Disagreeing With Marshall
I swear I’m not just being contrary, but I’ve got to take issue with a couple of Marshall’s recent blog posts. Honestly, this has me questioning my own intelligence, because Marshall’s one of the brightest guys I know.
First… the foie gras ban. I’ve been talking about this since it went into effect, so I should be the happiest talk show host in America… but I’m not. Not after reading about how this went down. Daley acted like the typical petty tyrant that he is in ramrodding his repeal through the City Council, including not letting the original author of the bill speak in opposition to the repeal.
The problem with applauding strongarm tactics like this when it benefits you is that a tyrant doesn’t really care about you. Sure, there may be times where you’ll find agreement, but that’s of no consequence to the tyrant. If he moves to the left or to the right… he’s moving and you’re following along.
Well, (pardon my French) screw that. Screw the applauding of the right result and the wrong process. Screw the applauding of simply getting our way, when we disregard the American way in the process. Yeah, I want the foie gras ban to go away. I also want more politicians to have some respect for the rule of law. And I care more about that than eating my fatty duck liver. I’d rather exercise civil disobedience and eat in a “duckeasy” than rely on one man to dole out my freedoms at his whim.
As for the listing of the polar bear, it’s a sad damn day when an animal population that is NOT currently losing population (all of the polar bear populations are currently stable and the number of polar bears has grown approximately fivefold over the past 30-odd years) can be listed as threatened. The listing of the polar bear will hurt the Native American populations in Nunavut and elsewhere, and will actually reduce federal funding for polar bear research. All because someone says 30 years from now we may see the bears threatened. And as the Foundry points outthese things sometimes come with unintended consequences.