“Conservative philosophy - Emporia gazette.com” plus 3 more |
- Conservative philosophy - Emporia gazette.com
- Brewers approach draft with 'best player' philosophy - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- Forget Toys: French Kids Try Philosophy - ABC News
- Obama Blasts Republicans As Defenders Of A Bankrupt ... - WITN
| Conservative philosophy - Emporia gazette.com Posted: 03 Jun 2010 07:45 PM PDT Message from Five Filters: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. If Arizona is any indication, the upcoming election cycle is going to be interesting, and contentious. In a recently aired radio spot, J.D. Hayworth, who is running against John McCain in the state's senatorial primary, anointed himself the "consistent conservative," prepared to take Arizona, and America, back to their Constitutional roots. As proof of conservative credentials, Hayworth offered the following — McCain supports immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for illegals. According to his campaign website, Hayworth is the candidate who supports "the fight for real border security, interior enforcement, and requiring that law enforcement enforce our laws and protect our citizens," which translated means "ship 'em all back across the border." Hayworth is critical of McCain's national security credentials, particularly McCain's support for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and his position against the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques," particularly water-boarding. It seems that Hayworth has laid down his litmus test for conservatism. I know next to nothing about Arizona politics, but I do know a bit about conservatism. The notion that one must support torture, Gitmo, or sending thousands of busloads of Mexicans, Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, and Costa Ricans back across the Rio Grande to bear true allegiance to conservatism is ludicrous. I was born and raised in Massachusetts . Like most Bay Staters I was born a Democrat. I often tell people that my party membership was tattooed on my left buttocks in the delivery room. I grew up assuming that it was all but illegal to be a conservative. But, as I got older I drifted away from the party of my youth and leaned right. My political coming of age revolved around the growing sense that I would have to abandon my soul in order to retain my political roots. I rejected the idea that I had to give myself over to political superiors or those who had been trained for years in the art of perfecting humanity. I'd grown quite attached to my soul and decided to explore philosophies consistent with my desire to stay connected to my inner man. I found my answer in conservatism. I have "progressive" friends. They almost always tolerate me. The notable exception to that rule comes when I express my conviction that I don't want them perfecting me, leveling my playing fields, paving the way to justice for me, righting every wrong, filling my wallet with other people's money, or promising me all I want in life without cost or responsibility attached. It all looks very empty to me. As C.S. Lewis once observed, "It is like the famous Irishman who found that a certain kind of stove reduced his fuel bill by half and thence concluded that two stoves of the same kind would enable him to warm his house with no fuel at all. It is the magician's bargain: give up our soul, get power in return" If I'm not a "consistent conservative" in the mold of J.D, Hayworth, then what kind of conservative am I? In his masterwork "The Conservative Mind," which is widely considered to be the holy writ of conservative thought, historian Russell Kirk outlined six core principles of conservatism. They are: (1) "Belief in a transcendent order, or natural law, which rules society as well as conscience" (2) "Affection for the proliferation, variety, and mystery of human existence, as opposed to narrowing uniformity and egalitarianism" (3) "Conviction that civilized society requires orders and classes as against the notion of a classless society" (4) "Persuasion that freedom and property are closely linked" (5) "Faith in prescription (custom) and distrust of "sophisters, calculators, and economists who would reconstruct society upon abstract designs" (6) "Recognition that hasty innovation may be a devouring conflagration, rather than a torch of progress." If there's going to be a litmus test applied to 21st century conservatism, I'm willing to stand on those six principles. There's nothing in them that says I have to support torture. I reject the notion that I need to abandon the principles of the Sermon on the Mount (see principle one) in order to be a "consistent conservative." There's nothing in Kirk's principles that says I can't apply core conservative principles to the immigration problem and find a better, more compassionate solution. Custom and compassion for the alien and stranger, as outlined in the biblical book of Ruth, which predate the Hayworth principle by thousands of years, say otherwise. (see principle five) I'm sure I've managed to set the teeth of those from both ends of the political spectrum to the grinding wheel. That's alright. As G.K. Chesterton once observed, "He is a very shallow critic who cannot see an eternal rebel in the heart of a conservative." Phil Dillon writes a blog, "Fires Along the Tallgrass," http://anothermansmeat.blogspot.com. E-mail him at phildillon@sbbcglobal.net. Five Filters featured article: Into the Abyss. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brewers approach draft with 'best player' philosophy - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Posted: 05 Jun 2010 02:28 PM PDT Message from Five Filters: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. As badly as the Milwaukee Brewers need to develop their own pitching - buying on the market hasn't worked so great for them - scouting director Bruce Seid doesn't plan to stray from his philosophy during the first round of the draft Monday night. "That won't affect how we line up our board," said Seid, who will be conducting his second draft for the Brewers. "We still want the best player. "Now, if best player available intersects with need, you feel like you hit a home run." Seid said that happened last year when the Brewers selected Indiana right-hander Eric Arnett with the 26th pick of the first round. The Brewers had Arnett atop their board when their turn came, and it just so happened pitching was a priority. Seid still believes Arnett was the right choice even though he is 0-5 with a 6.80 earned run average through 10 starts for low Class A Wisconsin, with 16 homers allowed in 47 2/3 innings. "We still feel that way," said Seid. "He got off to a slow start, but he has pitched well the last couple of starts (three runs in 13 innings with 10 strikeouts)." Last year was the Stephen Strasburg Draft, with the San Diego State right-hander considered one of the best pitching prospects ever. This year, it's the Bryce Harper Draft, with the hitting phenom at the College of Southern Nevada, a junior college, the consensus top talent. Washington is expected to take Harper with the first pick. The next night, the Nationals will showcase Strasburg, taken first in '09, in his major-league debut against Pittsburgh. The American League and National League once alternated in making the first pick, but the rule was changed a few years back to guarantee that the team with the worst record would go first. The Nats will benefit from that change by getting both Strasburg and Harper, their battery of the future. After Harper, the top picks are expected to be high school right-hander Jameson Taillon (The Woodlands, Texas), Mississippi left-hander Drew Pomeranz, prep shortstop Manny Machado (Hialeah, Fla.) and Arkansas third baseman Zack Cox. The talent level drops shortly after that top tier, but Seid is optimistic that a solid player will be available when the Brewers make the 14th pick. "Some drafts are deeper than others, as far as impact guys," said Seid. "But every draft gives the opportunity to help your major-league team. "If you pick the right players, you have a good draft regardless of the depth of the talent pool." Though picking a pitcher makes sense at No. 14, Seid added: "I feel you can always get arms later than position players. There's more pitching in this draft than impact position players." Thus, Seid might be tempted to take an everyday player if available, such as prep third baseman/shortstop Nick Castellanos (Southwest Ranches, Fla.), Cal State-Fullerton shortstop Christian Colon or Miami catcher Yasmani Grandal. If the Brewers decide to go the college pitcher route again, many tempting arms should still be on the board, including Georgia Tech's Deck McGuire, North Carolina's Matt Harvey, Texas' Brandon Workman, Ohio State's Alex Wimmers, The Citadel's Asher Wojciechowski and Arkansas' Brett Eibner, a two-way player. One interesting pitcher is LSU's Anthony Ranaudo, considered the top college arm at the beginning of the season. Ranaudo had some health concerns early and fell down the draft charts but has pitched better of late and could be a real steal in the lower half of the first round. Ranaudo is represented by agent Scott Boras and therefore considered a difficult player to sign. Boras also represents Harper, Machado, Colon and Harvey, among others. "Scott Boras has several guys we have interest in," said Seid. "I have a good relationship with Scott and his staff. We do not shy away from his players. "I've seen Ranaudo in three of his last four starts and there's nothing to concern