I'd like to co-sign with Trumwill here. I have tried to "own it" and jump on the liberal bandwagon, and quite frankly I'm not sure that was either wise or quite what I expected it to be. Liberals are just as quick to disown people who refuse to toe the line.
I beg to differ, Barrett. You already pay taxes on the illegality of marijuana by sending your tax dollars to pay for the war on drugs. And while I'm all for a deregulated marijuana market, I'm not willing to do so on the back of a black market which leads also to death, imprisonment, and other atrocities. Legal and regulated is preferable if not ideal.
I was mostly being glib. Then again, there really are those at the fringes (vanguard?) of punditry who believe this or who, more likely, simply use it as a particularly useful rhetorical weapon for drumming up war and such.
The other work in question is William Gibson’s Neuromancer, in which the Tessier-Ashpool family is seen to have largely closed itself to the outside world and redefined itself as something akin to a hive of wasps.
Indeed. I found the Tessier-Ashpool family quite a lot more disturbing than Caligula, perhaps because I found Caligula almost cartoonish in his madness, whereas the TA's were really deeply disturbing to me. Both Gibson's book and Caligula were indeed well ahead of their time.
We should start a bowler hat store here to raise funds. I mean, where does one find a bowler hat these days? And why on earth did they ever go out of fashion?
Glad to have you aboard, James. Look forward to reading more of your posts.
A few days of posts might drag the entire page out a really long ways. Actually I think we are able to show more posts in this format than in the previous. But maybe we could figure something else out that meets in the middle somewhere.
In other words, this took on a tone aimed a bit more at liberals because the last time I staked out a place in the realm of Certainty was for liberalism; and here I am saying I should remain in the realm of Doubt. Not necessarily that I should stop pursuing liberalism, either, but that I should do so in my own way, with my own philosophical penchants intact.
But if you think about it, the very rich are far more capable of finding the loopholes and taking advantage of them than the middle class. Effectively abolishing loopholes would make it much harder for the rich to get out of paying their taxes.
TKOEd - I think you're focusing too much on the Manzi passage (which mentions Klein). That being said, perhaps this was aimed a bit more at liberals, and maybe that is, to some degree, because of the reception I've had at Balloon Juice. But it's not meant as a take-down of liberals or liberalism; rather, it's just a meditation on my own doubts about everything and since I try to incorporate politics into most of my writing, that's the direction this piece took. Since I have been thinking a great deal about liberalism and its limitations, this is the strain that emerged. But again - this is meant not as a piece about my politics directly so much as it is a piece on my disposition. I still overcome many of my doubts in order to support positions which I care deeply about.
The extra step I might go from that line above is that unlike most of the other philosophies, doubt doesn’t ask you to abandon your reason at best or your humanity at worst.
Good points, Francis. I don't think we can solve everything by incremental change either. Sometimes radical steps have to be taken - think of things like sweeping reforms to civil rights, for instance. I'm less certain about solutions to environmental problems like climate change which require such widespread economic changes. Though I would support a carbon tax.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.
On “Language & Politics”
I'd like to co-sign with Trumwill here. I have tried to "own it" and jump on the liberal bandwagon, and quite frankly I'm not sure that was either wise or quite what I expected it to be. Liberals are just as quick to disown people who refuse to toe the line.
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Thanks, Pat!
On “A culture war truce?”
I've said much the same thing on occasion, James. I don't see how the Tea Party (broadly understood) can survive Republican successes over time.
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Quite possibly you're right. Then again, I think many of the social issues are losing their edge to some degree.
On “Locally grown and operated”
I beg to differ, Barrett. You already pay taxes on the illegality of marijuana by sending your tax dollars to pay for the war on drugs. And while I'm all for a deregulated marijuana market, I'm not willing to do so on the back of a black market which leads also to death, imprisonment, and other atrocities. Legal and regulated is preferable if not ideal.
On “Exceptionalism Means Shouting “Best Ever!” and “Complete Genius!””
I was mostly being glib. Then again, there really are those at the fringes (vanguard?) of punditry who believe this or who, more likely, simply use it as a particularly useful rhetorical weapon for drumming up war and such.
On “Nonsensical assertion of the day”
I'm not terribly familiar with The Economist but Democracy in America has been really great lately.
On “What sort of country do you want to live in?”
Sweet.
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Yoda is always right. About everything.
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You may be right. But they'll be on a no-fly list so their protest will be short-lived.
On “Is it just me…”
I'm really glad everyone likes it. And my next project is integrating better mobile support.
On “The virtues of Caligula”
Indeed. I found the Tessier-Ashpool family quite a lot more disturbing than Caligula, perhaps because I found Caligula almost cartoonish in his madness, whereas the TA's were really deeply disturbing to me. Both Gibson's book and Caligula were indeed well ahead of their time.
On “Hey, wait a minute! I was going to use “Hello” for my first title!”
Welcome, D.A! Look forward to the ebbing and flowing of your posts...
On “Blog Ends, Merge Left”
We should start a bowler hat store here to raise funds. I mean, where does one find a bowler hat these days? And why on earth did they ever go out of fashion?
Glad to have you aboard, James. Look forward to reading more of your posts.
On “Is it just me…”
A few days of posts might drag the entire page out a really long ways. Actually I think we are able to show more posts in this format than in the previous. But maybe we could figure something else out that meets in the middle somewhere.
On “Hello”
Sorry about your last post disappearing. We're moving to a new host and that's probably what happened but who knows? Technology is a strange beast.
On “On Certainty & Doubt”
Thanks! I appreciate that...
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In other words, this took on a tone aimed a bit more at liberals because the last time I staked out a place in the realm of Certainty was for liberalism; and here I am saying I should remain in the realm of Doubt. Not necessarily that I should stop pursuing liberalism, either, but that I should do so in my own way, with my own philosophical penchants intact.
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Not at all. Great Bertrand Russell quote, too.
On “Thoughts on the Simpson-Bowles Deficit Commission report”
But if you think about it, the very rich are far more capable of finding the loopholes and taking advantage of them than the middle class. Effectively abolishing loopholes would make it much harder for the rich to get out of paying their taxes.
On “On Certainty & Doubt”
TKOEd - I think you're focusing too much on the Manzi passage (which mentions Klein). That being said, perhaps this was aimed a bit more at liberals, and maybe that is, to some degree, because of the reception I've had at Balloon Juice. But it's not meant as a take-down of liberals or liberalism; rather, it's just a meditation on my own doubts about everything and since I try to incorporate politics into most of my writing, that's the direction this piece took. Since I have been thinking a great deal about liberalism and its limitations, this is the strain that emerged. But again - this is meant not as a piece about my politics directly so much as it is a piece on my disposition. I still overcome many of my doubts in order to support positions which I care deeply about.
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Damn skippy.
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Thanks!
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Very well said, RTod.
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Good points, Francis. I don't think we can solve everything by incremental change either. Sometimes radical steps have to be taken - think of things like sweeping reforms to civil rights, for instance. I'm less certain about solutions to environmental problems like climate change which require such widespread economic changes. Though I would support a carbon tax.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.