There are a lot of hardcore anarchist types out there, but the most irritating have to be the anarcho-capitalists. These guys believe that you can have a functioning economic system without a state to guard people's private property and enforce contracts. Let's assume for a moment that you could. This kind of community is one in which, if you hit hard times, say you end up in a wheelchair, or are otherwise disabled and cannot work, or there is a structural level of unemployment and there is simply no work for you to do, and if you can't find anybody willing to help you out of the kindness of their hearts, you're basically fucked. There's nowhere for you to turn.
Now the anti-statist will say something like, "well if you can't work, and nobody wants to support you, what right do you have to burden the wealthy and productive?" Well, none. But I'm definitely glad I live in a country that is willing to support me if I happen to ever become so unfortunate, and I will support any government that ensures that, at least in the most extreme cases, there's always a safety net.
Now I'm not some hard core leftist that believes that taking from the rich is or should be the solution to the problems of the poor, and I think it should be harder to get welfare than it currently is, but I would still prefer to live in a country in which people who may happen to have had some really bad luck have some to fall back on.
Those who believe all taxation is theft find the idea of taking even the smallest amount from the wealthy and productive, in order to help those who are not able to be as productive absolutely unconscionable. They are sickened by the idea. People this far right basically want to be freed from any responsibility for anyone but themselves.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
FUCK Generation Y
I was born in 1981. I know this only barely qualifies me as being a member of Generation X, if at all, but in spirit, I'm more Gen X than anything else. All the best shit was made for Gen Xers. We had Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Alice in Chains, Fight Club, and the first Matrix movie (which was the only good one).
What does Generation Y have to claim as their own? Panic at the Disco. Purity rings. The Jonas Brothers. The Star Wars prequels. Twilight. Harry Potter. What the fuck happened between these two generations?
It's Generation X that's supposed to be nihilistic, but it seems like Generation Y is so nihilistic they can't even be bothered to rebel against their parents anymore. When I was a kid, the things kids did scared the shit out of their parents. Now what do they do? Listen to emo music and wear really tight jeans that make them look like a really pansy version of Patrick Swayze in Road House. What the fuck is wrong with kids today? Why are they so lame all of a sudden? Is it because their parents are Gen X slackers and the only way they can piss them off is to get white collar jobs and do what the nice corporations tell them to do?
Is it because Christians have been running everything for the last eight years? Is it because goths lost their balls and turned emo? Why is there nothing subversive anymore? Why are so many kids so content to consume such saccharine pablum?
What does Generation Y have to claim as their own? Panic at the Disco. Purity rings. The Jonas Brothers. The Star Wars prequels. Twilight. Harry Potter. What the fuck happened between these two generations?
It's Generation X that's supposed to be nihilistic, but it seems like Generation Y is so nihilistic they can't even be bothered to rebel against their parents anymore. When I was a kid, the things kids did scared the shit out of their parents. Now what do they do? Listen to emo music and wear really tight jeans that make them look like a really pansy version of Patrick Swayze in Road House. What the fuck is wrong with kids today? Why are they so lame all of a sudden? Is it because their parents are Gen X slackers and the only way they can piss them off is to get white collar jobs and do what the nice corporations tell them to do?
Is it because Christians have been running everything for the last eight years? Is it because goths lost their balls and turned emo? Why is there nothing subversive anymore? Why are so many kids so content to consume such saccharine pablum?
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Shoe Bomber Two
I'm sure there are a few people who are jumping on this story about the guy who almost blew up that plane from Amsterdam to Detroit as an example of Obama's inability to protect the country and that, although it failed, it should count as a terrorist attack. If that's your standard of failure, then Bush's failure to keep the shoe bomber from getting on a plane should count as a refutation of the belief that Bush is to be credited with "keeping us safe" for so many years.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Truthers
I was watching a "documentary" made by 9/11 Truthers and noticed that they go after Republicans, Democrats and even some pretty anti-Bush congressmen like John Conyers and thought, "Hmm, Chomsky thinks the truthers are full of shit. Why don't you see Alex Jones and his ilk go after him?" It is rather strange that these guys seem to go after everyone who says they think they're crazy (like The Young Turks) but I've never seen any of them say a thing about Chomsky. Is it because they know that if there were ANY evidence that 9/11 was an inside job that could be taken seriously, Chomsky would be all over it? Is it because they know that if there were any reason to think the Bush administration could have anything to do with the commission of 9/11, he'd be the first to point it out?
Here, by the way, is Chomsky's view of why 9/11 happened and who was responsible.
