Professor-rat's Blurty
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Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
| Time |
Event |
| 3:00a |
A Freudian-Stalinist genius
Brilliant Lacanian-Leninist Slovoj Zizcek has a truly dialectical relationship with the truth - in the best Marxist traditions he likes to have two-bob each way. So when we foolish masses are not floating around in the Brownian motion of cyberspace we're organizing 'stupid' circle-jerks like international masturbation day.
Naturally castigating us lumpen peasant scum is easier when you do it over the net. Thank you comrade doctor Commissar.
And all we sheeple really have to do is listen to the Chairman - once he has us all organized and disciplined in his forked-tongue double-think we can storm the very ramparts of the social-relationship that is capitalism.
Only after you Slobo. | | 3:17a |
Barry Flipper Kerry for president Lieberman for Veep I can't believe that anyone can view Obama's position on FISA as politically smart for him. Think of this from a Republican or a McCain leaning independent's perspective. Here's what they know: 1. Obama is against telecom immunity and has said he would support a filibuster 2. Obama promised no warrantless wiretapping when he's president and ridiculed it as being unnecessary to protect us 3. Obama now claims to believe we need warrantless wiretapping, and we need it so badly that he'll let telecom immunity slide 4. Media talking heads talk about him being politically expedient for changing his position If I were someone leaning towards McCain, my beliefs are already colored a certain way. All of these facts would lead me to one conclusion: Obama is another spineless Democrat with no principles who doesn't believe in anything. So how does this make any sense for Obama? He takes the wind out of the sails of his supporters, which means there will be less volunteering and less donations. He reinforces the weak democrat theme that runs rampant in Republican circles. He reminds us all of Kerry when he does this. Voters don't mind if they disagree with a President. But they really mind if a President doesn't believe in what he's doing. It's as clear as day that Obama thinks this bill is a farse, and yet he's still voting for it. That is never a good thing in politics. If you support Obama, you should criticize him passionately so he learns this lesson right away. Remember, many of his advisers have spent years on the losing side offering advice like this. If he doesn't hear anything else from his real base, he'll continue listening to those idiots. Posted by noseeum http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/networking_group_opposing_fisa.phpIn less than a week, this group has vaulted from no members to having the 5th most members of all the groups at Obama's Web site. At this rate, it will be the largest group by the time the FISA vote rolls around. Those who support Obama's push to the so-called center are doing him no favors. From having something of an image as a principled politician, he has, since securing the nomination, taken several steps that (fairly) positioned him to get tagged as a "flip-flopper." That's not smart politics. That's dumb politics. Besides, where is the evidence that his previous position--unequivocal opposition to telecom immunity--was an electoral albatross? Here in Connecticut, GOP Rep. Nancy Johnson tried hanging the albatross of "he won't let us spy on terrorists" around challenger Chris Murphy's neck in 2006. He crushed her. The GOP has also tried using it in the special congressional elections this year. They lost. Obama's moves--on FISA, appointing Jason Furman to head his economic team, backpedaling on NAFTA--indicate he's paying attention to the same tired DC insiders who for years now have been afraid of Republicans. People can't stand the GOP now and they don't buy the fear that they are pedaling. But by acting scared--and that's what Obama is doing--he empowers the GOP fearmongers. It's time for Democrats to define the frame on issues. Obama was doing that during the primary campaign. He's not doing it now. The networking group on FISA is a viral way to get Obama back on the path of smart, aggressive, principled politics. Not just because it's right but because it's a winning strategy. Posted by CTHankster | | 3:32a |
Fingering Lieberman Kos as Hopoate. A Cossack attack with a Tongan thermometer - have mercy '...The second was more fun -- in the process of answering some random question, the words "that asshole Joe Lieberman" came out of my mouth. Now if you recall, Lieberman was head of the DLC for five years or so, and has been a favorite of the organization for decades. In fact, I'd venture to say that Lieberman is the epitome of the DLC philosophy (though they'd vehemently deny it these days). Remember, the DLC's ideological allies at the New Republic endorsed Lieberman for president in 2004, and former top DLC'er Marshall Wittman is now Lieberman's communication director. So there I was, in the lion's den, calling Joe Lieberman an asshole. And people applauded and cheered. I'm not sure what that means, but I got the DLC to applaud me calling Lieberman an asshole. That means something. * Permalink :: * Discuss (183 comments) http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/30/01735/0857/156/543957You insulted Assholes...' | | 4:04a |
Bombers July schedule
Hotter than July
Following Obama's successful trip to Unity and next weeks July 4th celebration at Independence the candidate has a gruelling schedule lined up winning back the blond white women demographic.
