Columnist Thomas Sowell, the guru of some of our bloggers, is typical of the extreme right.
He had this to say the other day:
“People who send me letters or e-mail containing belligerent personal attacks probably have no idea how reassuring their messages are, for they show that critics seldom have any rational arguments to offer.”
Why, this could be right out of some of the comments section of JU!
How about this gem of a strain on ratiocination?
“Many people who are for stricter government-imposed ‘fuel efficiency’ standards for cars are adamantly against drilling for oil in Alaska. This means that avoiding inconvenience to some caribou trumps the loss of human life when people are forced to drive flimsier cars, so that the lighter weight will lead to more miles per gallon.”
Here the true colors of the right are faithfully rationalized and echo all too familiar rants on JU:
“The fraudulence of the left’s concern about poverty is exposed by their utter lack of interest in ways of increasing the nation’s wealth. Wealth is the only thing that can cure poverty. The reason there less poverty today is not because the poor got a bigger slice of the pie but because the whole pie got a lot bigger — no thanks to the left.”
A writer who continually laces his columns with personal attacks on Hillary, Kerry, even Truman and the like, but with irrational arguments, is hardly the judge of what constitutes rationality. Besides, I rather suspect, that the belligerence springs in the main from the “black” inbox which is motivated by the view that Thomas is a Benedict Arnold of the black voice.
To attribute the reluctance of drilling oil in Alaska for the convenience of wild life at the expense of human life is a real stretch. In fact, the protection of ANWR is designed to preserve the caribou which is the main source of food for the indigenous Indians, along with disruption of the Arctic ecosystem. Besides, even if very stringent oversight in drilling in sensitive areas was approved it would not be for the ultimate convenience of all motorists to drive humvees so they feel safer.
Those who come from a large family know that however big the pie, the youngest gets the smallest piece. When the population swells the pie is naturally going to get bigger but so will the number of slices, and no assurance the pieces will be more fairly distributed. The minimum wage adjusted for inflation is at an all time low, real wage value is acutely regressing, home ownership is on the rise for the poor and therefore more foreclosures as there is no earned income credit for real estate taxes, and they don’t make enough to fill out the long form for interest and tax deduction, there is no Starbuck for them, rather it’s the thermos to go with the brown bag, they are lucky to drive “flimsy” cars, finally getting rid of their guzzlers from a bygone era — all with thanks to the right.
PS. Good news — though most of you don’t bother to read me — having reached my personal goal of 200 posts, I shall not be posting as often since I have other writings in need of attention. However, when the campaign gets closer to election day you will be hearing much more from me.
Copyright © 2004 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: April 6, 2004.