tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post116619140818274251..comments2024-03-19T00:44:18.309-05:00Comments on Althouse: Finally, an answer to the single most important question about this blog!Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166311113002446812006-12-16T17:18:00.000-06:002006-12-16T17:18:00.000-06:00"why get so fired up over a 2 month embryo but not..."why get so fired up over a 2 month embryo but not the actual people, all over the world, with loved ones and responsibilities, who suffer and die everyday?"<BR/><BR/>Exactly! To me, too, this seems to be an incredible hypocritical attitude.Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166306097730705412006-12-16T15:54:00.000-06:002006-12-16T15:54:00.000-06:00. I can buy neutrality on guns. I can buy neutrali...<I>. I can buy neutrality on guns. I can buy neutrality on gay rights. But on abortion? No way. <BR/><BR/>And if I'm wrong, and there are such people, if someone didn't have an opinion on abortion, that person would be a fool. And morally reprehensible. Whichever side you come down on, abortion is an extraordinarily important issue: depending on your convictions about when life begins</I><BR/><BR/>well, i'm somewhat neutral on the subject. there is no way to "pinpoint" or "know" when "life begins." 9 months, yes, that is a living being. 1 month, no, that is not. in between, where to draw the line? why get so fired up over a 2 month embryo but not the actual people, all over the world, with loved ones and responsibilities, who suffer and die everyday?The Exaltedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18030346881185443267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166299937055736642006-12-16T14:12:00.000-06:002006-12-16T14:12:00.000-06:00I'm not suggesting that legislators can make uncon...<I>I'm not suggesting that legislators can make unconstitutional compromises, if that's the inference you've somehow managed to take. I'm saying that they can take a Constitutionally permissable thesis, a Constitutionally permissable antithesis, and come up with whatever synthesis they like, as long as it's within the bounds of the Constitution.</I> <BR/><BR/>Yes, but perhaps part of the wisdom of being an absolutist legislator is that it prevents the putting forth of compromise legislation that inevitably will have unconstitutional bits slipped in by imprudent legislators.Mortimer Breznyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16964027337144379262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166299704012908482006-12-16T14:08:00.000-06:002006-12-16T14:08:00.000-06:00I think BCRA is patently unconstitutional, and tha...<I>I think BCRA is patently unconstitutional, and that Bush quite probably should have been impeached for violation of his oath of office for signing it while maintaining his belief that it was unconstitutional</I><BR/><BR/>But Simon. He was compromising.Mortimer Breznyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16964027337144379262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166296036575723042006-12-16T13:07:00.000-06:002006-12-16T13:07:00.000-06:00"he thinks it is far better for the state to take ..."he thinks it is far better for the state to take away a woman's ability to exercise dominion over her body rather than allow that woman to make what might be a bad moral choice."<BR/><BR/>Yes, that's how I understand his posititon, too. But this collision of interests begs the question: Which right should be upheld, a woman's right on her own body or some unscientific, not commonly shared, 'ethical' standard?<BR/><BR/>Maybe I see the US constitution in too sentimental a light, but at least for me, the answer is obvious...Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166294566289796932006-12-16T12:42:00.000-06:002006-12-16T12:42:00.000-06:00"I was being sarcastic, particularly on the clinic..."I was being sarcastic, particularly on the clinically insane racist Horowitz."<BR/><BR/>Oops, sry, NL. That got lost in translation...Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166294272742009392006-12-16T12:37:00.000-06:002006-12-16T12:37:00.000-06:00CaffeineI was being sarcastic, particularly on the...Caffeine<BR/><BR/>I was being sarcastic, particularly on the clinically insane racist Horowitz.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166292734180062542006-12-16T12:12:00.000-06:002006-12-16T12:12:00.000-06:00"Hey, any group consisting of heavyweights like Jo..."Hey, any group consisting of heavyweights like John Ray, David Horowitz, Dennis Prager and Ann Coulter has got my ear."<BR/><BR/>If they would only have your ear, Van Gogh, that wouldn't be very alarming, yet. But I worry those demagogues already captured your brain...Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166292192167738952006-12-16T12:03:00.000-06:002006-12-16T12:03:00.000-06:00"no one has a right to trespass on the rights of o..."no one has a right to trespass on the rights of others."<BR/><BR/>As I already pointed out, the question is: When does a fertilised human egg start being another PERSON? A 30 days old embryo certainly isn't a person, a 6 month old fetus surely is. Where to draw the line?Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166290902727006002006-12-16T11:41:00.000-06:002006-12-16T11:41:00.000-06:00Leftist Fascists. Hey, any group consisting of he...Leftist Fascists. <BR/><BR/>Hey, any group consisting of heavyweights like John Ray, David Horowitz, Dennis Prager and Ann Coulter has got my ear.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166290842770549092006-12-16T11:40:00.000-06:002006-12-16T11:40:00.000-06:00"On thing I know for sure, however, is that Charle..."On thing I know for sure, however, is that Charles Johnson never said "screw them" about the contractors that were beheaded in Iraq."