Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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It is a running joke, of course, concerning some mothers that they relentlessly try to instill guilt in their children along lines of, “You owe me since I brought you up.” Never mind now that bringing up children is something parents usually sign up for freely and it is a fair assumption that they do so for reasons of their own. In times like these, when a good many of those in some parts of the globe are hit with catastrophes, most decent people not experiencing plight ponder just what they might be able to do to help. Sen...
It is a running joke, of course, concerning some mothers that they relentlessly try to instill guilt in their children along lines of, “You owe me since I brought you up.” Never mind now that bringing up children is something parents usually sign up for freely and it is a fair assumption that they do so for reasons of their own. In times like these, when a good many of those in some parts of the globe are hit with catastrophes, most decent people not experiencing plight ponder just what they might be able to do to help. Sen...
Many country people are afflicted with a strange ailment I call “Bet I Got Up Earlier Than You Syndrome.” The number of hours they beat the sun up is their measure of worth. They go to great lengths to prove it, too. The radio is turned on full blast so everybody in the house hears the daylight edition of the market report whether they want to or not. They call everyone they can think of just so they can say, “Did I wake you up?” If they did awaken the callee, they can’t hide their glee. I think they actually keep score of ho...
Fareed Zakaria, on his Sunday CNN program “GPS” (Global Public Square), chided American officials and commentators for responding to the failed terrorist attack in Detroit with panic. He based his assessment on the fact that there have been numerous calls for greater vigilance in defense of the realm and that the errors that helped the perpetrator to almost succeed were roundly lamented and finger-pointing was in evidence everywhere. Falling in line with the atmosphere of tolerance and understanding, as opposed to one of con...
On Jan. 3, just after “Meet the Press,” NBC-TV broadcast a radio address by President Obama. While I have become nearly pessimistic, even cynical, about expecting anything uplifting from politicians these days, I think there could be some reasons for hope, and there have been a few. I never quite foreclose the possibility that people will change course, improve, gain new insights and otherwise depart from their bad habits. Yes, the governmental habit is so pervasive that this expectation does appear Pollyannaish to many of...
On Jan. 3, just after “Meet the Press,” NBC-TV broadcast a radio address by President Obama. While I have become nearly pessimistic, even cynical, about expecting anything uplifting from politicians these days, I think there could be some reasons for hope, and there have been a few. I never quite foreclose the possibility that people will change course, improve, gain new insights and otherwise depart from their bad habits. Yes, the governmental habit is so pervasive that this expectation does appear Pollyannaish to many of...
I am fond of affordability. That extends to insurance.My home, car, health and sometimes travel insurance would at their best be something I can well afford. But then this is so with whatever it is that I am in the market for — shoes, food, furniture, electronics, etc. I like a good deal. Now and then I do engage in a little bit of charity purchase, as when I buy wine from those who spend some of what they gain on supporting breast cancer research. Even the people who come to clean my house could come less often, but I...
For a long time, political philosophers were interested in identifying the nature of justice. It started with Socrates and lasted to when John Stuart Mill did his work, although by that time there had been talk of this thing called distributive justice. Yet, I have never quite understood why the idea has become so prominent since it is clearly question-begging. Distribution is something done by people who have things to distribute, who are legitimate, rightful owners of what may be wanted from them about town. Money, mainly....
For a long time, political philosophers were interested in identifying the nature of justice. It started with Socrates and lasted to when John Stuart Mill did his work, although by that time there had been talk of this thing called distributive justice. By now, most political theorists dwell on little else. Yet, I have never quite understood why the idea has become so prominent since it is clearly question-begging. Distribution is something done by people who have things to distribute, who are legitimate, rightful owners of...
There are fewer fallacies as widely circulated as those captured by the saying, “Hard cases make bad law.” This includes all the types mentioned by those who would sanction the systematic violation of individual rights just because they can imagine or maybe find some instance in which strict respect for these rights is mostly impossible. The most frequently deployed emergency case involves people who are in dire straits through no fault of their own, and only if they gain provisions from others can they survive and flourish,...
There was a bit of good news recently from New York state, that bastion of modern liberalism and American statism! As The New York Times reported Dec. 4, “In a 3-to-2 decision, a panel of the Appellate Division of (NY) State Supreme Court in Manhattan annulled the state’s 2008 decision to take property for the (Columbia University) expansion project, saying that its condemnation procedure was unconstitutional.” And how right that is. The Times also reported: “The majority opinion was scathing in its appraisal of how the ‘sc...
There was a bit of good news recently from New York state, that bastion of modern liberalism and American statism! As The New York Times reported Dec. 4, “In a 3-to-2 decision, a panel of the Appellate Division of (NY) State Supreme Court in Manhattan annulled the state’s 2008 decision to take property for the (Columbia University) expansion project, saying that its condemnation procedure was unconstitutional.” And how right that is. The Times also reported: “The majority opinion was scathing in its appraisal of how the ‘sc...
