Don't Ask, Don't Tell is no more.

[TheAsterisk!]

... Sure you can.
The contacts you will get while being more and more active.
And if you really think that money is an issue then they will come along with you "climbing the ranks".

State governments have labeled ACLU affiliates as terrorist organizations in the past. When people point it out, they invariably claim it was a clerical error or something similar, but police and other agencies have a long habit of tracking and hindering dissident groups. The FBI alone has a colorful, storied and sordid history of screwing with political dissidents just because they can.

Yeah, look how well popularity worked out with Obama. We got a lap dog to the Republicans.

You assume there are significant differences between the parties. He isn't a lapdog, both parties and the associated politicians are really just in something more along the lines of a branding war.

Would you sit with a straight face if someone came up to you with a stack of flyers and appropriately branding buttons, t-shirts, etc., and seriously and earnestly tried to convince you to buy LEGOs instead of MEGA Bloks- which, they claim, are obviously totally undesirable and could very well cause a great deal of trouble for you if you were to buy them? (Just so no one gets cute, here's your reference.)

For a little hyperbole of my own, it's a professional wrestling match between caricatures. "Hitler vs Stalin, Thursday night!" Hell, in a way there are even moments just like when the camera zooms in too close on the "action," at which point it's clear to all that they're not really trying to kill one another.

And, that, my dear, is precisely where the problem lies. Even with this gloomy economy and an unemployment rate of 9 point something percent, the government is still as wasteful as always, while the taxpayers are hit hard. It's kinda hard for us to believe that the government/politicians would ever for once truly think for the common people. After all, why worry about how to put the people back to work when they can enjoy their $16 muffins? Who cares if the people and the world are watching? Collective responsibility/blame can be easily diffused. Government itself is like a form of big business now.

It's not just stuff like that. If you have the time, stop by the DMV, avoid the line and instead pick out copy of each little flyer, pamphlet, and crap publication otherwise that you see. Look at them, and look for photographs printed in color that otherwise would be fine in grayscale, duplicate/redundant publications, needless verbosity, etc. Now that you've done all that, think about how much could be saved in just printing costs if that needless bloat and proliferation were curbed.

After I signed up to agree that I wouldn't be needing my organs once firmly dead, and that they are free to repurpose them as doctors see fit, I received three separate yet identical form letters from different politicians and bureaucrats thanking me, then no less than six follow-up letters begging me to sign up for the program that I had just signed up for. Absolutely stunning.



People wonder why an $80 airline ticker is equivalent to a $300 AMTRAK ticket. (And I didn't make those figures up, either. My hometown to southern Florida costs about $80 by air, and I've seen tickets down to $59 if you book early enough. I looked up the same departure and destination on Amtrak once, and the ticket price was $314 one-way, with two bus connections.)

[Skylar1]

I face palm at suXrys. This is why I have a hatred for Norwegians. They come from a "perfect" society and they just do not understand how things are in america. What you think is normal and what actually is are two different things. What you're used to being subject to and what we are used to being subject to on daily basis's are two very different things. It's like asking a white rich guy what's it like living in the projects. They don't know. All they know is what they hear on TV. It's very different you just don't compare it. You guys are not used to all the mass crime or government walking all over you or anything.

The "baddest" thing that happened in Norway was that Bank Assault, something that happens 23123123123123 here, and not to mention it was a hot topic throughout a few years, according to Kazuha.

Blue's aversion towards Scandinavians is kinda silly, but I somewhat understand where she's coming from. You guys don't really get the stuff some that happens here because your society is actually calmer.

have you considered the possibility that Scandinavia is so "perfect" because it's people actually know how to run a government properly and have ideals that are rooted in reality, reason, and community interest, rather than religious fantasy land?

Scandinavia has some of the highest proportion of people that identify as Atheists, Agnostics, and non-religious persons- in the world.

Compare two demographic maps here for clarity:

Religous belief in Europe

And...........

religious belief in the US

Religion starts wars.

Irrationality starts wars

[blueangel06661]

That may have something to do with everyone coming here from over there because of "freedom of religion"... Justahunch... They were once over there but then all decided to gather in the U.S.

[Skilero]

have you considered the possibility that Scandinavia is so "perfect" because it's people actually know how to run a government properly and have ideals that are rooted in reality, reason, and community interest, rather than religious fantasy land?

Scandinavia has some of the highest proportion of people that identify as Atheists, Agnostics, and non-religious persons- in the world.

Compare two demographic maps here for clarity:

Religous belief in Europe

And...........

religious belief in the US



Irrationality starts wars

Here's your line of reasoning, Eric:
Religion is more common in nations doing unwell than in better-managing countries.
Atheism is more common in these better-managing countries instead.
Therefore, religion is the reason why these unwell nations are so.
---

You've said nothing logical to deter me from believing those numbers indicate well-to-do countries as intrinsically nonreligious as a result of their success, rather than of their successes being a result of their religious beliefs.

---

Irrationality starts wars

It does, doesn't it? We most certainly do find common ground here!

[Skylar1]

Here's your line of reasoning, Eric:
Religion is more common in nations doing unwell than in better-managing countries.
Atheism is more common in these better-managing countries instead.
Therefore, religion is the reason why these unwell nations are so.

You've said nothing logical to deter me from believing those numbers indicate well-to-do countries as intrinsically nonreligious as a result of their success, rather than of their successes being a result of their religious beliefs.


It does, doesn't it? We most certainly do find common ground here!

I was waiting for this.

