Phaedrusnyc's Comments (31)

“The reasons people get (and stay) fat are numerous, and only some have to do with their lifestyle choices. I know fat vegetarians and fat meat-eaters. Heavy people who have been going to the gym for years and are still not the "ideal weight." I don't personally know many fat people who wouldn't willingly give up "bad" foods or ANY foods doing so would make them thin without being hungry. Sure, fat people should conquer hunger with "will-power"- too bad hunger is the most primal animal instinct (after sex) of any animal. Animals kill, hoard, and binge to prevent hunger- but when a human listens to the brain that's telling him he's hungry, it's because he "lacks self control." The brain-obese-body connection is still not completely understood. Nor is diet: why do some diets work for some and others work for others? Why are the French and Italians more slender than Americans when they eat all that "bad food" Maher goes on about? Why do some find success (and health) with Atkins and others with the food pyramid? When Maher is bright enough to figure this out for us, I'll be happy to let him dictate policy- but since he doesn't know, he should really give it a rest- especially as he continues to inhale a "natural" psychoactive product that permanently alters neural pathways- you know, like sugar.”

“Maher's show is a thoughtful one, and his willingness to challenge orthodoxy is admirable. However, his views on health and medicine are consistently ill-informed, oversimplified, didactic, self-serving, and hypocritical. I congratulate him for his apparent lack of genetic and environmental predisposal to various physical and mental ailments. However, his constant characterization of overweight people as lazy moral failures who simply lack self-control, (among other issues) demonstrates his unwillingness listen and lack of empathy.

The reason we don't tax "bad foods" is because science rarely agrees on what a “bad food” is. True, high-fructose corn syrup is unnatural and strongly correlates with obesity. Do artificial sweeteners? Who knows? Maher thinks dairy products (ingested for millennia) are "unnatural,” too. Should we be vegetarian? Maybe- our teeth and digestive tracts suggest otherwise. Who decides?

cont.”

“I make no such mistake. The fact is that a precedent is still established whereby the thoughts of the perpetrator (the "hate in his motivation") alters the nature of and disposition of his crime- making the crime itself one of thought rather than action. Period. The law has always allowed for flexibility on the part of judges and juries to grant longer or shorter sentences based on mitigating and aggravating factors, and judges and juries are perfectly within their rights to decide on the maximum sentences if they have been moved by the prosecution to believe that the biases of the perpetrator factor heavily into his act. However, codifying a specific distinction between a "hate crime," and a...I don't know, "dislike crime?" changes the nature of our very notion of justice in this country, which I might remind you, is supposed to be "blind" with regard to those who are charged.
Your examples of the specifics of the law are also ones representing strict interpretation- which, when prosecutors are bringing a case, is hardly the way most law is dispensed with. Even you would have to admit that laws like these, despite their intentions, are easily manipulated for political reasons (district attorneys, for example, are elected officials.­) It is almost a given that these laws will be (and currently are) applied unequally depending on the prevailing political climate of the day.”

“I am a liberal Democrat., anon-Christian, and a non-heterosexual. I am a rigorous thinker, a student of history and politics, and a fan of the Constitution- and, therefore, vigorously opposed to "hate crimes" legislation. I am sure I will be called a troll or worse, but anyone is free to look at various other posts I've made to decide for themselves.
I do not ally myself with bigots of any stripe. That is not why I oppose these laws. I have fought various kinds of bigotry for much of my life and will continue to do so on my behalf and that of others. I oppose these laws because the foundation of law rests upon other law. Law is based on precedent. Prosecuting someone based on the particular characteristics of their victims is a precedent. It does not distinguish between acts- simply between the possible beliefs that led to those acts. And that sort of precedent is a terrible one- one that will bite liberal, progressive, forward thinking people in the ass one of these days. Once we establish the precedent that certain beliefs can be legally worse or better than other beliefs, there is no preventing laws that will persecute us for OUR beliefs.
We should vigorously punish anyone who would infringe upon the life, liberty, or happiness of another- whether it's someone we agree with or someone we abhor. Hate crimes laws are a matter of political expedience- they are not good policy.”

