I decided to move some discussion from this post up to the top level here. Specifically, Watoosh wrote: "Well, if violence is defined as initiation of force (which, of course, presupposes certain property rights), then I think Rockwell is correct..." Well, if we define cats as elephants, then many people keep elephants in their house. More seriously, firstly, violence is not usually defined that way. It's defined as, you know, violence, so that, say, someone may respond violently or non-violently to someone who aggresses against them. Otherwise, it would make no sense to say, for instance, "He punched me, but I did not stoop to violence in response." And, secondly, the libertarian usage of "initiation of force" is very offbeat. If I wander onto someone's meadow, most people would not say I had "initiated force" -- I mean, sure, I used "force" against the earth to push off walking, but that's not force directed against...
I think sometimes Krauthammer is shrewd, but yeah, Colbert destroys him on this. Blood on the walls.
ReplyDeleteNext ugliest? I'd vote for Colbert myself, or Stewart. They encourage the kind of approach to debate you often decry. They have raised ad hominem to an art.
Come on Ken: they don't always play fair, but at least they are humorous, rather than snarling, like much of the Fox News crew.
DeleteIf I wanted to pick someone from the left, I'd pick someone like Madow or Garafalo.
Well I don't watch Fox so I don't know how snarling. But from what I have seen these past 10 years these guys are the most effective and influential corruptors of debate.
DeleteA friend in Canada asked me what I thought was the biggest problem in the US these days. My answer was that ad hominem is widely believed to be a valid argument. That and the idea that sneering is a good argument, which you just highlighted a few days ago with that New Yorker writer. But I agree those two you name are more like Coulter (who stands alone and incomparable) than my two.
I'm having trouble remembering a single thing Ann Coulter ever said, but my impression is that she talks sense from time to time. I suspect that she understands the world pretty clearly but is "in character" as a movement conservative commentator most of the time and so the things she says are her character's dialogue. At her worst, maybe she's worse that Krauthammer; I don't really know.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea if Krauthammer is similarly "in character", but, if so, I don't remember him ever letting the mask slip. He's been my personal least favorite since I was a teenager ... can't believe he's still a public figure!
Yes. She first hit TV during the OJ trial, where she was sharp and insightful. Then she needed a new gig, and crazed wolverine was available. I think she was serious after 9/11 when she wanted to invade the muslim world , kill their leaders and convert them, but she's smart when it serves her.
DeleteYou really don't like Fox News conservatives, do you?
ReplyDelete