Actually, I’m pretty reasonable and can understand why people choose the opposite of what I believe in. That doesn’t change my idea that ‘it’s wrong’, but hey … the people who believe in the opposite (that abortion should be illegal) aren’t reasonable in the sense that they don’t seem to understand why it should be legal, nor do they want to even consider the factors as to why it should.
That doesn’t make me angry though. I pity those who can’t try to be reasonable and see that those who are pro-abortion have their good points, just as I see that those against abortion have their good points as well.
FONY: Having an extreme respect for human life makes her an idiot?
I agree that rape, incest, or danger to the mother are all legitimate reasons for abortion. I do believe that there can be exceptions for those. Still, I do agree that girls will CLAIM they were raped because they are ashamed to admit their mistakes. My moms cousin knows a girl who “did it” with a guy, and when her counselor got upset about it, she claimed “she didn’t really want to” to get the woman off her back. Of course, that just made things worse. Now if a girl had gotten pregnant, but didn’t want the shame or the baby, couldn’t she say that she was raped?
When did I say anyone was an idiot? It’s just stubborn to not even consider the points the other side of the argument makes, and that goes for any case.
Well, if a girl does that, she’ll have to live with her mistake, that’s all. You can’t speak on behalf of everyone - maybe she won’t feel guilt for what she did, but that’s her life, not yours. Yes, it’s an innocent life and it is a baby, but no one can save every single child in this world. The mother should have the right to choose, for she’ll be the one who’ll have to live with knowing what she chose.
On the topic of sex ed: I’d want to have my child (not that I have any; I’m still a kid) know about the basics of sex at a young age so they won’t let sexual predators take advantage of them.
Wow - I know she is just pro-life, but how stupid can you get to want to try and convince a girl, who got raped by her father, to keep the baby? You have to be insane to support that. Not to mention that incest causes enough problems to begin with - I’m sure the girl will love explaining to people about who the baby’s daddy is - her own daddy.
I understand that the baby may not be able to live a normal life. I don’t agree with keeping it, but I see how Palin thought that: The baby didn’t rape her, why does it need to pay the price?
I understand that, but still … how would you think the child would feel to know how he/she was born? And especially if other people find out - that could lead to a life of torment and suicide. I know that’s extreme but it could. Not to mention to kinds of deformities the child may have that would hinder his/her will to live to begin with.
It just seems better to abort, to avoid making a child’s life painful. After all, they don’t choose to be brought into this world - that’s not even anyone’s God’s choice - it’s the parents who to decide whether to bring it into this world or not, and it’s bad enough that normal kids wish their parents never brought them here - can you imagine growing up as a product of rape? That doesn’t exactly scream “I wanna live.”
It’d make me sick if I found out I was a product of rape and brought into this world “because my mother thought it would be right.” I wouldn’t want to be living proof that the rape occurred. But that’s just me.
Yes, it’s nice to love a child despite the reasons for it’s creation, but … it just seems to me like a painful reminder.
I know this thread has caused controversy, but I thought I could revive it because the first candidates for the Republican Party, Libertarian Party, and Independent Party have been announced:
Republican:
Fred Karger, political consultant and gay activist of California, has formed an exploratory committee for a 2012 run for the Republican presidential nomination.
Libertarian:
Former Libertarian National Committee Vice-Chair and the editor and co-founder of’ Liberty for All online magazine R. Lee Wrights of Texas formed an exploratory committee on July 4, 2010.
Independent:
Former journalist, author, and perennial independent candidate Joe Schriner of Ohio.
He has since declared that he has no intention to run in 2012, but United States army general, Commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) David Petraeus was one man who excited me. I would have no problem with him running for the position at a later date
Thanks for reviving this! This will be my first presidential election. I haven’t looked too much into the 2012 election, because I’m paying attention more to the Governor’s race.
But I’m very interested to look into these canidates. Especially R. Lee Wrights. When I registered to vote, I declined to join a party. But if I had to, I’d join the Libertarian party. I have to look more into these guys!
I’ve recently been having very enlightening discussions with all kinds of people on the Glenn Beck Facebook page. We had many heated but friendly debates on many issues, actively wanting to truely understand the opposite side to our own opinions and beliefs. We then tried to devise possible ways to embrace both ideals. This is what we agreed our governments should be doing instead of the games they play now. We also agreed that we should not label ourselves as this or that and instead embrace being a thoughtful individual.
As for the topic at hand, I’d love to see Palin/Beck go up against Stewart/Colbert.
More seriously, I think Independent and former Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura would make a great President. He doesn’t have a chance, but he’s great.
I agree. Sometimes working with your opponent instead of against him can be mutually-beneficial.
…
Don’t know much about American politics. You have to excuse my ignorance.
If I were to elect a President for 2012, I’d want him/her to*:
Be pro-multiculturalism. Encourage foreign talent and expatriates, but through legal immigration.
Support same-gender marriage. I believe in separation of religion from state and a secular government, and that having same-gender couples marry, while considered sinful by a few religions, should have no effect whatsoever on heterosexual couples.
Take a stronger role in environmental protection and climate change, while encouraging economic development. Priority given to sustainable policies over ‘cheaper’ short-term solutions.
Doesn’t support a welfare state or universal healthcare. America is already in a huge fiscal deficit, and I believe in self-sufficiency/capitalism. You can tell I’m not a fan of Mr Obama in that respect.
Discourages military hegemony or cultural imperialism over sovereign nations. Minimizes foreign interference in other countries unless there is a direct violation of human rights. Without being hypocritical (Google Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib).
Reduce government debt to foreign nations (like China), and encourage development of high-skilled workforce and a knowledge-based economy to remain competitive and reduce unemployment due to outsourcing of lower-skilled jobs to foreign countries (like uh… China).
Discourage conspicuous consumption and consumer debt. Encourage financial education classes and control unscrupulous repackaging of ‘toxic debt’ (like subprime mortgaging). If you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it. This was how the GFC started.
Maintain freedom of the press.
And most important of all, be good looking.
If any one candidate has all these qualities, do let me know. If such a person exists, you Yanks have (in my most humblest, pathetic opinion) the man or woman who can make your country the “greatest in the world”.
I don’t know whether this post will be deemed too political, but this is a political thread after all. If anyone takes offense with the content, please inform me or any of the other Mods and I can edit/remove if necessary. But hopefully we can have a grown-up discussion about this. Feel free to argue against any of my suggestions for my dream President of the United States of America.
In 2012, I will be eligible to vote for the first time. I am very into history and politics, so I will make my choice carefully. I tend to lean toward the Republican side a lot (Reagan is one of my favorite presidents), but I always throw my support to who I believe will do the best job. In 2008, I thought that Barack Obama was the best, but I never thought he would beat out Clinton in the primaries, so I threw my support to McCain, who I favored over Hillary. However, once Obama became the Democratic Party’s official candidate, I switched and threw my support to him.
I cannot yet tell who I will vote for in 2012. I will have to see what shape our country is in, what Obama has done in his time as president, who the other candidates are, what their take is on the world’s situation, and, if they have good ideas, the possibility of them actually executing them.
thedriveintheatre, I agree with pretty much all of the ideals you listed for a potential president, desptie not being American like yourself the US President is one of (if not the) most powerful men in the world so it still matters to me who becomes president.
