Wolf DeVoon Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Big crisis has blown up over at Jimmy Wales' online encyclopedia that everyone loves to hate. The Wikipedia topic of Anarcho-capitalism went from a vicious editing war to formal Request for Consultation, then Petition to Delist as a featured article, and then the dreaded WP Arbitration kangaroo court of grandees. I got involved because -- well -- Wikipedia has ignored me for 20 years, so why not?Tonight I confronted the chief asshole in charge of wrecking the topic. I had previously remarked that the big editing war and their lack of consensus (that's how they judge truth at Wikipedia) was caused by mistaken identity. Anarcho-capitalism is wrongly classified as a sub-topic under Anarchism, and anarchist editors have been screaming angrily that libertarian ancap isn't any part of their social justice tradition. Well, duh! I suggested that Wikipedia move it to a new parent, Libertarianism. Why keep Rothbard hostage to abusive, evil commies who hate him?Back to the chief asshole. He wants to delete David Friedman's account of dispute settlement in medieval Iceland and all references to the ungovernable Old West, because "serious" historians said nothing about proto-ancap behavior in either of those times or places. He called Friedman's work navel-gazing and voted to kill it. Here's what I said in reply:I'm quite certain you're right. Ancaps are untrustworthy and lack stature as serious scholars of American history. All they know is glittering generalities set forth in the Declaration of Independence and attach entirely unwarranted meaning to "liberty." That's why many senior editors rightly complain that anarcho-capitalism has no place in the Anarchist tradition. It's an embarrassing situation, but ancap is obviously the idiot adolescent child of irresponsible, starry-eyed Libertarianism. It should be disowned by the Anarchist community forthwith. I realize that my suggestion to deport the topic to another parent is highly irregular, and that additional inducements should be offered, to acknowledge your effort, frustration, collective expertise, and the dignity, clarity and authority of the Anarchist tradition, which I freely admit is among the world's most influential and inspiring political philosophies. In partial compensation for your assistance in this matter, Libertarian anarcho-capitalists like myself hereby promise faithfully to never comment upon or disrupt Anarchist topics and renounce any editorial interest hereafter in Pete Townshend, Pete Seeger, Phil Collins, and the entire continent of Africa, which genuine Anarchists are properly entitled to claim as topics of special interest and relevance to human welfare and social justice. I personally pledge to assert and provide ample documentary evidence that all anti-social behavior of every description, including drug trafficking, gun running, tax evasion, opposition to trade unions, racial discrimination, income disparity, inner-city gangs, tittie bars, and the Mafia are anarcho-capitalist in theory and practice. Yours sincerely, Wolf DeVoon (talk) 06:18, 3 August 2014 (UTC)Sometimes I think I'm the reincarnation of Mark Twain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaalChatzaf Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 theory and practice. Yours sincerely, Wolf DeVoon (talk) 06:18, 3 August 2014 (UTC)Sometimes I think I'm the reincarnation of Mark Twain.News of your high opinion of yourself has not been exaggerated.Ba'al Chatzaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf DeVoon Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 News of your high opinion of yourself has not been exaggerated. I amuse myself. Little else seems funny nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaalChatzaf Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 News of your high opinion of yourself has not been exaggerated. I amuse myself. Little else seems funny nowadays. Comparing one's self to Mark Twain requires a lot of brass in the nether regions.Even on my wittier days (few thought they may be) I would not even think about doing that. Ba'al Chatzaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf DeVoon Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Comparing one's self to Mark Twain requires a lot of brass in the nether regions.Damn'dest thing about Clemens. Just wasn't that funny, with the exception of murdering his conscience in The Facts Surrounding The Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut, and an 1879 speech to the Stomach Club in Paris: 'Some Thoughts on the Science of Onanism' (As an amusement it is too fleeting, as an occupation it is too wearing; as a public exhibition there is no money in it.)Well, okay -- and Journalism in Tennessee and Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven, and parts of The Mysterious Stranger, and of course The Diaries of Adam and Eve (This morning found the new creature trying to clod apples out of that forbidden tree.) But other than that...uh... did I mention The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson?"I wish I owned half of that dog.”“Why?” somebody asked.“Because I would kill my half.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljane Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Not that funny? jeez , it must be hard to make you laugh.Me, I am recovering from the same surgery that Rand had, and a chief therapeutic bonus has been my reflection that if it hadn't been for the honour of the thing, I'd just as soon have passed on it...and then laughing again at how brilliantly hilarious was Twain's original.I have my problems with Mr C, but none concern mark T. not bringing the funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf DeVoon Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 I am recovering from the same surgery that Rand hadBest wishes for your speedy recovery and every possible happiness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljane Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Thank you. As I brought it it up,I should also mention that I am pretty much recovered and have had the best possible luck in that I need no further treatment and am already graduated to 5-year follow up. Also the whole process seems in retrospect incredibly fast. Having spent my whole life expecting to probably get lung cancer (yes I know you would not say it, moralist, but sure as a smoker I deserved it) I only knew I had it for a matter of weeks really, and now I don't have it anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljane Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Also for those who are not familiar a with the Twain quip I should tell it ...he remarked