Comments on: James Bovard

By: Dissident Voice : US Girl Scouts Defend the Homeland!

Dissident Voice : US Girl Scouts Defend the Homeland! — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:03:37 +0000

[...] is often couched behind the idea of national service, which involves not only things like Americorps or Teach for America but also the possible mobilization of the populace for war [...]

By: Girl Scouts Defend the American Homeland! « Asian American Movement Blog

Girl Scouts Defend the American Homeland! « Asian American Movement Blog — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:58:48 +0000

[...] is often couched behind the idea of national service, which involves not only things like Americorps or Teach for America but also the possible mobilization of the populace for war [...]

By: bman

bman — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:35:25 +0000

Individual liberty comes with individual responsibility. However, I suspect those wanting liberty want only their idea of responsibility to rule the day.
what is so horrible about volunteering to help make America a better place?
Mandatory is not such a great idea but I do not believe that we will sign up for mandatory any more than folks will wish for the draft to return.
The long winded responses on debate tactics are just smoke screens for the inability to say concisely what needs to be said.

By: Rex in Australia

Rex in Australia — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:44:19 +0000

I enjoyed that interview and the humour expressed too. Also, I’m glad that someone hates that wanker Glenn Beck nearly as much as I do. I’m just glad that the only time I see him these days is when the Daily Show is mocking him.

By: Claus-Erik Hamle

Claus-Erik Hamle — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:53:33 +0000

The Pentagon´s disarming and unanswerable first-strike capability + Launch On Warning = SUICIDE. Trident missile engineer Bob Aldridge resigned for that reason.

I recommend The Aftermath, published by SIPRI.

By: Odysseus

Odysseus — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:43:11 +0000

Hide Behind wrote:

“It is also a tacitc, much like you used, to try and disparage or bring discredit upon those who may atempt to place a legitimate comparison in order to either hide their own inability of debate with logical reasoning, or a deliberate attempt to hide the truth from being known.”

What do you mean directing “much like you used” at me??? Are you saying that by exposing the vulnerability “Godwin’s law”, that I sank to the same level as one who would use it?

By: alskdjflksdjf

alskdjflksdjf — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 23:53:07 +0000

Jeez guys, get a room. Horton & Bovard are so gay for each other, it is sickening.

By: Attack the System » Blog Archive » Updated News Digest April 5, 2009

Attack the System » Blog Archive » Updated News Digest April 5, 2009 — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:56:43 +0000

[...] Mandatory National Service on the Way? James Bovard interviewed by Scott Horton [...]

By: Hide Behind

Hide Behind — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:51:26 +0000

@ Odysseus: It is known as “Godwins Law” and it has many other connotations of what not to use during an argument and is used more in debate than in literature, as it also includes such as when a certain Colorado Professoer when referring to those who worked in the Twin “towers as “Little Eichmans” cost him his position; an action that just recently the Courts ruled as an Abridgement of Free Speech by the University .

It is also a tacitc, much like you used, to try and disparage or bring discredit upon those who may atempt to place a legitimate comparison in order to either hide their own inability of debate with logical reasoning, or a deliberate attempt to hide the truth from being known.

No matter what terms and wordage used to hifde behind Americorp and the new programs on the books Called “Mandatory Volunteerism” are acts of conscription, a Draft.

Contrary to most of youthfull under 28 years of age belief that they cannot ever be drafted for military service,and for that matter adults if you can find one, the US Conscription Law was never repealed and is still in effect.

A program that is being bandied about is for 50 hrs per year for all youths under th 8th grade level and 100 hrs between 9th grade level and 21years of age is a complelty seperate program from Americorp.

It is what in todays Newspeak called “Mandatroy Volunteerism”.

If a teacher cannot understand the conflict within the term and the principles it violates, both upon our system of Laws and the idea of Individual Sovereignty and the future dangr to individual liberty it poses is not surprising when one looks at U.S. education or what has passed or such for over the last 40 years by majority of those recieving teaching degrees.

they for the main are not educators but trtainers who learned the techinques or mechanics of teaching as a primary and secondarily thaty of the topics they may be asked to know in order to educate their students.

I suggest one of the best reads in over 25 years of what is wrong with US education and especially what is wrong with those within the educational fields, mainly in ways to reason; the Work of Dr. John Taylor Gatto, “Weapons of Mass Instruction”.

This new push towards mandatroy volunteerism has much to do with the Anti-War stance of this site, especialy of those in power and the programs outsisde that this new mental conditioning is to support; and even higher than that when it comes to asking what is the indivduals place within humanity in the future.

Alex de Toqueville described it over 200 years ago as “Democratic Despotism”; the results of which one can see by such easy acceptance of control over ones life by those in DC.

Thus, “It every day renders the “Free Agency” of man less usefull and less frequent; it circumscribes the will with a narrower range and gradually robs the man of all use of himself.”

To look around at a useless popualtion, good but little purpose other than to serve those of the richest and most powerfull in the land, and think they are free but know only the bounds of salvery, that is the people of United States have becoem.

By: JCrowe

JCrowe — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:02:30 +0000

First of all, another good interview. I’d also like to respond to comments by “eCAHNomics”. He mentions a “rule” about mentioning Nazis. This is the so-called “Godwin’s Law” that states that as a Usenet discussion thread progresses, the probability of mention of Nazis or Hitler approaches 1. (roughly). People have extended this to imply that whoever mentions Hitler or Nazis first has lost the debate. It’s an irrational debate tactic and allows some folks to hide behind the “rule” rather than to rationally defend their positions. There are reasons to fear these proposed programs of the Obama administration. Obama is viewed in almost messianic awe by a significant part of the population. Legitimate criticism is often met with cries of racism and worse. The bailouts of AIG and others is an insidious act, but proposing mandatory service in a supposedly free country is much more insidious because it really does amount to government sponsored slavery.