>>Just out of sheer curiosity on a slow weekends, what in particular inspired you to pick liberal ones out of that bunch?
>
>Because I think most of them are liberal ideas.
Funny, though, I've learned that liberalism is actually the philosophy of lessez faire capitalism, i.e. pretty much what the libertarians here propose. But with the rest of the world out of the picture most of the time, I can't really expect the scientific or political discourse here to keep its terminology in sync with the rest of the world. Oh, well. So, let's say that "liberalism" in our context means "liberalism as set of ideas attributed to it in the US and unrelated to whatever is called liberalism in the rest of the world".
>Things I mentioned touches everyone, they're mainstream. Things you mentioned effect maybe 5 percent of the population.
You think? I think that 99% of the population suffer from the crucial issues of their times being not addressed at all, or left over to corporations, from having their tax money thrown at shady privatniks who seem to be in good relations with K street etc, from never having a chance of a health system like the rest of the world, by means of, among others, having the public discourse diverted to such matters that effectively affect maybe 5% of the people. All the talk about non-issues, and no talk about the crucial stuff.
And I beg to differ on the importance of the other hot button issue. Planned birth issues also affect a small portion of the population, but the difference between that problem being solved this way or another is crucial to the substantial direction where the country is going; there is so much that follows from there. The no-choice option means no less than reverting to patriarchal slavery for women (and for men who don't want to assume their proper role in such a society as well).
>BTW, read what Jerry Brown did all by himself to the California marriage adminment. It's dishonest what he did. The Catholic priest, I don’t care, outside of the belief that those that abuse their power should be punished.
Additionally, I think priests shouldn't have ANY power, unless elected. And when priests get elected, I'd probably try to move out from such a country ;).
>You don't think the liberal agenda are there to tell you how to live your life? Example, smoking ban in restaurants. Why is it ok for gov't to tell restaurant owners how to run their business? Why is it ok for gov't to step in and put a moratorium on fast food restaurants in certain South LA neighborhoods?
Wait, wasn't Bloomberg the first to ban smoking all over the place? In NY City?
>Nope, liberals rarely offer suggestions, they pass laws. Why? Because they know more what’s good for you than you.
If that's the definition of American liberals, well, then
1) They aren't any better than conservatives. There are many things that feel wrong, if not outright scary, in the legal system, and this philosophy "you are a moron and therefore prohibited from doing things where you may get hurt" is particularly annoying. All this worry about losing workforce, getting bogged down with medical cost - in the country which doesn't even know how many people got AIDS, because so many are out of the system (what system?).
2) This country is seriously doomed. There's no political left worth its name; what passes for left here is just a bit less right than the neoconservative flywheel, and it won't be able to swing the country sufficiently back left. What's called left here also doesn't seem to have any serious ideology, or plan, or whatever. They may have a good game plan for this election, but I still doubt they have anything so far reaching as was the right's march from the 80s on.
>Some time ago California had something called Commission On Social Responsibility And Self Esteem. It was another bad idea from the liberals. You know the statistics. American kids scored last in math and science compared to kids from other industrialized countries, but the good news, they came in first in regard to their self-esteem about their knowledge of math and science.
While this sounds like a good conservative joke, the kind that Tracy's mother would pass on from her spambox, I have actually heard it before and yep, the education here is seriously screwed up... until you get to college. There they have to waste most of the
freshman freshperson year making up for the time lost and trying to achieve some standards, before jumping into real science. Literacy may come by itself during the process.
>I'm amazed that the GLBTQ is not fighting the Olympic ruling committee
...about which I don't care either way. Olympics still haven't quite decided whether they are showbiz, aristocratic pastime (as it was for its founder, de Coubertin) or just a bunch of amateurs having fun (what was the initial meaning of the word sport). IMO, if you're a sportsm... person, compete against yourself, and don't make a spectacle of it.
>No wonder so many kids are screwed up today... up is down, down is up.
>And no wonder conservative are generally happier than liberals.
Beati pauperes spiritu?
My serious doubts as to whether conservatives are happier. Knowing of a number of illusions they sport and support, I am getting an impression that their virtual reality is maintained by sheer amount of money and control over media. If that makes them happier, good for them.
