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politics and politicians
See other politics and politicians Articles

Title: Libertarians smarter?
Source: Conservative News and Views
URL Source: https://www.conservativenewsandview ... ial/talk/libertarians-smarter/
Published: Feb 5, 2012
Author: Terry A. Hurlbut
Post Date: 2019-08-10 14:33:23 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 14504
Comments: 138

Are liberals really smarter than conservatives? Or are libertarians smarter than anyone else? A recent column in The Daily Mail suggests so. True or not, it shows that “liberal” and “conservative” are not the only two extremes of opinion. In fact, they are special cases of a far more general political landscape.

Traditional political labels

By tradition, “conservative” and “liberal” (formerly “progressive”) stand for two different sets of freedoms on one hand, and entitlements on the other. This linear graph of left-of-center v. right-of-center dates from the National Assembly of Revolutionary France. The only thing that defined the “left” and the “right” then was change. The “left” wanted sweeping change, and the “right” wanted to keep things as they were.

But neither side necessarily stood for more freedom than did the other. Instead, those things that a liberal wants to entitle some people to, a conservative does not. But: many of the things that a liberal wants people to be free to do, a conservative does not, either. The reason: a conservative favors a different set of entitlements that are not economic. The conservative would entitle most wives to expect their husbands to stay married to them, and not seek enjoyment elsewhere or end the marriage whenever they saw fit. “Moderates” are more likely to grant more entitlements in some areas, and more freedoms in others, than either side.

But this line is a very special case. In fact, the possible mix of entitlements and freedoms should have at least two dimensions, not merely one. Michael Hanlon of The Daily Mail came close to recognizing this:

The problem here is how we define ‘left’ and ‘right’ thinking, what this means socially and politically. A moment’s thought shows that the fault lines are not only blurred but they are legion, criss-crossing across traditional political strata and have changed through time.

A square political grid. Intelligence moves you up the scale. So are libertarians smarter on that account?

The square political leanings grid, from OnTheIssues.org.

True, but incomplete. Many theorists, from Rand to Rothbard, have recognized two different “freedom scales” with which to chart one’s attitudes. One is the economic scale. Zero on this scale is a complete command economy, with input-output analysis dictating who produces what, and with Five-Year Plans, government stores, collective farms, the whole nine meters. At this end of the scale, everyone is entitled to a minimum economic standard but are free to do nothing to break out of that standard, or to take on any task unless the authorities approve.

One hundred on this scale is total capitalism, with no role for government in production, distribution, or exchange. At this end, people are free to do anything but entitled to nothing. Whatever they want, they must work for.

The other scale is the social scale. Zero on that scale means: throw homosexuals in prison, punish criminals severely, forbid immigration (that is, membership is by invitation only), etc. One hundred means to let everybody in, take all comers, let roommates (same-sex or opposite-, whether they share bed or not) form whatever contractual unions they care to form—but also recognize freedom of association (including the freedom not to associate), and the right of self-defense.

Hanlon loses sight of one thing: many “social liberals” are damnably hypocritical along this line. They will not recognize freedom of association. They do not recognize a right of self-defense. They do not recognize any of the flip sides of increased tolerance of homosexuality, adultery, or criminality. As an example, they want to leave two men (or two women) free to be intimate, but then want to entitle this roommate pair to rooms, or an apartment, in any dwelling, whether the would-be host wants to offer them those rooms, or that apartment, or not. Once again: one person’s entitlement is another person’s loss of freedom.

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A libertarian, by contrast, would respect that host’s freedom. A libertarian would ask that the government leave those roommates free to be as intimate as they please, but not entitle them to rooms or apartment wherever they wish. For those, they must still make a voluntary arrangement with a host or landlord.

If one plots his attitudes on the economic and social freedom scales on a square grid, instead of on a line segment, and orient this grid like a baseball diamond, then that grid will yield five different positions, not three. Home plate (zero, zero) is populism, or the Communism of the old Warsaw Pact, or Nazism in Germany. Conservatism lies at first base (100, 0). Liberalism or left-wing-ism lies at third base (0, 100). “Moderate-ism” is at the pitcher’s mound (50, 50). And Libertarianism is at second base (100, 100). So the old left-to-right line passes from third base to first, across the infield, allowing more freedom in economic areas, but insisting on more entitlement on the social, as it goes.

Here is what Hanlon noticed: intelligence tracks with moving straight up on the political grid, and then tending toward perfect libertarianism. Lower intelligence tracks with falling straight down on the political grid, toward total populism. With the horizontal movement along the traditional left-right line, intelligence does not change.

The implied result: Libertarians are smarter than everyone else.

Are libertarians smarter than everyone else?

