7 ms·

Yeah, he does cast his net wider than I implied :) > Rick Berman, a Washington lobbyist and arch-enemy of other lobbyists and do-gooders who would have govern

Yeah, he does cast his net wider than I implied :) > Rick Berman, a Washington lobbyist and arch-enemy of other lobbyists and do-gooders who would have government control—and even ban-a myriad of products they claim are killing us, products like caffeine, salt, fast food and the oil they fry it in. He's against Mothers Against Drunk Driving, animal rights activists, food watchdog groups and unions of every kind. - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meet-rick-berman-aka-dr-evil/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meet-rick-berman-aka-dr-evil/

jimmaswell 5y ago
Reading the article, a lot of what this guy does isn't evil at all, it's fighting the good fight of personal responsibility in an age where far too many want the government to make all of theirs and others' decisions for them. I don't want further government control of fast food or caffeine either. The "animal rights activists" in question are PETA, known nutjobs who kill almost all animals they capture. Completely disingenous that the article tries to use that framing to make it sound like "this evil guy hates animals too!1" And there are legitimate criticisms of MADD too. Funny how this article tries so hard to be a hit piece and still couldn't stop me from being on the while glad this guy exists, despite some unfortunate stuff like the anti-union ads.
- tidydata 5y ago
  This says more about you as a person than I think you understand.
  - refurb 5y ago
    The fact you have no counter argument says more about you.
- ttctciyf 5y ago
  > tries so hard to be a hit piece I read it as a puff piece / apologia. YMMV.
- wetmore 5y ago
  Someone needs to stand up for the massively powerful corporations that are killing us and our planet!
  - jimmaswell 5y ago
    Someone needs to stand up for the right to self-determination. If I want to eat a Big Mac and smoke a cigar you shouldn't be able to mobilize the government to stop me.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - adrianN 5y ago
      Countries with maximal self-determination tend to become countries where organized crime rules.
      - daddylongstroke 5y ago
        Many of us enjoy this type of life style.
    - polotics 5y ago
      Big false equivalence there. You are looking at millions of preventable deaths because of this lobbyist's action. Possibly also your own: watch out for the next flood, don't get caught outside with broken car AC in black-flag heat, watch out for tornadoes, dengue mosquitoes...
- gameswithgo 5y ago
  The original article in this thread is about him encouraging big oil to NOT be personally responsible, to lie and spread disinformation so that they can keep making money. To prevent rational discourse. You are glad that such a man exists, that means you and Berman are both enemies of the huamn race. Hopefully you do not drive your children to suicide as well by being as evil as him.
  - jimmaswell 5y ago
    I don't agree with the stuff he put out on big oil but I strongly agree with the stuff on fast food and a lot of the other points. It's a mixed bag like almost everything in life.
    - jjeaff 5y ago
      In every case, he is pushing the argument on behalf of industry profiteers. You make it sound like he is just arguing what he thinks is right. I'll lend an ear to good faith arguments about why we shouldn't be regulating sugar in foods. But it is disingenuous for the sugar industry to secretly fund and amplify those arguments.
  - nitrogen 5y ago
    Hopefully you do not drive your children to suicide as well by being as evil as him. This is needlessly personal and is not an HN-worthy reply.
    - fouric 5y ago
      Moreover, it explicitly violates several of the guidelines[1]: Be kind. Don't be snarky. Have curious conversation; don't cross-examine. Please don't fulminate. Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community. Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive. When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- jasonjayr 5y ago
  Claiming Personal responsibility for 100% of the issues is a cop-out. We have a complex society. There are many complex issues at hand, and I cannot personally afford to fully research every single one of them all the time. Don't kid yourself -- no one can. Therefore I pay a service to hire experts, make recommendations, take any necessary actions, and hold others accountable. Additionally, I have some say in who gets to appoint these experts. My personal responsibility extends to paying my taxes, and participating as much as I can in government, so I can be sure myself + my children can continue to enjoy a life + future where they are safe, and can pursue whatever useful skill they can, can be respected, and are protected against those who would waste no time downplaying or hiding truths for short term gain.

jimmaswell 5y ago

Reading the article, a lot of what this guy does isn't evil at all, it's fighting the good fight of personal responsibility in an age where far too many want the government to make all of theirs and others' decisions for them. I don't want further government control of fast food or caffeine either. The "animal rights activists" in question are PETA, known nutjobs who kill almost all animals they capture. Completely disingenous that the article tries to use that framing to make it sound like "this evil guy hates animals too!1" And there are legitimate criticisms of MADD too. Funny how this article tries so hard to be a hit piece and still couldn't stop me from being on the while glad this guy exists, despite some unfortunate stuff like the anti-union ads.

tidydata 5y ago
This says more about you as a person than I think you understand.
- refurb 5y ago
  The fact you have no counter argument says more about you.
ttctciyf 5y ago
> tries so hard to be a hit piece I read it as a puff piece / apologia. YMMV.
wetmore 5y ago
Someone needs to stand up for the massively powerful corporations that are killing us and our planet!
- jimmaswell 5y ago
  Someone needs to stand up for the right to self-determination. If I want to eat a Big Mac and smoke a cigar you shouldn't be able to mobilize the government to stop me.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - adrianN 5y ago
    Countries with maximal self-determination tend to become countries where organized crime rules.
    - daddylongstroke 5y ago
      Many of us enjoy this type of life style.
  - polotics 5y ago
    Big false equivalence there. You are looking at millions of preventable deaths because of this lobbyist's action. Possibly also your own: watch out for the next flood, don't get caught outside with broken car AC in black-flag heat, watch out for tornadoes, dengue mosquitoes...
gameswithgo 5y ago
The original article in this thread is about him encouraging big oil to NOT be personally responsible, to lie and spread disinformation so that they can keep making money. To prevent rational discourse. You are glad that such a man exists, that means you and Berman are both enemies of the huamn race. Hopefully you do not drive your children to suicide as well by being as evil as him.
- jimmaswell 5y ago
  I don't agree with the stuff he put out on big oil but I strongly agree with the stuff on fast food and a lot of the other points. It's a mixed bag like almost everything in life.
  - jjeaff 5y ago
    In every case, he is pushing the argument on behalf of industry profiteers. You make it sound like he is just arguing what he thinks is right. I'll lend an ear to good faith arguments about why we shouldn't be regulating sugar in foods. But it is disingenuous for the sugar industry to secretly fund and amplify those arguments.
- nitrogen 5y ago
  Hopefully you do not drive your children to suicide as well by being as evil as him. This is needlessly personal and is not an HN-worthy reply.
  - fouric 5y ago
    Moreover, it explicitly violates several of the guidelines[1]: Be kind. Don't be snarky. Have curious conversation; don't cross-examine. Please don't fulminate. Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community. Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive. When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
jasonjayr 5y ago
Claiming Personal responsibility for 100% of the issues is a cop-out. We have a complex society. There are many complex issues at hand, and I cannot personally afford to fully research every single one of them all the time. Don't kid yourself -- no one can. Therefore I pay a service to hire experts, make recommendations, take any necessary actions, and hold others accountable. Additionally, I have some say in who gets to appoint these experts. My personal responsibility extends to paying my taxes, and participating as much as I can in government, so I can be sure myself + my children can continue to enjoy a life + future where they are safe, and can pursue whatever useful skill they can, can be respected, and are protected against those who would waste no time downplaying or hiding truths for short term gain.