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This is an Open Forum. State the party you belong to. And the Beliefs you hold in government.

Note:We all need to try to refrain from arguing and bashing each others Views. Please Control Your self(funny Coming from me Huh?)

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If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

I'm a Republican, but I try not to simply believe everything the party spews out, although I do generally agree with it. If you simply vote for someone because they have an ® or a (D) next to their names, your not only being ignorant, your doing the country a diservice. There are certain things Bush is doing now that I storngly dislike.

The first being the thinly veiled amnesty for illegals. Reagan, who is, in my opinion, our greatest president since Lincoln, tried this. It didn't work. It made things worse. Sorry Dubya, if it didn't work for Reagan it sure as hell ain't gonna work for you.

The other is the Constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. I don't support gay marriage. I think it SHOULD be illegal, but damn it IT IS NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S JOB TO MAKE IT ILLEGAL. It's a states rights issue. Each state should be able to decide for itself what its laws pertaining to gay marriage should be. And no, if, for example, a gay couple from Utah gets married in Massachussets and returns home to Utah, where gay marriage is now unconstitutional, it should be null there. I support Civil Unions, however. No American should be deprived of the legal benefits of marriage, but in my opinion marriage is between a man and a woman, and lets face it, marriage is a luxury, not a neccessity. Deal down.

And government spending. Bush is not being very damned conservative with the budget. Granted, alot of it stems from the Iraq War, which I support, but frankly Bush should be doing his utmost to reign in government spending.

Those disagreements aside, I think Bush has done a fine job with US foriegn policy. There has been no "flagrant unilateralism". The whole world was with us when we went into Afghanistan after 9/11, and dozens of nations supported the invasion of Iraq, giving the US both men, material, and moral backing. The UN is useless, frankly. It's proved it time and time again. It was useless in Somali, for example, and despite all the UN food programs and such, there is still widespread hunger. However, I do believe there were no WMDs. I don't care. Saddam Hussein was tyrant, and wether or not we went in for WMDs or Oil or hegemony or whatever, the Iraqi people don't live under his heel anymore.

And frankly, France, Germany and the other Anti-US powers need to suck it up. No nations foriegn policy should be dictacted by another country, or the UN. Survival of the fittest, people.

And I think Homeland Security has come a long way. Granted, theres alot to be done, but great progress has been made. And while some things in the Patriot Act are somewhat unsavory, we are still a free people here in the USA and I doubt John Ashcroft is going to become Heinrich Himmler part deux. The man lost an election to a dead guy, he's not going to enslave 300 million people. And Bush is not Hitler. If Bush was Hitler, Howard Dean wouldn't have survived to lose in Iowa, and John Kerry would be sleeping with the fishes.

And I like Bush's economic policy. Granted, something must be done about the exporting of US jobs overseas, but there can be no denying Bush's tax cuts revitalized an economy that was languishing in a recession he inherited, and still reeling from 9/11. Some people say, "BUT THE MONEY WENT TO THE RICHEST 1 PERCENT!!11". Well, oh well. Obviously those 1% did SOMETHING right because the economy is recovering (although job creation isn't clipping along at quite the same rate, sadly), and I say that if the only way to prop up the economy is to give millionaires a tax break, well, thats what got to be done. The rich benefit immediatly maybe, but the whole country benefits in the long run, which is whats really important.

And frankly, I think GWB is gonna win re-election, because Kerry has flip flopped so many times all the GOP has to do is nail him on a few of them. If the Democrats had been really smart they would've nominated Edwards. Likeable fellow, not such a long, contradictory voting record, and he's Southern.

And those are some of my opinions on the issues of the day.

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Blood & Fire

I am fiestily liberal, and very patriotic. I won't get into the details right now, but let's just say I'm a big fan of San Francisco, New York, and Oregon right now. Kekeke. I am a fan of big government, but I don't like things like the Patriot Act. Why not? Because I'm a fan of big government that I can TRUST. I have no faith in the current administration's decision making skills, and I really hope they don't manage to bungle the world up any further before the coming election.

