why just today, i had this end up in my inbox:

Quote :

" Dennis Praeger, a radio talk show host, believes that many liberals when confronted with their ideologies full range of beliefs might begin to have doubts about their chosen faith. Here are his questions for liberals: 1. Standards for admissions to universities, fire departments, etc. should be lowered for people of color. 2. Bilingual education for children of immigrants, rather than immersion in English, is good for them and for America. 3. Murderers should never be put to death. 4. During the Cold War, America should have adopted a nuclear arms freeze. 5. Colleges should not allow ROTC programs. 6. It was wrong to wage war against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War. 7. Poor parents should not be allowed to have vouchers to send their children to private schools. 8. It is good that trial lawyers and teachers unions are the two biggest contributors to the Democratic Party. 9. Marriage should be redefined from male-female to any two people. 10. A married couple should not have more of a right to adopt a child than two men or two women. 11. The Boy Scouts should not be allowed to use parks or any other public places and should be prohibited from using churches and synagogues for their meetings. 12. The present high tax rates are good. 13. Speech codes on college campuses are good and American values. 14. The Israelis and Palestinians are morally equivalent. 15. The United Nations is a moral force for good in the world, and therefore America should be subservient to it and such international institutions as a world court. 16. It is good that colleges have dropped hundreds of men's sports teams in order to meet gender-based quotas. 17. No abortions can be labeled immoral. 18. Restaurants should be prohibited by law from allowing customers to choose between a smoking and a non-smoking section. 19. High schools should make condoms available to students and teach them how to use them. 20. Racial profiling for terrorists is wrong -- a white American grandmother should as likely be searched as a Saudi young male. 21. Racism and poverty -- not a lack of fathers and a crisis of values -- are the primary causes of violent crime in the inner city. 22. It is wrong and unconstitutional for students to be told, "God bless you" at their graduation. 23. No culture is morally superior to any other. Those are all liberal positions. How many of them do you hold? "

have at it, guys

1/23/2006 9:15:02 PM

spot on.

gg, pink and black.

1/23/2006 9:18:13 PM

i think the guy's wacky, so i hope youre not commending me for taking his side

1/23/2006 9:19:44 PM

PICK A SIDE!!!!!

[Edited on January 23, 2006 at 9:25 PM. Reason : black or white the word gray does not exist...neither does grey you limey bitches]

1/23/2006 9:23:19 PM

Somehow, I doubt that all conservatives subscribe to the antithesis' of each and every one of these positions.

[Edited on January 23, 2006 at 9:31 PM. Reason : .]

1/23/2006 9:30:49 PM

you can stop reading after:

"when confronted with their ideologies full range of beliefs might begin to have doubts about their chosen faith"

1/23/2006 9:32:29 PM

1. Standards for admissions to universities, fire departments, etc. should be lowered for people of color.

no. everyone should have the same standard to meet.

2. Bilingual education for children of immigrants, rather than immersion in English, is good for them and for America.

yes. and its not only good so you can communicate, but this is the 21st century, and we should all be learning the language of our neighbors

3. Murderers should never be put to death.

i'm anti-death penalty, so yes. for the record, i hate abortions, but im not going to decide for someone else whether they want to do it or not.

4. During the Cold War, America should have adopted a nuclear arms freeze.

wasnt that the point of SALT and numerous other treaties? i dont remember any nukular war breaking out then, must have worked

5. Colleges should not allow ROTC programs.

um, but they shouldnt be obligated to have them either. push

6. It was wrong to wage war against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War.

that was a coalition effort approved by every international body. youre trying to draw a parallel to the present war and its not working

7. Poor parents should not be allowed to have vouchers to send their children to private schools.

um, we have public schools and theyre mostly ok. why does anyone need to go to a private school instead? whats the educational and social benefit (unless its a prep school)?

8. It is good that trial lawyers and teachers unions are the two biggest contributors to the Democratic Party.

sure, why not? is it good that the NRA and corporate fat cats donate to the GOP? see, i can detest groups too

9. Marriage should be redefined from male-female to any two people.

if your religion has rules on that, great. the gov. should not have to adhere to your religious values.