Purely abstract intelligence might track higher with libertarianism. That makes libertarians smarter than liberals or conservatives on that scale. A smart person (unless he hungers for power) wants to be free, either to make a living or to associate (or not) with anyone he pleases.

But does common sense make libertarians smarter? Not necessarily. Abstract libertarianism works fine—for a voluntary association of voluntarily consenting adults. It does not work well for children. A child is an inherently dependent, even helpless person. Common sense demands that a society entitle a child to food, water, shelter, and education, that the parents, not the government, should give it. The parents are more likely to have the child’s best interests at heart than faceless bureaucrats would. But in addition, that same society also entitles the parents to a minimum level of “good examples” from other adults.

That is why a sound society does not authorize two same-sex roommates sharing bed to adopt children. It is also why a business that caters to “the prurient interest” is not free to locate near enough to where a child might stray within sight. It is why a sound society classifies certain kinds of pastimes as “for adults only,” and recognizes a class of citizen or resident called the minor. As in:

Sales of cigarettes to MINORS are FORBIDDEN by law. We support this law. Parents are urged to help prevent violations.

The pure libertarian recognizes no such thing as a minor. That’s the equivalent of expecting a cub in the wild to fend for himself before he is ready. As any wildlife biologist knows, that’s not very smart.

But in matters of pure economic policy, libertarians might be smarter than most. A sound society does let its children imitate the adults in one key area: business. Whether this business is selling lemonade from a front-yard stand, or offering lawn-and-garden services to his neighbors for a fee, a libertarian would have no problem with this. Nor would a conservative, so long as the child is doing something that he or she has already safely done at home. But a liberal won’t allow this. A liberal wants to entitle a perfect stranger to sell lawn-and-garden services, usually for a higher fee, without having the neighbor’s boy (or girl) compete with that service. The same seems to hold for selling lemonade, though that is even harder to justify. This makes both conservatives and libertarians smarter than liberals. They are smart enough to know that some entitlements have no justification, but only excuses.

Summing up

Are libertarians smarter? In some areas, yes. In others, no. But conservatives are smart to engage libertarians in a debate on how a society ought to run. Liberals haven’t done very well. Libertarians and conservatives might each be able to teach the other something. (1 image)

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#80. To: Deckard (#26)

I didn't ignore anything. I positively voted for Trump because: (!) He promised to make peace with Russia, and (2) He promised a trade war with China.

Geopstrategically, those were - and still are - the two most important policies in the world, because Russia doesn't have to be an enemy, and China has to be stopped (and to stop China, you need Russia).

This is obvious, and these interests supersede every other concern. Trump was the only politicians saying anything like this, and still is. I didn't hold my nose to vote for Trump - he has the clearest strategic vision on both geopolitics and trade as any President since Nixon.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   10:41:28 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#81. To: A Pole (#73)

I drink the tapwater again. It was during the fast when I could not stand the chemicals, as there was no food in my system to buffer them.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   10:42:26 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#82. To: A Pole (#74)

Garlic, and sweat, and coffee and tobacco and dairy.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   10:43:17 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#83. To: Tooconservative (#75)

Cold showers are miserable. I'm not into inflicting pain on myself. Warm showers are pleasant. On a really hot day, a cool shower is nice. A cold shower is a method of torturing prisoners.

If one wants to lose weight through the cold. Spend a lot of time in a cool pool. The water is below body temperature, and with immersion, the body has to burn fuel to maintain homeostasis. That will definitely burn up fat even without any other activity.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   11:01:52 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#84. To: Vicomte13 (#82)

Garlic, and sweat, and coffee and tobacco and dairy

By dairy you mean good live (unpasteurized) cheese?

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   11:05:52 ET  (1 image) Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#85. To: Tooconservative (#78)

After 40 days of eating no food at all, and no source of calories, just drinking water, in both cases I ate what I was craving as the fast neared its end.

I both cases I boiled up a mess of spinach and collard greens, put butter on them, and ate a bowlful, until I was full (which didn't take long - my stomach was probably the size of a walnut.

I ate those with all meals that day and the next, and they were the main things I wanted to eat. Next thing I wanted was eggs, and sardines. And the toast with the eggs.

Basically, by the second day I ate whatever was served to me. The main thing was filling that body up with greens. Nothing has ever tasted better to me in my life than boiled collard greens and spinach on day 41 of a 40 day water fast.