<BR/>I don't want to defend Kos for his insensitive comment on the beheaded contracts, it's been shameful. But Charles and his crew ain't no angels, either. Just look at their <A HREF="http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/lgf-search.php?searchWith=lgf&searchWhat=entries&searchTime=0&searchString=Rachel+Corrie" REL="nofollow">smear campaign on Rachel Corrie</A>. Maybe she was misguided, but she wasn't exposing herself to deadly danger because of greed, but to make a stand for people she perceived to be victims. She certainly didn't deserve that hateful LGF campaign, either. <BR/><BR/>I guess we both agree that such hatemongering on both sides doesn't advance necessary discussions and intensifies the radicalisation instead.Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166289769024190332006-12-16T11:22:00.000-06:002006-12-16T11:22:00.000-06:00"This read like a line from "Frasier.""Hehe, thx f..."This read like a line from "Frasier.""<BR/><BR/>Hehe, thx for the compliment! I'm trying hard to keep my lines above the 'south park' level that seems to be standard for many right wing blogs :P<BR/><BR/>Come to think of it, your line reminds me of the Cheers ladies: Carla complaining about Diane...<BR/>:DGrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166289148550342482006-12-16T11:12:00.000-06:002006-12-16T11:12:00.000-06:00"They're snappier dressers, usually in better phys..."They're snappier dressers, usually in better physical shape than am I, they beat up people who make dumb comments about them while I just ignore it, they're more disciplined, and unlike me, they're left wing."<BR/><BR/>Hehehe, some good points, Simon, but, really, "left wing" fascists? Pls consult an encyclopedia! :DGrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166288281469194112006-12-16T10:58:00.000-06:002006-12-16T10:58:00.000-06:00Paddy O. said..."[While women don't need a constit...Paddy O. said...<BR/>"<I>[While women don't need a constitutional right for doing something with their own body. The government has no rights whatever to it,] [t]he government does have something to say about what women can do to another body, however</I>."<BR/><BR/>Indeed; as Burke put it, it is an inalienable right of all persons to make such choices as affect only themselves ("Whatever each man can separately do, without trespassing upon others, he has a right to do for himself"), but that no one has a right to trespass on the rights of others.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10065798213115341398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166285733101472022006-12-16T10:15:00.000-06:002006-12-16T10:15:00.000-06:00Women don't need a constitutional right for doing ...<I>Women don't need a constitutional right for doing something with their own body. The government has no rights whatever to it.</I><BR/><BR/>The government does have something to say about what women can do to another body, however. The question is whether there's a difference between a house and a womb, or a fetus and a baby. <BR/><BR/>Indeed, I'd say a lot of laws have to do with my body, and how I use it, and my responsibility for how other people use their bodies. Which is why I got a ticket the other day for two of my passengers not wearing their seatbelts.Paddy Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10442537362540160512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166285667918111002006-12-16T10:14:00.000-06:002006-12-16T10:14:00.000-06:00"What do you think is the single most important qu..."What do you think is the single most important question about this blog?"<BR/><BR/>At some deep visceral core level, blogging (like most other creative endeavors) is about "actualization" (as Mazlow might say). Writers write because they can't not write. Painters paint because they can't not paint. Photographers photograph because they can't not photograph. Bloggers blog because they can't not blog. This is what they have to do in order to see the world through the right prism. This is how they learn the lessons they are meant to learn, find the answers they are meant to find, complete their mission in life that they are meant to complete. So the most important question here is not some surface issue, but the deeper issue of "Is this blog actualizing Althouse in the way that her heart and soul are crying out to be actualized?"Ricardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16417952478382032106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166245918570616602006-12-15T23:11:00.000-06:002006-12-15T23:11:00.000-06:00caffeine soldier said... "But I can't stand the ar...<I> caffeine soldier said... <BR/>"But I can't stand the arrogance, elitism and intolerance."<BR/><BR/>You want to say, you can't stand that it's over your head, backed by facts, and supported by determined people, John?<BR/>:P <BR/></I><BR/><BR/>Caffeine soldier...<BR/><BR/>Did you really say this, or did a comedy writer invent it to caricature a stuck-up liberal? This read like a line from "Frasier." <BR/><BR/>Either way, I got a big laugh out of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166238666037767352006-12-15T21:11:00.000-06:002006-12-15T21:11:00.000-06:00caffeine soldier said..."just among the two of us,...caffeine soldier said...<BR/>"<I>just among the two of us, where's the difference between you and a fascist?</I><BR/><BR/>They're snappier dressers, usually in better physical shape than am I, they beat up people who make dumb comments about them while I just ignore it, they're more disciplined, and unlike me, <A HREF="http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=4087" REL="nofollow">they're left wing</A>.