tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post7171014532771733899..comments2024-03-28T14:52:13.218-05:00Comments on Stonekettle Station: ShamelessJim Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comBlogger171125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-74457711666155404122017-11-03T17:54:59.808-05:002017-11-03T17:54:59.808-05:00This may already be covered in the comments, but.....This may already be covered in the comments, but... wasn't there a non-military option to gain the franchise? I thought you could serve in some other governmental support role. Jorahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09523990606583343172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-2190745232373782172017-11-03T16:47:36.157-05:002017-11-03T16:47:36.157-05:00Good article. I don't like the available react...Good article. I don't like the available reaction choices, though. No one (or thing) is my god.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03509031218609499999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-90158613239695389222017-11-03T07:16:11.087-05:002017-11-03T07:16:11.087-05:00If you can stand one more quibble. I believe you ...If you can stand one more quibble. I believe you are registered unaffiliated, in some areas Independent is a political party.BGibbsLMThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17657482972136061729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-68104445617874577132017-11-02T20:07:47.454-05:002017-11-02T20:07:47.454-05:00Jim, you would be pleased to know that the society...Jim, you would be pleased to know that the society depicted in Starship Troopers is very similar to the Utopida envisioned by Plato. Except, the rite of passage was not to participate in war but to be educated.Derekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14277446161826261501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-60141652568186973062017-11-02T18:22:03.256-05:002017-11-02T18:22:03.256-05:00You stated precisely my thoughts on Mr. Wright'...You stated precisely my thoughts on Mr. Wright's writings. He piqued my interest when researching politics. I continue to anticipate his work.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03838666933455665656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-8039596466439997382016-12-10T15:05:53.566-06:002016-12-10T15:05:53.566-06:00Greetings from a fellow Floridian. (Other end of ...Greetings from a fellow Floridian. (Other end of the state). Very fine essay. Sad to think the people who most need to read this wouldn't get far into it, partly due to content, mostly due to atrophied or never-developed reading skills.Waynenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-57119020881265281072016-11-11T21:00:07.319-06:002016-11-11T21:00:07.319-06:00Yes!Yes!Ttygerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13391219610688638687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-61857652691780647282016-11-09T19:10:45.009-06:002016-11-09T19:10:45.009-06:00Hey Jim, you should try https://blocktogether.org/...Hey Jim, you should try https://blocktogether.org/ for twitter and then share your blocklist. Twitter is a cesspool and will only get worse. You can at least make it easier for some folks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-77649179895896094312016-11-07T18:10:53.736-06:002016-11-07T18:10:53.736-06:00"It's fixed" So it has been repaire..."It's fixed" So it has been repaired, Thank the maker!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-47796076154323080742016-11-06T17:42:18.208-06:002016-11-06T17:42:18.208-06:00Well said CWO.
I've voted absentee for the th...Well said CWO. <br />I've voted absentee for the third election in a row, as work takes me far from home again. (Starting to think my RWNJ boss is hoping I won't vote. )<br />I was a boisterous Bernie supporter, until HRC won the nomination. Then I became a a boisterous Hillary supporter. <br />Not because I like her, not because I agree 100%, or even 50% with her, but because she is the most qualified of ANY of the choices on the ballot. <br />This election saddens me for so many reasons. It's probably going to destroy the GOP, and with it any chance of a "loyal opposition" for a decade. It's going to embolden the Green, and Libertarian parties in the process. <br />The American flavor of Green Party is a generous childs understanding of the world, and the Libertarian Party is a selfish child's. <br />Dr. Stien is a doctor who questions vaccines if it's politically convenient, and has no real understanding of how to "work the system".<br />Gary Johnson wants us to return to the 1780's and be free to do as we damned well please, without any thought of repercussions. <br />Moreover whoever wins will have a disloyal opposition in the houses, or will by the midterms because at the state level we've allowed our districts to be gerrymandered beyond recognition. <br />It's a goddamn mess, and we are all collectively to blame. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-81482914323822650372016-11-06T17:37:11.095-06:002016-11-06T17:37:11.095-06:00Jim - Thank you on many levels, but particularly f...Jim - Thank you on many levels, but particularly for making exactly the same explanation I have for years regarding Starship Troopers - as a vehicle for both illustrating the value of critical thinking and socio-political commentary.reformed touristhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723408582168455365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-42156364883687364572016-11-06T15:51:41.601-06:002016-11-06T15:51:41.601-06:00I wish I knew the meaning of voting "squirrel...I wish I knew the meaning of voting "squirrel" I checked that box today for the first time. What have I done Jim?Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11290928283713813594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-43842544622770051182016-11-06T12:29:38.707-06:002016-11-06T12:29:38.707-06:00Hello, Mr. Wright,