I suspect that if I ate those every day, I'd never gain weight. Wish I could get someone to cook them for me.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   11:07:11 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#86. To: Tooconservative (#79)

I sweat a lot. Always did. When I get hot, or I have the sun in my eyes (I'm designed to live on a glacier, not in sunny climes), the sweat starts to pour. Doesn't matter if I'm fat or skinny. Sweat pours on my. So my whole torso - chest, back, pits, plus crotch and ass - everything gets sweaty. When it dies, there's a white residue of salt on my clothes, and if I don't change them, that will make my armpits raw and give me terrible chafing down between my legs. The only way to stop that from happening is to get in a pool or wash off with lots of water, and change into clean dry clothes. Cotton is better than anything else. Synthetic fibers is worst of all, because that not only accumulates the sweat and damp and accelerates the chafing, but also starts to reek.

Cotton is best. Synthetic is worst. Silk doesn't breath. Linen is heavy. Obviously, the BEST thing to do when it's hot is walk around naked, but you can generally only do that at home when the kids aren't around.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   11:13:31 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#87. To: A Pole (#84)

That looks yummy. Is the cheese on the bottom Epoisses? That was Napoleon's favorite cheese. Honestly it smells like compressed athlete's foot skin soaked in ammonia. But it sure tastes creamy and wonderful once you get it past your nose.

Dairy of all kinds makes you sour. It's the fact and the bacteria and the lactose.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   11:15:14 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#88. To: Vicomte13 (#85)

Interesting details on how you broke your fast. Thanks for the info. I'd lean more toward yogurt and then move on to something really easy to digest like cream of wheat. But I am nervous on the subject, having had my peristalsis stop for a week or so several times, back 15-20 years. Not fun and it has made me more nervous about fasting.

I do find that restricting my eating window each day does help. I basically eat anything I want from noon to 6pm. It does help shrink the love handles and small amount of belly fat I have (which, to be honest, other people probably wouldn't even consider fat at all). I am pretty slim so what I think of as a little belly fat wouldn't even register with a lot of people. My belly is, actually, flatter and slimmer than most anyone over 30. It's just my natural metabolic homeostasis, it seems. Some of us do tend toward slimness the way the vast majority tend toward weight gain, especially as we age. I do weigh about 10 pounds more than I did in high school, many years ago. I had about another 10 pounds that was just useless blubber which started as tiny love handles, then I got the navel donut, then they started to join forces to give me a beer belly (I don't drink beer, bad for my kidneys and protein level), then the love handles started to spread behind my back, making my buttocks start to expand northward. After I fasted (not to lose weight deliberately, just really depressed0, I had lost most of that. Now my belly is as flat as it was in my 20s or very close to it. I have an actual 6-pack that most men my age can't imagine. But it's only because they're visible because there's so little fat covering them up. Lots of people have great abs, you know, hiding behind an ugly layer of belly fat.

There is a downside to being thin, especially as you age. I read a fresh study that being low-weight and low body fat actually lowers your longevity. The studies indicate that people of normal weight or even obese people don't die off that much from heart attack or stroke after their mid-sixties. But people with low BMI do die off in much larger numbers than the people of normal weight and more than even obese people. With a height of 6' and a weight of 145, I have a BMI of 19.7. So I'm not underweight but I'm not far from being underweight.

BMI Categories:
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

So I'm not underweight by this standard but I'm not at a normal weight which would be more like 170lbs. I can't even imagine weighing 170lbs. So it makes me think about that study showing the slim people don't survive stroke or heart attack as well as the normal weight or obese people.

Most people have the opposite problem, trying to keep weight off, even in their 20s and 30s. So I don't expect much help or sympathy. Most people would love to be able to eat what they want and not gain weight. Or just to have a reasonable diet and not gain weight.

I have decided to stop worrying quite so much about just weight though. It's just a number. So many other things are better to worry about, like cheating on your diet with junk food, getting enough exercise to really improve your health, etc. I'm okay with being slim but I don't want to be skinny-fat with a belly hanging out and unable to look down and see my toes or other valuable parts.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   11:35:25 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#89. To: Vicomte13, A Pole (#86) (Edited)

I sweat a lot. Always did. When I get hot, or I have the sun in my eyes (I'm designed to live on a glacier, not in sunny climes), the sweat starts to pour.

If I'm hot enough, I sweat heavy like anyone. But I don't sweat as quickly as others do in heat and I don't sweat as much doing the same amount of work.

Probably there's a limit to the value of comparing an ectomorph like me with an endomorph like you. And genetics play a huge role, no doubt. Much of our physical being and potential is dictated from the moment of conception.

There is no assembly line, turning out blank human clones, all identical copies. We all have significant enough differences in heritage that we can't pretend what works for one will work for another. Yet we so often think that there are universal answers.

