Dutch parliament may force “unfit” mothers to take contraception. The comments to the story are particularly depressing.
Boycot Utah? Also on the Mormon/gay marriage front, here’s an interesting letter from the LDS president in the late 1940s explaining the church’s position against interracial marriage. “From the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith even until now, it is has been the doctrine of the Church, never questioned by any of the Church leaders, that the Negroes are not entitled to the full blessings of the Gospel.”
Nice op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on the right’s turn toward ugly, anti-intellectual populism.
Swear him in as “Barack Hussen Obama.”
Bone marrow transplant accidentally uncovers . . . possible cure for AIDS?
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TheAgitator.com
I hope you’re able to joke about Sarah Paliin as your servitude to the state is guaranteed until you’re in your deathbed by the socialization of our retirement accounts……unless, of course, you can figure out which party really is trying to stick it to the little guy…….and here’s a hint……it’s not the Republicans.
Yes, I can see it now. Highlighting the fact that our president-elect’s middle name is Hussein will have broad-reaching positive effects for millions….er, not.
That’s the depth of thought of someone with a Ph.D. in political science? The comments are almost as good. My favorite:
“But, usually, who cares? Using this name, at this time, will do more to defeat the terrorists that pretty much anything Bush ever did. (Actually, his policies recruited terrorists).”
Ahh, the liberal internationalist’s amazing faith in “soft power.” I miss those crazy bastards. Color me a neo-realist, but I hope the president-elect doesn’t think that he can accomplish all of his foreign policy goals through alleged soft power and remembers that allies and enemies all act in their own best interests, whatever his name happens to be.
As to that WSJ Op-ed, I think he loses me with “depending on how you voted you are either celebrating or mourning this weekend.”
Politics just isn’t that important. If you find yourself celebrating or mourning the election of any candidate, your priorities are misplaced.
It’s frightening to see so many people openly espouse what is essentially eugenics, even on the Internet. Do they even realize what they’re saying?
I always though the beauty of the constitution was we didn’t need ‘intellectuals’ to govern.The President and Congress were limited in what they could do.Right now we expect the President [and Congress] to have the answers on farming,banking,the auto industry,energy,global warming and a host of others.536 people to decide the fate of a nation of 300 millions.Many of this people have done little but run for office their entire lives.They couldn’t even run a ‘cat house’ for a profit.
Jesus, I pray with all my heart that the Dutch do not pass that scary ass legislation. It really shows that people will use any means to control others. Since the Catholic Church is out of style, we’ll just use the government instead to push our Nazi-esque goals. President=Pope, Government=Religion, Legislation =Bible.
I have yet to see any of these so called “intellectuals” who could pour piss out of a boot, even if the instructions were written on the bottom. Where have the “intellectuals” gotten us? Massive wars, massive welfare, and massive government in general. We could pick 537 people at random from the United States and be no worse off than we are now.
“Where have the “intellectuals” gotten us? Massive wars, massive welfare, and massive government in general.”
Actually the “intellectuals” have brought us peace and prosperity unprecedentent in all of history.
Why are anti-intellectual biases worse than intellectual biases? Eggheads suck at management.
I would honestly love to see a large diverse swath of people from truck drivers to accounting managers to general contractors making these decisions, rather than 550 lawyers guided by two think tanks.
Swear him in as “Barack Hussen Obama.”
Please do if only to induce wailing and gnashing of teeth among America’s hardcore Rightists. That would be too funny. Limbaugh may stroke out right there in the studio. And Hannity…well keep him away from the cyanide pills. Heh Heh.
Well, eugenics is definitely a bad idea, and I don’t like the thought of trying to control someone’s body, but on the other hand, does a person who has abused their previous children really have an unlimited right to keep having children?
I suspect most people would say yes they do, but I don’t know.
“They mock the advice of Nobel Prize-winning economists and praise the financial acumen of plumbers and builders.”
And yet, here we are in a situation where the President-elect is proposing exactly what any economist will tell you harms the economy (raising taxes) while Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder are espousing the same views (don’t overtax me, I’m building a business) as the Nobel Prize-winning economists.
If you think liberals listen to intellectuals and researchers all the time, bring up the latest research on gun ownership with one…
By the way, I agree with the overall premise of that article (that conservatives are, at this point, anti-intellectual), but I find it humorous that liberals can’t see that they’re exactly the same way when it comes to the two big areas where their position is in perfect opposition to reality, those being economics and gun control.
As far as the Dutch article goes, we pretty much already have the same system here in the states. Sure, women who have been previously found unfit mothers and have had their parental rights terminated aren’t forced to take contraceptives, but their children are removed from them at the hospital and put in foster care. Don’t think states don’t track that. The only way to avoid it is by having a baby in another state and not receiving public assistance for the pregnancy.
‘We should like to say this to you in all sincerity, that you are too fine a man to permit yourself to be led off from the principles of the Gospel by worldly learning.
You have too much of a potentiality for doing good and we therefore prayerfully hope that you can re-orient your thinking and bring it in line with the revealed Word of God.’
I keep reading this over and over and picture a smiling asshole minister trying to lead a curious young man away from getting a useful education. The fact that the man who wrote this may still be alive leads me to think these attitudes regarding race and intellectualism are still alive, as well.
If you think that letter from the Mormons is a surprise, if you go to 2 Nephi 5, verses 21-25, you will see where God cursed them with a “skin of blackness”.
Ah racism under the cover of “religion”.
It’s always amusing, because Abraham is from an area which would be modern day Iraq. We know how many lightskinned people come from there!
Great news on the possible AIDS cure.
One of those rare Radley posts that doesn’t ruin my day.
If a person doesn’t own their body, then you get things like anti-prostitution laws, reproduction laws, etc. If you don’t own your body, then you are 100% a fucking slave. Get it?
Palin is attacked as a rural rube, but not because she’s a rural rube. They hate her politics. She’d be equally reviled even if she were the intellectual equivalent of Thomas Jefferson.
From the WSJ article:
“Buckley [badass], Irving Kristol [founding neocon], Nathan Glazer [neocon], Daniel Patrick Moynihan [necon-leaning Dem], Gertrude Himmelfarb [necon, Irving's wife], Peter Berger [neocon], Jeane Kirkpatrick [neocon, gave "Blame America First" speech at 84 RNC], Norman Podhoretz [neocon]– agree or disagree with their views, these were people one had to take seriously.”
I did take them seriously, but I don’t have to anymore for the same reason I ignore the fat, bearded fellow peddling the latest People’s Weekly World. They had some power during Reagan, and we got Iran-Contra. They had ultimate power in this administration after 9/11, and we preemptively invaded a country with no more than 25% of the force needed, not to mention the other myriad atrocities against conservatism. Sorry Dr. Lilla, but you assholes had your day and you blew it. Get over it.
@ #11 — I have to assume he’s talking about Krugman. If so, his academic work is beyond reproach. But he’s now a Dem hack for the Grey Lady, and it’s perfectly civil, and necessary, to criticize that work.
So I guess we should allow severely mentally retarded people to have children. They’re people after all. At what point does one decide that someone isn’t able to take care of a child? By the way, saying someone can’t have a child because she didn’t/couldn’t take care of her previous children is not eugenics.
That being said, eugenics, on an academic level probably wouldn’t be bad for our species. The problem is in the execution. Sort of like communism. It sure sounds okay in theory, but just doesn’t work.
Palin is attacked as a rural rube, but not because she’s a rural rube. They hate her politics. She’d be equally reviled even if she were the intellectual equivalent of Thomas Jefferson.
Even is you are the intellectual equivalent of Thomas Jefferson, if you’re a dishonest, hypocritical, bigoted statist, like Palin is, then you deserve to be reviled. Politics have nothing to do with it.
Even IF you are…
The Mormons may have a history of institutional racism (like nearly ever other predominately white American church) but the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints today allows no discrimination in any of its rites or teachings based on skin color. The letter Radley cited should remind all Mormons of our shameful history and the importance moving past racist practices and teachings from the past.
Mormons did play a role in getting Prop 8 passed but boycotting Utah isn’t going to hurt the L.D.S. church. It is going to impact the livelihood of many fair minded workers (both gay and straight) who are just trying to make a living for themselves and their families. The boycott is a foolish idea.
One, and only one, good thing from the Lilla article:
But “populist chic” is just the inversion of “radical chic,” and is no less absurd, comical or ominous.
Couldn’t agree more. Palin’s problem is not that she’s dumb (she isn’t). For a time, she was the embodiment of a cynical gimmick and it’ll be a while before she can shake that off (if she cares to).
Jeremy - agreed, the boycott of Utah won’t help anyone and it’s a stupid move, but won’t this whole debacle hurt the LDS Church? I mean, if you’re Mormon, won’t you feel a little awkward about talking to a gay guy, or even a social liberal, for a while? And won’t such people be a little wary of you when you tell them of your religion? I mean, how many more doors are going to get slammed in missionaries’ faces from here on?
All this Prop 8 episode did was take latent bigotry against Mormons, bring it into the open, and give people an excuse for it. And for what? Monson picked a bad hill to die on here. He had to know that getting this involved in a passionate issue was going to turn a lot of people against the Church, right? I’m not excusing bigotry, but isn’t this whole LDS PR disaster partly Monson’s fault?
@21 - Robert, communism does *not* sound okay in theory. From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs necessarily implies that someone will determine those needs and that someone will determine ability. As a result those of ability will be forced to supply those with needs. Irrespective of all the idiocies inherent in central planning, that use of force is what makes communism evil and not “good in theory.”
“So I guess we should allow severely mentally retarded people to have children. They’re people after all”
“We” are not in a position to allow people to have children or not. It is a basic biological function. A government has as much right to forbid someone to have a baby as it does to forbid someone to take a shit.
Jeff,
The answer to each of your questions is yes. The LDS church has put itself in a bad situation and Mormons should be concerned about the real mental anguish we helped bring to a significant number of people. I would understand if many socially liberal Americans had a sour taste in their mouth for Mormonism for a long time to come.
Steve Young ( or at least his wife with his implied support) opposed Prop 8. So he’s a “good Mormon” to me. I guess he’s just too secure in his heterosexuality to be “threatened” by homosexual marriage. I wonder what Jeff Garcia and Carmella think.
Ahh… so “we” don’t have the right to tell someone not to have sex with a willing 12 year old? After all, it’s a biological function, and as long both parties are okay with it, then all’s fair?
Yes, that was an impressive article. Impressive in how much crap can be shoveled into one little column. How dare we think that maybe people who are “one of us” and successfully ran a business or raised a family or served in a lower office might possible be as competent as a lawyer. And after all the success of the Intellectual class has had over the past 50 years or so. And les, “f you’re a dishonest, hypocritical, bigoted statist, like Palin is” isnt considered correct just because you said it. Might give a little thought to supporting it if you want to be considered seriously.