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Hertzberg has a pretty good rebuttal to all this non-sense in The New Yorker
Disclaimer-This is an elite magazine for the elites so if you're a "Joe six-pack" it may burn your eyes. Like, Socialism: Comment: The New Yorker Quote:
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McCain today blustered that (and I paraphrase) "Obama's idea of change is to take your money and give it to other people." I sort of wonder who the "you" in that sentence is. Is it as clear to everyone else as it is to me exactly who McCain is speaking to? |
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For #2, have I attacked either candidate? Have I shown disrespect to either candidate? I haven't said one bad word, nor implied that either candidate's plan is better than the other. I just want to hear reasons why people are voting mccain. -----Added 27/10/2008 at 06 : 00 : 45----- Quote:
This is more like what I'm looking for in reply to my question. |
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Or vice versa, US military strategy and spending GDP should work for Iceland if shrunk x1000. A homogeneous society with a social identity and a historical and future path that everybody agrees on (like Iceland) can do anything it sets its mind on. I also wouldnt mind 50% income tax if it were used right and nobody freeloaded off of it. But America is too big and there are too many ideas with scattered strategies that lack checks and balances. the money would be lost, wasted or flat out disappear. What one race or culture in America sees as "right" is flat out wrong to others. Just look at the old South vs North mentality that prevails to this day. Iceland doesn't have such a strong divide in race or cultural identity. (Guns Germs and Steel analogy stolen from Diamond) Our closest model is Canada, and even then, they are a fraction of our population. Their taxes and health care system also leaves a lot to be desired. I don't like BIG government and how its managed. I agree with the other posters, Obama=Marxist. Go visit Trier for a weekend, see the homeland of Marxism. |
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Iceland may be small, but it is no longer very homogeneous, nor does everyone agree on what path it should take in the future. Iceland based its banking practices on American ideals (yes, American) and now the country is on the edge of bankruptcy, at least with regards to the currency and banking systems. Everyone has been conflicted about this issue, not agreeing on what to do and where... they are begging the IMF to step in and fix things. And you assume that no one freeloads off the system in Iceland and the other Nordic countries? Oh, people do, most certainly--and my god, they're not the immigrants, either! But that doesn't change the fact that people BELIEVE in a social democracy where you are charged with taking care of the people around you, no matter who they are or what they look like or what their status is. The Icelandic health care system takes care of EVERYONE here, regardless of whether they are a citizen or not. It is an ethical issue, and people are willing to put up the money to maintain that ethic. It doesn't make the Icelandic people "Marxist," for god's sake. Frankly, I don't think it really matters what I say. No one is going to persuade you of anything if these are your foundational assumptions/beliefs: Quote:
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I was reading the November issue of American Rifleman (NRA magazine) last night, they rate Obama an "F", meaning a "A true enemy of gun owners". Anyone who owns a private gun or cares about using a gun for self defense would be a fool to vote for Obama. Some of Obama's campaign statements have not been consistent with his voting record on individual gun ownership issues.
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the nra?
i think that organization made an enormous mistake scurrying to the extreme right. now they're stuck there. one consequence of that is arguments that they generate are self-evidently geared toward the extreme right. it didn't have to be that way--they had a choice and could just as easily have remained an organization that advocated in a non-partisan manner for gun owners---but they didn't. i am agnostic on the question of gun control, btw. i support it in cities. i am less in favor of it in other geographical areas. but i am definitely in favor of it in urban environments. |
89 posts. STILL nothing saying why vote for McCain that's not "because Obama is X". Doesn't this tell you something?
Re "obama = marxist": Quote:
Overtaxed: Comment: The New Yorker |
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I agree strongly with RB, it was a HUGE mistake for the NRA to jerk right. I was taught gun safety by the NRA as a kid, then comes the '90's and all of a sudden they're freaks. The NRA used the same argument in '92. Are all your guns gone? Did Clinton take them away? |
I hate guns, so I guess this should make me vote for Obama
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As you say the NRA is "scurrying", what do you call what Obama is doing on the campaign trail? Quote:
Which is the real Obama, his voting record or his rhetoric? -----Added 28/10/2008 at 01 : 50 : 46----- Quote:
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Gun bans in areas that had them in the US did not result in less crime, in many cases violent crime increased. No lawful person wants to shoot people. -----Added 28/10/2008 at 02 : 03 : 16----- Quote:
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Those who use guns in criminal activities are almost always punished more severely than if they hadn't used a gun. In the federal system, it takes the form of a sentencing enhancement if a gun is used in the course of a criminal transaction. In my view, this has been interpreted too broadly. If I'm selling you drugs, and I happen to have a gun in the car, I'll be hit with the firearm enhancement. But it's easy to see why such an enhancement is a good idea in general. Crime is dangerous enough as it is; it's even more dangerous when guns are involved. And I thought that the organization that stood up for people's rights, regardless of whether they agreed with them, was the ACLU. I don't agree with every position the ACLU has ever taken. But they have a long record of taking cases that are unpopular with the left, the right, or even everyone. |
ace--i don't think there's anything that is not clear in what i posted.