And I agree with The Raging Newbie about Senator Edwards. And that's why I'm still going to vote for him when my primary comes along, even though it really doesn't matter any longer. Hopefully Kerry will make the right choice and ask him to run as his vice president, because that would help him out in the south greatly.

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Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

Anyone who's heard me talk politics knows that I'm as moderate and independent as you can get. I owe allegiance to no one, and I'm apt to support or denounce anyone, whether they be liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. In fact, I firmly believe that one of the United States' greatest weaknesses is the constant bickering that occurs between different factions. Basically, I try to approach each and every issue rationally without any form of group-minded bias. Instead of blaming and demonizing the "other side," I view both or all sides as having good and bad aspects to them. I will never register for any political party, and I will never classify myself as either liberal or conservative, simply because none of these concepts could possibly apply to me.

I am a very religious person, but that hardly skews my political judgement, as I'm sure that 99.99% of politicians who claim to be religious are either out to make themselves look better by means of faith, or are outright lying through their teeth to get votes. Basically, I have my own ideas, and I refuse to sacrifice any one of them simply to join a powerful group that makes my thoughts seem more legitimate.

I refuse to make blanket statements about economy, education, foreign policy, etc. because I don't think it's fair to assume that there's any solve-all strategy. Things need to be taken on an individual basis, and generalizations only serve to fuel the inefficient fires that draw lines between supposed political enemies. I really dislike it when people try to blame any one person or administration for problems, because there's almost always numerous factors involved. A good example of this would be the recent state of the economy: the Democrats love to blame Bush's war-mongering, while the Republicans choose to demonize Clinton's negligence. I'm perfectly willing to blame both of them, as well as a lot of other things on the side.

Basically, in a debate, I'm the one who disagrees with everyone.

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"I always have a quotation for everything - it saves original thinking."
~Dorothy L. Sayers

"The truly remarkable thing about television is that it allows several million people to laugh at the same joke and still feel lonely."
~T.S. Eliot

"Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as reality - in your own mind!"
~ Bruce Lee

Took a test about this a few years ago when I was in high school. Turns out I'm a democrate with a moderate lean to the left. Basically that means I'm just like every other person in america who votes not for political reason, but cause they just don't give a shit. W00ts for the freedom to be a lazy bastard.

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Arts

Farts

Twarts

I'm just about as liberal as you can get without being a communist. I come down on the Democrat side of just about every political issue. In order of importance to me:

1. Peace
2. Education (Get rid of NCLB)
3. Environment (stop destroying it)
4. Gun Control (Less guns=less killing) (Can't believe I forgot this originally)
5. Equal Rights (less racism, sexism, homophobia. Pro affirmitive action and reparations.)
6. Capital Punishment (Stop it.)
7. The Economy (Fix it.)
8. Legalization (or at least stop crowding the prisons with drug users in need of rehab)

I'll gladly defend my stance on any of these issues when I have a little more time.

This post has been edited by Gears on 7th March 2004 18:16

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Hip-Hop QOTW:

"Yeah, where I'ma start it at, look I'ma part of that
Downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack
It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots

political party: Democrat (although on some things I agree more with Greens and on a few other things I agree more with Republicans)

