Volunteer. That's an Order.

by Don Boudreaux on February 19, 2009

in Politics

Orwellian newspeak from the Secretary of Agriculture.

Comments

{ 8 comments }

Eric Sipple February 19, 2009 at 1:56 pm: Don, it would be helpful if you could link to previous columns and letters you've written in opposition to the torture, warrantless wiretapping and imprisonment without right to appeal or jury trial that occurred during the Bush Years.

This would prove your concern for liberty regardless of who is in office. I'm concerned that you might appear to be an extremist hypocrite who parses statements about meat packing for signs of the coming totalitarian takeover from one administration while ignoring the obvious transgressions of another.

Thanks, I think this will make a big difference in getting your message out.

Eric Sipple
Superheater February 19, 2009 at 2:59 pm: Eric:

I'm concerned that you are (not appear)an extremist hypocrite.
BoscoH February 19, 2009 at 4:06 pm: Eric's comment highlights why libertarians should be pro-torture. Detractors are gonna claim you're pro-torture anyway, so you might as well have some fun with it.
Kevin February 19, 2009 at 4:12 pm: Any failure to draw attention to previous assaults on liberty, besides being totally irrelevant to whether the item in question is itself an assault on liberty, does not prove extremist hypocrisy. The provision of evidence of previous attempts to draw such attention does not prove an absence of extremist hypocrisy, neither would it prove anyone's concern for liberty. Nevertheless, three people have now commented on this most ridiculous matter.

On topic for a second, isn't this how all public policy works? Anything that happens on its own is voluntary and anything they want to happen that nobody would otherwise bring to pass is made mandatory? This is one of the rare occasions when we can actually watch the government drawing its guns, which is pretty cool in a "wow that's a big asteroid" kind of way. But it's not any different from every other "thou shalt" law we have.
Methinks February 19, 2009 at 6:11 pm: the program is voluntary, but could become mandatory if meat processors don't comply.

Hey! I know that brand of "volunatary". That was the only brand available to us in Russia. I believe it still is.
Methinks February 19, 2009 at 6:16 pm: Eric,

Instead of bellyaching about the fact that Don has not delivered to you upon a silver platter all that he has previously written, why don't you just dig through the archives yourself?

One of the things I like about Don & Russ is that, unlike the political hacks like DeLong and Krugman, they don't really care which party they're criticizing. The criticism is always of the IDEA, not the person or party affiliation. The party in power is the one committing the errors now. Pointing out that Bush & Co. is similarly idiotic at every turn is – as Kevin put so well – completely irrelevant to the matter at hand.
vidyohs February 20, 2009 at 8:58 pm: Voluntary, oh yeah.

This reminds me of the conversation I had with an IRS agent over the voluntary nature of the income tax, and this fat red faced idiot told me that the program "was voluntary like stopping at a stop sign was voluntary. Only, if you don't do it then you get punished."

I laughed in her face and asked her if she really was that big of a dumbass if she couldn't see the idiocy in her analogy.

Ahem, needless to say our conversation went downhill from there. Can't tell you how much fun I had with that fat fool.

Now she doesn't talk to me anymore. Gosh what a loss.
Methinks February 20, 2009 at 9:29 pm: LOL, Vidyohs.