Interesting People mailing list archives

The terrible, no good, rotten, horrible, really bad Web site list ( YES YES djf)


From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:00:28 -0700


________________________________________
From: bobr () bobrosenberg phoenix az us [bobr () bobrosenberg phoenix az us]
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 1:42 AM
To: Tom Fairlie
Cc: David Farber; Karl Auerbach; Brock N Meeks
Subject: Re: The terrible, no good, rotten, horrible, really bad Web site list ( YES YES djf)

Much agreement, Tom.

However, a caveat -- I prefaced my comment by reminding all of us that all
generalizations are false (including this one).  So, my belief that *generally*
Republicans [these days] want to use the power of Government to control people
stands.I hope you will pardon this rather lengthy quote, because I believe it well
confirms my position:

"There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs.
There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God,
or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon,
the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious
factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout
with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their
position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular
moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both.
I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me
as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C,'
and 'D.' Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim
the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me?  And I am even more angry as a
legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has
some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am
warning them today:  I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate
their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of 'conservatism.' "
                                       Barry Goldwater
                                        Speech in the US Senate (16 September 1981)
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barry_Goldwater


DISCLOSURE:  When Barry vacated his seat on the Phoenix City Council to take his
seat in the United States Senate, Mayor Nick Udall & the remaining members of the
City Council appointed my late father to occupy that chair, and when Barry ran for
President, I was a volunteer in his campaign headquarters here in Phoenix.

Cheers,
Bob

P.S.  If you're in the Phoenix area on Saturday, June 21st, you can join me at 7PM
at Changing Hands Bookstore where Barry Goldwater, Jr. and John Dean will be
discussing their book, 'Pure Goldwater'.




Sounds like we'd get along, Bob. I share your concerns.

The stronger parallel to pre-WWII Germany is the fact
that most Germans didn't understand what was utlimately
going to happen. They accepted each repressive measure
over a long period of time because it didn't affect them
direction--only someone *else*.

Our history books paint Germany as a Nazi state populated
with fascist mystics bent on world domination. Closer to
the truth is that they were an educated country experiencing
economic devastation and political turmoil and decided
(indirectly) to go along to get along.

We should really learn a lesson from that. While we don't
have a Hitler replica around, we have many wannabes on
radio and in print, a subculture of hatred and bigotry that
facilitates repression, and an apathetic citzenry that sadly
ignores--or simply doesn't get--what's going on.

Regarding your control comment. I still don't believe that
the Republicans' aim is to control society. I honestly think
that the powers behind the Republican national leadership
(and, to a lesser extent, behind the Democrats) use these
wedge issues to distract us from other, more important things.

Just listen to any sort of public debate around you and 90%
of what you hear is right vs. left, conservatives vs. liberals,
and us vs. them. It's really appalling that so many of us have
fallen into this false debate. It's should really be more about
the honest or innocent vs. the corrupt and the comprimised.

Remember that our revolutionary ancestors (the real fighters,
not the politicians we are taught about) were much more likely
to storm the colonial landholders (the "pre-Americans" who
profited from slavery and indentured servitude) than they were
the British. It is a testament to our political forefathers brilliance
that they were able to turn this resentment towards England.

We could use someone today who would be effective turning
the table the other way. (Not that I recommend rakes and
torches, but you get my drift. ;-)

Tom Fairlie


----- Original Message -----
From: <bobr () bobrosenberg phoenix az us>
To: "Tom Fairlie" <tfairlie () frontiernet net>
Cc: "David Farber" <dave () farber net>; "Karl Auerbach" <karl () cavebear com>;
"Brock N Meeks" <bmeeks () cox net>
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 10:06 AM
Subject: Re: The terrible, no good, rotten, horrible, really bad Web site
list ( YES YES djf)


"I agree except for the fact that you have to distinguish between
Republicans and
Democrats as a voting bloc and their party leadership."

Total agreement.

"The Republicans on the other hand, are not so much for control of the
people...."

Uh, er, Hmm, civil rights?  rights for detainees at Gitmo <YAY for the
Supremes
decision this morning!>, as an example:  I firmly believe it's none of my
business
who you go to bed with -- It's none of my business if you even go to bed
with
anybody -- and, it's none of the Big Gummint's business either.

Happy Anniversary to the Lovings' (41 years ago today) decision by a
previous set of
Supremes.  So, if Caucasians may marry Blacks, what's the big deal about
homosexuals?

The sorry spectacle, a few years ago, of Colin Powell using the same Jim
Crow
language that was used for too long against Blacks in the Military against
Homosexuals in the Military disgusted me.

Interesting mention of Hitler:  Earlier this morning, I was reading some
quotes of
Kurt Vonnegut and came across, "So you're a Christian - so was Adolph
Hitler".

If one reads & compares the Laws enacted between 1928 and 1933 in
enlightened
Germany with the Laws enacted in this Country since September of 2001, I
find that
one is then required to change one's underwear.

On that happy note,
Cheers,
Bob
--
Bob Rosenberg
P.O. Box 33023
Phoenix, AZ  85067-3023
Mobile:  602-206-2856
LandLine:  602-274-3012
bob () bobrosenberg phoenix az us

**************

"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of
opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of
increasingly
repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its
citizens and
creates a country where everyone lives in fear."
-- President Harry S. Truman, message to Congress, August 8, 1950

"Civil government cannot let any group ride roughshod over others simply
because
their consciences tell them to do so."
-- Justice Robert H. Jackson
While an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Jackson was
appointed
Chief United States Prosecutor at the International War Crimes Tribunal in
Nuremberg, Germany.

