From: frazier@oahu.cs.ucla.edu (Greg Frazier)
Subject: Re: What keeps me from being Lib. (was Re: FW: news release: abolish IRS)
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 92 21:18:16 GMT

I wasn't going to respond to "articles of this nature" (please don't
as me to define that), but there you go...

rdippold@qualcom.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold) writes:

>frazier@oahu.cs.ucla.edu (Greg Frazier) writes:
>>I'll try to respond to some of the other resonses to my posting
>>tomorrow or the next day (they're good), but this one needs some
>>immediate slapping around.  Being that we live in a republic,
>>it *is* the people who've decided that vaccination is "good",
>>and we *are* the ones who decided that some tax money should
>>go toward vaccination programs, but that most of the funding
>>should come from private insurance or the parents.  

>We also decided that blacks weren't really people.  We also decided
>that Social Security should support someone's drug habit, and a huge
>number of other reprehensible decisions.  Just because a group of
>people are able to impose their will on someone else at the expense of
>their rights does not mean that it is a good thing.

Non-sequitor.  I didn't say that the majority was always correct,
I said that the majority made the decision.  If you think that
mandatory vaccinations are bad, try to convince everybody else
and get it repealed.  As for whether anybody's rights are violated
by mandatory vaccinations, well, let's just say I don't agree.

>>doesn't mean it wasn't there.  Depending on "generaous people"
>>being willing to give to a "worthy cause" is pretty naive.
>And mugging others to support that "worthy cause" is pretty crooked.

Mugging?  No, taxes.  You don't like taxes - tough nookies.
I have little respect for libertarians who make tax elimination
their top priority.  Work for personal freedom, a more just
society, etc. - leave the tax elimination for the last step
in the evolution.

>>It's like with public radio - they get all of these people to
>>pledge donations, and then have to go through hell and high
>>water to actually get the pledgers to cough up the dough.

>Maybe they might consider programming that people actually like to
>support their other programs?  Why am I supposed to subsidize someone
>else's ability to see Masterpiece Theater or The 90's?

You are confused.  Public television and public radio have fund
drives.  People pledge, i.e., promise to send them money.  Then
the people don't pay.  That's human nature - you say "yes, this
is a worthy cause and money should be spent on it", but when
it comes to check-writing time it's a different story.  I'm
suggesting that financing vaccination programs via public donation
would run into the same problem - people will say, "yeah, we
should have a vaccination program, but I'm a bit strapped for
cash at the moment".

>>>>the notion of individuals taking co's/corp'ns to court and suing if
>>>>they feel that the co. in question is polluting too much.

>>>Why sue?  If you can show they're damaging your property, they need to
>>>pay you restitution or go to jail, just as if they'd taken a crowbar
>>>to your car or house.

>>You show that they're damaging your property by going to court.
>>That's suing.

>Do I need to sue to prove that someone mugged me?

Yes.  That is to say, it is the same mechanism - you go
to court and prove that you were damaged and that the
defendant is the one who damaged you.  Unless you have the
gov't doing the prosecuting/suing for you, but then, that's
what we're talking about eliminating.

>>Several people have made comments along these lines - I'll
>>try to address them tomorrow.  For now, let me say that the
>>quotes I've heard attributed to Marrou contradict this
>>pretty hard.

>He's talking about long-range goals as well.

Could be - I'm educating myself on this.
-- 


Greg Frazier	frazier@CS.UCLA.EDU	!{ucbvax,rutgers}!ucla-cs!frazier
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc