Comments on: Bachmann: Killing a doctor is just an expression of opinion.

By: stogoe

stogoe — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:15:59 +0000

Oh, geez, a Librarian wanker infestation. “Bachmann didn’t actually mean that stuff that she actually said boo hoo hoo”.

Pro-forced childbirth groups are terrorist organizations.

By: sailor

sailor — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:36:32 +0000

I vote less videos of the odious Bachmann, more of the sex with ducks chicks…

By: willie

willie — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Darwinian Libertarian = nutbag homeschooling nutbag. Oh, did I say nutbag twice?

By: Ben Zvan

Ben Zvan — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:45:13 +0000

From the report:
Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.”

By: Sissy Willis

Sissy Willis — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:43:19 +0000

Binkyboy: Try cutting back on the snickering tone next time. It would make the person being addressed more inclined to give a modicum of weight to whatever points you may be trying to make.

By: Binkyboy

Binkyboy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:17:02 +0000

Anyone else, other than Sissy, interested in teabagging for baby Jesus?

Tell me, Sissy, are you a Darwinian Evolutionist as well?

What Michelle Bachmann has done is to play down the threat that right wing extremists pose to America. Timothy McVeigh, Eric Rudolph, the Aryan Nation, the KKK, and so many more are terrorists, plain and simple. Domestic terrorism has the power to destroy a country, while external terrorism is more likely to pull us together as a nation.

Try reading some Dave Neiwart, Sissy, maybe that will give you some inkling as to the danger that exists under the guise of “interest groups”

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:38:49 +0000

All ethical considerations are subjective in that they reflect our desires. More precisely, ethics arises when we have a conflict between what we desire and what others desire and we desire to solve the conflict with coercion. When what others desire becomes important to us, we can try to use argument, discussion, persuasion, or propaganda to change their desires. If the issue under conflict is great enough, then we may resort to coercion to force others to either do something or to stop doing something no matter what their opinion is. It is when we want to coerce cooperation that we have an ethical situation. We usually reserve the colloquialism â??matter of opinionâ? for those situations where we might want to change someoneâ??s opinion or desire but we are specifically not interested in coercing active compliance when discussion failsâ??hence, something that is a matter of opinion is not an ethical matter.

Clearly, Bachmann does not believe that this issue is â??a matter of opinionâ?. She would love to compel women to carry all babies to term no matter what the women wishes. Clearly she wants to use the full coercive power of our system to force compliance.

Most religious fundamentalists treat any non-fundamentalist ethics or secular ethics, especially those that are subjective, as if they reflect mere â??matter of opinion.â? But a â??matter of opinionâ? is not ethical at all. What someone like Bachman is doing is trying to frame the argument so that the subjective desires of the fundy are privileged as objectively true while the desires of everyone else are treated as nothing more than choosing an ice cream flavor.

That is why we have to fight. Ethics is a reflection of our desires. There is no objective way to decide how we ought to desireâ??we just desire. It is rational to seek happiness. It is rational to want to have some control over what we do with out bodies. We do share a common biology. There is no rational reason to base our life on the collective wisdom of some sheep herders from 2500 years ago and their modern cultural descendants.

By: Glen A-B

Glen A-B — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:08:37 +0000

I believe the assassinated doctor’s name was Tiller rather than Tillman.

By: PhilB

PhilB — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:14:02 +0000

Argh, Bachmann. Everytime I listen to her speak I get embarrassed for Minnesota.

By: Sissy Willis

Sissy Willis — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:20:41 +0000

Stephanie -- Thank you for your response to my comments, above. I listened to Rep. Bachmann's speech and did not hear anything remotely suggesting she would excuse the murder of doctors or any fellow human beings for any reason. I have read relevant excerpts of that DHS report on right-wing extremism, and as a well-behaved tea partier concerned about the future of this Shining City Upon a Hill, I felt a twinge of intimidation in response to Secretary Neapolitano's words. I would personally be very much interested in hearing what the Secretary would have to say in response to Congressional questioning. Here is more and much more (if you're interested) on what the tea parties mean to a Darwinian Libertarian like me.