Here are my positions on some commonly debated issues:
-economics: generally prefer free but fair trade; don't mind government action in the market but it should be applied only when it's a wise idea to do so; crack down hard on unfair practices (hey you fools should have learned not to do that in kindergarten!); poverty: focus less on short-term goals (alleviation) than on long-term goals (how to reduce poverty in general)
-capital punishment: use only sparingly, when it's the only wise solution
-education: my highest priority. People can govern themselves effectively only if they understand how stuff works. Try to focus more on changing the way bad people think than just throwing them in jail. (Merely throwing them in jail is irresponsibility.)
-gay marriage: opposed, on biological (and slightly, state-interest) grounds.
-religion: I am almost completely secular.
-morality: I count myself as a strong moralist, despite my lack of religion. (Hey, it's entirely possible!) (/me hates pornography.)
-affirmative action: viewed as a necessary (but reluctant) bad in order to help historically less-advantaged groups
-environment: pro-environmental
-Who should be the real Axis of Evil? Donald ("Golbez") Rumsfeld, Karl ("stick to principle [of more tax cuts for the wealthy]") Rove, John Ashcroft, William ("My God was bigger than his god") Boykin, et al., plus (to top off all of them) the "great" Dick ("Dick") Cheney
-What is George W. Bush? a foolish, underqualified, idiot
-Who did you support for president out of the 2004 Democratic nominees? Originally Wesley ("Leo") Clark, then Clark/Edwards ticket, then Edwards/Clark ticket, but now (I pretty much have to take this) Kerry/Edwards ticket. I don't really care which one of them gets it, in fact, since any one of them will be a HUGE improvement over Bush. I favored Clark and Edwards not because I agreed with them (I still don't know much about their positions on issues) but because they might have a quite nice chance of winning.
-stance on current Iraq war: good idea, bad timing, very bad reasoning. What about Castro? What about Kim Jong Il? Or are you chickening out?
-opinion of a PATRIOT act: egregious abuse of the word "Patriot"
-opinion on France-bashing: *goes to a House of Representatives office building and, televised on national TV, orders FRENCH fries*
-opinion on unilateral action: Get your head out of the comic books, ("Curious") George. In real life, one person/party/group/country can't do everything. And you're just further ruining our image to the rest of the world, JUST WHEN WE NEED to look better to the rest of the world in order to decrease terrorism against us in the LONG run.
-opinion on Bush's tax cuts: And why didn't you spend that money on homeland security, on balancing a badly screwd budget, or on something else for the better of our nation? Don't you work for all of us Americans?
-quote about corruption in government and business: "DAMN SHINRA!!!" (~Barret Wallace, Final Fantasy VII)

Basically, I'm a moderate Democrat, moderate because I hold some extreme views on both sides of the political spectrum as well as some moderate views.

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 4th March 2004 23:50

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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

I don't really pay much attention to politics. I let the cards fall where they may. It ain't like little old me is gonna be able to make a difference in anything anyway. Nobody important cares what the average joe thinks, but rather the people as a whole. I'll kick back and ride the wave letting God's will unfold. I guess I'm republican though it's not really important to me. I believe my rationalization justifies my lack of interest and ignorance to politics. I am considering not voting for the presidency in all fairness to the American people since I don't know who would be more beneficial. I do vote for local stuff because it's a lot easier to understand what's happening locally with much smaller issues on the ballots than who should be president. Personally I think it's more worth while to study religious stuff which is where my focus of study is. I'm not gonna list my views on the vast array of political issues because I don't want to instigate trouble. Being religious I'm sure you can all guess what my views are anyway, which probably are conservative.

Political debates are not my strength so I'll just run along and let the bombs fly. Have fun guys and gals.

This post has been edited by i90east on 5th March 2004 01:14

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FFXI (Siren server)
Tauu the Windurstian Tarutaru!
White Mage & Paladin

im a socialist. i dont agree with democrats or republicans, so i found a party that suits me.

my opinion of the government is a fiercely negative one, i think that we live in a land of hypocrisy, and most people who exist here are mentally enslaved with the wool over their eyes. people like ben franklin, martin luther king, malcom x, and abraham lincoln are reasons to be proud of america, not the government by any stretch of imagination.

as for the election and the buzz surrounding it, i quote rage against the machine:

"A spectacle monopolized, the cameras eyes on choice disguised
Was it cast for the mass who burn and toil? Or for the vultures who thirst for blood and oil?
Yes a spectacle monopolized, they hold the reins, stole your eyes
All the fistagons, the bullets and bombs Who stuff the banks, who staff the party ranks
More for Gore or the son of a drug lord, none of the above f-ck it cut the cord"

-Guerilla Radio

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You watch the world exploding every single night
Dancing in the sun, a newborn in the light
Say goodbye to gravity and say goodbye to death
Hello to eternity and live for every breath

Your time will come...

I'm not registered anything, and when I do register it will be Independant, because I frankly believe the idea of political parties is dumb.

I took a test recently and it came out for me being a centrist.

