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Trading on America's Puritanical Streak (Barf alert)
Atlanta Journal Constitution ^ | 03/14/08 | MARTHA NUSSBAUM

Posted on 03/14/2008 7:40:57 AM PDT by Leroy S. Mort

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To: lesser_satan
You can legalize prostitution but it will never gain moral acceptance. Smoking is legal but is widely frowned on. Just because something is readily available doesn't mean its necessarily good for you.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

21 posted on 03/14/2008 8:09:18 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: lesser_satan

All of what this broad writes of may be fine & dandy except that Spritzer his own bad self utilized these very laws when he was the state’s number one enforcer and he broke other laws NOT related to prostitution or even so-called morality that have to do with things like money laundering, tax evasion, conspiracy, misuse of public resources, etc. — all tools used against organized crime, drug dealers, for years.


22 posted on 03/14/2008 8:11:10 AM PDT by Nick Thimmesch
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To: Leroy S. Mort

Some of these liberal navel-gazers sound like satire, but sadly they actually believe it.


23 posted on 03/14/2008 8:11:51 AM PDT by Malesherbes
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To: Nick Thimmesch
Exactly. He knew what he did was illegal and wrong and did it anyway. No one forced him to destroy his own life and throw away a career few people in this country will ever dream of attaining.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

24 posted on 03/14/2008 8:13:57 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: Leroy S. Mort
Here is the letter I wrote to the Dean of the Law Faculty:

Sir:

I submit to you that Dr. Martha Nussbaum, a Professor on your faculty at the Law School, is so willfully blind to the legal and ethical implications of Eliot Spitzer's behavior to render her unfit to carry on in her current role.

As Attorney General, then as Governor, Eliot Spitzer was directly responsible for enforcing the laws of NY. The actions so far revealed in the general press indicate that he knowingly and aggressively broke money laundering laws which is a federal offense; had this been his only offense, he should have been indicted and removed from office. Professor Nussbaum should understand the ethical implications of willfully breaking the law when in a position of public trust and responsibility.

However, he also engaged the services of a prostitute, not once but many times; if the public record is correct, this was done while he simultaneously was prosecuting and imprisoning others for the same crimes. The question of whether or not this was done in conspiracy with the Gambino crime family, whose name was associated with this case, has not been answered publicly, but cannot improve his standing whether yes or no.

Aside from the marriage vow he made to his wife and broke, he has violated the several oaths of office he took to be in his current position.

Based on the article cited above, Professor Nussbaum is either willfully ignorant or contemptibly foolish. If she cannot divine the manifold legal and ethical violations committed by Eliot Spitzer, then she is even less honorable than him. For her to be instructing prospective lawyers on ethics is a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both, in my opinion.

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this matter, although I suspect you will be busy responding to other inquiries on this.

Respectfully,

...

25 posted on 03/14/2008 8:14:07 AM PDT by bt_dooftlook (Democrats - the "No Child/Left/Behind" Party)
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To: Malesherbes

Email Ms. Nussbaum and let her know how off base she is, considering she’s a Professor of ETHIC.

martha_nussbaum@law.uchicago.edu

Also, the Dean of the Law School might be interest to hear from you as well.

s-levmore@uchicago.edu


26 posted on 03/14/2008 8:16:48 AM PDT by Slapshot68
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To: bt_dooftlook

That’s a great letter...bravo.


27 posted on 03/14/2008 8:17:31 AM PDT by Slapshot68
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To: Leroy S. Mort
Ever notice that the lefties always hold up EUROPE as the ultimate in civilization, and NEVER reference Asia or Africa?

LIBERALS ARE RACIST! ;-)

28 posted on 03/14/2008 8:18:49 AM PDT by Clemenza (I Live in New Jersey for the Same Reason People Slow Down to Look at Car Crashes)
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To: Leroy S. Mort
To Martha Nussbaum

Photobucket

29 posted on 03/14/2008 8:21:05 AM PDT by dragonblustar (Once abolish the God, and the government becomes the God - G. K. Chesterton)
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Martha Nussbaum? Why doesn’t she stay in Europe? Maybe Spitzer could join her there.

Liberals hate standards, morals, virtue. They are much more at home in Europe, a decadent and dying culture that doesn’t even have the will to reproduce itself.


30 posted on 03/14/2008 8:31:02 AM PDT by Godwin1
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Nussbaum? University of Chicago? Ethics? Sorry. Doesn't compute.

