tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post5409685135934183983..comments2024-03-28T09:47:25.719-04:00Comments on Daffey Thoughts: Could John Stossel please stand over there? David Griffeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06629314279592541401noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-51457203032086746752021-06-29T14:26:58.330-04:002021-06-29T14:26:58.330-04:00I fear that happened not only in libertarian circl...I fear that happened not only in libertarian circles, but across conservatism in general. So obvious was the emerging Left's assault on basics of freedom that they began embracing things even they, a decade or so earlier, would never embrace or condone. David Griffeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06629314279592541401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-43693034574531762212021-06-29T11:29:37.813-04:002021-06-29T11:29:37.813-04:00Libertarians profess freedom in many forms persona...Libertarians profess freedom in many forms personally with the central theme of avoiding harm to others. Obviously, in an imperfect world, it doesn't always work out that way. Let's not ignore the fact that much of what passes for Libertarian philosophy these days is a reaction to the increasing desire of those on the left to exert more and more control over the personal lives of citizens. History has shown us that reactions can often be messy. pueblosw@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04955678254129002919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-42121648980850751972021-06-24T16:56:58.198-04:002021-06-24T16:56:58.198-04:00Many felt he spent too little time arguing for the...Many felt he spent too little time arguing for the ethical admonition against it, and more time pointing out that in the more practical side, eugenics works like a charm. He even went on quite a roll over how nice it would be with a world of Mozarts and Einsteins. While I'm sure even he wouldn't come out and say let's do it, many I remember at the time felt he was laying a strong foundation for others to say 'why yes, not only would it work like a charm, but in our age of ESR, abortion and assisted suicide, here's why it's just fine as well.' And that seems to be where Stossel is going with it: don't fear the new 'build a better human', because that's what STEM is for. David Griffeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06629314279592541401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-45303184041788623192021-06-24T13:07:48.014-04:002021-06-24T13:07:48.014-04:00Wow, what a convincing argument, Deco.Wow, what a convincing argument, Deco.Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04843514873861242426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-38970800654990045372021-06-24T12:05:22.779-04:002021-06-24T12:05:22.779-04:00And yet what I said remains true.
It's not t...<i>And yet what I said remains true. </i><br /><br />It's not the least bit true. Art Decohttp://wwrtc.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-38928240109746829682021-06-24T11:40:06.502-04:002021-06-24T11:40:06.502-04:00As I recall, Dawkins was pointing out that the ide...As I recall, Dawkins was pointing out that the idea of eugenics "doesn't work" is false - it absolutely would work on humans too. That the arguments against it need to be rooted in reasoning beyond effectiveness.<br /><br />Which is something I quite agree with him on and it annoys me today that a lot of people will spend more time trying to argue over whether something works or not than if it's ethical. Nate Winchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00630873800235819300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-78301690457069296992021-06-24T11:35:05.636-04:002021-06-24T11:35:05.636-04:00Exactly. This kind of thing is inevitable if you ...Exactly. This kind of thing is inevitable if you base your thinking only on what other people are saying -- whether to follow them or to oppose them -- as opposed to basing your thinking on something more persistent.Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04843514873861242426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-35236205376707657712021-06-24T07:02:04.907-04:002021-06-24T07:02:04.907-04:00It could be argued we're about to realize this...It could be argued we're about to realize this. David Griffeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06629314279592541401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-29050246681095303672021-06-24T07:01:43.179-04:002021-06-24T07:01:43.179-04:00I used to like Stossel, way back in the day. But ...I used to like Stossel, way back in the day. But again, he began to espouse more and more that 'survival of the richest' brand of libertarian/conservative thinking. Plus, he also seemed to hold another strain, and that's ironically a variation of the doctrine of progress (everything is awesome, naysayers who say things like pollution or drug abuse are just trying to control our lives. But the talk he gives here, if it were only for using medicine to thwart disease or disabilities, might not be so bad. But he isn't. He goes further where Dawkins went some years ago and got trashed for doing so - let's use STEM to play God and build the better human. There are some things that cross a line and just can't be reconciled with even the loosest take on Christian values. David Griffeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06629314279592541401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-24430698350563503152021-06-23T23:02:42.560-04:002021-06-23T23:02:42.560-04:00That's what's tough about politics. It see...That's what's tough about politics. It seems that everyone who starts out trying to be objective and middle of the road ends up on either the far right or left. They kind of drift one way one the other. And as you point out, those who embrace one extreme often got there by reacting against something the opposite extreme was doing. It's like how Communism and Facism gain power by demonizing each other.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10122492268910202737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-59695373228464150352021-06-23T20:02:43.643-04:002021-06-23T20:02:43.643-04:00And yet what I said remains true. There is respon...And yet what I said remains true. There is responsibility enough to go around.<br /><br />We are each responsible for our own words and actions -- and for the witness those words and actions bear, whether a witness to truth or a witness to falsehood. Stossel and Shea go some ways towards creating each other because each react against the other's errors and deeper into their own.Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04843514873861242426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-52330454163364645352021-06-23T18:10:12.705-04:002021-06-23T18:10:12.705-04:00No, Mark Shea is responsible for Mark SheaNo, Mark Shea is responsible for Mark SheaArt Decohttp://wwrtc.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-66763877815103801892021-06-23T18:04:37.977-04:002021-06-23T18:04:37.977-04:00The likes of John Stossel are partially responsibl...The likes of John Stossel are partially responsible for the likes of Mark Shea.Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04843514873861242426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-71433568430261266752021-06-23T10:13:50.348-04:002021-06-23T10:13:50.348-04:00Always liked Stossel, have a couple of his books t...Always liked Stossel, have a couple of his books too. He was a fairly standard liberal of the TV variety in his day until his repeated news reports led him to the libertarian position (kind of like what Thomas Sowell talks about in his journey).<br /><br />Of course I'm hardly unbiased given that genetics were my first study in college, but I will admit it is a tricky question. At work right now a mother is struggling because her newborn is having health problems. If we had the power from the start to keep the child the same but have removed these health problems before they began, should we? Or do we tell the mother that it is good for your child to suffer in order to prevent some vague other evils?<br /><br />All I know for certain are 2 things: 1) Nothing ever works as purely as intended. 2) It's easy to moralize until it's your child at stake.<br /><br />And as for Stossel, hey, we're all allowed to be wrong sometimes. (so far)Nate Winchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00630873800235819300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-50119280864362544362021-06-23T09:34:48.824-04:002021-06-23T09:34:48.824-04:00But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the com...But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04843514873861242426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-1367065092623697262021-06-23T08:00:43.044-04:002021-06-23T08:00:43.044-04:00I would say it's a bit like Protestantism. I&...I would say it's a bit like Protestantism. I've heard people say there are thousands of Protestant traditions. No, there are only a few dozen, if that many. But there are thousands of various spins on those few dozen traditions. There are likely only a few actual, according to Hoyle, approaches to libertarianism. But the personal spins on those approaches can be quite numerous. David Griffeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06629314279592541401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226269873507053740.post-17722672569077795382021-06-23T06:26:46.662-04:002021-06-23T06:26:46.662-04:00Now if libertarianism is anything, it isn't ea...<i>Now if libertarianism is anything, it isn't easy to pin down. I think if I asked twenty libertarians to define libertarianism, I would get nineteen definitions, since there's always that one person who will jump in with someone else. </i><br /><br />Disagree. There are a half-dozen different flavors of libertarianism. They differ less on premises and policy prescriptions than they do on interests, emphasis, and sensibility. Art Decohttp://wwrtc.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com