Ballplay (Tennessee) Bohner's Lake (Wisconsin) Bangs Beach (Maine) Dickey (North Dakota) Dickeyville (Wisconsin) Beaverville (Illinois) Boody (Illinois) Bone Gap (Illinois) Vergennes (Illinois) Tightsqueeze (Virginia) Climax Springs (Missouri) Ironwood (Minnesota) Moreheadsville (Pennsylvania) Deep Gap (Tennessee) Glasscock (Texas) Seman (Alabama) Onacock (Virginia) Fort Dick (California) Probe (Utah) Butztown (Pennsylvania) Elephant Butte (New Mexico) Reamstown (Pennsylvania) Lickdale (Pennsylvania) Pickles Gap (Arkansas) Assinippi (Massachusetts)
Dyckesville (Wisconsin) Ballville (Ohio) Cockland (Ohio) Bloody Dick (Montana) Shafter (California) Beaver (Oklahoma) Handcock Town (North Carolina) Maggie's Nipples (Wyoming) Needmore (Texas) Fruitport (Michigan) Zip Down (Pennsylvania) Mount Holly (New Jersey, USA) and of course Fugit (Kentucky) Go Bomber! | | 4:54a |
On terror Terror has typically been a means to an end in the past, but it can also be for some groups an end in itself. If what you want to do is make people too fearful to exercise choice, to make them just too terrified to exercise their own political, religious, moral, and social choices, then what you want is a state of terror in both senses of the phrase: You want a state that maintains this terrifying atmosphere and you want to induce in the individual a constant presence of fear. - MORE ON http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1920/terrcomm/index.htm | | 5:07a |
Nearly two dozen armies? If Marxists can't even add up then that would explain a lot about Marxist economics '...Bolshevik defense of the extraordinary means the young workers’ republic had to take in order to defend itself from the almost two dozen armies that were on its soil trying to turn back the revolution...' http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1920/terrcomm/index.htm'...Besides the Russian White Guard armies of Kolchak, Denikin and others, there are attacking Soviet Russia, simultaneously or in turn: Germans, Austrians, Czecho-Slovaks, Serbs, Poles, Ukrainians, Roumanians, French, British, Americans, Japanese, Finns, Esthonians, Lithuanians ...' - Trotsky Take out the Ukrainians, Estonians and Lithuanians and you have 11. This agrees with Wikipedia. The following numbers of foreign soldiers occupied the indicated Russian regions: * 50,000 Czechoslovaks[4] (along the Trans-Siberian railway) * 28,000 Japanese (later increased to 70,000[5], all in the Vladivostok region) * 24,000 Greeks (in Crimea)[6] * 13,000 Americans (in Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok regions) * 12,000 Poles (mostly in Crimea and Ukraine) * 4,000 Canadians (in Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok regions) * 4,000 Serbs (in Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok regions) * 4,000 Romanians (in Arkhangelsk region) * 2,000 Italians (in Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok regions) * 1,600 British (in Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok regions) * 760 French (mostly in Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok regions) I'd love to be enlightened on the dirty dozen foreign armies missing in action here. Any Marxists with calculators out there? The anonymous cowards line is now open ( on this post only.) | | 5:52a |
Dreams from my grandfather
So Gran married an ax murderer...nobody's perfect
I've even got B.O.
Obama Network Organizes and Revolts Over Spying
[Supporters worked furiously over the weekend to organize a new MyBo campaign to protest and pressure Obama. Many activists are outraged by the Senator’s recent announcement that he will back a controversial bill to grant the Executive more spying powers and immunize telephone companies accused of illegal surveillance…. Since launching last week, the protest group, “Senator Obama Please Vote NO on Telecom Immunity – Get FISA Right,” swelled to one of the ten largest campaign groups on Sunday.
MAKETHEMACCOUNTABLE
Teh audacity | | 6:16a |
Sounds from the Bush
'...Comedian and actor Harry Shearer’s new album, Songs of the Bushmen, pays comedic “homage” to current and former Bush administration officials like Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Karl Rove. But media giant Clear Channel doesn’t want people to buy it. The New York Post reports today that the “notoriously conservative” company’s outdoor advertising arm has banned signs for the album “because the cover depicts the president with a bone through his nose...” - MTA
We must see more of yr hedge...
“When Stanford University released a recent study saying that men are more prone to taking financial risks when faced with erotic images, it was no surprise to the car-show marketers who drape models over their vehicles or to the Hollywood studio execs who employ the infamous ‘D-girls’ to woo producers. Strategic mixing of business and pleasure has been around for eternity. But in recent years, such strategizing has infiltrated even the most buttoned-up of enclaves: the world of finance. Nowhere is the phenomenon more blatant than at hedge funds, where the term ‘marketing executive’ has become all but synonymous with a blond in Theory trousers (the rule being figure-hugging is a go, Roberto Cavalli a no). ‘Hedge funds aim to hire hot women [to work in marketing],’ claims Bess Levin, a writer at the insider-y finance blog dealbreaker.com…” | | 6:25a |
King Douchebag the Third
"Oh, on this day in 1963, JFK was in Germany and he said, 'Ich bin ein Berliner,' do you remember that? Do you remember seeing it? Ich bin ein Berliner, I am a Berliner. And I'm thinking about it, now it would be nice if we had a president who could speak English." --David Letterman
A POLICEMAN stops a motorist and asks for a donation: terrorists have kidnapped Dick Cheney, and have vowed to soak him in petrol and set him alight if the ransom is not paid.
"How much are other people giving?" the motorist asks.
