Mind Like A Steel Trap… a Closed One

I usually don’t waste the time pointing the inanities of my fellow local columnist and blogger, Mark Peterson, but this was too annoying to pass up.

It is probably a generational disability, but I have never been able to understand, or accept, the possibility of a 20 year old Republican; such a thing violates the laws of nature and the revolutionary traditions of this country.

Bear in mind that Peterson is a professor who allegedly teaches 20-year-olds - many of them Republicans.  Does he really view them with such disdain?  He can’t “accept the possibility” that they exist?  They “violate(s) the laws of nature?” 

That’s a pretty closed mind for a philosophy professor who is tasked with educating young minds. 

1. Of all the comments Mark Peterson makes, this is the one to take issue with? Must be a slow day in the blog-o-sphere… Come on Owen, we expect more from you.

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 21, 2010 at 1433 hrs




2. I see your point Owen.  This abuts to stories in the past few years about the value of an American college degree.

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 21, 2010 at 1925 hrs




3. Where in that sentence does he express disdain?  Seems more a comment about how he can’t understand the how a 20 year old aligns with Republican ideology, but not that he holds disdain for such an individual.

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 21, 2010 at 1934 hrs




4. I thought I read in one or more respected studies that conservatism is often acquired with age; on the other side, youth tend to be idealistic, i.e., liberal.  Hence, since I’m halfway through this journey, being a moderate seems practical: Neither extreme.
   Then again, sweeping generalities and stereotypes of all sorts, while they have a grain of truth, are as murky as the bottom of a well.

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 21, 2010 at 2008 hrs




5. “but I have never been able to understand, or accept,” might be what your looking for, George.

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 0219 hrs




6. Too bad we have to send our kids into the environment he works in just to get further educated.  They insist on pushing the agenda, and it takes years to get them back on track of becoming clear thinking, responsible adults.  Funny how they preach “share the wealth” yet want money to do it…..

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 0748 hrs




7. The cows comments prove his world view is distorted because
   any parent knows that children start off wanting to do whats right but as they get older some become democrats. 

   I doubt Obama was born a secular socialist or Muslim sympathizer. No doubt he was taught it.

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 0807 hrs




8. “but I have never been able to understand, or accept,”

   Not understanding how something exists, or even accepting its possibility, does not equal disdain.

   Stop trying to pick fights with everyone different than you.

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 0828 hrs




9. what a stretch, George…

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 0901 hrs




10. Tsk.

    Well, bear in mind that the idea of a 20 year old supporter of Richard Nixon, at that time, didn’t make much sense.  Still doesn’t….unless you were Karl Rove or Danny Quale.  Or Owen I suspect. 

    I imagine that like the militaristic right-wingers of that time, Owen also believes it was a good thing those damned hippies got killed at Kent State.  American marksmanship at it’s finest perhaps?

    But… I was being ironic.  It’s true, I see, that the second thing you lose in the garlic mustard of epistemic closure—after perspective—is a sense of humour. 

    —I mean, the front piece of this blog is a photograph of Owen wearing jodhpurs.  And he’s not smiling.

    
    hiho
    Mp

    Posted by Mpeterson on May 22, 2010 at 0905 hrs




11. I imagine that like the militaristic right-wingers of that time, Owen also believes it was a good thing those damned hippies got killed at Kent State.

    So because we disagree I now think it’s good for protesters to get killed?  I suppose you can’t accept me either, eh?  Your world view is seriously flawed, Mark.

    Posted by Owen on May 22, 2010 at 0911 hrs




12. What a brilliant display of ignorance regarding conservatives and guns.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 0913 hrs




13. “I have never been able to understand”

    A real analytical mind we have here. Then again, I guess you have to “want” to understand a condition before being abler to consider what makes it occur.
    Yes, they are all empty vessels, unless of course they agree with the esteemed “professor”.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 0943 hrs




14. But… I was being ironic.  It’s true, I see, that the second thing you lose in the garlic mustard of epistemic closure—after perspective—is a sense of humour.

    Read the piece, missed the irony. Perhaps you need a bit of work on your style.

    I think your problem is that you assume 20 year olds to be immature and emotional rather than mature and reasonable.

    Why are there 20 year old Republicans? Because some people grow up faster than others.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 1009 hrs




15. Cow said - ” such a thing violates the laws of nature and the revolutionary traditions of this country.”

    Even the cow knows there is no one now that compares with the strong moral convictions of right and wrong that founded our country.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 1039 hrs




16. I think that the vast majority of young people are apthetic at best. They look at the world through their own experiences which are few considering their age. If a 20 year old has a party at all it is not political. Those that have chosen a party have been exposed to it thoroughly by the adults in their life and have been wired to think the way they are shown.