on being tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail, "If it wasn't for the honour of the thing, I'd just as soon have walked."One of my ancestors actually received this honour courtesy of enlightened American patriots and I like to imagine he could have been so wry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf DeVoon Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Also for those who are not familiar with the Twain quip I should tell it ...he remarked on being tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail, "If it wasn't for the honour of the thing, I'd just as soon have walked."That would be Virginia City, where I followed in his footsteps at the faro table and on the local newspaper, got involved in a stock speculation, barely escaped a duel, and got run out of town in a rusted Chevy van with 7 cylinders.Small world, huh?Truant children have an excellent chance of becoming bums, because they acquire a firm sense of independence early in life. But you can always catch up in your teens, if you experiment with sex, drugs, rock music, fast cars, open heart surgery, or foreign wars. Anything involving life and death is helpful. Applying to be a Rhodes scholar, brownnosing the political science prof, and running for class president are particularly unhelpful activities, if you're trying to bum yourself out of the Establishment. ["How To Be A Bum", Comstock Chronicle, 1994] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william.scherk Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Thank you. As I brought it it up,I should also mention that I am pretty much recovered and have had the best possible luck in that I need no further treatment and am already graduated to 5-year follow up. Also the whole process seems in retrospect incredibly fast. Having spent my whole life expecting to probably get lung cancer (yes I know you would not say it, moralist, but sure as a smoker I deserved it) I only knew I had it for a matter of weeks really, and now I don't have it anymore.Great news, sobering news. Do you ascribe your success with Mr C to anything that Jerry has introduced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljane Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Lol dear Bill. I do not actually know our activist Albertan friend's views on the efficacy of surgery. it certainly relieves symptoms and has obvious preventive value.I would dislike it however if he described me as having "beaten" cancer since I have barely confronted it much less fought it. What I did was escape it, via the efforts of others (Carmine Simone, rockstar and Real Deal, take a bow). the only actions I took throughout were in descending order of difficulty (1) telling family (2) telling friends. (3) doing tests...staying still in contorted positions for scans and biopsies for longer than ten mins is quite hard, as is resisting the urge to cough.. Making a decision, usually hard for me on trivial things, between surgery or noninvasive treatments was the easiest. My gratitude and blessings on the sacred head of Tommy Douglas, for the excellence and empathy I found everywhere at the TEGH and the sheer thoroughness and accuracy of the technology that so reassures me,... You perhaps understand better than most other Oers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PDS Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Lol dear Bill. I do not actually know our activist Albertan friend's views on the efficacy of surgery. it certainly relieves symptoms and has obvious preventive value.I would dislike it however if he described me as having "beaten" cancer since I have barely confronted it much less fought it. What I did was escape it, via the efforts of others (Carmine Simone, rockstar and Real Deal, take a bow). the only actions I took throughout were in descending order of difficulty (1) telling family (2) telling friends. (3) doing tests...staying still in contorted positions for scans and biopsies for longer than ten mins is quite hard, as is resisting the urge to cough.. Making a decision, usually hard for me on trivial things, between surgery or noninvasive treatments was the easiest.My gratitude and blessings on the sacred head of Tommy Douglas, for the excellence and empathy I found everywhere at the TEGH and the sheer thoroughness and accuracy of the technology that so reassures me,... You perhaps understand better than most other Oers.Daunce:This is great news. In all seriousness, what lesson--if any--did you learn during this trial?I have said a few times recently that I want to learn enough about how to live so that it will not take a serious health scare to teach me what's important about life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william.scherk Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 (edited) My gratitude and blessings on the sacred head of Tommy Douglas, for the excellence and empathy I found everywhere at the TEGH and the sheer thoroughness and accuracy of the technology that so reassures me,... You perhaps understand better than most other Oers.A close relative just went through the mammogram, biopsy, Dx, lumpectomy, sentinal node biopsy, results: clear; the involvement of new technology quite astonishing. Early detection and swift action -- all in the same building, by a dedicated team ... it was impressive. Not having had major illness or surgical necessity, my experience of the health-system was almost second-hand. Tommy Douglas, dear non-Canucki friends, was a founding member of something called the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (later to become the New Democratic Party). He was premier of Saskatchewan, our version of Iowa. His government forced socialized medicine upon inhabitants and medical personnel in 1962. One of the things, for better or worse, that has stuck in the Canadian psyche: universal medical coverage, publicly funded. There was a tremendous fight in Canucki Iowa, but Douglas stood firm. For the unpleasant-to-Objectivism details, see the CBC's brief tale on Tommy's power play, "The Fight for Medicare."Four cheers for Carol! Edited August 3, 2014 by william.scherk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljane Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Lol dear Bill. I do not actually know our activist Albertan friend's views on the efficacy of surgery. it certainly relieves symptoms and has obvious preventive value.I would dislike it however if he described me as having "beaten" cancer since I have barely confronted it much less fought it. What I did was escape it, via the efforts of others (Carmine Simone, rockstar and Real Deal, take a bow). the only actions I took throughout were in descending order of