Jimmy Kimmel on the Killing of Cecil the Lion

Posted by LetsShrug 8 years, 9 months ago to Culture
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This is what we've become? He who has the biggest public emotional reaction wins??
Not to mention the witch hunt that is now in hot pursuit.
Jimmy Kimmel... Jackass.
SOURCE URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LzXpE1mjqA


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  • Posted by ObjectiveAnalyst 8 years, 9 months ago
    Hello LS,
    In Michigan many wildlife conservation and preservation controls by the state depend on hunting fees. Many outfitters and businesses depend on the sport. Many hunt for the meat and many hunt for the trophy; but except for poachers that the laws already address, the meat is usually consumed or donated for consumption. Even that which is not is often essential food for the other wildlife if is left in the field. Mother nature wastes little. Even the coyotes need to eat. In Mich. near the turn of the last century the Deer population was nearly zero and the Elk were completely wiped out. The lumber camps had decimated the populations for sustenance. Since the advent of sport hunting and licensing the populations of both are thriving. We have an Elk population again and the Whitetail deer are at record numbers. That is what the sport has done for conservation. It is the legal hunter, both trophy and meat hunter that fund and respect the conservation regulations and efforts. The monies from these hunters has provided for the continuity of the wildlife... purchased land set asides for animals and plant-life for perpetuity. "To hunt a species to extinction is not logical." Spock

    It is sad that his particular lion was taken, if it was a "protected" animal, but it would appear that the hunter is not to blame for the mistake of the guides. The animus towards him is probably misplaced.

    Respectfully,
    O.A.
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    • Posted by khalling 8 years, 9 months ago
      GHBs! everyone's a Born freer around here! unless we can figure out a way to domesticate them as has been disproved by Sigfried and Roy, I say controlled hunting (the controlled part should be based in property rights). so the biggest offenders of lions here (and other beautiful, killing creatures) is a national or state owned situation. That will guarantee starvation and extinction for you tout suite!
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      • Posted by ObjectiveAnalyst 8 years, 9 months ago
        Hello khalling,
        This particular lion was apparently wearing a tracking collar and being studied. If this was in an effort to sustain the species and keep them off the endangered list that is my only real concern. The collar should have been more visible if they wanted it to be unmolested for further study and the local game commission needed it to sustain the species.. Other than that I have no feelings for this particular beast. I do not believe in domesticating lions. They would just as soon eat your liver as be your buddy.

        Now here are some real "Born freers" that have gone off the deep end. http://www.aol.com/article/2015/07/30...
        Real moral people that would kill a man for killing a beast...

        Personally my only interest is in the continuation of the species for future needs of ecosystem stability. In a sustainable population there is nothing wrong with hunting. In fact it may be necessary to keep the population from killing too many of other species including humans.

        I deer hunt annually on private property and sometimes on vast areas of state land. Deer pose less of a threat to humans. Am I too soft?

        Respectfully,
        O.A.
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        • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
          I get that there were mistakes made and possibly a cover up, and that needs to be dealt with...what I can't understand is the overall hatred for hunting and people don't seem to understand that all hunting is a form of trophy hunting (unless you're living off the land somewhere, but that's not the issue).
          I'm just amazed that people let their emotions take over rather than trying to understand why trophy hunting exists...there are benefits and not just monetary, but humans and animals are both better off for it. BLIND SPOT. I'm seriously stunned by the lunatic over reactions going on...angry mobs sharing one emotional top knot. It's scary!
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          • Posted by ObjectiveAnalyst 8 years, 9 months ago
            Indeed. You would think someone killed their family kitty cat by slow purposeful torture just for fun. In the wild generations of natives have had to kill these cats for their own survival, just as north Americans have had to kill mountain lions, bears and wolves. Now, many will argue this man did not need to. But, is that relevant? Everyone on the planet survives and lives their lives as a part of the food chain and many animals must be killed for the necessities of our own existence. The hunting of these animals provides incomes and sustenance for many in the area. It is always easy to criticize when others are doing the dirty work for you, while you order your cheeseburger at McDonalds.
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            • Posted by khalling 8 years, 9 months ago
              you mixed up quite a stew there OA. this was an OLD cat. eventually, starvation would be his fate. when is the good day to die? don't knowbut I've watched enough movies to know how to remove an arrow. ain't pretty. Baiting is something I don't really get, but has been done from the dawn of time. It is our prerogative. PROPERTY RIGHTS. You own Cecil so you get to set the terms. If you are a Michael Vic (vick) I don't know the spelling-your life will be shamed socially. this wasn't Michael vic -do you think?
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          • Posted by khalling 8 years, 9 months ago
            Cuz the govt there is 100% virtuous. I 'm curious regarding the research. Shit we tag every canadian goose -those jerks will also try to kill you. No majestic lion is somehow "worth" more than á frustrating goose. I 'd like some objective reasoning as to why. Is Godzilla worthy of migration study and abused by us? This doesn 't even hit the scale of human death and human destruction through lack of reason.
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    • Posted by CircuitGuy 8 years, 9 months ago
      "The animus towards him is probably misplaced."
      To quote the same film, who ever said the human race is logical. :)
      I think I saw that in the theaters when I was 12 y/o.
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  • Posted by Watcher55 8 years, 9 months ago
    The arguments flying to and fro as usual are a confused mishmash mainly based on emotion.
    The only nugget of relevant fact is whether the hunter had the legal right to shoot the lion, and if not whether his shooting it was knowing that or a mistake.
    The insanity of the furore is illustrated by the simple fact that this guy killed one lion. Are people so divorced from reality that they don't realise that lions themselves are apex predators who kill, and kill, and kill other animals? If it is OK for a lion to do so, then it is OK for us.
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  • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
    http://learningenglish.voanews.com/co...

    Professor John Hanks is the former head of the World Wide Fund for Nature in South Africa. He says tourism and donations do not provide the billions of dollar needed.