"Oh, on average about two or three gallons."
"We're learning more and more about both candidates. For example, John McCain doesn't work on weekends. He spends his time at his ranch, the Casa Varicosa." --David Letterman
King Douchebag the Third
"So when North Korea, the cute one in the Axis of Evil, tried to put one over on us by giving up the details of their nuclear program, you can imagine our still-president stood strong [on screen: Bush announcing his intent to lessen restrictions on North Korea]. Mr. President, you're going to take the word of a madman? North Korea's no longer a part of the Axis of Evil? What the hell? There were three countries -- Iraq was already out of the Axis, North Korea's out, now it's, what, a Dot of Evil? Fixed Coordinate of Perfidy? ... I guess they're just being downgraded to a slightly less-menacing category. Let's see what we've got here [on screen: graphic showing new system of ranking dangerous countries, with categories like 'Contingent of Meanies,' 'League of Jerks' and 'Gaggle of Douchebags']. I'm going to go with 'Douchebag Gaggle.'" --Jon Stewart | | 3:38p |
IF
'...if the DSP would stop telling fibs to itself and everybody else...'
I think people are pretty much 'set' by the time they're pushing 30.
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son! | | 3:49p |
What a fucking maroon Barry White - '...Meanwhile, some of those in the so-called counter-culture of the Sixties reacted not merely by criticizing particular government policies, but by attacking the symbols, and in extreme cases, the very idea, of America itself -- by burning flags; by blaming America for all that was wrong with the world; and perhaps most tragically, by failing to honor those veterans coming home from Vietnam, something that remains a national shame to this day...' Truth be known... http://libcom.org/history/vietnam-gi-resistance | | 3:56p |
Talk to the virtual hand
'...Tom Hayden and Naomi Klein -- and like all the others, it is fascinating. And inspiring. But, in this case, there is also a moment where Tom and Naomi are talking about how much activity and organization there is online...and how little there is in the streets...'
Tom and Naomi are terminal lamer, loser, leftist drones but hey, thanks losers, for recognizing a little reality.
Online activism is more ergonomic than getting attacked in the streets by the Blue Bloc... and a pack of Marxist Banshees later when you have to go to court. Maybe Tom and Naomi should get married or burried or something. | | 4:31p |
Democracy not democracy Iraq Criticizes Attacks by American Troops By ALISSA J. RUBIN BAGHDAD — Iraqi government officials on Sunday criticized the American military for two recent attacks in which soldiers killed people who the government said were civilians. One death occurred during a raid by American soldiers on Friday near Karbala; two days earlier, three people described by the Interior Ministry as bank employees on their way to work were shot and killed near the Baghdad airport when they tried to pass an American convoy. An Iraqi government statement demanded that the soldiers be held accountable in Iraq...' - FROM http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/world/middleeast/30iraq.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&ref=world&pagewanted=printCombined with the State Department brokered 'blood-for-oil' deals reported yesterday and whose kidding themselves all those purple fingers actually meant jack-shit. This is classic vampire empire imperialist murder and theft barely covered by a Trotskycon figleaf. Ya basta. | | 4:35p |
Xtian military repression spreads south
Under the new Xtian police regulations, people who refuse to stop engaging in conduct that causes annoyance or inconvenience can be arrested and fined up to $US5,250.
Why they'll be in peoples bedrooms soon arresting them for porn and pot...oh wait.
The Greens political party say the measures are more extreme than the special laws enacted for last year's APEC summit.
Draconian, repugnant and unnecessary. These are just a few of the criticisms of special regulations coming into force for the upcoming Catholic World Youth Day event in Sydney.
Civil libertarians and legal experts say the regulations could see situations such as someone deemed to be wearing an offensive T-shirt being arrested and given a hefty fine.
New South Wales Police say the measures are designed simply to ensure that World Youth Day is a peaceful and happy event. Kumba-fucking-ya. Hut! Hut! Hut!
The event runs from July 15 to July 20, but from today until the end of the month the regulations come into force.
Under the regime SES and Rural Fire Service volunteers will assist police in bag checks at World Youth Day locations.
And anyone deemed to be causing annoyance could be arrested and fined up to $5,500.
New South Wales deputy police commissioner Dave Owens says the regulations do not restrict democratic rights.
"If people wish to lawfully protest, we will facilitate those protests as long as they are law abiding," he said.
"Police officers always maintain a discretion, and I expect them to use that discretion."
There have been suggestions that people could be arrested if they wear a T-shirt that promotes the use of condoms. Mr Owens refused to rule that out.
"There are individual circumstances that will have to be dealt with individually," he said.
'Repugnant'
President of the New South Wales Bar Association Anna Katzmann says she does not understand why the regulations have been brought in.
"They are repugnant for two reasons," she said.
"First of all the Government has by-passed the normal parliamentary scrutiny that would be available if they were introduced by an Act of Parliament," she said.
"Secondly they are an unreasonable interference with people's freedom of speech and movement."
She says there is a chance people could be arrested for trivial offences in the areas that have been declared as special World Youth Day zones.
