Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

Yes

Regulars
  • Posts

    495
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    6

Everything posted by Yes

  1. Regarding "pro-choice vs. pro-life" the main criteria here is that government has no right, constitutional or otherwise, to a woman's body. No matter what a President, an individual member of Congress, or state and local representative, or governor believes, it is imperative that government stay out of the race to restrict or prohibit a woman's right to an abortion.
  2. Politicians' best posture is to NOT impose abortion regulation. In itself, this shows a respect for women's rights.
  3. So, in one corner, Rep. Greene of the Christian White Supremacist Right, and in the other corner, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez of the Urban Neo-socialist Left. A prime example of why I despise politics. Neither of these representatives has a political philosophy rooted in reason, in my opinion. Modern politics is that way- amoral, collectivist, with a blatant disregard for individual rights. Neither of these should be the voice of the future of American politics.
  4. Agreed- America deserves better than to be a nation defined by anarchy and violence.
  5. Apparently you didn't watch his incendiary speech to the protesters yesterday morning. So I strongly disagree with your statement, which has absolutely no basis of fact.
  6. As America prepares to certify our next President, a large band of hooligans have taken upon themselves to storm the Capitol. This in the name of Freedom? Are these hooligans striving to look for their Fuhrer? As a footnote, something like this happened in fiction- in Atlas Shrugged.
  7. Your response is interesting, to say the least. But I do not agree that joining the military is, in itself, highly immoral. What would be immoral, if not illicit, is a country's use of the military to initiate force and violence against another country. Our military is supposed to be prepared to defend our nation against the initiation of force and violence against us. In that regard, just joining the military is, in fact an honorable move in that the military person then trains to defend against enemies. Also, the personnel in our armed forces are not "volunteers" in the sense that they are paid, given essentials (food, clothing, shelter, etc.), and even "perks" such as the GI bill of rights which helps pay for their higher education. A nation whose basis is the socio-economic system of capitalism requires an armed force to defend its citizens' rights.
  8. I don't argue with the above. But, if one is sick, one should have the common sense to stay home until well. If one sick person goes to work, knowing that one is sick, then that amounts to deliberately exposing others to illness. In a civil society, one doesn't have the right to initiate pain or grief upon others. That being said, in my opinion, just send the sick person home- "punishment" (as I read in another post) is inappropriate.
  9. The assumption being made here is that humans have no control over nature when it comes to one's right to live a healthy life. And yes- one has a right to live a healthy life, free of infections. Science has spent innumerable resources in developing those items which enable one to live out life in a healthy manner, whether by vaccines, treatments, drugs, or simple wellness measures. I disagree there is an "assumption of natural risks" as the awareness of natural risks comes with knowledge. One's right to live a life of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" must include wellness. And the government, in its mission to protect our rights, has to include protecting us from infectious diseases.
  10. I'm with Yaron Brook. All things considered, Trump's abject failure as a president to even accomplish what little is good about his agenda, plus his pitiful response to Covid-19, in which his government failed to protect the rights of Americans against being infected by others, and add to that his disrespect for voting rights and the woman's right to an abortion, and that leaves only the choice that Yaron Brook advocates.
  11. There is no way that Trump can identify with objectivism, reason, or even capitalism. His insistence upon levying tariffs on China and Mexico has not in any way helped the American economy. His "tax reform" is a joke- who has really experienced tax saving from this sham except the extremely rich (who know how to deal with the tax system anyhow)? His awful response to the pandemic will most certainly doom his chances for a second term. So how should have he responded to the oncoming pandemic? He should have mobilized the pandemic response team.....oh, wait, he disbanded this? Isn't the President- government supposed to protect our right to our lives? Doesn't that include protecting us from those who carry infectious diseases? On that basis, once the source was identified, America should have set up the personnel needed to first shut the flow of those who came to America from Wuhan province, and those who did come in should have been tested, then immediately remanded to quarantine. This is how America responded to potential pandemics in the past. With such response, we could have controlled the flow of covid-19 on to our shores. Instead, we had Trump and his cronies in government lie and deny how serious this pandemic is- and, as a consequence, Americans find themselves trying to go about our daily lives 1) not seeing loved ones 2)wearing face masks in public 3)social distancing 4)limiting travel 5) forbidden to go to concerts, sporting events 6)disruptions in classroom education at all levels. Many on the New Right complain about this violating their individual rights- what does that mean? I mean, no individual has the right to initiate infection upon another- OK, I'm paraphrasing that no individual has a right to initiate violence or force upon another. But I think you get my point. If that is not enough, Trump is waging war against his political rivals by threatening to seek indictments against them. This wreaks of the autocratic governments in Russia and China. There is no way I can support a president who had been this negligent, this dishonest, this autocratic, and this corrupt. Biden offers to continue American policy and the mixed economy with its virtues and its few vices. His team will get my vote.