I began following your writing...Hello, Mr. Wright,<br /><br />I began following your writings since my niece shared your insights on Bowe Bergdahl. True patriotism there, sir. This note may not fit here, but I don't know how to comment on you Facebook page, so here goes. Do with this as you see fit.<br /><br />Gun<br /><br />Here in Reno I was worried about Donald Trump’s safety, worried that someone would shoot him down like a dog. I was worried that he’d bleed out on the gurney, that our most skillful doctors could not pull him through. I was especially worried that The Donald would become more wanted dead than alive, that in grief and rage millions would rush to vote for a “martyr” and that the Republicans would reclaim the White House.<br /><br />Hillary would be blamed for it, of course. Many would say she or her agents provided the weapon, maybe it was even the same one she used to murder Vince Foster. And the antipathy toward her, some of it rightly earned, might engender a reflexive wave of sympathy for The Donald, for what now would be seen as his charming eccentricities, his ersatz manliness. <br /><br />Here in Nevada, though, we understand that Hillary is fortunate in her opponent. We speculate that behind the scenes her operatives helped give him the nomination. Our retiring senator, Harry Reid, was cunning enough in his last election to maneuver support for a wing-nut challenger he could safely defeat. Would Hillary do that? Of course she would. So I’m sure the Clintonistas were also holding their collective breath and hoping The Donald would survive to carry the banner for the Grand Old Party, at least in its current debased form.<br /><br />My father, one of the first of his siblings to be born in this country, was an ardent Republican, if only by default. “When I was coming up,” he once told me, “the Democrats wouldn’t have the French, wanted nothing to do with us.” My wife was raised, as I was, in small-town America, steeped in the culture of personal responsibility, balanced budgets, and self-reliance, and so sometimes I have voted for Republican candidates for offices as high as governor.<br /><br />But that was mostly in the old days before the parties switched tracks, when the Dixiecrats fled over civil rights and the Republican party slowly slid away from Lincoln and Rockefeller and toward the ideology of Lincoln Rockwell.<br /> <br />That was before Reaganomics unleashed the savage forces of unbridled capitalism and the glorification of greed. Of course there was always (and will be) inequality, but the proper role of government is to protect the weak from the powerful, and one of our political parties attempts to do this, perhaps in a limping and halted way, but at least it tries. The other party has surrendered to a Luddite fury over government itself, seeking to dismantle the mechanisms that safeguard us all.<br /><br />So, yes, I was worried for The Donald, worried that one of those cherished guns might strike him down before he could be repudiated, worried that the Electoral College would get to choose someone else from a roster of hateful, fear-mongering, semi-fascist bullies. The primary process exposed them as the pathetic scarecrows that they are, and the current darling of the Right, Mike Pence, with his smarmy funeral director’s patter likewise would have been dismissed long ago by that bombastic con man who was on stage last night in our town.<br /><br />So I’m glad the nominee left town as physically healthy as might be. <br /><br />Let him continue to carry the banner for angry disenfranchised Americans, though he has never done anything to help them and his current rhetoric indicates he has no idea how to do that, even if that were his intent.<br /><br />Let him carry the banner for angry Christians, though through word and deed he has demonstrated no understanding of or interest in the essential message of faith, hope, and love.<br /><br />Let him carry the banner for the vile thing the Republican party has become, a fetid swamp that suffocates even those like John McCain who once knew better.<br /><br />Do not stain our town with his blood or the worse evil which would follow. <br /><br />Go away.<br />George Perreaulthttp://www.georgeperreault.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-24601116582229183532016-11-06T12:06:28.893-06:002016-11-06T12:06:28.893-06:00I'll put your persecution complex aside for a ...I'll put your persecution complex aside for a minute and argue that "conservative" has lost its meaning. Republicans consider themselves conservatives, but if you were to go over issues one by one and compare them against the real meaning of the word conservative, you would find very little correlation. For example, consider the environment. Nothing could be more conservative than making sure that our resources, including clean land are conserved for the future. Republicans are the party of "Drill, baby, drill!" Republicans are the party that wants to dump pollutants like there is no tomorrow for the empthy promise of jobs. Republicans are the ones who wants to dump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere regardless of the effects on their children. Where is the conservatism? Republicans won't compromise on debt reduction, meaning the debt will continue to increase and force our children to pay for it. Conservative? Republicans want to legislate religion and sexuality. How is that conservative? Republicans pretend that they are the party of personal responsibility, yet on every issue they want to make our kids pay the price of our profligacy. How is that conservative?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-82840192932233066262016-11-06T10:18:36.145-06:002016-11-06T10:18:36.145-06:00I found this Princeton study most depressing.