"These World Youth Day-declared areas are numerous and they encompass places like Sydney University and the Opera House. Places that you and I would travel to regularly, not just churches or church schools," she said.
New South Wales Council of Civil Liberties president Cameron Murphy says he is opposed to the proposed measures.
"A police officer may find someone's T-shirt annoying and on that basis issue them with a fine," he said.
( As happened recently on the Gold Coast in Qld)
"That sort of thing is likely to escalate any problems that occur rather than prevent them."
The Greens have joined civil libertarians and the Bar Association in calling for the regulations to be cancelled.
Most political reformers have some part of the unfree system they wish to abolish Republicans would abolish the monarchy, Secularists would abolish or disestablish the Church, Socialists would (or used to) wish to abolish the apparatus of exploitation; pacifists would abolish the Army. Anarchism is unique in wishing to abolish all. | | 4:44p |
Death to pigs The Police are the cornerstone of the State (though sometimes, in extreme cases, the Government of the day needs to use the armed forces in lieu of, or in addition to the police -- in some countries this has led to replacement or control of the Government by the army so long as the officers are tightly in control). Only Anarchism believes in abolition of the Police, and this is the most hotly-disputed argument of Anarchism. Yet the police force as we know it is a comparatively modern phenomenon, fiercely resisted when introduced for reasons which have since been proved up to the hilt, such as the ability of the Police to introduce or bolster up a dictatorship, known indeed as a police state. Without control of the Police, debates at Westminster become as sterile of result as debates in the West Kensington Debating Society (and probably less interesting). With German money, supplied by Helphand-Parvus, Lenin was able to return to Russia and pay Lettish mercenaries to act as Police. He was the only politician in a position to do so and in this way Bolshevik success was achieved. The Nazis in their turn created murder gangs that roamed the streets, which were tacitly tolerated by the Republican Police, but their victory came when they controlled the Police by legal means. - FROM http://www.spunk.org/texts/writers/meltzer/sp001500.html | | 5:44p |
Smell of burning flesh
'... Retired Marine Lt. Col. Orson Swindle said Clark was "denigrating the character and the experience and the integrity and the performance" of McCain.
"A very indecent thing," said retired Air Force Col. Bud Day.
You are no Officer or Gentleman, General Wesley Clark! I shall have my butler escort you from the parlor and remove you from the company of these well bred gentle ladies before you further erode the discourse with your shocking indecency. The honor of her Grace the Duchess of Sedona shall not be besmirched by your kind, sirrah!
James, burn some feathers and fetch my salts immediately. The Dowager Lady Swindle just fainted dead away!
And bring us some tea and cream cakes. We're feeling peckish.
digby...'
McCain said he turned against napalm after the Forrester disaster...but wasn't napalm used in 'Raq?
So he was against it before he was for it for the next 10,000 years...what a low rotten lying creep. | | 5:56p |
Kossack rebellion
Tammany take a hike
'...It looks like Obama is gun-shy after sticking by Jeremiah Wright. Now, he can't move quickly enough to denounce his own allies. So he's cross at Wes Clark, and he's mighty cross at MoveOn as well! Who else will he be cross with as he kicks off "Operation Piss Off the People Supporting and Bankrolling His Campaign In Order To Prove He Hates the Dirty Fucking Hippies". Now that the primary is over, he can turn his back on the people that brought him.
I was going to max out to him today, given I haven't given Obama a dime yet (focusing on congressional candidates). But I changed my mind. He wants to send the message that he doesn't need us, all the power to him. Message received. I'll spend that $2,300 somewhere else.
Update: I'm curious as to why people think that me saying I won't give Obama my $2,300 somehow means I'm undermining him. When he gives me a reason to open up my wallet, I will. But I also refuse to reward bad behavior.
When Republicans lost Congress in 2006, Rush Limbaugh bleated that he was happy, that he no longer needed to "carry water" for the GOP. Me, I'll never carry water for our team. I'll reward good behavior, and trash bad behavior.
If you want sycophancy, this isn't your place.
* Permalink ::
* Discuss (1106 comments)...'
RELATED - Firedoglake must be in meltdown as its offline for long periods now. Maybe they need a mirror? | | 6:26p |
Ambit claims
MARXMAIL - '...Is "open borders now" a demand Marxists should be making?
(Of course, it's an irreproachable demand).
A recent article from the ISO said, "The slogan "No one is
illegal" is not merely a moral imperative, but one based on the idea that so
long as workers allow themselves to be pitted against each other, so long
will they remain weak, exploited victims of capitalism."
But if border controls were removed, so many workers from elsewhere
would immediately move to the USA that US workers' wages would still
plummet down even more from current levels.
"Open borders" is an "infinite demand" (in the terminology of the
debate between Zizek and Critchley -- see
).
I think the question remains open: should we as leftists raise
"infinite" demands, or "finite" demands? I have not been able to make
up my mind on this question.
