tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post4146411458481613945..comments2024-03-28T23:22:41.774-05:00Comments on TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee"): The billionaire Koch brothersMinnesotastanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-24605352832608612342010-09-19T00:51:47.249-05:002010-09-19T00:51:47.249-05:00@Bret: unpolluted water and air are not products b...@Bret: unpolluted water and air are not products but anti-products: it would be there if there were no production.<br /><br />I guess I am too late to this thread to be noticed, but I would like to know if your world view boils down to a right of the strongest? I have always viewed the absence of war, civil or otherwise, in our part of the world (I'm from Europe, but the US seem to be doing fine as well) as a result of being nice, economically and otherwise, to those without money or power.pomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-41707695861557381762010-09-03T12:13:35.678-05:002010-09-03T12:13:35.678-05:00I don't see why a grass-roots movement is any ...I don't see why a grass-roots movement is any less a grass-roots movement because there are some rich libertarians out there who like to contribute to it. That's not the standard we apply to progressive movements, is it? The Tea Party is grass-roots in the sense that millions of Americans support it voluntarily and individually.<br /><br />Barbwire, you're not well-informed about Tea Partiers, what they read, or how intelligent or intellectually active they are. You're in danger of falling prey to the same defect you see in them, which is to get your information from limited sources.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-84683900020329713642010-09-01T11:25:53.544-05:002010-09-01T11:25:53.544-05:00You guys are welcome to debate the subject in the ...You guys are welcome to debate the subject in the Comments, as long as you stay on topic (and at least indirectly related to the subject of the post) and avoid ad hominem personal attacks/insults.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-6082717306828849702010-09-01T10:33:37.676-05:002010-09-01T10:33:37.676-05:00Hey Pete,
The entire point of the post was to den...Hey Pete,<br /><br />The entire point of the post was to denigrate the Tea Party movement by being associated with the Koch brothers. Perhaps I'm being sensitive, but I thought that was fairly obvious. I also don't concede your point that the Tea Party isn't grass roots, but honestly, the question is a distraction. Being grassroots doesn't make an organization more legitimate or justified in it's positions. I'll admit I'm at a loss as to why we put such a high importance on that label. <br /><br />Unpolluted water, air, and food are not rights, they are positive outcomes we seek as a society and as individuals to produce. Nonetheless, your point about regulation versus negative outcomes would be correct, if you take for granted that the regulation and regulatory bodies are effective enough to outweigh the imposition to life and liberty they present. I think most libertarians would agree that the majority of these regulatory bodies are completely ineffective at their jobs, at best, and actually harmful to their goals, at worst.<br /><br />I have further to say on this topic, but I wouldn't want to hijack this thread more than I already have.Bretnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-62153812870174687052010-09-01T09:31:21.356-05:002010-09-01T09:31:21.356-05:00Bret, I think you miss the whole point of the post...Bret, I think you miss the whole point of the post, which is, the so-called "grass roots movement" tea party is anything but. And I don't understand your "guilt-by-association" whinge. Who's been accused of anything? And as far as "basic human freedom," goes, would you not agree that sometimes basic human freedom, say, the right to live free of contaminated groundwater, unbreathable air, and poisons in the food supply, requires the imposition of regulations? Yet the libertarian often calls for the removal of all agencies charged with said regulation. <br />Lastly, I think you paint with too broadly a brush when you speak of Barbwire's "entire political philosophy consisting of "pitying", "despising", and name calling."Petenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-65604965100308283372010-08-31T23:21:31.557-05:002010-08-31T23:21:31.557-05:00As a "non-thinking tea partier", barb, I...As a "non-thinking tea partier", barb, I pity you for your lack of intelligence and despise you for intellectual laziness. Does it bother your than your entire political philosophy consists of "pitying", "despising", and name calling?<br /><br />As for the actual article in question, I don't really see the point other than what has become the political attack <i>du jour</i>: guilt by association. I'm pretty sure from a cursory examination of bush-era anti-war groups I could compile a list of "bad guys" a mile high. That doesn't mean they were wrong. The entire premise fails basic logic. Also, if I'm an uber-billionaire looking after my own best interests, I have to think that empowering a single government entity that can be controlled and can force regulation on the masses is a much better way to go about it. <br /><br />The substantial proportion of libertarians and libertarian-leaners are diverse, intelligent, educated, and extremely unselfish. They don't listen to Glen Beck or Bill O'Reilly any more than they do Bill Maher or Keith Olbermann (Jon Stewart is completely different story). Unlike the majority of politically-interested populace their opinions aren't homogeneous, but their core belief is constant: basic human freedom. Anyone who tells you otherwise is an impostor or a liar.Bretnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-376674668588054162010-08-31T22:47:02.646-05:002010-08-31T22:47:02.646-05:00How I wish this were more widely publicized! The ...How I wish this were more widely publicized! The non-thinking Tea Partiers will be most unlikely to read "The New Yorker". I don't know whether to pity them for their lack of intelligence or despise them for their intellectual laziness. They probably wouldn't believe it unless Glen Beck or Bill O'Reilly mentioned it anyway.Barbwirenoreply@blogger.com