Re: [9fans] ISP filtering - update

[Jim Choate <ravage@einstein.ssz.com>]

On Thu, 25 Sep 2003, Dan Cross wrote:

> But to address the point....  If you're not home, why would you care if
> someone stood outside your house all day ringing your doorbell, which
> was the example you gave?

What makes you think they're going to sit there and do it over and over?
It's the same thing as if they do it once everyday at 4pm for a year.

Trespass isn't a crime if you're not home....hmmmmm How about if somebody
breaks into your house and watches your television when you're not home?
That's not burglary? The reality is that ones control over their property
and access to it is their right whether they are at home or not. It's the
principle that matters.

What happened to -your deciding what to do with your property-? You don't
believe in that apparently.

Dan, you have a fundamental conflict here you need to deal with, in a
manner other than emotional I might add.

Why is emotional argument worthless with respect to what is right or wrong
in a democracy? Why is one of the goals of this country the pursuit of
happiness, why not a guarantee of happiness? And why is happiness
important? First, people are inherently unhappy. Everybody. So somebody
saying you can't do this because it makes me unhappy is a empty argument.
Second, what can possibly make everyone happy? Nothing, we each have our
own goals and desires so a single approach to solving the problems of life
won't work. Not that it hasn't stopped many people from trying (eg
socialism).

Now let's address your earlier comment about my 99.9% statement. If it
were not true we wouldn't have topics like 'critical thinking' and we
wouldn't have the spam problem in the first place. Each of these people
would understand what their role and responsibility in society was and
they would follow it.

Since we do have this problem then clearly the vast majority of people
don't do it.

Hence, I stand by my statement. Most people don't think analytically very
well at all, they respond in emotional ways which in the long run are
self-defeating. If they weren't then again, why do we have the problems we
have?

In this entire discussion you haven't once offered real counter examples
or drilled down anywhere close to basic principles of personal
responsiblity. Your forte seems to be the strawman and the ad hominim.

As to megalomania, I'd say your behaviour is more akin to thinking oneself
to be grand than I. Your commentary is shallow and lacks any logical
depth.

You are of course welcome to your opinions, even if you can't back them up
with reasonable arguments or facts.

 -- --

God exists because mathematics is consistent, and the Devil exist because we
can't prove it.
                          Andre Weil, in H. Eves, Mathematical Circles Adieu

      ravage@ssz.com                            jchoate@open-forge.com
      www.ssz.com                               www.open-forge.com