And you guys thought *I* was nuts.

[GIThruster]

Correction: the Pentagon most certainly did NOT want Don't Ask Don't Tell repealed. They were and continue to be in full support of it. OBama repealed it despite what his military advisors asked of him.

[kurt9]

I point out that what is considered evil now, will not remain so if the current trajectory is followed. Most of you libertarian types pooh pooh the notion that things which you currently consider evil will eventually change to become legal and acceptable. You dismiss as nonsense any evidence which shows a trend towards such societal change.


Well guess what the Leftists were doing back in 1968?

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zei ... 79,00.html


Also posted in the thread: " Evil? Now perhaps. Later? Not so much.


Tell me again how such a thing will never happen.

The social problems that social conservatives obsess over are largely self-correcting. The three metrics of social decay; 1) criminality, 2) drug abuse, and 3) teen pregnancy; have all declined substantially over the past 20 years. There is evidence that even gay promiscuity has declined in recent years.

http://www.gnxp.com/blog/labels/previou ... praved.php

Kids seem much better behaved than they were 30 years ago.

All of our current problems are financial, debt, and excessive government regulation. I don't see the social stuff as much of a problem any more. I would go as far to say that there is no longer any need for social conservatism as a political movement.

Like the stereotypical generals, the social conservatives are fighting "last year's" war.

[kurt9]

Even if the social stuff was a problem (which it is not), it's not existential. As long as there are people who continue to innovate, make new technologies and products, and continue to grow the economy and the techno-infrastructure, what other people do is irrelevant.

Lets say that society is comprised of two kinds of people, those that create things and those that do not. As long as the first group are free to create, not subjected to irrational regulations and restrictions that limit their ability to innovation and produce, if the rest of mankind is just a bunch of party animal who like to have a good time, I see no problem with this scenario. Indeed, I actually think it is long-term sustainable (I think this is the kind of society Japan is evolving into).

I would rather the second group of people be a bunch of hedonists than for them to joint into some kind of luddite religion/ideology that would restrict the freedom of action of the first group.

In short, I find the fears of the social conservatives to be completely groundless.

[ladajo]

Correction: the Pentagon most certainly did NOT want Don't Ask Don't Tell repealed. They were and continue to be in full support of it. OBama repealed it despite what his military advisors asked of him.

I would qualify it as a 'Divided Camp'.

There were "yeah" and "nay" at the top. And, I believe a couple of the "yeah" gave it as a political expediancy.

[GIThruster]

No really, the camp was not divided. There were plenty of news reports that the Joint Chiefs were unanimous that DADT was a good policy. Note that the buzz from the Pentagon these last few months is much more reserved and only says that abolishing DADT places the military in line with what the nation stands for. It is at best a very weak endorsement from Generals whom are constitutionally obligated to support their President.

Likewise, I think it's pretty off the mark to suggest that today's youth are better behaved than the last generation. No offense but that seems so completely out of touch one wonders how anyone could possibly believe such a thing. Crime is no better now than then. Kids are no longer afraid of meth. Instead of 16 year-olds sneaking off to have sex, 13 year-olds have group sex and brag about it on Facebook. Teachers have never been more frightened of their students. Youth routinely act in complete disrespect for adults, in ways that utterly did not exist 30 years ago. Kids film each other in crowds, beating up other kids, adults and seniors and post it on YouTube thinking this is funny. Girls have taken to fighting in public and encouraging each other to do so. America has an entire generation of spoiled, nasty, dangerous, self-indulgent kids and this is not confined to the inner city. It is beyond me how anyone could possibly observe they think today's kids better behaved. They are most certainly not.

I don't especially care about the social aspects of elections. Presidents don't put Dr. Spock in parents hands. Just saying though, it's completely out of touch to suggest kids today are well behaved.

[Teahive]

There's more than one dimension in politics, and the topic at hand doesn't strike me as a left/right issue. Then again, those terms are so weakly defined that people tend to apply them to almost anything, making them even less meaningful in the process.

[hanelyp]

...The basic rule of thumb is "if it's considered "Normal and Traditional" it has to go. "

The left is a coalition of special interests dedicated to the overthrow of various traditional social norms they consider oppressive. In the interest of the coalition they tolerate each others perversions.

