tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post114844324227457757..comments2024-03-15T03:16:46.386-04:00Comments on Objectivist v. Constructivist v. Theist: Bill Clinton v. George W. BushThe Constructivisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-7296965791525841802007-01-25T23:34:00.000-05:002007-01-25T23:34:00.000-05:00No use trying to keep up with all the takes on the...No use trying to keep up with all the takes on the state of the union, but <a href="http://wampum.wabanaki.net/vault/2007/01/003397.html">this one</a> covers a lot of ground in very little space.The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1165733757436592112006-12-10T01:55:00.000-05:002006-12-10T01:55:00.000-05:00Now that the Democrats are less than a month away ...Now that the Democrats are less than a month away from running the Congress, the other two options on my pop quiz are still worth <A HREF="http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_digbysblog_archive.html#116569806685675392" REL="nofollow">debating</A>.The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1165266406171568472006-12-04T16:06:00.000-05:002006-12-04T16:06:00.000-05:00Norbizness got his 1 millionth visitor recently, a...<A HREF="http://norbizness.com/" REL="nofollow">Norbizness</A> got his 1 millionth visitor recently, and <A HREF="http://norbizness.com/archives/001952.html" REL="nofollow">this is a good example of why</A>.The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1164870013293219052006-11-30T02:00:00.000-05:002006-11-30T02:00:00.000-05:00Looks like Republicans have also given up on being...Looks like Republicans have also given up on being the "<A HREF="http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/11/next-two-years.html" REL="nofollow">law and order</A>" party, too. Of course, that was always a coded appeal to anti-black racists, anyway.The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1164865952342629252006-11-30T00:52:00.000-05:002006-11-30T00:52:00.000-05:00Here's something broader on the GOP War on the Con...Here's something broader on the <A HREF="http://www.samefacts.com/archives/watching_conservatives_/2006/11/the_gop_agenda_permanent_constitutional_crisis.php" REL="nofollow">GOP War on the Constitution</A>.The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1160942004620488602006-10-15T15:53:00.000-04:002006-10-15T15:53:00.000-04:00More from Glenn Greenwald on the Republican war on...More from Glenn Greenwald on <A HREF="http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/10/gop-war-on-private-sphere.html" REL="nofollow">the Republican war on the private sphere</A>. Any libertarian critiques of Bush you'd care to make public, O?The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1159828224540651632006-10-02T18:30:00.000-04:002006-10-02T18:30:00.000-04:00And here's Tim Burke. And Michael Berube.And here's <A HREF="http://weblogs.swarthmore.edu/burke/?p=286" REL="nofollow">Tim Burke</A>. And <A HREF="http://www.michaelberube.com/index.php/weblog/new_study_finds_widespread_political_illiteracy/" REL="nofollow">Michael Berube</A>.The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1159738558524912782006-10-01T17:35:00.000-04:002006-10-01T17:35:00.000-04:00Alan Wolfe is a liberal cultural critic who has of...Alan Wolfe is a liberal cultural critic who has often criticized the cultural left. <A HREF="http://www.tnr.com/blog/openuniversity?pid=42054" REL="nofollow">Here he is on the torture bill, in Open University (TNR's new academic blog)</A>.The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1159737170502695802006-10-01T17:12:00.000-04:002006-10-01T17:12:00.000-04:00O, here might be one place to start the torture bl...O, <A HREF="http://balkin.blogspot.com/2006/09/burning-question.html" REL="nofollow">here might be one place to start the torture blogging</A>. As Peter Levine points out, it started in a major blog (Balkinization), moved to a major online magazine (Slate), and then got read into the Congressional Record.The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1159505894612017302006-09-29T00:58:00.000-04:002006-09-29T00:58:00.000-04:00O, you've defended the use of torture in certain c...O, you've defended the use of torture in certain circumstances in a published book. I think it's time you and The Theist (or someone else) take the time to debate this crucial issue.The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1159505836960868112006-09-29T00:57:00.000-04:002006-09-29T00:57:00.000-04:00O, what will it take to make you admit publicly th...O, what will it take to make you admit publicly that Bush is by far a worse President than Clinton was? Why the Senate continues to go along with him, and the Democrats refuse to filibuster him, and libertarians refuse to question their allegiance to the Republican Party, I have no idea. I hope by the date I'm posting this you know what is inspiring this. I'm too depressed about the state of the States to link.The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1157062473405370212006-08-31T18:14:00.000-04:002006-08-31T18:14:00.000-04:00Hat tip to Glenn Greenwald for half