tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post5471947048531352787..comments2023-12-28T06:30:48.808-05:00Comments on The Rule of Reason: Philosophical Continental DriftUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-76923138187751235542009-10-10T10:56:12.778-04:002009-10-10T10:56:12.778-04:00Although I am late to this discussion, I want to t...Although I am late to this discussion, I want to throw in my thoughts on immigration.<br /><br />I see two issues being conflated here, immigration as a security issue, and immigration in the context of the welfare state. They are not the same thing. For security reasons, governments can and should restrict immigration if clearly called for as a self-defense measure. The best example would be during wartime.<br /><br />The second issue is immigration in the context of a welfare state. Here it must be understood that the problem is not immigration as such. Rather, the problem is the existence of a welfare state. The overwhelming majority of immigrants do work and "earn" their keep. This is patently obvious when one sees Mexicans and Guatemalans lined up to be part of construction gangs or populating kitchens in New York City, as one commentator correctly observes.<br /><br />Those who want to restrict immigration allegedly because of the problem of welfare are doing nothing at all about the welfare state. In fact, they act to expand it, as both Democratic and Republican administrations have done. Such failure to do anything about welfare belies their alleged motive for restricting immigration, that they are concerned about expanding the welfare rolls. Surely, it is just as easy to pass a law limiting welfare as it is to pass a law building a wall on our southern border. Why is it that the former does not get passed, but the latter does?<br /><br />I would contend that both Democrats and Republicans are incapable of reducing welfare because that would involve acting against their altruist morality. With welfare reduction out of the way, what remains is the hostility of a significant number of Republicans towards those who are not white and "upright Americans", as most of them are or see themselves. (Of course, I use "Republican" loosely, and leave out the many Republicans who do not share such a racist motive.)<br /><br />There is no security issue in letting Mexicans or Central Americans or Asians or most Europeans in our country. They should be allowed in. And to make an effective case against Muslims, *first* one must properly name them as an enemy and endorse the proper strategy towards the states that sponsor terrorism. Our government has done next to nothing in that direction.<br /><br />Restrictions against immigration *do* violate rights (we must bear that in mind). They violate the rights of individuals to freely deal with each other, unencumbered by the coercion the state. If I want to hire someone to work on my construction site, or in my kitchen, or in my chemistry lab, I should be free to do so. The government morally has nothing to say in the matter.<br /><br />The bottom line is that I see a good deal of the argument against immigration hiding under the smokescreen of concern over terrorism, when it really amounts to a fear over having different people come to our shores. I live in New York City and live among a sea of those foreigners. They are not a threat. Rather, they are productive members of our society. They come here, they work hard, and they embrace American values.<br /><br />To the extent they also get sucked into the welfare system, let's abolish that system. But to keep that system untouched and then violate the rights of immigrants and the Americans who deal with them is unjust, and it is backward. The real problem is the violation of rights that comes with the existence of the welfare system.Galileo Blogshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02592692929747610846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-66977230605528682142009-10-07T17:12:26.866-04:002009-10-07T17:12:26.866-04:00Meanwhile back in the lunatic asylum that the UK ...Meanwhile back in the lunatic asylum that the UK has become - '40 fanatics go free from jail.'<br /> <br />They were only plotting mass murder, after all...<br /><br /><br />http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2628304.eceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-5840545255075818192009-10-05T10:39:28.545-04:002009-10-05T10:39:28.545-04:00If it wasn't for Mexicans, every restaurant in...If it wasn't for Mexicans, every restaurant in New York City, common and famous, would be out of business.JMWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-36416955393206442842009-10-05T08:09:51.998-04:002009-10-05T08:09:51.998-04:00Adam,
Most of the statistics I've seen about ...Adam,<br /><br />Most of the statistics I've seen about the Mexican-American community indicate that they have a higher level of "social pathology" (illegitimacy, crime, etc.) than the native population. Talking about any specific person is beside the point. <br /><br />Israel isn't techinically at war with most countries in the Middle East, so I don't see how you could argue for open borders and then make an exception for Israel.