Comments on: "I Will Not Be Pushed, Filed, Stamped, Indexed, Briefed, Debriefed Or Numbered. My Life Is My Own."

By: Patrick

Patrick — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:53:00 +0000

We tend to balance out DMG. I lean right, but I'm right libertarian verging on anarchist. Ezra is a sort of squishy socialist with occasional syndicalist leanings. Ken is a sensible, moderate libertarian, who would have included a reference to Ann Coulter or something. Charles balances us out by his infinite faith in government, and his infinite distrust of corporations. SO, I will point out that many Republicans, and probably the Conservative Party (to stay on topic) think national identity cards are a wonderful idea. Many of our readers, like gbasden, don't see what the big deal is. And while they're all probably correct, I at least am unhappy at the idea that I might have to wear an ID tag or be microchipped. I own dogs. I know exactly what the card signifies. That some dogs tout the advantages of leashes, tags, and microchips doesn't mean they aren't property. They just resent it when other dogs remind them that they're property.

By: DMG

DMG — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:51:16 +0000

I didn't mean to imply that you're required to do anything of the sort. I wasn't a regular reader here until recently, so from now on I'll just assume there was similar bashing when the right was in power (at least in the US) and leave it at that.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:33:59 +0000

Absolutely DMG, but this isn't a post about right fascists. It's about left fascists, or as Geeklawyer points out, nominally left corporatists who've sold out to Big Surveillance Camera. This ain't Fox News. I don't need to trot out some Alan Colmes to whine, "yes, but..." when I want to bash the left.

By: DMG

DMG — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:40:18 +0000

I meant to include this quote.

This is the problem with the western left: They can see a noose with perfect clarity when the hangman is a conservative. But when the noose is placed by their fellow leftists, they’ll call it a necktie every time.

By: DMG

DMG — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:39:19 +0000

Let's see if I can get blockquotes right for a change….

This would have been an excellent time to pull out the old "fasicsts of the left and right" line. Note that US rightists had no problem with the noose when it was in Bush's hands but have now become enlightened thanks to it being the hands of a black, Muslim socialist.

By: Base of the Pillar

Base of the Pillar — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:36:08 +0000

I never use my federally issued passport when traveling within my country. I don't need a state issued drivers license unless I choose the privilege of driving nor does said drivers license require me to get fingerprinted. And after that, I only need to display said drivers license if I get into trouble or am electing to use a privilege.

But above and beyond all that, what does one gain through a federally issued ID? The federal government gains quite a lot. And the most insidious words are often spoken to support the national stamp of approval: well, only those guilty wouldn't submit to such a burden.

By: gbasden

gbasden — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:45:29 +0000

I don't mean to be contrary, and I'm certainly willing to be educated, but I don't see how this is significantly different from the status quo. I have to show my government issued drivers license constantly, and my government issued passport is used frequently. Why is the idea of a government issued ID card so different than what we have now?

By: Base of the Pillar

Base of the Pillar — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:43:51 +0000

Well, thankfully, the UK is known for preserving civil rights in the face of adversity, such as The Troubles. So I can't see how this could possibly go wrong.

By: Charles

Charles — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:20:33 +0000

Hyperbole, sure, but something about the tone just didn't sit right. And I didn't know what to make of the Denby remark, especially because I think it has Denby totally backwards. He'd be mad at me for the hit and run in the comments, not at you for flaying a serf.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:10:34 +0000

And Charles, how would you characterize a person who is so proud to be fitted with the state's equivalent of a dog collar that she writes an op-ed encouraging others to do the same?

"Willing serf" is actually more temperate than what I originally planned to call her.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:07:14 +0000

That's just hyperbole on Charles's part. At least I hope it is.

To write a Chick tract post, I'd need to go well beyond my current paranoia, to mention that the Catholic Church is really a satanic cannibal cult, that all contemporary music is a front for atheism, and to discuss eschatology.

But on the off chance Charles is serious, I don't hold his provincialism against him. He's a New Yorker.

By: Charles

Charles — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:06:06 +0000

"willing serfs", "leftists" ... what started as a parodic tone didn't seem out of place with the rest of it.

By: Linus

Linus — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:45:44 +0000

The whole thing still felt like a Chick tract.

Why?

By: Charles

Charles — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:22:07 +0000

I figured the mark of the beast for a Chick reference. The whole thing still felt like a Chick tract.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:19:56 +0000

Charles, did it occur to you that the reference to the mark of the beast might not have been utterly serious? I recommend that you read David Denby's Snark: It's Mean, It's Personal, and It's Ruining Our Conversation. You and Denby probably have a lot in common.