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10065798213115341398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166238273294985382006-12-15T21:04:00.000-06:002006-12-15T21:04:00.000-06:00"But I can't stand the arrogance, elitism and into..."But I can't stand the arrogance, elitism and intolerance."<BR/><BR/>You want to say, you can't stand that it's over your head, backed by facts, and supported by determined people, John?<BR/>:PGrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166237629250077772006-12-15T20:53:00.000-06:002006-12-15T20:53:00.000-06:00"I suggest you read Daily Kos and Democratic Under..."I suggest you read Daily Kos and Democratic Underground, ASX. You will learn something about hate and venom and who expresses it that apparently you did not know."<BR/><BR/>D'oh. And what about Red State, Free Republic and Little Green Footballs? You don't happen to be blind on your right eye, Sir?Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166235568428735152006-12-15T20:19:00.000-06:002006-12-15T20:19:00.000-06:00"RC,It meant then and means now that I regard Demo..."RC,It meant then and means now that I regard Democratic control of the Senate as a national catastrophe, and as a result, on some level, anything that deprives them of such control might serve the national interest."<BR/><BR/>Uh huh. Simon, you mean, someone who would have poisoned Senator Johnson would have served the national interest? Well, just among the two of us, where's the difference between you and a fascist?Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166235117838054342006-12-15T20:11:00.000-06:002006-12-15T20:11:00.000-06:00"Even if there is a natural law right to abortion,..."Even if there is a natural law right to abortion, there is not a Constitutional right that you can ask a Court to apply against a government action abridging that right."<BR/><BR/>You've got it totally wrong, Soreman. Women don't need a constitutional right for doing something with their own body. The government has no rights whatever to it.<BR/><BR/>The legal consideration is centering around a simple question: When does human life start? And the problem of the right wingers is, even the Bible isn't making a clear statement that human life begins before birth.Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166234504443517212006-12-15T20:01:00.000-06:002006-12-15T20:01:00.000-06:00I just made $300 daytrading while reading your rem...I just made $300 daytrading while reading your remarks and those immediately following!<BR/><BR/>$300? That ain't worth the risk. Crazy way of making a living.Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926354968306362321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166233142931004192006-12-15T19:39:00.000-06:002006-12-15T19:39:00.000-06:00So many content threads in this comment thread!1. ...So many content threads in this comment thread!<BR/><BR/>1. Ann as to why you combat the left more than the right: I agree with much of the commentary that since you are surrounded by leftists then they are the ones in the position to annoy you.<BR/>Further, I would say that you like to engage in pushback in general. While the right certainly has positions that infringe upon you, most of those positions are age old and therefor not as immediate and engaging (example: abortion.) Meanwhile the left seems to daily be coming up with more ways to nanny the populace (examples: ban smoking, fast foods, add PC language rules, criminalize negative THOUGHTS about other groups, and on and on.) These are newish arguments that haven't been fully hashed out yet. As such you engaging them head on can seem much more worthwhile as many minds have not yet become entrenched on the topic so you have a chance to actually be an influence for the good.<BR/>But if you take on the right's old issues like abortion? What good can really come of it?<BR/><BR/>2. Re: the Constitution. I would agree that it is structural. But what is the purpose of the document and the structures it gives? To protect rights. Looking at the history and milieu of the document writers they were not only being proactive but responding to current events. As such the purpose of the Constitution is to put in place structures that protect the people from the tyranny of government. So, I can see why people confuse the message with the method.<BR/><BR/>3. Is commenting always this fun?! It is here. Lots of blogs have comment cultures that I dislike. But, occasionally, there is one like AA's that is usually thoughtful and fosters reasonable discourse. I say this as a reasonably new commenter but I've been lurking for quite a while.Gerald Hibbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09575064562647961909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1166232548872206412006-12-15T19:29:00.000-06:002006-12-15T19:29:00.000-06:00RC,It meant then and means now that I regard Democ...RC,<BR/>It meant then and means now that I regard Democratic control of the Senate as a national catastrophe, and as a result, on some level, anything that deprives them of such control might serve the national interest. I then qualified that view in the very next sentence by pointing out that politics has to give way to humanity, and that no matter how urgent the national need, it does not suffice to wish harm on Sen. Johnson, and that I therefore wish him a speedy recovery. <BR/><BR/>Which is precisely what Revenant <A HREF="#c116622122418928636" REL="nofollow">explained to you upthread</A>. If you don't understand that, there's something wrong with you. <BR/><BR/>There's an old saw about whether you would kill Hitler's mother before she gave birth, if you could travel back in time knowing what it would mean for the world. I wonder how today's left would answer that question about George W. Bush's mother before his birth. Alas, it takes little imagination.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10065798213115341398noreply@blogger.com