right in the middle of his homily. I'm gonna get downright Old Testament on his ass, Nathan style. I only hope that moment doesn't come at my child's upcoming baptism ceremony. That will be awkward.
I'm angry right now; seething. That's all for the moment.
*Note to any horrified liberal readers: by "Old Testament" I don't mean carrying guns to mass or murdering anybody's family. I only mean standing up and speaking very, very loud and indignantly.*
Three of the top lay Catholic organizations have divorced themselves from Catholic teaching by supporting the Obama health-care plan, which would foster a culture of mandatory abortion coverage, contraceptive services, and permissive sex education, euthanasia and eugenics.I think I've mentioned that I am a Catholic. I'm here to tell you that some days it feels like it's wearing thin. I was at mass for Ash Wednesday a few months ago, and as I looked around the church I couldn't help but think, "What are we all doing here?" Not that I think worship is a waste of time, but more specifically I wanted to know what was going through everyone's head in that building. What do we, as Catholics consider our mission? When I read things like the link above, I have no idea. It makes me sick to my stomach.
I could go on at length, as some of you probably know, but I've got to wrap this up before I get in trouble for neglecting Mrs. Eduardo. I am sick and tired of these social gospel-infected, liberal Catholics. Jesus is not a communist. Why are John Kerry and Nancy Pelosi still receiving Communion, especially when Pelosi is either ignorant or lies about what the Church says regarding when life begins? Why does one of my local priests, from Europe, find a way to twist the weekly Gospel reading into some sort of anti-American guilt vehicle? Why did the bishop of my diocese write a special, fawning letter congratulating Obama on getting elected?
The United States is, quite possibly, the pinnacle of human achievement. It's not perfect, but nothing in this world is. Man was meant to live with individual freedom, liberty and responsibility. Man was meant to fight to survive in this world; to defend himself and his family. Man was meant to be able to get into his pickup truck and drive across the country any time he damn well pleases and not have to pay $4.00/gallon to do it. Americans are not supposed to sit around, wracked with guilt until the day they die. I have the opportunities I have today because my ancestors were brave enough to come here and start a new life, not because George Washington or the CIA stole it from somebody else.
There is a quote from 1984 where Winston muses to himself that somehow one felt that they were being cheated out of life in his world. That's what they want for us. Everybody equal in misery: nobody above anybody else (except them, who are above us all). I've had to start fresh on my own three times in my three decades of life and each time has been at once both terrifying and exhilarating. Each time has reminded me of what true freedom is: shaping my own destiny for better or worse. I love where I am right now and it enrages me to think that it might end due to the actions of politicians in Washington who created this mess in the first place. There is nowhere else left to go in the world that can give us what we have here. This is the hill we die on. If we can't make things work here, then humanity will go back to being serf-like robots, either through Islam or socialism.
So help me God, the next mealy-mouthed, wishy-washy, progressive priest that tries to tell my wife and me that we need to feel guilty for working 40 hour weeks while trying to raise our kids because Pedro Pablo the illegal alien has a miserable life despite his free medical care and the state's reluctance to keep him in jail despite his 15 DUI arrests...that priest is going to get an earful from me right in the middle of his homily. I'm gonna get downright Old Testament on his ass, Nathan style. I only hope that moment doesn't come at my child's upcoming baptism ceremony. That will be awkward.
I'm angry right now; seething. That's all for the moment.
*Note to any horrified liberal readers: by "Old Testament" I don't mean carrying guns to mass or murdering anybody's family. I only mean standing up and speaking very, very loud and indignantly.*
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Something for you to chew on
Here's a blog that linked to an old post from Over There in reference to Protein Wisdom:
http://tehsqueakywheel.com/blog/?p=3659
Apparently, PW got into a huge pissing contest with Patterico, who also got tangled up Over There a while back:
http://www.instapunk.com/archives/InstaPunkArchiveV2.php3?a=1065
Teh Squeaky Wheel doesn't seem to provide a link to the PW/Patterico fight, but I was struck by the comments I read here at the post linked by TSW, many of them by you:
http://www.instapunk.com/archives/InstaPunkArchiveV2.php3?a=1677
It reminded me of something I've been thinking about a lot as I've followed the health care debate, which is this: The hardest thing in the world is to prove the dead obvious.