I am a conservative democrat (isn't that an oxymoron?). I vote democrat because of my socio-economic status (yeah I am going to be rolling in the dough when I am a teacher) but I am conservative on some issues (i.e. abortion, gay marriages). Others like welfare I am democrat. And there are others like health care I am in the middle. I probably won't vote in the next election cause I do not like Kerry or Bush and especially Nadar since he cost Gore the election in 2000.

This post has been edited by BGrugby on 5th March 2004 02:15

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War is for the participants a test of character; it makes bad men worse and good men better. - Joshua Chamberlain

U sir R a n00b >:-( - Cactuar

I don't mind calling myself liberal, because I am. I support the following, which are usually on the liberal agenda (I'm not even going to start to explain, I doubt any who disagree with my views will understand them, and it's pointless to explain to people who agree, since they already know why).

Note: These aren't necessarily in order.

1. Affirmative Action (I HEAVILY support AA (and I'm white), but I'm not much for reparations)
2. Peace
3. Gun control
4. Equal rights
5. Helping out the environment

I'm very against the following:

1. Capital punishment (esp. life in prison)
2. The "3 strikes" rule in California
3. Ban on gay marriage amendment
4. Arming everybody with assault rifles
5. $1.3 trillion tax cuts
6. Banning stem-cell research
7. The Patriot Act
8. The War in Iraq (esp. the "justification")

Hm..as for a hot topic such as abortion, I certainly don't support it, but I don't favor a "zero tolerance" policy towards it either.

Despite my completely liberal views, I agree with RN, you shouldn't vote for someone because they have a "D" or an "R" next to their name. For example, there's a Democratic representative in my own state that I don't like at all.

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SPEKKIO: "GRRR...That was most embarrassing!"

BGRugby, you should check out Zell Miller's book, "A National Party No More". It might be right up your alley. I love Zell Miller. He's got a (D) by his name but he's voting for Bush in 2004 because he feels its the right choice and he isn't a slave to his parties ideology.Thats what everyone should do, dammit. And I'd say the same thing if a Republican senator supported Kerry. I may disagree with it, but if you've got the cojones to stand up for what you think is right, more power to you.

This post has been edited by The Raging Newbie on 5th March 2004 03:00

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Blood & Fire

First of all I have to say that I despise the two-system monopoly that we have and think that the weakness of the other parties is terrible for sensible governmental action ever getting accomplished.

Other than that, I'm part conservative and part liberal. People should have rights first of all. I f you don't like abortion then don't have one, and the same goes for same sex marriage. The war on pot is absurd when alcohol and tobacco are ten times as worse. I don't think we should be taxing and spending as much (which the Iraqi war doesn't help with that), but I think we should spend more money on education. Less jobs going to underpaid people in other countries would be nice as well; why not make a "minimum foreign wage" to keep the money here in the hands of the workers?

As for candidates, I'm so pissed that Edwards is losing. He has most of the basic ideas as Kerry, except Edwards suggests sensible methods for implementing them. At almost any cost I think we need to get George W. out - I hate absolutely everything he does.

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Get me off this Disciplinary Committee so I can play any FF except for FF8!!!

At the risk of being shunned ill say what i believe. I am a Facist. Before you get any ideas about religious and racial pregidious heres a defiinition that works for me-: a political theory advocating an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism). I support totalitarian state and the Individual being below the whole country. Despite the Things Facists have done, I claim to be one. Most are aggresive however im a isolationist fascist. The things fascists have done for countries is phenominal. Hitler and Mussolini both saved ruined economies and made people happier. I dont however support the Idea of Mass genocide and rapid expansionism. So think what you want. But my views are solid. Here are my main views:
1- Pro abortion.
2-Pro death penalty
3-gay marriage-Meh why not.
4-Anti Foreign -Isolationist
5-Dictatorship.
6-Abolisshment of Religion
7-Drugs-Just Marajuana and whats legal now Tax It and Make Loads.
8-Prostitution-Tax It and Make Loads as well as cut down StD's , As its Regulated(people are going to do it anyway.)
Think what you want.

