Liberals, Conservatives and Tax Dollars

Read more...

Anti-Abortionists and Advocates for Gay Marriage Naturally Form a Symbiotic Relationship.

Believe me, it's not easy to oppose abortion and advocate for gay marriage at the same time, as those who believe this way tend to ruffle the feathers of both conservatives and liberals. So, I will frame this argument from a "morally relativistic" point of view (even though I'm a moral realist), as it eliminates any type of overall morality from interfering with my attempt at "logic".

Christians often choose abortion as the issue that determines which lever they pull when choosing who they want to represent them in Washington. Unfortunately, those same Christians often oppose gay marriage. This is clearly a non-sequitur, as gay marriage is a natural "antidote" to abortion. On the other hand, advocates of same-sex marriage often support the right to choose when abortion should be a non-issue for the exclusively homosexual, as homosexuality naturally limits abortion. Remember, this argument is from a morally relativistic point of view as a moral relativist has no right to impose his sense of morality on anyone else.

Therefore, I propose the following argument to support my position.

1. Premise: Life begins at conception.
2. Premise: Homosexuals who practice homosexuality exclusively cannot conceive.
3. Premise: Abortion ends the process that conception began.
4. Inference: This implies that homosexuals cannot begin the process of life.
5. Inference: Therefore homosexuals cannot have abortions.
6. Conclusion: Homosexuals naturally limit the number of abortions.

Right off the bat, people will dispute premise #1 because most "pro-choicers" do not believe life begins at conception, however I argue it does. With the exception of Jesus Christ, without conception, 99.9% of us would not exist. Evidence to debate premise #2 and #3 is non-existent.

Okay, where does "symbiosis" enter the equation? Well, homosexuality, by its very nature cuts down on the rate of abortion without any effort from anti-abortionists. Abortion, by its very nature, is a non-issue for homosexuals, if they are allowed to love the way God intended and since marriage, supposedly, is the ideal institution for the love between two people to flourish, then gay marriage is inevitable, as it promotes love, contains promiscuity, and greatly cuts down on the rate of abortion in more ways than one.

In addition to the natural deterrent gay marriage plays in lowering the abortion rate, it also has the potential to reduce the rate of abortion even further. Gay married couples, because they cannot conceive on their own, often adopt children, something "pro-lifers" often argue as an alternative to terminating a pregnancy.

So, in my humble opinion, anti-abortionists arguing against gay marriage is like...like, I don't know, anti-evolutionists arguing against the bible.

Read more...

You Can Thank Liberals

"Liberal policies made America the freest, wealthiest, most successful and most powerful nation in human history. Conservatism in power always threatens to undo that national progress, and is almost always frustrated by the innate decency and democratic instincts of the American people...

If your workplace is safe; if your children go to school rather than being forced into labor; if you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a 40-hour week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights -- you can thank liberals. If your food is not poisoned and your water is drinkable -- you can thank liberals. If your parents are eligible for Medicare and Social Security, so they can grow old in dignity without bankrupting your family -- you can thank liberals. If our rivers are getting cleaner and our air isn't black with pollution; if our wilderness is protected and our countryside is still green -- you can thank liberals.

If people of all races can share the same public facilities; if everyone has the right to vote; if couples fall in love and marry regardless of race; if we have finally begun to transcend a
segregated society -- you can thank liberals. Progressive innovations like those and so many others were achieved by long, difficult struggles against entrenched power. What defined conservatism, and conservatives, was their opposition to every one of those advances. The country we know and love today was built by those victories for liberalism -- with the support of the American people.
-- Joe Conason

Read more...

Neurobiology of Politics

A new study finds that a person's political orientation is related to differences in how the brain processes information. Liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives and therefore are more open to new ideas.

"...the results provided an elegant demonstration that individual differences on a conservative-liberal dimension are strongly related to brain activity." -- Frank J. Sulloway, UC Berkeley's Institute of Personality and Social Research

Read more...

Have We Sacrificed Our Civil Liberties for This "War on Terror"?

Bill Maher says we have:

And finally, ew rule: liberals must stop saying President Bush hasn't asked Americans to sacrifice for the War on Terror. On the contrary, he's asked us to sacrifice something enormous: our civil rights.

Now, when I heard George Bush was reading my e-mails, I probably had the same reaction you did--George Bush can read?! (Laughter.) Yes he can, and this administration has read your phone records, credit card statements, mail, internet logs... I can't tell if their fighting the War on Terror or producing the next season of Cheater. (Laughter.) I mail myself a copy of the Consitution every morning, just on the hope they'll open it and see what it says! (Laughter and applause).

So when it comes to sacrifice, don't kid yourself--you *have* given up a lot! You've given up faith in your government's honesty, the good will of people overseas, and 6/10 of the Bill of Rights. Here's what you've sacrificed: search and seizure, warrents, self incrimination, trial by jury, cruel and unusual punishment. Here's what you have left: handguns, religion, and they can't make you quarter a British soldier. If Prince Harry invades the inland empire, he has to bring a tent. (Laughter).

You know, in previous wars, Americans on the homefront made a very different kind of sacrifice. During World War II, we endured rationing, payed higher taxes, bought war bonds, and in the interest of national unity, people even pretended Bob Hope was funny. (Laughter.) Right--like you laughed at him!

Women donated their silk undergarments so they could be sewn into parachutes. Can you imagine nowadays a Britney Spears or a Lindsay Lohan going without underwear? (Laughter.) Bad example, but look, George Bush has never been too bright about understanding "furriners", but he does know Americans. He asked *this* generation to sacrifice the things he knew we would not miss--our privacy and our morality. He let us keep the money. But he made a cynical bet, that we wouldn't much care if we became a Big Brother country that has now tortured a lot of random people.

And yet no one asks the tough questions, like "Is torture necessary?", "Who will watch the watchers?" and "When does Jack Bauer go to the bathroom?" (Laughter.) I mean, it's been five years--is he wearing one of those astronaut diapers?

In conclusion, after September 11, President Bush told us Osama bin Laden "could run but he can't hide". But he ran and hid. (Laughter.) So Bush went to Plan B: pissing on the Constitution and torturing random people. Conservatives always say the great thing Reagan did was make us feel good about America again. Well, do you feel good about America now?

I'll give you my answer. And to get it out of me, you don't even need to hold my head under water and have a snarling guard dog rip my nuts off. (Laughter). No, I don't feel very good about that. They say evil happens when good men do nothing. Well, the Democrats proved it also happens when mediocre people do nothing.

Read more...