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Ciceronianus

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I like Julian best, maybe because I'm a Roman history fan, and am especially interested in the transition from pagan to Christian civilization. But al...
May 10, 2018 at 15:21
Vidal could be unduly waspish. I just remembered he made the comment, and thought I'd note he had. I've haven't read Oates' novels or stories. I read ...
May 09, 2018 at 23:37
According to Gore Vidal, the three saddest words in the English language are "Joyce Carol Oates."
May 09, 2018 at 22:33
Never judge a person by his/her texts, I suppose. We're less likely to be disappointed with others when our encounters with them aren't physical; when...
May 09, 2018 at 19:20
I confess I've never seen the movie, and probably won't until it appears before me on my television as I sit in my comfy chair, if then. I'm not much ...
May 09, 2018 at 18:39
I'll note that Cicero wrote: "To live is to think" (Latin: "Vivere est cogitare") I'm no fan of Heidegger and will leave what he may have meant unexpl...
May 01, 2018 at 20:45
That might depend on the severity of the OCD. I think "reason" can help, but being as aspiring Stoic I suppose that's to be expected. The Stoic maxim ...
April 26, 2018 at 17:29
I don't think I can distinguish myself from my mind, or my personality. Am I in control of myself? I can be, for all practical purposes, if I concern ...
April 25, 2018 at 16:15
Love is important because, without it, the popular music industry would collapse. That said, love is granted an importance it cannot and should not ha...
April 23, 2018 at 14:47
I'm suspicious of our tendency to hypostatize. I'm concerned that referring to "metanarratives" or "identity" or "worldview" inclines us to fabricate ...
April 19, 2018 at 18:31
I'm not an academic, but wonder if the complaints made regarding academic philosophy would also apply to other academic disciplines/studies. I suspect...
April 13, 2018 at 20:07
I'm sorry to learn it isn't okay to discuss Atlantis in the Lounge. But I'm horrified to learn that it isn't even possible to comment on whether it's ...
April 10, 2018 at 20:35
All I've done is suggested, modestly as always, that the claim made in the Declaration of the Jewish State in Eretz-Israel to be known as the State of...
April 04, 2018 at 17:50
Israel's Declaration of Independence draws attention to Eretz-Israel, and speaks of the "natural and historic right" of the Jewish Community and the Z...
April 03, 2018 at 20:58
It seems unnecessary to watch the video to respond to the questions you raise. It is certainly possible that there are some Jewish people are who raci...
April 02, 2018 at 22:55
Hmm, let's see. Sanctimonious? Check. Self-righteous? Check. Hectoring? Well, there's a limit to the extent to which it can reasonably be claimed blat...
March 29, 2018 at 17:05
They aren't unleashed hell-hounds. They're mostly just deeply resentful, frightened people who don't want to deal with--or even encounter--people sign...
March 25, 2018 at 21:03
We were asked:"What is contemporary Conservatism (now Right-Wing Politics)?." I responded to that question. No request was made to explain let alone u...
March 25, 2018 at 15:39
Nope.
March 23, 2018 at 19:05
Damn. I really thought that's what it is. Ah well.
March 23, 2018 at 16:42
In this country, I think it's more likely the case that the fear is of loss of status, or power. The fear is that people unlike them will be treated l...
March 23, 2018 at 16:39
Conservatism was once a respectable political ideology. No longer. Contemporary conservatism (or at least what is called "conservatism") is: Sanctimon...
March 23, 2018 at 15:23
It's hardly surprising those involved in these disputes differ regarding values. I doubt there is anyone who would contend otherwise. Why is that sign...
March 19, 2018 at 01:10
Like General Ripper, I oppose all efforts to sap and impurify our precious bodily fluids. But to be serious: From the link in the OP: "here is always ...
March 16, 2018 at 21:36
Pythagoras, Aristotle and Archimedes all thought the world was a sphere. Pythagoras lived around 500 B.C.; Aristotle and Archimedes around 300 B.C. I'...
