Hey rebel, you need to change your avatar to the communist flag, just to stick it to the man.KoreyGM said:
Seriously, those bastards, trying to keep more people alive. The sods.
Things you'd like to see changed in America
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Seriously, those bastards, trying to keep more people alive. The sods.
The insecurity.
By that, I mean, I'd like to able to come onto the internet and say 'You know, I really prefer French muffins to American muffins', without having every American within earshot write 12 paragraphs about how awesome America is and how much of a bad person I am for denouncing it's greatness.
By that, I mean, I'd like to able to come onto the internet and say 'You know, I really prefer French muffins to American muffins', without having every American within earshot write 12 paragraphs about how awesome America is and how much of a bad person I am for denouncing it's greatness.
Legalized drugs (regulated)
Legalized prostitution (regulated)
Less security at air ports
Hunt for the priests that molested children in America
End of 'free speech zones' on college campus'
Cutting 70% of all taxes
End of tax exempt status on the Boy Scouts of America
Legalized prostitution (regulated)
Less security at air ports
Hunt for the priests that molested children in America
End of 'free speech zones' on college campus'
Cutting 70% of all taxes
End of tax exempt status on the Boy Scouts of America
Now, I'm not agreeing with Korey's views, however, you do realise he the goverment to be involved as little as possible, that's right wing politics, meanwhile Communism is far left. So, why would he change his avatar to a communist flag?A Pious Cultist said:
There is that one place, the United Kingdom I believe it's called, I dunno if you've heard of it.Seldon2639 said:
Amen
Also, I hate incredibly patriotic Americans, nothing against loving your country but not beyond your capacity for common sense.[/quote]
There are two different kinds of patriotism. there is the tobacco chewing, war mongering, ignorant war hawk patriotism. then there is the patriotism that looks towards improvement but is reverent of the constitution. I am the latter
Also, I hate incredibly patriotic Americans, nothing against loving your country but not beyond your capacity for common sense.[/quote]
There are two different kinds of patriotism. there is the tobacco chewing, war mongering, ignorant war hawk patriotism. then there is the patriotism that looks towards improvement but is reverent of the constitution. I am the latter
Less guns.
Universal healthcare.
And a "fat tax" to force people to loose weight. You think that's unfair? Just wait 20 to 30 years when all those obese people start clogging up your healthcare systems and costing your country BILLIONS.
Universal healthcare.
And a "fat tax" to force people to loose weight. You think that's unfair? Just wait 20 to 30 years when all those obese people start clogging up your healthcare systems and costing your country BILLIONS.
Australia. Labor and the Liberals are the two major parties, whilst the Nationals are a very strong third party. So strong in fact that they join in coalitions with the other major parties so that they can win elections. Also, the Greens are a fairly influential party. And, (scarily) the Family First party is quite strong as their Senator Barnaby Joice frequently has the deciding vote in the Senate. (Which I strongly disagree with as Family First are a conservative Christian party. And religion has NO place in politics.)Seldon2639 said:
Excellent! Some actual facts. About time.Housebroken Lunatic said:
To answer your question: There are actually several instances where US interventionism has had positive effects. For example, the 1992 "Operation Restore Hope" in Somalia, which was implemented with the goal of establishing a protected environment so that humanitarian efforts could be conducted in the southern portion of the country. In this it was a complete success: UN aid workers were able to move unmolested through the territory for the first time in years.
In July 1994, following the expulsion of a human-rights monitoring group from Haiti, the US launched "Operation Uphold Democracy" in an effort to remove the military regime currently in power in Haiti and restore the constitutional government that had been overthrown in 1991. In this case invasion was threatened but not used: diplomats (specifically, retired US general Colin Powell) convinced the regime to step down and allow the elected officials to return to power.
In 1995, the US intervened in Bosnia (via NATO) to prevent ethnic cleansing. While over 100,000 people (soldiers and civilians) did die during this war, I don't think it could be said that US efforts to prevent further genocide inspired anti-American feelings in anyone besides those who ended up being tried for war crimes.
The 1999 intervention in Kosovo could be counted as one as well, seeing as it helped stop the genocide that was taking place, but I don't think that counts, seeing as it was more of a NATO gig (every member state was involved to some degree).
The examples that you cite are the obvious ones, the ones most commonly used in this sort of debate. However, it is indeed possible for intervention to have positive effects. After all, the idea behind interventionism is that since the US has the power to stop human rights abuses, it has a moral duty to do so. Whether or not this intervention succeeds is more or less due to the circumstances of the operation.
What?Housebroken Lunatic said:
My point, which you seem to have missed entirely, is that they have different political philosophies than you do, and probably don't see what the US is doing as a hideous affront. That was all. I was not trying to defend them, simply stating a fact.
A recent article [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/press-released/6605-Death-of-a-Know-It-All] on this very site expresses the idea better than I am capable of in the time I have to write this, so I will direct your attention there.
Actually, the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda had more to do with bin Laden's feud with the US backed Saudi Arabia, his religious beliefs (for example, apparently "chilled water" is unholy) and his anti-Semitism.Housebroken Lunatic said:
Then you should try to write as though you are not being possessed by a being of pure rage. This post of yours that I'm responding to is better than previous ones, but you're still seemingly intent on alienating your audience.Housebroken Lunatic said:
You really don't get what I'm trying to do here, do you?Housebroken Lunatic said:
Since you don't seem to be understanding me, I'll go over it more in-depth.Housebroken Lunatic said:
I don't actually care about your views, or even my own opinions. They don't enter into this. What I'm trying to do is hold a debate, where it does not matter if you convince your opponent of anything or even if you believe what you are saying. The mere fact that you bring up the issue and examine it in detail, citing historical facts, statistics, etc is the point of the operation. People will read the debate, get to know the arguments from both sides, and then come to their own conclusions. That's why I was asking you to provide examples--because otherwise the debate won't serve its purpose. The only reason to debate on a forum is to make people think, and you can only do that if you sound reasonable and support your agreements. Merely saying something is true isn't enough. To change people's minds about anything, you have to have evidence, and you have to prove that evidence against someone else similarly equipped, otherwise entrenched beliefs aren't going anywhere.
