Libs: What are your true cultural values?

[MaggieMae]

Republicans have worked against their own self interest for years. The elite they are so against have been using them to stage a massive redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the top 3% since the time of Reagan.
A country can only stay strong if it has a strong middle class. Under the Bush administration, the Repubublicans went hog wild.
The no bid contracts after Katrina.
The no bid contracts after the invasion of Iraq.
The deregulation of Wall Street.
The massive tax cuts for the wealthy.
Health Care (without the care).
Supporting businesses in their move to shift American jobs to other coutries.
The insane energy policies developed between Bush and the oil companies.
And worse, sending the children of the poor and middle class off to fight a made up war so they could make even more money.
And the Republicans have not only supported this travesty, but when there was some small effort to move money back to the middle class, they cry about a "redistribution" of wealth, that already happened.
Worse, the ones that cry the loudest, have no wealth.
Republicans are like the guy who said, "I can't believe how much it hurt when you poked me in the eye. Do it again, in case I was wrong the first time".

Ahhh... lies, lies, and more untruths from a winger

1) There is no preference or stance to redistribute wealth up
2) No bid contracts are there under every last motherfucking administration for certain types of jobs without much competition and for emergency situations where the complex time consuming process is not viable.. yes, including Obama and Clinton
3) Wall Street was never deregulated
4) The wealthy still pay more of a percentage of their income than others... and there are millions who pay no income taxes at all at the lower end of the income ladder... not really a god thing in a society and government based on equality, eh?? Or is it that you, muh like some many others of your ilk, are only for selective equality?? Equality when it fits you and inequality when you want something at the expense of someone else
5) Your 'health care' is your personal responsibility, as stated to you so many times... unless you suddenly feel your personal body and well being is now public domain
6) Nobody has supported the movement or loss of jobs... but government does not exist to own, nor does it control every aspect when freedoms are an essential part of the societal makeup... and as taxation increases under far-leftist rule, even more companies will opt to have their freedom to go to a place where the taxation is not as great.. unless you little control freak lefties wish to curb freedoms some more in favor of forced redistribution and government ownership
7) Show example of your 'insane' energy policies
8) Your little conspiracy theory "made up" war bullshit has been laughed at before, and dismissed as the debunked bullshit it truly is
9) We have an all volunteer military
10) Equality is what is being called for... no redistribution in any direction... but nice try, winger asshole


Ignorant fuck

People swear when they know they are losing. In your case, when they have already lost.

Bush and the Republicans cut taxes for the richest Americans during a time of war. That is unprecedented in American history. Sending kids off to die while stripping the country of it's wealth, all at the same time.

It's only common sense that when the wealth of a country is in the hands of the top 3%, depression follows. Why? Because no one else has any money.

Other presidents may have used no bid contracts in the past, but Bush and the Republicans took it to unprecedented levels. Cheney's Halliburton stock options shot up over 5 THOUSAND percent. Blackwater, a company no one ever heard of became a billion dollar corporation.

Iraq was a "made up" war and even many Republicans admit it. Even Pat Buchanan said this was going to be a disaster BEFORE we even invaded.

Sure, the military is all volunteer, unless they are held against their will for multiple tours past their time out.

At the time, 90% of those in the Military believed that Saddam was behind 9/11. Are you calling them fools? Where did they get that idea. Not from Democrats.

In the 50's and 60's, the tax rate for the top 3% was from 75 to 90%. None of them went poor and there was a time of growth. Of course, CEO's didn't make more than 200 times more than the common worker. And look at the good job they are doing. The economy in ruins.

Wall Street was deregulated. Freddie/Fannie used to handle more than 70% of mortgages. Because of an accounting scandal, they pulled back on mortgages and because Wall Street had been deregulated, they began giving mortgages, eventually more than 70%. Then they bundled them and sold them over seas as "securities".

Insane energy policies? When oil companies make what they make and gas shot up to 5 bucks a gallon?

Talking to you is a joke because you don't know anything. Nothing at all.