difficulty (1) telling family (2) telling friends. (3) doing tests...staying still in contorted positions for scans and biopsies for longer than ten mins is quite hard, as is resisting the urge to cough.. Making a decision, usually hard for me on trivial things, between surgery or noninvasive treatments was the easiest.My gratitude and blessings on the sacred head of Tommy Douglas, for the excellence and empathy I found everywhere at the TEGH and the sheer thoroughness and accuracy of the technology that so reassures me,... You perhaps understand better than most other Oers. Daunce:This is great news. In all seriousness, what lesson--if any--did you learn during this trial?I have said a few times recently that I want to learn enough about how to live so that it will not take a serious health scare to teach me what's important about life.Lol dear Bill. I do not actually know our activist Albertan friend's views on the efficacy of surgery. it certainly relieves symptoms and has obvious preventive value.I would dislike it however if he described me as having "beaten" cancer since I have barely confronted it much less fought it. What I did was escape it, via the efforts of others (Carmine Simone, rockstar and Real Deal, take a bow). the only actions I took throughout were in descending order of difficulty (1) telling family (2) telling friends. (3) doing tests...staying still in contorted positions for scans and biopsies for longer than ten mins is quite hard, as is resisting the urge to cough.. Making a decision, usually hard for me on trivial things, between surgery or noninvasive treatments was the easiest.My gratitude and blessings on the sacred head of Tommy Douglas, for the excellence and empathy I found everywhere at the TEGH and the sheer thoroughness and accuracy of the technology that so reassures me,... You perhaps understand better than most other Oers. Daunce:This is great news. In all seriousness, what lesson--if any--did you learn during this trial?I have said a few times recently that I want to learn enough about how to live so that it will not take a serious health scare to teach me what's important about life.PDS, in equal seriousness I have not learned anything new that Idid not know or think about before..or maybe, wish for. Obviously I learned a lot about our health system which I had casually prejudged as pretty good. now I think, at least at the TO East General, that it is better than that.But in this new life I seem to have been given I hope to learn more.Oh yes,Idid learn that no matter how much you hint, you do not get a free bosom lift as an extra with thoracic surgery. As of now anyway. Still, no harm in asking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaalChatzaf Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Where is TO East General located?What city and state (or province). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljane Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Toronto, Ontario. It is also,located equidistant from my place and my son's, five minutes by car each way and just to complete the serendipity, Andy happened to buy a car around the time I got my first dodgy X-Ray, weeks before I told anyone anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Toronto, Ontario. It is also,located equidistant from my place and my son's, five minutes by car each way and just to complete the serendipity, Andy happened to buy a car around the time I got my first dodgy X-Ray, weeks before I told anyone anything.Great news on your speedy recovery !You shall be around to see the Leafs and Flyers play in the finals , winner goes to - well , who really cares cause the winner of that series is the winner !!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljane Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 I shall indeed be around, some people just cannot be gotten rid of . It would give me a lot of joy to see our ever vilified Leafs beat the overly coddled Flyers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Carol,I just saw this.I am delighted you came through with your health intact. And feeling that I should have been scared--with a tinge of guilt for not feeling it. But I found out about the good outcome practically before the illness.I don't know what got you into that ordeal, but don't do it ever again.Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Wolf,I only had one serious tangle at Wikipedia. Two, actually. One for each Branden.One moderator intervened on my behalf regarding the stuff about Barbara. But even then, someone sabotaged the link to OL by changing the URL to have three slashes instead of two so it would look like a link but not work. I caught it and changed it back, but dealing with that level of attitude left a sour taste in my mouth.Also, everything I wanted to add to the article about Nathaniel Branden was rejected, including his marriage to Leigh. But that stuff--every bit of it--is now part of the article and the stuff I objected to is gone.I figure I don't know what they want or how they want it since when I did it, they rejected and sabotaged it, but I am not going to deal with authorities who act like that.I have not edited Wikipedia since.On the good side, I do use Wikipedia and am glad it exists. I consider it an introduction to a topic, not hard and fast information.It's just not my lot to contribute over there. It's bad for my serenity.Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brant Gaede Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Thank you. As I brought it it up,I should also mention that I am pretty much recovered and have had the best possible luck in that I need no further treatment and am already graduated to 5-year follow up. Also the whole process seems in retrospect incredibly fast. Having spent my whole life expecting to probably get lung cancer (yes I know you would not say it, moralist, but sure as a smoker I deserved it) I only knew I had it for a matter of weeks really, and now I don't have it anymore. Whew!--Carol--glad you're through the worst of it. Drink a lot of green tea. --Brant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljane Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Only if it makes a good cocktail mixer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brant Gaede Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Only if it makes a good cocktail mixer. You can take my word for it. --Brant pants on fire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljane Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 OK, your testimonial is good enough for me.CarolEternal optimist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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