Socialism is ... violent ... establishment of ... dictatorship

Summed it up

they estimated that they’d have to eliminate 25 million people in these re-education centers.

That would be close to 10% of the US population when written? Murdered in the name of social reform. Compare that to the worst case if the government social safety net were eliminated. There is no comparison.

[ladajo]

For DADT there were a couple of vocal "nays". Who then <were> moved on to retirement. I maintain it was and is a 'divided camp' across all ranks.

[kurt9]

Likewise, I think it's pretty off the mark to suggest that today's youth are better behaved than the last generation. No offense but that seems so completely out of touch one wonders how anyone could possibly believe such a thing. Crime is no better now than then. Kids are no longer afraid of meth. Instead of 16 year-olds sneaking off to have sex, 13 year-olds have group sex and brag about it on Facebook. Teachers have never been more frightened of their students. Youth routinely act in complete disrespect for adults, in ways that utterly did not exist 30 years ago. Kids film each other in crowds, beating up other kids, adults and seniors and post it on YouTube thinking this is funny. Girls have taken to fighting in public and encouraging each other to do so. America has an entire generation of spoiled, nasty, dangerous, self-indulgent kids and this is not confined to the inner city. It is beyond me how anyone could possibly observe they think today's kids better behaved. They are most certainly not.

I don't especially care about the social aspects of elections. Presidents don't put Dr. Spock in parents hands. Just saying though, it's completely out of touch to suggest kids today are well behaved.

I stand by my previous comments. Drug addiction, crime, and teen pregnancy are all substantially less than 20 years ago. These are considered objective metrics of social decay and all three of them are significantly improved over the past 20 years.

The kids I come in contact with routinely call me "Sir" and are quite polite towards me. This may be because I lift weights and have a "body builder" physique and the kids may be intimidated by this. Perhaps. Admittedly this is anecdotal. Nevertheless, I do consider this evidence that kids are better behaved these days. Its also possible that kids are better behaved towards adults these day but are nasty to each other. I am in no position to comment on this.

[ladajo]

It may all be perspective based.
But I will say that the things that I see my kids friends do, as well as the way they interact are well beyond my own boundaries, now and what I remember from before.

But, again, I think it is all in context. When I was young there was no multiple phone lines in your home, internet, email, facebook, cell phones, mobile web access, etc, etc, etc.

The times, they are a changing.

[93143]

Indeed, I actually think it is long-term sustainable (I think this is the kind of society Japan is evolving into).

The words "Japan" and "long-term sustainable" do not belong in the same sentence. Take a look at their birth rate...

[Teahive]

Depends on what you define as sustainable. Japan has about 10 times the population density of the USA. A population decline could go on for a long, long time, but no one can predict how the birth rate will change even within one or two generations. The Japanese will have to find a way to deal with caring for an increasing number of elderly, but given their efforts in robotics I doubt a shrinking Japanese workforce wouldn't be able to grow productivity.

[kurt9]

Indeed, I actually think it is long-term sustainable (I think this is the kind of society Japan is evolving into).

The words "Japan" and "long-term sustainable" do not belong in the same sentence. Take a look at their birth rate...

Technological innovation and automation makes you can do and make more with fewer people. Large factories employing thousands of people are no longer necessary to make things, even big things like airliners or spacecraft.

Japan will do just fine.

[rjaypeters]

...The Japanese will have to find a way to deal with caring for an increasing number of elderly, but given their efforts in robotics I doubt a shrinking Japanese workforce wouldn't be able to grow productivity.

Part of the Japanese efforts in robotics are to create the workers who will care for the elderly. 'Course, not for the highly skilled jobs, but for menial tasks. Though the Japanese could easily import workers for these kinds of jobs, for their own reasons they prefer not.

[Diogenes]

.
I can't make this Sh*t up as fast as it is happening.



New Craze in Germany: Animal Brothels

“There are even animal brothels in Germany,” she said. Sex with animals was being increasingly seen as a lifestyle choice, and thus more acceptable.

http://bigpeace.com/stzu/2012/02/05/new ... -brothels/


Libertarian comment?