You live in a vacuum, no, wait, a terrifying vacuum. Republicans like to be scared.

Once again, derailing the thread, but I happen to agree with all of your points. Note to EXisted-- does that make me a "radical" leftist? Don't think so...

 

[PLYMCO_PILGRIM]

Abortion I personally don't like murder or the taking of innocent life which is why, the majority of the time, i am against abortion and the death penalty. There are rare instances such as rape and the life of the mother where I can accept an abortion just as there are rare cases I can accept the death penalty. However the majority of the time I do not support either.

Racial bigotry Racial bigotry from any race toward another race, or their own race, really upsets me. I am tired of people treating minorities with racist policies such as affirmative action. I feel doing so is like saying "yeah we recognize your not as good of us so here is a leg up on the other races" not cool at all. I also find that people attribute things to others based on their race that are totally innacurate, which also bothers me. We should all judge each other by the content of our character and our actions, not prejudical stereo types. We should also all be treated blindly in the eyes of the law.

GaysI'm not gay but I have a friend and a family member (possibly 2 if he comes out of the closet that we think he is hiding in) who are. I personally am against making a church marry any gay couple as it goes against most religions values. However I totally support civil unions and state sanction marriages for gay couples, i dont understand why someone would want to deny this of people.

Christianity I am actually going to change this one to Religion in general. I am a person of strong faith in a power greater than humankind and also a strong believer in Karma. As far as christianity and religion in general goes I dislike them all very much. I feel every major religion is hypocritical either in the actions of those in charge or the followers who ignore tennants of their religion.

I personally have no use for religion and think it does nothing but divide people who otherwise would agree (hey wow am i talking about party politics or religion now )


There you go an opinion from a self Identified American (not repub, not dem, not lib, not con, just american)

We at least agree 100% on those cultural issues, Pilgrim. As for politics, not so much, you and me. Frankly, far too often the two are wedded when they shouldn't be, however.

We might agree on more than either one of us realizes, as I suspect most most people posting here do.

Yeah basically unless you hate every politician (except for liberman and paul) and every law the federal government tries to/does pass we wont agree politically

 

[MaggieMae]

Be honest about these three conscience-raising values, NOT politically motivated based on ideology or agenda. Here's mine:

Abortion: First, a confession: I used to be pro-choice for all the politically correct reasons, until the day my niece, an RN who was living with us at the time, came home after her shift and described the unbelievable event that happened following a patient's miscarriage.

The two-month old fetus, presumed dead, had been placed in a metal bowl as it was expelled, when suddenly a tiny cavity opened (the mouth, although not distinguishable as such) and the fetus took a breath of air. In that instant, the film (not yet skin) covering the baby came alive with visible blood rushing throughout the formed veins of the tiny body, like watching an animated X-ray my niece said. It took less than 30 seconds for this incredible event, and then the child died because its organs were not yet able to sustain its life further. But that struggle for life was clear, even at that early stage.

My dilemma remains, however, how should society treat all the unwanted children?

Racial bigotry: Like the crutch that was the holocaust that some Jews continue to use to justify the attitude that the rest of the world owes them something, certain segments of the African-American community need to stop using slavery and other historical examples of oppression as their crutch to justify bad behavior and/or laziness. Nuff said.

Gays: Most of us who aren't gay don't understand the sexual component of homosexuality. Some, therefore, react with disgust which translates to hatred because of something they don't understand. Others will react with a shrug (me) since what goes on in a bedroom is highly personal anyway and I don't care what other people do.

I have another niece (I have several!) who is a 40-something Harvard professor, a witty and funny, warm woman who is also a lesbian. She also has absolutely no desire to "marry" anybody. She is simply more comfortable in the presence of women. Yet I also have a male friend who is gay, and finally married his partner of 20 years. They both had been accepted as a "couple" for many years, and no one thought anything of it. However, their "marriage" has lasted only two years, and now they want a divorce. Go figure. It just goes to show that people are people. Shit happens. Bottom line is that both are examples of human personality traits that affect homosexuals exactly the same as straight people.

