Comments Posted By Still Liberal
Displaying 31 To 40 Of 99 Comments
MUSEUM SHOOTER INFLUENCED BY RIGHT WING RHETORIC?
Lone nuts are just that. Jodie Foster did not cause John Hinckley to shoot Ronald Reagan even if her movies incited fantasies in Hinckley's sick mind. Likewise, James von Brunn may have imagined that some right wing sources encouraged his actions (we don't know this, not claiming this as a fact), but even it turns out to be demonstrably true, his imaginings were just as sick as Hinckley's ever were. Conservatism certainly has it's faults, but "causing" this act is not one of them.
And being a good liberal, I have to again say that the vast majority of people with mental illnesses are not violent or dangerous. Correspondingly, the vast majority of violent, dangerous people are not mentally ill.
Comment Posted By still liberal On 11.06.2009 @ 18:46
Nanci Oteri noted a cousin who died in Europe. On checking, it was good to see that 2nd Lt. Victor P. Mangano of Cambridge, Mass. is listed in the records of the World War II Memorial. And thanks to all of his family for his selfless service.
Everyone who has a relative who served in WWII should be sure that relative is honored by placing their name in the Memorial database. The web site is www.wwiimemorial.com.
It brought a sense of pride and gratitude when I visited the WWII Memorial on the Washington Mall and my father's service was noted for all to see. Thanks, Dad.
Comment Posted By still liberal On 9.06.2009 @ 21:42
DEALERGATE: STATISTICAL COINCIDENCE OR POLITICAL BIAS? (IMPORTANT UPDATE BELOW)
Holy Christ on a crutch! Why in the hell would Fox News do a random sampling of 50 when all of the data for all 798 of the dealerships were available to others? Sampling inevitably introduces some level of error.Just count, no need to sample if you have all of the possible data. I can only assume no one at Fox ever took a basic statistics class. (Yes, I am one of those liberal elites that went to college to learn more than how to operate a beer bong and join the Young Republicans.)
Wow, Seventy to eighty percent of the dealerships donated to Republicans. And damned if a large majority of dealerships closed were owned by (wait for it. . .) Republicans! Conspiracy or stupidity? Obama has secret power to close Republican dealerships and Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.Clown shoes.
Comment Posted By still liberal On 29.05.2009 @ 20:03
FIRE STEELE AND BRAND THE RUMPS OF RNC COMMITTEEMEN
The whole notion of "rebranding" the opposition party is right out of the talk radio playbook, clearly demonstrating Rick's point about the far right influence in the Republican party. The few million that faithfully listen to Rush and the assorted faux Rushes see themselves as the true believers and everyone else as apostates. They are just not numerous enough to win elections anywhere. Unless and until Rush and his sycophants are marginalized and ignored, there is no use in trying to "fix" the GOP. True believers of any ilk eventually drive everyone else off with their demand for purity and are left talking to themselves while the world moves ahead pragmatically enough to accomplish what needs to get done.
Comment Posted By still liberal On 16.05.2009 @ 06:56
WATERBOARDING: THE S.E.R.E. STRAWMAN
Is teeth "knashing" anything like teeth gnashing?
Comment Posted By still liberal On 25.04.2009 @ 21:27
"Dale Evans Said:
6:57 pmThere is a reason weekday protests from leftists draw hundreds of thousands of people and weekday protests from conservatives number in hundreds to thousands. WE ARE WORKING. We can’t just lay out of work and show up at a protest rally because we’re too freaking busy busting our asses and paying taxes so leftist losers can sit around and whine all the time.I own a business."
I assume your business is designing and manufacturing straw men? Most of us liberals work and pay taxes as well. I paid them so conservatives could start pointless wars, dream up elaborate "investments" that crashed the financial system, deregulated everything that moved, and institutionalized greed and the quick buck while pretending to be holier than thou?
Conservatism has had a long run since Reagan and the resultant train wreck is obvious to everyone but the few million that are the Limbaugh and the little Rushettes radio listening audience. Politics is not religion and there is no one set of ideas that are the undisputable truth. Get over yourself.