me about his health." High school pitchers take longer to develop, but some tempting arms could be available when the Brewers make their first pick, including Karsten Whitson (Chipley, Fla.), Stetson Allie (Lakewood, Ohio), Kaleb Cowart (Adel, Ga.), A.J. Cole (Oviedo, Fla.) and Dylan Covey (Pasadena, Calif.). A lot depends on what the teams ahead of the Brewers do, and Seid and his staff try to project what might happen before they pick. "You know who's not going to be there for sure," he said. "You take a small percentage of the players you think will be there and ask, 'Does this team like this guy or that guy?' "One way or another, there is going to be a couple of position players and a couple of pitchers that we feel warrant that selection. Then, you take who you feel is the best player available remaining on your board. "If the No. 14 player on our board is a position player with all-star potential, you go with the better talent. But if your No. 15 is a similar talent and is a pitcher, we could look at the needs of the organization. You'd be silly not to think about it. "There's always debate but we're down to a couple of guys we feel will be there." Because the Brewers have no extra selections this year and there are 18 supplemental picks at the end of the first round, they won't make their second pick until No. 64. So, what will Seid and his scouts do between the 14th and 64th picks? "We'll get to take a nice nap for 50 picks, then we'll get someone else we want," he joked. Badgered stateAs has been the case in recent years, it's slim pickings in the draft from Wisconsin. Baseball America magazine projects Grafton High School right-hander Conor Fisk as the top player in the state and expects him to go around the 20th round. Of the top seven players rated by BA, three come from UW-Whitewater: right-handers Ben Versnik and Jason Hooper and first baseman Jeff Donovan. Other players mentioned were Madison Junior College right-hander Tyler Jones, UW-Milwaukee outfielder Doug Dekoning and Sun Prairie High School shortstop Michael Handel. A higher costOn the night the baseball world was preoccupied with Jim Joyce's umpiring crime against Armando Galarraga in Detroit, a fellow umpire made a mistake that actually decided a game in Seattle. With the Twins and Mariners tied, 1-1, two on and two down in the bottom of the 10th inning, Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki sent a grounder up the middle. Minnesota second baseman Matt Tolbert made a sliding stop and flipped to shortstop J.J. Hardy in time to force Josh Wilson at second. Umpire Dale Scott called Wilson safe, however. Meanwhile, Ryan Langerhans raced around from second base and scored, giving the Mariners a 2-1 victory and leaving the Twins quite angry. So, what's the bigger offense? A blown call that robs a pitcher of a perfect game or one that actually decides the outcome? "That game could be costly for the Twins in the pennant race," said Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun. "You never know. To me, that's worse." A dreamy propertyInterested in buying a corn field? Give former Brewers closer Ken Sanders a call. We're not talking about just any corn field here. Sanders represents Don and Becky Lansing, who own the 193-acre farm plot near Dyersville, Iowa, where the baseball movie classic "Field of Dreams" was filmed in 1988. With a licensing agreement from Universal Studios, the Lansings have operated the site for more than 20 years as a tourist attraction, drawing an average of 65,000 visitors annually. Now the Lansings are selling and asking $5.4 million for the property, which includes seven buildings as well as their home, which was used in the movie. They chose Sanders because of his baseball and realty background as well as familiarity from the years he operated a "Field of Dreams" fantasy camp there. "We'd have three teams of campers, with former major-leaguers mixed in, as well as the 'ghost' team," said Sanders, referring to the movie theme of ex-big leaguers such as Shoeless Joe Jackson, who came back to life to play ball. Sanders, who retired from the realty business in Milwaukee a few years back, has been overwhelmed by the response of prospective buyers. Both he and the Lansings would love the new owner to keep the baseball site intact, but that isn't a condition of the sale. "I'm overwhelmed every day by phone calls and e-mails," said Sanders. "I'm talking to about 12 or 15 people right now. I've had inquiries from outside of the country. You can't believe the impact of that place." Sanders first made the property available to actor Kevin Costner, who starred in the movie. Costner passed, but Sanders has no doubt that a suitable buyer will meet the asking price. "One person has talked about building a stadium and putting a minor-league