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| 5/18 |
| 2004/5/22-24 [Reference/Law/Court] UID:30368 Activity:very high |
5/22 Update on the bus driver lawsuit. I won and submitted the Writ
of Execution, Earning Withholding Order to the Sheriff who served
it to his employer. He makes $1600 a month as a bus driver. How
pathetic.
\_ Um, what was this "bus driver lawsuit" about?
\_ You're really cool for calling him pathetic because of his
monthly salary. What do you do for a living, hotshot?
\_ And then stealing what little he makes from him.
\_ The guy gave me a bogus address/insurance info/etc. He
threatened to counter sue me with injuries that he didn't
even have, and changed his phone number so that I couldn't
call him anymore. I didn't want to raise my insurance
premium and certainly didn't want to pay for damages outa
my pocket money so hired a private investigator, who had
a really really hard time tracking him down since he is so
clever and elusive. But hard work prevailed and now he will
pay. PAY PAY PAY YOU FRIGGING LOW LIFE FORM! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA
\_ You're disgusting.
\_ You didn't let me finish. After the private detective
served the paper, he filed for delay. So 3 months passed,
he lost the case, and filed for appeals via mail. But
that's not it. He wrote a check for $1-2 more than
necessary to the court clerk, and being government and
all they had to cash, refund, etc before they could
proceed with the appeals. So that delayed it by another
4 months. Just because he's poor and uneducated doesn't
make him less guilty for being a lying scumbag. That's
pretty much what both of the judges told him in court.
\_ Out of curiousity, why do you say this? Being poor
doesn't automatically make you good. -- ilyas
\_ Apparently, neither does being educated.
\_ No, really, what am I missing? It's one thing if
the guy agreed to pay, and then the op
realized the bus driver was a poor guy, and forgave
the debt. But this bus driver was not acting in
good faith, and was trying to avoid his obligations.
If I was in op's position, I would do the same
thing. -- ilyas
\_ What you are missing is that this moron
says that $1600/month is pathetic and feels
superior because of it.
\_ Hey, he can feel superior to me too, that's
about how much grad students make... which
is kind of depressing. -- ilyas
\_ if the bus driver is poor and uneducated
then the op should have more sympathy
for him because that's probably how he
was taught to do to survive (lying,
cheating, evading, etc). So yes I still
think the op is a loser and should at
least have given the bus driver a break
-guy who grew up poor
\_ So you hold people with less money to a
lower moral standard? I'm sorry but
\- Those of you motivated to reflect
a little deeply, in these times,
on wealth, on justice, "the good",
means and ends, and most of all,
"might and right", ought to read the
Republic. From a quick look, this
looks fair: http://csua.org/u/7f2
One of the first bits is on
"wealth and morality". I suppose
you can wait for the MEEL Gibson
and Brad Pitt version. --psb
\_ Oh look, the cliff notes, web
edition. -- ilyas
\- i'm obviously not suggesting
this is a substitute. but then
again not all of us read
ancient greek. if you want
"the real thing", penguin or
grube. i havent read jowitt.
--psb
\_ I like Allan Bloom. Penguin
sucks as a general rule.
Everything with a penguin
for a mascot sucks! Stupid
penguins. -- ilyas
\- dont be an idiot.
penguin classics are
usually pretty good
as a default. --psb
as a default.
off the top of my
head, the main thing
for which penguin is
not one of the standards
is homer. --psb
\_ Listen, partha...
when I buy a
translation, I usually
go to the kind of
store where there are
lots of them side by
side, and usually
read at least a
chapter out of each
right there in the
store. In my
experience penguin
is inferior to almost
any other edition, if
one exists. Penguin's
cheap though, I ll
give it that.
-- ilyas
\-i have a lot of
penguins that are from sylla-
bus recommendations. you want
to put your assessment of
greek or latin or italian
over the berkeley classics
faculty, be my guest.
in individual cases there
may be better options, like
say one of the recent
"pedagogic thucydides", based
on your particular
background and interest, but
penguins do have a good
general reputation. i should
clarify when i mean classics
i mean Classics with a Big C.
--psb
\_ You can find faculty
somewhere to recommend
almost every translation
there is. I trust my own
language sense. -- ilyas
\-do you know ancient
greek? --psb
this is so stupid I don't even have the
words to begin. Instead of being a
total piece of crap, maybe he should
have spent 1/10th as much time learning
to drive, getting an education, or any
number of other things that would
improve his life instead of putting all
his time and effort into being a piece
of total garbage. I not only have no
sympathy for the bus driver but I
loudly applaud the OP for keeping on
this asshole, not letting him get away
with it and making him suffer.
\_ He is a bus driver, he obviously
knows how to drive. As for the
education part, not everyone is
cut out for college. Some people
simply aren't smart enough, though
this guys sounds pretty clever.
\_ This is where I disagree. Making fun
of him for being poor is stupid. Making
fun of him (and getting payback) because
he is lying scum is fine. -- ilyas
\_ The guy got into a car accident and lied repeatedly to avoid
paying for it. This is different from stealing a loaf of bread
to feed your starving family.
\_ Sure, but why is his salary a relevant fact?
\_ Did I say anything about his "salary"?
\_ Yes. Can't you read the original post?
\- in court someone has to win. in the judgement of
who is an asshole, both can "win". --psb
\_ w00t! -psb #2 fan
\- this is really a horrible expression the
use of which you will look back on with shame. |
| 5/18 |
|
| csua.org/u/7f2 -> www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/republic/fullsumm.html sourceid=7912220&is_search=Y&title=the+republic&match=exact &options=and The Republic ClassicNote on The Republic The Republic: Book I "Of Wealth, Justice, Moderation, and Their Opposites" Summary: Book I Though the dialogue is retold by the narrator, Socrates, one day after it has occurred, the actual events unfold in house of Cephalus at the Piraeus on the festival day of the goddess Bendis (Artemis). Once Polemarchus and several other men catch up to Socrates and Glaucon after the celebratory procession, Polemarchus, desirous of Socrates' delightful conversation, compels him to join their company at his home. There Socrates encounters Polemarchus' father, Cephalus, an old man, and the two men speak candidly about aging. Socrates finds Cephalus' thoughts on the subject admirable, for Cephalus criticizes others of his age who foolishly lament the loss of youthful vigor, and holds instead that the dissipation of the passions late in life is pleasantly tranquilizing and liberating. Socrates, curious as to whether Cephalus' attitude might be related to his personal wealth, questions the old man accordingly. Cephalus is then forced to admit that wealth affords comfort to its possessor, but offers true peace only to him who is of a good nature. From wealth and its merits and demerits, Socrates steers the conversation onto a new topic: justice. But Cephalus, who does not appear up to the task, exits abruptly, leaving Polemarchus to continue the argument. Polemarchus initially posits justice as giving a man that which he deserves. Through a series of very clever manipulations, however, Socrates befuddles Polemarchus and concludes before his auditors that the just man is a thief. Thrasymachus, silent until now, suddenly bursts into the debate, angry with Polemarchus for yielding too easily but even more so with Socrates for his "ironic style." After his accusations have been answered, Thrasymachus poses his own definition of justice: the interest of the stronger. Both terms of this definition are quickly brought into question, and, enraged, Thrasymachus unleashes a long diatribe, asserting that injustice benefits the ruler absolutely. Socrates, composed as ever, refutes him, offering true rule as just rule, for it is conducive to harmony, unity, and strength. The dialogue concludes with Socrates' examination of the comparative advantages of justice and injustice. By the end, Thrasymachus and the other auditors are satisfied that the just man is happy, and the unjust is not. However, in a brilliant twist, Socrates dolefully admits to them that in spite of all the conversation, he still knows nothing about the nature of justice, but only something of its relation to virtue and not vice, wisdom and not ignorance, and of its utility over injustice. Presumably, the characters now return to the banquet from which they came, completing the circle. Analysis: Book I At the beginning of Book I, we are introduced to the narrator, Socrates, and his audience of peers. We are made aware, however, of Socrates' special charm and intellectual gifts through the insistence of Polemarchus and the other men for the pleasure of his company. The tone is casual and language and modes of expression rather simple, as is commonly the case in Plato's dialogues. However, Plato's