“When Obama says ONE WORD about reining in the international corporations that dictate America's policies, about permanently getting rid of the lobbyists who write our laws for Congress to rubber-stamp, and about establishing an electoral system that allows for more than two shrill points of view, you can get away with saying he's "co-opting what little resonance [Nader's] message once had," but until then, Nader has a place in American politics, whether or not he occasionally makes an ill-considered statement like the one you're pushing. The fact is, Obama is more progressive than the alternative, sure- but he's hardly "progressi­ve." And he's hardly likely to criticize the money that's infected the American political process when his win, in large part, came from turning down federal funding.
You don't like Ralph Nader, the person? Fine- that's certainly your right. But Nader being obnoxious doesn't make what he's fought for any less legitimate.”

“If you have ever actually READ the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, than you have just demonstrated a PROFOUND misunderstanding of those two documents, which form the basis of our nation and its philosophy­.. The Constitution does not "grant us" our rights, nor does it pretend to do so. It PROTECTS our rights, which our Founding Fathers expressly stated are not granted by the government but by the Creator. They are inalienable. Marriage is a right because the people believe it to be a right and because it has been regarded as such throughout history, whether the Constitution says so or not. Take a civics class.”

“Um, ok. First of all, the direct quotes we're using are just that- direct quotes. Nobody "made up" anything unless you're implying that the pool of reporters is being inaccurate. Secondly, yes, calling ANYTHING "the real" something is saying that the things you're comparing it to are not "real." That includes your insipid Cubs analogy. What's even more obnoxious is the fact that you don't see the difference in purpose between your sports metaphor and what Palin said. When I say, "The Cubs fans are the REAL fans," I am most likely speaking to a bunch of Cubs fans to get them excited about their team. When someone says, "These are the REAL Americans," one is presumably doing the same thing- however, when that person is hoping to preside over THE ENTIRE COUNTRY that sort of statement is disgraceful. When someone wins an election, (s)he doesn't then go on to serve the people who voted for him/her- she is meant to server her ENTIRE CONSTITUENCY. If Sarah Palin becomes my Vice president, I damn well expect her to consider me "real" American.
As for the Russia quote- yeah, Tina Palin said it. AFTER Sarah Palin did. It's not in dispute and you know that.”

“Happy to- from a Palin fundraiser in North Carolina on the 16th, as recorded by a pool of reporters and published in the Washington Post:
"We believe that the best of America is not all in Washington, D.C. We believe- we believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation."

Palin calls small towns "real America" and "Pro-Ameri­ca." If the definition of "real America" is small towns, than that which is NOT a small town (ie, New York City) is not part of "Real America." QED.”

“I divide my time between LA and NYC where I go to the gym. Among the people I see at the gym in both NYC and LA are numerous movie stars who can surely afford their own gyms if they want to but go to public ones, anyway. Perhaps they like people and aren't so afraid of the lower classes that they feel the need to barricade themselves. Who knows? It seems like Sam is a pretty social guy.
As for him "being too busy to go to the gym, " you seem to be unaware of the concept of "middle management­." It seems to me that people with that many enterprises tend to have people under them running the day to day stuff. I'm pretty sure, based on my own work for big companies, that the people at the top take vacations, go out to the movies, and yes, go to the gym just as much as anyone else. Sam would have to be, as you say, "he stupidest and least sucessful business owner ever," if he doesn't yet know the concept of "delegation of authority.­"”

“I've used both. I have no problem with people anthropomorphizing their Macs as they seem to, but I have trouble with Mac's ad campaign for being A. Unbearably smug, and B. full of untruths and half truths. Yes, Macs crash. No, macs don't run as much software as PCs. Yes, macs can be hit by viruses when hackers wish to target them. Moreover, Mac does some pretty crappy stuff to its consumers (like making it impossible to replace a battery on an iPod, or limiting users' rights to use their audio and video where they want it.) Your choice is your choice, but must consumer purchases be proselytised? Spare me the religious fervor, Mac people.”

“Yes, because Microsoft made its own commercials without hiring an ad agency, right?”

“While I agree with the sentiments of the respondants to your post, Paliban, I weep at the fact that apparently none of them understand the concepts of irony, satire, or humor. That your use of the word "Paliban" didn't set off any flags says nothing about your own gift for comedy and everything about the aptitude of the average blog reader.
Good job!”

“June Lockhart was a Bowie fan? That would be awesome...­reference?”

“You have counted Fox "and" the MSM as one of the reasons why the peiople deserve what they're getting. Explain to me the solution, then- if people are being fooled, constantly, by a vast group of monied citizens, politicians, and corporations who make it a priority to keep the majority of the electrorate as uninformed, ignorant, and confused about what the "truth" is while they struggle for the majority of their days just to fulfill the daily requirements of life and work, what are they supposed to do about it? I am angry with the Republicans, I am angry with the MSM, I am angry with the ciorporations, I am angry with the capitulating Democrats, and sometimes, I am angry with the uninformed people who keep them in power. But I can't say they "deserve" it when the odds of them ever even learning the truth are so low. Nobody deserves to be raped, even if they're misled into thinking they're walking around a "safe" neighborhood.”

“Actually, when we account for the criminal purging of voter rolls in the swing states, Kerry also received a majority of the vote in 2004. "They" may deserve what they get, but I have been fighting with my vote, my voice, and my sweat against this sort of thing for over eight years now (Clinton did almost as much as Bush to sell out the middle and working classes, after all.) I don't deserve this, and I resent any implication of America as a monolithic society any more than 11907281's country, whichever one that is.”

“Their crimes HAVE been uncovered. They simply don't care. At least Nixon had the decency to try to cover things up.”

“Annnnnd...­they didn't. As it is clearly discussed in the article. THAT didn't start happening until privatisation and the willingness to lower the standards of lending in order to make a quick buck. But keep trying, you'll get it right eventually.”

“"Experience" is apparently the only arrow left in the Right's quiver, so let's break it down. McCain's "experience" led him to vote with president Bush just about every chance he got. His "experience" has had him flip-flop on half the positions he supposedly held eight years ago, in the name of political expediency. And his "experience" will lead to a greater risk that more your men and women will share his apparently most important "experience"- that of being injured or tortured abroad.
There is an old line that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. Look at the last eight years and explain to me why you consider yourself sane?”

“Are you better off today than you were eight years ago? Just answer that. And then tell me who was in charge.
I'd rather take a chance on someone new than keep betting on people who have yet to get it right.”

“I think you mean, "Spork."”

“Beth, those of us who see the very real possibility of a McCain victory in November are not simply being "nervous nellies." We are standing against complacency. We were SO SURE that we would win last time, remember? How could Bush POSSIBLY be re-elected after that disastrous first term?
And yet he was.
The absolute DUMBEST thing we can do right now is calling it a victory before it actually is one. There is a LOT of work to do between now and November, not least of which is making sure that every vote is counted. Something that has not happened in the last two "elections," and something that is being prevented yet again, as we natter on about out own presumed inevitability. Read Greg Palast's reports and call me a "nervous nelly." I dare you.”

“Being Pro-Choice is not the same as being "Pro-Abort­ion." I know of few people at any point along the political spectrum (except for the pro-eugenicists who would happily cast aside their "pro-life" beliefs if they know the unborn baby was going to grow up gay, or Jewish, or Liberal) who wants abortion to be something other than a rarity and a method of last resort. Once a person accepts the idea that everybody in a democratic society is not necesarily going to share one's viewpoints on morality and that imposing one's OWN, non-universal views on good people is anaethema to the health of a society, it becomes much easier to vote for Choice, even if one doesn't support abortion.”

“I have always adored Carrie Fisher, but the more I hear that people like Pellicano and Courtney Love are her "friends," the more I begin to judge her by the company she keeps.”

“I have always adored Carrie Fisher, but the more I hear that people like Pellicano and Courtney Love are her "friends," the more I begin to judge her by the company she keeps.”

“Which, as I said, are not available to all members- in other words, it's not an open membership. And when I speak of collective bargaining, I am speaking of the specific legal right to bargain with employers that "real" unions employ. Again, you're arguing semantics, not the facts of traditional union membership. Or membership in general, for that matter. The insurance prices are great- too bad temp workers aren't allowed to receive them.”