Here, by the way, is Chomsky's view of why 9/11 happened and who was responsible.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Left and Right
I consider myself a left-leaning moderate. Philosophically, I'm a skeptic, so I don't choose my political allegiances based on which position I consider "true" (I don't know if there is such a thing as truth, and, even if there is, I don't know if I would recognize it), rather, since one's politics are, at least in part, an extension of one's moral positions, I base my own politics on what my conscience will allow, and I expect many other people do the same. People far to the left and far to the right differ not so much about matters of fact, but rather have consciences that allow or disallow different and sometimes opposite things.
Ideal Worlds
Here are what I think the ideal communities for those on the most extreme left and right would look like.
The ideal world for a leftist is, I think, perfectly articulated by that John Lennon song. You know the one. Don't make me say it. The one about people not believing in heaven and shit. This song talks about a kind of perfect equality between everyone, "nothing to kill or die for" etcetera. In this kind of world, people get along, they enjoy each other's company, nobody has to put a lot of effort into anything, take orders from anyone or give orders to anyone. There is no competition, so nobody has to worry about losing face or strain themselves trying to get ahead.
There's certainly an appeal to this kind of community. You don't have to deal with people who are arrogant or full of themselves. If you need help, people will be there for you, presumably, and there's nothing to feel jealous about.
The ideal world for people on the right is one in which there is constant activity and effort. There is hierarchy, and, depending on what kind of right winger you are, you can climb the social ladder or you can enjoy your position of high status if you're lucky enough to have it, and you can look upon those above you with awe and appreciation if you're not. It is a world in which there are things of immense value that people devote their lives to achieving or protecting. This kind of community likely has a God to which everyone bows. This God is an object of ultimate value that gives value to everything else, and everything and everyone is judged by their proximity to or from this ideal. All activity is judged by this standard. All things that are not oriented to this standard are worthless and to be shunned and condemned.
This ideal world has its appeal as well. People in this community enjoy an awe that those in the leftest ideal world do not. People have something to look up to and a standard by which value can be measured with certainty.
Both of these ideals also have a pretty grotesque side as well. While the leftist ideal world, is harmonious and comfortable, it is also pretty boring and stifling like a straight jacket. If there is nothing to kill or die for, there's not much to live for if you ask me. The conscience of someone on the far left is severely perturbed by the idea that someone may gain advantage over anyone else, regardless of the effort invested. In fact the very idea that someone would expend effort to place themselves ahead of anyone else seems to be indicative of some kind of pathology to the leftist. Anyone who chooses to do that is seen as selfish and evil. Wanting to better oneself or one's lot in life is only permissible if you can bring everyone else with you. Otherwise it is a despicable vice.
The world of the right winger has an unmistakable glory to it, but is contemptuous of deviants and intolerant of dissent. While in this community, one is not made to feel guilty for wanting to be greater than one is, one is also not made to feel any responsibility or compassion for the lot of others. Everyone is where they are because they either earned it, or happened to be born into a class that entitles them to their fortune or misfortune. No tears are to be shed for the indigent, and nobody in a position of privilege should ever be asked, let alone forced, to ever be inconvenienced in the slightest to provide even the most basic of needs to those who happen to find themselves in a desperate situation. Not for any reason. The conscience of someone on the far right is disgusted by the idea that the great and mighty would ever be called upon to sacrifice any of their wealth for the sake of the lowly.
I obviously fall somewhere in between. Most people fall somewhere between these two extremes, and someone reading this who is far left or far right may accuse me of making a caricature of their political position. Well, for the purposes of illustration, that is exactly what I am doing. I've constructed these extremes not because I think they represent the ideals of most people, but rather because I want to show what each extreme end of the left/right spectrum looks like.
My conscience finds the rejection of all stratification horrendously stifling. There's something contemptible to me about people who are disgusted by the notion that some people may be better than others in at least some respects and deserve more wealth and social status. Some people are better than others and deserve more. This "betterness" is, however, not absolute. No matter how talented or charming you are, you don't get to turn you're back on those who are struggling just to get by while you have more wealth than you know what to do with. Now, I know not every poor person is poor because of factors outside of their control, and yes, there are welfare cheats. Regardless, there are some very hard working people who make all the right decisions in life and still can't get by. To affirm that the wealthy, even the most hard working thereof, are more entitled to their ivory back scratchers than these unfortunate people are to food and medicine is not something my conscience can allow. This, I think, makes me a left-leaning moderate.
Ideal Worlds
Here are what I think the ideal communities for those on the most extreme left and right would look like.
The ideal world for a leftist is, I think, perfectly articulated by that John Lennon song. You know the one. Don't make me say it. The one about people not believing in heaven and shit. This song talks about a kind of perfect equality between everyone, "nothing to kill or die for" etcetera. In this kind of world, people get along, they enjoy each other's company, nobody has to put a lot of effort into anything, take orders from anyone or give orders to anyone. There is no competition, so nobody has to worry about losing face or strain themselves trying to get ahead.