Comment Posted By still liberal On 27.02.2009 @ 20:51
Thought provoking, indeed. A good read on general systems theory is useful for all those sincerely interested in politics and behavior. A tough but useful read is von Bertalanffy, L. 1968. General System Theory: Foundations, Developments, Applications. New York: Braziller.
Complex systems, including social systems, operate from some fundamental rules. In the most simple terms, all systems depend on a dynamic relationship between stability and change. For any entity to remain recognizable, it must have stability, or limits on change. For the same said entity to survive over time, it also must have the ability to adapt to changes happening around it. These are positive and negative feedback loops, respectively.
A government also requires stability or it flys apart into a dysfunctional mess and eventually anarchy. Conversely, a government must change or it becomes fossilized and unable to perform the most basic function. In the most stereotyped of descriptions, conservative has played the role of stabilizer and the liberals the agents of change. This is embodied in conservative dedication to tradition, strict interpretation of the Constitution, and a strong, proactive military, all tools and symbols of keeping things as they are. Liberals tend to see the Constitution as malleable, the military as an agent of rigid enforcement of the status quo, and open to any and all new ideas, regardless of whose toes get stepped on. These are simplifications for the purpose of illustration.
It is hoped that one can be open to the idea that change and stability are necessary for the American Experiment to succeed. A review of American political history illustrates an ongoing pendulum swing between times when stability is more useful and times when change is more useful. Our enduring success requires both. And as you are pondering your positions, Rick, remember what we need to change changes over time and what we must preserve changes sometimes as well.
Comment Posted By still liberal On 6.02.2009 @ 21:29
Eight presidents were sworn in by someone other than the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the last being Lyndon Johnson on November 22, 1963. My personal favorite is Calvin Coolidge's first swearing in, which was done by a Notary Public (his father).
Comment Posted By still liberal On 27.01.2009 @ 22:24
WISHING THE GAY MARRIAGE ISSUE WOULD JUST GO AWAY
Mark said:
"But, it is the ideal way for TWO people of the opposite sex to cohabitate. It is, for me, much more than a contractual obligation. It is what I believe that God wants for humanity."
This is a perfect example of what is wrong with injecting God into politics. It does not matter a whit in a free society what you or I think God wants. We the people decide what is right for our nation. There are so many competing versions of what God wants, they all simply cannot be correct. I may think my version is the "correct" version, but in point of fact my opinion of God's will is just that. An opinion. And so is yours.
As soon as politics moves to "that's the way God wants it" then there is no room for discussion or compromise, the hallmarks of a democratic society. Then it is a short coast to punishing people for not doing things "God's way." We are all free to be influenced by our relationship with deity, and free to vote with that influence as the predominant influence. But "doing God's will" as social policy is antidemocratic and just plain wrong in a pluralistic society.
Comment Posted By still liberal On 27.12.2008 @ 12:57
TORTURE: A MATTER OF OPINION OR A QUESTION OF LEGALITY
Well written , sir. Sara, you are the ultimate conservative for far too many liberals. Working to assist illegal immigrants does not equal condoning illegality, but rather a method of protesting a law seen as wrong and treating the poorest with compassion. When was the last time a liberal in charge lead America to be a third world nation? Perhaps, never?
And Barney Frank's bedroom equals Gitmo torture? If you want to be homophobic, it's your right, but sadism and mashochism to an extreme is more frequently heterosexual than homosexual.
Please name three politicians with the clout to accomplish it that have advocated turning the government over to the U.N. I'll wait.
And you really believe torturing people in Gitmo has stopped the U.S. soil from being attacked by Muslim terrorists? We have been attacked a total of two times by these groups. Am I to believe that al Quiada has no leadership or foot soldiers capable of a terrorist attack on the U.S., except those few locked up in Cuba?
Such twaddle undermines useful conservatism that is best reflected in your last, excellent paragraph. Funding illegal immigrants is plain wrong and the slight of hand bailouts cannot be trusted. However, prosecuting Bush, et. al for war crimes is not just political, its a necessity to deal with an affront to American ideals and law, as well as international law. And it should be by an international tribunal, not an American entity, just a most prior war crime investigations have been conducted.
Comment Posted By still liberal On 20.12.2008 @ 13:31
