Post #291,541
8/25/07 6:35:02 PM
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on that popular vote thing for pres
I think Old Ben had it right [link|http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m050103.html|http://www.antiwar.c...alic/m050103.html] Misconceptions of the beguiled masses aside, Democracy clearly destroys freedom, and its fundamental disrespect of property rights is unquestionably opposite to prosperity. To quote what is attributed to Ben Franklin, "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." Put that way, it seems humorous \ufffd but it is also lethal, more so because most people still believe in it. checks and balances, we needem back thanx, bill Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep
reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
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Post #291,566
8/26/07 4:10:59 PM
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Philip Atkinson agrees.
[link|http://www.6thinternational.org/2007/08/at-last-an-hone.html|Mrs. Tilton] has this gem: At last, an honest conservative
Philip Atkinson of something called the "The Family Security Foundation" is admirably clear about what he and his comrades want. His comrades, alarmed at this unfortunate clarity, have been trying to scrub his words from the nets. But [link|http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/hail-caesar-by-digby-ive-been-getting.html|Digby has preserved them]. One of Atkinson's squibs is called "[link|http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:cnnnSRimWmcJ:www.familysecuritymatters.org/index.php%3Fid%3D1208571+%22president+for+life+bush%22+site:familysecuritymatters.org&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&client=firefox-a|Conquering the Drawbacks of Democracy]" [This link has no text now - see Digby], and it's full of gems like these:
The wisest course would have been for President Bush to use his nuclear weapons to slaughter Iraqis until they complied with his demands, or until they were all dead.....
By elevating popular fancy over truth, Democracy is clearly an enemy of not just truth, but duty and justice, which makes it the worst form of government. President Bush must overcome not just the situation in Iraq, but democratic government....
President Bush can fail in his duty to himself, his country, and his God, by becoming \ufffdex-president\ufffd Bush or he can become \ufffdPresident-for-Life\ufffd Bush: the conqueror of Iraq, who brings sense to the Congress and sanity to the Supreme Court. Then who would be able to stop Bush from emulating Augustus Caesar and becoming ruler of the world?
[...] Yikes! I thought that kind of thinking went out with Dr. Strangelove. :-( Via PZ Myers' [link|http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/|Pharyngula]. Cheers, Scott.
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Post #291,569
8/26/07 5:38:11 PM
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Argument ad Definition
I think Old Ben had it right
[link|http://www.antiwar.c...alic/m050103.html|http://www.antiwar.c...alic/m050103.html]
> Misconceptions of the beguiled masses aside, Democracy clearly destroys freedom, and its fundamental disrespect of property rights is unquestionably opposite to prosperity. To quote what is attributed to Ben Franklin, "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." Put that way, it seems humorous \ufffd but it is also lethal, more so because most people still believe in it.
checks and balances, we needem back Election of the president is one of the primary balances of the American system. But changes in technology (and to a certain extent politics and society) have badly broken the election system in the US. Moving towards direct election would be a step towards more balance, not less. In many ways you could argue that much of the US's current problems are an example of a problem with Republics not Democracy in general. One of the basic problems facing us right now is that our elected representatives no longer do. Rather then representing our interests in government the process has been corrupted to the point where a Congress person is more interested in doing what big corporations and rich special interests want then what the people who elected them want. On another level this gets into a huge argument ad definition. Most people (including historians and political science people) would consider Republics a form of Democracy. Jay
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Post #291,571
8/26/07 6:18:28 PM
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so urban New Yorkers, Californians, Chitown and the dead
folks Florida shall determine how the rest of the country shall behave.... WAIT!
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep
reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
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Post #291,572
8/26/07 6:35:39 PM
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It couldn't be any worse
It couldn't be any worse then rednecks, country folk, white trash and people that think the south will rise again.
Jay
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Post #291,573
8/26/07 6:58:08 PM
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why there is a electoral college keeps the freaks even
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep
reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
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Post #291,574
8/26/07 7:19:23 PM
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Um, it can always be worse. ;-)
You're not enough of a cynic if you think that it can't get worse!
:-)
For instance, one could imagine a time when the mid-west is under even greater stress due to a collapse in the [link|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer|Ogallala Aquifer] and associated water sources. If our national representatives are chosen purely based on population, there would be much less pressure for them to address such issues.
Of course, one could point at post-Katrina New Orleans and say that that future is already here, so what's the big deal... :-/
Cheers,
Scott.
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