    “I think trophy hunting in South Africa is really absolutely essential if we are going to look for long-term future for rhinos in the whole of Africa…there’s hardly a single country anywhere that can afford to run its national parks as they should be run… Here we are in South Africa, one of the richest countries in the continent, Kruger Park has a million visitors a year and they still cannot afford to defend the rhinos.”

    The hunting industry in South Africa brings in more than $744 million each year. The industry employs about 70,000 people. And about 9,000 trophy hunters travel to South Africa every year. Ninety percent of them come from the United States. In 2012, foreign hunters spent $115 million in South Africa. Trophy hunting is the most profitable form of commercial land use in the country.

    Herman Meyeridricks is the president of the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa. He argues that legal hunting is important to wildlife protection.

    “The only way there will be incentive for those landowners to protect and keep on investing in rhino is if they have an economic value. They can only have an economic value if there is an end-user that is willing to pay for that and that is the trophy hunter.”
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    • Posted by Animal 8 years, 9 months ago
      I have a friend in South Africa who comes from a long, long line of old Afrikaaners. He told me that back in the day when many safari companies did business there and in surrounding countries, most of the local governments had a quiet understanding with the professional hunters - that poachers would be shot on sight, left in the bush, and nothing would be said about it by anyone.

      Attie says there was much less poaching in those days.
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  • Posted by Herb7734 8 years, 9 months ago
    I love to shoot. But, all I do is make holes in targets I'm not into killing animals -- but that doesn't mean I'm willing to make this a restriction for other folks. If what the dentist says is true, no blame can be assigned to him. The desire and allowance to kill big game is another subject altogether. When I had a camera shop in Michigan I had many customers who hunted game from little critters to deer and elk. The ones I knew waited for the proper season, kept to the limit and operated within the law. I even knew some successful poachers. Again, a topic for a different conversation. Why should I care what Jimmy Kimmel says about anything? So far as I can tell, he is a comedian and an emcee, whose expertise is, well, is what? Nothing so far as I can tell. But he has a public forum and lives where there is freedom of speech (so far).
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    • Posted by H2ungar123 8 years, 9 months ago
      Jimmy Kimmel crying for a lion with crocodile
      tears. Agree with you about not caring what he
      says (or cries) about anything. I consider his
      views as trivia and can count the times I've
      watched his program on one hand.
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  • Posted by wiggys 8 years, 9 months ago
    kimmel is an entertainer and all entertainers have a limited amount of brains.
    that said if you hunt for food as I have that is okay. but trophy hunting I don't agree with.specifically safari international.
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    • Posted by Zenphamy 8 years, 9 months ago
      Zulu (?) tribesmen, for thousands of years in a manhood ritual, as a boy had to go into the savannah by himself armed only with a spear and a shield to find, confront, and kill a lion in order to transition to a man in the tribe. I'm not too certain that some of them might still do the same. Unless one is starving, you don't eat predator meat. It's tough, stringy, tastes like s$$t, and is full of parasites.

      Killing animals has been a part of man's life since we made the step up to predation, past scavenging. This nonsense of why we kill animals is PC crap from PETA (shoes, clothing, medical testing, food, etc), the Humane Society, and NAPCA BS that we've let seep throughout our society. We are humans--we get to kill animals and pests.

      Killing wild animals only to eat is more nonsense. By the time you figure in the costs of guns, ammo, silly camouflage hunting clothes, the trip, the cost to process and make edible if it's a male, your license or fees--it's pretty expensive meat. You're actually hunting for entertainment or trophy, or you wouldn't take a picture of yourself with your kill or mount your buck horns or have your biggest bass stuffed.

      I hunt, I fish, I trap--I don't try to PC it. I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks about it.
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  • Posted by IndianaGary 8 years, 9 months ago
    On the topic of killing Cecil (unlike most of the posts here), I'd like to make a point.

    I support Big Cat Rescue, an organization dedicated to eliminating the trade of big cats in the United States. Making a "pet" of an animal that can tear your arm (or any other extremity) off is a really bad idea. Cubs are often taken away from their mothers far sooner that they should be and then abandoned when they grow too big to be a child's toy. It takes serious resources to maintain big cats and, short of a well-funded, private zoo, I don't think they belong in captivity. They are far too dangerous.

    That said, I see real value in managing the population of large predators, and think that hunting on private land should be encouraged. It should, however, be done humanely, not the way Cecil was killed. First, he was lured away from his protected location, then shot with an arrow and allowed to suffer for 40 hours before finally being killed. It sounds like this particular hunt was badly mismanaged.
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    • Posted by Zenphamy 8 years, 9 months ago
      Killing is not humane. It always involved pain, blood and gore, nobody knows if the lure was specifically for Cecil or just the first male lion to come to it, and lions have been hunted and killed with arrows and spears for many thousands of years and as such nearly always involves tracking down the wounded animal, the same as it does for deer and elk and bear in this country.
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  • Posted by $ Thoritsu 8 years, 9 months ago
    I don't get it. Who cares if Kimmel makes an issue of this? The guy sounds like a semi-criminal.

    Agree, animals don't have rights, but that is not a reason to abuse them. Not to say hunting is abuse.

    Note to self, not to shoot Cecil, or a favorite rhino.
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    • Posted by khalling 8 years, 9 months ago
      Thoritsu, et tu? surely you see the value of property rights over "national parks" (esp in Africa-where the leaders have all the money and the animals starve in droughts, etc. Hunting fees are a capitalistic way of preserving wild life. plus-that Cecil would have bit your head off if you wanted to pet him
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    • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
      This wasn't about Kimmel so much, I posted it show what "men" are becoming in this country. He who cries first gets the attention. He's just so sensitive and caring...and trashes activities he doesn't understand. Knee jerk reaction with ZERO research or interest in the overall picture of trophy hunting.
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      • Posted by $ Thoritsu 8 years, 9 months ago
        The problem is that killing is not connected to a gap (food, safety, etc). I have no issue with killing, but we will gain no momentum supporting killing for fun, and I'm not sure where the line should lie there.
        Is it a superior moral position to kill a 13 year old lion with children and self-awareness, with an arrow that languishes in pain for 40 hrs, or a human fetus, or a criminal, or ..

