IanTyger

Reply to Rights vs privileges in US Domestic Stardock Forums

I guess I should say that while the "lonely man" has a right to work, he does not have a "right" to be paid for it. (In fact, if he wants to continue to live, he'd better work). Justice is no more a right of the "lonely man" than healthcare is. The perception of justice is a requirement for a society to function; if too many members of a society see that society as unjust, the society ceases to function properly. Every man has a right to the necessities of life and

Reply to Rights vs privileges in US Domestic Stardock Forums

The use of your property (your car) is a right, however, using it on public roads is a privilege. Which I clarified in my comment just before yours :)

Reply to Rights vs privileges in US Domestic Stardock Forums

I know that - I am the one arguing (in this context) that operating a motor vehicle on public roadways is a privilege. I'm not going ot argue based on court decisions - I happen to think much of the 4th Amendment jurisprudence (for example) is wrongly decided. I could even make the argument that driving is a right; but on balance, if it is, it is a right that is given up in exchange for the social contract.

Rights vs privileges in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

In the comments to my previous article on the Rights of Man , this was posted by Locamama: So you think that healthcare is a priviledge? I'm not talking about fake boobies and viagara, I mean basic healthcare? I'm one of those leftist wannabe socialists who thinks that basic healthcare is a right.

Reply to The Rights of Man in US Domestic Stardock Forums

Well, the "build a wall" types will crap a brick; and so will the "no gay mariage" types. (You see anything in there that would tend to oppose gay marriage?)

The Rights of Man in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

So everyone is "eulogizing" Fidel Castro right now (regardless of his actual status, it is clear his time on the stage of the world is at an end. I was reading the comments to Armed Liberal's post on the subject; and ran across a lovely comment by Celebrim (in response to an earlier comment that the US has not realized "health care is a human

Reply to Gold bugs me in US Domestic Stardock Forums

Thanks - it was something that had been bugging me ever since I had heard the "factoid" that all the world's gold production could fit into a cube less than 20 m on a side.

A reminder to the world in Current Events JoeUser Forums

The military will attempt to shoot down a crippled spy satellite some time in the next two weeks , says the New York Times. OF course, the reasons given are pretty good ones (public safety, etc). But, methinks they protest too much when they say "the Penta

Message sent in Republican JoeUser Forums

I pushed the button for Thompson, who the NYTimes is reporting with 0.6% of the vote in NJ (not too shabby). I was also incorrect in my estimate that Romney would take NJ - NYtimes is estimating 55% to McCain - so my message doesn't seem to have hurt McCain's chances...

Reply to Sending a message in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

I'm not voting McCain because a)I don't think my vote is going ot have a hope in hell of mattering in the Republican primary; I think Romney has it sewn up (I'll be glad to be proved wrong). And I'm not enough anti-romney to care; while I would like to take the opportunity to send a message.

Sending a message in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

New Jersey is now a Super Tuesday state, and all of the candidates are still on the ballot So on the democratic part is (and in order from left to right - I wonder how place on ballot is assigned) Barak Obama - Dennis Kucinich - John Edwards - Joe Biden - Bill Richardson - Hillary Clinton On the Republican part is Rudy Giuliani - Fred Thompso

Reply to Six words in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

Them too

Reply to Six words in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

I am a republican, addressing other republicans... And quite frankly - woudl it be desireable, from a separation of powers point of view, for there to be a President Clinton and a Justice Clinton? Does he recuse himself in cases involving the Administration, but not President Clinton directly? If not, why not? I may also not have made this clear - I don't like the current crop of Republican candidates either. Once Fred Thompson left,

Six words in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

I have just six words to tell all of you who want to let your "silence" be heard by the Republicans Supreme Court Justice William Jefferson Clinton Sweet dreams...

Democratic attack debate in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

I'm rifffing on Megan again - but she has an interesting comment about the Democratic debates today. "I look at that debate and it seems to me that Democrats think they can't lose in November--that the only important battle is the one for the nomin

Reply to Thoughts on strange briefs in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

"And other firearms" is an attempt to head off "Handguns are legal, but shotguns aren't". Shotguns are probably the most effective home defense weapon, but it's heavy to tote a shotgun with you wherever you go, and inconvenient to carry one about your person when not home. Plus the DC regulations cited prohibit the storage of "functional" firearms in the house, with no exception for a case of selfdefense. Once you've enabled the functioning of

Gold bugs me in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

One thing that bugs me about Libertarians (and many libertarians) is their fetish for gold. Megan McArdle takes a shot at explaining some of the things that bug me (economically) about the gold standard here and <a href="http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/

Reply to Hilarious comic in Personal Computing JoeUser Forums

The performance issues will be fixed by Moore's Law, just as the performance issues with XP were. I was there for the 2K vs XP debates, too...

Funny thought in Misc JoeUser Forums

I have decided that Amicus Curiae is latin for kitbitzers

Thoughts on strange briefs in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

The DOJ brief lit the fuse that the SCOTUS tried to quench with their limited definition of the question at hand. What' at the other end of that fuse nobody knows (except possibly Justice Kennedy)... DC asked the Supreme Court to decide "Whether the Second Amendment forbids the District of Columbia from banning private possession

Reply to Damning with faint praise in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

Like I said - literally damning. The only quibble I have with the phrasing the the "faint praise" part of it - there's little argument that the "stars" of "Triumph of the Will" were charismatic orators. High praise in a purely technical sense, highly damning when taken in context.

Damning with faint praise in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

I just ran across a literal case of damning with faint praise in a comment on Megan McArdle's blog at the Atlantic. Why are you Obama supporters so depressed? I know he's a great speaker -- I haven't seen a crowd in the palm of any speaker's hand like that since "<a href="http://en

Reply to Preteens on a plane in Misc JoeUser Forums

It's easy to say how kids should be when you don't have any. Did I not post that this was how I was as a preteen? This is not some airy-fairy Gedankenexperiment - this was my actual childhood experiences. It wasn't how I should be - it is how it was. I don't have to be a parent to under

Reply to Preteens on a plane in Misc JoeUser Forums

I don't have children yet - which is why I was posting from my perspective AS a preteen. My parents had 2 children by this point, and were still perfectly willing to allow me to do these things. My peers were all allowed to do these things by *their* parents. What changed in the past 20 years to make things less safe?

Preteens on a plane in Misc JoeUser Forums

My wife pointed me at this article in the Consumerist which touched on the policies regarding unaccompanied minors for various airlines. Several of the commentators were shocked that Southwest off