znuybv wrote:
> On Jul 24, 4:17 am, 1Z <peterdjo...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> On 24 Jul, 03:26, Enough Already <enough_alre...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>
>>> It has been suggested more than once that arch-conservatives lack an
>>> "empathy gene," which may be discovered at some point. You can spot
>>> future 'wingers as early as kindergarten, with their me-first, I-got-
>>> mine attitudes.
>>
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~hannahk/bulletin.pdfhttp://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/07/22_politics.shtml
>
> You say you are a liberal.
> Do you believe the following?
Ah, the fallacy of false premises, and, a typical Rightard
mischaracterization, as well
> 1.
> Standards for admissions to universities, fire departments,
> etc. should be lowered for people of color.
The only affirmative action program Rightards defend is Legacy
admissions. As a firefighter, I can tell you that there was a long
history of prejudice against women and minorities in the Fire Service.
Strong action was required to overcome this. It's not about lower
standards, it's about fair and reasonable standards.
2.
> Bilingual education for children of immigrants, rather than
> immersion in English, is good for them and for America.
Bilingual education is intended to prepare students for learning in
English, without setting them up to fall behind or flounder in the
meantime. Which is the better approach is still an open question,
except to ideologues.
> 3.
> Murderers should never be put to death.
Most of Western civilization outside America thinks so.
> 4.
> During the Cold War, America should have adopted a nuclear
> arms freeze.
Arms limitations were certainly a part of the process of ending the Cold
War.
> 5.
> Colleges should not allow ROTC programs.
More of an anti-war than a true liberal position. Liberals sup****t a
broad range of academic programs.
> 6.
> It was wrong to wage war against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf
> War.
It was ill-planned and ill-executed. Moreover, containment was working,
and such notable Conservatives as George Bush the Elder and Colin Powell
argued strongly against it.
> 7.
> Poor parents should not be allowed to have vouchers to send
> their children to private schools.
Liberals believe in universal free public education. Conservatives don't.
> 8.
> It is good that trial lawyers and teachers unions are the
> two biggest contributors to the Democratic Party.
First, I question the premise. Second, it's as least as good as the US
Chamber of Commerce and other large commercial, industry, trade and
business groups sup****ting Republicans.
> 9.
> Marriage should be redefined from male-female to any two
> people.
The state has no role in "marriage," which is a purely religious
institution. So far as the state is concerned, marriage is merely a
bundle of legal and contractual rights and privileges that cannot
constitutionally be withheld because of the gender of the parties.
> 10.
> A married couple should not have more of a right to adopt a
> child than two men or two women.
Prospective adoptive parents, including singles and homo***ual couples,
ought to be *****sed on their individual merits. Only a heartless
bastard or a Conservative would think children are better off being
raised in an institution than by fit and loving adoptive parents.
> 11.
> The Boy Scouts should not be allowed to use parks or any
> other public places and should be prohibited from using churches and
> synagogues for their meetings.
Constitutionally, public property ought not be used on favorable terms
by organizations that discriminate on religious grounds.
> 12.
> The present high tax rates are good.
No, but runaway and reckless Republican spending, resulting in record
deficits and the mortgaging of the country to China, has to be paid for.
The Republican "solution" of leaving this debt for our grandchildren
to pay is manifestly unfair and unwise.
> 13.
> Speech codes on college campuses are good and American
> values are bad.
Speech codes are generally bad and probably unconstitutional, as well.
As for "American values," that depends entirely on how those values are
defined.
> 14.
> The Israelis and Palestinians are morally equivalent.
First, there are no such persons as "Palestinians." Second, not
everything Israel does should enjoy the blind, unquestioning sup****t
from America that, especially, religious Conservatives seem to think
ought to be given to anything Israel wants.
> 15.
> The United Nations is a moral force for good in the world,
> and therefore America should be subservient to it and such
> international institutions as a world court.
The UN is very, very far from good, but it is the best tool available
for certain purposes, and it is not the Pure Evil that Conservatives
pretend it is every time it's members fail to bow to our will.