    My father was a die hard Republican even through the Nixon age which is why I avoided thinking about politics for many years. As I got older I looked at the partys again and decided that one party gave its members more of a range of opinion which seemed to make sense. It is difficult to to the party line when being forced to change your thinking on this issue or that to suit them. I guess that is why I chose to align with the Democrats and that is precisely why the Democrats are weaker when it comes to solidarity.
    I can be pro-life and a Democrat but it would be very hard to be pro-choice and be a Republican.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 1049 hrs




17. Seems that a party would be a group of like minded people pursuing a set of ideas. If you have a party that does not care about the range of ideas of it’s members, then what point is there in supporting such an organization. You’d never know what you are going to get.

    I prefer to see some sort of foundation of beliefs in a political organization… not just a group of people who crave power and are willing to kow-tow to whatever groups seems a bunch of likely voters this week, only to discard those people next week.

    As for pro-life Democrats…. that’s a laugh. In the end, if you are pro-life, your Democrat legislator will likely sell you out the way Bart Stupak did. Democrat first, adherent to principle second.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 1102 hrs




18. Moveforward,

    I’ve voted republican my whole life and I’m pro-choice.  (I think abortion is a horrible choice, just don’t think it should be something the feds should care about either way.  I guess it all starts from where you are looking at, as I find democrats to be homogenous, non thinkers.  And I guess we do change as we mature.  I’d say I grow more libertarian all the time…don’t have much use for government after police and roads, etc…but I have been a strong republican since I was in middle school.  (Helped that Carter was a complete idiot..) 

    I do understand the propensity of the suburban liberal kids to think that throwing money at problems rather than demanding personal responsibility.  I grew up in a crappy part of town where half of my friends were in the housing projects.  And it was easy to tell from an early age, the destruction that liberal guilt has heaped upon large swaths of our population. 

    “Government - If you think the problems we create are bad, just wait until you see our solutions.”

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 1250 hrs




19. I prefer to see some sort of foundation of beliefs in a political organization… not just a group of people who crave power and are willing to kow-tow to whatever groups seems a bunch of likely voters this week, only to discard those people next week.

    I prefer to be able to make up my own mind and to keep it open to being changed. I am not 100% with the Democratic Party but I avoid being hypocritical to myself by doing my own thinking. It seems to me that the Republicans are the ones that crave power above all else. String me up, I know it is coming.

    (I think abortion is a horrible choice, just don’t think it should be something the feds should care about either way.

    That is what most Democrats think contrary to what many on here might think. Nobody thinks abortion is preferable. Making it illegal would not stop it and could make matters worse. We’ve already been there.

    don’t have much use for government after police and roads, etc…

    Along with fire and ambulance, water and sewer, libraries and schools…, all of these things are getting fairly expensive. Social Security and Medicare are a major drain on our finances as well. The tea party Republicans might attack them but they are no more interested in doing anything to curb the costs than the other party. The next 20-30 years are going to be tough on those programs with the baby boomers retiring. We need to recognize the need to pay a little more now rather than suck it all at once later.

    “Government - If you think the problems we create are bad, just wait until you see our solutions.”

    I agree with that somewhat. Surprised? The government is a necessary “evil” because in the modern world we cannot trust each other to do what is right. I cannot get behind de-regulation of businesses because many of them are out to screw you without having any conscience. We see it everyday and some argue that we should leave them be, they have all the power the way it is. You might say that if you are getting ripped off you just go to the competition but many do not have competition such as electric companies.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 1333 hrs




20. Oh Oh Oh an “our government people are better than your government people” fight!

    Set it on a playground and even the kiddies would be embarrassed.  What a wonderful mature system, I can’t wait to vote and get involved!

    Posted by Jay4Liberty on May 22, 2010 at 1602 hrs




21. Not fighting, just keeping it real. Your government people are no better than mine considering they are all the same.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 1617 hrs




22. Moveforward,

    I don’t see evil in corporations…they are what they are…and in most cases the market regulates them fairly well.  If they don’t take care of their customers they fail.  i do however see evil in most government organizations.  They don’t have to serve a customer, they own us.  That is why we end up paying twice as much for a government employee than a private one doing the same thing.  $150,000 bus drivers, $100K painters, 70% benefits rates….. 