Even so, I obviously found your remarks on hygiene interesting enough to recall them after this long. And your diet ideas are interesting too though you go further than I would (like fasting more than 5 weeks). I would say that at my weight, trying to fast for 40 days would be reckless. Or your fondness for the more acrid foods like the old Nordic and French cheeses or sardines. I don't doubt they are probably good for you though.

I think we can all agree at least that American cheeses are an abomination. I'm not a huge cheese fan but I think I should be able to buy unpasteurized cheeses. Certainly, with basic food precautions, they are far far safer than buying whole raw milk and drinking it unpasteurized. America needs to allow unpasteurized cheeses. They are not any more dangerous than, say, putting fresh mayonnaise in potato salads during warm weather. And that can make people sick. But only if they are careless about food safety. I'll bet you can find some shocking jars of old crusty mayonnaise in people's refrigerators but it doesn't seem to make anyone sick to allow mayonnaise made with eggs to be sold widely.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   13:24:46 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#90. To: Tooconservative (#89)

America needs to allow unpasteurized cheeses. They are not any more dangerous than, say, putting fresh mayonnaise in potato salads during warm weather. And that can make people sick. But only if they are careless about food safety.

Actually French cheeses have strong and stable flora. They are quite hard to spoil. If you keep them too long they get inedible and not tasty.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   13:34:42 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#91. To: A Pole (#90) (Edited)

Actually French cheeses have strong and stable flora. They are quite hard to spoil. If you keep them too long they get inedible and not tasty.

I have read that before from various Cheese People. They say you don't need to worry much about it spoiling because you won't enjoy eating it past the best-by date and you'll just throw it out.

And it isn't as though pasteurized cheese lasts forever either. Even that will go bad even if it takes a month or more in the fridge. And I think many cheeses lose their best flavor after a certain amount of time. Some pasteurized cheeses start to get kind of bland and a little rubbery after a few weeks.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   13:42:21 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#92. To: Tooconservative (#91)

They say you don't need to worry much about it spoiling because you won't enjoy eating it past the best-by date and you'll just throw it out.

I know it because once a while I buy live unpasteurized cheese. If you do not eat in time it gets bad taste.

Same with natural unpasteurized fruits or vegetables, if they get spoiled you know it, see and smell.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   15:15:25 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#93. To: A Pole (#92)

I'm not sure we are allowed any unpasteurized cheeses in America. Even our "brie" is pasteurized or so I've read. I know the only brie I've ever seen says pasteurized. The brie lovers say our "brie" doesn't compare to the real thing.

I have cheese go bad in my fridge if it's been there for some weeks. I can't imagine I'd get sick from unpasteurized cheese once it started to turn bad. The color and smell alone tells you when cheese and milk are past their best-by dates.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-12   15:46:22 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#94. To: Tooconservative (#93)

Not to be a wise ass or nothin, but I earned a food handler's card years ago to volunteer & help out on certain projects. I remember learning that lots of pathogens and the toxins they produce are odorless and tasteless.

I had a great restaurant meal a couple of weeks ago: snapper with crusted cheese and spinach on top with a little pasta. Well known kitchen, good staff, nice presentation and all that. Forty five minutes home and an hour later I lost whole thing w/o being too graphic. Probably staph or clostridium. Wouldn't have had a clue til I got sick.

Pretty certain it was the lunch. I only had toast and coffee for breakfast, and I was whole again right after I lost the lunch. You can't rightly tell about those microscopic bugs.

randge  posted on  2019-08-12   16:20:14 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#95. To: randge (#94)

I remember learning that lots of pathogens and the toxins they produce are odorless and tasteless.

This is the trick. Naturally ripe tasty cheese has its own nice ecosystem that does not leave space for the bad bugs. Artificial nuked food, when invaded gets dangerous.

Same with huge bacterial flora in human guts, it is essential for the host's health. But when purged by strong antibiotics, it might get replaced by some deadly stuff. That is why you always should take good bacterial cultures during and after antibiotic therapy.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   17:03:30 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#96. To: Tooconservative (#89)

I'm not a huge cheese fan but I think I should be able to buy unpasteurized cheeses. Certainly, with basic food precautions, they are far far safer than buying whole raw milk and drinking it unpasteurized. America needs to allow unpasteurized cheeses.

I have a raw milk dairy. Raw milk is legal in Maine and I'm very happy about that. I make all kinds of cheeses (not for sale) and I only trade milk with Christian families (Amish/Mennonite) who would never sue me for any reason!

I have to admit when I am drinking raw milk from another dairy...I am very concerned by how they handled the milk.

Also, if raw milk (unpasteurized) was used to make the cheese, and that milk contained a pathogen, you are probably going to get that pathogen (depending on the pathogen, of course).