www...I found this Princeton study most depressing. <br />www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-4539075440316136692016-11-06T08:04:37.882-06:002016-11-06T08:04:37.882-06:00I also supported Bernie during the Primary, but I ...I also supported Bernie during the Primary, but I early voted for Hillary. I ordered "Bernie has my heart, Hillary has my vote" bumper stickers for me and my most fervent Bernie supporter friends. Hopefully I won't get shot at or keyed here in TX.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-42914647275677948862016-11-06T06:55:05.177-06:002016-11-06T06:55:05.177-06:00"The line of thinking that one MUST choose on..."The line of thinking that one MUST choose one of two unacceptable options ..."<br /><br />And this is where you deviated from the essay. From the very first line (or second if you count the "I respectfully disagree" one) in fact.<br /><br />Jim is not saying that you HAVE to choose between one of 2 options. Heck, he mentioned specifically that NOT choosing is itself a choice! What he DID do, throughout his essay, was to state WHAT his choice was, and WHY he made that choice and exactly what the rationalization behind that choice was.<br /><br />As for the rationalization itself, yes, it's about pragmatism true. Jim never said that pragmatism is THE choice for all situations and all times like you implied when you said: <br /><br />"History is filled with examples of individuals who refused to do what was "pragmatic" in the face of injustice and/or moral wrongs."<br /><br />Actually pragmatism isn't even necessarily mutually exclusive or even directly in contradiction to moral choices (and morality is subjective, ISIS after all, feel it is "moral" to throw gays off buildings for a start, so there's that), so that line doesn't even directly oppose pragmatism. What does oppose pragmatism however is dogmatic rigidity, something Jim has mentioned before, either in this essay or another. Rigidity in thinking precludes compromise which is what pragmatism, and in fact, DEMOCRACY is based on.<br /><br />Indeed Democracy recognizes this most important aspect of pragmatism by having COMPROMISE as one of its key foundations. It does not assume that everyone under it will get everything they want, but it tries to be able to let as many people be able to get what they want through compromise because when many people from diverse backgrounds come together as is the case in a Democracy generally, compromise is usually the only way that people get to a solution that WORKS, in short the "best case general solution". A rigid ideologue will never do that, but that simply means that, if everyone is like that, there will be NO solution, and in short it will be a "system" that doesn't work.<br /><br /><br />That's what pragmatism does for Democracy as stated in the essay. Now it's absolutely fine to stick to your rigid ideals, but, you should not try to explain away your decision by misrepresenting the opposing side like you did here, and also you will need to live with the consequences of your ideologically driven decisions.<br /><br />It's what I tell the rigidly ideological former Bernie voters who say they will not vote for Clinton due to reasons of pure ideology.<br /><br />I also tell them they aren't really that different from people like ISIS...and watch them try and twist themselves into pretzels explaining otherwise (one of them even tried to say how his choice is different because it's the "right" thing to do whereas ISIS's isn't....as if "right" is predetermined somehow when, as mentioned, it isn't since it's based on morality and morality is subjective, like I mentioned before, ISIS think it is right and moral to throw gays off buildings, does that mean it IS? To everyone? Everywhere?).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-48607821131050495082016-11-06T06:36:55.641-06:002016-11-06T06:36:55.641-06:00You don't have to respect that person, or his ...You don't have to respect that person, or his choice, or for that matter, respect that person for making that choice.<br /><br />But you have to respect his or her right to choose, because that's the same right you enjoy, and all should be able to enjoy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-78720436665886446822016-11-06T06:27:22.265-06:002016-11-06T06:27:22.265-06:00Incidentally, our voting method is the main reason...Incidentally, our voting method is the main reason we have a two-party system, as described by Duverger's Law. The arbitrary rule that we can vote for one and only one candidate per office produces a systemic bias in our electoral mechanics which polarizes mainstream positions into two major camps (due to the center squeeze effect), favors fringe candidates in the major party primaries (due to vote splitting), penalizes minor party candidates in the general, and can result in the least-popular major-party candidate winning the general (both due to the spoiler effect).