The first military commissions trial is about to start in Guantanamo Bay. The debate about what constitutional rights the accused has has been quashed, but the defense is "free to address individual points as they come up." This is a guy who was caught at a checkpoint with a couple of surface-to-air missiles in the car. A dupe delivery boy or knowing terrorist accomplice? Eager jihadist or fearing reprisals against loved ones if he didn't do it? It happens. Anuyway, them now, us in a year or so, with the help of Obama's Troubled Youth Enforcer Corps. There's a war on, you know, an invisible war of the rest of the world against the U.S. So a million Americans are on the federal no-fly list. That's twice as many people as are in the U.S. military. Surely they would have done SOMETHING since 2001, one columnist pointed out. Most of the sheep behind me at the aiport go mad at ME because my belt buckle tripped the alarm and I should have known to take it off along with everything else. It had never set off a metal detector before. What next, the tiny screws in my sunglasses?
Last time I went through a metal detector, I was almost naked by the time I didn't set it off anymore. I freakin' HATE those things and would rather take my chances with "terrorists" any day.
Pragmatism, don't you just love it"? I mean, it's so adjustable. If the current pragmatic position one has taken proves to be risky, why, you can just pragmatically adjust it to something acceptable to your abusers. And if you aren't one being abused in the moment, you can be even more accomodating in your pragmatism if you perceive reward in it for yourself.
The only real fly in the ointment is when there is a public comparison made to "principles freaks". Of course, then you can pragmatically adjust the issue to one of courtesy or falsely stated gains.
"Pragmatism the balm for defective conscience." That's a pretty good slogan, I believe it should be used at every opportunity.
The first military commissions trial is about to start in Guantanamo Bay. The debate about what constitutional rights the accused has has been quashed, but the defense is "free to address individual points as they come up." This is a guy who was caught at a checkpoint with a couple of surface-to-air missiles in the car. A dupe delivery boy or knowing terrorist accomplice? Eager jihadist or fearing reprisals against loved ones if he didn't do it? It happens.
ReplyDeleteAnuyway, them now, us in a year or so, with the help of Obama's Troubled Youth Enforcer Corps. There's a war on, you know, an invisible war of the rest of the world against the U.S. So a million Americans are on the federal no-fly list. That's twice as many people as are in the U.S. military. Surely they would have done SOMETHING since 2001, one columnist pointed out.
Most of the sheep behind me at the aiport go mad at ME because my belt buckle tripped the alarm and I should have known to take it off along with everything else. It had never set off a metal detector before. What next, the tiny screws in my sunglasses?
Last time I went through a metal detector, I was almost naked by the time I didn't set it off anymore. I freakin' HATE those things and would rather take my chances with "terrorists" any day.
ReplyDeletePragmatism, don't you just love it"? I mean, it's so adjustable. If the current pragmatic position one has taken proves to be risky, why, you can just pragmatically adjust it to something acceptable to your abusers. And if you aren't one being abused in the moment, you can be even more accomodating in your pragmatism if you perceive reward in it for yourself.
ReplyDeleteThe only real fly in the ointment is when there is a public comparison made to "principles freaks". Of course, then you can pragmatically adjust the issue to one of courtesy or falsely stated gains.
"Pragmatism the balm for defective conscience." That's a pretty good slogan, I believe it should be used at every opportunity.