SD on 7/11/2008 at 14:28
Quote Posted by paloalto90
Have you heard of private giving through charity?
Not everybody who wants smaller government is a greedy little ass.
And that system of charitable handouts worked
just great in Dickensian England.
Who knows, maybe gruel could be the next diet fad.
heywood on 7/11/2008 at 17:03
I thought dethtoll's reason was going to be that he hoped Kerry would pull out of Iraq or maybe he disliked Bush so much that he had to vote for Kerry. I could sorta understand that.
Anyway...
Obama grew on me during the campaign to the point where I'm comfortable with him as President (well, as long as he doesn't pick Kerry as Secretary of State). It's the Congress that worries me. We just re-elected the same dysfunctional Congress we gave a 9% approval rating to in July.
Koki on 7/11/2008 at 17:14
Quote Posted by Chimpy Chompy
Some people can't take care of their own ass. Or maybe they can, but they'd have done better with a bit of help.
I am pretty sure that, in general, people will care about their own ass much more than they do about someone else's.
Stitch on 7/11/2008 at 17:45
I'd like us to take a brief break from all this to draw attention to the fact that throughout this extended election I have offered quite a bit of analysis and predictions, much of which was contested and dismissed.
As such, now that we know how things turned out I'd like us to look back and notice that
I WAS ABSOLUTELY FUCKING RIGHT AT EVERY STEP OF THE WAYThank you for your participation.
Also: (
http://squappity.blogspot.com/2008/11/at-long-last-we-did-it.html) my election post-mortem, the first of many.
heywood on 7/11/2008 at 17:52
Yeah, like it was really hard to predict this election :rolleyes:
fett on 7/11/2008 at 17:58
Stitch is humility, insight, and a hip haircut all rolled up in one big lovable bundle. Sorry ladies, he's taken by Shug
I've actually been paying VERY close attention to your predictions every since the Kerry debacle when I realized how so very, utterly, fucktard wrong most of my political views were. Hell, I probably would have voted for Ron Paul if it weren't for you and Stareh and your excellent campaign coverage here. No bullshit.
aguywhoplaysthief on 7/11/2008 at 17:58
Quote Posted by SD
And that system of charitable handouts worked
just great in Dickensian England.
The wealth of modern western society compared to that of Victorian England is so vastly different that there is absolutely no way you can make a comparison like that.
Nicker on 7/11/2008 at 19:02
Quote Posted by aguywhoplaysthief
The wealth of modern western society compared to that of Victorian England is so vastly different that there is absolutely no way you can make a comparison like that.
Not sure what relative and subjective measures of real wealth have to do with SD's criticism of private charities versus public interventions. All societies, the poorest to the richest, have customs for sharing risk and reward. We are social creatures.
That said - Charity is inferior to prevention especially when the charity's focus seems to be either controlling or punitive generosity. AIDS funding tied exclusively to abstention programs springs to mind.
In Dickensian England and the modern welfare state, public and private charity is too often mired in the resentment and superiority of the givers.
The depths to which one must plunge before assistance is given is usually so low that escape, in any meaningful way, is nearly impossible. Policy traps that encourage root causes of poverty certainly don't help (e.g. We won't subsidise birth control but we will provide sub-subsistence support for any number of offspring...).
Small scale, private charities are a good way to focus on specific and local needs - to deliver particular benefits. But provision and planning for the population as a whole is the responsibility of the government. Schools should not have bake sales and bottle drives to pay for basics, for example.
[/rant off]
fett on 7/11/2008 at 19:08
I may have said this before Nicker, but you should post more.
june gloom on 7/11/2008 at 19:13
Quote Posted by heywood
Obama grew on me during the campaign to the point where I'm comfortable with him as President (well, as long as he doesn't pick Kerry as Secretary of State).
He picked Rahm Emmanuel. On the one hand, hooray, someone who gets shit done. On the other hand the guy's a partisan tank.
I can get used to Obama being president; he's just another Democrat, he's not going to legalize baby rape or anything. But if I see another smug shitfucker come up to me and ask me "isn't this great" I'm gonna fuck some skulls