<br /><br />We will not have a more viable multipartisan system -- and the more vigorous political evolution that would come from those "idealism lab" minor parties gaining electoral influence, even if they remain minor -- unless and until we reform our electoral method to replace Plurality Voting with something better. The pragmatic alternative electoral methods are variations of two major types: Score Voting and Ranked Voting, of which Approval Voting (AV) and Instant-Runoff Voting (IRV) respectively are the simplest and post widely discussed variants.<br /><br />Approval Voting is the simplest form of Score Voting (aka Range Voting), limiting the score range to a binary yea/nay for each candidate -- i.e., it works just like our current plurality voting system, but eliminates the arbitrary rule that we can only cast a vote for one candidate per office. The candidate with the most votes still wins, and ballots can still be tabulated by hand at the precinct level, if desired. AV eliminates all of the current system's systemic biases and pathologies, and it also offers a fairer reflection of support for both major and minor party candidates alike, because voting would no longer be arbitrarily a zero-sum game. Amazingly, AV can be adopted on a grassroots state-by-state basis without Amending the Constitution, thanks to the Electoral College (of all things) making even Presidential elections fundamentally state-level contests, and because AV results are compatible with the remaining state elections that still use Plurality Voting.<br /><br />Ranked/IRV is prone to some really weird, paradoxical results I won't go into here, and tabulating ballots for this method must be done at a centralized location according to complex algorithms, both of which are prone to error and tampering, which in turn makes voters less likely to fully understand and trust this method as a viable alternative for reform. I can recommend Electology (The Center for Election Science site) for more detailed information on this and all of the topics above, geared towards a popular audience.SubGothiushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09640207489668586971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-51816069912069923972016-11-05T23:20:19.650-05:002016-11-05T23:20:19.650-05:00I only did a smiley because this part of the comme...I only did a smiley because this part of the commentary just tickled me in particular. Thanks. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18133028558415449965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-27291664074845133652016-11-05T23:19:44.663-05:002016-11-05T23:19:44.663-05:00I only did a smiley because this part of the comne...I only did a smiley because this part of the comnentary just tickled me in particular. Thanks. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18133028558415449965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-41379093804043104602016-11-05T22:57:20.146-05:002016-11-05T22:57:20.146-05:00☺☺Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18133028558415449965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-14733275961874883972016-11-05T21:22:18.099-05:002016-11-05T21:22:18.099-05:00Washington may have warned about political parties...Washington may have warned about political parties, but if I read trhe 12th Amendment properly, they were inevitable. And only 2 could survive.<br /><br />3rd paragraph: "The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote ... "Jack Fullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12338388712071853787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-87115073460321578862016-11-05T21:07:06.241-05:002016-11-05T21:07:06.241-05:00I like the phrase that common sense has been recla...I like the phrase that common sense has been reclassified as a superpower.<br />I don't like the reality but do like the phrase.<br />And it's one of those powers where you are now annoyed by those without it.Old Australianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17922677507101299421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-35004430083840498472016-11-05T21:01:27.988-05:002016-11-05T21:01:27.988-05:00I could name another one or two but you are statis...I could name another one or two but you are statistically correct. Alas.<br />And you worded that very well. Thank you, I think.Old Australianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17922677507101299421noreply@blogger.com