I think Zizek in his new book makes a pretty convincing case in favor
of raising "finite" demands. Zizek has written:
"The lesson here is that the truly subversive thing is not to insist
on 'infinite' demands we know those in power cannot fulfil. Since they
know that we know it, such an 'infinitely demanding' attitude presents
no problem for those in power: 'So wonderful that, with your critical
demands, you remind us what kind of world we would all like to live
in. Unfortunately, we live in the real world, where we have to make do
with what is possible.' The thing to do is, on the contrary, to
bombard those in power with strategically well-selected, precise,
finite demands, which can't be met with the same excuse."
What do people think of Zizek's argument?...'
Well like many of his arguments its quite wrong for all normal people. Any union negotiator in the real-world knows the importance of tradeable ambit claims. Also anarchists have the ' Good-cop, Bad-cop', option under diversity-of-tactics and are also free to make many and varied ambit claims.
Zizek is a goose - as usual - but Marxist nutcases like him are sometimes useful - as in whatever they argue for simply do the opposite and you will rarely, if ever go wrong.
Also it must be noted any loopy Marxist that recognizes real limits needs to be encouraged as much as possible in this direction as most actually existing Marxists appear to be foaming mad megalomaniacs.
So like the abyss calling to the abyss, yes, Zizek's imperialistic argument here should apply to Bedlam Marxists only. It's presented here - like most Marxmail meanderings - for its entertainment value. | | 6:43p |
The cockroach and the robot The rubbish compactor Chuck0 might like to access all these articles in one place - LINKS '...Alexander Cockburn wrote this series of articles about global warming alarmism. Perhaps progressives will listen to him since he's one of them. Is Global Warming a Sin?------ The Greenhousers Strike Back and Out------ Hot Air is Bad for Us------- Dissidents Against Dogma------- Who are the Merchants of Fear?...' http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=7857 | | 6:59p |
Progress and the unreasonable person
All great truths begin as blasphemies.
Today's question: Should there be an obscenity law that outlaws a product that is made with informed adult consent with no laws being broken, and that is increasingly distributed and consumed in complete privacy? All week, Barry McDonald and John Stagliano debate obscenity and the 1st Amendment.
Barry McDonald details the legal tests and reasoning behind the enforcement of obscenity laws. John Stagliano says no one should be sent to prison for distributing images others don’t like.
What we protect with obscenity laws
Point: Barry McDonald
John,
Today's question focuses on whether obscenity laws should continue to exist in modern American society. To put this question in its proper perspective, one must understand the relatively narrow scope of these laws. Under a 1st Amendment test established by the U.S. Supreme Court known as the Miller test (from the 1973 case Miller vs. California), only sexually explicit materials that are designed to appeal to a morbid interest in things sexual and are depicted in an extremely offensive way -- all as determined by an "average" person of a given community -- can be made illegal by obscenity laws. Moreover, even works that meet these criteria but also possess serious artistic or literary value cannot be deemed obscene (such as a sex magazine with articles).
Finally, works that qualify for obscene treatment cannot be criminalized in the home (private possession is legal). It is mainly the public sale, distribution or exhibition of such materials that can be prohibited.
In short, obscenity laws generally target commercial distributors of extreme pornography. And even there, obscenity prosecutions are rare because of the difficulties prosecutors encounter in proving that materials meet the Miller standards. One study found that materials that have been deemed obscene by juries or judges usually contain explicit depictions of sex acts involving human excretion, sex with human corpses or live animals, acts of incest or violent, forced sex.
Because today's question asks us to assume that such extreme materials are made without violating any laws (an assumption that would probably falter in the real world), we must inquire whether even simulated depictions of such acts should qualify for illegal treatment when they are publicly distributed or exhibited. In other words, the standard way of putting the question usually asks: "If no one is harmed by this stuff and someone wants it, who is the government to say that he or she can't have it?"
Let's break this question down into its two main component parts. First, is no one truly harmed by obscene materials? Assuming compliance with laws in making them, this question would focus initially on their consumers. Recall that the definition of obscenity requires that the materials be designed to appeal to an unhealthy or morbid interest in sex-related activities. Can it really be maintained that a viewer of such materials is not harmed in some way? I'm not a psychologist or sociologist, but it seems to me that viewing them to obtain sexual pleasure cannot be the healthiest way of experiencing sex. Moreover, the viewer is not the only, if even the main, concern of obscenity laws. Such laws are also designed to protect minors and unwilling adult viewers from advertent or inadvertent exposure to obscene materials. Even putting adults aside, surely our society has a strong interest in protecting minors from the potential harm from being exposed to such materials -- however that harm may be defined.
Finally, even if these concerns did not exist, would our government really have no legitimate interest in preventing the dissemination of obscene materials via public channels of marketing, distribution or exhibition? Do communities across our country lack a sufficient interest in "drawing a line" in the sand and saying enough is enough? Shouldn't commercial porn distributors adhere to some minimal standards of public decency to avoid the proliferation of cable channels, movie houses, adult bookstores or websites hawking this stuff and its inevitable tainting (some may say further deterioration) of the public square and consciousness? To merely state these questions is, in my view, to ask and answer them.
Barry McDonald is an associate professor at Pepperdine University School of Law and teaches and writes on 1st Amendment law.
-----
Facing prison without harming anyone
Counterpoint: John Stagliano
Barry,
It does not matter to you that pornography is now almost exclusively consumed in the privacy of one's own home. In fact, to me this is not the issue. The issue is about porn that is "extremely offensive." Some individuals do not take offense to extreme porn, and those individuals are protected by the Constitution.
No one should be subject to the whims of a group or "community" that does not like what you look at. And what is wrong with being extreme? In today's culture, being extreme is revered. It is the people on the extreme who move the world forward, who experiment and find new ways of living. Technology has made extreme changes in our lives. If we are not open-minded to change, we stagnate and wallow in sanctimonious righteousness about the world.
From a legal standpoint, this comes down to your view of human nature and society. Is it right, ethical or moral for one group of people to control the thoughts of another group? Indeed, it is the thoughts that erotic images arouse in the viewer's mind that those who would assume the power to control others have a problem with. Just remember that if you would assume such power, Barry, you personally are responsible for arresting me because I sold images you didn't like. This is exactly what you allowed to happen when I was indicted on nine counts of obscenity by the Department of Justice last April.
Barry, your point is that people must be forced to not think things that you don't like, and for that you'd have me put in jail. Your comment that it "seems" to you that viewing images "to obtain sexual pleasure cannot be the healthiest way of experiencing sex" seems not a good enough reason to imprison me for 39 years. In fact, using a proper concept of morality based on individual rights, it is you and those who would put me in jail when I did not infringe on anyone's rights who are behaving immorally.
From a political point of view, this is just another extension of the nanny state trying to control an individual's life. Essentially, the government uses its power to stop people from smoking, eating trans fats, consuming drugs or gaining sexual gratification without hurting anyone else. No person can decide for himself; the feds know better.
There is also a problem with the word "obscenity." The question to be asked is not whether there should be an obscenity law but whether there can be an obscenity law that is just, given that the Supreme Court failed to define the term in 1973 when it had the chance. What an interesting decision Miller vs. California was. The court could have said that all speech was legal and upheld the Constitution, as the justices were all sworn to do. Or they could have said that no kind of obscenity is worthy of 1st Amendment protection, which would have of required them to define obscenity, which they realized that they couldn't do.
So the justices came up with an interesting solution: The justices left it up to any community that has chosen to live together in a geographical area to decide what is obscene to them. The operative word here is "community." The entity left out of the equation is the individual. So the Supreme Court bowed to the political pressure of "communities" and refused to defend the rights of individuals.
We don't need the 1st Amendment to protect the people who go along with the majority in a community. We need it to protect those who would question the accepted wisdom, which is what I am doing. I do not think like you, Barry. I believe that my sexuality should not be defined and judged by the words of the Miller decision. My concept of art and sex differs from others'. Am I to be condemned to jail for this? That is essentially what you are advocating. To a community, something may be "morbid," but to me, an individual in that community, it is not. To me, the pleasure I get from viewing such material is simply a wonderful expression of my biological nature.
John Stagliano is an adult entertainment director, producer and distributor. - ADULT FYI
“All progress depends on the unreasonable man. The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.” — George Bernard Shaw | | 7:23p |
The Rahowa on Iran
Is this the most outrageous, grotesque and blatant example of International racist apartheid today or what?
'...pressure on Iran to stop its enrichment program, a program that is perfectly legal according to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
That Israel, Pakistan and India flouted the NPT and actually did make bombs is never brought up when the US makes these charges against Iran, which allows regular inspections of its facilities, and against which there is no evidence of striving for a bomb.
posted by Juan Cole...'
But then again there are also some dangerous skinheads loose in Russia so lets all keep our perspective... | | 7:29p |
PJ and the bad-news bears The Tucker translation of What Is Property? is prefaced by a translation of J. A. Langlois' "P. J. Proudhon: His Life and Work," the biographical introduction to Proudhon's collected Correspondence. Tucker includes a disclaimer regarding Langlois' account, and it would be nice if we had the ability to easily judge Proudhon by his works, but with so much still to be translated, the careful use of commentary is necessary for most of us. Most of what Langlois wrote rings true to me, and the chronology provided is extremely useful. I recommend the account for all participants in the Proudhon seminar, and anyone else interested in understanding Proudhon's work. - FROM http://libertarian-labyrinth.blogspot.com/ | | 8:12p |
Medical Maverick
In 2009, Dr @ndy Slackretard ate the faeces and scabs from patients with hidradenitis suppurativa in his quest to prove it was not infectious. When the medical establishment ignored him he went on to inject himself and his devoted partner Dave with the blood of a woman dying with Marxist malaria to make his point.
This week on Medical Mavericks: Diet and Disease, host Oswald Mosley shows how the links between food and health were first established by men like Dr @ndy Slackretard, who changed forever what goes into our net diet. | | 8:34p |
Jolly old town
Stephen channels Candace Bushnell...
Hi All,
The discussion about communication of Union Solidarity events is important, however let’s not miss the key questions from this trial.
The comments of the Magistrate clearly imply that dissent = opposition to democracy. Picketers, according to the Magistrate, are the “absolute antithesis of that ideal (of democratic rights)”.