unaffected style serves at least two purposes. For one it belies the complexity and elevation of the ideas, thus it is in accord with Socrates' characteristic irony itself, which draws the "fool" in by feigned ignorance, only so that the master can show that he does not know what he thinks he knows. And second, the plainness of style complements truth and wisdom, the aim of all the dialogues, which by nature are aphoristic. In Socrates' conversation with Cephalus, the proper approach to aging and the state of old age is addressed. Although other men Cephalus' age commonly complain that for them, "life is no longer life," Cephalus feels that they misattribute discomfort and unhappiness resulting from their defective characters to advanced age. Building on a statement by Sophocles, Cephalus concludes, "he who is of a calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age." Socrates' inquiry as to whether Cephalus' happiness owes to the comfort of wealth demands a qualification of this positionthat while a man's nature ultimately determines his peace of mind in old age, wealth is also an undeniably important factor. The passage concerning justice illustrates Socrates' dexterous intellect and his dogged skepticism. Playful and humorous at times, the conversation ends, at several points, in absurd--and apparently inexorable--conclusions such as that the just man is a thief. What is at work here is another type of irony, in which Socrates and his auditors accept as a temporary resolution what the dialogue's audience, ie the reader, cannot. Here, Plato grants the reader space to think for himself. A central problem with Polemarchus' definition (borrowed from Simonides)a form of conventional moralityof justice, "doing good to your friends and harm to your enemies," is the vulnerability of its individual terms. Not surprisingly, Socrates probes each one, exposing any and all weaknesses or limitations in pursuit of Truth. It is precisely this meticulousness that leads Thrasymachus to accuse Socrates of never answering questions. Socrates' response (another question) clarifies his epistemology: "how can anyone answer who knows, and says that he knows, just nothing?" What Socrates' knows is incommunicable other than to say that he knows nothing. His philosophical speculations embody a process rather than a philosophy. That is, Socrates' method is in accord with the nature of inquiry and of intellectual exploration itself: he is his style. And, acutely aware of this fact, Socrates repels every temptation toward dogma, characterized by Thrasymachus' complaints. The second definition of justice, obedience to the interest of the stronger, is Thrasymachus' veiled justification for tyranny (might is right), and is foreshadowed in his indecorous demand for payment. He is portrayed in sharp contrast to Socrates, who suggests that the stronger may not always know his own interest; therefore, at times, it is necessary for the weaker to disobey him. Socrates then successfully upsets the definition by demonstrating that, insofar as his role is an art, a ruler acts in the best interest of his subjects, as exemplified by the physician for his patients and the captain for his crew. Still unresolved, the debate moves into a second stage, where tyranny, or perfect injustice, and benevolent rule, or perfect justice, are evaluated against one another. Again, through a series of examples, Socrates prevails--the unjust man's pride and ambition are shown to be weaknesses, since he is incapable of singular as well as common action, while on the other hand the just man is humble, wise, and strong. For his own pleasure, Socrates carries the debate into a final stage, in order to prove that the aim of a man's life should be justice not injustice. Socrates uses the analogy of the soul, considering its proper functions and its end. If the souls' end is life, Socrates says, and its excellence, or perfect execution of that end, is the fulfillment of life, then justice is the excellence of the soul because, as he had revealed earlier, the just man enjoys better quality of life. Although it would seem that Socrates' conclusion, that he still knows nothing about the nature of justice, is merely facetious, it is not. In the course of the dialogue, the philosophers have studied justice's manifestations only when, in truth, it is an abstract concept, an ideal, or a form, and according to Plato, belongs to a category or realm outside and beyond definition. The Republic: Book II "The Individual, the State, and Education" Summary: Book II Thrasymachus, Polymarchus, and the others having gone on to enjoy the festival, Socrates, Glaucon, and Adeimantus are left alone to continue the debate on justice. Glaucon, eager to hear Socrates demonstrate that justice is worthy of pursuit as both an end and as a means to an end, offers to play devil's a... |