more on The Slipperiest of Slopes

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Mark Terwilliger <mark () clayhills com>
Date: January 25, 2006 10:50:24 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] The Slipperiest of Slopes

Hi Dave,

I suppose one over-the-top rhetorical flourish deserves another, but  
I do get weary of hysteria.

Does Mr. Kousky have any evidence, or even any indications (beyond  
his own rhetorical devices), that anyone has ever suggested treating  
"Eco-terrorists" in a manner different from, say, the Ku Klux Klan?

On the face of it, I would say the "terrorist" label fits moderately  
well with any non-state group engaging in spectacular acts of  
violence for the purpose of frightening (or worse) the group(s) they  
hate.

(I exclude states, simply because they have long since established  
and continue to assert an absolute monopoly on the "legitimate" use  
of organized violence (spectacular or otherwise), and a near monopoly  
on the use of force of any kind. We can argue later about whether  
states *should* hold such a monopoly, but none can deny they claim it  
and vigorously defend it.)

Whether the non-state organizers of violence are acting to purify  
"Mother Earth" or "the Aryan race" makes no real difference to me. I  
think the state is required to defend its people, its laws, and its  
monopoly on the use of organized violence in any case. Does Mr.  
Kousky disagree? I would think not.

Setting up straw men so you can knock them down while screaming  
"Monsters!" is lots of fun, I will admit. But it really gets tedious  
after awhile. How many more years must we pretend the world is coming  
to an end? How many more years before we can resume our civil  
conversation about how best to secure the blessings of liberty to  
ourselves and our posterity?

We're over here, Mr. Kousky, living right beside you. And we're just  
the same as you.

cheers
mark

  At 8:05:17 1/25/2006 -0500, Ken Kousky wrote:
> From: Ken Kousky <kkousky () ip3inc com>
> Date: January 25, 2006 8:05:17 AM EST
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: Carolyn_Kousky () ksgphd harvard edu
> Subject: The Slipperiest of Slopes
>
> Today's Wall Street Journal's editorial should make clear that
> terrorism is
> not a slippery slope at all. It's a cliff that conservatives have
> already
> jumped off.
>
> Today's WSJ editorial states that extremist environmentalists who  
> attack
> property are terrorists. This makes clear that there is no difference
> between domestic law enforcement engaged in protecting property and  
> the
> broad range of Homeland Security issues.
>
> I guess this means that Eco-terrorists, as the WSJ labels them,
> should be
> considered for kidnapping to foreign bases for interrogation,  
> certainly
> wiretapped and they merit the use of our limited DHS resources. I'm
> certainly glad we have the FBI on this.
>
> I understand that once we all realize they're terrorists, they should
> not be
> excluded for civil liberty protections since an assault on property
> can also
> harm people and harming people is a terrorist tactic.
>
> Didn't the Secretary of Education suggest that the NEA were
> terrorists too?
>
> Come to think of it, I find some rock music frighteningly bad....
>
>
>
>
>
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