On May 24, 2005, at 9:37 PM, Doug Pensinger wrote:
JDG wrote:
At 02:07 PM 5/24/2005 -0700, Dr. Brin wrote:
For example, that Bill Clinton's record was not just weirdly better -
by classic CONSERVATIVE values - but diametrically opposite to George
Bush's when it comes to:
Your list would be far more persuasive if you had some outside
definition of "classic conservative values", rather than just your
say-so. Instead, it seems like you are defining "classic
conservatism"
as "political positions favored by David Brin," which is wholly
unconvincing.
And your answers would be far more persuasive if they weren't so full
of
desperate rationalizations.
The divisiveness and negativity of this administration are legion never
has one man alienated so many people world wide.
But Dr. Brin hasn't even broached what I consider to be the worst
offenses of the Bush administration; it's disdain for the Geneva
Convention and human rights in general.
Amnesty International's 2005 report certainly agrees with your
assessment. From the press release announcing the report:
The US administration’s attempts to dilute the absolute ban on
torture through new policies and quasi-management speak such as
"environmental manipulation", "stress positions" and "sensory
manipulation", was one of the most damaging assaults on global
values.
Despite the US administration’s repeated use of the language of
justice and freedom there was a huge gap between rhetoric and
reality. This was starkly illustrated by the failure to conduct a
full and independent investigation into the appalling torture and
ill-treatment of detainees by US soldiers in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib
prison and the failure to hold senior individuals to account.
Bush is a bit like the father that thinks that by whipping his children
and locking them in a closet he can get them to do what he wants.
Been reading Lakoff lately? He describes the neocons' highly effective
activation of the "stern father" family model, which works pretty much
just as you describe. Among other things, the "stern father" model
assumes that the world is a dangerous place, so it takes a tough father
to fend off the baddies, children are born bad and have to be
"whipped into shape." Social programs must be eliminated because they
only serve to keep their "children" weak and dependent.
Dave "Teach your children well" Land
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