Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Talking Points (Thomas Sowell)
Jewish World Review ^ | May 12, 2009 | Thomas Sowell

Posted on 05/11/2009 8:22:34 PM PDT by jazusamo

One of the many signs of the degeneration of our times is how many serious, even life-and-death, issues are approached as talking points in a game of verbal fencing. Nothing illustrates this more than the fatuous, and even childish, controversy about "torturing" captured terrorists.

People's actions often make far more sense than their words. Most of the people who are talking lofty talk about how we mustn't descend to the level of our enemies would themselves behave very differently if presented with a comparable situation, instead of being presented with an opportunity to be morally one up with rhetoric.

What if it was your mother or your child who was tied up somewhere beside a ticking time bomb and you had captured a terrorist who knew where that was? Face it: What you would do to that terrorist to make him talk would make water-boarding look like a picnic.

You wouldn't care what the New York Times would say or what "world opinion" in the U.N. would say. You would save your loved one's life and tell those other people what they could do.

But if the United States behaves that way it is called "arrogance"-- even by American citizens. Indeed, even by the American president. There is a big difference between being ponderous and being serious. It is scary when the President of the United States is not being serious about matters of life and death, saying that there are "other ways" of getting information from terrorists.

Maybe this is a step up from the previous talking point that "torture" had not gotten any important information out of terrorists. Only after this had been shown to be a flat-out lie did Barack Obama shift his rhetoric to the lame assertion that unspecified "other ways" could have been used.

(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: obama; sowell; terrorism; terrorists; thomassowell; torture; tsbo
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-29 last
To: Winstons Julia
He’s just a racist redneck!

Thomas Sowell is not a racist, redneck or not. It is clear the nation would benefit greatly if there were more just like him and particularly beneficial if elected to Congress.

Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion. Edmund Burke

21 posted on 05/12/2009 7:11:53 AM PDT by MosesKnows (Love many, Trust few, and always paddle your own canoe)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: MosesKnows

“Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.”

Quoted by Dr. Lymon Hall in “1776”.

A most excellent quote. Too bad we don’t have any such statesmen now; just politicos.


22 posted on 05/12/2009 7:24:50 AM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Technological progress cannot be legislated.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: jazusamo

Thanks for the ping. Sadly, I think a lot of liberals would let the terrorists tie up their wives bomb or no bomb. Can’t offend the terrorists.


23 posted on 05/12/2009 9:14:18 AM PDT by bluerose (PALIN For President)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MosesKnows

Ok, I suppose that I needed to say I was joking. We all got called racist rednecks by Jeaneane Garofalo.

I was referring to that. I love Thomas Sowell.


24 posted on 05/12/2009 12:34:07 PM PDT by Winstons Julia (:)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: the OlLine Rebel
Too bad we don’t have any such statesmen now

"A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman of the next generation." James Freeman Clarke

25 posted on 05/12/2009 12:46:30 PM PDT by MosesKnows (Love many, Trust few, and always paddle your own canoe)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: jazusamo

“When historians of the future look back on our era, what will they think of our time? Our media too squeamish to call murderous and sadistic terrorists anything worse than ‘militants’ or ‘insurgents’? Our president going abroad to denigrate the country that elected him, pandering to feckless allies and outright enemies, and literally bowing to a foreign tyrant ruling a country from which most of the 9/11 terrorists came?”

I love Dr. Sowell. He voices so many things that concern me about our ‘Communist in Chief’.


26 posted on 05/12/2009 5:32:07 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin ("Just give it to me straight; I'll make up my own mind." - Dana Perino's Dad)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jazusamo

You just got to love this man. He says aloud what most are to PC to say these days. I wish that more would step up to the plate.


27 posted on 05/12/2009 9:55:30 PM PDT by Irish Eyes
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Irish Eyes

Absolutely! We need many many more just like Dr. Sowell.


28 posted on 05/13/2009 8:52:38 AM PDT by jazusamo (But there really is no free lunch, except in the world of political rhetoric,.: Thomas Sowell)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: Irish Eyes

Amen to that, and I might add that he always says it so clearly. What a contrast to typical jargon laden professors, whose verbal contortions reflect their muddled thinking processes.


29 posted on 05/14/2009 1:08:30 AM PDT by SupplySider
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-29 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson