I agree with all of this. There is a lot of unhealthy trust in authorities on this board.
Gun control
- Thread starter ukbob
- Start date
I agree with all of this. There is a lot of unhealthy trust in authorities on this board.
and they are shot at?? you are not seriously saying because they have a gun they are safe?
Give some stats...
Ok, ok, then how or who should put restrictions on the "freedoms" of all of us? How would a "libertarian" answer?
btw..Akin did not get elected.
Obama smoked crack with prostitutes?? oh tell me...you got that from FOX News....
Obama smoked crack with prostitutes?? oh tell me...you got that from FOX News....
Laws need to be examined closely. There are usually two kinds, good laws and bad ones. Too often, laws created without an actual mandate from the people (i.e reactionary laws) end up being bad ones that disrespect people's rights.
I recently did a stint on jury duty and the judge went on about how Canada's legal system was great because the burden of proof in all cases rested with the Crown (prosecution for the Americans). I wanted to raise my hand and ask him why there were some laws that placed the burden of proof on the defense (for example, Ontario's dog owner's liability act where the owner of a dog can be brought to court because someone thinks their dog is a pitbull and it is the owner's responsibility to prove it is not). Any law that places the burden of proof on the accused is a bad law and should go without amy debate. This is the kind of thing I worry about, the steady erosion of people's rights and freedoms by elected officials who react to press hysteria and fail to examine things properly.
btw..Akin did not get elected.
Obama smoked crack with prostitutes?? oh tell me...you got that from FOX News....
He was referring to Marion Bary I believe, former mayor of DC.
you don't get it.
we live in s democratic society...if we don't like a law we can change it. Thats why we have electons. But of course teh majority wins.
Do you live in a Totalitarian society?
My answer to you was about not been easy to move from one place to other, if someone owns the house is not an easy task with today's market, if crime goes up your house goes down.
And we have senators who were making call girl arrangments from the senate floor.
To me that is irrelevant.
A person is judged by the job he does. If they do a lousy job..vote them out.
But to say you are only going to allow a puritan to make laws is ridiculous.
Even in democratic societies changing the law is difficult. Look at the US. The congress and the senate are controlled by the corporate lobbies. Not a single of the main men responsible for the 2008 financial crisis have been prosecuted despite ample evidence of illegal activity and global anger.
and no, I do not live in a totalitaritian society and I am generally a law abiding citizen.
Largely, but if the questionable activity interferes with their job it should be a concern.
I'm all for the free consumption of drugs but there aren't many recreational crack cocaine users out there.
And all I am saying is a scenario where you feel unsafe in your home because of crime and feel having a gun solves the problem is not true.
If the area is high crime rate, it will remain so.
The long term plan for you would be to find a new home and commute to work. We all know about about value of housing and crime rates. Its not new.
where we are is where we are. The US government has its own problems...but by and large in spite of all our complaints, it wiorks.
In no other country can an unknown person such as Obama become the head of the country. Now a minority may say that is proof teh system does not work. I beg to differ.
Are some people here advocating anarchy?
If you live in a democracy, you accept that elected officials run your life. You, theoretically, can change the representation by means of voting.
If you don't think that this system works, as seems to be the theme, what system do you propose?
This is the "freedom" that is oft held up as the ideal, and is exported around the World, by means of force.
Total freedom is Anarchy, in it's trueist sense, not necessarily negative. But such self determination, in a violent and uncivilzed place, populated by heavily armed individuals, is truely scarey.
This is not to say America is unique. There is nowhere on the planet that could abandon all law, as there is nowhere advanced enough, that individuals or groups would not take advantage of the weak.
If you live in a democracy, you accept that elected officials run your life. You, theoretically, can change the representation by means of voting.
If you don't think that this system works, as seems to be the theme, what system do you propose?
This is the "freedom" that is oft held up as the ideal, and is exported around the World, by means of force.
Total freedom is Anarchy, in it's trueist sense, not necessarily negative. But such self determination, in a violent and uncivilzed place, populated by heavily armed individuals, is truely scarey.
This is not to say America is unique. There is nowhere on the planet that could abandon all law, as there is nowhere advanced enough, that individuals or groups would not take advantage of the weak.
fair enough...then vote him out...which is what happened I believe.
But no one ..not even the President has dictatorial powers.
Obama was touted as a Presidential candidate as far back as 2000."Unknown" is taking the piss, I'm afraid.
That's what impeachment is for.
"Unknown" is taking the piss, I'm afraid.
2004 is when he came to the fore as I remeber. 2000??
And he beat the Clinton machine. he was not even a long shot in 2008.
