Full Version: Introduction
Hello, everyone! I am a 21 year old college student in the state of Missouri. My Father was in the Air Force so I've traveled through or lived quite a few states(including Alaska for four years, which I believe puts me in some good company here).
I stumbled upon the site quite by accident about two months ago and finally decided to make my presence known. I'll probably not be posting very often, want to get my google-fu up to speed, as I want to be quite sure that I can back up any argument that I may have.
On the political side, I started to become really interested in politics when I was about sixteen-seventeen. My Dad's a Republican and my Mother's a Democrat(and oddly enough they get along just fine, having been married 23 years) so I got to see the opinions from both. I was pretty strongly Repub about 6 years ago, but then came Bush and well...oddly enough cynical conservative isn't an option.
Just for myself, I thought Republicans stood for responsible goverment...enter trillions of dollars added to national debt. I cannot even conceive such a number, and apparently Bush isn't finished with http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/04/bush.budget.ap/them
(hopefully that clickie turned out right, first time trying to do it here.
For a further introduction, I'll put up some recent well known political issues in the recent news and my stance on them.
Iraq: I'll start with the biggie. I believe that Saddam should have been deposed, the guy murdered thousands of innocents, some who's only crime was being Kurdish. However, the war was done horribly, horribly wrong.
First off, why on earth did Bush feel the need to lie about going into Iraq? Saddam was not sheltering terrorists, from what I've researched Saddam would happily slaughter any Al-Quaeda members he found.
Gay marriage: I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman..but I have no issues whatsoever with domestic partnerships with the same rights and responsibilities as marriage for gay couples. I'm also firmly of the belief that if we say that marriage is sacred we should TREAT it as such. To that end, I would argue that the drive-through weddings and the other 15 minute type "nuptials" cheapen our sacred insitution of marriage.
Larry Craig case: My opinion in this case is, quite bluntly, that he got what he deserved. If he was single(because his sexual preference then is none of my business) and had stood up for gay rights then my only thoughts on the issue would be along the lines of "he wanted to do it in a public restroom, eww...they are nasty enough!" However, he was married and was rabidly anti-gay, so he had it coming. I hate hypocrites, I'm religious myself and if my pastor says "Don't lie, cheat, steal etc" to me, then he had damn (hope using that word is allowed as long as I don't overdo it) well better not cheat, lie or steal himself. I've always wondered if I was weird for not doing, what I say I'll not do, because most role models these days aren't the height of moral virtues.
Schiavo case: Another case where I was burned by the Republican side. Mayhaps I'm wrong but I was of the opinion that Republicans were for a hands-off goverment type. While a sad case, it should have been only between her husband and her parents...not the entire U.S.
Current race: I'm really, really excited about this race. We have a woman and a African-American(am I allowed to say Black? Some people are fine with the term, others seem to dislike it that I've seen) as the front-runners. My comment on that is..."About Time!" I think this country is ready for a black or woman president. I think it's high time that we actually got ourselves one. I myself voted for Obama...He seems to be a completely different mold from most of the delegates I've seen in the past few years, and I think it will really ease race relations in this country. My one fear on this end is that he won't do a good job of it, and thus it might be another century till we get another Black candidate. Ditto for Hillary.
So we shall see....For further introduction, I like to think one of my greatest attributes is that I am able to accept when I'm wrong. If someone is able to present me with a clear argument than I am likely to see it from their end and shift my views slightly toward their own. That is, in effect, why I came to this ste. I like having my own views challenged by others in a intelligent way. On far, far too many chat-rooms the only response I seem to get is along the lines of (forgive me for this) OMG u r teh gay, U suxxors etc. I cannot wait to get into actual debates where grammer and sentence structure is actually used!
Anyway, I look forward to debating with all of you on so many issues concerning everything from our current Presidential race to the war in Iraq.
Sincerely, Bookworm.
I stumbled upon the site quite by accident about two months ago and finally decided to make my presence known. I'll probably not be posting very often, want to get my google-fu up to speed, as I want to be quite sure that I can back up any argument that I may have.
On the political side, I started to become really interested in politics when I was about sixteen-seventeen. My Dad's a Republican and my Mother's a Democrat(and oddly enough they get along just fine, having been married 23 years) so I got to see the opinions from both. I was pretty strongly Repub about 6 years ago, but then came Bush and well...oddly enough cynical conservative isn't an option.