10. A married couple should not have more of a right to adopt a child than two men or two women.

right as rain

11. The Boy Scouts should not be allowed to use parks or any other public places and should be prohibited from using churches and synagogues for their meetings.

who cares?

12. The present high tax rates are good.

this is high?

13. Speech codes on college campuses are good and American values.

its hard to tell what they are, b/c noone has the guts to test them. they should be very liberal, if thats what you mean. you want to be sheltered? go to Bob Jones.

14. The Israelis and Palestinians are morally equivalent.

they both do the same shit, so yes

15. The United Nations is a moral force for good in the world, and therefore America should be subservient to it and such international institutions as a world court.

they should work with them, yes

16. It is good that colleges have dropped hundreds of men's sports teams in order to meet gender-based quotas.

i dont think anyone misses the ECU soccer team. who cares?

17. No abortions can be labeled immoral.

well, if a woman just does it for the hell of it one day b/c she can, then sure. noone does that, tho

18. Restaurants should be prohibited by law from allowing customers to choose between a smoking and a non-smoking section.

i hate smokey restaurants, go smoke outside

19. High schools should make condoms available to students and teach them how to use them.

well, someone needs to

20. Racial profiling for terrorists is wrong -- a white American grandmother should as likely be searched as a Saudi young male.

dumb comparison. search all suspicious people, not just suspicious brown people

21. Racism and poverty -- not a lack of fathers and a crisis of values -- are the primary causes of violent crime in the inner city.

all of the above

22. It is wrong and unconstitutional for students to be told, "God bless you" at their graduation.

who cares?

23. No culture is morally superior to any other.

if youre trying to say ours is superior to all others, then youre wrong. this point could be debated for years.

[Edited on January 23, 2006 at 9:39 PM. Reason : .]

1/23/2006 9:37:32 PM

you lose by answering them, even though you posted them. i mostly agree however.

1/23/2006 9:57:21 PM

agree with who? the author or my response?

1/23/2006 9:58:14 PM

I never thought you'd answer your own questions like this.

1/23/2006 11:55:01 PM

who the fuck would agree with the author? oh nm, qt4u is still about.

1/24/2006 12:01:30 AM

Quote :

"i hate smokey restaurants, go smoke outside "

Quote :

"i hate abortions, but im not going to decide for someone else whether they want to do it or not."

1/24/2006 12:26:53 AM

clearly this will stop smoking

typically i dont give a crap if people smoke, but a lot of my friends do. it rubs off.

1/24/2006 12:29:46 AM

As a statistician, these are all extremely leading questions. The present "high" tax rates are good?

Quote :

"11. The Boy Scouts should not be allowed to use parks or any other public places and should be prohibited from using churches and synagogues for their meetings."

Is this even an issue somewhere?

1/24/2006 12:38:28 AM

Quote :

"clearly this will stop smoking"

To some extent I'm having a hard time seeing the meaningful difference between:

1) Putting stringent limits on the circumstances under which you can smoke
2) Putting stringent limits on the circumstances under which you can have an abortion

1/24/2006 12:44:40 AM

always, never, all, and none:


words that rarely deserve a place in policy

1/24/2006 12:47:03 AM

^^ Are you kidding?

If someone has an abortion, it doesn't affect me in the least. If someone is smoking somewhere, my health can suffer from second hand smoke.

On top of that, abortion is an inherently difficult issue to deal with, and almost is self-limiting.

[Edited on January 24, 2006 at 12:48 AM. Reason : ]

1/24/2006 12:47:59 AM

Or you could just move away from the person who is smoking. So fucking hard isn't it.

1/24/2006 12:48:45 AM

The point was that there is clearly a difference between smoking and abortion.

1/24/2006 12:50:02 AM

^ Not as much difference as one might think. I can't stand people smoking around me any more than I can stand people having abortions around me.

