Imperial_Birrer posted: Stem cells: I think yes it does. Do you think a state with a budget of, idk..Montana would choose stem cell research over something like roads and bridges or funding education where as California spends more on highways than Montana could ever dream of having as a total budget?
Imperial_Birrer posted: Do we really want State government acting like corporate America? Aside from that nightmare scenario say One state actully spends the money and finds a for something. At that point they can do with it what they want, including not sharing it with the other 49 states or charging what they want for it. How is that fair or good for the people?While there can be/is mishandling of federal funding the feds just have a much larger resource pool to distribute the funds and be effective. Some states just dont have the facilites to do proper research on the scale needed to get the job done. The feds can pick and choose between the top research facilites in the country. There is your competition to get the job done right there.
Imperial_Birrer posted: Gun Control: While the ban wouldnt toss out an instant saftey sheild it would make it a crime to possess them, thus we could remove them from the streets and send those with them away. Let be practical on the issue of tyranny and up-rising against it. I agree with the reason for the second amendment in that, but unlike back in the day where militias were common place and an uprising would have been possible, but in todays world the only way that could ever happen would be with military support and they do have the assault rifles and alot of other cool toys that could be used. If you did the math and figured out the amount of people it would take to do a non-militaryily (sp?) supported revolt that number would be far greater than the amount of people who would actully know how to use or could afford an assault rifle so why have them at all?
Imperial_Birrer posted: Abortion: Ill say it again and its the best way I know how to. This a personal issue. The should be zero government involvment in it, federal or state.
Imperial_Birrer posted: I just had to add this one from ym previous post on the gun control issue. Section 8 of the constitution says under powers of congress "To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;" Even if we had a tyrant for a leader and we all had assault rifles we couldnt revolt to defend the constitution with out actully opposing it.
Imperial_Birrer posted: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Its my belief that the preamble is violated by not allowing gay people to do the same things as a straight person is wrong, evil and totaly unconstitutional. Limiting a person ability to get married or calling it something other than a marriage is modern legal discrimination. This should be a federal matter no different than the civil rights act. If a state government discriminates against a person its the feds job to stand up for the minority and defend them ( too bad its not happening yet). We saw how well things can happen if state decide everyissue for themselves, it lead to civil war and then over hundred years of racial discrimination.
Zoom_Cthooga posted: For the record, I know nobody else will read this except Stacy. Like anyone else, I, too fear the post-apocalyptic society where the police are genetically engineered mindless troops that wear mirrored faceplates and carry fully-automatic weapons. Genetically Modified Organisms are already VERY much a part of our food supply. We'll have our names taken away and we'll be identified only by the bar codes we wear on our wrists and the homing devices we have implanted in our necks. National RF ID cards, anyone? Crime will run rampant. ENRON? Politicians will consort with Columbian drug lords and the entire lower class will be addicted to substances that are controlled by the government. FDA-Big Pharma? Anyone who speaks out will be taken to detention centers to be re-educated. Patriot Act? Guantanamo? Now that I've had my fun daydreaming my daydream of being a Columbian drug lord in 2048, I'll come back to the year 2008... Unrestrained Police Force denotes that at some point in time, the people that are police will stop being people, and start being monsters with guns. German soldiers were just "people" too until indoctrinated into the Nazi party. When a riot breaks out, it turns into an uncontrollable situation -- you'll sometimes have 100 rioters to every 1 policeman. When that policeman sees an angry mob of pro-lifers charge at him, wanting nothing more than to hypocritically kill anyone standing in their way of saving a fetus' life, then yes, I do fully believe that that policeman should unload every single clip of ammo he has. Yes. How about when four policemen beat Rodney King senseless? When SWAT invades a home in Glenwood Springs to “secure” an 11-year old boy? I know that it's entirely possible for some crazy bad **** to go down, and I know that other countries -- China, pre-invasion Iraq, North Korea, just about every country in Africa -- are classic examples of human rights gone bad. In places like those, corruption has spread so deep that criminals not only run the military/police forces, but criminals also serve in those forces. And this is different from the U.S. Government how? Um...where was I going with this? Why doesn't that happen here? Why doesn't it happen everywhere? To some extent, it does. And it always will, because we're human. Is it because we have laws? Is it because we have a Constitution? Not necessarily. The Constitution is a piece of paper -- the government can decide to burn it whenever it feels like doing so. As long as we ignore the IDEALS behind the Constitution, then yes, it is worth little more than the parchment its printed on. Why does it happen in other countries? Idle speculation...
Zoom_Cthooga posted: China -- With over 1 billion people crammed into one spot on the globe, it's impossible for a military police force to cope with every single wrongdoing in the country. They have to consort with criminal organizations at some level to maintain order. As the U.S. population nears 1 billion people, it's something we as a people should be not just concerned with, but terrified of. What makes you believe it isn’t already happening? Without adequate spending on peacekeeping forces, education, and public assistance for low income groups, (Welfare State?) we're going to run into a lot of trouble in the next 100-200 years. And who exactly is going to foot the bill for this “spending”? Pre-invasion Iraq -- Crazy dictator with chemical and biological weapons. Of course bad things are going to happen to anyone who doesn't think he's the greatest guy on Earth. Oh, you mean those “Weapons of Mass Deception” and expired nerve gas canisters? North Korea -- Please see above. Yes, Please see above. Africa -- Uneducated, warring tribes pick up everything left in their countries at the end of WW2, and decide to use the weapons for what they were made for. It's a perfect example of why we should have the Prime Directive. We interfered with a developing civilization, and the only thing they learned how to do was kill each other more efficiently. A policy of non-intervention is EXACTLY what is called for in the Constitution. And just because, I'll throw in Mexico! Heck, it's famous for overthrowing lame politicians at the drop of a hat. Just wait until we re-annex the entire Southwest back into Mexico in another 100 years. Don't believe me? Stick around. JUST the entire Southwest? Take a look at what the proposed North American Union will do to the sovereignty of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. There will be NO distinction. In any case, America is different. Are we really? That's why everyone wants to be here. It's going to take a lot more than a single bad politician to plunge us into that post-apocalyptic society that I dream of. You’re absolutely right. Fortunately for you and your dream, there are MANY of those “bad” politicians already hard at work. Before America can collapse in on itself and turn into a warzone, we need: a) A huge natural disaster. Not New Orleans. Not California breaking off and sinking into the ocean. Not terrorists detonating a warhead from 1986 in downtown Manhattan. We need something crazy like every single coastal city being flooded once the ice caps melt. Or something like an asteroid taking out half the country. Or...zombies. Do we really?You don’t think that SERIOUS plans for martial law have been in the works since before, and most notably AFTER 9-11? b) The inevitable crash of the world economy. The Oil Crash (yes, I know it's an exaggerated crazy-person site). Or, all those countries we borrow money from deciding that they want it back...now. The economy’s been on a downhill slide since before WWI. Inflation is NOT a natural phenomenon, and neither are Recessions.
Zoom_Cthooga posted: Trying desperately to go back to the subject... IMHO, I don't believe that waving around the paper that the Constitution is printed on is worth the trouble right now. What I truly believe we should be working on is: So, the Bill of Rights isn’t worth fighting for? a) Building a world government that we all answer to. No wait -- stop laughing, and hear me out. The U.N. is made up of just about every semi-intelligent country on the planet. We should let them handle world problems, and we as an individual country need to stay out of other peoples' problems, and concentrate on our own. Should we contribute troops to the U.N.? Sure. But civil unrest in Zimbabwe, and hundreds of thousands of people are killed with nerve gas? Our problem? Hell no -- send in George Clooney. It'll put less strain our economy. I’m sorry, what were you saying? I couldn’t hear as I was laughing so hard…The purpose of the United Nations has nothing to do with peace, justice, or human dignity. The U.N. was created by the CFR, after several failed attempts to create a “League of Nations”. Do you honestly believe that Communist doctrine is what is best for not only our nation, but all the peoples on our planet? b) Getting our economy back on track. I wish I could elaborate more on this, but I honestly don't know what we can do to fix the country. I know what I can do to brace myself a little better for it, but that's really about it. Close the FED, return to the Gold Standard, Abolish the IRS, end the war, avoid entangling alliances, curb unconstitutional Congressional spending… c) Preparing for the worst. I find that as being the most important. Yes, we can slow down our oil usage. Yes, we can even slow down Global Warming (tm). Maybe our coastal cities won't be under 6 feet of water in 100 years, and maybe we won't run out of oil in 80 years, but both of those events will happen. Oil usage is the easy one. Just say no. Renewable energy is not only viable but more and more feasible. Too many people on BOTH sides of the Global Warming fence are making WAY too much money off of this. I remain undecided. Sadly, though, nobody wants to hear about oil crashes or Global Warming (tm). None of the politicians will tackle them, the government won't tackle them, and people don't want to hear about them. The U.N. is more concerned with George Clooney than finding a viable worldwide renewable energy source. That’s not ALL they’re more concerned with…When one/both of those events in (c) happen, it doesn't matter if we've cloned George Washington from DNA found in his wooden teeth, and the man himself is running the country, martial law will go into effect, and somebody's going to set fire to the Constitution, if someone else hasn't already looted it. You don’t think we’re already on this path? Oh yeah -- and to answer your question...now that I think about it, I'm really not sure who I'm more afraid of. There's no such thing as an unarmed public when it becomes an angry mob. Why are concerned, armed citizens always the “angry mob”? And I know enough militia people and policemen to have a healthy fear of both of those groups. Oddly enough, they're one in the same. When all Hell breaks loose, I'm packing my weapons, food, and family (in that order) in the car and I'm driving to Kansas, tyvm.
Zoom_Cthooga posted:So, for anyone who actually bothered to read that... ...and if you plan on reading this, you really should read the one above, otherwise you flat out will not get this one... That's why I find politics to be a sham and a waste of time and money. There was what? Around $1 billion total for everyone's campaigns altogether? They could've done something worthwhile with that money. I'd make a list, but I'm sure you can easily find 100 better things to spend money on than advertising for a person that may or may not become a scapegoat for this country's mistakes. Agreed. I hear people say, "I'm not voting for X because he's a Republican and doesn't care about the lower class." Or "I'm not voting for Y because he's a Democrat and is for a bigger government." Or I hear them talk about things like "X doesn't want gay marriage" or "Y is pro-life." Here's the dumbest one I heard just yesterday -- "I'm not voting for McCain because our old CEO (Carly Fiorina) is on his staff." Are these the things that people are truly concerned with? Are they that close-minded to the rest of the planet, and to the future humanity itself that they want everything their way, with no regard to what everyone else wants? Well, heck, I may as well vote for R because he has great hair. Why not? It's about as important as everything else. Great hair + more charisma = better global image. These are the values that Americans have been indoctrinated into by Mainstream Media and our Bipartisan "Democracy" In 2004 I voted for Cthulhu. I really did. Bush was inevitable, and Gore was more concerned with his own ego. In a sense, I'm glad he didn't get president, because it made him focus on something else that was actually important. Did anyone, including the people that actually voted for Bush in 2004, get what they wanted? Did they? Anyone? I'd love to hear it. I might even buy you a cookie. Gore was 2000. Did you mean Kerry? Doesn't really matter though, SSDD (Same Sh!t, Different Dictator) No cookies on this end I'm afraid. I voted for Nader both times. The way I see it, there's nobody that I can vote for, that will actually get elected, that will accomplish the things that I think need to be accomplished. Voting against someone who's "values" don't mesh with my own is stupid. Why do it? Sure, Hilary might make it so I can't buy another AR-15. Do I really need the AR-15 I have right now? Probably not. Furthermore, I'm friends with a lot of people whose values don't mesh with my own, and life still goes on. Yes, but for how long (seriously)? So, I protest the election process, and the lackluster candidates in my own little way, and vote for a fictional character. Maybe this year I'll vote for Yoda. Because it's my Constitutional right. Or...you could still vote for a candidate who actually CAN make a difference. I just made myself laugh. You and me both, my friend...
Zoom_Cthooga posted:Obey Wann posted:Building a world government that we all answer to. See, this scares me more than anything. I do NOT want to answer to a one world government, and I don't want the US to lead a world government. But I think that there are enough people in power who are working to make it happen that it is almost impossible to stop. Just look at the NAFTA superhighway, the efforts to push the Amero and the North American Union. You'll never see the media report on it, but there is plenty of information that is just a google search away. Try these specifically: Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Trilateral Commission, Bilderbergers, New World Order, False Flag Operations That's a natural fear. Right now, there are enough semi-intelligent people running it that it's almost useful. It's little more than an overgrown Peace Corps with a few tanks, (We only WISH!) but what about in the future? To me, it's more about disaster recovery. Natural, Terrorist, or Government-sponsored? A tactical nuke wipes out Capitol Hill, and every single one of our high level politicians and lawmakers is dead. What then? CNN blasts it to the world, riots break out as people panic and prepare for WW3, and China decides that everyone on the West Coast had better learn Mandarin over the next 18 months. Wars are BIG business. You don't think that goin' toe to toe with China is coming up soon on the agenda? Just what DO you suppose all of those military bases we built in Iraq are for? Staging area for China, anyone? The U.N. could potentially divert the end result. (Uhh...sure...provided they're not too busy serving their own selfish, Communistic needs) Or, in another instance, the U.N. could decide that it needs oil, too, and we spend the next 100 years occupying the Middle East, slowly stripping out the parts of Islam that we don't like, and forcing everyone there to live "peacefully" with tanks in the streets as we inflate their economy, and then leave once we've drained every last drop of energy from them. That sounds more par for the course, except for the leaving part. It could go either way. Good, bad, or no matter what we do, it will stay a quiet entity and simply try to "promote peace" because none of the other nations want to spend money on any other countries except themselves. You can bet that if California has a tsunami, India won't be running to help us.
Obey Wann posted:Building a world government that we all answer to. See, this scares me more than anything. I do NOT want to answer to a one world government, and I don't want the US to lead a world government. But I think that there are enough people in power who are working to make it happen that it is almost impossible to stop. Just look at the NAFTA superhighway, the efforts to push the Amero and the North American Union. You'll never see the media report on it, but there is plenty of information that is just a google search away.
Sith_Slayer posted:I was watching Sliders the other day and there was an episode in which Quinn & Co. slide to a world in which a Matriarchal society has come to power and...wait for it...wait for it...Hillary was President. Needless to say, things rapidly deteriorated for the Sliders gang.
