Spoletta

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Posts by Spoletta

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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  Spoletta

  MeanMrMustard

  Joe Salerno is associated with the Mise Institute, a right wing think tank partially funded by the Koch Brothers. At various times it has advocated such ideas as the 9/11 conspiracy, that vaccines cause autism, climate change is a hoax, the Theory of Relativity is a sham, and HIV doesn't cause AIDS. One of it's Fellows is the Libertarian Economist, Walter Block, who believes that we are not required to feed or clothe our babies, can sell them if we wish, and can allow them to die if they're deformed. He defends blackmail, slander, libel, hate speech, and child porn. His only objection to slavery was that you couldn't quit, but you did get to pick cotton, sing songs, and enjoy your thin gruel (his actual words!). He is against charity, as he feels it disrupts the Survival of the Fittest.

  Excuse me if I'm not inclined to take anything Mr. Salerno says seriously.

  George Carlin is one of my favorite comedians, and though his humour is often very insightful, sometimes it's just very funny, and tells us things we enjoy hearing, whether they're true or not. A hysterically funny opinion is still just an opinion. So, on the whole, I don't feel your arguments are very compelling. Sorry.
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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  Spoletta

  There is no true socialist country. The USSR is a primary example of why it can't work. An honest person will admit that Bernie Sanders and AOC have never advocated for a purely Socialist country.

  Even Ayn Rand, the staunch advocate of Libertarianism, ended up on Social Security , not prudently having saved up enough money(as was her right) to live upon in her old age.

  By the way, I wasn't referring to you when I referenced strawmanning.
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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  Spoletta

  Just a note. Upon reflection, I realize that Kerala is a state, not a country, but to all intents and purposes, it operates on the same dynamics as a country, though you are free to disagree.
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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  Spoletta

  This is why I accuse you all of strawmanning. There has never been a truly Socialist country. Just because some dictator calls himself a Socialist does not make his country Socialist. North Korea calls itself a Democratic Republic. The US is a Democratic Republic. Are both the same?

  Do I need to write a list of all the failed Democracies in the world? What do they have in common with most countries that call themselves Socialist? Corruption, not ideology. Why should I even debate you, when you call a country something that it's not, and then claim it's an example of the failure of the principles that it's not following? Sorry, but that's strawmanning.

  There are plenty of countries that combine the more positive aspects of Socialism and Democracy, and benefit from it. Since you'll ask for an example, look up Kerala, in India.

  It might interest you that there have been elected Socialist leaders in the past in South America that haven't brought their countries to ruin, but you'll never hear it from the right.

  Do some real research, it might do you some good.
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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  Spoletta

  You may note that I never said that a true socialist country was a good idea. That's why I said a Democratic Socialist country (like Sweden and Norway) works.

  In a purely Libertarian or Socialist society, you can't prevent those with an unfair advantage, and no scruples, from coming out on top. That's also why pure capitalism can't work, when those whose parents made a fortune through honest (or dishonest) work, can be as indolent as any so called "freeloader", and reap the benefits of someone else's industry.

  So, nice attempt at strawmanning me, but I will gladly provide rebuttals to your cherry picked arguments all day long.
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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  Spoletta

  The problem with the Libertarian concept of rights, is that it could only work in a society where everyone is fair, honest, and empathic. Otherwise, the unscrupulous or righteous (take your pick) will end up on top, leading to feudalism.

  In a society that was fair, honest, and empathic, I would suggest that there WOULD be a right to such things as free medical and education. It works in countries with a balanced Democratic Socialist agenda. Those who keep bringing up Venezuela are simply parroting right wing talking points, because actual research would reveal that it is far from being a true socialist country, despite what Hannity and Carlson may say. Though I guess it saves time if you only research in places that agree with you. (Gee...that sounds kind of familiar!)

  I invite anyone to give an example of an attempt at a Libertarian state that succeeded.
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  194

  Is Being a “Manly Man” a Bad Thing?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so much is said regarding men , in a negative way.

  shaving commercials are now lecturing us as to how bad we really are.

  men should be less masculine.

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  Spoletta

  In reply to Cofty, someone in this thread (not Cofty) intimated that if we were in a matriarchy, we'd still be living in mud huts.

  Someone's been watching too much Jordan Peterson. I'm surprised no one's mentioned the hierarchy of lobsters yet. I'm to old to join another cult.
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  Have you seen Hereditary (2018)? ... spoilers!

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  so, i saw hereditary (2018) recently.. it's ari aster's debut movie, pretty good for a first film.. what did you think of it?.

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  Spoletta

  It's a true horror/mystery/thriller. I watched it because I'm a big fan of Toni Collette, but found the rest of the cast held their own against her, which made it superior to most horror films. The attention to detail was fantastic, and the twists in the plot made it impossible to guess the ending. It was also sufficiently horrifying for anyone's taste. I'd recommend it to anyone.
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  5

  Have you seen Hereditary (2018)? ... spoilers!

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  so, i saw hereditary (2018) recently.. it's ari aster's debut movie, pretty good for a first film.. what did you think of it?.

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  Spoletta

  I just watched it last night. Not your average horror flick. It goes in directions that completely fooled me till the very end. The cast was terrific, especially Toni Collette (one of my favorite actresses). Great attention to detail, and truly chilling
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  194

  Is Being a “Manly Man” a Bad Thing?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so much is said regarding men , in a negative way.

  shaving commercials are now lecturing us as to how bad we really are.

  men should be less masculine.

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  3. 
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  Spoletta

  Considering the odds, I'd be an idiot to worry about such things.