1/24/2006 1:01:10 AM

Restaurants have different sections for a reason. If you do not wish to be around smoke, sit in a nonsmoking section. You have at least some control over how the actions of others affect you, which, incidentally, is more than I can say for fetuses who don't have the option to sit in a different uterus.

So yeah, they are different, but not in a way that looks good for you.

1/24/2006 1:38:22 AM

So you're a flip-flopper now?

Quote :

" I'm having a hard time seeing the meaningful difference between: 1) Putting stringent limits on the circumstances under which you can smoke 2) Putting stringent limits on the circumstances under which you can have an abortion"

to...

Quote :

" So yeah, they are different"

[Edited on January 24, 2006 at 1:42 AM. Reason : and in the same thread too]

1/24/2006 1:41:06 AM

That last post was about half in jest, but in response to your question, no, there was no change. The difference I pointed out is not really relevant to his argument.

But no, seriously, you're suggesting that the government tell businesses that they can't allow smoking instead of you just not going to restaurants that you find "smoky"?

[Edited on January 24, 2006 at 1:44 AM. Reason : ]

1/24/2006 1:43:50 AM

I actually wasn't talking about restaurants. I was more thinking about just walking around campus/wherever, where i'm stuck behind someone smoking, and their smoke is blowing back to my face. Yeah, it's only 30 seconds, but it's 30 seconds I feel like stabbing someone.

I don't think the gov. should force businesses to ban smoking (and I don't recall ever implying that). Though if they did, you won't see me on any picket lines against it.

I also think any business would be financially more viable if they catered to the majority non-smoking public.

1/24/2006 1:50:12 AM

my best friend has CF

it sucks going to concerts w/ him and having to leave b/c of too many smokers indoors

1/24/2006 1:56:08 AM

^As much as that sucks, I'm not sure one or two fans with a lung problem justifies telling thousands of others they can't have fun.

Quote :

"and I don't recall ever implying that)"

You did not. If you look real hard, I bet you'll see I wasn't responding to you with that.

Quote :

"Yeah, it's only 30 seconds, but it's 30 seconds I feel like stabbing someone."

I'd say the same thing about people talking loud, using their cell phone, saying things that are stupid, smelling bad, or any number of other things that annoy me.

Quote :

"I also think any business would be financially more viable if they catered to the majority non-smoking public."

Pfft. Specialization has benefits. If every other place in town bans smoking and you're the one decent restaurant that doesn't, you'll corner the (still sizeable) smoker market.

---

Look, I'm all about courtesy. You shouldn't smoke in a way that makes you an asshole, and you shouldn't be able to smoke where someone with a bad reaction to it could not reasonably be expected to avoid. A person with CF can reasonably avoid a smoky bar. He cannot reasonably avoid, say, the entrance to a public building.

[Edited on January 24, 2006 at 1:59 AM. Reason : ]

1/24/2006 1:56:24 AM

Quote :

"No culture is morally superior to any other."

you know, he's right to question this. our culture is morally superior to that of african natives. HEY, I GOT AN IDEA! LET'S GO OVER THERE, PUT 'EM ON SHIPS, AND BRING 'EM OVER HERE TO DO WORK FOR US... WITH NO PAY!

and as for those god damn jews, well, we can just lock them up in camps where they can be free to "concentrate" on financial issues

Quote :

" The present high tax rates are good."

someone else PLEASE handle this one for me. pleas?

Quote :

"High schools should make condoms available to students and teach them how to use them."

oh fuck.. then they might not be able to get aids! that would SUCK, and god would be seriously pissed

[Edited on January 24, 2006 at 7:25 AM. Reason : .]

1/24/2006 7:23:20 AM

1. Standards for admissions to universities, fire departments, etc. should be lowered for people of color.
What color? Be specific. Browns and Yellows? or Blacks and Bean-colored? No point in asking how blue the sky is, if the sky isn't blue.



2. Bilingual education for children of immigrants, rather than immersion in English, is good for them and for America.
No



3. Murderers should never be put to death.
No



4. During the Cold War, America should have adopted a nuclear arms freeze.
No



5. Colleges should not allow ROTC programs.
Should



6. It was wrong to wage war against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War.
No



7. Poor parents should not be allowed to have vouchers to send their children to private schools.
Poor should, but rich people should NOT. Yeah I said it.



