Recent Comments
Health Care and Social Obligations
Comment posted by Zippy on May 16, 23:19:
Where does this legitimate claim come from, Zippy? I did not even so much as say that there was one. I simply pointed out that you were begging the question. Funny thing is, no one can actually agree as to what natural law dictates. Yes, well, the fact ... [More]
Health Care and Social Obligations
Comment posted by MikeT on May 16, 21:06:
2) "Without just cause" begs the question, since precisely what is at issue is the extent to which (for example) a literally starving (that is, literally dying of starvation) man has legitimate claim to a wealthy man's bread. Where does this legitimate ... [More]
Gaseous Clouds of Self-Deception
Comment posted by George R. on May 16, 20:33:
For example, in a 'decapitation strike' on a public restaurant which happens to be where the enemy leader is having dinner, the deaths of civilians are not accidental. Zippy, are you going to start this again? Rob G, Orthodox thought is evidently a curi ... [More]
Health Care and Social Obligations
Comment posted by Rob #2 on May 16, 18:45:
Never mind the wealthy man and his bread; we can see that he has had his reward. I don't know if a starving man has a right to eat and live, or not; I do believe, however, that even a poor man has an obligation to share that bread with the starving man. ... [More]
Irena Sendlerowa, R.I.P.
Comment posted by Lydia on May 16, 17:45:
That's an amazing story. I was just reading a Holocaust survivor story about a boy who was rescued in that way from a Polish ghetto, so perhaps by this very woman or her co-workers. The Independent obit. says the bribed guard let her out and said, "Run." ... [More]
Irena Sendlerowa, R.I.P.
Comment posted by aristocles on May 16, 17:24:
Steve states: "Though she was nominated last year for the Nobel Peace Prize (won, absurdly enough, by Al Gore, ..." Zippy remarks: I'm speechless. Don't attack the 'Gore'! After all, not only the Nobel, he also won an Oscar, a music award, and don't fo ... [More]
Health Care and Social Obligations
Comment posted by Zippy on May 16, 17:20:
Slavery is nothing more than the condition of being coerced to work for someone else's benefit without compensation or where they confiscate part of your compensation without just cause. This sentence seems to be constructed to be true by definition (with ... [More]
Health Care and Social Obligations
Comment posted by MikeT on May 16, 16:43:
The sick do not have a right to our money, in order to procure treatment, not even the comparative pittance factored into an insurance premium so that such higher risks might be adequately underwritten. Presumably, a starving man would not have a right to ... [More]
Irena Sendlerowa, R.I.P.
Comment posted by Zippy on May 16, 16:25:
Though she was nominated last year for the Nobel Peace Prize (won, absurdly enough, by Al Gore, ... I'm speechless. ... [More]
Islam and Free Speech.
Comment posted by Kevin on May 16, 12:44:
Paul, We can all agree this is an act of cowardice perpetrated by geldings frantically working to postpone their own richly deserved demise. Note, the "artist's" penchant for porn is not the reason for his arrest. Says it all. "...the cartoonist was arre ... [More]
Gaseous Clouds of Self-Deception
Comment posted by Rob G on May 16, 11:48:
"I make flat out emphatic declaration that IT IS NOT TRUE that all contemporary wars MUST directly target civilians." Never said that. What I said was that all modern wars DO directly target civilians, by virtue of the fact that 'total war' is the curren ... [More]
Gaseous Clouds of Self-Deception
Comment posted by Zippy on May 16, 11:47:
If these conditions are present, then killing enemy soldiers and accidentally killing civilians is morally identical to a policeman shooting an armed and enraged berserker and killing a bystander accidentally. Good summary - though an important point whi ... [More]
Gaseous Clouds of Self-Deception
Comment posted by Kevin on May 16, 11:42:
doubtingT, What did JPII say about our bombing of Belgrade, either before, or after it happened? Trading on his moral authority requires more than a vague assertion. You are correct when saying there are worse things than material defeat in war, which m ... [More]
Gaseous Clouds of Self-Deception
Comment posted by doubting t on May 16, 11:11:
Eastern Orthodox teaching - as expressed by you - has no just war "theory". That is not logically equivalent to saying all wars are unjust under such teaching. It could be that there is no body of knowledge treated as a single group to be called "just wa ... [More]
Islam and Free Speech.
Comment posted by Paul J Cella on May 16, 10:32:
the technological advances have out-stripped our moral development. Let's not pretend otherwise, or be so sanguine about the application of force. Fair enough, Kevin. I'm sympathetic to this concern. ... [More]
Islam and Free Speech.
Comment posted by Lydia on May 16, 10:23:
"Most of your other concerns are addressed by the law presently." Really? I was under the impression that we were _increasing_ Muslim chaplains. We also are so far from encouraging clear and true speaking that we are proscribing the word 'jihad' in our St ... [More]
Islam and Free Speech.
Comment posted by Kevin on May 16, 10:22:
Lydia, Warfare has come a long way since the days of Charles Martel. The technological advances have out-stripped our moral development. Let's not pretend otherwise, or be so sanguine about the application of force. Civilization or barbarism. It's hard to ... [More]
Islam and Free Speech.
Comment posted by M.Z. Forrest on May 16, 10:15:
We owe no deference to the doctrines of the Islamic religion. We owe no particular respect to that religion's prophet. You will not find support for that anywhere. You can argue the floor is too high, and I would tend to agree that it is in our PC cultur ... [More]
Islam and Free Speech.
Comment posted by M.Z. Forrest on May 16, 10:12:
You missed the point Lydia. It was a rough substitution of: I should be able to insult Islam and Muslims shouldn't get offended if I insult Islam because that would be a condemnation of my culture. I'll keep my eye out for foot bathers. Most of your oth ... [More]
Islam and Free Speech.
Comment posted by Paul J Cella on May 16, 10:07:
I afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Forrest, on the "Harvard or wherever art student being provocative and edgy with her abortion art," so I can't comment on that. As for this idea of playing "this little game of defending vile garbage" w ... [More]