From: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!poli-sci Newsgroups: fa.poli-sci Title: Poli-Sci Digest V2 #141 Article-I.D.: ucbvax.7549 Posted: Mon Jun 7 09:02:57 1982 Received: Tue Jun 8 01:02:12 1982 >From JoSH@RUTGERS Mon Jun 7 09:02:08 1982 Poli-Sci Digest Mon 7 Jun 82 Volume 2 Number 141 Contents: Conservatives and Civil Rights More Nun Stories De Facto Laws Libertarian Paradise A-Bombs (2 msgs) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 4 June 1982 2309-EDT (Friday) From: Gary Feldman at CMU-10A Subject: Conservatives and Civil Rights Some conservative thoughts on the Civil Rights Act of 63/64: "The Howard Johnson case from Virginia is a case in which a man wanted to be served. Howard Johnsons refused to serve him, and he went to court, but the court held that a man did not have to serve anybody on his own private property that he did not wish to." Strom Thurmond, speaking against the Public Accomodations provisions US News & World Report, 30 Mar 64, p102. "In its provisions relating to a standard literacy test, and in other provisions, the Administration's bill has nothing to do with State deprivals in the area of `race, color, or previous condition of servitude.' "I take no position one way or another on the merits of a poll tax. "If local school boards throughout the South are to be prohibited by law from maintaining separate school systems, a law must be passed `pursuant to the Constitution' to impose such a prohibition. I would take the position, in the light of the history of the Fourteenth Amendment, that such a law would not be `pursuant to the Constitution.' It would violate the plain intention both of those who framed the amendment and also of the States that ratified it." James J. Kilpatrick, arguing against the entire bill National Review, 24 Sep 63, pp231. "Granted the charges against Mississippi are overdrawn. Inded, when they are uttered they sometimes have a ring of genocidal fanatacism -- we recently heard a sophisticated man say that life in Mississippi is no better for the average Negro than life for the average Yugoslavian or Pole. column in National Review, 29 Dec 64, p1136. "Second, I object to the apparently widespread opinion among this crop of leftists that civil rights, and the civil-rights movement in the 60's specifically, are strictly leftist issues. Not so. Many conservatives have long opposed racism and unequal treatment for racial minorities." [Cox] Gee. I wonder where they were. Gary ------------------------------ Date: 4 Jun 1982 2036-PDT From: Jim McGrathSubject: More nun stories A nun (I forget her name) is running for the position of Attorney General in a small eastern state (I believe Conn.). Don't worry about her being soft on criminals - she has earned the nickname "Attila the Nun" for her previous involvement in the justive system (as a DA type I believe). Its always interesting when religious "officers" run for political office. Although relatively few in number, they often turn out to be some of the most solid politicians we have (at least they are relatively moral - something you cannot be so sure about with most of our politicians). Jim ------------------------------ Date: 5 June 1982 02:23-EDT From: Daniel Breslau I can't say anything about corruption in NY -- except that I'm sure it exists. I do remember that out in Chicago a few years ago, one of the two papers (I think the Tribune, if someone wants to dig this out) ran an Abscam-type expose of that city's building inspectors. As I remember, they were setting up a restaurant or something, for which they had lawyers and private contractors ensure that the building met *all* applicable codes. The city's inspectors, however, somehow managed to find all sorts of costly violations, which all somehow went away after money appeared... Dan Breslau [as a PS to this subject, there was a story in the local paper about reports that the governor had been seen doing 70 on Route 1 --JoSH] ------------------------------ Date: 5 June 1982 10:04-EDT From: Robert Stanzel Setting aside the absence of coherence and documentation, Seth Steinberg's message implicitly raises the necessity of standard definitions. Since this been a problem in past discussions of libertarianism, I submit the following, which pretty much follow the usage in the literature: anarchism : the absence of government and centrally enforced personal/property rights anarcho-communism : the philosophy holding that under anarchy, society take on communal characteristics anarcho-capitalism : the philosophy that society will take an individualistic, competitive form under anarchy limited-governmentalism : the theory of a naturally occuring set of rights which are the domain of governments Libertarian : relating to the political party libertarian : an ill-defined term that includes all of the above. In fact, I believe that in a 1980 "Reason," President Reagan described himself as "basically libertarian." My point is that what Steinberg describes is \anarchy/, which few libertarians subscribe to, according to polls. Indeed, the absence of personal/property rights would not be a paradise. What limited- governmentalists hold is the theory of natural rights: it is the job of political philosophers to define that minimum set of rights and privileges which is enforced by government. ------------------------------ Date: 5 Jun 1982 10:56:57-PDT From: decvax!minow at Berkeley Subject: Hiroshima Consequences It was pointed out in the book "The Nuclear Barons" that the problem with bombing Japan was two-fold: the morality of bombing Nagasaki and, more importantly, the latend radiation damage whose effects appeared 20 years later when good-will with Japan was essential to our interests in the Pacific. The authors claim (if I remember correctly) that, had the scientists pointed out the post-war consequences, Truman's decision might have been different. However, no information on long-term biological effects reached the president. One other point: by speaking directly to the people, the Emperor of Japan made it possible to surrender as he took the disgrace on his own head, and consequently, away from the Japanese people. By the way, has Russia signed a peace treaty with Japan yet? Martin Minow decvax!minow ------------------------------ Date: 6 Jun 1982 1756-EDT Subject: VISA REJECTIONS From: WDOHERTY at BBNG Any comments on the State Department rejections of around 500 visas to those attending the United Nations Second Special Session on Disarmament? Any precedents for this action? Apparently, a good percentage of the official Japanese delegation was refused entry to the US. A phone, telegram and letter-writing campaign to Alexander Haig, Secretary of State, as well as several demonstrations of a few hundred people each occurred this past week (notably in Boston and NYC). Will Doherty (WDOHERTY@BBNG) ------------------------------ End of POLI-SCI Digest - 30 - -------