In a wide-ranging review essay of Amartya Sen’s recent ambitious book, “The Idea of Justice,” Moshe Halbertal, a philosopher from the Hebrew University, unleashes arguments against the right to private property that are supposed to be even stronger than those Sen himself offers. Sen regards this right as a strong one but not decisive, so some considerations can be morally powerful enough to overturn it. To block even a moderately friendly view of the right to private property, professor Halbertal writes: “Let us assume...
In a wide-ranging review essay of Amartya Sen’s recent ambitious book, “The Idea of Justice,” Moshe Halbertal, a philosopher from the Hebrew University, unleashes arguments against the right to private property that are supposed to be even stronger than those Sen himself offers. Sen regards this right as a strong one but not decisive, so some considerations can be morally powerful enough to overturn it. To block even a moderately friendly view of the right to private property, professor Halbertal writes: “Let us assume...
I have always had problems voting. Not only have I been influenced by the likes of professor Gordon Tullock about how ineffectual one’s vote tends to be, but I have very rarely found any candidate who articulates clear and unambiguous principles of liberty to which he or she is fully committed, which in my view is the only way to gain justified trust from voters. Recently I expressed my dismay about Sarah Palin, based mainly on my inability to find any sound political principles articulated by her. I simply wasn’t able to...
I have always had problems voting. Not only have I been influenced by the likes of professor Gordon Tullock about how ineffectual one’s vote tends to be, but I have very rarely found any candidate who articulates clear and unambiguous principles of liberty to which he or she is fully committed, which in my view is the only way to gain justified trust from voters. Recently I expressed my dismay about Sarah Palin, based mainly on my inability to find any sound political principles articulated by her. I simply wasn’t able to...
The New York Times ran an editorial Nov. 7 tutoring its readers in how they ought to ignore the background of the accused killer of the soldiers in Texas. All that matters is what he did, not what groups he joined in the past, the paper claimed. So, his being Muslim should be ignored and nothing should be concluded about any Muslims in the light of his actions. Now this advice has a ring of truth to it, except it is wrong. Certainly not all Muslims may be suspected of bad intentions in light of what one Muslim does. Not...
When those on the political Left refer to defenders of the free market system as “right wingers,” there is understandable concern about how the term is being abused. Classical liberals, the supporters of both economic and civil libertarianism, have been anything but “right wingers,” quite the opposite. In European political history, the Right has been royalists, fascist, traditionalists and even militarist, while the Left included mainly socialists, communists and welfare statists. Those who champion free market capital...
The basic task of ethics is to answer the question, “How should I act?” What standards apply to me as I conduct my life?” “What are the fundamental principles that I should follow?” Those are pretty much equivalent questions, butthe answers are extremely complicated and multifaceted. There are a lot of thinkers who have answered them in very different ways. Almost every major philosopher has advanced an ethical theory or ideal about how human beings should conduct themselves There are, however, philosophers and other thinkers...
The basic task of ethics is to answer the question, “How should I act?” What standards apply to me as I conduct my life?” “What are the fundamental principles that I should follow?” Those are pretty much equivalent questions, but the answers are extremely complicated and multifaceted. There are a lot of thinkers who have answered them in very different ways. Almost every major philosopher has advanced an ethical theory or ideal about how human beings should conduct themselves There are, however, philosophers and other thi...
A distinguishing feature of Friedrich Nietzsche’s thought was that he believed humankind needed to overturn the old, mostly theological ethics and transform values to something new. He didn’t say what that would have to be, but he identified Christian ethics with radical altruism, advising us all to live for others first and foremost. So it is not unreasonable to conclude he was thinking of a less misanthropic morality than altruism is, the view that W.G. Maclagan described as “assuming a duty to relieve the distress and p...
It doesn’t matter if Fox-TV news is unbalanced, biased, partisan or whatever. All newspapers, magazines, journals and such have leanings — they are produced, managed and edited by individuals who have agendas and however much they wish this had no influence on them, that just isn’t realistic. Of course, even if a news reporter, producer, editor or such is allowing his or her political, religious or ethical ideas to make a difference in the materials being reported, the report need not be useless. All those many rel...
It doesn’t matter if Fox-TV news is unbalanced, biased, partisan or whatever. All newspapers, magazines, journals and such have leanings — they are produced, managed and edited by individuals who have agendas and however much they wish this had no influence on them, that just isn’t realistic. Of course, even if a news reporter, producer, editor or such is allowing his or her political, religious or ethical ideas to make a difference in the materials being reported, the report need not be useless. All those many rel...
With David Letterman — just as with Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky — the problem is that he is the boss. He’s the top banana who wields considerable clout with the rest of those on the team. For their employees to say no to them is obviously somewhat difficult and risky. Never mind the law here, it is a matter of professional ethics. Just as teachers ought not hit on students, bosses should not hit on staff. It is taking advantage of one’s legitimate power to exploit someone who did not sign up for romance but f...
With David Letterman — just as with Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky — the problem is that he is the boss. He’s the top banana who wields considerable clout with the rest of those on the team. For their employees to say no to them is obviously somewhat difficult and risky. Never mind the law here, it is a matter of professional ethics. Just as teachers ought not hit on students, bosses should not hit on staff. It is taking advantage of one’s legitimate power to exploit someone who did not sign up for romance but f...