<br /><br />While I agree that the host country's culture is important, there is the obvious risk of large numbers of immigrants swamping the culture, so to speak.Neil Parillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-71301699409935384152009-10-04T19:04:29.785-04:002009-10-04T19:04:29.785-04:00I want to thank Grant for bringing a well-written ...I want to thank Grant for bringing a well-written explication to this "debate." For my own part, this will be my last round of comments on the subject of immigration policies. Our current immigration policies are part and parcel of the irrationalism of our foreign polices. My piece was about Muslim immigration, and I think Grant dealt with that subject admirably. It's not about Mexicans or any other national group being restricted entry or citizenship. It's about the U.S. being at war and not dealing effectively with its enemies. The immigration question is very subsidiary to that topic, a secondary subject which won't be resolved until fundamentals are resolved first. <br /><br />Also, I can't recall that I claimed Mr. Reed was dependent on the MSM, so I don't know how he can disagree with me, when I never made such statement. Also, I don't deny that Jerry Yangs et al. can out-think many American native-borns in problem-solving; I never claimed they couldn't. But these phenomena are irrelevant to the subejct I raised, which is Muslim demographics and why the U.S. is in for the same problem that exists in Europe. <br /><br />EdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-58341917484302546612009-10-04T14:54:52.348-04:002009-10-04T14:54:52.348-04:00Adam,
Who said it was an either/or proposition? T...Adam,<br /><br />Who said it was an either/or proposition? To argue that America must gain control of her borders is not to argue against all immigration. To argue that the laws duly passed by Congress dealing with immigration should be enforced is not to oppose legal immmigration. Nor is it to argue against "liberal" immigration policies.<br /><br />Ed's article was specifically about Moslem immigration and what is has wrought in Europe. For that matter the spread of Islam in the last 1400 years has involved such "peaceful" immigrations. Peaceful until their numbers increase to a point were the demands and stealth conquest began. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Mindanao were not conquered by force of arms, but look at what they are today. <br /><br />The U.S. and the West are at war. Care to name the enemy? He hasn't changed all that much since the 7th century. You may claim that by not allowing Moslem immigration the U.S. will be deprived of vital knowledge workers. I will respond by noting that there are bigger issues involved than economics. Moslems won't assimilate; they will demand that we do the assimilating. History and current events support this as fact. Re-read Ed's article on the honor killings and other examples of religious fanaticism that are prepetrated by even educated Moslems. Do a little checking and you will discover that most Mosques in America (and in the West) are controlled and bankrolled by a hostile foreign power. The Saudi Entity makes no bones about their agenda. It is inscribed on their flag. <br /><br />The American people are not obligated to import those hostile to their liberties and way of life. They are not obligated to import a fifth-column that actively works to create a religious tyranny by either stealth or terrorism. They are not obligated to import the inert masses of Moslems who will happily act as a sea of cover for their co-religious activists. Americans are not obligated to import those who will gleefully cut our throats or those who will passively aid and abet the throat cutters. <br /><br />Since you are an academic let me ask you, how many non-sectarian "meditation rooms" in American colleges, and other institutions, have been turned into Mosques? How often in the workplace, in airports, in cabs, in public swimming pools have Americans been asked to make "special accomodations" for Moslems? This is just the beginning. By its nature, Islam cannot tolerate existance in a free, secular society. We will either become dhimmis or we will have to resist the stealth takeover. <br /><br />The most effective and peaceful from of resistance to the stealth Jihad is not to allow Moslems in the country in the first place. If Moslems can't peacefully coexist with non-Moslems in Sweden or Holland, there is NO reason to believe things will be any different in the United States. The issue is NOT the differences between American and Europe. The issue is the nature of Islam.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-66886650414578136372009-10-04T13:19:35.360-04:002009-10-04T13:19:35.360-04:00Ed,
Of course I disagree with your assumption tha...Ed,<br /><br />Of course I disagree with your assumption that I'm dependent on "the MSM" for evidence. There are millions of bloggers and twitterers out there, dozens of search engines, and people, like me or my students, who know how to find the evidence if there were any. There are many words for arguments from no evidence, none of them complimentary.<br /><br />There are different kinds of wars, and the one that America is in cannot be won on battlefields. Amarica's Pragmatist schools have given us a generation of what Leonard Peikoff calls "Johnnies who can't think." And those, except for immigrants and children of immigrants, feel entitled to passing grades for attendance. Talk to any executive in a high-tech industry here, and you will find that some 80% of their best knowledge workers are immigrants. And that former undocumented "aliens" from Mexico who never finished high school are often better problem-solvers than US-born university graduates.