franchise there," said Sanders. "Another wants to convert it to Little League fields. There are unlimited uses for it if you have the energy to do it. "I can't say I've personally seen ghosts there, but I feel like I know they're there. This is a unique opportunity. It's been a lot of fun for me." For more information on the property and sale, log on to sellfieldofdreamsmoviesite.com. Around the basesPLAYERS OF THE WEEKMLB: Detroit RHP Armando Galarraga Galarraga (right) won't go down in the baseball record book as having pitched a perfect game, but we all know he did. And the grace and class he displayed in handling the robbery by umpire Jim Joyce won't soon be forgotten. When expanded instant replay is adopted, it will be known as the "Galarraga Rule." BREWERS: RHP Yovani Gallardo Gallardo remains the one bright spot in the Brewers' starting rotation. Since beginning the season 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA, he is 6-0 with a 1.93 ERA over 10 starts. And he's socked two homers to boot. WEEK AHEADCardinals at Dodgers: Monday-Wednesday. Met in '09 playoffs. Mariners at Rangers: Monday-Thursday. Seattle needs to get going. Giants at Reds: Monday-Thursday. Cincy will see some pitching. Braves at Twins: Friday-Sunday. Two teams built the right way. BREWERS THIS WEEKThe Brewers will play two teams at home with which they have great familiarity. The rivalry with the Cubs and their fans goes without saying. As for the first visit to Miller Park by Texas, the Brewers have picked up their share of ex-Rangers in recent years. DID YOU KNOW?If not for the amazing catch by Detroit centerfielder Austin Jackson in the ninth inning of the perfect game that wasn't, Cleveland's Mark Grudzielanek would have had his first extra-base hit of the season. Grudzielanek has 30 hits, all singles. YOU FIGURE IT OUTA different kind of Murphy's law is at work with the New York Mets. During spring training, first baseman Daniel Murphy sprained his right knee in a rundown play in the final week, knocking him out for eight weeks. He lost the first base job to Mike Jacobs, who later gave way to rookie Ike Davis, who has claimed the job. Accordingly, Murphy was moved to second base during his minor-league rehabilitation stint with Class AAA Buffalo. Making his second start there Wednesday, he was taken out by a base runner while attempting to turn a double play and suffered a torn MCL in his right knee. Murphy is expected to be out an additional four to six months. Quotable"Patience is a virtue, right? Too much patience is stupidity." Lou Piniella, Cubs manager, after shaking up the lineup of his run-challenged club Power rankingsNATIONAL LEAGUE
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Send e-mail to thaudricourt@journalsentinel.com Five Filters featured article: Into the Abyss. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Forget Toys: French Kids Try Philosophy - ABC News Posted: 03 Jun 2010 10:34 AM PDT Message from Five Filters: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. While young Americans spend time playing video games or ball in their backyards, French kids who invite friends over for afternoon snacks are leaving such playthings behind for a much deeper activity: to debate the meaning of life, death and love. Les goûters philos, philosophical afternoon snacks or teas, are a growing trend in France where families have become convinced that children should tackle metaphysical issues at an early age when children start asking existential questions. The idea of the goûters philos is to have the children discuss and hammer out such issues for an hour, over cakes and fruit juice. "I do not control the content of the discussion, I'm present to guide the children in their thoughts," Sophie Geoffrion, a philosophy teacher and founder of Philoland, an association offering different kinds of activities around philosophy, said. "They are free to contradict themselves, to confront with each other, all of this in a nice way," she said. "The goûter allows children to expand their ability to think for themselves and to expand their critical thinking. "Children are asking themselves questions and are asking their parents questions as well," said Geoffrion, who regularly intervenes in schools, public libraries and at privates homes. "Parents are often lacking an answer." But parents wrongly think that philosophy can provide an answer, she said. "The philosophy does not find a solution to a question asked by a child," Geoffrion said. "But it will raise questions around a discussion. "Kids love it. They have karate or dance classes and philo, it's really an activity like any other one." Oscar Vennin, 12, gathers with his philosopher friends once a month at Le Petit Monceau café in Paris for a café philo. Recent topics included death, truth, lies, fighting. "In these gatherings, we can compare our points of view on a topic" Oscar said. "There is a real discussion among us and it's very interesting." Dubbed the "mini-Kants" (for 18th century influential German philosopher Immanuel Kant) by the French Philosophie magazine, the group counts about 10 children ages 8 to 13 and plans its future sessions by communicating via the social networking website Facebook. Five Filters featured article: Into the Abyss. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Obama Blasts Republicans As Defenders Of A Bankrupt ... - WITN Posted: 03 Jun 2010 11:24 AM PDT Message from Five Filters: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. President Barack Obama laid out a sweeping defense of his domestic record Wednesday while blasting his Republican opponents as political opportunists and defenders of a bankrupt economic philosophy. Noting that the economy has grown for three quarters in a row, the president claimed credit for "breaking the free fall" and building a new foundation for growth "without much help from our friends in the other party," he said. Republicans have mostly "sat on the sidelines and shouted from the bleachers," he said. The president's remarks, delivered in the perennial swing state of Pennsylvania, were the latest partisan salvo in the run-up to November's heated midterm elections. The Republicans will campaign on "the same promises they've been making for decades," Obama said in a speech at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University. But for much of the last 10 years, "we tried it their way ... [and] know where those ideas will lead us." "We can go backward or we can keep moving forward," he said. "We need to keep moving forward." Obama's trip to Pennsylvania was his fifth since taking office. The president arrived in Pittsburgh with Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pennsylvania, who was recently defeated by Rep. Joe Sestak in a tough Senate Democratic primary fight. Obama had endorsed Specter. Some of the GOP opposition to his agenda, Obama asserted, "is just politics. Before I was even inaugurated, the congressional leaders of the other party got together and made a calculation that if I failed, they'd win." But much of the Republican position is also "rooted in their sincere and fundamental belief about government," he said. "It's a belief that government has little or no role to play in helping this nation meet our collective challenges. It's an agenda that basically offers two answers to every problem we face: more tax breaks for the wealthy and fewer rules for corporations." The president predicted that "as November approaches, leaders in the other party will campaign furiously on the same economic argument they've been making for decades. Fortunately, we don't have to look back too many years to see how it turns out." Obama blamed the GOP for providing tax cuts to "millionaires who didn't need them" while gutting regulations, putting "industry insiders in charge of industry oversight" and turning record budget surpluses into record deficits. "We already know where their ideas led us," he said. "And now we have a choice as a nation. We can return to the failed economic policies of the past, or we can keep building a stronger future." The president also used the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico to advance his alternative energy agenda Wednesday, calling it a warning that America needs to transition away from dependence on fossil fuels. "The catastrophe unfolding in the Gulf right now may prove to be a result of human error -- or corporations taking dangerous shortcuts that compromised safety," he said. "But we have to acknowledge that there are inherent risks to drilling four miles beneath the surface of the Earth -- risks that are bound to increase the harder oil extraction becomes. Just like we have to acknowledge that an America run solely on fossil fuels should not be the vision we have for our children and grandchildren." Obama acknowledged that the Democratic leadership's energy reform plan doesn't currently have the votes to clear the Senate but promised to keep pushing for the bill's passage. A Quinnipiac University poll conducted in early May indicated that 46 percent of Pennsylvania voters approve of the job Obama's doing as president, wtih 48 percent opposed. Obama beat GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona by 11 percentage points in Pennsylvania in 2008. Copyright CNN wire service Five Filters featured article: Into the Abyss. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| You are subscribed to email updates from Philosophy - Bing News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
Comments
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.