        What are we arguing in favor of? I don't buy sport vs all all else, when the same people argue the infinite sanctity of human life.
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        • Posted by Zenphamy 8 years, 9 months ago
          Killing has never been solely connected to just food and safety. It's always involved sport, manhood rituals, religious sacrifices, vengeance, torture, witch testing, and I'm righter than you are arguments.
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          • Posted by $ Thoritsu 8 years, 9 months ago
            You are quite right. However, this guy broke the law previously, and this was a silly thing to do. I have been on a safari and 10 feet from a lion in open sided trucks. It is not hard. It is not challenging. If you wanted to shoot a lion or just about anything else, it would not be a problem.

            I have no issue with hunting, sportsmanship, even trophy hunting, but I'm missing how people complaining about what this guy did is about his rights or the lack of rights of an animal. I think what he did was stupid and wasteful, although I don't care much.

            Is the issue national parks? I must be missing something fundamental. I usually don't feel this ambivalent about anything most of you feel strongly about.
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            • Posted by Zenphamy 8 years, 9 months ago
              I don't see the sanctity of human life fitting into any comment about killing a lion or a mouse, which I guess is my lack of ambivalence. I just don't see the equivalence. Humans are omnivores and are hunters and hunting provides a satisfaction at conscious and subconscious levels.
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              • Posted by $ Thoritsu 8 years, 9 months ago
                Killing something just for satisfaction is illogical and wasteful, unless it is protecting the animal population from starving, particularly an animal that is as limited in population as a lion.

                This is like air or noise pollution, with a person compelling others to participate in this transaction. Clearly there is a matter of scale. With a mouse, no third party is even mildly affected. Not so with a lion, particularly this lion. There were 250,000 lions in 1975. There are 25,000 now.

                Maybe khalling had a different objection with the national parks statement that came before my relating human to animal life, which is a separate issue probably deserving a thread.
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  • Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
    Prostitution generates a lot of revenue, too, but it's morally wrong. Hunting for food is good and necessary. Hunting just for the kill/trophy says a lot about the person doing it... they care more about a trophy on the wall than life.

    It's unfortunate that the mainstream media doesn't get this exorcised over Planned Parenthood.
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    • Posted by khalling 8 years, 9 months ago
      why is prostitution morally wrong? Seriously, I continually have to look at what site I am on!
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      • Posted by $ jdg 8 years, 9 months ago
        Prostitution (not to be conflated with slavery which pretty much doesn't exist) is a value for value exchange, and the law has no business banning it. And like the drug trade, pretty much ALL the harms that "result from it" actually result from the laws against it.

        Everybody should have sex available to them, and prostitution is what makes that possible.
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      • -4
        Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
        For the same reason infidelity is wrong. For the same reason cheating is wrong. For the same reason that kicking your dog is wrong. For the reason being a con artist is wrong. For the same reason any number of moral hazards are wrong.

        But, if you actually need to ask that question, no amount of explanation will enable you to understand.
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        • Posted by Zero 8 years, 9 months ago
          Not to be rude, AG, but you didn't provide ANY explanation.
          As OBJ's most of us would say prostitution is not morally wrong, per se, but rather it's morality is based on the motivations and circumstances of those involved.
          A poor woman selling herself to provide for her children is not immoral - just unfortunate.
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          • -6
            Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
            Again, if you as a thinking adult don't understand what's morally wrong about prostitution, I don't know where to start.

            A properly functioning society MUST have a moral compass to survive. We, as thinking adults know what is moral/immoral. We know that infidelity is immoral. We know that giving drugs to an addict is morally wrong. We know that cheating is immoral.
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            • Posted by Zero 8 years, 9 months ago
              Not to drag it on - it's clear you've had enough of this conversation - but just to point it out...

              Your statement "I don't know where to start." is the crux of the matter.

              One of the great hallmarks of AR's genius is that she WENT where you "don't know where to start." And in her thorough examination of the matter made some very interesting conclusions...
              ...like prostitution, in and of itself, is not inherently immoral.

              It's interesting reading if you ever get around to it.
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              • -5
                Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                Rand was, no doubt, a great intellect, but to place her above the Founding Fathers (or the cumulative knowledge/history of Western Civilization) is a bit much.

                Her philosophy is right about a great many things, but it's not infallible.

                History is replete with examples of societies that crumbled in large part because morality crumbled.

                Freedom and liberty require the morality of Western Civilization to exist. Do deny that is to truly deny reality.
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                • Posted by Zero 8 years, 9 months ago
                  You have to understand, AG, we DO consider ourselves to be VERY moral.

                  And we are seldom at odds with the Founding Fathers.

                  As for infallibility, well, I'm already on record as taking some minor variance on rare occasion, but not here. This one seems pretty straight forward in OUR book.

                  As to where we place her - well, I suppose that's different for each of us, but for me - I consider Ayn Rand to be one of the greatest minds of the 20th century - and in the realm of Philosophy, 2nd only to Aristotle as the greatest mind ever.

                  As for She vs the Founding Fathers - yes, in those areas they disagree - I side with Her.
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                • Posted by Zenphamy 8 years, 9 months ago
                  And you're the one to opine on AR's position in the hierarchy of intellect? That takes a stretch.

                  As to the morality of Western Civilization, it was formed as much by the Roman invasion, the Viking raids, the Norman invasion, piracy, being born after the first son, witch torture and trials and executions, the Islamic Moors invasion and occupation of Spain and Portugal, indigenous people slaughter, and the theft of other people's gold and silver, as anything else.

                  Some of the Founders were smugglers, a heavy drinking womanizer of epic proportions, law breakers and criminals, spies and traitors, and even politicians. Most of them had mistresses and some fought duels.

