comments on an article

So I found this article on my friend’s web site and I felt like I needed to respond these so called “Random Thoughts,” although they were very intelligently ordered for maximum effect. Joseph Goebbels would be proud.

The regular text are the words of Thomas Sowell. The bold lines, started with two dash marks, are my comments.

September 04, 2007
Random Thoughts
By Thomas Sowell

One of the painful signs of years of dumbed-down education is how many people are unable to make a coherent argument. They can vent their emotions, question other people's motives, make bold assertions, repeat slogans-- anything except reason.
---this guy seems to be a master at spitting out nonsense with no explanations or context…

Barack Obama is the newest face on the political scene, expressing some of the oldest notions. Virtually everything he says is vintage 1960s rhetoric, as if he has learned nothing from the many disasters that 1960s notions have led to in the decades since then.
--valid political argument, I disagree with his opinion...every piece of "1960s rhetoric" put into place primarily by Lyndon Johnson and his great society, were, in fact, working...of course functional programs become disastrous when all funding is cut to them before they have time to come to completion. People on welfare and foodstamps were right in the middle of their job retraining courses when my good friend Richard Nixon came into the White House and unfunded every single piece of legislation that made up the Great Society. No one has any idea if those programs will or will not work because they were only given a couple of years… What is most likely is that this man is so offended by the fact that the 1960s culture has become so mainstreamed through our media-drenched culture that anything associated with it is inherently wrong.

People who lament the small percentages of women in some high-end jobs seem unaware that top jobs often involve 70 or 80 hours of work per week. A mother may work that many hours at home taking care of a family, without adding the same number of hours at the office.
--reasonable point…ceo’s work crazy jobs…more women take care of families then men…it makes perfect sense that this does in fact contribute to the male dominated c-officer world

A recent study showed the median income of major corporate CEOs to be about $8 million a year. That's less than a third of what Alex Rodriguez earns and less than one-thirtieth of what Oprah Winfrey makes. But no one is denouncing them for "greed."
--this was placed here to distract most middle and lower middle class people into focusing on celebrities they know and not focusing on the fact that two thirds of the shit this man spews is actually affects how and why they live the way they do (Alex Rodriguez only affects the way you live based on how many Yankee tickets or ARod jerseys you buy)

It is amazing how many people who want us to get out of Iraq want us to go into Darfur.
--true. We should do neither. But since we’re already in Iraq, threatening to go into Darfur is meaningless. So we’ve lost our greatest weapon (a weapon that has been losing power since Vietnam), the threat of the “great American army.” Kind of loses it’s allure after losing our last 2 wars (or conflicts, if you prefer).

A joke says that a poll was taken in California, asking if people thought illegal immigration was a serious problem. The results showed that 29 percent said, "Yes, there is a serious problem." But 71 percent said, "No es una problema seriosa."
--another diversion from the main point…immigrants aren’t scary…where did your family come from? The only reason Republicans are so tough on keeping illegals illegal is because it keeps wages lower for their constituents.

People who refuse to face the reality of hard choices are forever coming up with some clever "third way"-- often leading to worse disasters than either of the hard choices.
--he’s complaining about other people’s rhetoric? Does he have a point with this?

Sometimes it looks as if the Democrats are out to win at all costs, while the Republicans are out to compromise at all costs.
--Proof. I want proof. I will not defend the Democrats, they’ve spent many years watching themselves get beat by Republicans and have learned some tricks from the masters along the way. But really, give me some examples here. I really want to know. If this is true, I may have to rethink my entire political philosophy. Seriously.

Although I am ready to defend what I have said, many people expect me to defend what others have attributed to me.
--What does this mean? Please defend what you have said. I want to know where you’re coming from. Or if you’re selling books. Or what.

A reader says that Connecticut's "Three Strikes" law is so weak that it is more like "30 strikes and we'll think about it while you strike again."
--Yeah, those damn liberal New Englanders letting criminals roam the streets! I feel so lucky that in Texas they just kill the bastards! But for real, Connecticut needs tougher laws if this is true, especially for violent criminals.