To be honest, I agree with a lot of your points, but you'll never hear me say that while debating. I apologize if that wasn't clear to you. I'm not trying to convince you that you are wrong, I'm trying to make you defend your beliefs so that others can see they have some value, which will do more for your philosophy than any amount of bitter statements.
The point that I was trying to make in the above quote is that this doesn't work if you act like an asshole. That puts people off, makes them discount your arguments simply because you're presenting them in a way that demeans the reader. Since you're bothering to post your beliefs at all, I assume you want to try and convince people that they have some weight to them, which you won't be able to do if you don't debate rationally and instead insult the people you're trying to sway.
The truth is not "obnoxious," nor does it need to be "sugarcoated." Similarly, no one should have to "grow tougher" to hear it, as that (again) implies that your audience is weak for disagreeing with you, thus once again alienating them from your ideas and putting you on par with the sort of people who call all Muslims "towelheads" (incidentally, the place where you used that word in your argument was another point where you alienated your audience--are you doing this intentionally or something?). The truth is simply that: the truth. It is fact. And debating with fact will get you much, much further than spewing vitriol over anyone unfortunate enough to be listening.
Pretty good list except for the cutting taxes thing. Given the economic situation of the US and the giant deficit, that's probably not too good of an idea right now. Sure you can argue that it's an economic stimulus, but with saving rate rising as fast as they are and people using their money to pay off debts rather than buying stuff, it'll take quite a few years before the tax cut can really make an impact. By then it would serve no political purpose, and it has very little economic purpose in the short term. Also, with China owning so many US government bonds, this is not the time to make them doubt the US government's fiscal policy. You want them to keep lending you money, not to stop it, at least in the near future. National debt is not exactly a crucial problem (US runs a national debt close to 75% of GDP, which is about the same levels as Canada and lower than Japan, India, Italy, Belgium, and a host of other countries) as long as the country is fiscally responsible.Cliff_m85 said:
Also, tack on the metric system on that list. Seriously; you guy did sign on to the system, so how about you stop screwing with the rest of the world with your crazy inches and ounces and move to a system that allows mathematics to be done with fingers.
Football has been mentioned, and I agree that it needs a new name. American Football is too long. I also think football is not a macho enough name for that sport. It needs a more confrontational name, given all the war/weaponry references that are in that sport.
The World Series actually was started and covered by newspaper so Really its a pronoun but should be the World's Series!heyheysg said:
And for the forum UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE!!!!
Wow, not even an attempt to refute what I said. How pathetic.Housebroken Lunatic said:
And had they not gotten involved and not sent supplies and military support the allies would have lost and most likely the third riech would be in control of all of Europe. I certainly don't like their arrogance, but what you're suggesting is completely foolish.Housebroken Lunatic said:
Communism doesn't work, and you want the government to decide weather or not to keep your aging relative alive. I'm Constitutional, you know that paper with the rights that everyone has forgotten about. Also tell me, where are we gonna get this money eh? Go groveling to the COMMUNIST that we are currently sucking off for cash cause we think we need to police the world instead of actually defending our country?A Pious Cultist said:
Cutting taxes would primarily be due to no longer funding certain costly 'wars' or pork-barreling.Pingieking said:
And no metric system. I think it's hilarious that we haven't adopted it yet, so I kinda like it to be a difference. Also it allows us to spot communists easier.
I'm more in favor of Nascar....but let's let it go completely southern. Add guns to the mix as well as binge drinking. Also, nudity if that's permissable.
I'm sorry, I often say retarded instead of a usual derogatory term that makes more sense. In this case I was going for "outdated".Eclectic Dreck said:
You said that "Few documents have ever been held in the regard of the constitution." and this I agree with. But is the main part of the problem. It is too easy to pass of new legislature, which is more applicable to the times we live in than that upheld by the constitution, as being "unconstitutional" as many americans hold it to be the be-all and end-all of legislation. The unalterable truth, upheld with almost religious fervor. It is this resolute obstinacy that I feel has no place in the modern world.
As for all your further points, they sound to me like cheesy movie lines, expected to deliver some monumental, paradigm-shifting epiphany but merely serves to sound pretentious as there is no sure tie-in with the original argument.
Oh, im sorry. I seem to have given the impression that im actually trying to change people. And I know it can seem that way, because some people have occasionally considered my writing to be very passionate (which brings in your view of it being "filled with rage", since rage is a sort of passion as well).Zemalac said:
But im not. I don't hold the slightest belief that americans, or any one else for that matter will change. A lot more skillful and certainly a lot more diplomatic people have tried to show you the way to improvement over and over again. But most of them were either killed for it, or simply ignored.
I write for my own amusement. I find it funny that even if I smack the truth across the face of someone even in the most aggressive and non-diplomatic fashion, they still won't hear of it. And it's not because I don't make valid points... But because I "alienate" the audience too much! XD
It's quite hilarious when you think about it, which is what makes it funny to do.
I wouldn't do it if it didn't amused me. But rest assured, im completely distanced from the issue at hand. I don't really care if manage to make anyone change or not. It's most likely they won't anyway and even if they did, the net results would still always be the same...
