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Articles:
Politics
If
Conservatives Had Their Way in the Late 18th Century, We'd
Still Be A British Commonwealth
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
During
the late eighteenth century, when the American colonists were
struggling against British oppression and fighting for independence,
there were conservatives in America. They went by names like
"Tories" and "loyalists", and, like today,
they were satisfied with the status quo. They considered the
political philosophies of liberalism and libertarianism to
be dangerous to their personally cozy way of life, without
regard to the opposing perspectives of their fellow men. These
conservatives lived in comfort or even opulence, finding themselves
positioned to benefit from imperial rule. If others suffered
under it, it did not matter to them because they had what
they wanted. If they had prevailed in enforcing their narrow
political ideals on other colonists, we would likely still
be under British control.
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V
for Vociferous
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
I'm
not saying the movie "V for Vendetta" is vociferous,
though it certainly has a powerful message. The title of this
article refers more to the conservative talking heads and
Bush apologists who raced to discredit this movie as loudly
as possible. As they always seem to do with left-leaning movies,
apparently most right-wing reviewers took the liberty of speaking
out against it without even seeing it. Their hateful denouncement
seems more the product of self-conscious guilt and illogical
arguments than honest critical review.
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Why
I'm Not a Democrat
Thursday, March 16, 2006
When
people hear me state my political views, they often assume
I'm a Democrat. Apparently these people are unaware that there
are more than two political parties. Nevertheless, my beliefs
are definitely more in line with Democrats than Republicans,
but there are two primary reasons why I refuse to pledge my
allegiance to the Democratic Party. First, I'm hesitant to
adhere to the platform of any party. I prefer to vote for
individuals on their own merits, rather than blindly vote
down party lines. Second, and more importantly, most Democrats
today simply have no spine.
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The
Birth of Dictatorship
Impeach Bush, Part 2
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Political
parties in the United States have always been fluid, their
reigns both fragile and temporary. Parties develop in order
to further a core group of beliefs. They gain strength based
on the number of people who agree with the party and vote
for the party's candidates. A party can gain power, enjoy
success for a time, but eventually public opinion and support
shifts to another political ideology. In United States history,
no party has remained dominant for long. The beauty of our
system is that checks and balances among the branches of government
along with popular opinion ensure the balance of power that
is essential to democratic government.
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The
Fallacy of Blind Conviction
Impeach Bush, Part 1
Monday, March 13, 2006
When
President Bush gets on television and preaches about the way
he always sticks to his guns, it must sound good to a lot
of people. Bush and his supporters like to hail his unwavering
conviction like it's some sort of positive trait. Believing
firmly in your ideals may be admirable. But when your ideals
lead to ruin time and again, you'd think a person would admit
defeat and start to consider alternatives.
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The
Red Scare All Over Again
Friday, March 10, 2006
I'm
half expecting the extreme right-wing to someday soon reanimate
the corpse of Senator Joseph McCarthy. They won't bring him
back in order to hunt down communists in our midst. Instead,
they'll merely harness that good-old paranoid witch-hunting
attitude to seek out "anti-American" citizens. Extreme
conservatives seem to believe that today the threat isn't
from commies, it's from those Americans who dare to speak
out against our current executive administration.
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The
Tyranny of the Majority Presses Onward
Sunday, May 29, 2005
fil-i-bus-ter
(n.) : The use of obstructionist tactics, especially prolonged
speechmaking, for the purpose of delaying legislative action.
An
age-old tradition in the US Senate, the filibuster has long
served to give the minority party some semblance of power
when debating especially controversial matters. This tactic
involves a loophole in Senate proceedings, which allows a
person to speak for an unlimited amount of time during debate.
Because of this, opponents can speak for hours or days on
end, preventing a vote. When a vote goes down party lines,
the majority party always wins. When this seems inevitable,
the minority party has the filibuster as a last resort in
extreme cases.
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Are
We Losing Democracy to Corporatocracy?
Monday, May 16, 2005
In
a democracy such as the United States, the people are supposed
to be the final word on running the country, the states, and
local government. We either vote directly on important issues,
or elect representatives we trust will act in our best interest.
If our representatives don't do what we want, we're obligated
to replace them. But what happens when elected officials no
longer act in the people's interest, and the people don't
seem to care?
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Fox
News, the GOP Propaganda Machine
Monday, May 16, 2005
I'm
honestly perplexed whenever I hear a conservative complain
about how the media-at-large is "liberally biased".
I assume their perception is that the media generally sides
with the liberal point of view on various issues, while attacking
or ignoring the conservative view. Based on the above-average
amount of time I spend following various news media, I would
have to disagree. For the sake of a relatively short argument,
I'll focus on television news.
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Justice
is Not Only Blind, But Fallible
Sunday, May 1, 2005
To
a lot of people, the death penalty seems like a swell idea.
If a person commits a heinous crime, execution seems like
an appropriate punishment. A piece of filth who rapes and
murders little kids, for example, does not belong in our society,
or even in this world. But what if the convicted really didn't
do it?
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The
Religious Right vs. Gay Rights
Sunday, May 1, 2005
For
some reason, some people just can't let other people do their
own thing. It has always been my impression of American democracy
that everyone has the right to do what they please, as long
as they don't infringe on someone else's right to do what
they please. Call me crazy, but I think that's the essence
of our venerable institution we like to call "freedom".
Why then do some people insist on trying to limit the freedom
of others?
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