Full Version: Greetings
Hey, everybody. I was led here through Google when I ran a search on why all democrats hate republicans and vice versa. It's nice to see a civil space for enlightened political discourse, at least based upon what I have read.
I am an attorney in my late twenties living in Los Angeles. I am getting married in a couple of weeks. I am a registered Democrat (used to be DC Statehood Green and Independent) and I tend to be socially-permissive and fiscally-moderate. However, I tend to take things on an issue-by-issue basis and do not always fall within party lines. I do consider open-mindedness and avoidance of dogmatic, knee-jerk responses to be hallmarks of enlightened thought.
On the issues:
Abortion: pro-choice (despite my personal moral opposition to abortion and concerned that the issue is considered to be way too important to both sides of the political specturm)
Same-sex marriage: Support same-sex unions with all of the same rights as married, hetetrosexual couples, though I would not be against the name "marriage" being reserved for only the religious union and the term "domestic partnership" being used across the board for heterosexual and homosexual life-partnerships alike.
Death Penalty: against it in all cases as a matter of principle, no matter what my emotional responses may be in certain situations
Narcotics: should be legal, but heavily regulated
Prostitution: see Narcotics
Iraq Quagmire: We should never have gone in there -- at least not the way we did. We had an opportunity to isolate France, Germany, and Russia as supporters of a despotic regime, but instead used false evidence and tried to do an end-around the UN...BUT we can't just leave now that we're there. While I appreciate the protests of people like Cindy Sheehan and would likely feel similarly if a family or close friend wre harmed in Iraq, I agree that we need to stay the course. We need to develop an exit strategy that is pragmatic rather than politically-charged.
Kyoto Protocol: We should have ratified the treaty. After some short-term economic difficulties, it would have incentivized American companies to develop more enviornmentally-friendly approaches that would actually improve their bottom-line finances in the long-term view, while enhancing the chances that our children will have a fighting chance to live in a non Mad-Max environment.
John Roberts: President Bush has every right to pick someone politically aligned with him and at least he picked someone eminently qualified this time around.
John Bolton: An awful pick and the recess appointment -- while constitutionally permissible -- shows that this Administration would rather go all the way with a terrible nominee than step back and actually admit a mistake, which I consider to be the singularly greatest failure of leadership in this administration. The truly great ones can admit their errors and make good on them. Our current President falls way short of that mark (I don't know that Sen. Kerry would have been better in that respect, his rhetoric to the contrary, though I did vote for him whole-heartedly).
Free Speech: Should be unmitigated, but media consolidation should be heavily prevented on antitrust grounds.
Welfare: Subsistence-level welfare is an absolutely essential component of a functioning society. However, there should be nothing desireable about going on welfare -- it should be close to unbearable to live on welfare, but provide just enough cushion so that people have a legitimate opportunity to get back on their feet.
Health Care: Should be completely socialized with opt-out ability for those who would prefer private health care.
Education: Public education is a fundamental right. School voucher programs are a band-aid solution for a gash that needs serious stitches.
Taxation: Taxes should be spent primarily on the physical and economic security of individuals, with state funding primarily going to things like education, etc.
That's a start, anyway, on where I stand...I'm also a big Mets fan.
I am an attorney in my late twenties living in Los Angeles. I am getting married in a couple of weeks. I am a registered Democrat (used to be DC Statehood Green and Independent) and I tend to be socially-permissive and fiscally-moderate. However, I tend to take things on an issue-by-issue basis and do not always fall within party lines. I do consider open-mindedness and avoidance of dogmatic, knee-jerk responses to be hallmarks of enlightened thought.
On the issues:
Abortion: pro-choice (despite my personal moral opposition to abortion and concerned that the issue is considered to be way too important to both sides of the political specturm)
Same-sex marriage: Support same-sex unions with all of the same rights as married, hetetrosexual couples, though I would not be against the name "marriage" being reserved for only the religious union and the term "domestic partnership" being used across the board for heterosexual and homosexual life-partnerships alike.
Death Penalty: against it in all cases as a matter of principle, no matter what my emotional responses may be in certain situations
Narcotics: should be legal, but heavily regulated
Prostitution: see Narcotics
Iraq Quagmire: We should never have gone in there -- at least not the way we did. We had an opportunity to isolate France, Germany, and Russia as supporters of a despotic regime, but instead used false evidence and tried to do an end-around the UN...BUT we can't just leave now that we're there. While I appreciate the protests of people like Cindy Sheehan and would likely feel similarly if a family or close friend wre harmed in Iraq, I agree that we need to stay the course. We need to develop an exit strategy that is pragmatic rather than politically-charged.
Kyoto Protocol: We should have ratified the treaty. After some short-term economic difficulties, it would have incentivized American companies to develop more enviornmentally-friendly approaches that would actually improve their bottom-line finances in the long-term view, while enhancing the chances that our children will have a fighting chance to live in a non Mad-Max environment.
John Roberts: President Bush has every right to pick someone politically aligned with him and at least he picked someone eminently qualified this time around.
John Bolton: An awful pick and the recess appointment -- while constitutionally permissible -- shows that this Administration would rather go all the way with a terrible nominee than step back and actually admit a mistake, which I consider to be the singularly greatest failure of leadership in this administration. The truly great ones can admit their errors and make good on them. Our current President falls way short of that mark (I don't know that Sen. Kerry would have been better in that respect, his rhetoric to the contrary, though I did vote for him whole-heartedly).
Free Speech: Should be unmitigated, but media consolidation should be heavily prevented on antitrust grounds.
Welfare: Subsistence-level welfare is an absolutely essential component of a functioning society. However, there should be nothing desireable about going on welfare -- it should be close to unbearable to live on welfare, but provide just enough cushion so that people have a legitimate opportunity to get back on their feet.
Health Care: Should be completely socialized with opt-out ability for those who would prefer private health care.
Education: Public education is a fundamental right. School voucher programs are a band-aid solution for a gash that needs serious stitches.
Taxation: Taxes should be spent primarily on the physical and economic security of individuals, with state funding primarily going to things like education, etc.
That's a start, anyway, on where I stand...I'm also a big Mets fan.
Welcome to 
ranthor.
We have a few members here who also in the legal field - to my knowledge, we have two attorneys, a JAG, and I'm a paralegal. What kind of law do you practice?
As you've probably noticed, the debates are taken pretty seriously around here. We do know how to relax and have fun, too. We usually do this on the 1st & 15th of every month in the chatroom. The chats are a good way to get to know your fellow debaters outside of the usual adversarial setting of the forum. If you have a chance, stop by one of them.
Glad to have you here.
ranthor. We have a few members here who also in the legal field - to my knowledge, we have two attorneys, a JAG, and I'm a paralegal. What kind of law do you practice?
As you've probably noticed, the debates are taken pretty seriously around here. We do know how to relax and have fun, too. We usually do this on the 1st & 15th of every month in the chatroom. The chats are a good way to get to know your fellow debaters outside of the usual adversarial setting of the forum. If you have a chance, stop by one of them.
Glad to have you here.
Thanks, Jamie! I'm a junior litigation associate at the branch office of a NY law firm. I basically do low-man-on-the-totem-pole stuff in commercial cases.
Hi ranthor, welcome to .
It is nice to see your respect for reason and your apparent thoughtfulness.
I look forward to seeing your contributions here.
I can't for the life of me see how someone in LA could be a Mets fan, though.
.It is nice to see your respect for reason and your apparent thoughtfulness.
I look forward to seeing your contributions here.
I can't for the life of me see how someone in LA could be a Mets fan, though.
This is a simplified version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.