                  I'm afraid that you're simplistic and wrong description of the 'morality of Western Civilization' only exists in your own mind.
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                  • -1
                    Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                    You're clearly in over your head debating Foundational principles of western civilizations and the founding of America.

                    Your historical knowledge is lacking, which would fine if you didn't think you knew more thank you do.

                    It's a waste of my valuable time to continue to this discussion.
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            • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
              Oh please please please tell us what else we know.
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              • -6
                Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                No thanks. To borrow a quote:

                “Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.”
                ― George Carlin
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                • Posted by IndianaGary 8 years, 9 months ago
                  You clearly don't get the point of this site, do you?
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                  • -3
                    Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                    Yes, I do. Some on this site, however, fail to understand that in order to have freedom and liberty (including property rights) requires morality and a legal system that protects those rights.

                    Western civilization, and our legal system, are based on the morality of Judeo-Christian ethics. I highly recommend you read the writings of the Founding Fathers. The freedom you value is possible only in a moral society.

                    Again, I urge you to do some historical research.
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                    • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
                      Aaaaand here go with the religious b.s.
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                      • -3
                        Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                        Aaaaaand, there you go again demonstrating your ignorance of not only America's founding but of Western Civilization.

                        Before making such factually inaccurate arguments, you would be well-served to actually study the Founding Fathers and rise of Western Civilization.
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                        • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
                          I think it's crazy that you assume we don't know our history. Pompous you are.
                          I knew you would start with the religious stuff...and you did. Check the times of my comments, I accurately predicted it. So, I was 'FACTUALLY ACCURATE'. Want another fact? Our founders were NOT ruled by religion.
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                          • -4
                            Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                            You really need to read/study the Founding Fathers, and the Declaration of Independence... pay special attention to the part about "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God... endowed by their Creator".

                            They did not want a theocracy, but they absolutely based their beliefs, and the founding of America, on Judeo-Christian principles. That is an undeniable fact for anyone with knowledge of history of Founding.

                            What is it about these founding principles/facts that you find so displeasing and/or supernaturally unable to accept?
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                            • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
                              You're a dead horse. Please remove your pulpit from my post.
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                              • -3
                                Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                                The profound irony is that you reject the morality of Judeo-Christian principles which make the freedom/liberty you and I both cherish possible.

                                It's exactly that rejection of common knowledge that dooms us to repeat history. Unfortunately, people like you fail to learn from it.
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                                • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
                                  You act as if history is free of atrocities BASED in religious beliefs. THEY can be repeated as well. Blind sheep will follow who ever feeds them. Put the blame where it belongs.
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                                  • AmericanGreatness replied 8 years, 9 months ago
                • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
                  "You can deny reality, but you can't deny the consequences of denying reality." AR
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                  • -4
                    Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                    Yes, and the reality of an immoral society is the loss of that societies freedom and liberty. History is replete with examples.
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                    • Posted by Technocracy 8 years, 9 months ago
                      Societies rise and fall period.

                      A moral compass is an individual driver that falls apart in groups large enough to be called a society.

                      Even on actions deemed "moral" by close to everyone, the philosophical underpinning for WHY an action is moral or not varies widely.

                      Your concept of morality is not the only one in the universe, and based on your intolerance for differing opinions, not even close to being the "highest" or "best" moral stance.
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                      • -3
                        Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                        My intolerance? Or, are you answering another post?

                        I'm quite tolerant, but that does not equal acceptance. Those that do not want to be bound by a moral compass are free to think that way.

                        But, it's like believing that 2+2=5. You can believe it, but that doesn't make it so. Again, I would urge you to study the writings of the Founding Fathers, and more recently Milton Friedman, who write correctly and eloquently on the link between freedom/liberty and morality.
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                        • Posted by Technocracy 8 years, 9 months ago
                          Just in this thread alone you have posted this

                          For the same reason infidelity is wrong. For the same reason cheating is wrong. For the same reason that kicking your dog is wrong. For the reason being a con artist is wrong. For the same reason any number of moral hazards are wrong.

                          But, if you actually need to ask that question, no amount of explanation will enable you to understand.

                          And This

                          Again, if you as a thinking adult don't understand what's morally wrong about prostitution, I don't know where to start.

                          A properly functioning society MUST have a moral compass to survive. We, as thinking adults know what is moral/immoral. We know that infidelity is immoral. We know that giving drugs to an addict is morally wrong. We know that cheating is immoral.

                          And This

                          No thanks. To borrow a quote:

                          “Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.”
                          ― George Carlin

                          And this

                          The profound irony is that you reject the morality of Judeo-Christian principles which make the freedom/liberty you and I both cherish possible.

                          It's exactly that rejection of common knowledge that dooms us to repeat history. Unfortunately, people like you fail to learn from it.

                          And this

                          If you need to ask what's morally wrong about prostitution, I'm not sure where to even start explaining it.

                          And This

                          If I reference the acceleration of gravity, I take for granted that the person with whom I'm speaking knows it's 32ft/sec/sec.

                          Likewise, I expect seemingly intelligent people on this forum to have a baseline of knowledge of America's founding principles and the foundational principles of Western Civilization. I have neither time nor inclination to provide you a free history lesson.

                          That said, you really should become knowledgeable if you're going to debate this topic, as currently your assumptions about both are completely wrong. That wouldn't really matter if it was just you, but far many people have an equally uninformed knowledge base.

                          Loss of morality walks hand in hand with loss of freedom/liberty, which is something we all hold dear.




                          All you do in every thread is make assertions of faith and emotion rather than reason. You then insult everyone here that disagrees with you.

                          You are a troll.

                          You rev up your righteous indignation in a failing attempt to win people to your point of view, and all you manage to achieve is to alienation.
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                          • -3
                            Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                            Again, your lack of knowledge about the link between morality and freedom/liberty/property rights is the problem.

                            Not believing a=a doesn't change reality.

                            The Devine irony is that those with your perspective chastise the very fundamentals that provide the freedom that we all cherish. As long as there are more that think as I do (which there are), those that think like you can continue to be wrong without consequences. The reverse is not true, though. Like Jews/Muslims laying down arms... one equals peace and one equals extermination.
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                            • Posted by Technocracy 8 years, 9 months ago
                              again with the insults. TROLL!!!!!!!!!!

                              If you can't post without insulting people DON"T POST

                              PS. Divine is spelled with two Is,
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                              • -2
                                Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                                I was chastised by someone uninformed... don't make uninformed comments if you don't want them pointed out.
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                                • Posted by Technocracy 8 years, 9 months ago
                                  Since nobody other than yourself recognizes you as an authority on anything, your judgment on how informed we are carries the same weight.

                                  You are being chastised, at least on my part, for poor behavior. You are rude and prefer insults to cogent arguments. You wear the troll face.

                                  Further, since you know virtually nothing about anyone on this forum you are making judgments without any facts to speak of.
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                                  • AmericanGreatness replied 8 years, 9 months ago
        • Posted by khalling 8 years, 9 months ago
          no wait. that's not true. you are conflating two concepts. One is cheating, which is immoral. You take advantage of someone who you have committed to, to wreak that commitment on the side. that is an act of force, because you have impugned the goodwill of our promise. Prostitution is a way for people to get value for value-until they don't. Obviously, if you do not care for your body, it is not in your rational interest. Until you are destitute on the street. what alternatives, A?
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    • Posted by woodlema 8 years, 9 months ago
      Why is Prostitution morally wrong? Whose morals?

      Define who is personally harmed.

      This is a basic value for value proposition...between two consenting individuals voluntarily entering into a contract time and service for money which is the tool by which value is determined.
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      • -5
        Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
        If you need to ask what's morally wrong about prostitution, I'm not sure where to even start explaining it.
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        • Posted by woodlema 8 years, 9 months ago
          You did NOT read what I wrote.

          WHOS Morality from what source, and what paradigm?

          Immoral can also simply be something illegal. Prostitution is legal in Nevada hence not immoral by those who tax it, or pay for it.

          So who's morality and from what source do you say wrong and immoral?

          You may be more appropriate to state, "In YOUR opinion and based on your personal morals you believe it is wrong and immoral, therefore YOU would never participate, however others who do not share are certainly free to engage in what they choose as long as they are not "harming another" or forcing someone against their will to perform acts for money."
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          • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
            Next he'll attack your intellect and then he'll throw out some strawmen to try and get you off topic, then he'll resort to calling you a pig. (See his 'Jackass' post for his tactical play list.)
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          • -5
            Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
            Prostitution is immoral by the standard of the moral compass of Western Civilization.

            To deny this is to take adherence to Objectivism to an absurd level. The long-term effect of this would be the destruction of Western Civilization. Freedom and liberty require morality, as the Founding Fathers stated/wrote extensively.
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            • 10
              Posted by IndianaGary 8 years, 9 months ago
              Seriously, you are standing philosophy on its head. The "moral compass of Western Civilization" is how we got into our current mess. It comes with Christianity, Islam, and a number of other abominable religions that we can well do without. Objectivism is a philosophy for living on earth, and I would prefer to practice it NOT looking over my shoulder for Cecil or any other members of his species.
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              • Posted by conscious1978 8 years, 9 months ago
                Gary, I've gone a few rounds with AG; and in my experience, he loves to pound his "Judeo-Christian" compass and tell you what you don't know about freedom and liberty. His interest in Objectivist philosophy seems tangential, at best; and I doubt anyone here has influenced his views.
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              • -4
                Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                Uh, if you're equating Islam with Western Civlization I see why you don't understand the disconnect.

                Western Civilization is based on Judeo-Christian principles. I highly recommend you read writings of Founding Fathers(and Milton Friedman for that matter) to save me time explaining and so you can absorb first hand.

                The freedom you cherish can not exist in an immoral society, period.
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                • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
                  Hmmm I think IndianaGary compared religion with...religion.
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                  • -4
                    Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                    Look at Islamic theocracies (or dominated by Islam) and compare level of liberty/freedom to Western cultures... notice the difference.

                    Muslims in Israel have greater rights that they do in any muslim country. Judeo-Christian founding principles (and morality found therein) are the foundational basis for freedom/liberty-- that all men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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                    • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
                      You had a thinking brain you would have to admit that religion is the opposite of freedom. It imposes a host of sacrifices and duties wrapped in unearned guilt. So does islam.
                      We don't play the my god is better than your god game in here.
                      (All men aren't created equal either...that was an unfortunate string of words).
                      I have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness because I EXIST.
                      You have some reading to do.
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                      • -4
                        Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                        As the Founding Fathers, and the cumulative knowledge of Western Civilization (thousands of years of human existence) knew, we are endowed by our Creator with our rights.

                        If they exist simply because a person exists, why do all people not have freedom and liberty? Why is it that you can pick virtually any spot on the globe and for the overwhelming majority of time that people have lived there throughout human existence, they did not have freedom, liberty, or property rights?
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                        • Posted by Zenphamy 8 years, 9 months ago
                          They don't have the balls to stand up and say NO or YOU'RE WRONG and make it stick.

                          Nor do they have anyone to teach them how to think instead of always hearing from others, this is what you're supposed to do because god says so.
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            • Posted by woodlema 8 years, 9 months ago
              Not true, your statement implies ALL western. Again Nevada the entire state it is legal.

              Next WHAT specific moral code or "compass" are you using that dictates that? Are you using a universally accepted "Moral Code?" If so which one SPECIFICALLY.

              Next you claim that Prostitution is Immoral by the standard of the West, again implying all of it, yest even the Huffington (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03...) post indicates that Prostitution flourishes all across the United States, and many, many other countries accept prostitution as normal and ok, making your argument again false.

              You in the latter part of your statement talk about Liberty requiring morality, but again Who's morality, from what source SPECIFICALLY.

              Moral, Legal and Ethical are not all mutually inclusive. Especially when Morality is in the eye of the beholder. Hitler believed he was completely moral in his endevour to exterminate the Jews.

              Objectivism is not at all complicated and is based on "Rational Self-Interest."
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              • -4
                Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                I highly recommend you read writings of Founding Fathers(and Milton Friedman for that matter) to save me time explaining and so you can absorb first hand.

                Western Civilization, and the founding of America, is based on Judeo-Christian ethics.
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                • Posted by woodlema 8 years, 9 months ago
                  They ALL are fans of 100% laissez-faire.

                  Limited Government and freedom to do what YOU want provided you do no harm to Others.

                  Consider the Declaration of Independence.

                  Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

                  I do not recall them making a prohibition on the Oldest Profession.

                  If getting a hooker makes you happy, you have done what they intended. In fact the founding fathers participated in sex all over the place, especially Benjamin Franklin when he was in France.

                  No matter you have diverted the discussion WAY away from a man killing a Lion which he did legally, took the head as a trophy, gave the villagers the meat for food. Get over it.
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                  • -4
                    Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                    You clearly have not actually read the writings of the Founding Fathers, nor do you have an accurate understanding of the founding principles of America.

                    I highly recommend you study both before again making such an factually inaccurate argument.
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                    • Posted by woodlema 8 years, 9 months ago
                      So far your ability to actually present any form of logical or reasonable argument has been 100% absent. You only write in ambiguities, casting aspersions with no substance.

                      "It is to secure our rights that we resort to government at all." --Thomas Jefferson to M. D'Ivernois, 1795.
                      "The equal rights of man and the happiness of every individual are now acknowledged to be the only legitimate objects of government." --Thomas Jefferson to M. Coray, 1823."Our legislators are not sufficiently apprised of the rightful limits of their power: that their true office is to declare and enforce only our natural rights and duties and to take none of them from us. No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him; every man is under the natural duty of contributing to the necessities of the society, and this is all the laws should enforce on him." --Thomas Jefferson to F. Gilmer, 1816."The true foundation of republican government is the equal right of every citizen in his person and property and in their management." --Thomas Jefferson to S. Kercheval, 1816.

                      Jefferson was VERY clear that an individuals rights are paramount. An individuals rights, are those HE individually sees fit to pursue provided he does not affect the natural rights of another.

                      Prostitution does not now or EVER force on either party something they do not consent to, meaning that BOTH parties are exercising their individual liberties.

                      Perhaps YOU are the one who needs to study since you have yet to provide ANY substance to support your completely erroneous arguments, while at the same time you obfuscate the issue.
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                    • Posted by woodlema 8 years, 9 months ago
                      I am reminded is a scene from a Bob Hope movie.

                      AmericanGreatness I think you are being described.

                      https://video-atl1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvi...
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                      • -5
                        Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                        If I reference the acceleration of gravity, I take for granted that the person with whom I'm speaking knows it's 32ft/sec/sec.

                        Likewise, I expect seemingly intelligent people on this forum to have a baseline of knowledge of America's founding principles and the foundational principles of Western Civilization. I have neither time nor inclination to provide you a free history lesson.

                        That said, you really should become knowledgeable if you're going to debate this topic, as currently your assumptions about both are completely wrong. That wouldn't really matter if it was just you, but far many people have an equally uninformed knowledge base.

                        Loss of morality walks hand in hand with loss of freedom/liberty, which is something we all hold dear.
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                        • Posted by woodlema 8 years, 9 months ago
                          First my friend...to simply say. "You're Wrong" is neither an argument, a debate, a form of reason or logic at all.

                          The simple fact is you have not demonstrated any ability to form a logical presentation of your statements so as to convince anyone of anything, other than your ability to present yourself as an ideologue with no ability to explain your statements, which by the way are from actual founding father's writing that in fact YOU prove are wrong and are the one who needs a lesson in history and fact.
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                          • -4
                            Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                            Can you provide a single example in human history where a society flourished with freedom, liberty, and property rights based on your parameters: absent a moral compass, based solely on the good will and reason of its citizens... agsin with no moral compass.
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                          • -4
                            Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                            Do I need to prove to you why 2+2 is NOT 5, or is it enough to say 2+2=4.
                            It's an undeniable fact that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. At the founding, more than half of the colonies had state funded churches. You might as well be challenging an essertion that there were 13 colonies or that Washington was the first president.

                            Your lack of knowledge on the subject is not for me to remedy.
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                            • Posted by woodlema 8 years, 9 months ago
                              Ok I will flat out say it. Your a bit wonky here.

                              In the 1600's The United States did NOT exist, they were still offshoots of the European Crown and were colonies of the King, and the King dictated the church and also caved to the will of the Church.

                              The United as founded in the late 1700's, and the United States did not become a country until then.

                              You seem to like to combine and modify history to suit your weird ideas. The Constitution which was the founding and primary contract for the United States when they CEASED being colonies under the rules of the King, CEASED control of Religion and morality. Please refer to the 1st Amendment AND the specific 10 Government enumerated powers. NONE of which has anything to do with morality.

                              Next please refer tot he letter Jefferson sent to the Church of Danbury. WAKE up and stop trying to obfuscate and combine topics in a poor attempt to confuse.
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                              • -3
                                Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                                Again, you demonstrate your lack of historical knowledge. At the time of the signing, more than half of colonies had state religion that varied by state.

                                The First Amendment was written specifically to say Congress shall make no law. Writings by the Founding Fathers confirm this was done to prevent a federal church, not at the state level. In fact, they assumed states would likely continue to have state religions and that would be left to the states (see the 10th Amendment).
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                                • Posted by woodlema 8 years, 9 months ago
                                  And yet again you fail epically in your ability to follow a post and even READ it. I made mention of the 10 enumerated powers, which also plays to the 10th amendment which allows states to do what they want.