So we will just have to disagree.
I read about him in The Economist sometime in late 2000/early 2001.
sure..Clinto was impeached for getting a blow job...
great work by the conservatives btw.
btw I am not disagreeing with what you said.
...and most Americans had not even heard of him until 2004. Many who heard his speech said...they were seeing the first Black President....but few thought he would be the next President.
They tried, but a what a colossal waste of everyone's time.
The worst thing is that everyone is trying to nullify elections via the courts these days. Democracy as we think we know it is dead.
I'm pretty sure that there is an equal opportunity for that to happen in other developed western democraties. I don't see how Obama becoming president suddenly patches up all the other rot in the system. The netherlands had a gay PM, but I don't see how that makes it automatically the greatest goverment on earth.
Yes the goverments like US has it flaws and that needs to be pointed out.
as much as I complain and bitch about it...and I agree with Michael it is two corporations who really run the country now...that can change...it can only change from the grass roots.
Change takes time. We need to believe that we as individuals can make a difference.
People lke Martin Luther King Jr proved it.
The worst thing we can do is not participate.
Get involved.
Sure, but I'm not most Americans.
I do forget that sometimes, forgive me.
you certainly had some forsight then...
My plan to save democracy:
Campaign funds should be tax funded, and evenly distributed on past results.
i.e. 15% of the vote gets you "band A" funding.
5% gets you "band B" etc
It is made illegal to take money from business and organisations, personally or as a party.
This would hopefully remove lobbying, and allow idealism to flourish, at the expense of self-interest.
Something needs to change, to makes society the target of progress, not corporations.
Campaign funds should be tax funded, and evenly distributed on past results.
i.e. 15% of the vote gets you "band A" funding.
5% gets you "band B" etc
It is made illegal to take money from business and organisations, personally or as a party.
This would hopefully remove lobbying, and allow idealism to flourish, at the expense of self-interest.
Something needs to change, to makes society the target of progress, not corporations.
Almost completely unrelated
The popular vote killed Socrates. Literally.
The popular vote killed Socrates. Literally.
I would simply put a small fee on each tax return that is soley used for all elections... Federal , State and Local.
No donations should be allowed.
I don't have a problem with background checks, in fact I encourage them. I live in a state already with some of the tightest gun control laws in the country and don't really have too much of a problem with most of them.
There is strong opposition to pretty much anything that is not democrat/liberal on this board.
The most basic answer is I want a limited federal government with more power in the hands of the states. And no, that doesn't mean NO federal gov't. Do we need redundant agencies for education/environment/etc? With limited federal gov't I can use the Red Dreams philosophy of if I don't like the laws in my state I can relocate to one where I do. Obviously elected officials make the laws of which we all should obey. That however doesn't mean all laws are just. You think the Patriot Act and NDAA are really great laws? You favored those because elected officials put them there? I'm guessing you thought Bush was a criminal and disagreed with his policies. Ever think about defying them if you had too (assuming you were a US citizen)?
btw..Akin did not get elected.
Obama smoked crack with prostitutes?? oh tell me...you got that from FOX News....
Wow. Really?
Typical lib response....another tax is the solution......
think we have had this discussion before.
do you prefer the current highest bidder owning the government?
what solution do you expound about fair elections that are grassroots driven?
This thread is quite funny. People like Red Dreams don't trust anyone with a gun, yet they trust those same people to make decisions in the electoral process that have an effect on them and millions of other people.
It is rather odd.
It is rather odd.
I think RD trusts me with a gun but then again I'm Canadian. Everyone trusts us.
I don't trust anyone without a gun. Whenever I make a big purchase like.a car or a tv I will carefully lift up my shirt to show my gun in its holster so that I can see how they react around guns. Weirdly enough, they are quick to offer me a great deal on anything I want. It just shows the bond between red-blooded gun owning Americans. You wouldn't see that kind of resect from a limp wristed pinko. I think of it as a return to the days when a handshake was a deal, a sport was a sport and grooving was grooving.
We have. And something does need to be done to curb special interests.
I just love how it's typically just one side that gets painted as the bought and paid for politicians.
I love all this small limited government, low taxes, spending cuts in the social sphere and safety nets, lax arms control, social darwinism and weak regulatory bollocks that libertarians and conservatives spew . . . welcome to the capitalistic third world. Believe me, I live here. Ever wonder what differentiates these crap capitalistic third world democracies from Western Europe and the United States???
I hope someday these idiots get what they want.
I hope someday these idiots get what they want.
They would love living in Somalia...
total freedom....no government whatsoever.
total freedom....no government whatsoever.