Water is wet, women are different from men, and the government can't run anything efficiently. The only thing it's any good at is what can't be done by any other kind of organization -- e.g., build an overwhelming military. Very few things fall into this special category.
That's what's so infuriating about ALL the conservative pundit debates on healthcare. It's all about finding some way -- simple, sophisticated, clever, logical, legal, economic, etc -- to prove what should need no proof: if the government takes over health care completely, many many more people will die younger than they need to or should.
And once you've said that, what more CAN you really say? Can any of you prove that water is wet? If you have to prove it, haven't you defeated yourself in advance by even attempting it?
But what do you do instead, if anything?
Fair Warning. Good responses here just might get reproduced Over There. But don't let that inhibit you. If you don't want to be quoted, just say so here and you won't be.
http://tehsqueakywheel.com/blog/?p=3659
Apparently, PW got into a huge pissing contest with Patterico, who also got tangled up Over There a while back:
http://www.instapunk.com/archives/InstaPunkArchiveV2.php3?a=1065
Teh Squeaky Wheel doesn't seem to provide a link to the PW/Patterico fight, but I was struck by the comments I read here at the post linked by TSW, many of them by you:
http://www.instapunk.com/archives/InstaPunkArchiveV2.php3?a=1677
It reminded me of something I've been thinking about a lot as I've followed the health care debate, which is this: The hardest thing in the world is to prove the dead obvious.
Water is wet, women are different from men, and the government can't run anything efficiently. The only thing it's any good at is what can't be done by any other kind of organization -- e.g., build an overwhelming military. Very few things fall into this special category.
That's what's so infuriating about ALL the conservative pundit debates on healthcare. It's all about finding some way -- simple, sophisticated, clever, logical, legal, economic, etc -- to prove what should need no proof: if the government takes over health care completely, many many more people will die younger than they need to or should.
And once you've said that, what more CAN you really say? Can any of you prove that water is wet? If you have to prove it, haven't you defeated yourself in advance by even attempting it?
But what do you do instead, if anything?
Fair Warning. Good responses here just might get reproduced Over There. But don't let that inhibit you. If you don't want to be quoted, just say so here and you won't be.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
For the Dogs
The subject of dogs and a convicted dog-killer set off a firestorm over there, with lots of differing opinions and plenty of anger. LocoPunk, TruePunk, Instapunk, and Country Punk all wrote in -- no points for guessing where they came down. But with the 'best commenters on the internet' seeming to have some conflicting points of view, the topic is prime for battle on the Kort. So:
Where do you come down on the Vick situation? Did he pay his dues? Should he play? Should he still be in jail? Does he deserve to live?
Much was said about some Ethics 101 ridiculous hypothetical situations: how much more valuable is the life of a dog than the life of a human? A human child? A hundred dogs vs. a rapist? Is this type of debate even worth having? Why or why not?
Some cultures kill and eat dogs for food. Is our culture morally superior to theirs? If a culture had pigs purely as companions and did not kill or eat them, would they be morally superior to us? (Eduardo, Apotheosis, you're expected to weigh in on this one given your recent discussion about the genesis of morality).
What is it that makes dogs different from all the other species? Feel free to make it personal...
Where do you come down on the Vick situation? Did he pay his dues? Should he play? Should he still be in jail? Does he deserve to live?
Much was said about some Ethics 101 ridiculous hypothetical situations: how much more valuable is the life of a dog than the life of a human? A human child? A hundred dogs vs. a rapist? Is this type of debate even worth having? Why or why not?
Some cultures kill and eat dogs for food. Is our culture morally superior to theirs? If a culture had pigs purely as companions and did not kill or eat them, would they be morally superior to us? (Eduardo, Apotheosis, you're expected to weigh in on this one given your recent discussion about the genesis of morality).
What is it that makes dogs different from all the other species? Feel free to make it personal...
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