Probably the most respected and caring trade unionist in Australia – Dave Kerin – was talked about as such: ”Kerin told the court he was a teacher. I believe he is a teacher of civil disobedience (and) civil disobedience is merely a euphemism for breaking the law”. The Magistrate continued: “I believe that Mr. Kerin is an experienced bull bar rider (and) I do not believe that he had any regard for anyone’s safety“.
Leftwriters are well aware of the limitations of bourgeois democracy. What remains unanswered is what might the Magistrate’s comments signify? Are we in a period that we don’t fully grasp? Why the lack of comment on this case from the trade union movement; the legal fraternity; the media etc? Has bourgeois democratic pluralism been redefined? What practical conclusions do we draw for our activities on picket lines, our attitudes to the judiciary, etc?
I know from talking to people who were close to the action on this case (who are all very experienced in terms of trade unionism and class struggle) that they were shaken up. I am interested in the views of Leftwriters.
Stephen Jolly
Having been defenestrated from this site* - without natural justice natch - I'll respond here.
While we know that bourgeois democracy will always revert to fascism the problem with people like Dave Kerin and Stephen Jolly is that with them it's ' All fascism - all the time'. Though both are in different streams , both remain in Marxist streams. Marxism is commonly recognized as left fascism and one of the worst disasters to befall humanity over the last 90 years. So long as this remains the case most people will choose the worst bourgeois democracy over even the best Marxist police state. These are the historical-materialist facts on the ground and even Capitalist factory owners and their petty-bourgeois parasites should really acknowledge them if their opinions are to be taken seriously. - pr
* I opposed the hiring of a known red-fascist by RMIT assuming Leftwrites was a site for the vast majority of the left that are democratic and libertarian socialists - NOT authoritarian socialists.
Why the lack of comment on this case from the trade union movement; the legal fraternity; the media etc? Has democratic pluralism on websites been redefined? Blah, blah, blurgh. | | 10:06p |
Authoritative Marxist
Devrim "Enternasyonalist Komünist Sol"
Posts: 2836 Joined: 15-07-06
1 July, 2008 - 11:50
anarcho wrote:
Well, he was not an authoritarian Marxist, that is for sure!
The whole idea of 'Libertarian', or 'Authoritarian' as it is seen in the usage connected to communists is one that springs from the anarchist tradition. He wouldn't have used either, but if pressed by anarchists he would probably have chosen 'authoritarian'.
anarcho wrote:
Still, if you want to argue that you cannot be a Marxist and be a libertarian then feel free -- personally, I feel it is the height of sectarianism to suggest that all Marxists are authoritarians. Particularly as some marxists, a minority to be sure, are clearly in favour of self-management, genuine workers' councils, and so on.
I think that you really miss the point. It is not that I am arguing that 'all Marxists are authoritarians'. I am saying that it is not a differentiation that most Marxists make. So Marxists can be 'clearly in favour of self-management, genuine workers' councils, and so on', and not think of themselves as 'libertarian', or 'authoritarian' (Marxists) because it is a word that is completely meaningless in their discourse. I am not sure if I can explain it any better.
Devrim...'
I seem to remember Devrim was a supporter of the South in the US civil war? ( Maybe a slip of the typing)
Anyway thats all ancient history - todays topic is what Pannekoek would have called himself.
I think there is a break with the authoritarian tradition as represented by Engels ( On Authority) and Lenins praxis so Pannekoek couldn't have gone on describing himself as a trad Marxist without major confusion. ( Council Communist?) Engels said the Barcelona workers couldn't run a large factory and Lenin agreed and this is the 'revolutionary ' Marxist tradition.
I do agree that Pannekoek should not be called a libertarian-Marxist...because simply aligning with anarchism 50 years late is not evidence of anarchism. It could be simply neo-Leninist entryism by other means. This appears to be what Devrim is hinting at - ' The South shall rise again!' Leninism with Marxist characteristics will rise again! In both cases the Northern unionists and the anarchist heretics are both routed. As I've said before its no real compliment that some Marxists simulate anarchism - its actually what any good parasitic recombinant organism does. | | 10:28p |
An awfully big adventure
Members of the 95th rifles fatally wounded might hear this just before death - ' He now knows the great secret!' - said by one of their comrades. Mark Urban wrote a great book about the breaking of Napoleons codes. Since then he's added an excellent narrative history of the first British rifle regiment able to match US rangers. I agree with the first review at Amazon about this work but don't spoil it for yrself. Enjoy the whole thing first.
Nothing in his life
Became him like the leaving it; he died
As one that had been studied in his death,
To throw away the dearest thing he ow'd,
As 'twere a careless trifle. | | 11:06p |
Sleep wonderfully warm...
...with Belinda
Ode to Belinda Neal ( Sydney IMC )
For years I brown-nosed bastards from the Centre to the Right,
I fiddled with the numbers and I suck-holed day and night.
And when they wouldn't have me, waited for the next election,
And then I bitched so loudly I was given pre-selection.
And now I make the bastards pay,
So if you need a deal
Remember who you're talking to,
Belinda fucking Neal.