Just for myself, I thought Republicans stood for responsible goverment...enter trillions of dollars added to national debt. I cannot even conceive such a number, and apparently Bush isn't finished with http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/04/bush.budget.ap/them
(hopefully that clickie turned out right, first time trying to do it here.
For a further introduction, I'll put up some recent well known political issues in the recent news and my stance on them.
Iraq: I'll start with the biggie. I believe that Saddam should have been deposed, the guy murdered thousands of innocents, some who's only crime was being Kurdish. However, the war was done horribly, horribly wrong.
First off, why on earth did Bush feel the need to lie about going into Iraq? Saddam was not sheltering terrorists, from what I've researched Saddam would happily slaughter any Al-Quaeda members he found.
Gay marriage: I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman..but I have no issues whatsoever with domestic partnerships with the same rights and responsibilities as marriage for gay couples. I'm also firmly of the belief that if we say that marriage is sacred we should TREAT it as such. To that end, I would argue that the drive-through weddings and the other 15 minute type "nuptials" cheapen our sacred insitution of marriage.
Larry Craig case: My opinion in this case is, quite bluntly, that he got what he deserved. If he was single(because his sexual preference then is none of my business) and had stood up for gay rights then my only thoughts on the issue would be along the lines of "he wanted to do it in a public restroom, eww...they are nasty enough!" However, he was married and was rabidly anti-gay, so he had it coming. I hate hypocrites, I'm religious myself and if my pastor says "Don't lie, cheat, steal etc" to me, then he had damn (hope using that word is allowed as long as I don't overdo it) well better not cheat, lie or steal himself. I've always wondered if I was weird for not doing, what I say I'll not do, because most role models these days aren't the height of moral virtues.
Schiavo case: Another case where I was burned by the Republican side. Mayhaps I'm wrong but I was of the opinion that Republicans were for a hands-off goverment type. While a sad case, it should have been only between her husband and her parents...not the entire U.S.
Current race: I'm really, really excited about this race. We have a woman and a African-American(am I allowed to say Black? Some people are fine with the term, others seem to dislike it that I've seen) as the front-runners. My comment on that is..."About Time!" I think this country is ready for a black or woman president. I think it's high time that we actually got ourselves one. I myself voted for Obama...He seems to be a completely different mold from most of the delegates I've seen in the past few years, and I think it will really ease race relations in this country. My one fear on this end is that he won't do a good job of it, and thus it might be another century till we get another Black candidate. Ditto for Hillary.
So we shall see....For further introduction, I like to think one of my greatest attributes is that I am able to accept when I'm wrong. If someone is able to present me with a clear argument than I am likely to see it from their end and shift my views slightly toward their own. That is, in effect, why I came to this ste. I like having my own views challenged by others in a intelligent way. On far, far too many chat-rooms the only response I seem to get is along the lines of (forgive me for this) OMG u r teh gay, U suxxors etc. I cannot wait to get into actual debates where grammer and sentence structure is actually used!
Anyway, I look forward to debating with all of you on so many issues concerning everything from our current Presidential race to the war in Iraq.
Sincerely, Bookworm.
Hi, Bookworm (love your nick, btw 
) and welcome. You sound like a well-grounded and learned young man. It's refreshing to see young people become more involved in the political process. OK, so that's an old fart thing to say, but hey, I think I earned my "old fartdom". 
I agree with most of the points you made in your introduction. I look forward to your contributions!
) and welcome. You sound like a well-grounded and learned young man. It's refreshing to see young people become more involved in the political process. OK, so that's an old fart thing to say, but hey, I think I earned my "old fartdom". I agree with most of the points you made in your introduction. I look forward to your contributions!
Cool, another college student. I look forward to reading your views around the boards, you sound very interesting.
CP
CP
Hey, I'm 21 and started politics when I was 16-17 too!
Welcome aboard!
Welcome aboard!
QUOTE(Bookworm @ Feb 14 2008, 03:09 PM) 
I'll probably not be posting very often, want to get my google-fu up to speed, as I want to be quite sure that I can back up any argument that I may have.
Don't get too caught up in backing up everything you want to say. You can always find sources to back up your arguments, even if you're crazy. Sometimes I think we lean too heavily on the stuff we find on the net, and are too shy about going out on any limbs. I like to hear what people have to say off the cuff, too. Opinions count for something.
Welcome to AD. Just don't overuse the emoticons.
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