shawn disney
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shawn disney commented on You Can't Always Start From Scratch on September 12, 2009, 1:53 PM
Ms. Klein's idea is not very helpful; it suggests immediately the strictest possible "conservatism": even damaging behaviors should not be changed. It would presumably prevent all "revolutions" of any kind. Most of these, it should be noted , didn't involve "starting from scratch" at all, merely repealing , or redirecting, tendencies already there. The Pilgrims brought their philosophy with them; they certainly didn't plan to start from scratch. Nor did our Revolution, or the French. Doing something about an intolerable situation should not be looked on as a deep, troubling social problem in itself. disigny
shawn disney commented on Howard Zinn on the World Today on September 12, 2009, 1:34 PM
Good, now let's get on with it. JW is right that any superpower at all would be rightly suspect, no matter who. And yes, some " world coercize power " is necessary , as a sort of police force. But follow out the thought: isn't it obvious that if no one State could be trusted with this, then either we have constant war,, or we construct a political "police force" with representation of all parties (not just countries, but those without a country , such a Kurds, Tibetans, etc.) And it is obviously necessary to constrain such a powerful body with written laws and procedures, along with checks and balances, which are agreed to in advance. The US constitution would be a good pattern, but any modern one would do. Although the two house system is a beautiful way to deal with the "minority" problem. disigny
shawn disney commented on Can Government and Private Industry Get Along? on August 25, 2009, 8:52 PM
Why does Mr. Cutler suppose that Insurance companies are distressed at 2 million people a year being dropped from coverage? That increases their "Bottom Line". My own feeling is that health care is an inappropriate arena for "pofit making", just as the school system is, and for the same reasons.
Mr. Gelb cogently describes the nuclear standoff with NK. How about following out the logic? Nuclear Weapons as"Security" are neither illegal nor irrational for any Sovereign State. Anyone who thinks they are dangerous should consider the next logical step: make them Illegal (for any country).Of course, a substitute Security program would be necessary, but that merely needs to be "re-invented"; the States of the US are secure from attack by neighboring states, because its "Illegal" … Read More
August 23, 2009 | In Politics & Policy
shawn disney commented on The Case Against Microfinance Loans on September 20, 2009, 12:04 AM
Very interesting, but he never did get to why MF doesn't work in Rwanda. Corrruption, perhaps?