The Rampant, Irresponsible Political Thread

[SmileOfTheShadow]

That reminds me of a great quote "The problem with using the Web as a model for what's really going on is that on the Web, Ron Paul is a presidential front runner and Serenity is the greatest science fiction movie ever made."

..but, those are true.

[Jan]

So how about that Ron Paul guy?

No way in hell, thanks. He lost me with his stance on Roe v. Wade. No need to read any further.

Jan

[Dr Maturin]

Even pro-abortion folks who like good rulings should be against Roe vs. Wade. It was just a bad ruling, and no, not because it was "legislating from the bench." They could've come up with something better if they had wanted it to be plausible.

What really got me was when he stood there on the Fox News debate and said that Islamic radicalism is our fault, that 9/11 is our fault. Rudy rolled up the proverbial newspaper and hit him on the nose like a dog for saying it (thanks, Vyce...good metaphor!).

[SmileOfTheShadow]

No way in hell, thanks. He lost me with his stance on Roe v. Wade. No need to read any further.

Jan

Really Jan? I think you might have glossed over the whole "leave it up to the states, it's not the federal government's place, including the supreme court, to deal with that." Which...is kinda accurate according to the whole constitution thing.

[Dr Maturin]

I don't like that it was decided in SCOTUS and wouldn't no matter how they did it, but the decision and reasoning behind it was so poor that nobody should accept it.

[Jan]

Really Jan? I think you might have glossed over the whole "leave it up to the states, it's not the federal government's place, including the supreme court, to deal with that." Which...is kinda accurate according to the whole constitution thing.

I will *steadfastly* resist anything that might change the status quo. In theory, perhaps you're right. In reality, the states have ceded so much power to the feds that cherry picking just one item is pretty ridiculous.

Jan

[SmileOfTheShadow]

I will *steadfastly* resist anything that might change the status quo. In theory, perhaps you're right. In reality, the states have ceded so much power to the feds that cherry picking just one item is pretty ridiculous.

Jan

Stupid federal government...

[Jan]

Stupid states for allowing it.

Jan

[Jan]

An amazingly cool thing happened at the Atlanta airport last night and I guess it fits here as well as anyplace. As I was heading toward baggage claim there was a sudden burst of applause. LOTS of people applauding. No 'rock star' hollaring or anything, every person around suddenly just started clapping enthusiastically.

I looked behind me and saw a large group of soldiers going through the area and the applause was for them. They didn't really kinow how to react but I think they were pleased.

After having seem only small examples of how soldiers were treated during and after Viet Nam, I just thought it was a really cool moment.

Jan

[Karachi Vyce]

Nooooo bueno. I don't like his outdated paleoconservative stances.

I've gotten into flame wars with people on other sites over Ron Paul. The man's a lunatic. He supports a fucking isolationist foreign policy for Christ's sakes.

He's getting some support now from people who are fed up with both parties, and he's presenting himself as an independent outsider (despite being a long-term Republican congressman), but his policies are frequently ridiculous. In particular his remarks about us causing 9/11 ourselves - he's gotten a lot of support from the Truthers with those sort of remarks, as well as his statements that he feels that the "official version" of 9/11 should be investigated. It's read meat for Truthers, who are, I should remind you, the one "political" group out there that I would gladly walk up to and spit in the face of should I see them on the street. Liberals usually annoy me, conservatives annoy me more often in the past few years, but those people deserve nothing but my complete and utter contempt.

Even pro-abortion folks who like good rulings should be against Roe vs. Wade. It was just a bad ruling, and no, not because it was "legislating from the bench." They could've come up with something better if they had wanted it to be plausible.

It was a classic example of what's become rather common practice for the Court (especially the liberal wing of it - and I know I'm dogpiling on them a bit by saying that, but it's true), which is, to reach the conclusion you WANT to reach first (based upon your social politics), and then fish around for a legal argument to support that conclusion (even if you have to pull it out of your ass, or more commonly these days, cite foreign law and policies as your basis, even though it should have ZERO influence on an interpretation of our laws). Remember, folks, stare decisis is only something that should be respected when it's going to be used to uphold shit YOU are in favor of (hence the recent bitching by Democrats over the rulings of Alito & Roberts).

I'm actually pro-choice, but I have to agree, Roe is a decision that is very deeply flawed.

[SmileOfTheShadow]

An amazingly cool thing happened at the Atlanta airport last night and I guess it fits here as well as anyplace. As I was heading toward baggage claim there was a sudden burst of applause. LOTS of people applauding. No 'rock star' hollaring or anything, every person around suddenly just started clapping enthusiastically.

I looked behind me and saw a large group of soldiers going through the area and the applause was for them. They didn't really kinow how to react but I think they were pleased.

After having seem only small examples of how soldiers were treated during and after Viet Nam, I just thought it was a really cool moment.

Jan

That is good to hear.

[Dr Maturin]

I doubt that's happening in San Francisco and Boulder, Jan.

[frulad]

LiM, I'd like to think you're wrong on that assessment.

The folks on the left I know, both personnally and across the country via various chatboards I'm on, have nothing but respect for the troops. It's the policies that have us in Iraq and not completing the job we should be doing in Afgahanistan. I know this flies in the face of what various right-leaning pundit-tainers would like folks to think. But the truth is that a great majority of the left* respect the job our troops are doing, even if they feel there's a better use for their talents.

* and there's always a few on either side whose extremity is outside the party norm, though the other side would like to hold that up as the norm.

[Dr Maturin]

There are huge swaths of people like that in those cities. And don't forget the "GOD HATES FAGS" movement showing up at troop funerals. And there are people whom I have personally talked to who make fun of people for joining the Army, calling them dumb and gullible for "falling for" the signing bonus.

[frulad]

Well, your mile may vary in the terms of anecdotal evidence as towards people's attitudes towards our armed forces in relationship to their feelings on the policies of the current administration. Personally, as I said, I haven't met anyone who has had anything bad to say about the troops. (That is not to say that they've had anything bad to say about individual soldiers who might be jerks, their profession beside the point.)

As to Fred Phelps (Sorry, I won't use the title Reverand for him) and his dispicable ilk at Westboro Baptist "Church," I don't think anybody sees them as part of any legitimate political movement instead of the radical fringe hate group they are. These are the same bozos who wanted to protest the Amish schoolhouse and Virginia Tech shootings and the funerals of those killed in the Minneapolis bridge collapse. Any attempt otto tie them into the anti-war movement would be as intellectually disengenuous as it would be to call the Republican Party the official party of annonymous gay bathroom sex based on the antics of Larry Craig.