Christianity: I find that the basic tenet of Christianity--do unto others--has been dramatically lost in translation over the years. Rather than going into more explanations of my own experiences, this recent proclamation by the Washington DC Catholic Diocese has me seeing red and is a perfect example of the hypocrisies we see so often with respect to the Christian faith (and I don't mean to single out Catholicism):

Catholic Church gives D.C. ultimatum on same-sex marriage issue - washingtonpost.com

A lot on the plate here, and maybe too much for people to explore their own deep thoughts. So if anyone cares to respond (in parts if you wish), please try to do it by expressing your own personal assessment of these three issues and not parrot your friends and relatives or your favorite blogger.

They have every cultural value in the world, what they lack is econmic sense of any kind and any sense of threats from our enemies. There ONLY concern is what's in it for them and the above article.

 

[DiamondDave]

Well...I don't profess to spend a great deal of time on the subject, but I've certainly read enough articles to know I'm not making it up. Just a quick Google search typing in Scientists generally conclude that homosexuality is a genetic disorder turned up over 5,000 links discussing same.

and 1.8 million for no gay gene....

I don't take # of links as any sort of proof...

The fact is that with all the efforts put forth by those with agendas to find such a thing, not even 1 smidgen of a hint of a gay gene has been found.... and anyone who tried to then conclude that it is something 'natural' or 'genetic' or anything else of the sort really has zero leg to stand on...

Look.. I am for government treating people equally as long as they are not prisoners or doing something against the law.. which includes people choosing the homosexual lifestyle... if they want civil union status that affords the same 'benefits' such as inheritance, power of attorney in emergencies and medical issues, joint filing for family taxation, etc... all well and fine... but much like other life choices that people swear was beyond their control, I say don't shit in my hand and tell me it's chocolate.. and don't try to use a premise of equality to try and promote some other offshoot agenda...

Just waiting for the people to claim the pedophilia gene, the I can't stop committing crime gene, the you owe me for existing gene, the I can't work because I don't want to gene, or the drunk driving gene...

Both pedophilia and substance abuse have been tied to defective brain activity. Do you disagree that even that exists? I hate to break it to you, but we're all at the mercy of our genetic makeup and predisposition to abnormalities, many of which never surface because there is never any trigger. I'm no doctor or scientist, but I remember at least that much from Biology 101. I'm also not saying I'm an apologist for heinous acts by those whose perversions or 'social misconduct' are triggered at some point.

Brain activity does not inherently derive from genetics.. but also from learned behavior... that learned behavior coming from experience, environment, upbringing, exposure, etc...

2 genetically identical entities can have completely different behavior patterns because of all those things I just listed...

 

[MaggieMae]

and 1.8 million for no gay gene....

I don't take # of links as any sort of proof...

The fact is that with all the efforts put forth by those with agendas to find such a thing, not even 1 smidgen of a hint of a gay gene has been found.... and anyone who tried to then conclude that it is something 'natural' or 'genetic' or anything else of the sort really has zero leg to stand on...

Look.. I am for government treating people equally as long as they are not prisoners or doing something against the law.. which includes people choosing the homosexual lifestyle... if they want civil union status that affords the same 'benefits' such as inheritance, power of attorney in emergencies and medical issues, joint filing for family taxation, etc... all well and fine... but much like other life choices that people swear was beyond their control, I say don't shit in my hand and tell me it's chocolate.. and don't try to use a premise of equality to try and promote some other offshoot agenda...

Just waiting for the people to claim the pedophilia gene, the I can't stop committing crime gene, the you owe me for existing gene, the I can't work because I don't want to gene, or the drunk driving gene...

Both pedophilia and substance abuse have been tied to defective brain activity. Do you disagree that even that exists? I hate to break it to you, but we're all at the mercy of our genetic makeup and predisposition to abnormalities, many of which never surface because there is never any trigger. I'm no doctor or scientist, but I remember at least that much from Biology 101. I'm also not saying I'm an apologist for heinous acts by those whose perversions or 'social misconduct' are triggered at some point.

