Category Archives: Social Commentary

Partitioning California

It’s not as crazy as The Economist thinks:

No doubt water, pension liabilities and Democrats (who would let this happen over their dead bodies) pose seemingly insurmountable obstacles to partition. But this is a reform movement we hope gains steam over time. The competing interests and priorities of California’s unmanageable, schismatic population are bad for democracy and bad for Californians.

It’s a mess.

“Rights Talk”

Yes, that is the way we talk in America, you stupid fascists:

Bittman likes Freudenberg’s debunking of notions of “rights and choice,” because he agrees that “we need… more than a few policies nudging people toward better health.” As Freudenberg told Bittman: “What we need… is to return to the public sector the right to set health policy and to limit corporations’ freedom to profit at the expense of public health.” Oh! Did you see that? Freudenberg said “right.” He said “right” in the context of government, and he spoke of returning this “right” — a right to control people — to government. He’s saying “right” where the legal term is actually “power.” He wants government power at the expense of rights. And the fact that he speaks of the “return” of power to the government is either deceptive or unAmerican. We are free and have a right to do what we want until we give power to government. If the laws that restrict us are repealed, it makes sense to speak of returning rights to the people, but it’s wrong and really offensive to characterize new restrictions in terms of returning a right to the government.

I know it sounds like crazy talk to you, but we really do have rights to do things of which you disapprove.

People like this should be “nudged” out of town on a rail, bedecked with petroleum bi-products and bird coverings.

As a side note, I’d bet this guy would also tell me I don’t have a right to risk my life in a spaceship.