I would say this: if you are buying raw milk or unpasteurized cheeses from a known source, like a health food store, you are going to be okay. Raw milk dairies that sell to the public have to meet rigorous guidelines.

There are some really good health benefits to raw milk so if you can locate a reliable source, and depending on your state laws, well, I'd take raw over pasteurized any day.

watchman  posted on  2019-08-12   17:03:47 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#97. To: A Pole (#95)

good bacterial cultures

Along with a good source of C probably the most important supplement you can take.

randge  posted on  2019-08-12   17:16:01 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#98. To: watchman (#96)

Great posts here.

My aunt used to go down the road for fresh milk which she kept cool and covered with a cloth. She used to skim it for the cream. My dad loved to churn the butter up for her whenever he came for a visit.

Nobody ever got sick from that milk, but that operation has been shut dowm.

I've had milk straight from the cow's udder. None better. I've had warm milk from well tended female camel also. That was I think the best milk I've ever tasted.

randge  posted on  2019-08-12   17:24:10 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#99. To: A Pole (#95)

This is the trick. Naturally ripe tasty cheese has its own nice ecosystem that does not leave space for the bad bugs. Artificial nuked food, when invaded gets dangerous.

Yes. In some situations, like yogurt, I have to kill off the existing cultures (even the good ones) so that the yogurt cultures can grow without competition. Makes for a thicker yogurt.

I have seen raw milk from other dairies that had stuff floating in that you would think would kill a buzzard, but folks were drinking it and doing just fine!

watchman  posted on  2019-08-12   17:39:01 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#100. To: watchman (#99) (Edited)

Yes. In some situations, like yogurt, I have to kill off the existing cultures (even the good ones) so that the yogurt cultures can grow without competition.

Real live cheeses ripe in special conditions, they are pure and healthy naturally. Many different kinds and tastes, developed and tested over years by talented people.

It is as good as mother's milk for her baby. Much better for the child than artificial formula.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-12   17:47:08 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#101. To: randge (#98)

milk from well tended female camel

Drinking the milk is one thing...but milking that camel...no sir!...I'll not do it!

watchman  posted on  2019-08-12   18:05:07 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#102. To: Deckard (#26)

Trump even naming Rand as a special envoy to Iran in diplomatic talks …
You need to check on this …

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-12   18:43:24 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#103. To: Deckard (#102)

Trump even naming Rand as a special envoy to Iran in diplomatic talks …

You need to check on this …

Come on, Deckard, at some time in your life start getting your act together and getting things straight.

Since you NEVER fact check or validate anything, I checked for you.

I found that Trump said he didn't tap Rand Paul to serve as envoy in talks with Iran.

“I don’t know anything about that other than I have spoken to Sen. Paul, and Sen. Paul is somebody I have a very good relationship with,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“And I would listen to him, but I didn’t appoint him, no,” he continued. “No he’s somebody I listen to, and I respect Sen. Paul and if he had some ideas I would listen.”

Source: Trump says he didn't tap Rand Paul to serve as envoy in talks with Iran

Declard. you are one pathetic lost soul when it comes to presenting facts …

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-12   18:53:58 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#104. To: Deckard (#22) (Edited)

Fewer laws, fewer regulations.

Sure sounds libertarian to me

It sounds that way to you because libertarians tend to speak in catchphrases – “fewer laws and fewer regulations”, "we want freedom", "we are against bureaucracy".

They never speak in political related measures or activities with defined long- term goals. Most libertarian narrative therefore is inconsequential – because it is just simple propaganda tricks, and misleading appeals to emotions of the uninformed.

Some misguided souls refer to themselves as libertarians, specifically because they have some obsessive vendetta directed towards the federal government, and they try to make libertarian to be a buzz-word term they prefer use to describe anything they have in mind.

George Carlin once said in describing libertarian -

One of the more pretentious political self-descriptions is “Libertarian.” People think it puts them above the fray. It sounds fashionable, and to the uninitiated, faintly dangerous. Actually, it’s just one more bullshit political philosophy.
"Libertarian" sounds fashionable – Yea, that’s all it does …

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-12   20:35:33 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#105. To: Gatlin (#103)

From politico. President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that Sen. Rand Paul is involved in diplomatic talks with Iran, referring to the country as “nothing but trouble.”

