That only goes to show what you don't know! Ask ANY true southerner the same question and he/she will tell you the same thing! It was NEVER about slavery! Ah, drmiler, this is the kind of sweeping generalization that gets you in trouble, y'know? I am a true southerner (raised in North Carolina by Georg
The right has kept their nutjobs farb below the level of power that left has allowed it's own to attain. The inmates are running the asylum. That seems like a sweeping and unsubstantiated generalization to me. Besides, the nutjobs quoted above (when identified) aren't in particularly powerful Democrati
you allow your group to be indetified exclusively by nutjobs like these no one will be willing to step up to the plate for you the moderate voices. What exactly is it that you think I (or Tex) can do to stop them???? Both parties have very volatile nutjobs that find their repeated fift
Daiwa-- The last position I want to be put in is apologizing for the more vitriolic elements on the Left. At the same time, though, some of the more vocal "hate-speakers" you mention from the right seem, well, equally as problematic. Fairly early on in his presidency, I think, President Bush participated (I resist saying "created") an atmosphere of distrust by holding fewer press conferences than usual and doing much of the business of the W
And the challenge for you and like-minded individuals is to make the case for your "vision" without worsening what you perceive to be the divisions in America. I agree, Daiwa. But I think this is an even bigger challenge for the "they" in power. I am basically in a position where I have to be c
I'm so glad they finally came out of the closet. Yah, too bad they can't marry, tho. Salt in wounds, zOmbie dude. Kinda mean spirited, doncha think? Thanks iamheather. I agree wholeheartedly. As a liberal and a Kerry supporter, I was reluctant to see him try to take this thing to court. Th
I hope you have an opportunity to live in "our" America That, frankly, depends on those in power's willingness to govern from a postion of dialogue. I can participate in calling for that, asking for that, begging for that. But if that is to happen, it requires the powerful to, at least in part, share
Your title is incorrect. Homosexuals were not rejected. Gay marriage was rejected in 10 states. Technically correct. In practice, though, I am afraid the headline is exactly right. The referenda may have concerned gay marriage, but the effect is (as I've said elsewhere) the re-criminalization of hom
We on the left were wrong. Not necessarily about our policies, positions, and ideologies. Not in our suspicion of war and support for tolerance, surely. I still believe that the left's positions on social issues matter, are important, and should be considered in the national dialogue. But we were wrong, apparently, that there was an untapped upswelling
ecause homosexuality is genetic, by encouraging them to marry and streamlining the adoption process for committed homosexual families, we are allowing them to "breed out" their homosexuality Hey , look...I know this is a "tongue in cheek" post and should be taken with a grain (if not a shaker) of salt,
Late breaking news: NO Iraqi prisoners Unaccounted for! "It would lend credence to your inflamatory headlines if you actually quoted a news source [or even] an opinion piece. "
Beautifully written and reasoned, CrispE. One paragraph caught me completely: Voting on the other hand, for the "Anybody But" Candidate is to me a mistake also. Those who have written passionately why either candidate is not viable should not vote for either, not the one less repugnant. A candidate that you can'
What I hate is the fact that there aren't any black-and-white issues anymore. So I'm getting my morning news fix with some Headline News this morning and I catch a short piece by that crazy British correspondent they've got covering the lighter side of political campaigning. He was doing a story on al
This is just the first one I came accross. There are more. Link Here's another Link And here's one more. Link So let me get this straight....your "credible evidence" for the operat
We are not equal. No, but we strive to be. And we don't just cynically toss up this truism as a defense for maintaining the status quo. "We hold these truths to be self-evident...."
What I do dislike is gays who are in your face about their being gay. Hey, look, I really don't care and really don't want to know . I don't bring up my sexual orientation to everyone I meet and I think it's in bad taste to do so. I think I know what you me
Our popular culture is full of any number of scenarios, most of which end in the complete crippling if not total destruction of the planet. Raised in the Cold War rhetoric of deterence, it is hard to imagine the effective use of tactical nuclear weapons on the "battlefield" (read: euphemism for someone's bombed out neighborhood). And yet, it seems to me I've heard a few rumors that the neo-cons that have President Bush's ear suggest tactical
I do think politics is heavy on most folks minds lately (and for the next few weeks) But I also think that the political debate feels like something bigger than an individual. In a political debate, I feel like I am making a case for a position that might build support and contribute to having an actual effect on how people think and act in this country. When I read about other's discussions of "life and what glorious events it has to offer
Follow my name above to my JU blog where I have discoursed at length about Gays and Marriage. But for those of you who hate blog plugs, here's the short version. (Short? Yeah right!) As a religious matter, gay marriage is not currently banned. Or, well, it is in some churches...maybe even most churches. But as a gay man I can find a selection of churches in my mostly small-town area of the cou
Yeap, the Bible indeed says many things. What I find interesting is that homosexuality is not mentioned ANYWHERE in the New Testiment. Jesus was completely silent on the issue. Careful. While Jesus never mentions homosexuality directly, it is brought up in the New Testiment in Paul's letters to the Ro
I am a bit confused. How is this story a "current" event? Repeated reads of the article suggest that there is no new information about the reported sightings of an ark on Ararat. I'll be an eager reader when new information emerges from the mountain snow. In fact, I eagerly clicked on this article and its link hoping there would be news. On the question of faith, I think radical claims need radical proof. Until that proof is available,
*ahem* Well, you know, I kinda have a problem with the ways we accept/promote/trivialize the function of male rape in our prisons, but there is a time and place for every issue (and this probably isn't the time or place for this one). Your point is we are f**ked either way. So I guess it comes down to who will be the kinder, gentler f**k. That, and who will be kind enough to use lube. I gotta admit, my ass is kinda sore after four
Hmmm. I think the problem here may be what we expect a comedy to be. If we think comedy is just supposed to be entertaining, then that is a very modern (and limitesd) notion of comedy. The best comedy always criticizes, but it does so from a comic frame. That frame allows us to see the absurdity in life. It draws attention to the funny things we do that we may not be aware we are doing. Truly inspired comedy makes us a bit uncomfortable when it o
When Cheney perfects his mind control powers such that he can affect more than the people immediately around him, then I will have no choice but to vote for Bush/Cheney. Seriously, though, if a sudden upswelling of international support for the Bush administration's foreign policy and actions were suddenly to materialize (more than exists among the so-called "coalition of the wi
First of all, I think the flu vacine is over marketed to people who probably don't need it. As a country, I think we need to seriously reconsider our investment in unnecessary and ineffective vacination -- especially when evidence suggests that the overuse of vacines and antibiotics tends to create even stronger pathogens. Moreover, frankly, the shortage isn't that short, really. All in all, this is pretty much a non-issue. Second, as a non
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