stutefish

stutefish

Joined Member # 1867325
1 Posts 47 Replies 2,985 Reputation
Demographic Underground Prophecy Watch in Current Events JoeUser Forums

The Democratic Underground has latched on to a "controversial" analyst's prediction that oil could rise to $100 per barrel by this Winter. "And George does nothing", they say. My prediction: George will continue to do nothing, and oil will not rise

1 Replies 992 Views
Reply to The Left Today in Politics JoeUser Forums

True that. I'm a conservative, and not the moderate kind, either. But I do think the Christian Right is led by loons, and I'm damn glad they don't call the shots for my faction these days.

35 Replies 11,537 Views
Reply to Some Thoughts on the Nature of Government in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

Gid , I did actually consider libertarianism. In the end, though I had to conclude it wasn't for me. The basis for my conclusion is too big to fit here, though I'll happily make it an article if you're interested in discussing it and need a place to hang your comments In short, I think that libertarianism is too extreme in its idealism, and that the two-party sys

4 Replies 3,130 Views
Reply to Shadowy Spectre Of Churchill And Select RighteousIndignation in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I guess it all depends whether Bush was saying "bring it on" in order to "interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies...", or if he was saying "bring it on" as part of a plan to bring about the destruction of those enemies through the successful application of force of arms. It has long been a fundamental principle of warfare that the immediate and ultima

10 Replies 2,418 Views
Reply to Some Thoughts on the Nature of Government in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

I give the individual a lot of credit, which is one reason why I'm in favor of more personal power, and less government power. Another reason is because an individual has only a limited ability to screw things up for himself or others. But a Government, vested with the collective authority of millions of individuals has the power to screw things up on an epic scale. I'm sure we can all think of examples of this.

4 Replies 3,130 Views
Reply to STUPID LAW!!!!!! in Misc JoeUser Forums

We have to make a cutoff somewhere, between "too immature" and "mature enough". Wherever we make the cutoff, it's going to be pretty arbitrary, and it's going to leave a lot of people in the "immature" category too long, and it's going to put some people in the "mature" category far too soon. Having much more experience with life and people than yourself, my preference is to set the cutoff late in life, in order to make sure that people have

2 Replies 3,732 Views
Some Thoughts on the Nature of Government in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

Government being what it is, it will screw things up. It concentrates power, and wherever power is concentrated, there you will find greed, ego, corruption, and waste. Therefore, Government being what it is, the more it gets involved, the more it will screw things up. On the other hand, individuals being what they are, the less Government gets invol

4 Replies 3,130 Views
Reply to Tony Blair On Downing Street Memo in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

Well, as Americans, we need Congress's approval, which we got. U.N. approval? Not so much. About the bombs... it's not like we weren't at war with Iraq already, exchanging fire with them every day as part of enforcing the no-fly zones. In fact, by the terms of our truce with Saddam after the Gulf War, nothing less than regime change was already justified by his violations of that truce. We legitimately could--and obviously did--

2 Replies 2,815 Views
Tony Blair On Downing Street Memo in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has finally spoken out about the "Downing Street Memo". http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050629/ap_on_re_eu/blair_interview Bottom line: “What people forget about that memo is that that (it) occurred nine months before the conflict. ... So whatev

2 Replies 2,815 Views
Reply to Public Nudity in the Summertime in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Women can restrict access to their beauty as a sacred thing, and as an assertion of their authority and equality in society. Men can also restrict access to a woman's beauty as degradation of the woman's authority and equality in society. The two things are very different. I don't think AngelMarie is wishing for a world in which men use a perversion of "modesty" as a tool to oppress women. Rather, I think she's describing a world in

35 Replies 11,834 Views
Reply to Bush's Speech Annoyed the Hell Out of Me in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Obviously, I didn't watch the speech last night (introduced my sweetie to Kill Bill, instead). Not only because of the whole "no TV" thing, but also because I'm a hardcore rightwing conservative nutjob, and I always agree with Bush no matter what he says, so why bother?

33 Replies 6,247 Views
Reply to Bush's Speech Annoyed the Hell Out of Me in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I turned off my cable service about four years ago, and have never looked back. If I want to watch TV, I just Netflix the TV series of my choice. Or a movie. I know this means I'm never up to date on this season's popular show, but hey, I'm not that interested in keeping up with the latest pop culture fads anyway. Most of the good TV shows are getting released to video on a regular basis anyway. Besides, I'm a big sucker for

33 Replies 6,247 Views
Reply to THE DILEMMA OF CONVENTIONAL TROOPS IN AN UNCONVENTIONAL WAR in Current Events JoeUser Forums

The way I see it, war is a political tool. The military doctrine on OOTW--counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, etc.--may in fact be an excellent doctrine, but it can only ever be applied within the context of the larger political goals and restrictions of the Commander-in-Chief. Which is probably half the reason the army seems so incompetent: They're not allowed by global political realities to simply deliver savage beatings to all comers.

4 Replies 1,758 Views
Reply to Public Nudity in the Summertime in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Either that, or Americans are uppity prudes, which appears to be how Europeans view us anyway. Which is kind of ironic, since the Muslim world seems to view us as depraved and decadent wastrels.

35 Replies 11,834 Views
Reply to Public Nudity in the Summertime in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Hrm. Okay, I'm totally pulling this out of my ass, but I was trying to come up with a contrarian interpretation of European attitudes towards nudity. This is the best I could do. I do not for a moment pretend it is the truth. Could it be that the European attitude towards nudity is sexually fueled after all? Or rather, that European men, being culturally patriarchal and therefore misogynistic, worked to set up a society where w

35 Replies 11,834 Views
Reply to *Yawn* Just Another US International War Crime in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Reiki , I corrected you pretty thoroughly, I thought. Would you do me the great honor of turning your higher mindset to my earlier comment, please? I humbly draw your attention especially to the part where the U.S. did not actually sign on to any treaty prohibiting the use of Napalm . Recap: Napalm is not a WMD, per current treaties. The U.S. has not signed current treaties, and therefore is not bound by them. Nevertheless,

16 Replies 3,732 Views
Reply to Just Shut Up in Poetry JoeUser Forums

Personally, I have no use for people who think the awsome metal band Pantera is beneath them... Oh. Wait... What's Panera ?

4 Replies 1,545 Views
Reply to Democrats Demand Retraction From Rove in Politics JoeUser Forums

Zoomba , please compare the following statements: "Guantanamo Bay is like the Gulags." "Conservatives are like Nazis." "Liberals want to be nicer to terrorists than conservatives do." The third statement is much less extreme than the first two. Also, by being much less extreme, it actually falls into the realm of reasonable comparison. Finally, unlike the first two statements, the third is amply supported by pub

32 Replies 9,072 Views
Reply to I Was Wrong in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

From what I can tell, the Bush Administration is making almost the opposite argument: That Padilla's citizenship in no way diminishes or negates his status as an enemy combatant. I'm not sure that's much of a justification, though.

7 Replies 4,047 Views
Reply to Supreme Court abolishes private property in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Well, I've changed my mind about this case. I am now convinced that the Supreme Court has made a horrible mistake with consequences none of us should welcome. That said, I don't see anything in the case that takes the final decision about Eminent Domain away from the local governments. If SCOTUS had said "eminent domain may not be applied in this way", that would've taken eminent domain from the hands of the local and state governments. It'

25 Replies 7,256 Views