Brain activity does not inherently derive from genetics.. but also from learned behavior... that learned behavior coming from experience, environment, upbringing, exposure, etc...

2 genetically identical entities can have completely different behavior patterns because of all those things I just listed...

Fine, doc. Whatever you say.

 

[DiamondDave]

I said it was being "studied," not that one has been found yet.

You are right. It is being studied.

It's impossible to teach conservatives. They have a genetic disposition toward believing the BS they "imagine".

US researchers find evidence that homosexuality linked to genetics | World news | guardian.co.uk

the preponderance of researchers say attraction is dictated by biology, with no demonstrated contribution from social factors such as parenting or other factors after birth.

A host of studies since the mid-1990s have found common biological traits between gay men, including left-handedness and the direction of hair whorls. The likelihood that if one identical twin is gay, the other will be also be gay is much higher than the "concordance" of homosexuality between fraternal twins, indicating that genes play a role in sexual orientation, but are not the entire cause.

"In the past decade, I think the pendulum has swung more toward biological theory and biological causes," said Richard Lippa, a psychology professor at California State University-Fullerton, who has studied hair patterns and other biological traits in gay men.

Sven Bocklandt, a geneticist at the David Geffen school of medicine at UCLA, is bewildered by the argument that people choose their sexual attraction. He said that virtually every animal species that has been studied - from sheep to fruit flies - has a small minority of individuals who demonstrate homosexual activity.

Thank you for doing some research. I too have always wondered why the assumption that people choose to be gay isn't challenged more. Why would ANYONE "choose" to be the object of a lifetime of ridicule?

The same reasonings people choose to mutilate themselves for their own preferences to appearance.. or choose to remain in a detrimental relationship... or choose to dress for fashion and not comfort... or choose so many other different things... want, desire, acceptance, preference, etc come from influences beyond genetics

 

[DiamondDave]

Both pedophilia and substance abuse have been tied to defective brain activity. Do you disagree that even that exists? I hate to break it to you, but we're all at the mercy of our genetic makeup and predisposition to abnormalities, many of which never surface because there is never any trigger. I'm no doctor or scientist, but I remember at least that much from Biology 101. I'm also not saying I'm an apologist for heinous acts by those whose perversions or 'social misconduct' are triggered at some point.

Brain activity does not inherently derive from genetics.. but also from learned behavior... that learned behavior coming from experience, environment, upbringing, exposure, etc...

2 genetically identical entities can have completely different behavior patterns because of all those things I just listed...

Fine, doc. Whatever you say.

Are you insisting that all behavior is genetic?? That environment, teachings, influence, etc do not take part in your decision making, your choices, your reactions, etc??

Mags..

 

[rightwinger]

I don;t agree with any law that does not have equal responsibility on both parents for the raising and providing for the child...

But in no way is society nor government required to take over the personal responsibility for someone.... it is nice and honorable to have a charitable soul and support charities that help those in rough patches in their life... but this entitlement mantra that people are owed simply for the fact that they exist, MUST stop and be stopped

You have to put yourself into the shoes of a single pregnant woman. What are her options? Can she afford to keep the baby? How will the hospital bills be paid? What are her adoption options?

You say all those things are her problem, her personal responsibility. If so.........don't complain when she chooses abortion

which sorta makees it a personal value as opposed to a cultural one, doesn't it ?

I never understood how republicans can be so adamantly against abortion yet oppose all programs that may help a woman choose to keep her child

 

[MaggieMae]

Brain activity does not inherently derive from genetics.. but also from learned behavior... that learned behavior coming from experience, environment, upbringing, exposure, etc...

2 genetically identical entities can have completely different behavior patterns because of all those things I just listed...

Fine, doc. Whatever you say.

Are you insisting that all behavior is genetic?? That environment, teachings, influence, etc do not take part in your decision making, your choices, your reactions, etc??

Mags..

No, most definitely all those characteristics define a person, but I do believe I at least implied that humans are predisposed to genetic codes they are born with. You deny that?