Tag: Reason Magazine

This is why I moderate my comments

Because I am not about to ever get myself in this sort of a position, ever.

Check it out:

The Justice Department has issued a federal grand jury subpoena to Reason, a prominent libertarian publication, to unmask the identity of commenters who made alleged threats against a federal judge.In the June 2 subpoena, first published by the blog Popehat on Monday, the Justice Department orders Reason to provide a federal grand jury with “any and all identifying information” on the identities of commenters who mused about shooting federal judges and/or feeding them through a wood chipper.A May 31 article on Reason’s blog about the prosecution of Silk Road founder Ross “Dread Pirate Roberts” Ulbricht spurred the anonymous commenters’ vitriol. Ulbricht pleaded for leniency, but a federal judge sentenced Ulbricht to life in prison without parole for setting up the illicit online drug market.“It’s judges like these that should be taken out back and shot,” one Reason commenter wrote.“It’s judges like these that will be taken out back and shot,” another responded.“Why waste ammunition? Wood chippers get the message across clearly,” a third wrote. “Especially if you feed them in feet first.”Another comment suggested shooting such judges on courthouse steps instead.Other comments flagged by the Justice Department were less violent, such as one that wished for “a special place in hell reserved for that horrible woman.”In the subpoena, the Justice Department says it is seeking evidence regarding possible violations of federal laws against interstate threats. — Source: Justice Department Subpoenas Reason.com To Unmask Commenters – BuzzFeed News

There is an argument and a counter-argument to be made here. The Conservatives are most likely saying that this is just more of “Obama’s America” at work and that, “This sort of thing did not happen during the Bush-era.” Well, there is a good reason for that.

President George W. Bush served in office from 2000 until 2008. Blogging really took off in 2003 and especially in 2004. Back then, TypePad was king, Blogger, which was owned then by Pyra Labs; was second and WordPress was just getting started. Blogging was being done, mostly by a few enterprising people, who saw potential in this new medium. Back then, the Government mostly viewed blogging as a novelty and rarely paid attention to it. Back in those days, the comments section on blogs, were like the “Wild West” as was most of the internet back then.

Well, things have changed. Blogs are now lumped in with this new buzzword: Social Media. They are a small part of it; because it is now dominated by Facebook, Twitter and the rest. But, it is still there and as a result; the Government is actually paying attention. Also too, I think Bush didn’t allow for the Government to do stuff like this, is because Bush did not, especially after 2006, want to be perceived as using the Government to stifle freedom of speech, especially among his harshest of critics.  More than anything, I just happen to believe that the Government is simply paying more attention, especially seeing that we have a black President.

Another thing is simply boils down to, is this here: Don’t threaten Government employees, like judges. That is just plain common sense. Judges do not make laws, they simply enforce them and make decisions based on case-law and the constitution and laws passed by the lawmakers. They are simply just doing their jobs. Just like them so-called racist white cops that I keep hearing about all the time.

Again, this is just all good common sense; something that in this politically polarized society that we live in today, is in dreadfully short supply.

Others: Wall Street Journal, Popehat, Raw Story, Balloon Juice, Bloomberg View,The Daily Caller, The Last Refuge, The Verge and Washington Post, Bloomberg View, Forbes, Techdirt, The Daily Caller, @mrfopow, The Verge,@popehat, @puellavulnerata, @wendymcelroy1 and Mediashift

Stupidity from Reason Magazine’s Hit and Run blog

Oh yeah, this is weapons-grade idiocy here:

So let’s get this straight: Like a marauding elephant, America sticks its trunk in Latin America, snorts out NBCone-trillion in military and other aid to stop the flow of drugs that Americans want, gives a huge push to drug cartels in these countries who unleash all kinds of unspeakable atrocities on innocent civilians, and now, when these civilians desperately try and get their children out of harm’s way by grasping at a Bush-era law that is required to give them a hearing, nativists march on the street blathering about America’s national sovereignty?