  12. Lockdowns are a terrible thing, in my opinion- is it that the"cure" is worse than the symptom? But it's inexcusable to display swastikas, and weapons which allow protesters to threaten gun violence. And it's puzzling that these protesters are openly displaying placards supporting the very President who is misleading us through these trying times with misstatements, lies, and the government's bad response to this pandemic.
  13. OK, I understand the frustration with these folks. But why the swastikas, the white supremacist chants, and- yes- the weapons? https://www.yahoo.com/news/swastikas-nooses-governor-slams-racism-234906995.html
  14. OK, so maybe I'm being a "Monday morning quarterback", but having a team of pandemic response scientists on the ready to harness, then develop strategies to deal with a virus might have caused governments not to have to take drastic action in a vain attempt (my opinion) to "protect" vulnerable elders, those with compromised health issues, etc., into quarantine.
  15. So much for Agent Orange's campaign promise for 'less government." In my opinion, this clearly amounts to "more government, more regulation." And since when does America have a say regarding money that does NOT come directly from the US?
  16. If he stands for "individual freedom" why is he against women's right to an abortion? Why his opposition to mail-in voting?
  17. So what positions makes Agent Orange such a great president? His opposition to women's rights? His trade sanctions which helped compromise the economy? His current "leadership during the COVID-19 crisis? What's your criteria? And don't hand me this bullshit that he's currently pro-abortion. My lifetime goes back to Truman's presidency. Truman is a gold standard compared to the presidents in the past 30 years, all of which are/were compromised leaders in one way, shape or form.
  18. I agree with your definition, I just can't see how the current President, with his isolationist views, his terrible treatment of our allies, and his woeful views on women's right to an abortion, is great for America, benefits America, and improves America. And, if anything, he has shown that his leadership during the current Covid-19 crisis is beyond pathetic. He does not deserve to be re-elected. If I were on a "board of directors" and Trump were CEO, I'd move to have him fired.
  19. In my opinion, herd immunity represents a de facto approach to dealing with mass illness. When adequate testing for illness and adequate treatment facilities exist, then "herd immunity" might be an option. It would have behooved our government here in America to go to the source of the Covid-19, isolate the virus, and then let the private sector work on developing treatment and vaccine strategies. This seemed to work in the past with influenza viruses- hence, the ability of flu vaccines on an annual basis. No social distancing, no economic shutdowns, no face masks nor other such drastic measures would have been needed had America heeded early warnings about the existence of Covid-19.
  20. Businessmen like myself should be viewing technology as a means by which to increase production and profits. Take, for example, the old way of designing buildings in architecture, and the new way. The old way involved using drafting pencils, scales, paper, and t-squares. it was slow and cumbersome. Few projects got delivered in a timely manner. Enter the personal computer and "computer-aided design." Design ideas get translated from the mind into a computer quickly. A rectangle gets placed on the screen with two clicks of the mouse- and with some quick data entry, is accurately drawing to scale in less than one-tenth the time it takes to place a sheet of drafting paper on a drawing board. Design details can be stored, re-used, and edited for each project. The latest is building information modeling (BIM). Develop a model which contains object intelligence of all sorts. Also it can be used to represent a building in full-blown accurate color. If one's attitude is that technology is a great tool to increase production and profit, then this is the right attitude. The proper way to view technology is as a tool to increase one's production and expand one's creativity.
  21. I have to admit, I'm with Ms. Rand on that solution. By repealing segregation laws, we are simply placing racism and bigotry in its place- as a means of disrespect for individual rights. Courts then should be able to strike down any race restrictions passed by governments.
  22. What appears to be missing from these woe-begotten arguments about abortion is the right of the woman to her body. Government has no right, moral or otherwise, to legislate what a woman should do with her body. The decision to give birth or abort is hers and hers alone. So debate as you may about this issue, but never forget that government trying to restrict abortion is, at the very least, government laying yet another layer of regulation on individuals, and yet another wanton, illicit restriction on our lives.
  23. i live in Connecticut. Like the rest of the nation, Connecticut is a mixed socioeconomic system, that is, blending government control and capitalism. One aspect of this mixed system that I detest is the ability for state governments to pass legislation which places restrictions on trade. One such restriction is a law meant to prohibit automobile manufacturers from selling direct to consumers. Such law was meant to ensure that consumers buy their vehicles through dealerships. Tesla wants to sell its autos directly to consumers through its company-owned showrooms. Already, Tesla has gotten in trouble for selling cars from a gallery in Greenwich. https://www.courant.com/business/hc-br-judge-rules-against-tesla-in-greenwich-gallery-suit-20181210-story.html The law that caused this ruling goes against the grain of free-market capitalism. Yet the auto dealers lobby is a strong one, staunchly defending this anti-trade law. So much for the bromide foisted by many right-wingers that America is a capitalist country!
×
×
  • Create New...