Sigh (previously locked)

[pecunium]

It seems a someone has made my views of torture a hobby horse.

Torture (the word, not the act) is overused.

I know who wrote that. He'd commented here.

I know he's intellectually dishonest (in one of his other blogs he's mis-represented things I said in print, to people who have never read the printed words, and so can't know that I didn't say reporters are unable to avoid being objective), but to see it again...

And it's the same old shit... ticking bombs and reports of cases where torture "worked."

Maybe some of it my ire is that I am being mocked. Mostly it's that torture is being praised (oh... it's terrible, and never to be used, save as a last resort but the lesser evil is to be preferred; and can even be a good).

Then again, I've read a lot of his writing, and he's full of inconsistencies. He's a pagan, who thinks mandating Christian prayer in school isn't bad. He believes the phrase "under God" is fitting and proper in the Pledge of Allegiance. Me, I'm a lasped Catholic, and I think both of those are wrong (Caesar and God have different spheres).

He thinks civil unions are equal to marriage, that the press is overwhelmingly liberal, the War in Iraq is justified, and has agreed with pretty much every right wing shibboleth I have ever seen him comment on. He, of course, calls himself a Libertarian.

Yes, I am doing some of what he has done; few here have any association with him, and so aren't able to weigh my excoriaton. Oh well.

I don't know why I'm locking this. Partly to avoid drama, partly to avoid hurting his feelings. It's the last which croggles me. It's not as if he's refrained from insulting me... but there you go.

Comments

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I'm still trying to wrap my heads around a big-L Libertarian saying that mandating any prayer in school is fine.

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

Why does it croggle you? It may just mean that you don't want to descend to his level and make bad comments (albeit justified in this case) about someone in public.

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

That might be part of it.

Perhaps it's that I know him personally.

Part of it the amusement that my views on the subject so bother him. This isn't the first post he's made on the subject, and if I write about it, comment is almost certain to follow, none of it better than the dreck I linked to.

It seems, from other comments he's made, that my getting more notice than he does irks him.

But at least he has formally gone on the record as being in favor of torture. It's good to know who such people are.

I find it interesting (and it's percolating a different post) to see someone who is so assertive that he's interested in good data (he works with numbers, and spends time bearding creationists in their dens) is so willing to accept anecdote from those who have reason to fudge, but refuses the weight of opinion from those who don't.

It's a topic where emotion seems to rule.

TK

[barelyproper.livejournal.com]

The thing that frustrates me is that he only partially quoted the thread... leaving the context (and machismo) that was being responded to completely out of it, but making it look like a legit quoting if someone doesn't click the read all comments link. Your response seems totally overreacting if you don't have the guy you are responding to with his bravado and flip flop.

It shows grace and dignity to not stoop to that level.