<br /><br />For the United States to persist in its current anti-immigration policy would deprive the United States of 80% of its conceptual workforce - from the next Jerry Yang or Sergey Brin to the ex-Mexican technician on my wife's team who can diagnose and fix a chromatograph breakdown that stupefies the typical US-born university graduate in chemical engineering. Making immigration to the United States more difficult would be more than a prescription for America's defeat in the real war. It would be a method of national suicide.Adam Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06823227714918675799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-12527168294056852322009-10-04T07:13:56.352-04:002009-10-04T07:13:56.352-04:00Adam: To briefly rebut some of your latest points:...Adam: To briefly rebut some of your latest points:<br /><br />The U.S. is not at war? How can we explain the recent arrests of Islamists plotting to blow up buildings and the like? Or Iran's threats and nuclear weapons fuel programs? Or the no-win war in Afghanistan? And, I'm betting that the NSA and other federal security and intelligence organizations -- going by their past record and behavior -- are sitting on instances of terrorists infiltrating from Mexico for political reasons. Couple that phenomenon with the MSM that won't report such episodes unless they can't keep a lid on them, and only if it's a premium, ratings-boosting story. The MSM, with few exceptions, is largely allergic to facts -- a condition fatal to the profession of journalism. <br /><br />True, Israel is at war, surrounded by hostile countries, or least penned in by governments hostile to its existence. As for Canada and Mexico, their policies toward the U.S. flip-flop as frequently as our own foreign policy. <br /><br />Note that I remarked that "many Mexicans and other Central Americans come here for the express purpose of getting on all kinds of welfare programs here ...." I didn't say all. Of course there are many exceptions to the rule. The ideal immigration policy would be to not force anyone to jump through bureaucratic hoops to live and work here. You cite your Cal State student out-performing "native" applicants or test-takers. Fine. That episode also points up the common mentality of many Americans raised in a welfare state -- the ones who wanted a passing grade for just showing up in class. Given the obstacles established in this culture to "egalitarianize" ability with mediocrity and non-ability, how difficult a life will she have when she begins to encounter those injustices? (Is the admissions policy at Cal State as corrupt as it is in other schools? I don't know. But I've encountered numerous Ivy League, "native-born" graduates who can't write a straight sentence or do simple math or who think Lincoln okayed the D-Day invasion of Italy -- and that's if they were ever required to study any American or world history.) <br /><br />I agree with your statement about our right to deal with anyone, government-approved or not. But how do we declare evil the policy of government-approval and see it dismantled, when the trend is for the government to extend that policy and power over everyone, born here or not? If I choose not to sign up for government-mandated health insurance or care -- as the creatures in Congress and the White House would demand -- what happens to me next? Do I become a non-person, living under a bridge because the government emptied my checking account as penality, or sit in jail? <br /><br />There are priorities in today's chaotic politics, and, for me, a rational immigration policy -- such as that in force during the Ellis Island era -- cannot be intelligently tackled until other fundamentals are dealt with and resolved first. <br /><br />EdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-74800748947236061822009-10-04T01:37:39.325-04:002009-10-04T01:37:39.325-04:00Ed,
"many Mexicans and other Central America...Ed,<br /><br />"many Mexicans and other Central Americans come here for the express purpose of getting on all kinds of welfare programs here ...."<br /><br />Evidence? All the actual data I've seen tells the opposite story: other things being equal, undocumented immigrants, just like other immigrants, are much <i>less</i> likely than native-born American citizens to use any welfare program.<br /><br />"if Islamic terrorist organizations were not trying to infiltrate operatives and sleepers into the U.S. from Mexico -- and they are doing this..."<br /><br />Again - evidence? There have been, in the last 10 years, two clandestine infiltration attempts from Canada that resulted in arrest of terrorists; <i>zero</i> (as far as I know at this time) from Mexico.<br /><br />Israel is at war, which makes their context radically different from ours.<br /><br />My own experience at Cal State LA has been that, on the whole, undocumented immigrants on the average work harder (and do much more to focus their minds) that born citizens. It is not long since a student in one of my Introduction to Programming classes - a student who had compelling reasons not to divulge her name - was the first candidate in the entire history of the Sun Microsystems Certified Java Associate examination to score a perfect 100% on that test. Many native-born citizen students at the same university tell me that they are entitled to a passing grade for <i>attendence.</i><br /><br />I should add that like every human being on the planet, I have a <i>moral</i> right to deal by mutual agreement with other humans (to hire them to work for me, to sell or rent living space to them, and so on) regardless of their presence on any government's list of government-approved persons. When my government forbids it, it violates my rights - the exact opposite of its proper function.Adam Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06823227714918675799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-19991748628288637972009-10-04T00:53:22.344-04:002009-10-04T00:53:22.344-04:00Ed put it rather better than I did, but yes exactl...Ed put it rather better than I did, but yes exactly.Tim Cnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-43995230091875821282009-10-03T20:05:56.384-04:002009-10-03T20:05:56.384-04:00Neil asks: Do you agree with the open borders appr...Neil asks: Do you agree with the open borders approach advocated by such ARI writers as Craig Biddle and Harry Binswanger?