This post has been edited by MogMaster on 5th March 2004 20:34

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If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

I belive in some aspects of socialism, soem aspects of conservatism. here in the UK however, both main parties have seen a considerable swing to the middle in recent years IMO, and its a shame. We once had a working Socialism, but now we just have a working government, and even then its just barely.


1) Pro Nuclear deterrent. If we disarm, will Pakistan, India, and Israel?
2) Pro capital punishment , but not for Murder. Lets just gas and fry Paedophiles, rapists, and drug dealers.
3) i believe that the Rich should be taxed more.
4) Pro-Choice on the issue of abortion
5) Anti-religion
6) I feel we shoudl do more to aid the environment, but wish the animal rights campaigners would shut up already
7) pro Genetic Modification in moderation . Im all for a Ceral crop that acts as a nitrogen fixer, but im not to hot for the idea of GM bears with lazar-beam eyes...
8) "anti-religion" as a means of running laws or lives. In my veiw, religions outdated, and disproven.
9) pro Globalisation if they do it right, as in making them TRULY free markets, as opposed to lining the pockets of the American comapnies in charge of the world economy.

Im going to say my UK politcal veiws and who i would vote for, as well as the hypothetical situatuion of whch US party i would vote for.

If i was old enought to vote (2 years to go..) i'd vote SNP in the General Election (as they are the ones who really are Scotland's voice in Parlaiment: the Labour MP's are just to help force stuff on the English and Welsh Systems. ).
In the Parliamentary and Council elections, the SSP would get my vote. They're the best of a bad bunch, and once they manage to get a decent accountant to do the sums for them, they might actually be a great thing. They honestly belive in thier issues and the thigns they say the want to do, they will try. They may be anti-nuclear, but i respect how they stand up for their veiws.

So, if i was American, id vote... no one. Your 2-party systems as screwed up as ours... but for local elections id vote for a socialistic party.


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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

I'm not really for any one party. I guess I lean more towards Liberal, but based on a few things going on with the Liberal party in Canada, I'm not completely behind them. Jean Chretien, our last PM and a Liberal, did do a few things right (legalizing gay marriages), but he's also done a few things wrong, too.

I'm pro-choice for abortion, against the death penalty, pro- gay marriages, against the legalization of drugs and prostitutions (I admit it would solve some problems, but in my opinion it'd cause as many as it would solve to legalize) and...what are the other issues of the day, now?

Anyway, so yes, not really up with American politics. I find it hard to be on any one party or politician's side, because no one person or party can have my exact views and, honestly, I don't care enough to find out all the necessary information.

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I had an old signature. Now I've changed it.

I have an annoying tendency to argue on several sides of issues but support neither. 'Cause there are just too many variables to really be sure. I guess that makes me a centrist? I think I'll register Republican, though . . .

In any case, there are a few issues I actually have a postion on. Assume all issues mentioned apply to the United States; I'm rather uninformed as to the detailed state of politics in other places. (Though I am keeping sort-of tabs on a few things. Russian election, for one.) Politics are big and confusing enough when only dealing with one country. ^^;

I am for tort reform. Seriously, the system as it stands seems to grant awards based on how much money the defendant has rather than how much "pain and suffering" is actually worth. And I'm also really curious how anyone manages to put a dollar amount on pain and suffering, anyhow. It just seems really underhanded. In any case, when I was looking at some of the tort laws for some states . . . it's sort of ridiculous, and moreover the fear of being sued discourages buisiness.

I am against the protection of marriage amendment. Marriage is a _state issue_. Regardless of whether or not you feel gays should be able to get married (I think they should), it is an issue to be resolved by the states, not the nation.

I think the Berlin Airlift was about the coolest thing ever, though I'm basing this off of what I learned in high school, where the information is highly suspect to say the least . . .

I think that the Child Protection Services _really_ need to be fixed. Need I need to say any more on that one?

This post has been edited by CaitlinWG on 6th March 2004 06:40

I like socialism. I think communism is a little bit extreme for now, but socialism can be attained and would definitely work. Moving further left will take a while, and I agree. The Soviets tried it, and it was too much, too fast. North America is not ready for communism, but by slowly moving left we can really progress. In my opinion, of course.