stop with this juvenile "whaddya call what obama's doing" bullshit. i've had enough of it. all i meant to argue is that the decision on the part of the nra to drift politically to the extreme right has undermined their ability to advocate their positions and not find themselves grouped with the far right of the republican party. if they really want to defend gun ownership in its absolutist form (all control=evil) then they made a mistake. the reason i noted this self-evident fact (if you pay attention to such things in the empirical world) is that it hardly matters what the nra says about obama at this point because of the gamble they have made over the past years to alilgn with the far right. so they're talking to a subset of the population that they hope to reach, and appeal mostly to folk like you, who need no convincing about this as gun control is one of the legion of republican-fabricated "wedge issues"... |
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I support what I consider reasonable gun control laws, like registration, waiting periods, background checks, mandatory training, and a few other controls - I am not in 100% agreement with the NRA. Most gun owners I know have similar views to mine. Obama has wanted to make it punitive for a person to use a firearm for self defense in their own home and supported a complete ban on handguns. Again, I understand people having opposing views on the issue of the degree of controls, but Obama's record indicates his views are out of step with the views of most reasonable people on the issue, and is now inconsistent with his words on the campaign trail. |
Once agaiin, Obama's position is being distorted by the NRA, Op eds and ace.
It should be more accurately described as supporting state/local options to enact their own legislation to limit or restrict gun ownership that meet a Constitutional test. The only restriction that I believe he supports at the federal level is a return of the ban on semi-automatics that had bi-partisan support when first enacted in the 90s but not enough to overcome a Republican filibuster when it was up for reauthorization several years ago. |
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How do you reconcile the above with national gun control legislation he has supported? In 2005 Obama voted for legislation that would have had the impact of banning almost all rifle ammunition. Quote:
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ace...here is his voting record on federal legislation:
Project Vote Smart - Senator Barack H. Obama Jr. - Voting Record (under - gun issues) You can twist his vote on the Firearms Protection Liability bill and say it would "have had the impact of banning almost all rifle ammunition" and I can say that blanket liability protection for gun manufacturers, bought and paid for by the NRA, is bullshit. -----Added 28/10/2008 at 04 : 25 : 43----- Quote:
Its called federalism, something the right wants on other issues, but not guns...go figure. |
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ace...you are always looking for how Obama voted aganst the Democratic leadrership.
Look no farther than the Firearm Confiscation Prohibition Amendment that passed 84-16. To prohibit the confiscation of a firearm during an emergency or major disaster if the possession of such firearm is not prohibited under Federal or State law.U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote He voted with the Republican majority....not the 16 (Boxer, Clinton, Durbin, Feiinstein, Kennedy, Shumer.....) who voted against it. |
the NRA hasn't drifted on their focus or their views, they've drifted to the extreme side of the political spectrum in order to get what they want. all roachboy is suggesting is that they may have been smarter to stay non-partisan in order to get what they wanted, as they are now being used by the RNC to get voters, which isn't the NRA's goal.
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I acknowledge his vote against his party. |
ace....if you want to see inconsistencies in Obama's positions, you will.
But if you believe that residents of a community should have the right to enact strict crime control measures, including gun control, that pass a Constitutional test...then you share Obama's position. If you believe that the federal government should not have the right to take away lawfully owned firearms during a "state of emergency" in a city/state, then you share Obama's position. If you believe that firearm manufacturers should not have near blanket liability immunity for the misuse of their product that no other product in the country has, then you share Obama's position. If you believe that the manufacturing, sale or importation of armor piercing ammunition should be restricted, then you share Obama's position. And if you believe that the only additional federal legislation that should be considered are child safety devices on guns, better background checks at gun shows and the reauthorization of the ban on semi-automatic weapons, then you share Obama's position. The case against Obama is more fear and smear. -----Added 28/10/2008 at 06 : 40 : 11----- FactCheck.org: NRA Targets Obama |
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flstf...I understand that the ban on semi-autos is the deal breaker for many, despite the fact that it had bi-partisan support when first enacted.
The "fear and smear" is the manner in which his positions have been mischaracterized by the NRA and more recently, McCain/Palin (see the fact check in my post above for examples of the fear and smear) "A National Rifle Association advertising campaign distorts Obama's position on gun control beyond recognition." NRA Claim: "Ban use of Firearms for Home Self-Defense" - falseThere are alot of smears in there, mixed with a lesser number of claims for which there might be some uncertainty. And many of ace's claims perpetuate the same gross exaggerations as the NRA, particularly that Obama's support for legislation that would NOT give firearms manufacturers blanket liability protection (with few exceptions) that NO other US industry has, would have had the impact of banning almost all rifle ammunition. One fair critique is that some may feel uncertain about the details of Obama's positions (applies to most candidates on most issues...the devil is in the details)...but it is also reasonable to say that neither Obama nor the Democrats in Congress have any intent of making federal gun control a central issue, particularly when they know that their own Blue Dogs wouldnt be on board. |
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Wait, people seriously are pissed that they can't own semi-automatic or assault rifles for personal use? Really?
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Nuance is dead.
Things are either black-and-white, or they're too confusing to be understood. It's a sad day. |
you know what i find funny about this thread....
from here, i've learned more about mccain's platform than i have from a month of debates and RNC ads. i'm not kidding. |
to the other rb: i remember hearing that irony was dead a while back. judging by all kinds of recent happenings, that seems to have been premature.
that's why i have a nuanced hope for nuance: it's still around. it's just been pushed to the background by a flood of idiocy. even a confederacy of dunces can't kill it entirely. |
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