<br /><br />I would if we had no welfare state for parasites to exploit at taxpayer expense -- and many Mexicans and other Central Americans come here for the express purpose of getting on all kinds of welfare programs here (and unlike most Cubans, who came here to take advantage of freedom, not free medical care or welfare stipends) -- and if Islamic terrorist organizations were not trying to infiltrate operatives and sleepers into the U.S. from Mexico -- and they are doing this -- and if there were no racist, super-nationalist organizations such as La Raza who have taken a leaf from the Palestinians and claim that the U.S. "stole" most of the Southwest from Mexicans. <br /><br />I would if there were only a few minor political issues left to resolve and if the U.S. was what the Founders intended this country to be: a republic of individuals whose rights were protected by the government, not violated by it everywhere one turns. That would be the almost perfect, ideal circumstance in which I would agree without reservation about "open borders." <br /><br />Years ago the U.S. had an "open door" policy that admitted mostly the able, the skilled, the educated, and the accomplished. That policy was scrapped (thru the efforts of the likes of Ted Kennedy) as "discriminatory," and replaced with one that discriminated against the able, the skilled, the educated, and the accomplished, in favor of their antipodes. <br /><br />If Israel adopted an "open borders" policy, it would cease to exist much sooner than a generation. It would be suicide. There are just too many collectivist ideologies extant hostile to any civilized country, ideologies and organizations whose existence is funded by especially American foreign aid. <br /><br />Most civilized, semi-free countries like the U.S. and Israel must adopt a siege policy vis-a-vis immigration. I will concede that most "illegal" Mexicans who manage to cross the border do not have conquest in mind or are not motivated by political aims. But, they are basically clueless pawns of organizations (and of many members of Congress) whose aims are not benign and who wish to destroy this country from within. <br /><br />If the U.S. had a consistent, rational foreign policy, and if it were a truly free country, these issues and questions would never arise. But because the U.S. is under attack, and because those charged with defending it are doing such a pitifully ineffective job of it, this question of "open borders" is way down near the bottom of my list of questions to address and resolve.<br /><br />EdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-22851972152750121102009-10-03T18:21:39.720-04:002009-10-03T18:21:39.720-04:00Mr. Cline,
Do you agree with the open borders app...Mr. Cline,<br /><br />Do you agree with the open borders approach advocated by such ARI writers as Craig Biddle and Harry Binswanger?<br /><br />If Israel adopted Biddle's position it would be Islamic in a geeneration.<br /><br />-Neil ParilleNeil Parillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-82266364178706548552009-10-03T16:02:41.828-04:002009-10-03T16:02:41.828-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Adam Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06823227714918675799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-31757025138386342692009-10-03T16:00:06.769-04:002009-10-03T16:00:06.769-04:00Re Habermas:
Habermas fuses American Pragmatism w...Re Habermas:<br /><br />Habermas fuses American Pragmatism with the the original post-Modern doctrine, that of neo-Marxist Herbert Marcuse (specifically, Marcuse's doctrine that knowledge is, and cannot be anything other than, a "socially constructed" rationalization of class interests. This doctrine is the origin of what is called in contemporary sociology the "critical theory.") Habermas is also the mentor of a mind-boggling gaggle of incredible crackpots, including anarcho-racist "Libertarian" Hans-Hermann Hoppe of the von Mises Institute.<br /><br />Tim C.,<br /><br />The critical variable is cultural assimilation and bi-culturalism (in America) versus cultural collectivism and cultural exclusivism (in Europe.) European multiculturalism (EM) differs from its American academic counterpart (AM) in that the European multiculturalists believe that cultures are necessarily collective, and that a person, family etc. can only authentically belong to one cultural collective at a time. The Americanized version considers culture an individual choice, and advocates "bi-culturalism" with a second cultural identity as an optional value. In general (that is, with exceptions being literally one-in-a-thousand) adherence to nominal Islam in America has no more existential import than adherence to nominal Christianity or nominal Judaism. In America, the welfare housing projects and the "no-go zones" are not ruled by immigrants, but rather by native, literalist Christians.Adam Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06823227714918675799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-65275015012410247442009-10-03T10:05:04.674-04:002009-10-03T10:05:04.674-04:00Great essay, Mr. Cline.