America is the progenitor of the concept of "World Courts." Ever hear
of the Nuremberg trials? We were the ones who pushed for the concepts
of international law and justice, and we entered into certain treaties
in that regard. However, some Conservatives are now very worried by
these concepts, given their complicity in war crimes and human rights
violations.
> 16.
> It is good that colleges have dropped hundreds of men's
> s****ts teams in order to meet gender-based quotas.
No, but it's great the women's participation in collegiate athletics is
at an all-time high.
> 17.
> No abortions can be labeled immoral.
You're confused. The morality of abortion, or anything else, is a
private matter. The issue is only whether some types of abortion will
be legal, or not. Note that abortions will continue in either case.
> 18.
> Restaurants should be prohibited by law from allowing
> customers to choose between a smoking and a non-smoking section.
Hmm. The anti-smoking crowd contains many conservatives as well as
liberals.
> 19.
> High schools should make condoms available to students and
> teach them how to use them.
The Conservatives "gag rule" against teaching reproductive biology and
insisting on "abstinence only" eduction has proved to be a dismal
failure, but it is a triumph of the Conservative's preference for
ideology over science. Only a Conservative would believe that factual,
scientifically valid information could be harmful if taught to children.
But I do sup****t allowing parents to "opt out" their children if they
wish.
> 20.
> Racial profiling for terrorists is wrong -- a white American
> grandmother should as likely be searched as a Saudi young male.
No, but DWB (Driving While Black) and other forms of hassling people
based solely on race is a problem.
> 21.
> Racism and poverty -- not a lack of fathers and a crisis of
> values -- are the primary causes of violent crime in the inner city.
No, but we recognize that the former are significant contributing causes
to the latter.
> 22.
> It is wrong and unconstitutional for students to be told,
> "God bless you" at their graduation.
It is plainly unconstitutional for government officials to offer
sectarian prayers at government functions, especially those that young
people are required to attend, such as school. Likewise, it is
unconstitutional to unreasonably restrict the free exercise of religion
by students or staff, such as preventing reading of the Bible during
free reading time, restricting wearing of religious symbols, or
restricting students from discussing religion or having religious
organizations at school on the same basis as any other.
> 23.
> No culture is morally superior to any other.
As opposed to the view that America is so morally superior and unique
that it is our God given duty to impose our views on other people and
nations, by force if necessary?
>
> Those are all liberal positions.
Patently false assertion.
You say you are a Conservative.
Do you believe the following?
1. Investing American Tax dollars in rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure is
good, but Investing American Tax dollars in rebuilding America's
infrastructure is bad.
2. Deficit spending is only bad when Democrats do it.
3. America's tax burden should be paid by taxes on active labor, but not
by taxes on passive gains in wealth.
4. The capacity of the Earth to absorb pollution without detrimental
effects for humanity is infinite, and it's resources are endless.
5. Major oil companies could not afford to invest in new production
without massive tax subsidies.
6. Tree-hugging environmentalists have blocked the efforts of major oil
companies to build new refineries.
7. It is wrong for the government to use it's market power to pay less
than full retail prices for pharmaceuticals.
8. Social Security and Medicare, which are not need-based, are not
socialism, but need-based social welfare programs like food stamps are
socialism and morally wrong.
9. Massive farm subsidies, which largely go to major agri-cor****ations
like Archer-Daniels-Midland, are a morally right.
10. Science, especially the science taught in public schools or used to
determine public policy, should not be allowed to conflict with the
received wisdom of organized religion.
11. America has an unlimited right to impose it's will on foreign
peoples and nations by force.
12. Secretly arresting American citizens in America on the whim of the
executive and holding them incommunicado for up to life, without access
to a lawyer, any contact with family or the outside world, or any due
process rights whatsoever, com****ts with our Constitution and American
values.
13. Torture is Constitutional, an effective means of garnering useful
intelligence, and a good way to improve America's standing and moral
leader****p in the World.
14. The plain language of the Fourth, Fifth and Eighth Amendments
doesn't mean what it says, and only the Second Amendment does.
15. The Legislative and Judicial branches of the Federal Government are
subordinate to the Executive branch, and the President is free to ignore
any laws he doesn't like.
Those are all Conservative positions.
Jeff
|