                                  However. You again are an epic fail, because of the 13 states at the time, even though they may have supported a "state church" each of the 13 states individual constitution NEVER legislated morality, and ONLY in the Statutes may or may not have addressed prostitution but ONLY in terms of legality not morality.

                                  But yet again this has NOTHING at all to do with the topic at hand, which was the Lion...the guy was legal, had every right to kill it, he did, ts trophy gave the meat to the villagers, and all is good.
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                                  • AmericanGreatness replied 8 years, 9 months ago
                        • Posted by Zenphamy 8 years, 9 months ago
                          OOPS. It's not 32ft/sec/sec.

                          It's 32ft/(sec squared) at sea level. You might want to do a little study of some things not in the bible if you want to carry on an intelligent conversation.
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                        • Posted by 8 years, 9 months ago
                          You're hung up on linking morality with religion. Ya really gotta stop that...it's a dangerous mix. It's been done way too many times with horrific results. If I have to read Foundational Principles" or "Western Civilization" one more time hitting the ignore button...or does that only work for "producers" like the post edit button?
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                          • -4
                            Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                            When in modern history have Judeo-Christian principles been a "dangerous mix"? Examples?
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                            • Posted by Zenphamy 8 years, 9 months ago
                              Up to today.
                              Inquisition
                              Witch trials
                              Magna Carta
                              Snake worship
                              David Karesh
                              Ruby Ridge
                              Jim Jones-Jonestown
                              Crusades
                              Jesus-Crucifixion
                              Prohibition
                              Mormon Persecution
                              Mormon Saints on gentiles
                              etc, etc, etc.
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                              • -1
                                Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
                                Way to go with modern history... if you count the crusades, witch trials (which by the way the Catholic Church intervened in to save women from zealots) as modern history.

                                David Karesh and Ruby Ridge are examples of government tyranny... do your homework, man.
                                You should really use the previous resource of the internet to correctly educate yourself.
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            • Posted by Zenphamy 8 years, 9 months ago
              Have you heard the one about why men use prostitutes??

              It means they don't have to have conversations with them or talk about how they feel when they're done.
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 8 years, 9 months ago
    I've heard some of the emotionalism you mention, but at least Kimmel says explicitly people should act within the bounds of the law and express their opinion with voluntary contributions to a wildlife org.
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  • -4
    Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    My judgements about being historically uninformed are based on their uninformed arguments. If someone proclaims 5+5 is anything but 10, is nota stretch to say they're no math prodigy.

    The lack of historical knowledge asserted by some claiming expertise is staggering, and I expect more from those in this forum.

    If I'm debated with false facts, and I'm going to call out the pseudo intellectual and rebut vigorously. If it results in people taking the time to actually look up facts and learn all the better, but they will likely recoil defensively and stay uninformed.
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    • Posted by Zenphamy 8 years, 9 months ago
      Your grasp of historical fact is so profoundly biased and ignorant as to make any discussion with you much like that of two school children yelling 'Am too', 'Am not' types of conversations.

      And your continued 'hi-jacking' of other's posts in order to proselytize your beliefs over reason continues to make me wonder why in the hell you continue on this site, other than to confuse the real issues being discussed or to simply troll. This post is about an idiot entertainer expressing an opinion about something he knows nothing about and has no experience in.
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      • -2
        Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
        Please give examples of my profoundly biased and/or incorrect historical facts. Would love to hear where you think I misspoke.

        And, I did not hijack post (ironic as you're parachuting in with this comment). The post had to do with killing an animal purely for sport/trophy. In addition to all the other things it is, it's a moral issue, and that fact led to the expansion of the discussion. Much like a post about a single taker on welfare could lead to a larger discussion about the immorality of redistribution of income.
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        • Posted by Zenphamy 8 years, 9 months ago
          Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness rely on the morals of Christianity.
          2. The Founders were profoundly Christian and founded America on Christian moral values.
          3. Killing a lion has any whatsoever to do with human morality
          4. Prostitution is a moral evil.
          5. You think that your religious proselytization is of any import on a site for those interested in AR and Objectivism.
          6. That Western Civilization is the only moral one.
          7. Christianity is superior to Islam and different from Christianity.
          8. Acceleration due to gravity is 32ft/sec/sec.
          9. That I used a parachute. I waded in with 'stomping in the mud boots'.
          10. That you have the intelligence to participate on this site.
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  • -4
    Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The fail is in your historical knowledge. The connection to the topic came about when moral relativism was introduced as it relates to the morality of killin for sport/trophy and the effect that has diminishing the value of life generally.

    Whether you like it or not, the moral compass of a society is directly linked to its freedom and liberty. Your failure to recognize this does not constitute a fail on anyone's part but your own.
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    • Posted by woodlema 8 years, 9 months ago
      The epic fail in this thread is not "everyone", just YOU!!!.

      Also you have REFUSED to very specifically tell anyone in your vague rhetoric WHAT THE SOURCE of your version of morality is.

      What WRITTEN code where this morality is listed and detailed.

      You have changed the subject, made just plain pathetic statements trying to support your view by just saying. YOUR WRONG< with NO evidence or proof at all.

      So again for about the 5th time,

      WHAT SOURCE? What written code, or "WHO" is your source for making these statement of morality?

      Until you can clearly articulate your source, your are an epic fail because you are making comments and statements based on some blind ideology with zero substance.
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      • -2
        Posted by AmericanGreatness 8 years, 9 months ago
        Are you not familiar with the Judeo-Christian principles on which Western Civilization and America are based? I assumed that at a minimum you were, but perhaps my error is in assuming a certain baseline of knowledge for those engaged in debate on this forum.

