Bio

24 year old active duty soldier/economics major/secularist stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska who passes the time with informal logic (induction and deduction), history (especially Russian history), and free market economics. Contact me at michaellabeit@gmail.com. I blog at labeit.economicpolicyjournal.com. You may pronounce "Labeit" as "La Bite" or "Lobby et" (though a friend of mine says the French pronounce it as "La Bay" so I might just switch over to that - it sounds sexier). My Facebook page is www.facebook.com/michael.labeit


People Michael Labeit is Following (10)



People Following Michael Labeit (17)

Display starting at 17 of 17 followers


Conversations Michael Labeit is Following (66)

Display starting at 26 of 66 followed conversations


Conversations Michael Labeit has Started (64)

Display starting at 64 of 64 user conversations

Michael Labeit's Profile

Michael Labeit
Name:
Michael Labeit
Hometown:
New York City
Joined:
May 25, 2010

Recent Comments

Michael Labeit

Scott Reusser

Michael Labeit

This does not entail a contradiction. Darwinism is a descriptive theory, not a prescriptive one. 

However, Michael, liberals often seem resistant to accept human society in Darwinist terms, even in a descriptive way. For instance, to liberals unequal outcomes are usually evidence of some injustice -- prejudice, sexism, lack of fair play of some sort or another -- and not a logical result of differing abilities or aptitudes.

That does entail a contradiction.   

I don't think so. Humans can spare themselves of the effects of Darwinism via laws and social norms. Animals cannot, thus liberals do not expect them to. Liberals do not deny the fact that there are differing abilities and aptitudes among humans -  certainly not. 

Michael Labeit

Simon Templar

Michael Labeit: Count me out as an exponent of Mr. Pinochet. 

If Pinochet had killed Pol Pot, 3,196 of his followers, and tortured about 29,000 Khmer Rouge in order to prevent the genocide from occurring; and, meanwhile turned Cambodia into a developed nation, would you still be highly skeptical?  Chile was headed towards either a totalitarian marxist government or civil war, would Chile be better off today if Pinochet had allowed either one of those to occur? 

The hypothetical claim you pose is a farcical one. It assumes the people Pinochet tortured or killed were akin to the Khmer Rouge. From what I gather, a great deal many of those people killed or tortured by Pinochet were innocent. You are arguing that torturing 29,000 was necessary for the avoidance of political Marxism. This is a nonsensical claim made without any evidence.

Michael Labeit

Denise McAllister: Here are two of my favorites:

They believe in Darwinism and survival of the fittest, yet reject Free Market Capitalism and success of the fittest...

This does not entail a contradiction. Darwinism is a descriptive theory, not a prescriptive one. Darwinism does not claim that evolution by natural selection and random mutation is good, only that it exists. Darwinism isn't a theory on how the world ought to be, only a theory on how the world is.

Edited on February 18, 2013 at 11:53pm
Michael Labeit

Count me out as an exponent of Mr. Pinochet. According to the Washington Post,

First as head of a four-man military junta and then as president, Pinochet served until 1990, leaving a legacy of abuse that took successive governments years to catalogue. According to a government report that included testimony from more than 30,000 people, his government killed at least 3,197 people and tortured about 29,000. Two-thirds of the cases listed in the report happened in 1973.

I'm highly skeptical, to say the least, of the claim that the above was necessary to spare the country of Allende's Marxism. Yes, Pinochet was "dictator lite" compared to most, but this does not extinguish his essence as a dictator.

Michael Labeit

Thus, I think the real saving grace of a tyrannical government would be the sympathies of military personnel, not the 2nd Amendment.

Michael Labeit

Central Scrutinizer: 

But, regarding the power of the US military, please consider Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan when assessing the ability of armed citizenry to resist US shock and awe. · 4 minutes ago

Iraq and Afghanistan demonstrate not the effectiveness of an insurgency but what happens when rules of engagement constrain military offensiveness like never before. The Air Force could destroy both Iraq and Afghanistan in an afternoon; the reason is did not was because such is prohibited by contemporary rules of engagement. The American people, against a sincerely dictatorial president, would be hopelessly outmaneuvered. 

Michael Labeit

Jimmy Carter

I think people should be allowed...

Stated like a true dictator. · 5 hours ago

Cheap response, nothing more.

Michael Labeit

"This just in. Lots of old people don't like tattoos!"

Michael Labeit

Gay marriage. Sporks. Cars that park themselves. Where is society headed?

Michael Labeit

John Grant: Michael,

Did you not notice the two "I believe" statements?

JG

Michael Labeit

John Grant: I like your profession of faith in scientific consensus; it is very honest. You come right out and admit your adherence to the one true church of science.

I am sure you are aware, as a professed Catholic, that Credo="I believe." I am not sure why it is important to profess one's faith in the subjects you list below. Your faith is very demanding. 

Donald Todd:

I believe in an expanding universe, approximately13.75billion years old, give or take1.5 billionyears in either direction if the physicists are correct.

I believe our own solar system is approximately4.6 billionyears old.

John...what on Earth are you talking about? You're making zero sense.

Ok. Therefore, what? To believe in something is a profession of faith? This is nonsense. To believe in something (typically a proposition) is to hold is as true, not to hold it as true without evidence. When did belief and faith,  i.e., belief without evidence, become synonymous?

Michael Labeit
AIG: The responses here demonstrate why people think Republicans are anti-intellectual. 

Precisely.

Michael Labeit

NoWayerMan

Fred Cole

So long as pundits and politicians on the right pander to the anti-intellectuals, then people on the left will continue to be able to ignore that history of Christian scholarship and smear all Christians as YECs.

I don't think it's fair to smear all YECs as anti-intellectual, nor as anti-science. They've come to a different conclusion, they have their own reasons.

I don't think it's "pandering" to show them respect. 

I'd be quite confident in saying that young Earth creationists qua young Earth creationists are being anti-scientific.

Michael Labeit

John Grant: I like your profession of faith in scientific consensus; it is very honest. You come right out and admit your adherence to the one true church of science.

I am sure you are aware, as a professed Catholic, that Credo="I believe." I am not sure why it is important to profess one's faith in the subjects you list below. Your faith is very demanding. 

Donald Todd: I am a convert to Roman Catholicism, out of evangelicalism.

I believe in an expanding universe, approximately13.75billion years old, give or take1.5 billionyears in either direction if the physicists are correct.

I believe our own solar system is approximately4.6 billionyears old.

Given the seismic activity of a cooling earth, it was a long time before human beings appeared on the stage of this planet.  I have read differing accounts, but it appears that about30,000 years ago, human or pre-human beings existed, if the carbon dating techniques are recognized.  

History apparently is recognized as about6,000 years...

John...what on Earth are you talking about? You're making zero sense.

Michael Labeit
Edward Smith: I am a proud Anti-Intellectual.

There you have it, I suppose.

*shaking my head*

Edited on November 28, 2012 at 10:17pm
Michael Labeit

Bloody idiot.

Welcome Visitor!
Join  or  Sign In

Become a Member to enjoy the full benefits of Ricochet:

Ricochet: The Right People, The Right Tone, The Right Place.  Join today!

Already a Member? Sign In