There's certainly an appeal to this kind of community. You don't have to deal with people who are arrogant or full of themselves. If you need help, people will be there for you, presumably, and there's nothing to feel jealous about.
The ideal world for people on the right is one in which there is constant activity and effort. There is hierarchy, and, depending on what kind of right winger you are, you can climb the social ladder or you can enjoy your position of high status if you're lucky enough to have it, and you can look upon those above you with awe and appreciation if you're not. It is a world in which there are things of immense value that people devote their lives to achieving or protecting. This kind of community likely has a God to which everyone bows. This God is an object of ultimate value that gives value to everything else, and everything and everyone is judged by their proximity to or from this ideal. All activity is judged by this standard. All things that are not oriented to this standard are worthless and to be shunned and condemned.
This ideal world has its appeal as well. People in this community enjoy an awe that those in the leftest ideal world do not. People have something to look up to and a standard by which value can be measured with certainty.
Both of these ideals also have a pretty grotesque side as well. While the leftist ideal world, is harmonious and comfortable, it is also pretty boring and stifling like a straight jacket. If there is nothing to kill or die for, there's not much to live for if you ask me. The conscience of someone on the far left is severely perturbed by the idea that someone may gain advantage over anyone else, regardless of the effort invested. In fact the very idea that someone would expend effort to place themselves ahead of anyone else seems to be indicative of some kind of pathology to the leftist. Anyone who chooses to do that is seen as selfish and evil. Wanting to better oneself or one's lot in life is only permissible if you can bring everyone else with you. Otherwise it is a despicable vice.
The world of the right winger has an unmistakable glory to it, but is contemptuous of deviants and intolerant of dissent. While in this community, one is not made to feel guilty for wanting to be greater than one is, one is also not made to feel any responsibility or compassion for the lot of others. Everyone is where they are because they either earned it, or happened to be born into a class that entitles them to their fortune or misfortune. No tears are to be shed for the indigent, and nobody in a position of privilege should ever be asked, let alone forced, to ever be inconvenienced in the slightest to provide even the most basic of needs to those who happen to find themselves in a desperate situation. Not for any reason. The conscience of someone on the far right is disgusted by the idea that the great and mighty would ever be called upon to sacrifice any of their wealth for the sake of the lowly.
I obviously fall somewhere in between. Most people fall somewhere between these two extremes, and someone reading this who is far left or far right may accuse me of making a caricature of their political position. Well, for the purposes of illustration, that is exactly what I am doing. I've constructed these extremes not because I think they represent the ideals of most people, but rather because I want to show what each extreme end of the left/right spectrum looks like.
My conscience finds the rejection of all stratification horrendously stifling. There's something contemptible to me about people who are disgusted by the notion that some people may be better than others in at least some respects and deserve more wealth and social status. Some people are better than others and deserve more. This "betterness" is, however, not absolute. No matter how talented or charming you are, you don't get to turn you're back on those who are struggling just to get by while you have more wealth than you know what to do with. Now, I know not every poor person is poor because of factors outside of their control, and yes, there are welfare cheats. Regardless, there are some very hard working people who make all the right decisions in life and still can't get by. To affirm that the wealthy, even the most hard working thereof, are more entitled to their ivory back scratchers than these unfortunate people are to food and medicine is not something my conscience can allow. This, I think, makes me a left-leaning moderate.
VenomfagX
It looks like he's making videos again. This should be entertaining. I wonder if anyone will even bother with him anymore though. I mean, really, he just keeps repeating the same shit over and over again. No matter how convincing an argument you make against one of his points, he'll throw it back at you in another video like it was something new that he just though up. Is thunderf00t going to want to go over the same points again ad nauseum? Is TJ?
Maybe it'll be entertaining, though. Maybe he'll show more of his dorm room hijinks and Kassie Dill will keep talking about how faggy she thinks he is and we'll all have a good laugh. Maybe he'll embarrass himself even more by false DMCAing yet another set of atheist videos. Maybe he'll get on FOX News like Howtheworldworks did and the whole world will get to see what dink he is.
I suspect it'll just be boring videos and boring responses to his obvious nonsense.
Maybe it'll be entertaining, though. Maybe he'll show more of his dorm room hijinks and Kassie Dill will keep talking about how faggy she thinks he is and we'll all have a good laugh. Maybe he'll embarrass himself even more by false DMCAing yet another set of atheist videos. Maybe he'll get on FOX News like Howtheworldworks did and the whole world will get to see what dink he is.
I suspect it'll just be boring videos and boring responses to his obvious nonsense.
Christmas
I can't really say I go to the effort of boycotting Christmas so much as I refuse to spend any effort on it. I didn't buy anybody any presents, though some probably bought me some. I didn't decorate, and I'm spending the day working. I'm taking the opportunity to be productive.
I cringe at all the people who are able to compartmentalize the excitement over presents and separate it from the ridiculous amount of debt they are in and refuse to connect the two. Only a grinch would point out the inevitable nuisance those Playstations and Xboxes are going to bring when they're being hounded by the credit card company.
People are baffled by the fact that I'm able to pay all my bills while only working 25 hours a week and have never been in debt. "How is this possible in a recession?! How do you do it?!" I don't spend all my money on stupid shit, that's how.
I cringe at all the people who are able to compartmentalize the excitement over presents and separate it from the ridiculous amount of debt they are in and refuse to connect the two. Only a grinch would point out the inevitable nuisance those Playstations and Xboxes are going to bring when they're being hounded by the credit card company.
People are baffled by the fact that I'm able to pay all my bills while only working 25 hours a week and have never been in debt. "How is this possible in a recession?! How do you do it?!" I don't spend all my money on stupid shit, that's how.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Why I Support Sarah Palin
Who is most likely to run against Obama in 2012? A lot of people seem to think Mitt Romney might, and Romney's not unelectable. He might have a decent chance against Obama if the whole Mormon thing doesn't turn off the other Christians who don't think Mormonism is a legitimate religion. Interestingly enough though, while Romney might have a chance against Obama, he clearly isn't as popular as Palin among conservatives, and it looks like she could take the Republican nomination.
And let's all hope she does. What I delightful catastrofuck that would be. If you thought John McCain's campaign was a train wreck, wait 'til you see Palin's. I can't wait for the first debate between Palin and Obama! It'll be like that Kids in the Hall skit when Bruce McCulloch keeps picking a fight with this really huge guy and he knocks him out with one punch and he keeps getting back up again thinking he can really take him the next time around.
But what if she wins? Well, that would be a painful 4 years, but, in the long run, it might be the best possible scenario, because it would destroy the Republican Party forever. There was a time when we all thought that Bush couldn't discredit the Republicans any more than he did, but Palin is a whole new class of stupid. If we survive the nuclear winter that is the Palin presidency, maybe enough people will finally wake up and smell the fallout. Democrats have for too long stood in the way of letting conservatives experience first hand what happens when they get the government they really want.
And let's all hope she does. What I delightful catastrofuck that would be. If you thought John McCain's campaign was a train wreck, wait 'til you see Palin's. I can't wait for the first debate between Palin and Obama! It'll be like that Kids in the Hall skit when Bruce McCulloch keeps picking a fight with this really huge guy and he knocks him out with one punch and he keeps getting back up again thinking he can really take him the next time around.
But what if she wins? Well, that would be a painful 4 years, but, in the long run, it might be the best possible scenario, because it would destroy the Republican Party forever. There was a time when we all thought that Bush couldn't discredit the Republicans any more than he did, but Palin is a whole new class of stupid. If we survive the nuclear winter that is the Palin presidency, maybe enough people will finally wake up and smell the fallout. Democrats have for too long stood in the way of letting conservatives experience first hand what happens when they get the government they really want.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
A Social Technology
While it is clear that people are spending less time with each other than they did before TV and the internet, I've found more people to whom I can relate on YouTube than I ever have in real life.
Why?
I've long wondered, why is it that Alex Jones doesn't quote from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion? You'd think that kind of thing would be right up his alley. He's certainly had ideas just as incredible as the Protocols. What keeps these truthers and birthers from drawing the line just before they cross over into the totally unpalatable? It's things like that that make believe that Jones and Glenn Beck may be faking it and they don't really believe the shit they say. If they are faking it, however, they're absolute geniuses, which I don't think is the case.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Kick Ass
Here's a great video about those hacked e-mails and why people who think they're evidence of fraud are too lazy to actually read them and find out the truth of what these quotes mean.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Darnit to Heck!
I missed another day. No worries, freespeechvids.com looks like its doing well since TJ decided to take his frustrations out on Christians again. Check it out. The site's down right now due to the excess traffic, but there's a link to the first of his "pwnage videos".
Also, here's an interview with Charles Johnson about "parting ways" with the right.
Also, here's an interview with Charles Johnson about "parting ways" with the right.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Gror!
I missed a day of posting. Sorry about that. I had a paper due today that I wanted to finish.
Not much going on today. Charles Johnson says he's not right-wing any more. I'm surprised to see that a lot of the first few comments are supportive.
Not much going on today. Charles Johnson says he's not right-wing any more. I'm surprised to see that a lot of the first few comments are supportive.
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