tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2048715035467766557.post5416437987227440182..comments2024-03-03T04:40:39.492-05:00Comments on Fire Megan McArdle: Wowbradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06907349163323395529noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2048715035467766557.post-66718323120714122952008-04-12T12:43:00.000-04:002008-04-12T12:43:00.000-04:00If it weren't for the repugnant argument and the a...If it weren't for the repugnant argument and the awful writing, this would actually be funny, considering Megan's "I am sooo deeply offended that you would say I endorse torture" attitude towards Greenwald. What a hypocrite.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2048715035467766557.post-81743539782426860242008-04-11T21:30:00.000-04:002008-04-11T21:30:00.000-04:00Comparing Dershowitz to Megan is a complement to D...Comparing Dershowitz to Megan is a complement to Dershowitz. That man is scum. He will invent any fact, apologize for any crime, wipe away any dead, as long as it serves his interests. He has an army of poorly paid graduate students right his work. He has no integrity, and has probably done more to ensure that bloodshed will continue in the Middle East than any other American civilian. [1]<BR/><BR/>[1] Finkelstein, Norman. Beyond Chutzpahrickmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01599008734487245908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2048715035467766557.post-49741992198483333962008-04-11T18:13:00.000-04:002008-04-11T18:13:00.000-04:00Despite her protestations, Megan is opposed to tor...Despite her protestations, Megan is opposed to torture in the same way that Dershowitz is. Both argue that they are personally opposed to torture while also arguing that torture is ok with them. <BR/><BR/>Megan's argument makes little sense. (As always)<BR/><BR/>"I'm not sure they should always be punished"<BR/><BR/>"at risk to the lives and careers of the men who carry it out"<BR/><BR/>If they shouldn't be punished then what exactly is the risk?<BR/><BR/>Regardless of her contortions to explain this away, it clearly contradicts her claim that she has always been 100% against even considering torture.<BR/><BR/>And she makes the fundamental error that all torture apologists make: she takes as a given that only the bad guys are tortured, even though we know for a fact that is incorrect. I covered that in blog a couple of times:<BR/><BR/>http://margalis.blogspot.com/2007/10/just-how-dumb-do-they-think-we-are.html<BR/><BR/><BR/>http://margalis.blogspot.com/2007/09/hypothetical-questions.html<BR/><BR/>What people like Megan fail to realize is that when you torture people before determining guilt you are inviting the torture of innocent people. That is the logical outcome.Margalishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05113704757631863541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2048715035467766557.post-75306716229737680582008-04-11T17:57:00.000-04:002008-04-11T17:57:00.000-04:00I was in Manhattan that day. I still lived way upt...I was in Manhattan that day. I still lived way uptown, so I was nowhere near the scene, but I'm well aware. But, to begin with, we're talking about a piece from almost 2 years later. I suspended my loathing of GW for about 6 months, till I heard the word Iraq in public, but I didn't suspend my reason.<BR/>Torture is wrong, and it doesn't produce reliable enough results to be justified even in the most extreme fictional cases its supporters can think of. Torture is about power, and cruelty. There is no corner dark enough for torture be permissible in it. <BR/>I had friends who, like Dennis Miller, lost their fucking minds thanks to the sheer fear of 9/11 and became vicious in ways that still frighten me. Just because why it happened to them is comprehensible doesn't make it ok.<BR/>There's no defense for torture. Period.bradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06907349163323395529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2048715035467766557.post-43527041307607821812008-04-11T17:49:00.000-04:002008-04-11T17:49:00.000-04:00In my role as her defendant (this week only) you m...In my role as her defendant (this week only) you might note that people were pretty freaked that soon after 9/11. I was in NJ at the time and immediately after I was actually thinking about joining the army. Granted, it took me less than two years to find my bearings again, but not everyone is as awesome as me.<BR/><BR/>If she were to denounce that post and provide that as her reasoning, or something else that I could respect, I'd give her a pass.<BR/><BR/>I remember using similar logic myself about invading Afghanistan against the only person I knew at the time who was against the idea, though not for torture of course.NutellaonToasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09524357022370926931noreply@blogger.com