Comments for anotherpanacea

Comment on The Weak Man Fallacy by Melanie

Melanie — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:49:10 +0000

Thanks for these posts. I’ve found them thoroughly reasonable and thoroughly provocative.

Comment on The Tea Party Movement by The Weak Man Argument | anotherpanacea

The Weak Man Argument | anotherpanacea — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:51:52 +0000

[...] paranoia and militancy the core of the Tea Party Movement? In the context of my recent foray into the Tea Party movement, I’ve been thinking recently about fallacies and bad critical thinking in the public sphere. [...]

Comment on Tea Party Follow-up by The Weak Man Argument | anotherpanacea

The Weak Man Argument | anotherpanacea — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:50:10 +0000

[...] paranoia and militancy the core of the Tea Party Movement? In the context of my recent foray into the Tea Party movement, I’ve been thinking recently about fallacies and bad critical [...]

Comment on The Tea Party Movement by Tea Party Follow-up | anotherpanacea

Tea Party Follow-up | anotherpanacea — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:16:36 +0000

[...] after my last Tea Party post, I’ve been trying to track down more information about the movement. One interview does not [...]

Comment on The Tea Party Movement by Michael

Michael — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:21:32 +0000

Hey Josh (Michael here):

I too like this post, and hope that you’re right, but fear that it’s not quite as you explain. Marc Ambinder had this interpretation a couple weeks ago: http://tinyurl.com/yhnhuhk

Take away point: “The point is that the Tea Party movement is not nearly as exogenous as it seems. It is a movement of a certain type of Republican-leaning independent.”

I agree with you that it’s inaccurate and perhaps unfair to focus too much on the crazies. The one caveat there is that, for a while now, the crazies have done a good job at setting the agenda. In any case, once we subtract the crazies, I’m not sure that we’re left with anything significantly different than the same-ole GOP. Maybe that’s wrong. I sorta hope it is.

Comment on The Tea Party Movement by Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:24:40 +0000

This is an interesting post, especially for the snippet of a talk you had with your student. (You buried your lede!) And I guess I appreciate the caution you suggest that we not delegitimize the Tea Party before giving it a chance to become a bit less inchoate. Perhaps it represents a new direction that will bring vitality and ideas to stale debates.

The record of your conversation with Student X, though, contains some indications of what seems so troubling about the whole movement, though. Her statements about what constitute “facts” and what counts as “values” hint at the problem, especially as it’s coupled to her debt critique: facts that conflict with her values seem as if they might be ignored. At 20 I would imagine that she’s on the young side for Tea Partiers, but I’d also point out that she’s old enough to have objected to Bush’s fiscal policies. Where was the criticism from the Tea Party constituents prior to Obama. One could say that the “economic crisis” wasn’t extant then, but that begs the question a bit. I suppose I’m also cautious that we not accept the platitudes of the Tea Party just because it serves their self-image to seem principled.

Comment on How to Carry Out the Duty to Assist in Haiti by John Mark

John Mark — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:11:42 +0000

Great piece. Also worth noting are the lessons learned from past fund-raising attempts: Jan 19, 2010 6:33 PMGetting humanitarian relief rightfrom Aid Watch by Laura Freschi
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The extent of the devastation in Port-au-Prince, the incapacity of the already weak Haitian government, and the degraded state of infrastructure throughout the country resist comparison to any disaster before this one. But post-recovery evaluations from the Asian tsunami, the Bam earthquake and other disasters suggest which practices allow relief efforts to work effectively and which result in waste and delays.

My piece on Forbes.com puts the response to Haiti’s earthquake in the context of previous disaster relief efforts. Read it here.

Comment on Citizens United v. FEC: Yes, corporations are people, too. by Joshua

Joshua — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:50:25 +0000

Are these the conditions of personhood? What about labor unions?

In any case… I find that my humanity does not feel insulted. But perhaps I am wrong on that point, having never ‘written a novel that inspired millions’ or ‘given my life for my country’ or ‘won an Oscar.’

Comment on Citizens United v. FEC: Yes, corporations are people, too. by Tom Degan

Tom Degan — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:19:46 +0000

Are corporations really persons?

Do corporations think?

Do corporations grieve when a loved one dies as a result of a lack of adequate health care?

If a corporation ever committed an unspeakable crime against the American people, could IT be sent to federal prison? (Note the operative word here: “It”)

Has a corporation ever given its life for its country?

Has a corporation ever been killed in an accident as the result of a design flaw in the automobile it was driving?

Has a corporation ever written a novel that inspired millions?

Has a corporation ever risked its life by climbing a ladder to save a child from a burning house?

Has a corporation ever won an Oscar? Or an Emmy? Or the Nobel Peace Prize? Or the Pulitzer Prize in Biography?

Has a corporation ever been shot and killed by someone who was using an illegal and unregistered gun?

Has a corporation ever paused to reflect upon the simple beauty of an autumn sunset or a brilliant winter moon rising on the horizon?

If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a noise if there are no corporations there to hear it?

Should corporations kiss on the first date?

Our lives – yours and mine – have more worth than any corporation. To say that the Supreme Court made a awful decision on Thursday is an understatement. Not only is it an obscene ruling – it’s an insult to our humanity.

http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

Comment on Is Moral Progress Due to Moral Imagination or Condemnation? by anotherpanacea :: Earthquakes and Providence

anotherpanacea :: Earthquakes and Providence — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:36:27 +0000

[...] only one he thought valid within the bounds of critical reason as it applies itself to history and the prospects of moral progress. Kant’s insight was simple: though human reason searches for a supernatural cause and the [...]