March 14, 2018 at 18:53
As to lawyers, it represents an opportunity. We see it exploited already. Just do a Google search of "gender law." An example, I would think, would be...
March 13, 2018 at 18:06
As near as I can tell, which is to say by consultation with a dictionary, "gender" has to do with the state of being male or female, or the perception...
March 13, 2018 at 15:56
Well, yes. As I said, I've handled a few of these proceedings. That a public use/purpose is needed doesn't surprise me, and I haven't said guns can be...
March 09, 2018 at 16:44
But, it has for many, many years been applied to lawfully acquire the property of law-abiding Americans. Generally, the law does not say that a law-ab...
March 08, 2018 at 21:12
In the U.S. and I think in other countries, the government has the power of eminent domain, a/k/a condemnation. It's a process by which the government...
March 08, 2018 at 16:31
I tend to side with J.S. Mill when it comes to speech, so we may have similar views on that issue. But I acknowledge that restriction is appropriate i...
March 07, 2018 at 21:39
I certainly wouldn't call him anti-Semitic. I note only that he made a mistake in that instance, or more properly a misjudgment. If one is intent on v...
March 07, 2018 at 19:58
How could "prominent people working in academia and activism" not take his politics seriously? It's not possible to consider politics (of a sort) with...
March 07, 2018 at 16:37
Ah, Noam Chomsky. When has someone with specialized knowledge of a relatively narrow, limited field more relentlessly, and successfully, promoted hims...
March 06, 2018 at 18:11
I'd say it's probably as likely as it is that "all this" was created by something good.
March 02, 2018 at 16:09
As I've mentioned, I'm a gun owner (shotguns). I feel no impulse to applaud myself for owning them, nor do I think I must justify owning them. But I'm...
February 25, 2018 at 00:16
Dammit, you quoted my post before I could claim Cicero is my ancestor (this may be an exaggeration) and use some Latin. Sometimes I don't act quickly ...
February 23, 2018 at 18:11
It's all about money, really. In the end, this kind of thinking merely supports the sale of even more guns. More people with guns means more guns sold...
February 23, 2018 at 17:57
The leadership of the NRA was once in favor of gun control. That's hard to believe, I know, as that leadership has for some time been dominated by mer...
February 21, 2018 at 16:29
Semi-automatic and automatic weapons both reload automatically. In other words, it isn't necessary to reload the weapon each time it is fired. It will...
February 20, 2018 at 20:22
Regarding no. 7, by my understanding, sale of "fully automatic" rifles is prohibited already. But, sale of semi-automatics is not. Unfortunately, semi...
February 20, 2018 at 18:18
This is a concept that may have its origin in Roman law, which in turn was influenced by the Stoic conception of natural law. In natural law, all pers...
February 16, 2018 at 19:57
De gustibus non est disputandum, you know. That one of Jackie strikes me as rather creepy, for example. She looks like nightmarish, ghastly doll. Othe...
February 14, 2018 at 17:25
So, whites oppress blacks and men oppress women because resources are scarce, eh? Well, resources are just going to get more scarce. Unfortunate black...
February 10, 2018 at 00:37
Ok. But what can or cannot be done under the law is a consideration which should be addressed by those who own or control any forum here in the U.S.A,...
February 09, 2018 at 17:44
Simply put, the First Amendment's provision that Congress shall make no law "abridging the freedom of speech, or the press, or of the right of the peo...
February 09, 2018 at 00:38
I think it's well settled that the First Amendment applies to public colleges and universities. Whether it does when private colleges and universities...
February 08, 2018 at 16:57
Yes. From the legal standpoint It gets somewhat more complicated here in God's favorite country when those owners accept government funds, for example...
February 08, 2018 at 16:38
Well, a couple of questions, first. What is meant by "right"? I think there are no rights but legal rights; those enshrined in the law and subject to ...
January 24, 2018 at 18:11
He's a dimwitted, scatter-brained, ignorant, venal, vulgar, petty, mean, prick of a man. Such people will say such things. We were stupid enough to el...
January 15, 2018 at 17:48