        If you don't even have that baseline of knowledge, I don't have time to impart decades of study/knowledge or centuries of writings. Your comment is quite an indictment of our education system.
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  • -4
    Posted by DancingDon 8 years, 9 months ago
    I wonder what percent of Objectivist wannabe's are just using a selective reading of AR's work as a means to justify sociopathic behaviour.
    I think Kimmel's erection comment is probably right on in this case. As well as being good stand up comedy.
    Very easy to just blank out and ignore all recent animal cognition research and choose instead to continue to believe the meat machine myth. Hey, they're just "dumb animals". So what's the big deal?
    Just pause for a moment and contemplate the 40 hours between being wounded, then pursued, and finally killed - from the lion's perspective. Then think about the mental state of one who would intentionally and even gleefully bring this about.
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    • Posted by khalling 8 years, 9 months ago
      "selective reading of AR's work as a means to justify sociopathic behaviour" good grief! what the hell site do you think you are on! I guarantee you will lose votes with this kind of anti-Rand rand with no substance to back up your claims. Yes, Man over nature.
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      • Posted by DancingDon 8 years, 9 months ago
        not interested in getting votes. correct or incorrect is not a popularity issue.
        2. FYI, Objectivist ethics apply to any and all rational self aware beings. AR was not referring to featherless bipeds in her use of the term "man". Objectivism stands on it's merits as a philosophical system, on its conformance to reality. Or it falls. If its ethics/politics fails to apply to a thinking self aware entity that is not a member of the biological/genetic group of homo sapiens, it falls - or at least can no longer be considered universal.
        3. all of which is largely beside the point. The end focus of Objectivism being to identify a reality conforming metaphysical and epistemological base from which to further identify the guiding principles for maximizing the individuals happiness & success in its life. The life of a rational, self aware, thinking and, yes, caring being.
        I can't conceive of any way whatsoever that such psychologically self destructive behaviour as trophy hunting, i.e. the deliberate torture & consequent killing of another conscious being for sport (read "thrills"), can actually enhance any rational being's self esteem and thus its long term happiness. Lots of ways to enhance a social metaphysician's pseudo self esteem - envy shown by drinking buddies', etc. Consequently, I think the condemnation of such behaviour on this forum should be entirely appropriate. Though a further exploration of why, would be perhaps even more appropriate?
        4. "Man over nature"?? Curious to know by what process you exclude humans from the universe?
        Or do you actually mean "man over all the rest of nature"?? And if so, why? Before responding, please investigate at least some of the recent literature regarding emotion and cognition research being done regarding other species.
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        • Posted by blackswan 8 years, 9 months ago
          since when are animals rational?!? And since when is man not man?!? What have you been reading? If you use the Bible (or equivalent), then God told man to dominate nature. If we're using objectivism, then man's mind leads to the dominance of nature. Clearly, the animals can't compete with man on rationality, so they don't count in this discussion.
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          • -1
            Posted by DancingDon 8 years, 9 months ago
            if we are having a rational discussion, then please leave the Bible, the Quran, and any various scratchings on ancient temple walls out of it.
            2. I fail to understand the meaning of your question ".....man not man?!?". Are we switching to Platonic Forms now?.
            3. I would be interested to read your development on how having the capacity to reason leads to a state of "dominance". Maybe a bit of Spencerian social Darwinism raising its ugly head here? My understanding of AR's position is that a man's rational faculty, his mind, is his primary survival tool and learning how to use his mind and then the environment to best facilitate this - survival & successful living qua reasoning being being the goal. I fail to see how this necessarily implies "dominance". Rational & perhaps careful use thereof, yes, but dominance?
            5. yes animals do count in this discussion. The point of my argument is not to raise animals to human intellectual level, but to question the use of Objectivism as allowing for or worse advocating trophy killing - see my point 4 above.
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        • Posted by khalling 8 years, 9 months ago
          seriously. most of what you just said is irrelevant to the discussion.

          "all of which is largely beside the point. The end focus of Objectivism being to identify a reality conforming metaphysical and epistemological base from which to further identify the guiding principles for maximizing the individuals happiness & success in its life. The life of a rational, self aware, thinking and, yes, caring being. "

          what is your take on fetus organ harvesting? just want to make sure you are consistent and get there is a hierachy and animals are under you.
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        • Posted by CircuitGuy 8 years, 9 months ago
          "not interested in getting votes. correct or incorrect is not a popularity issue."
          In the mirror universe, Spock has a beard, Peter Keeting is a hero, Roark is a villain, and a reaction and approval of others is very important.
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  • -4
    Posted by fosterj717 8 years, 9 months ago
    It would be interesting if he also shed a tear for those unborn babies that are having their body parts harvested for profit by one of his pet Liberal/Progressive organizations, Planned Parenthood!. Jimmy Kimmel is either the biggest idiot or the biggest hypocrite for not being at least a little intellectually honest. Which is it Jimmy? Idiot or hypocrite?
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    • Posted by $ prof611 8 years, 9 months ago
      Two classic fallacies: Red Herring, followed by False Dilemma. Let's try and use a little logic at the Gulch!
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      • Posted by woodlema 8 years, 9 months ago
        Ok here is logic to satisfy both the Atheist, (Big Bang/Evolutionist) And the Religiously based Christian.

        Evolutionist/Atheist:
        "Survival of the fittest" is a phrase that originated from an evolutionary theory as a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. The biological concept of fitness is defined as reproductive success. In Darwinian terms the phrase is best understood as "Survival of the form that will leave the most copies of itself in successive generations."

        Herbert Spencer first used the phrase – after reading Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species – in his Principles of Biology (1864), in which he drew parallels between his own economic theories and Darwin's biological ones, writing, "This survival of the fittest, which I have here sought to express in mechanical terms, is that which Mr. Darwin has called 'natural selection', or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life.
        We also have the "Food Chain" which is also a function of Nature, where on Land and given differing circumstances MAN is the top of the food chain.

        MAN kills Lion, Takes head, give meat to villagers for food, All is right with the world "Get over it."

        Christian/Creationist:
        Genesis 9:3
        New International Version
        Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

        New Living Translation
        I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables.

        English Standard Version
        Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

        MAN kills Lion, Takes head, give meat to villagers for food, All is right with the world "Get over it."


        There ya go, Logic from both sides, so Man kills Lion, move on...
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