Where were they when their guvmint (which is about to authorize nearly $4 billion in emergency funding to deport these kids immediately) was violating the sovereignty of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala — the three countries from where most of the  unaccompanied minors are coming from?  These countries enjoy the highest murder rate in the world, thanks, in part, to our drug war.

via Let the Kids Stay: The Drive to Deport Unaccompanied Minors, Refugees of America’s Drug War, is Immoral – Hit & Run : Reason.com.

…and that murder rate is our problem? No, it isn’t. This is why I do not call myself a libertarian; because it seems that libertarians seem to have a problem with what is known as “Rule of Law;” not to mention a Nation’s sovereignty. What gets me, is how this libertarian likes to use terms like “nativist”; which is nothing more than a dog whistle term which basically is calling those that are opposed to illegal immigration racist bigots. Which, by the way, happens to be a tactic of the liberal marxist left. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

This is what separates we American-loving Conservatives, who believe in limited Government; yet, believe in a much needed rule of law and are constitutional moderates and the libertarians who want little or no Government at all and are political extremists who basically want anarchy. The first is a reasonable position which has been around for years and works quite well; and the second being a position that is well out of the norm, and ultimately leads to failure and chaos.

This is why not one person has ever won the National election for President of the United States from the Libertarian Party; because libertarian ideas on subjects like this one are so far out of the norm that Americans simply reject them. Whether the liberals and their anarchist friends like it or not; America is a center-right Country and they believe strongly in things such is border security —- which protect Americans from many things; such as diseases, loss of jobs, and potential terrorists. The libertarians failure to understand this is why that party is, and always will be a third party that never,ever get elected to anything at all at the national level.

In short, as Bill O’Reilly likes to say on his show: libertarians need to wise up and get their heads out of their butts; if they want to be taken seriously by the rest of the Country.

 

 

 

Let’s get real about Christopher Hitchens

I think that it is time that someone told the truth about this man; and I am just the person to do it.

It seems that Reason magazine wants to turn this man into some sort of a saint:

Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens died on this date two years ago. Hitchens was the model of a public intellectual. He was certainly public in his positions and arguments, which allows for anyone interested to assess a person’s arguments. And he was intellectually honest in a way that is uncommon, with many (most?) thinkers curtailing their views if they threaten a broader ideological identity. Though definitely a man of the left, Hitchens was never orthodox and ran into trouble given his positions on issues such as abortion (he was against it), foreign interventionism (he was for it), free speech deemed offensive to certain groups (he was for it), and more. While he rarely missed opportunities to offend right-wing sensibilities (he once joked about Ronald Reagan’s Alzheimer’s clearly having started with the president was still in office), he didn’t hold back against the left, either. He had few kind words about Martin Luther King, Jr. and he dismissed Gandhi as a “poverty pimp.”

via Remembering Christopher Hitchens, 1949 – 2011 Reason.com.

Okay, it is time that we really need to get real on what Hitchens really was: Hitchens was an Anti-Christian. Christopher Hitchens had no qualms about bashing Christians and Christianity itself. Furthermore, he supported Bush’s decision to go into Iraq. For Reason Magazine to act as if this man was a American hero for any sort is ludicrous. Then again, to actually believe that Reason magazine is actually libertarian and not really a pseudo-neoconservative magazine is also ludicrous.

The only redeeming quality of this man was that he actually spoke well.  Other than that; I put this man squarely on the same page as Piers Morgan.  An arrogant English prick, who when it suited him; would take a swing at American Christian culture. For this, he is not saint or hero in my book. But rather someone I would just rather forget.

The fact that Reason Magazine is even trying to put this man on some sort of a libertarian or even canonized shelf, is vomit-provoking to this writer. Which is why I really do not consider Reason Magazine an ally of liberty.

With this posting, I will be removing Reason’s RSS from this blog. Because this little stunt by their writers, is just a bit more than I can stomach.

If you want to see an example of what I am talking about, check out this video: (Warning! Language!)