    And beyond the amount they are robbing us, they have absolutlely no incentive to cut costs or positions.  There are few problems that government should be concerned with and even fewer they do well at solving.  I don’t even believe in public schools.  Give every kid X dollars and let the market work it out.  perhaps we would need them in some remote areas, but private schools can teach our kids just as well for half the cost.

    You’d have a hard time naming a social program that I think solves more problems than it creates, and the few that are nacessary would be much better off in the private sector.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 1946 hrs




23. Curt,
    I agree with much of what you are saying but the point I tried to make is that neither party will try to solve it. We had several years of Republican control before the Democrats took over. Neither side has the will to reduce these costs. The difference is that the Democrats don’t even pretend to say that they will. Some Republican officials (I won’t say all) raise big issue with the spending when they campaign but they never tried to reduce it even when they owned both houses and the White House. the same thing has happened in Wisconsin, Republican or Democrat control has only resulted in higher taxes. I take issue with the false promises that they make.

    I am not sure about your comment about the school system. I don’t see where private schools do better for less. They are not required to handle special needs children and can deny any student they don’t have the ability to afford a special teacher. The public schools are required to make special accomodations for all children regardless of their ability. I am not saying that something could not be done to change the formula, many people have tried. Our constitution guarantees that all children have the right to an education no matter their ability, this is why it is necessary to have a government run system.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 2150 hrs




24. I’ve been an idealistic conservative my whole life - Ever since I heard Reagan speak in 1976 and got my first subscription to National Review.

    Being conservative and idealistic are not mutually exclusive - it is the same combination that brought many of us to join the military.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 2159 hrs




25. I agree that there needs to be a component that probably needs to be public, but it should be tiny.  Private schools certainly teach on average as well as the public schools, and your average private school isn’t paying $140 for a teacher.  (every one of my sons teachers make over 80K a year plus amazing benefit package for a part time job.  Good teachers for the most part, although there are a few that don’t even make a show of pretending to teach any more, since they have pretty much a guarenteed job for life. 

    I agree both sides are unlikely to cut spending, and I’m not a big fan of most republicans, but no republican administration would have blown a trillion dollars on the curropt and wasteful government spending binge that we called a stimulus package.  I didn’t like Bush, and I thought he spent like a drunken sailor, but as you said the democrats don’t even pretend they are going to control spending.  They may be more honest that way, but the end result is MUCH worse.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 22, 2010 at 2200 hrs




26. The Republicans need to be driven by a strong fiscally conservative movement… large enough and vocal enough to sway primary elections. The “can’t we all just get along” moderates, and the country club theoretical GOPer’s need to be pushed aside if they start to move to the liberal side of the aisle. If you run as a conservative, you’ll win. If you govern as a conservative, you’ll succeed. The ones who choose to go native once they are in Madison and DC need to be run out in the next primary.

    We are at a crossroads. We have to decide if we want free markets, free choices, and take the road to the shining city on the hill, or if we wish to take the road to socialism and wind up in the city of Athens in a bankrupt nation on the dole.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 23, 2010 at 0844 hrs




27. Hard to believe that Owen could get 26 responses to the origional blog.

    Faux outrage over a statement that was made tongue in cheek.

    Professor Peterson"s column is an erudite response to the inanities of news columns from Owen on a bad day, the shrewish Ann Coulter,the learned and simultaneously clueless Thomas Sowell and one columnist who"s become famous only for sleeping with semi famous Milwaukee personalities.

    Judy Steffes and Professor Peterson"s column are the 2 reasons you would buy the Saturday paper

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 23, 2010 at 0939 hrs




28. Faux outrage over a statement that was made tongue in cheek.

    Outrage? I see some mocking… perhaps a bit of ridicule too… maybe a smattering of criticism as well.

    Just another closed minded professor preaching from the liberal pulpit rather than trying to offer a forum for critical thought. Pretty typical stuff.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 23, 2010 at 1005 hrs




29. Outrage is certainly too strong a word.  ASOL is right, that is what we have come to expect, although I’d certainly makes me sad to think my tax dollars pay braindead non thinkers like that professor.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 23, 2010 at 1136 hrs




30. The Republicans need to be driven by a strong fiscally conservative movement

    
    Let me know when that happens, though I doubt it will ever be in my life time.  There are no real true conservatives as long as we continue to spend a trillion dollars a year to support our welfare military economy.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 23, 2010 at 1434 hrs




31. Hearing people talk about the evil military industrial cabal never gets old. It sounds just as silly now as it did the first time I heard it in college. You amuse me Pat.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 23, 2010 at 1546 hrs




32. Maybe a trillion dollars a year isn’t much to you SOL, but it is to me. And I don’t find that amusing. As a fiscal conservative I find it appalling, not funny.

