Jeff McCann wrote:
> 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.
>
Which lowers standards which lowers performance.
Can't beat group cohesion.
>
> 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.
>
1. Children do not need language preparation. They are naturally
'wired' to learn additional languages.
2. Bilingual programs have shown to slow down or stop new language
usage and assimilation. It's clear from turn-of-the-century
immigration that language and cultural immersion is the best way
to assimilate immigrants. But that's not the goal today.
>
>> 3.
>> Murderers should never be put to death.
>
> Most of Western civilization outside America thinks so.
>
Probably but that doesn't address the issue.
>
>> 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.
>
True but that doesn't address the question.
>
>> 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.
>
There's no such thing as "free" public education. Someone is going
to pay for it and whoever pays the bills will slant the propaganda.
>
>> 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.
>
Marriage is a socio-religious institution with political inroads.
Government should not license it and has no authority to license it.
>
>> 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.
>
The unmarried or those with mental disorders should not be given
children. It is not in the interests of society or the children.
>
>> 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.
>
Can property owners discriminate access? Can sellers and buyers
discriminate in transactions?
A statement of belief in a god is not per se, a religious activity.
The BSA pronounces a value system which is called Christian because
of the reference to a god. It is not. American culture inculcates
those values.
>
>> 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.
>
In the context of moral determination, "Palestinians" refers to those
persons living in the Palestine during 1947-1952 when Zionists
invaded, displaced or killed many of them, and took their property.
By any civil standard the lack of equivalence is self-evident.
>
>> 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.
>
The UN is no a moral force, nor can it be.
The UN is at best, amoral, and responds in behest of the third world
majority member****p unless overridden by the Security Council which
does not make moral judgments.
>
>> 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.
>
Participation is very low in relation to female student numbers.
It's just another example of egalitarian feel-good politics.
>
>> 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.
>
Hmmm, the statement did not relate to law.
>
>> 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.
>
It is apparent from thirty years of 'value-neutral' ***ual education
that dissuasion is not a goal. The result is dramatically increased
***ual activity. So dramatic that ***ual activity is today seen in
12 yo, 75% of black females are single mothers by age 21 as
are 35% of white females.
But, we understand that this is a goal of political correctness.
1. Children by definition lack the capacity for judgment.
2. The pituitary gland rules ***ual activity.
Any practice which does not act strongly to dissuade ***ual activity
merely acts to encourage it. After all, such activity is the
physiological default.
But of course every intelligent and sane adult has known this all along.
It's just another example of the destructive Socialist impulse.
>
> 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.
>
The reasoning for the prohibition of religion in government is
related to the progressive income tax, itself an unconstitutional act.
The reasoning is that if it does not benefit all taxpayers then it is
forbidden, except of course for entitlements.
The Constitution does not proscribe religion related statements
or practices made in the government purview.
Offensive religious overtures, as with body odor, is to be
addressed through the application of social values, not by law.
And all entitlements should be immediately scrapped.
>
>> 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?
>
Every culture perceives itself morally superior to all others or it
wouldn't exist.
Gutting culture of its values and traditions is a necessary prelude
to the Socialist agenda.
>
>>
>> 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.
>
At least you thought to capitalize it but the list does not accurately
reflect conservative or Republican positions.
I do wish you would wean yourself off the 'left-right' paradigm tit.
> Jeff
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