harrystottle's favorite democracy web sites

Last login: 7 hours agoHarrystottle: Harry is a guy from Bristol, England, UK.; Likes 3,155 pages, 104 videos, 16 photos • 79 fans • Received 9 reviews; Member since Oct 03, 2005

Favorites » His democracy pages

Ask An Atheist: May 11, 4:15pm 1 review anarchism, ethics, religion, democracy, liberty
http://www.askanatheist.org/articles/homosexualsfundamentalists.html; I have a problem with this. Obviously I support their sentiments but the basis of their argument for "not opposing" gay sex is that there may be a genetic predisposition to it in some people and other animals. This is utterly irrelevant.

If I want to get my rocks off fucking the hose off a vaccuum cleaner, that is no business or concern of anyone except me and, perhaps, the owner of said vaccuum cleaner. Providing my behaviour is not causing harm to a 3rd party (without their free and informed consent), no 3rd party has any relevant input into my decision. The same applies to gay sex, premarital sex, the use of recreational drugs, playing violent video games, porn etc etc.

Genetics has buggerall to do with ethics. THAT is the fundamental error made by Leo Strauss - the spiritual father of the Neocons. Let's try to avoid that kind of nonsense on our side of the fence...

What will History Say About Todays America?: May 10, 3:53pm 36 reviews politics, democracy
http://www.populistamerica.com/what_will_history_say_about_todays_america; and this page things that the solution to today's problems is the very American Constitution which has permitted this mess to arise in the first place.

SFWchan - Chan, but Safe For Work - Updated Daily: May 10, 2:54pm 56 reviews atheist, evolution, democracy, atheism
http://www.sfwchan.com/index.php?id=355; what we have to come to terms with here is that this IS representative of the People. This, unfortunately, constitutes one of the most potent arguments against democracy...

MP confesses to horse fetish | Metro.co.uk: May 9, 5:05pm 17 reviews bizarre, democracy, elective-dictatorship
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=84662&in_page_id=2; stupid twat.

And he's a "representative" of the People?

In any sense?

What a depressing idea...

Headlines - Panderers Box | The Daily Show | Comedy Central: May 9, 4:58pm 2 reviews politics, democracy, elective-dictatorship
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=167642&title=panderers-box; Don't take this wrong, overall I enjoyed it. But I can't belly-laugh at stuff like this. Not because I don't appreciate Jon Stewart, he comes out with some good stuff. But what he is illustrating, all too well, is how easily bought and distracted We The People can be. And that aint no joke.

What we desperately need, in this situation, is some biting - genuinely wounding - satire. Satire that makes it difficult for the dictatorship to continue and all we're getting is fairly harmless ridicule of the coronation process.

MotherJones Blog: Ron Paul Loses His Luster: May 5, 4:08pm 2 reviews politics, democracy, liberty, libertarianism
http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/01/6820_ron_paul_loses_his_...; if true, these are sad revelations. I was never a "supporter" of Ron Paul (he opposes my main aim - Democracy) but I did harbour hopes for his candidacy simply because he was, I thought, an honest libertarian. And that - in the absence of democracy - is the best compromise...

The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind: May 1, 4:57pm 1 review philosophy, democracy
http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=BonCrow.sgm&images=images/mod...; "The philosopher who studies social phenomena should bear in mind that side by side with their theoretical value they possess a practical value, and that this latter, so far as the evolution of civilisation is concerned, is alone of importance. The recognition of this fact should render him very circumspect with regard to the conclusions that logic would seem at first to enforce upon him."

mark well, ye worldchangers...

What, for instance, can be more complicated, more logical, more marvellous than a language? Yet whence can this admirably organised production have arisen, except it be the outcome of the unconscious genius of crowds?

Double edged sword. Language, marvel that it is, very clearly illustrates the weakness of crowds just as much as their genius...

Thank You Lt. Ehren Watada - Home: Apr 30, 3:34pm 45 reviews politics, democracy
http://www.thankyoult.org/; the inalienable right of every soldier we ask to go fight and kill on our behalf is to refuse on the grounds that he, personally, has not been convinced that there is an ethical case for such action. This degree of autonomy is a primary, absolutely essential - defining - requirement for democracy.

The Fascist Mask and the continuity of the State of Exception: Naomi (sheep in) …: Apr 29, 4:16pm 3 reviews politics, democracy
http://colonos.wordpress.com/2007/11/02/the-fascist-mask-and-the-continuity-o...; later dude: first impressions favourable...

Noam Chomsky / The Common Good: Apr 28, 5:00pm 2 reviews politics, democracy
http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/chomsky_commongood.html; No, AvangionQ, you are not reading the meaning of the quotation wrongly. Nor is the quotation any kind of revelation or historical precedent. It was merely a more articulate than usual statement of the bleedin obvious amongst the ruling classes going back probably 10,000 years and well documented for at least the last 4,000. Don't forget, Aristotle is writing and describing the philosophy underpinning the single historical experiment of democracy EVER to take place.

The aberration that was Athens 4-6 centuries before Jesus came along is just that, a complete aberration. It has never been repeated.

In all other places and at all other times, the dominant paradigm has been, and remains, that there are people fit to govern and the sheep they need to lead. What Chomsky is pointing out is that there is no law of nature which requires acceptance of this state of affairs. If we get our act together, we can do something about it. That's the point of democracy. Simple really.

The problem is that our continued failure to get said act together actually provides strong evidence that the dominant paradigm is actually a better description of the human condition, than the democratic model. Pathetic really...