I agree except for the fact that you have to distinguish between
Republicans and Democrats as a voting bloc and their party leadership.

Democrats at the top of the food chain are historically just as greedy
and self-serving as any Republican, it's just that their constituents are
often working- or middle-class people that want basic rights and
freedoms (what we now call being "liberal").

The Republicans on the other hand, are not so much for control of
the people as they are for control of their gravy train. The people
are just useful cogs in the machinery. So if the CEO makes it a point
to "control cogs," then I'd say you're correct.

Also keep in mind that Republicans no longer stand for any uniform
principle from a political perspective. Their long-term strategy since
Goldwater has been to attract southern conservatives (the "Reagan
Democrats") into their fold. Although their plan worked, their platform
now resembles Hitler's in so many ways (strong economic controls
PLUS a strong, anti-liberal social policy). (BTW, that comparison
was political, not emotional; Americans who object to any mention
of Hitler should read more.)

Take care.

Tom Fairlie

----- Original Message -----
From: <bobr () bobrosenberg phoenix az us>
To: "David Farber" <dave () farber net>
Cc: "Tom Fairlie" <tfairlie () frontiernet net>; "Karl Auerbach"
<karl () cavebear com>; "Brock N Meeks" <bmeeks () cox net>
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 6:36 AM
Subject: Re: The terrible, no good, rotten, horrible, really bad Web site
list ( YES YES djf)


Hi Dave, Tom, Karl & Brock

Recognizing that all generalizations are false (including this one), I
have come to
believe that, in general, Democrats want to use the power of Government
to
help
people while Republicans want to use the power of Government to control
people.

Having been one of the latter and converted to one of the former,
perhaps
I am not
an impartial witness, nonetheless....

However, what I see coming ain't no way to run an internet!

Oh wait!  We could just put TSA in charge of the internet.  Yeah, that
will fix it.

Cheers,
Bob

--
Bob Rosenberg
P.O. Box 33023
Phoenix, AZ  85067-3023
Mobile:  602-206-2856
LandLine:  602-274-3012
bob () bobrosenberg phoenix az us

**************

"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice
of
opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of
increasingly
repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its
citizens and
creates a country where everyone lives in fear."
-- President Harry S. Truman, message to Congress, August 8, 1950



________________________________________
From: Tom Fairlie [tfairlie () frontiernet net]
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:55 PM
To: David Farber
Cc: Brock N. Meeks; karl () cavebear com
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:   The terrible, no good, rotten, horrible, really
bad Web site
list ( YES YES djf)

One should always be wary when one of the four horses of the Internet
apocalypse are trotted out (i.e., child porn, terrorism, drug
trafficking,
and any sort of generic, mob-related crime such as money laundering).

Policies related to these memes aren't merely the remnants of a failed
strategy or lazy legislation; they are frequently used to hide even
more
nefarious activities that the private (and often, governmental)
entities
really want passed. As always, follow the money (or see what's being
hidden), and you will find out why so many people want to shut the
Internet down, regulate it, or otherwise put it under strict control
and
close scrutiny.

A free, public vehicle for communication is anathema to the goals of
the people ultimately behind these policies. Lazy, ignorant politicians
are just useful idiots.

Tom Fairlie

PS, like Brock, I have children, and the last thing I want to see is a
terrible crime that directly affects them. However, expecting our
government to effectively resolve any of these issues with its current
trajectory is probably less useful than simple prayer.

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Farber" <dave () farber net>
To: "ip" <ip () v2 listbox com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 6:45 PM
Subject: [IP] Re: The terrible, no good, rotten, horrible, really bad
Web
site list ( YES YES djf)



________________________________________
From: Karl Auerbach [karl () cavebear com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 7:22 PM
To: David Farber
Cc: bmeeks () cox net
Subject: Re: [IP] The terrible, no good, rotten, horrible, really bad
Web
site list ( YES YES djf)

David Farber wrote:
________________________________________
From: Brock N Meeks [bmeeks () cox net]

First, I want to know who anointed the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children as judge and jury of what constitutes a child porn
Web site?

Welcome to the 21st Century world of private governance - plenary power
in private hands: No oversight, no review, and often exempt from taxes
and anti-trust laws.  It is a natural step from the Reagan/Thatcher
belief that the powers of government are best exercised without public
oversight by private actors.

This National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is one example,
Blackwater is another.

One of the reasons that I rail so much about ICANN is that it is also
one of these things that have power of government exercised via a
private body.

The big fights in western Europe and N. America of the latter 18th and
early 19th centuries were concerned with redressing and constraining
outrageous abuses of national power - one of the most extreme examples
being the France of Louis XIV.

Unfortunately we are not advancing.  Instead we are going retrograde.
We are abandoning the idea bodies of limited government exercising
limited powers that are derived from the citizenry.  We seem to be
moving back to an era more suggestive of feudal powers vested in
corporate dukes and NGO nobles.

We are in an era in which power is being concentrated rather than
diffused.  And that concentration is occurring with the greatest
rapidity into bodies that are the least accountable to the public.

And this acceptance of concentration is slopping over into other areas.
  For instance it really bothers me that not one of the US Presidential
candidates as repudiated Pres. Bush's "unitary executive" grab for
neo-royal power.

                --karl--



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