EvanTh
18d ago
Immigration from Europe -- including Western Europe -- never stopped. It's limited by visa availability, not desire to immigrate.
This surprises me; do you have a source?
EvanTh
24d ago
As an omnivore, if you're going to replace the meat, please use some sort of beans. Beans as found in nature, not processed into tofu.
EvanTh
24d ago
...get ice cream all over your shoes because 2x a single scoop doesn't fit in a cone
I've started asking for ice cream in a bowl, but with a cone sticking out from the bowl. It's great - the great taste of a cone, and the security of a bowl.
EvanTh
24d ago
We probably should get rid of spousal citizenship at this point. And its because it brings in people I don’t want and not some Southern Boy in the military bringing back a German wife.
There're lots of far-looser things to get rid of first. But even if you insist on looking at spousal citizenship specifically, how about compromising and limiting it to people who've lived here since their childhood? Or maybe even to natural-born citizens?
EvanTh
1mo ago
The distinction I was driving at is not whether you consider apartheid SA illegal, but whether considered it apartheid and referred to it as such.
Ah. Yes, by definition, what happened in South Africa is "apartheid." It included a lot of other bad things besides their election laws; if they'd just given black people citizenship of their "homelands" and denied them the vote, that wouldn't have been anywhere near as bad as what actually happened.
But besides that, what meaning does the term 'unjust' have if we don't mean to eradicate that which is 'unjust'?
Indeed: injustice should be undone, insofar as there is a way to undo it without worse injustice.
How is this functionally any different from calling something a different word that conveys the same meaning; that the thing is bad and has to change?
"Illegal under international law" does not in fact clearly convey that to me, and I think to many other people. My first thought is "oh; is this one of the actually-important points of international law, or the many more points that bear zero moral weight?"
Is there any reason you would prefer referring to Israel as the unjust state of Israel rather than calling it apartheid or that its illegally occupying Palestinians?
Yes: you would correctly be describing what you're claiming is happening and why you're claiming it's bad.
You not seeing any place is not equivocal to there not being any place, as far as I'm concerned.
Well, it is for me.
EvanTh
1mo ago
I don't criticize South Africa's behavior as being "illegal" either, no. I use more weighty words like "unjust".
To continue crossing the comment threads, I don't see any place where a new state could be established in "a universally beneficial solution." There's no "land without people" that's not covered by desert or ice, and even the deserts are jealously guarded with border lines. So, unfortunately, even if we ignore the huge human costs of forced migration, the only way to keep a "Jewish homeland" would still be to deal with Israel where it is.
EvanTh
1mo ago
This was the second female person carrying a meticulously decorated cane as a fashion statement I saw that day.
Any chance they were cosplaying some specific character I haven't heard of? If I saw them, that's what I'd guess they were doing.
EvanTh
1mo ago
If your main issue is that the occupation of Palestine is illegal under (presumably) international law, then first I suppose we'll need to establish that international law about occupations should carry substantial moral weight in the first place. I'd rather just talk about the object level.
EvanTh
1mo ago
They've managed to get economics perceived as a conservative discipline, it is mostly liberal. Its just that it is 30-40% libertarian/conservative, rather than 0-5% libertarian/conservative.
"To the privileged, equality feels like oppression."
EvanTh
1mo ago
I'm OK with the existence of a jewish homeland. Israel as a particular project is problematic as it infringes on another peoples homeland.
Then where would you be happy with the existence of a Jewish homeland?
EvanTh
1mo ago
Yes! I'm happy to talk about the prolonged Israeli occupation of Palestine, now that we're using the right terms so that discussion can get somewhere rather than getting sidetracked about matters such as election laws internal to Israel!
EvanTh
1mo ago
There's no argument for why West Bank jews can vote in Israeli elections but West Bank Palestinians can not that is not de facto apartheid driven.
France and Hungary, and most other European countries, let their citizens living outside the country vote. I used to have a friend who was born in the United States to a French mother and (at the time I knew him) had never lived in France his whole life - but he was still regularly voting in French elections.
Would you say that French voting law is based on apartheid, because they let him vote but not me?
Now, of course, there is a difference: France does not have military bases on American soil and does not have any oversight over the American government. But France didn't let Germans vote in 1946, either, even as they were maintaining a literal military occupation over part of Germany. Of course, that was more obviously justified than the Israeli powers over the Palestinian government - but even if you argue the Israeli example isn't justified, it remains at least "an argument... that is not de facto apartheid driven."
EvanTh
1mo ago
But what about reading it in connection with 18 USC 112, which doesn't mention kidnappings and does mention "imprison" without any specification that it's not under color of law?
EvanTh
2mo ago
Since you mention teaching Christian theology...
My high school American history teacher, when we were talking about the Puritans settling Massachusetts, spent most of one class period spelling out Puritan theology and how these historical Puritans applied it in their lives. He got it absolutely accurate, in such detail that I left that class convinced he was a Christian himself! But, some time later (after I was no longer taking his class), I found out that he's an atheist! That increased my respect for him in one way: he understood very well how important Christian doctrine was to American history.
EvanTh
3mo ago
The price of ground beef really has significantly gone up, even in the last three years. The average income hasn't anywhere near as much.
EvanTh
3mo ago
I agree, except it shouldn't be Donald Trump. Why not John Marshall, who was on the $500 bill earlier?
EvanTh
6mo ago
Have to agree "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is a better opener. But "The Cage" isn't; it's less polished and about a completely different crew.
EvanTh
6mo ago
"The Cage" was not published first! Part of it was filmed first, but it was broadcast much later!
And it's also not such a good place to begin.
She also said once that she had a nightmare in which Edward revealed that the "vegetarianism" was just a false front to lure humans in, and he actually eats humans like every other vampire.
I sort of wish we'd gotten that book.
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