8. It is good that trial lawyers and teachers unions are the two biggest contributors to the Democratic Party.
It is as good as any corporate stakeholder that contributes to any party. BTW, asking this question is an IQ-revealing event.



9. Marriage should be redefined from male-female to any two people.
If not, that's awful literal. Might as well literalize "marriage" to "traditionally accepted marriage".



10. A married couple should not have more of a right to adopt a child than two men or two women.
What is the alternative for the child that needs a home? To continue being raised in a socialized institution such as an orphanage? Oh noes! Socialism!



11. The Boy Scouts should not be allowed to use parks or any other public places and should be prohibited from using churches and synagogues for their meetings.
Churches, Mosques, whatever.



12. The present high tax rates are good.
No...but just to show you how its done...
"The present low tax rates are good?"



13. Speech codes on college campuses are good and American values.
No



14. The Israelis and Palestinians are morally equivalent.
The next time you ask this, be sure to quote the bit from Revelations that says ethnic cleansing is ok.



15. The United Nations is a moral force for good in the world, and therefore America should be subservient to it and such international institutions as a world court.
This question makes Dag Hammarskjold cry.



16. It is good that colleges have dropped hundreds of men's sports teams in order to meet gender-based quotas.
Have they? I haven't seen evidence. Is the sky blue or vanilla?



17. No abortions can be labeled immoral.
I'm mostly with the pro-lifers on this one.



18. Restaurants should be prohibited by law from allowing customers to choose between a smoking and a non-smoking section.
Smoke outside bitch. I don't want your fucking cancer.



19. High schools should make condoms available to students and teach them how to use them.
Perhaps. Depends on the risk level of the school. They should teach abstinence first.



20. Racial profiling for terrorists is wrong -- a white American grandmother should as likely be searched as a Saudi young male.
I am pro-racial profiling. Just make sure you don't confuse dot-heads with Saudis.



21. Racism and poverty -- not a lack of fathers and a crisis of values -- are the primary causes of violent crime in the inner city.
Yes



22. It is wrong and unconstitutional for students to be told, "God bless you" at their graduation.
Wrong--no. Unconstitutional--well, from YOUR constructionism--yes.



23. No culture is morally superior to any other.
You're right. I think we need a break from these facisms based on the 3 Abrahamic theologies. I say we have a culture based on Karma.



Those are all liberal positions. How many of them do you hold? "

1/24/2006 8:33:40 AM

1. Hell no
2. Mmm I agree, but not required from a 2nd grader like it is now in NC.

3. Ahah I think we should have more deaths and it happen faster like Texas’s new law. If there are more than 3 witnesses and unarguable evidence… you die within 2 months and are allowed 1 appeal. Period.

4. I like the fact we have more nukes. It means anyone stupid enough to attack us will die horribly.

5. Colleges SHOULD have ROTC. The military is a good thing for many people and a lifestyle that many love. The US has the best military overall in the world save for Israel and such. We are the most well developed for our size.

6. No it wasn’t wrong to wage war… we should have killed him when we had the chance.

7. No poor parents should not get fucking vouchers for private schools. Get your bitch ass some education and put your kid through private school. Don’t expect society to take care of your lazy ass.

8. They support who they think will better them. Just like any other special interest group I assume.

9. NO, marriage, a Christian principle, should not be redefined to fit something directly violating what it is. Call it a Union, call it a Joining… but that’s like calling an orange a banana. That said I believe gay couples should have all the rights as married couples and tax benefits.

10. Wrong, I believe if the two couples are compared… and the are equal the straight couple should win. Why? Because a good upbringing has a mother and a father. Anyone who argues with me has thousands of cases against them.

11. The Boy Scouts are a Christian organization… a PRIVATE Christian organization. I don’t see why they can’t use churches and public parks just like everyone else. I also don’t understand why there’s such a big deal about gays. If the troop doesn’t mind a gay kid then stop fretting over it.

12. Taxes needs to be reduced to around 18%. I believe strongly in flat percentage rate tax on income. Sure it would make many accountants lose their jobs… H&R block would go out of business, that’s for sure.

13. Speech codes? Fuck that. Free speech all the way. College is about learning new things, exploring, testing, offending. If you aren’t there to expand your mind and figure out your values then go to Wake Tech.

14. BWAHAHAHAHA. Both are HUGE hypocrites.

15. THE UN is a do nothing organization. They should be dissolved. It’s pointless. Saddam is just one of many reasons they should be. The whole situation in half of Africa is another.

16. Yes actually. College is about having the chance to learn and explore. When those opportunities aren’t there because of greed… it’s not coo.

17. Abortions are destroying something that isn’t sentient. If you believe in souls… then you can’t believe in abortion or you’re a sick bastard. I believe we are a highly EVOLVED chemical reaction.

18. I believe Restaurants should all be no smoking, or smoking. Not one or the other. No smoking sections don’t work.

19. No. I believe parents should be forced to be involved with their children. Should condoms be available? Sure but not handed to them like they are now. I don’t care with the figures say. To me… it’s letting the parent think… cool I don’t have to be involved. I believe each and ever child should come into the councilors office and talk with their parents about sex. Make it a requirement to have kids.

20. Racial profiling is definitely wrong. Not gonna open this can of worms.

21. No. Lazy fucking parents are. Don’t teach their kids values, don’t take the time to show them respect etc. No parent can say “I don’t have the time”. Lack of structure and discipline is the problem. Taking the time to talk to your kid(s), making sure they know the difference between right and wrong, giving them sufficient punishments etc.
2.
22. Welcome to REAL LIFE. If someone tells you God Bless you… so be it. If you are offended by what something says you need to go back to school to learn some fucking tolerance.

23. Not going here.

1/24/2006 10:08:57 AM

1. Standards for admissions to universities, fire departments, etc. should be lowered for people of color.
Seeing as how my wife and future children can check the anything but white box, that gets a big hell yes.



2. Bilingual education for children of immigrants, rather than immersion in English, is good for them and for America.
nope, notice it says for children of immigrants. kids that have english as their native tounge can learn a second language



3. Murderers should never be put to death.
nope



4. During the Cold War, America should have adopted a nuclear arms freeze.
nope



5. Colleges should not allow ROTC programs.
nope



6. It was wrong to wage war against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War.
nope



7. Poor parents should not be allowed to have vouchers to send their children to private schools.
?



8. It is good that trial lawyers and teachers unions are the two biggest contributors to the Democratic Party.
nope


9. Marriage should be redefined from male-female to any two people.
nope



10. A married couple should not have more of a right to adopt a child than two men or two women.
Is the married couple two men or two women?


11. The Boy Scouts should not be allowed to use parks or any other public places and should be prohibited from using churches and synagogues for their meetings.
nope


12. The present high tax rates are good.
nope


13. Speech codes on college campuses are good and American values.
nope


14. The Israelis and Palestinians are morally equivalent.
not sure


15. The United Nations is a moral force for good in the world, and therefore America should be subservient to it and such international institutions as a world court.
nope


16. It is good that colleges have dropped hundreds of men's sports teams in order to meet gender-based quotas.
drop all the sports teams and marble floors


17. No abortions can be labeled immoral.
nope


18. Restaurants should be prohibited by law from allowing customers to choose between a smoking and a non-smoking section.
nope



19. High schools should make condoms available to students and teach them how to use them.
nope, they already fucking know how


20. Racial profiling for terrorists is wrong -- a white American grandmother should as likely be searched as a Saudi young male.
nope


21. Racism and poverty -- not a lack of fathers and a crisis of values -- are the primary causes of violent crime in the inner city.
Racism no, poverty somewhat, having bling-bling for your baby's momma yes


22. It is wrong and unconstitutional for students to be told, "God bless you" at their graduation.
nope


23. No culture is morally superior to any other.
nope

1/24/2006 6:26:54 PM

hehe, leading questions, just a little bit?

btw, vouchers wouldn't help the poor go to private schools

oh, and having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool

1/25/2006 2:22:56 AM

^nah, a good wall of ventilation can maintain a good separation

1/25/2006 2:25:41 AM

that'd be great, if only every restaurant had such walls separating all "air" boundaries. oh, what about the workers.

1/25/2006 2:49:32 AM

wow, i agree with aaronburro on something that doesnt involve Amato.

1/25/2006 1:34:45 PM

I love how you guys focus on the smoking issue

but ignore many of the more alarming questions this guy poses

1/25/2006 2:19:51 PM

i believe that when a couple people said "wow, those are all really leading questions" that those people were addressing more than just smoking

1/25/2006 9:11:45 PM

^^hey, im just going by what you people chose to focus on. this one:

Quote :

"13. Speech codes on college campuses are good and American values. "

is probably the most fucked up. is he trying to say that academic debate needs to be limited or censored? that by avoiding "inappropriate topics", we adhere to "american values".

i always thought american values included uninhibited freedom of speech (w/in the bounds of saftey, ie: fire in the theater).

then again, maybe hes trying to say we restrict debate, but its obvious where hes coming from here.

1/25/2006 10:03:58 PM

maybe he's thinking about people being overly-pc

1/25/2006 11:20:52 PM

Quote :

"well, if a woman just does it for the hell of it one day b/c she can, then sure. noone does that, tho "

Actually I knew a girl that would have if she got pregnant, she was so supportive of abortion as a "birth control" method.

1/25/2006 11:41:34 PM

i might be late but thank god Cats Cradle is no smoking now.

[Edited on January 26, 2006 at 1:05 AM. Reason : ed]

1/26/2006 1:05:44 AM

1/26/2006 6:07:38 AM

4. During the Cold War, America should have adopted a nuclear arms freeze.

I think the idea behind MAD was sound.

1/26/2006 9:22:47 AM

Quote :

"Those are all liberal positions. How many of them do you hold?"

I know I'm not the first person to say this, but:

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

How stupid is the person who wrote this? Was it Ann Coulter? Was it Ann Coulter's fifteen year old cousin? Is picking 23 arbitrary positions, ostensibly held by "liberals", as if there were a large group of people who agree with all 23, as if disagreeing with some or many of these puts you outside of that theoretical group, is all of this supposed to prove ANYTHING? This is fucking stupid. You could make an equally stupid list of questions for liberals, or assholes, or whatever you want. I hate people.

1/26/2006 11:35:24 AM

arg!

1/27/2006 10:00:17 PM

bttt

3/21/2006 11:56:41 PM

Down with free thought!

3/22/2006 8:32:07 AM

Quote :

"4. During the Cold War, America should have adopted a nuclear arms freeze. wasnt that the point of SALT and numerous other treaties? i dont remember any nukular war breaking out then, must have worked"

I think the main thing keeping the world from ending was MAD. Had anyone launched anything there wouldn't be many people around to remember things. Everyone understood that any attack was equivalent to suicide

3/22/2006 9:04:31 AM

BECAUSE ALL POLITICS IS BLACK, WHITE, OR SHADES OF GRAY!

NO ORANGE, PURPLE, YELLOW, RED, GREEN, BLUE, ETC. ALLOWED!

NOTHING ELSE!

EITHER LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE,

OR A MIX OF THE TWO!

LEFT OR RIGHT OR SOMEONE IN THE CENTER!

NO UP OR DOWN OR 30 DEGREES TANGENT, AND NO Z AXIS EITHER.

ONE DIMENSIONAL, GOT IT?

3/22/2006 9:38:17 AM

^ I think there is a concensus over the two-axis model.



[Edited on March 22, 2006 at 9:48 AM. Reason : of course, no one can agree what the two axis should be labeled...]

3/22/2006 9:47:27 AM

Quote :

"always, never, all, and none: words that rarely deserve a place in policy"

Sounds like Duke is a relativist rather than an absolutist.

3/22/2006 10:11:27 AM