Yes, I am well aware that correlation does not imply causation. my point was not to make irreligious the causation of a stable society, but rather to show that the lack of religion doesn't cripple a society (which, according to many politicians here in the US, they claim that laws must be made with a "strong moral foundation" or else society will crumble)

Pointing to Scandinavia, I prove this to be false, and religion's place in society (counter to sentiments of the majority of Americans), is completely arbitrary and irrelevant


It's time to WAKE UP america. The sky has not fallen dark over Sweden, and the ground has not split in hell-pyre, despite the majority of people being atheists and non-believers. There is no need for religion, in law or otherwise.

[Skilero]

America's crime has increased as the economy has worsened, and the religious values of the nation have also lowered as the economy declined. I will not defend the apparent argument that stable society is only attainable through religion, but I will say that Americans may help themselves to onset crime resultant from economic woes by reestablishing their religious holdings. Religion plays a definitive role in making the individual less of a hindrance to society. Those who believe that religion ought to be established to sustain peace in society are correct in the sense that it can help the individual. However, there is no way for the government to establish religion legally, and enacting 'morally-strong' legislation only suppresses the individual into further distress. Rather, economic prosperity must be reached to have the 'moral values' of a nation reform.

There is no need for religion, in law or otherwise.

Disregarding religion entirely and saying that 'there is no need' for it defeats the purpose of many people's entire lives. Some of the most intelligent people to walk this Earth - much smarter in terms of philosophical thinking than us - couldn't find themselves able enough to make a decisive conclusion on religion. Holding your biases as you will, we should not become irrational, now.

[animeyay]

Uh, I don't have much to offer on this newly established religion debate. I myself am agnostic, and as long as the religious people keep me and the government out of their personal beliefs, I'm happy. I was here to add something pertaining to the topic of DADT, but I wasn't expecting this...lol. Oh well, I'll leave what I have here anyway:

Gay Soldier Booed By GOP Debate Audience
The booing was definitely uncalled-for and disrespectful, but the main point: Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, and Mitt Romney all think DADT should be reinstated... Well, looks like the majority of the GOP candidates have succeeded turning me away from them once again. =x

America is another country that Im not used to, but I still don't understand how it can be so hard to actually do anything.

You see, the American government was designed to work slowly and give minority parties considerable power, too. Our Senate, for example, would require 60 out of 100 yes votes (instead of 50) to break a filibuster. In other words, if the minority Party hates a bill down to the last word, and it has at least 41 seats in the Senate, it would be able to block the vote. Today, with the Democratic and Republican Parties hang in delicate balance, it's really hard for either of them to attain a 60-seat supermajority in the Senate, so that's where problems arise. And then, of course, the US legislative branch has TWO chambers, the Senate and the House, and a bill would have to pass both chambers to reach the President's desk. This would be where many gridlocks come from.

I'm not saying this is a bad form of government. It's simply different from the parliament system.

[blueangel06661]

Religion helps people? I thought having common sense helps people? I'm not religious one bit.. And may I bring up it's religions that shun the gays which is what this thread is about.

[SuXrys]

That may have something to do with everyone coming here from over there because of "freedom of religion"... Justahunch... They were once over there but then all decided to gather in the U.S.

But that was way over 100 years ago.

And mostly didn't move because of the religious freedom, most did it because we could'nt, for example, feed everyone here then. We had a huge crisis during that time. And even the ones who did move because of the hard religious climate that was here did it just because of the hard religious climate we had back then, we don't have it anymore, so it can't be explained just because "some other hard believers moved away because some other hard religious people didn't approve them". So I am positive that we wouldn't had any other different religious point of view nowdays even if those people would've choosed to stay.

Religion helps people? I thought having common sense helps people? I'm not religious one bit.. And may I bring up it's religions that shun the gays which is what this thread is about.

It's weird if you ask me. Im not religious either myself but I think it's little surprising that so many religious groups are against homosexuals. If God exist then I think he likes homosexuals; wasn't he the ones who created them? Doesn't he love all his creation? Even in the rest of the animal kingdom homosexuality exist so it's as normal as anything can be. I just don't get some peopel sometimes.

-----
@animeyay Thanks for explaining!

[RyuTama]

Gay Soldier Booed By GOP Debate Audience
The booing was definitely uncalled-for and disrespectful, but the main point: Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, and Mitt Romney all think DADT should be reinstated...

This is what I was waiting for. It makes me want to either cry or sock a politician in the face. It was inevitable, though; America has always been a little slow to accept change, in my opinion... I just feel sorry for Santorum; he definitely didn't serve it, and neither does anyone else who serves our country, whether they be white, black, straight, gay, man or woman. But I disagree that DADT should be reinstated. Granted, I'm still a bit iffy on the idea of it being repealed, but I think we'll just have to grit our teeth and do our best to get through the wave of haters, at this point. Like @SuXrys says, even though our government may try to hush us up or keep us in the dark, we do have to stand up for what we support. I support homosexuals (as well as everyone else) serving in the US military, along with the freedom to express themselves without being discriminated against. If we were to reinstate DADT, we would be doing exactly what the GOP wants.

[animeyay]

I just feel sorry for Santorum

The one thing that made me have to close the video (because it made me rage so much) was actually Santorum's response to that gay soldier's question. His main points:

1. No sexual activity should be allowed in the military.
2. Letting gay people serve in the military is giving them "a special privilege".
3. Social policy should not be mixed into the military.

So in other words, in Santorum's mind:
1. sexual orientation = sexual activity
2. Gay people are an inferior class of people upon whom we're bestowing special privileges.
3. Need I say more? Wouldn't banning gay people from the military also be injecting a social policy?

But what scared me the most, is the loud cheers he received from the crowd for his response.
I'm not trying to flame all GOPers, but those far-right (if not bigoted) extremists are making the GOP look bad.