Interestingly, Objectivis...Great essay, Mr. Cline.<br /><br />Interestingly, Objectivists usually argue in principle for open immigration here (in the US). I hadn't really considered this before, but this presupposes a republic rather than a democracy - in other words, a situation where a shifting majority won't have an adverse affect (or, at least a situation where those coming in desire to actually assimilate). <br /><br />We don't have the first situation in the US today, nor the second really (not just with Muslims; there are many Mexicans who have in mind restoring territory that was once Mexican - there was even a flap over this in alcohol advertising somewhat recently); the arguments for open immigration should thus be reconsidered.Tim Cnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-31585492281150403892009-10-03T08:01:07.076-04:002009-10-03T08:01:07.076-04:00Adam Thanks for the notes on Habermas, with whom I...Adam Thanks for the notes on Habermas, with whom I am not familiar (nor likely to become, given just the one quotation of him of mine, and now your own observation). If he's the best Europeans can throw back at the Islamists, they're further along suicide than I could imagine. Seems that he's a philosophical cheat, as you explicate his skewed view of Christianity. Since you're familiar with his ouvre, what exactly does he advocate (in 20 words or fewer!)? <br /><br />Long ago I saw a movie when it first came out, 1965 -- one of the last unsullied epics to come out of Hollywood -- "Khartoum," which opened my eyes to the similarities between Islam and Christianity, about the conflict between General Gordon and the first modern Mahdi in the Sudan. I won't recap the story line here, but Gordon (played by Charlton Heston, the Mahdi by Laurence Olivier) rhetorically asks the Mahdi at their last secret meeting, after the Mahdi informs him that he plans to attack Khartoum and kill anyone in it who doesn't submit, "Whose God will be remembered: yours or mine?" (Probably not the exact line.)<br /><br />Of course, in 1965, the Islamic threat was not an issue, not perceived to be a threat. But Yasir Arafat, for example, formerly of the Egyptian army that fought against Israel, was putting together the PLO, while the first major wave of Muslims was in Europe performing the "dirty" work that Europeans didn't want to do.<br /><br />EdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-1047971242007124652009-10-03T02:07:17.915-04:002009-10-03T02:07:17.915-04:00Where to begin?
"Marshall cites German philo...Where to begin?<br /><br /><b>"</b>Marshall cites German philosopher Jurgen Habermas, an atheist, who acknowledged:<br /><br />“Christianity, and nothing else, is the ultimate foundation of liberty, conscience, human rights, and democracy, the benchmarks of civilization. To this we have no other options. We continue to nourish ourselves from this source. Everything else is postmodern chatter.”<br /><br />Or post-reason chatter, which is the same thing. Christianity might have once been the “ultimate foundation of liberty, conscience, human rights, and democracy.”<br /><br />But, no longer.(....)<b>"</b><br /><br />Habermas himself is very much a post-modern pseudo-philosopher, however much he may pretend otherwise, and he is (about this point, and about nearly everything else he ever wrote about) utterly wrong. Everything that Habermas attributes to Christianity is either a part of the Hellenistic heritage that Christianity suppressed until the Renaissance (an implicitly anti-Christian intellectual revolt that revived the values of pre-Christian Hellenism,) or one of the fruits of the Enlightenment, a rather explicit revolt against the Christian churches (albeit paying occasional lip service to Christianity as a feckless sop to the censors.)<br /><br />Islam is a danger to the values of the Enlightenment because it is a more sincere inheritor of all core Christian values in their original, un-compromised, anti-Hellenistic essence. And of course it is precisely Christian values - turning the other cheek, <i>Imitatio Dei,</i> society as a "superorganism" with a vicar of God at its head - that are the operational causes of the ongoing surrender of Western Europe to Islam.Adam Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06823227714918675799noreply@blogger.com