of the last id...Hat tip to <A HREF="http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/08/conservatives-cheer-on-judge-posners.html" REL="nofollow">Glenn Greenwald</A> for half of the last ideas (the Ackerman part was mine)....The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1157062214839997542006-08-31T18:10:00.000-04:002006-08-31T18:10:00.000-04:00O, if you have time a review of Bruce Ackerman vs....O, if you have time a review of <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Before-Next-Attack-Preserving-Liberties/dp/0300112890/ref=pd_sim_b_5/103-5432735-3950237?ie=UTF8" REL="nofollow">Bruce Ackerman</A> vs. <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Not-a-Suicide-Pact-/dp/0195304276/sr=1-4/qid=1156878382/ref=sr_1_4/002-2230162-2538457?ie=UTF8&s=books" REL="nofollow">Richard Posner</A> on civil liberties and the Constitution post-9/11 would be a great column topic!The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1157057867927305862006-08-31T16:57:00.000-04:002006-08-31T16:57:00.000-04:00O, this one from Hullabaloo on the difference betw...O, <A HREF="http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_digbysblog_archive.html#115694054309396263" REL="nofollow">this one from Hullabaloo on the difference between liberty and freedom, with reference to the "liberation" of Iraq</A>, also suggests some topics I'd love to see you write on....The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1157056862733285692006-08-31T16:41:00.000-04:002006-08-31T16:41:00.000-04:00O, perhaps you might want to clarify the terms of ...O, perhaps you might want to clarify the terms of your libertarianism for your readers in a column or more? Reading <A HREF="http://norbizness.com/archives/001814.html" REL="nofollow">this from Norbizness</A> made me realize I'd like to hear more from you on these topics....The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1152357347203299502006-07-08T07:15:00.000-04:002006-07-08T07:15:00.000-04:00O, if that last one was too complicated, try this ...O, if that last one was too complicated, <A HREF="http://www.thepoorman.net/2006/07/07/i-hope-everybody-is-enjoying-their-freedom/" REL="nofollow">try this one</A>!The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1152354317785403642006-07-08T06:25:00.000-04:002006-07-08T06:25:00.000-04:00More on how hard it is to be a libertarian and a R...More on <A HREF="http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/07/libertarians-and-republican-party.html" REL="nofollow">how hard it is to be a libertarian and a Republican these days</A>. O, a response?The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1152354140963520682006-07-08T06:22:00.000-04:002006-07-08T06:22:00.000-04:00U of Colorado prof Ira Chernus on Republican fairy...U of Colorado prof Ira Chernus on <A HREF="http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=99707" REL="nofollow">Republican fairy-tales</A>.The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1151736958980753022006-07-01T02:55:00.000-04:002006-07-01T02:55:00.000-04:00O, thoughts on the Hamdan decision?O, thoughts on the Hamdan decision?The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1151141653741821552006-06-24T05:34:00.000-04:002006-06-24T05:34:00.000-04:00O, Arthur Silber is a true left libertarian--you s...O, Arthur Silber is a true left libertarian--you should check out his blog, <A HREF="http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">Once Upon a Time</A>, not just for his critiques of Iraq and ther cntemporary manifestations of American manifest destinarianism, but for lines like these:<BR/><BR/>"For those readers who might wonder, I would describe myself as a libertarian of the old school, as emphatically distinguished from the utterly phony libertarians who sprout up like weeds these days, especially on the internet, and most of whom are the worst sort of apologists for the countless crimes of the Bush administration. I am opposed to all kinds of non-defensive foreign interventionism and, with regard to domestic politics, I theoretically tend toward anarchism. But I emphasize the 'theoretically' part of that: today, the major battle is to stop further damage to and disregard of civil liberties and individual rights, and generally to scale back the massive growth of the surveillance, corporatist state. That is path to dictatorship, and we are already well along that road. I'll be explaining all this in much more detail as I proceed through my Systems of Obedience series. I have a lot of that series outlined already, even though only the first part has been written. I expect to discuss the state in general and how it fits into my overall themes around installment five or six. But even in the planning stages, the series keeps altering and being modified in certain ways as I accumulate more material. So I have to ask for your patience with regard to a longer explanation of these very complicated issues.<BR/><BR/>"It's more than clear from many essays here, but perhaps I should add that I consider the Bush administration to be the worst of my lifetime, which stretches back to John Kennedy [and before, but he's the first president I remember at all well]. And I think Bush may finally be considered the worst president in all of our history, depending on what the next few years bring. As far as the potential further damage to our form of government is concerned, I am not at all looking forward to those years -- and I greatly fear what may still happen.<BR/><BR/>"With regard to my view of Bush and the neoconservative movement generally, here's one relevant earlier essay: In Service of the New Fascism, from August 2003. In February of this year, I added some prefatory notes concerning today's alleged 'libertarians.' As you may have gathered, those comments are not exactly favorable, to understate the matter considerably."<BR/><BR/>So, O, what do you make of his arguments <A HREF="http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2006/06/of-fundamental-moral-principles-and.html" REL="nofollow">here</A>?The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1151139578374397422006-06-24T04:59:00.000-04:002006-06-24T04:59:00.000-04:00This from Norbizness--again, is the invocation of ...This from <A HREF="http://norbizness.com/archives/001728.html" REL="nofollow">Norbizness</A>--again, is the invocation of the Constitution merely cynical and unprincipled, or are there principled grounds underlying the dark humor?The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1151139117996629612006-06-24T04:51:00.000-04:002006-06-24T04:51:00.000-04:00Here's Hullabaloo on Hillary Clinton's Privacy Bil...Here's <A HREF="http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_digbysblog_archive.html#115108807315280914" REL="nofollow">Hullabaloo</A> on Hillary Clinton's <A HREF="http://www.acslaw.org/node/2967" REL="nofollow">Privacy Bill of Rights</A>. So, O, is this principled liberty-loving or shameless pandering to libertarians to get them to vote against Bush?The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1150860060146123512006-06-20T23:21:00.000-04:002006-06-20T23:21:00.000-04:00O, you're not trying to imply that libertarians ha...O, you're not trying to imply that libertarians have a monopoly on love of liberty, are you? I recommend Eric Foner's <I>The Story of American Freedom</I> if so. I think my post laid out some fundamental principles worth defending, no?<BR/><BR/>Here's another critique of the Bush administration's "<A HREF="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19092" REL="nofollow">power grab</A>," which I found out about from Ralph Luker of Cliopatria.The Constructivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07242149985581771922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1150671419035767142006-06-18T18:56:00.000-04:002006-06-18T18:56:00.000-04:00Dear C:I'm curious as to whether you think there w...Dear C:<BR/>I'm curious as to whether you think there was evidence for the following.<BR/>1. A substantial number of Japanese-Americans (although less than half) remained loyal to Japan.<BR/>2. Some of the above were spying.<BR/>3. Security on West-Coast facilities is important in wartime.<BR/><BR/>If you acknowledge 1-3, then internment looks like a policy judgment designed to benefit the whole. This is similar to laws that ban race and sex discrimination in private businesses, random roadblocks that look for seatbelt and drunk-driving violations, mandated social security payments, and other liberty-restricting policies. <BR/><BR/>A libertarian has principled grounds to be opposed to all of these, including internment. However, I wonder what the left can say here other than to say that in retrospect, given that we know we won WWII, it was the wrong decision on the facts.The Objectivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00416501145750028695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23061971.post-1150383255935361172006-06-15T10:54:00.000-04:002006-06-15T10:54:00.000-04:00Dear C:I think the internment was close to being j...Dear C:<BR/>I think the internment was close to being justified during wartime and preventive detention can be. However, except in the case of immediate and uncontroversial threats I don't believe in taking away persons' liberty without a specific finding that they violated the criminal law. <BR/><BR/>The Padilla case, if I remember correctly involves an American citizen who is being detained without due process. I think this is a damn disgrace. <BR/><BR/>I wonder, however, why you oppose it? I think it is a terrible idea on the basis of broad libertarian principles about the priority given to liberty. However, on what grounds do you oppose it? <BR/><BR/>The analogy is a painful one for those who opposed impeachment and conviction of Clinton. This is because they are either committed to claiming that the President during his time in office is above the law or else they think that harmful perjury concerned with sex should be legal. <BR/><BR/>Since both positions are absurd, the defender of persons voting against conviction (e.g., Robert Byrd and Joe Lieberman) becomes increasingly untenable.The Objectivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00416501145750028695noreply@blogger.com