A K A Stone  posted on  2019-08-12   21:04:15 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#106. To: Tooconservative (#88)

I'm shortish 5 ft 9. I had a strong build. My ideal weight was about 175 lbs. With age, I've become quite fat, really. It annoys me. I know what to do about it, but I only take half measures because, well, because I don't like to do much except swim. I do like to be in the water. I should put in a pool

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   22:15:12 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#107. To: watchman (#96)

Raw milk is legal in Connecticut too. They sell it at the store right down the street.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   22:17:25 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#108. To: Tooconservative (#89)

When it comes to dairy, my very favorite thing is a Caprice de Dieux - a French cheese that has only a touch less milkfat than butter. It looks like brie, with the white rind, but it is SOOOO rich and buttery, you just slice it and (nearly) spread it on a baguette. It doesn't QUITE spreqd, it does hold its shape, somewhat, but oh is it rich. Caprice des Dieux - Dieu que c'est bon.

My second favorite dairy is thick sheep yogurt with a touch of fresh honey. After that, probably Greek yogurt.

Then other cheeses. of the brie/Camembert variety. Then I think yellow cheese, like cheddar and gouda.

Then goat milk.

Regular milk is down around the bottom of my list, because it makes me fart, a lot. That doesn't really bother me, but it is stinky and horrible for the people trapped around me.

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   22:24:21 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#109. To: Tooconservative (#89)

I don't worry about food hygeine. If it's not gross to me, I won't get sick. And I really never do.

I have a set of routine foods that I circulate through every week. I live by the Sound here, so every week I have a dosen fresh local oysters. Most days I have a plank of Salmon - I know the Alaska wild caught stuff is supposed to be "better" but the quality Atlantic farmed stuff from Scotland and Norway, is so much richer, that's what I eat - raw with soy, olive oil and dill.

And scallops. Two nights a week I'll pan fry sea scallops in coconut oil - no breading.

Spinach and collard greens, salad and broccoli, Grapefruit and black berries. Eggs and rye toast for breakfast. I've pretty much singled out all of my favorite foods and eat them over and over. With all that good food, I'm still too fat, but this is a fuction of calorie intake exceeding output.

I think the best weight loss program - something I'd set up somewhere if I had millions, was a place where the food was simple, and served to everybody, and the physical activity was sex, all day, at will. Obviously avoiding disease and all that would be a major undertaking, and the place would end up being a fat farm version of Epstein's little island. Still, that would be a very enjoyable way to lose weight and get exercise.

I'll call it "Lucifer's Far Farm" The only dairy will be unpasteurised live-served human milk. Mmmmm mmmmm good.

_Objection, your honor!' - Lucifer

Vicomte13  posted on  2019-08-12   22:32:54 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#110. To: randge (#94)

Pretty certain it was the lunch. I only had toast and coffee for breakfast, and I was whole again right after I lost the lunch. You can't rightly tell about those microscopic bugs.

I had it happen once. A burger from a restaurant was bad when I was a kid. We didn't even make it home before I got violently sick. But once I expelled the food, there was no real illness. The only time I ever thought I had food poisoning.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   1:31:25 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#111. To: watchman, Vicomte13 (#96)

I have a raw milk dairy. Raw milk is legal in Maine and I'm very happy about that. I make all kinds of cheeses (not for sale) and I only trade milk with Christian families (Amish/Mennonite) who would never sue me for any reason!

Interesting. I thought they had forced most of those out of business 4-5 years back. But those cases prosecuted by the feds were for raw milk co-ops, apparently a different matter legally. I've never heard of raw milk dairies before, certainly not in the states I've lived in. You'd hear of people who bought extra milk from someone who still milked cows, usually for their own use and to feed bucket calves with.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   1:35:33 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#112. To: Vicomte13 (#108)

When it comes to dairy, my very favorite thing is a Caprice de Dieux - a French cheese that has only a touch less milkfat than butter. It looks like brie, with the white rind, but it is SOOOO rich and buttery, you just slice it and (nearly) spread it on a baguette. It doesn't QUITE spreqd, it does hold its shape, somewhat, but oh is it rich. Caprice des Dieux - Dieu que c'est bon.

I just resent the fact that I've never even had an unpasteurized cheese, just to try it. The feds decided it's too dangerous for us.

Because, you know, the feds just love and care about us all so much.

Of course, it's another power and control thing, tied up with federal giveaway programs for school lunches and dairy subsidies and a bunch of unelected bureaucrats, many of whom may have enacted this stuff on the basis of very incomplete information at the time, or perhaps bribed by the industries they regulated. Or it might be another instance of industry rotating its managers in and out of political leadership of federal agencies, like we see in the DoD. None of it is actually beneficial to national security or health but it does protect the bottom line at a lot of companies.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   2:01:50 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#113. To: A K A Stone (#105)

Your source information is dated 07/19/19 04:36 PM EDT.
Policito: "President Donald Trump confirmed Friday [07/16/19] that Sen. Rand Paul is involved in diplomatic talks with Iran, referring to the country as “nothing but trouble.”

My source information is dated 07/18/19 01:37 PM EDT.
The Hill: "President Trump on Thursday [07/15/190 disputed that he asked Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to serve as an emissary to Iran following a report that he signed off on the senator's request to help smooth tensions."

Then my source published another article dated 07/19/19 04:24 PM EDT.
The Hill: "President Trump on Friday confirmed he has authorized Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to negotiate with Iran over reducing tensions, reversing himself a day after he denied reports he permitted Paul to serve as an emissary to Tehran."

You are correct - Thank you for the update.

Remember this exchange, Stone.

So, Trump didn’t know on Thursday “whose on first?” and then he remember on Friday that “Rand Paul was not out in left field” like he usually is and that “Rand Paul was now on first.”

Gatlin  posted on  2019-08-13   2:14:54 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#114. To: Vicomte13 (#109)

I have a set of routine foods that I circulate through every week. I live by the Sound here, so every week I have a dosen fresh local oysters. Most days I have a plank of Salmon - I know the Alaska wild caught stuff is supposed to be "better" but the quality Atlantic farmed stuff from Scotland and Norway, is so much richer, that's what I eat - raw with soy, olive oil and dill.

I've never lived anywhere near the fresh fish markets on the coasts. I'm not wild about fish but I do wish I had had more opportunity to buy quality seafood. I'm sure you know the stories about how much fake fish gets sold in America. I think the feds know all about it and just don't enforce their own laws. The full brunt of those laws must be brought to bear on Amish guys selling a little raw milk though. But you can reprocess tilapia and sell it as shrimp or lobster or salmon and no one ever goes to jail. But those Amish don't vote generally and they don't make political contributions like seafood company execs do.

Spinach and collard greens, salad and broccoli, Grapefruit and black berries. Eggs and rye toast for breakfast. I've pretty much singled out all of my favorite foods and eat them over and over. With all that good food, I'm still too fat, but this is a function of calorie intake exceeding output.

I was upset today, wasn't careful, lost my appetite and ate nothing. And got a sinus headache. Sometimes I wonder if I have more of these days than I realize or recall. It's a real problem if you find yourself forcing yourself to eat.

Grapefruit and other citrus tends to give me painful acid stomach. I like broccoli most any way except cooked to death and turned to mush (the only way it was served to us as kids). I like spinach leaves in salads but don't recall eating spinach cooked ever other than some kind of rancid vinegary mess that looked like cat vomit that my mother cooked a few times when I was a kid. Tasted just awful. As with her cooking of sauerkraut a few times, I took my plate and went outside so I wouldn't have to smell it. The whole house just stunk IMO. I can't imagine you are eating anything as gross as that. You mentioned boiling spinach and collard greens. I can't even picture that as anything other than a soggy mess with too strong a taste. But maybe I've misjudged it simply based on bad food prep. Yet I know my mother's family, German and Norwegian types, did their own kraut and horseradish and pickled stuff when she was growing up. So she certainly knew what was considered standard fare for kraut or spinach dishes. And it was all so overcooked, like so much food back in the day. It was only after I grew up that I started liking some of these foods because I never knew when I was a kid that they could be prepared as anything but overcooked and distasteful dishes.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   2:29:55 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#115. To: Gatlin (#113)

The Hill: "President Trump on Friday confirmed he has authorized Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to negotiate with Iran over reducing tensions, reversing himself a day after he denied reports he permitted Paul to serve as an emissary to Tehran."

Rand was not seeking the diplomatic status of an official emissary, something comparable to an ambassador. But Trump did agree to let Rand meet with Iran's foreign minister to try to seek a better outcome. Or at least so Trump could look like he went all out to try to prevent any war later, even allowing the most dovish member of the Senate to meet with the enemy.

No doubt, Pompeo saw to it that Rand was briefed on how to avoid the usual hateful tricks that countries like Iran and the Norks will play on unprepared pols to score propaganda victories.

I doubt very much that Trump believes that Rand can move the needle at all. But he does like Rand, a fellow-outsider in the swamp. And Trump doesn't want to look like a warmonger. It's best to talk peace sincerely while making sure you are ready to unleash hell on an enemy if certain lines are crossed.

So Rand was not an official envoy with diplomatic status. And that is why Trump said he wasn't an envoy. Yet he did have Trump's approval to meet once (or a few times) with the Iranian foreign minister during his visit to the States.

And if Trump does ever have to go after Iran with the military, Rand will find it harder to oppose after he was allowed to extend the olive branch to them. I kind of expect the Iranians to live down to Pompeo's expectations of them. It's so typical of them. Even now, with the regime on the verge of economic collapse, they still keep charging ahead with their project across the Mideast: the Shi'a Crescent.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   2:42:22 ET  (1 image) Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#116. To: Tooconservative (#112)

I just resent the fact that I've never even had an unpasteurized cheese, just to try it. The feds decided it's too dangerous for us.