Wise people created civilization over the centuries and clever people are dismantling it today. You can see it happening just by channel surfing on TV or hear it in rap music or read it in the pompous nonsense of academics and judges.
--Rap music and academic writings and judges decisions. What do these three things have in common? All things the “average” American can’t, or more likely, doesn’t want to understand. What you don’t understand WILL kill you! Knowledge is the enemy!

Tennis star James Blake never seems to be relaxed during a match. Maybe he would be ranked even higher if he could relax. Most sports require some combination of concentration and relaxation-- and too much of either is a big handicap.
--Meaningless. Like he’s saying that it’s ok for YOU to sit back and watch tv because you need to relax. (Even if it is destroying America…no, not all tv, not the shows that help me sell books.)

Many on the political left are so entranced by the beauty of their vision that they cannot see the ugly reality they are creating in the real world.
--I need an explanation on this one. All I see here is him saying that the word “left” is equivalent to “ugly.” Wasn’t this the same guy who was telling me at the top of this article that we need to learn how to argue with reason and not “make bold assertions” or “repeat slogans?” Hypocrite. I’ll listen to your point when you use reason.

With all the old movie favorites being shown again and again on television, it is remarkable that the old movie classic "Alfie" is seldom shown. Could it be fear that the scene where cold-blooded Alfie breaks down and cries at the sight of an aborted baby is something that would unleash the furies of the feminazis?
--Alfie was a great movie, although I really doubt being against abortion was really the point of the whole movie.

It is amazing how many people see no problem with having pay levels determined according to what third parties would like to see, instead of according to supply and demand.

One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.
--I actually agree. I am an economist by education and I believe in the concept of supply and demand. I also believe in the free market. And I also KNOW that Adam Smith (and I) believe that there are significant flaws with the free market, and this is where it is appropriate for government to step in: police, EDUCATION, and to ensure that the economic losers (which is part of free market theory) don’t starve to death.

Despite people who speak glibly of "earlier and simpler times," all that makes earlier times seem simpler is our ignorance of their complexities.
--Sure. That seems reasonable. That whole “grass is always greener” thing. It’s true. What isn’t sitting in front of you right now seems so much easier than what is. He must be a man of the people.

We all believe that people are innocent until proven guilty. Some on the left believe that they are innocent even after being proven guilty.
--True. The farthest of either side is bat-shit crazy. From the far left, Joseph Stalin and Socialism. From the far right, Benito Mussolini (and Bush Jr. http://www.heartheissues.com/images/world3.gif) and Fascism. The center? Milton Friedman, JFK, Bill Clinton, and Reagan.

Chutzpah department: When disbarred former D.A. Michael Nifong mailed his Bar card back to his state Bar Association, he included a note decrying "the fundamental unfairness" with which the Bar had treated him. This from a man who was ready to ruin three lives and polarize a community, in order to win an election.
--It’s true. Screw the corrupt. They are damaging to society. Many, many politicians are corrupt. Many businessmen, Hollywood directors, Evangelical leaders, 80% of all Catholic Popes.

As you can probably tell, I consider myself a Democrat. I place myself on the left socially and moderately conservative/right fiscally. Neither party speaks directly to me. Neither party speaks directly to ANYONE. You have to decide which issues are most important to you and choose for yourself. I am of the opinion that the role of a society is to improve the lots of everyone. I am happy to pay my taxes because I know that I am in a fortunate position and feel privileged to help pay for public services, roads, bridges, teachers, insurance for the poorest in our nation, parks, monuments, food for the hungry, help for the deranged, and prison for the criminals. If doing all of this means that I can’t buy a 42” plasma tv or a king sized sleep number bed, well, I’ll do just fine thanks. I do not support nationalized housing. I do not support wage guarantees. I understand that European social policies of post World War II have been detrimental to the overall growth of the European economy. But it is the responsibility of the government to prevent starvation, health epidemics, unchecked violence, and protect personal freedom. There is a balance. A very delicate balance…