If my soccer boot has hit some bitch and got her in the arse,
Well what the fuck could she expect just lying in the grass?
And then the bloody referee holds up a card of red
And gives me marching orders!
Well, she wished that she was dead.
I shoved my nose into her face,
You should have heard her squeal!
Do you know who you are dealing with?
Belinda fucking Neal.
I married Della Bosca though I felt a bit above him
And I beat him up occasionally to show him that I love him.
All in all it's worked out well. He's like two railway buffers
And if I get a bit too loud, it's Iemma the wog who suffers.
But the MC at the wedding breakfast
Made a blue for real –
She called me Mrs. Della B - No!
I'm Belinda fucking Neal.
Now, that dinner by the waterside at Gosford (which I hate!)
The one they're now referring to as my Iguanagate.
I didn't swear (I never do!), I swear by all that's proper,
I never said I'd close them down or lean on a local copper.
I only said, so nice and quiet
You could hear the church bells peal,
Do you know who you're dealing with?
Belinda fucking Neal!
But now it's all been squared away, the matter put to rest,
Della's apologised to himself, the thing he does the best.
"We're sorry, sir and madam, for the hell we've put you through,
And if you come to visit, there's a free meal here for you".
His one mistake was stamping it
With his "Della Bosca" seal.
He should have let me do it,
I'm Belinda Fucking Neal! | | 11:10p |
Forest struggles ongoing
Looks like struggles are ongoing in Tassie - as indeed are victories. ( Sear Sydney IMC) One innovative tactic that helped us succeed in Vic was wiring up a canopy within a coupe with steel ropes. That way it becomes extra unsafe to fell any individual tree. This combined with mass civil-disobedience and the implied threat of sabotage all helped contribute to victory. Every little bit does help with diverse tactics doctrine. | | 11:50p |
African affairs '...Well obviously what is happening in Zimbabwe is quite tragic and I would hope some of the sympathy that is extended to Zimbabwe could be extended as well to other African nations that do not have white minorities. For example, the statement condemning or questioning the Zimbabweans elections emerged from Swaziland, a South African nation that is one of the last absolute monarchies on this small planet. Some might well question why isn't Swaziland's human rights situation being interrogated and investigated? A scant year ago in Nigeria, the continent's giant, you had shambolic elections, had hundreds killed yet that barely registered a blip on the international media. At least not in the North Atlantic. Many talk, perhaps understandably, about the fact the President Mugabe has served as President since 1980, but what about Omar Bongo of Gabon, a close ally of the U.S, an oil-rich country in West Africa, which of course, he has served as president since 1967? 13 years before Mugabe came into power. I mean, I could go on in this vain...' http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GreenLeft_discussion/message/55511I'm sure glparramatta will | | 11:57p |
Years on the throne
SHAME- EL-SHEIKH, Egypt - Crown Prince William of The nether regions raised eyebrows at the African Union summit in Egypt after broaching what he called the "deadly taboo" of toilets.
The Prince of Orange peel told leaders from 53 African nations today that "perhaps you, like many others, will find it difficult to go home and speak passionately about sanitation and related subjects like my human faeces relatives".
The heir arse hole to the British throne spoke with the frankness for which the Nazi Germans are known in his capacity as the helicopter chair of the UN Secretary-General's Brownshirt Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation.
Pointing out that one million scat porn-stars die every year because of poor sanitation, Prince William called on the assembled leaders to "personally help break through the deadly taboo that surrounds this subject".
"We must overcome our discomfort at talking about toilets, faeces and personal hygiene," he said.
' My Mommy dearest the Queen has become the landlord of her very own McDonald's outlet, but don't expect to see her flipping burger patties any or her buns any time soon.'
Tis true prithee that a retail park containing a McDonald's near her throne home of Windsor Castle has been bought by the Crown Estate for £92 million ($191 million), The Sun itself reports forsooth.
She-who-must-be-obeyed can apparently even see the golden arches of her straining thews at the site in Slough, Berks, across the Thames from her home. Slough. Berks. Le temps se fait maussade.
"We are delighted she chose the proper term lavatory rather than Burger Queen Kate," a McDonald's insider told The Sun.
People suffering from illnesses related to poor food sanitation occupy half of all hospital beds in sub-Saharan England, according to UN figures.
"It will come as no surprise that I was delighted to note that some distinguished European heads of state and government took the initiative to have themselves photographed with their head in a toilet," Prince William said, without mentioning the names of Charles, Phillip, Andrew and those usual suspects as Harry's father.
"Their courage symbolised the flushed step forward Wales needed to take.
"I can only invite you to all follow their lead, and break through the sanitation taboo. Let us call a spade a spade and a toilet a toilet. The only trouble is the drive-through is one of the smaller ones so she'd have a job getting her majesties Rolls-Royce sized arse round it. But it worked in many countries with HIV/AIDS, so why shouldn't it work for sanitation too?"
Talk about toilets remains taboo in much of the world, but not in the nether regions of our right royals where personal health and anus horibilis hygiene matters are popular topics of conversation. |
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