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Lou: There's a couple of guys fighting down at the aquarium, Chief.
Wiggum: Do they still sell those frozen bananas?
Lou: I think so.
Wiggum: Let's roll.

I had a big, long post prepared, but decided to ditch it. I'm 17, and I'm already burned out when it comes to debating anything political. So I'm just going to answer the main question.
I consider myself an independant moderate, in a very similar way to SM. I ignore political parties altogether because I hate the idea of factions. I hold conservative, liberal, moderate, apathetic, and a variety of mixtures of the already mentioned positions. When you tally up all my viewpoints, I hold all of them equally, but I tend to come off as conservative because I hold conservative views for the issues people like to argue about most often.

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"I had to write four novels before they let me write comic books."
-Brad Meltzer

I'm the guy who doesn't commit in politics. And I've been known to change my viewpoint on a subject if viable. Political parties are garbage.

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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

Warning: Long rants forthcoming
On most issues I'm a moderate, but tend to lean toward being conservative, so I'm registered as Republican. I listen to both sides of political debate often, I read the UF Alligator (way far left), and listen to Bill O'Reilly (actually I'm doing this now, but "no spin" my @ss). I agree with most of the conservative solutions to problems but agree that consessions must be made for liberal concerns.

For example, I absolutely hate the practice of Affirmative Action, both in admissions and in government contracts. I've seen very qualified people not get jobs in favor of much less qualified minority applicants just because quotas haven't been met. Also, I've met people whose businesses only run because of government contracts given through affirmative action. Those contracts aren't meant to be the lifeblood of a business, but to *supplement* a business that otherwise might not work out. No preference should be given as a result of race, if a business can outbid another for a contract, that should be the business that gets the contract, thus saving money for the government. However if it seems that NO contracts are given to minority-run companies then someone should probably look into that as there may be local bias.

I am vehemently pro-life, and believe that life begins at conception. I see no difference ethically in a person aborting a child versus taking out a gun and shooting someone just because it is convenient to do so. Now, the exceptions: if the life of the mother (physically, medically I mean) is endangered by the pregnancy, then it should be the woman's right to choose what to do; also, if the woman is a victim of rape, which is a rare thing (about 1% of all abortions, I may be wrong) then the woman also be allowed to choose whether to carry to term, but here the abortion is still a bad thing as it is taking a life that has already begun. There are other options to abortion: putting the child up for adoption, taking responsibility for such a child, redundant birth control (both wearing a condom and having the woman on the pill),and others. People need to realize that sex is a serious thing, not to be taken lightly or without thought as to possible consequences (stigma, pregnancies, STDs, etc).

In the same vein, I am also against stem cell research using aborted fetuses, for the exact same reason. But, it is possible to extract stem cells from umbilical tissue and I believe that this research should be fully funded, even though it is banned by the same law that bans the other kind.

In America we have no free markets. Let me repeat this, as some people may need to read it again. In America we have no free markets. We have regulations for everything. While some laws are necessary,, such as those that insure the safety of workers or consumers or the environment (but not this last to the satisfaction of many of the most die-hard of treehuggers), but there are others that restrict the ability of people to have truly free markets. There are way too many regulation which govern our markets, as an example: the Constitution, our foundational document of the United States is very short for its importance (I think twenty some pages), the US regulations on the growing, transportation, and sale of BROCOLLI make up over a thousand pages. Things must be simplified,

Price ceilings (which are actually regulations on how low price can go, according to my economics class) impose horrible restrictions on the balance of supply and demand. The worst of these is the mandated minimum wage, but before I'm crucified let me explain. If wages were decided by the laws of supply and demand, employers would easily learn the need to offer a decent living wage. It is not the place of the government to tell business how much to pay workers. This is not about getting cheap labor, it's about government not dictating to the private sector.

I'm getting tired of typing, and this turned out longer than I expected, so I think I'll stop now, as I'm sure I've already cheesed people off. I could go on, so maybe I'll finish this later.

This post has been edited by Shivy on 11th March 2004 00:37

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"I was using a metaphor. Someone shut him up before I do it with a knife."- Black Mage, 8-bit Theatre

"I found out what zombies are weak against......Point Blank Annihilation"- Black Mage, 8-bit Theatre

"You'd be paranoid too, if everyone was out to get you!"

I'm a Libertarian.

I'm for:
capitalism.
people taking responsiblilty for themselves (don't sue McDonalds because your fat).
a minimum of government interference.
protection of personal property and real estate.
protection of induvidual rights.
tax cuts.
spending cuts.
the liberation of Iraq.
killing terrorist where ever they are.
privatized social security.
free speech.
a national retail sales tax.
the right to bear arms.
private school vouchers.
Monkeys!!!

I'm against:
socialism.
the patriot act.
a constutional ammendment banning gay marriage.
big government.
income and payroll tax.
affirmative action.
socialized health care.
using the power of government to force your religious views on others.
"blue laws".
excess government programmes (like the National Endowment for the Arts).
corporate income tax.
government employee unions.
the "war on drugs".
sixteen year old drivers.
over regulating business.
pork barrel spending.
letting monkeys drive!
...



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The FF6*10 webring celebrates FF6's tenth anniversary with fanart (japanese).

I'm a liberal democrat. I'm pro gay-marriage and pro-abortion, I think the tax cuts should be taken away from the rich (period) and given to middle and lower class ONLY, and, like Neal, I believe in big government, but big government I can trust.

As for this whole DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act/Amendment) thing, I think it's just the stupidest thing ever. Why should someone else's beliefs dicate what I can do with my life? I was rooting for San Francisco (and Mayor Newsom) and all the other cities doing gay marriages. And before anyone starts railing against me, saying they were breaking the law: it is an unjust law.

This post has been edited by tenshi/akuma on 16th March 2004 17:56

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"I sat alone and I didn't care,
I sat two years in the same old chair,
I saw three roads but didn't know,
Which way to go-go-go"
My Coco, stellastarr*

not to sound ignorant, but could someone clarify an issue in the gay marriage department for me?

i understand gay marriage is legal in certain areas, but im not sure where, so first off, i want someone to tell me where these places are (like when pain in the ass rosie o'donnel went out and got hitched), and secondly, if its supposedly against what the constitution/federal law/god says, why are certain cities getting away with it? i dont really follow the issue cuz it really has no bearance on my life whatsoever, but since its all the buzz lately with the race to the whitehouse bullshit parade, ive kinda been scratching my head about it.

let em get married. who cares what people wanna do with themselves anyway.

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You watch the world exploding every single night
Dancing in the sun, a newborn in the light
Say goodbye to gravity and say goodbye to death
Hello to eternity and live for every breath

Your time will come...

The biggest issue with gay marriage right now is the President trying to push a Constitutional Amendment forbidding it. The Constitution itself says nothing about it, nor is there a federal law that even regards it, so there are like 30-something states that have it banned and the rest say it's OK. I have no idea how cities in states that ban it get away with having them.
I'm not really sure which states allow it. I know Vermont and Massachussetts, and maybe Hawaii, but I think they re-wrote their State Constitution to ban it again.

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"I had to write four novels before they let me write comic books."
-Brad Meltzer

Vermont allows civil unions, which is certain legal benefits of marriage without the official title. What Massachusettes did was rule that the ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional, and gave the state legislature 180 days to fix the wording. They're still working on some sort of compromise (like civil unions) in their house right now. Like DP said, gay marriage has always been a state issue, and now Bush is pushing to make a constitutional amendment against it. In my opinion he's picked the wrong time for this, most moderate voters (the people he needs to be gunning for) I believe have no problem with gay marriage, and it's going to end up hurting his campaign. The idea that an amendment might actually get passed is pretty unrealistic at this point. Although close to 3/4ths of the states do ban gay marriage at this point, there is little chance that that many will ratify a constitutional amendment about it.

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Hip-Hop QOTW:

"Yeah, where I'ma start it at, look I'ma part of that
Downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack
It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots