Where do you stand. Not a debate.

[slo]

I'm not going to go through the whole list but I will state my opinion on a couple.

Gay marriage - I am for gay marriage - not against - and I don't understand what the big controversy is all about. What people do in their own homes is their business. Many people ask me - "would you have the same opinion if you DD said she was gay and wanted to marry another woman?" I say yes I will have the same opinion. I would much rather see my DD be gay in a happy relationship with someone that treats her with love and respect, then in a bad marriage w/ a man that doesn't take care of her. I want to see my children be happy regardless if they are straight or gay!!!

Gay adoption - I am also for this - not against - and this I can see why there is some controversy. But.....I think that people need to give the adoptive parents some credit and believe that the adoptive parents will teach their child that even though they are gay that it doesn't mean that the child has to be gay. The adoptive parents can show them that life has happiness whether you are straight or gay and the child will have to do what is right for them. People really need to give the gay adoptive parents more credit than what they give them. Afterall.....how can these people be bad parents - they want to have children to love and cherish - I just don't understand how this can be a bad thing.

 

[dmadman43]

Originally posted by cheyita
OK - SOM - even thought we're not supposed to debate, I will support my position:

I am referring specifically to the mother's life being threatened prior to the third trimester. Why lose two lives if it is unecessary.

However, if we are referring to something that would develop at the end of the pregnancy and the fetus would be fine - I do not place the child's life ahead of the mother's. I do think many women (not all, not necessarily most) would choose to give their child life in place of their own. If a difficult choice would need to be made, I cannot place one life before another, but hopefully *something* can distinguish which life has the most probable chance of survival.

I won't discuss the rest since you didn't question it, and I do not want to turn this into an abortion debate thread.

yea, what she said. I can give you my religious beliefs as well, SOTM but that wouldn't be relevant to you, nor to the OP. The OP asked what one's position was, we weren't asked to defend it.

 

[N.Bailey]

I had this all typed out and lost it. I guess I'll try again!

Death Penalty : I am in favor of the death penalty when, premeditation is proven and I don't care who it was that was murdered. As a juror, I would have to be 100% positive he defendant was guilty though. Beyond a reasonable doubt wouldn't work for me in a death penalty case.

Abortion : I believe a child is a human being from the moment of conception. I don't have a problem when the mother's life is in jeopardy.

Partial Birth Abortion : No. Unless the LIFE of the mother is in serious danger. Agreed!

Affirmative Action for Women and Minorities : No. As a woman, I'd be disgusted to find out I only got a job to fill a quota. Agreed!

Drug Legalization : I'd be in favor of legalizing marijuana. Legalizing all drugs though? I'd have to say no to that. Keep the marijuana out of our children's hands though!

Income Redistribution : No. Agreed!

Welfare : Until jobs are created that pay enough for someone to support a family, I don't see how you could possibly just start pulling people off of the welfare system.

Censoring public airwaves/TV : On one hand, I say, let the stations decide what to run and let the viewer decide. On the other however, I don't want to turn the TV on, or worse, my kids turn it on and see XXX rated movies. We're not there yet, but could be if stations are given free reign? I guess so restrictions need to apply.

The War in Iraq : While I don't like everything that has happened with regards to Iraq, I do fully support this war.

Church & State : I'm all in favor of separation of church and state. My problem however comes from Christian symbols being forced to be removed, while other religious symbols are allowed to remain? Either allow them all, or remove them ALL.

Bilingual Ed. : If you work at McDonald's, please sell me my burger in English!

Illegal Immigration : We need better border security. I think we need to stop giving welfare benefits to illegals. Agree 100%

Immigrants running for president : I have no problem with immigrants not being able to hold the office of President of the US. I do however have a problem with the fact that if your parents serve in the US military and you happen to be born outside of US soil because they are stationed elsewhere, you don't have the right to run either. I think that needs changed!

Animal Rights : I guess I a little unsure of the meaning of this one. I believe a person who abuses their animals should face legal consequences. That's a pretty cruel thing to do. As for the testing using animals, if a company does not NEED to test on animals, I really believe they should find other methods. When it comes to medical research though, I am in favor of that kind of testing.

Gay marriage : This does not apply to me, and I see no reason why giving homosexual legal rights is going to harm my marriage in any way. My marriage will be what I make of it, nothing more, nothing less.

Gay adoption : Kids of interracial marriage have been harassed in the past and I guess we made it through all that. I don't see how this will be any different. I feel bad for those initial kids, but we'll get through it as a nation.

The Environment : We should be doing a LOT more.

Health Care : I would love to see every American covered, but I don't think the funds are there. I do think there is a lot the government could do though to get health care costs under some sort of control. Limiting malpractice is a good place to start IMO.

Gun Control: I don't see how taking this right away would get the illegal guns out of the criminals hands.

 

[sunni]

Death Penalty....for

Abortion.....against except if the mother's health or life is at risk

Partial-birth Abortion.... absolutely not, Never.

Aff. Action....against

Drug Legalization.....only for medicinal purposes

income redistribution....no

welfare...limited; require work from all able bodied people on welfare

Censoring airwaves...the owners of the airways should choose if they wish to censor. PG-13 material should be saved for 10 pm - 6 am.

War in Iraq....mostly for; 100% for the War on Terror

Bilingual education...Students should learn a 2nd language. English should be our official language; you come here, learn it please. If I go to your country to live, I'll learn your language. Fair?

Illegal immigration.....against

Immigrants running for president...No

Animal rights....Animals do not have rights. People have responsibilities, however.

gay marriagges....No

Gay adoption...No

Environment....we need to do more. provide more incentives for saving energy and driving hybrids. But, I also think we should be drilling for oil in our own country.

health care....don't want to see lousy healthcare like other countries have. I don't think government paid healthcare is the solution. Reform of the health insurance industry and malpractice suits might be a better option.

__________________

 

[sunni]

Originally posted by Son of the Morning
So, the pro-lifers assert that the fetus is a human being, and should have its life protected as such. Why, then, do many place unique conditions on its protection, ie, threatening the life of the mother? For example: Hypothetically, in a late stage of a pregnancy, it is revealed that the burdens of childbirth and the conclusion of the pregnancy will ultimately lead to irrevocable physiological damages to the host mother if it is allowed to progress. In any case, however, the fetus will survive in the end, and the mother will in all probability, die during childbirth or shortly afterwards. Why is it excuseable then to "kill" the fetus? Why is the fetus' life suddenly not quite as important as the mother's?

IMO, if you are already a mother, your first obligation is to the children and husband that need you here, the fetus second. JMO.

 

[Saffron]

Great ideas, ThreeCircles. You did a great job of expressing your opinions. You expressed yourself so well you gave me some food for thought -- although you won't change my mind about 2 of the issues, no matter what you say, or how elegently you say it.

 

[Saffron]

Wait, make that three.

 

[richiebaseball]

Originally posted by Son of the Morning
Are you familiar with the old Bill Hicks routine about a similar? "Either you respect the life of all humans, of ALL AGES, or you shut the **** up." (paraphrased) I'm not telling you to "shut the **** up," I'm just saying that the belief that a child's life is more valuable than any other man's is insulting.

I can agree with that. And with that said:

Death Penalty : Against

Abortion : Against. Exception for rape, incest, and mother's life in danger.

Affirmative Action for Women and Minorities : Against

Drug Legalization : Against

Income Redistribution : Against.

Welfare : I wish it could be perfect but I'll take something with flaws rather than nothing.

Censoring public airwaves/tv : Mixed.

The War in Iraq : Mixed. I saw the need. Now that we're there, winning is the only option.

Church & State : Separate

Bilingual Ed. : Against

Illegal Immigration : Make legal immigration easier. No benefits for illegals.

Immigrants running for president : No. I think it's fine the way it is.

Animal Rights : I think people should have the right to eat any animal they want. Go PETA. People eatin' tasty animals.

Gay marriage : Should be a state issue. No constitutional amendment. At the risk of losing the respect of SOM, personally I am against it.

Gay adoption : See above.

The Environment : Am I for or against the environment? I'll leave that for another discussion.

Health Care : We can do better however socialized healthcare is not the way to go.


Just one man's opinions.

Richard

 

[palmtreegirl]

Death Penalty-Against, I think they should suffer instead. Spending the rest of their life knowing they will never again be free works for me.

Abortion- While I'm against it personally for myself, I support other womens rights to choose.

Partial Birth Abortion- I honestly don't know enough about this to comment.

Affirmative Action for Women and Minorities- Yes. While I'd like to think that companies shouldn't have to fill quotas, I'm not naive to the fact that some may not hire women or minorities unless required to do so and that would be bad.

Drug Legalization- Sure, alcohol and cigarettes are drugs and they're legal and addictive, one killed my Aunt the other my grandmother. Plus I'd love to see all the drug dealers go out of business.

Income Redistribution- no.

Welfare- I would like to see more programs to help people get off welfare. Child care for those that can't afford it with cost based on ones salary, limited amount of time on the welfare program to prevent welfare generations and more programs to encourage tradesmen and business owners to hire or train people on welfare.

Censoring public airwaves/TV- Out of control. Everyone flipped over Janets *wardrobe malfunction* but a commercial that mentions a 4 hour erection is on the air? I'd rather explain the former rather then the latter.

The War in Iraq- Support the troops 150% But I don't support how this administration has run it or the your either with us or against attitude, it disgusts me.

Bilingual Ed.- Yes I believe that we should teach our children a second language earlier in school system.

Illegal Immigration- I believe that honest hard working people should be allowed in I think the system now is very bias, borderline corrupt to certain countries. If we don''t want to let people in we need to get out the big bottle of white out for the Statue of Liberty's book.

Immigrants running for president- No. I believe one should be born and raised here to run for President.

Animal Rights/Enviroment- I believe we should protect and care for our enviroment & set more open spaces aside.

Gay marriage- Sure why not.

Gay adoption- Yes.

Health Care- In favor of affordable coverage for all but not a goverment based program for all.

Gun Control- Well if you really want to kill someone you could do so with a pencil. The true career criminals don't go to the local gun store to buy a gun.

I'm not going to debate so don't waste your time trying to get me into one.

 

[Saffron]

Well if you really want to kill someone you could do so with a pencil.

Oh man, I really need to go to bed. That just made me slappy-happy laugh.

 

[Pugdog007]

Short answers. No need to explain.

Death Penalty : Yes

Abortion : No

Partial Birth Abortion : No

Affirmative Action for Women and Minorities : No

Drug Legalization : No

Income Redistribution : No.

Welfare : No

Censoring public airwaves/tv : Yes - all but Fox

The War in Iraq : Yes

Church & State : Separation of? No

Bilingual Ed. : No

Illegal Immigration : No

Immigrants running for president : Don't care

Animal Rights : Yes, but No to PETA

Gay marriage : No

Gay adoption : Yes

The Environment : No

Health Care : Not gov't funded - just take a hard look at what's happened in Canada

 

[Fizban257]

Death Penalty: Against. Humans should not kill humans.

Abortion: Against. At the point of conception you have a multi-celled living organism with a genetic structure defining it both as human and as individual from the mother. Only in the case of a threat to the life of the mother should this be even considered--humans should not kill humans.

Partial Birth Abortion: Against. As the children in question have reached the point of viability when this procedure is performed, its legality is solely predicated on the location of the child, i.e. mostly still within the womb. The legal precedent this sets is that under certain circumstances, normally protected human beings can lose such protection merely by accident of location. If this is constitutional, we are all fair game.

Affirmative Action for Women and Minorities: Against. Reverse discrimination in the name of fairness only perpetuates the race and gender wars. In addition, these laws assume that every employer is sexist and/or racist and that, sans government coercion would discriminate in every case. In America you're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Vigorously prosecute those who discriminate, don't institutionalize discrimination.

Drug Legalization: This depends on the drug. Marijuana? You might be able to convince me, especially for medicinal purposes. Crack? Heroine? Crystal Meth? These'll be a hard sell.

Income Redistribution: Against. You can never expect to succeed once you've removed all incentive to hard work and innovation.

Welfare: I'm in favor of a social safety net, provided it never becomes a hammock.

Censoring public airwaves/tv: I'm against blatant censorship, though community standards should remain as the prevailing benchmark. Certain billboards are perfectly fine in downtown San Francisco, but would be offensive in a sleepy town in Middle America. There is nothing wrong with this--neither community should attempt to force its standard on the other.

The War in Iraq: In favor. The intelligence agencies of every major nation (including France and Germany) agreed with our assessments of Iraq's WMD. Remember that it was German Intelligence that estimated he could have a nuke in 6 months. Awakened to the realities of our world by 9/11, given the intelligence estimates at hand, and faced with continued non-cooperation from Hussein, our actions were clearly justified.

Church & State: Everyone seems to know the first part of the First Amendment, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." But how many know the next clause, "...or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."? Current interpretation and enforcement of the former has begun to violate the latter in my opinion. I do not find this acceptable.

Bilingual Ed.: I have studied several languages both living and dead. The most effective way of learning them in my experience is through emersion technique. You needn't give up your family's language, but in the classroom, you will pick up English faster if it is the only way to get by.

Illegal Immigration: I'm in favor of immigration; all four of my mother's grandparents emigrated from Poland. I am decidedly against illegal immigration. There is a legal way to enter this country. We are a nation of laws. You cannot ever hope to join this country if you do not respect its laws.

Immigrants running for president: At the time of our nation's founding it was common for foreign nations to maneuver to place a puppet ruler (often one of their own nationals in charge of an adversary for their advantage. The Founders protected us against this and we should not be so hasty in an uncertain world to discard their wisdom.

Animal Rights: I knew a woman who was a hard-core vegan and militantly pro-choice. I cannot fathom someone who will not eat eggs because it is animal cruelty, but will destroy their own child for convenience. How does an embryonic chicken warrant protection and not an embryonic human?

Gay marriage: Against. As has been shown in Holland and Scandinavia, the legal rationale for gay marriage leads inexorably to the elevation of cohabitation as co-equal with traditional marriage. In effect, in attempting to achieve the equivalent of a straight marriage, gays destroy the institution outright. This leads to higher rates of single-parent homes with all the associated societal pit falls for the children involved.

Gay adoption: Neutral. This would need to be evaluated on an individual basis. If a person, regardless of preference or marital status, is willing and fit to help raise an orphaned child, they should be welcomed to do so.

The Environment: Hybrid cars, recycling, etc. all receive my support. Hysterical pseudo-science and knee-jerk reaction against all corporate entities is infantile and dangerous. There simply has to be a happy medium.

Health Care: Public health care would resemble public education. The wealthy would have private care and the poor would receive substandard care from barely adequate doctors after long waiting lists for services. A free operation sounds great until you die waiting for your name to reach the top of the list.

Gun Control: Remember that our Founding Fathers rose up in violent opposition to the ruling authority and fought a war for our freedom. To do this, they required guns. Were our government to become tyrannical, and were we faced with the need to rise up against it, we would not get very far with shotguns against the U.S. Army. The right to bear arms is thee in case we need to protect ourselves from our own government; it has nothing to do with hunting deer.

 

[Fizban257]

Originally posted by Son of the Morning
...So, the pro-lifers assert that the fetus is a human being, and should have its life protected as such. Why, then, do many place unique conditions on its protection, ie, threatening the life of the mother? ...Why is it excuseable then to "kill" the fetus? Why is the fetus' life suddenly not quite as important as the mother's?

I'm happy to answer your question, though I can speak only for myself. I have yet to see any scientific proof that, at the point of conception, you have anything other than a multi-celled living organism genetically classified as human, and genetically unique from its mother. Given this scientific definition, the fertilized egg is a human individual, regardless of its appearance, and is due protection under the law. This protection does not go away in cases where the life of the mother is at risk. However, when the mother's life is at risk you have a clear ethical dilemma, as both lives are in jeopardy. Only in this case do I feel that an individual has the right to consider abortion. I personally would gladly give my life for my children; others might not. But in the case where one or the other will die, the government cannot be the one to choose.

 

[katerkat]

Death Penalty: Against

Abortion: Against

Affirmative Action for Women and Minorities: Against

Drug Legalization: For

Income Redistribution: Against

Welfare: Want it to be a hand-up, not a hand-out. It needs work.

Censoring public airwaves/tv: Against

The War in Iraq: Mixed

Church & State: Separate, very separate

Bilingual Ed.: Against

Illegal Immigration : Make legal immigration easier. No benefits for illegals.

Immigrants running for president: Against

Animal Rights: Only for kittens and puppies. I'm against animal abuse, but like to eat meat.

Gay marriage: No constitutional amendment. Not personally against it, but think it is a state issue.

Gay adoption: For

The Environment: I don't really believe in global warming, if that's the question.

Health Care: Not socialized!

 

[minniepumpernickel]

This is a good thread. We should keep it bumped.

Some issues are more important to me than others. I generally take the liberal bent on most.

I am pro-capital punishment though.

This is inteesting I'll keep checking back.

 

[snoopy]

I'll take a stab at the ones I feel definately one way or the other about.

Death Penalty : With DNA evidence, I support

Abortion : Pro choice

Affirmative Action for Women and Minorities : Support

Drug Legalization : Marijuana, support

Welfare : Support

Censoring public airwaves/tv : Don't support

The War in Iraq : Don't support

Immigrants running for president : Support

Animal Rights : Support

Gay marriage : Support

Gay adoption : Support

 

[Pop Daddy]

Im against everything but the death penalty and the war, Im so mean

 

[RobinMarie]

I'm going to take the lazy way out and say I agree with Three Circles, Jason, except I believe animals were meant to be consumed!

Thanks for your efforts Jason!

 

[Planogirl]

Death Penalty: Against except in the case of serial killers. Society has to protect itself.

Abortion: Support right to choose.

Partial Birth Abortion: Against except when the mother's life is threatened.

Affirmative Action for Women and Minorities: Against.

Drug Legalization: For depending on the drug.

Income Redistribution: Against.

Welfare: Against except for many of the disabled or to help others temporarily on a case by case basis.

Censoring public airwaves/tv: Against within reason.

The War in Iraq: Against.

Church & State: Keep the entities separate.

Bilingual Ed.: Against.

Illegal Immigration: Against.

Immigrants running for president: For.

Animal Rights: For.

Gay marriage: For.

Gay adoption: For.

The Environment: For, a LOT more needs to be done.

Health Care: Against socialized medicine.

Gun Control: For again within reason.

 

[jrydberg]

I stand a little to the right of my daughter... ok, ok, sometimes to the left. It depends on the picture