    With over 737 U.S. Military Bases around the planet and a military employment of 2,500,000, it looks like we are attempting to create a world empire.

    When the rest of the world combined spends about as much as the the US does on the military, which I don’t find amusing, I think it’s time everyone else steps up starts taking care of itself.

    It’s crazy, not amusing, that we borrow money from China to protect Japan from China.

    Not very amusing at all.  But, SOL, I’m glad I can bring a smile to your face.  Maybe some day you’ll take your head out of the sand and be a real fiscal conservative.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 23, 2010 at 1909 hrs




33. @Pat

    *Standing Ovation*

    Now that you’ve besmirched the glorious Mother Countries military, prepare to have every “liberal” tag stuck to you.

    Posted by Jay4Liberty on May 23, 2010 at 2020 hrs




34. prepare to have every “liberal” tag stuck to you.

    Only by CINO’s

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 23, 2010 at 2034 hrs




35. Only by CINO’s

    Like the ones at the last tea party chanting for Tommy Thompson?

    Posted by Jay4Liberty on May 23, 2010 at 2128 hrs




36. We have to decide if we want free markets, free choices, and take the road to the shining city on the hill, or if we wish to take the road to socialism and wind up in the city of Athens in a bankrupt nation on the dole.

    Hear, hear.  Well said.

    Posted by GAMazy on May 24, 2010 at 0631 hrs




37. Judy Steffes and Professor Peterson"s column are the 2 reasons you would buy the Saturday paper

    Are you kidding me?  One only needs to open the paper, read “Around the Bend” for real coverage of what is taking place in the community in a very condensed, entertaining and efficient manner, then close the paper, roll it up and save for firestarters.  I’ve heard time and again that people buy the Saturday paper just for that reason.  OTOH, I have also heard people state they have dc’d their paper because they are fed up with MPs weekly discourse of his community.  I, however, prefer not to waste paper and get the on-line version.  That way, I never have to be exposed to any Saturday garbage.  Click.

    Posted by GAMazy on May 24, 2010 at 0639 hrs




38. It’s crazy, not amusing, that we borrow money from China to protect Japan from China.

    No, we borrow money from China so that we can build tunnels under the freeway for turtles using Stimulus money, and fund ACORN, and so that our bungler in chief can play auto manufacturing mogul. We borrow money to pay for Nancy Pelosi’s booze bill and so that Harry Reid can bribe Senators to vote for a health care plan that will require us to borrow more money from China, even though the people don’t want it.

    A real conservative would go after the graft and the items that are 100% waste first. A real conservative would go after the big government extra-constitutional waste… not support the people who created it. Trim military waste? Fine… but keep it the best in the world. It’s actually one item that our federal taxes are supposed to fund though…

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 24, 2010 at 0750 hrs




39. Even the cow knows there is no one now that compares with the strong moral convictions of right and wrong that founded our country.

    You mean those strong convictions like it was good and right to own other human beings and to trade and sell them like cattle?

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 24, 2010 at 0949 hrs




40. One only needs to open the paper, read “Around the Bend” for real coverage of what is taking place in the community

    That may be the single stupidest thing ever put on this blog.  Jusy Steffes is not a journalist and what she writes is, at best, gossip.  If that is why you subscribe to the WB Daily Snooze then you are an idiot.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 24, 2010 at 0959 hrs




41. I know it sounds like a broken record but our borrowing from China did not start in the last year and a half. Did it get worse? Yes, but it has been going on a long time and very few fussed before.

    I agree with Pat that we should stop trying to police the world and bring the troops home to work for us here. Why do we protect the world when we need to work for our own well being?

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 24, 2010 at 2101 hrs




42. What wasn’t perfectly clear, apparently, is that I’ve never really articulated my world view; I’ve only critiqued yours.  What’s perfectly clear is that you’ve understood that critique as well as you understand Adam Smith.

    Sorry guy.  We’ll have coffee sometime and go through the text more carefully if you like.  You’d like him even more if you did.

    
    hiho

    Posted by Mpeterson on June 01, 2010 at 0719 hrs