If they could, they would ban breastfeeding. I guess it is a Puritan thing. Next would be the instant turkey.

Now, there is a key point, one can look at a good real live cheese as an excellent bacterial culture supplement. The bad bugs simple have no chance to compete in this wonderful mini ecosystem.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-13   4:49:36 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#117. To: Tooconservative (#115)

Good map. This "Shi'a Crescent" remind me of Dien Bien Phu, but on a huge scale.

A Pole  posted on  2019-08-13   4:57:08 ET  (1 image) Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#118. To: A Pole (#116)

Now, there is a key point, one can look at a good real live cheese as an excellent bacterial culture supplement. The bad bugs simple have no chance to compete in this wonderful mini ecosystem.

Well, maybe. Despite the probiotics craze, scientists have done a fair amount of research now and say that trying to deliberately induce better gut bacteria via supplements is generally doomed to fail, mostly because people would have to take 100 times more of them to have any real effect. Apparently, the gut has considerable resistance to new flora being introduced. There was a recent success with a probiotic treatment tested in India, mentioned in The Atlantic:

. . .

Since 2008, Panigrahi’s team has been running a large clinical trial in rural India, where they gave a probiotic of their own devising to thousands of randomly selected newborn babies. Their product contained a strain of Lactobacillus plantarum, chosen for its ability to attach to gut cells. The team also added a sugar, chosen to nourish the microbe and give it a foothold when it enters a baby’s gut. Together, this combination is called a synbiotic. And it was strikingly effective.

The team found that babies who took this concoction had a significantly lower risk of developing sepsis—a life-threatening condition where infections trigger body-wide inflammation, restricted blood flow, and organ failure. Sepsis is one of the biggest killers of newborn babies, ending around 600,000 lives every year when they’ve barely begun. Some proportion of these cases begin in the gut, and probiotics might be able to prevent them by ousting harmful microbes, or by stopping benign ones from crossing into the bloodstream and causing infections.

Sure enough, in Panigrahi’s trial, just 5.4 percent of the infants who took the synbiotic developed sepsis in their first two months of life, compared to 9 percent of those who received a placebo. That’s a reduction of 40 percent. Such estimates always come with a margin of error, but the team calculate that the reduction in risk should still be somewhere between 25 and 50 percent.

The effect was twice as large as what the team expected, especially since the infants took daily doses of the synbiotic for just one week. And given the clear evidence of benefits, independent experts who were monitoring the study decided to stop the trial early: It would have been unethical to continue depriving half the newborns of the treatment. Panigrahi originally planned to enroll 8,000 babies into the study. He stopped at 4,557.

. . .

Of course, the probiotic effect may be greater in newborns who haven't really established an immune system and their own gut bacteria. No one seems to have anything comparable for adult subjects. Nevertheless, it was a large study that cut rates of infant sepsis in half with only some daily supplement given for a week.

Perhaps adult probiotics merely need better strains of bacteria to have better penetration into the gut. But so far, it seems that current adult probiotics are a waste of time and can compromise your gut health.

Good map. This "Shi'a Crescent" remind me of Dien Bien Phu, but on a huge scale.

I and others have posted that map before. This Crescent has been Iran's foreign policy objective across the Mideast for at least 15 years. Sometimes a map or picture say more than pages of words.

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   8:49:36 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#119. To: Tooconservative (#115)

even allowing the most dovish member of the Senate to meet with the enemy.

I disagree that Rand is the most dovish.

A K A Stone  posted on  2019-08-13   8:54:24 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#120. To: A K A Stone (#119)

I disagree that Rand is the most dovish.

He'd be close but you're right. There are some Dems that are as antiwar as Rand is. But Rand will actually use filibusters and bill amendments and risk the wrath of the warmongers. The Dem peaceniks tend to fold up quickly when the neocons at the Slimes and WaPo tell them to, just like they did to vote for the invasion of Iraq. Rand won't fold, he's like his dad and will take a lone stand, even if he knows he'll lose.

I should have said Rand is the most dovish member of the Senate who is willing (and happy) to speak with Trump. You know, Trump does place a certain marker on his own opposition to the Iraq invasion back in the day, when Hitlery and Lurch were busy voting for war before they decided they should vote against it and follow Harry Reid in trying to create a crisis over it for partisan advantage (Dem capture of the House/Senate in 2006).

Tooconservative  posted on  2019-08-13   9:19:08 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  



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