Why doesn't Nussbaum stay in Europe? Liberals are always holding up the decadent and dying civilization of Europe as a model to be emulated. A death wish.

Nussbaum’s hero Spitzer had no problem prosecuting low level prostitution cases when he was Attorney General. On the day Spitzer’s disgrace became announced, he was working hard on legislation to compel Catholic and other religious hospitals to perform abortions. He was a bully with a totalitarian sensibility. An apt hero for Europhiles.

31 posted on 03/14/2008 8:41:01 AM PDT by Godwin1
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To: Leroy S. Mort
Spitzer's offense was an offense against his family. It was not an offense against the public.

Well, yes it is, and Nussbaum is showing the same sort of willful myopia here as so many did during the Lewinski affair. Spitzer was more than a private citizen and this is about much more than sex for cash. The abuse of public office in both cases was entirely the issue, and if this is something that our jaded European cousins find quite acceptable then just perhaps it explains a few things about government there.

Is Nussbaum aware that we were supposed to laugh at Capt. Renault's hypocrisy in Casablanca?

32 posted on 03/14/2008 8:41:33 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: Billthedrill

“Well, yes it is, and Nussbaum is showing the same sort of willful myopia here as so many did during the Lewinski affair.”

Exactly. It’s amazing how it doesn’t register with people that if the man is willing to lie to his family, cheat on his family...what other things in his life/profession has he lied about? Cheated on?

Apparently, according to Ms. Nussbaum, ethics is only something reserved for the lectern not actual practice.


33 posted on 03/14/2008 8:45:14 AM PDT by Slapshot68
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To: Leroy S. Mort

What about GOP Senator David Vitter(diaper boy) and GOP Senator Larry Craig(queer boy)?


34 posted on 03/14/2008 8:54:10 AM PDT by Ben Ficklin
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To: Leroy S. Mort
Puritanical atmosphere in New York? You've got to be kidding. And Ms Nussbaum, why, why do you care what people in Europe think?
35 posted on 03/14/2008 9:00:40 AM PDT by quadrant
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To: quadrant

“And Ms Nussbaum, why, why do you care what people in Europe think?”

She’s in “academia.”

‘nuff said.


36 posted on 03/14/2008 9:06:05 AM PDT by Slapshot68
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To: Leroy S. Mort

The problem with Spitzer is that he was more than happy to use that Puritanical streak to his advantage in his own witch hunts - that’s where he betrayed the public trust.


37 posted on 03/14/2008 9:10:27 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ("Wise men don't need to debate; men who need to debate are not wise." -- Tao Te Ching)
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To: Billthedrill
The Lewinski affair would have probably never come to light if there wasn't a sexual harassment suit against Clinton for using the power of his office to get sexual favors from people whose careers he was in a position to influence. It is one thing to come on to someone who works for you (bad judgment IMO, especially as a married man) but if you do and they turn you down, it violates the law to threaten them with career consequences for doing so. Not only did he threaten her, but when someone called her one of his bimbos, he used his political machine to try to smear her. That angered her enough to make her bring suit against him. In a suit alleging sexual harassment, it is material whether there is a pattern of this type of behavior. The plaintiff will try to show that either other women were also approached and threatened or retaliated against, or that those who gave sexual favors got preferential treatment. That is where Lewinski comes into it. Had Clinton not already violated the laws against sexual harassment, he would never have gotten the opportunity to perjure himself.It makes me crazy that people say it was an intrusion into his private sex life. It wasn't. He broke the law several times.

As for Spitzer, he broke the laws against prostitution but I am much more concerned about the money laundering and misappropriation of public funds or services. It is extremely difficult to accept him as a victim of a bad law when he violates other laws at the same time.

I have no sympathy for him on any of the charges. It is clear to me that a man who seemed to relish destroying others for giving in to lust ought to control his own better. The old adage about people in glass houses comes to mind.

The laws against sexual harassment and prostitution may be flawed and many argue persuasively that they should come off the books. Until they do, however, a partisan politician who enjoys making enemies had better be very careful about breaking either one.

38 posted on 03/14/2008 9:51:17 AM PDT by free_for_now (No Dick Dale in the R&R HOF? - for shame!)
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To: demshateGod

See how they feel when Islam gets complete control!


39 posted on 03/14/2008 1:23:53 PM PDT by red irish (Gods Children in the womb are to be loved too!)
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