Before I start, I just want you to know that I respect you, Outsiders71. You are a participant, you have a point of view, and you argue it in the face of a lot of opposition. A movie critic once said that anything they write about movies is a pale accomplishment compared to the creation of even a bad movie. I appreciate those who are out there doing their thing, and fighting their fight, even if I disagree, over those who sit on the sidelines and do nothing. So please take this in that spirit.
Are you anti-capital punishment? If so why is it OK to kill an innocent life but not OK to kill a monster who murders or commits hideous acts? I don't think of a blastocyst or embryo as a human life, so abortion is not the same. Do we really want to start this debate though?
I'm anti-capital punishment, not because of the sanctity of human life, but because we have an imperfect judicial system, prone to bias, prejudice, and emotion. It puts innocent people on death row, many of whom have been exonerated. See the Innocence Project, which has freed many wrongfully convicted people. I think many people have forfeited their right to live with their actions, but we're just not good enough at discerning who they are.
Shouldn't all options be on the table? (with respect to McCain being pro war)
Yes. I am not a pacifist. War is necessary sometimes. However, the war in Iraq is the product of a deranged policy led by a mentally disturbed President. Just yesterday, former Press Secretary, Scott McClellan revealed what many of us already knew - Bush invaded Iraq because he wanted the legacy that only a "war President" can have. It was a sick campaign based on outright lies and propaganda. In illegal and immoral war. Yet McCain supports it.
(in McCain supporting immunity for telcos)
Yes because bankrupting the telecos for helping out the government in a time of desperation is the appropriate thing to do. Tell me did you make outgoing calls to known terrorist regions? Tell me has your privacy or anyone you know been effected?
We have protections against illegal invasions of our privacy for darn good reason. The last President who decided he was above the law used mass surveillance like this to investigate political opponents. No doubt Bush has too, but regardless, he simply violated the Constitution. You can't do that, ever, no matter how right you think you are.
We've had this debate already
. (on McCain opposing gay marraige)
Yep, don't want to rehash, just pointing out where McCain stands.
As do the majority of this democratic country that was founded on the basis that there is a God.
That's just a preposterous notion. This nation was founded in part to escape the official Church of England and the imposition of religion. We enshrine protection against religious tyranny into the Constitution. This nation was founded on the basis of FREEDOM. Freedom of and from religion. God is NOT in our Constitution, and that's on purpose. Some of the founding fathers, unclear on the concept, argued for the inclusion of God. They lost. Which is good! Having a secular government protects the ability of all of us to choose our religious path, whether atheist or fundamentalist.
How is this war illegal compared to previous wars that we have engaged in that didn't result from someone attacking us first?
It was illegal on many fronts. First, it was prosecuted based on lies - there was no evidence of WMDs, nor did the administration really care about that issue. Iraq didn't pose any imminent danger to us, was not a participant in 9/11, and didn't support Islamic terrorists. Hell, they were the most secular country in the region, and were the avowed enemy of al Qaeda, who were infuriated with Hussein's lack of Islamic rule. We've killed over 100,000 citizens of Iraq for nothing. The crimes against humanity are staggering in their scope, including using white phosphorous (a WMD) against human targets, another violation of international law that we've signed on to (like the Geneva Conventions that Bush's lackeys referred to as "quaint". McCain supports this invasion and occupation.
Capslock