Apparently we've decided to memorialize the events of 9/11 with divisiveness, intolerance and opportunism.
It's been four years since the attack on the World Trade Center, yet despite the hope which so many had that the tragedy would bring the nation together, we seem to be more divided and contentious than ever.…
Article comments
76 - Victor Plenty
Where did George Washington endorse a war on drugs? How about Thomas Jefferson? Maybe Alexander Hamilton, or James Madison, or John Jay wrote about the war on drugs somewhere in the Federalist Papers? Is it hidden somewhere in the Constitution? If so, maybe Anthony here can cite the place where we can look it up.
Or he could be honest, and admit there's nothing "conservative" about throwing away vast billions of our tax dollars, and surrendering many of our essential civil liberties, all in the name of a failed war on drugs.
Personally I oppose drug use, and think it's abysmally stupid. I choose not to use any recreational drugs, not even alcohol. I do that through my own moral choice, not because the government told me what to do.
77 - Silas Kain
I'm a fiscal conservative and a social liberal; so that makes me an anomaly.
Conservatives who support the decriminalization of marijuana recognize the great impact such an action would have on our legal system and in society. The growth, harvest and use of marijuana and hemp would create a cash crop for agriculturists. Government subsidies of farms could be phased out over a period of five years. The tax revenues alone from the recreational uses of the plant would be staggering. Hemp, in and of itself, is a versatile plant with a wide variety of uses that would literally decrease our dependence on foreign sources of energy. Where in all of that is there a liberal slant? My thoughts are quite consistent with the fiscal conservative philosophy.
78 - Dave Nalle
All libertarians are not conservative and all conservatives are not libertarian. However, if you're not a conservative, chances are that most of the conservatives you find worthy of your respect are probably libertarians. If you saw a conservative and said 'hey, he's not such a bad guy', he was probably a conservative libertarian. And some of them are quite prominent and well respected, for example John Stossel, William F. Buckley, Barry Goldwater (even though he's dead), and many others to a greater or lesser degree, even some currently holding public office.
And one of the ways to identify your more libertarian conservatives is their stance on the War on Drugs. The usually oppose it at least on the fiscal grounds of it being a huge waste of money, and quite likely on the moral grounds of it being an intrusion on peoples privacy rights.
Dave
79 - Eric Berlin
I wouldn't be surprised to see more of the economic argument behind (at least partial) marijuana legaalization in coming years. Makes a lot of sense to me.
80 - Dave Nalle
>>Dave, I do not think schools should have regualar prayers, but I believe if a Christian boy wants to pray he should be able to, just like the Muslim kids. This is America right?<<
That's at least a semi-sensible not entirely lunatic position, Roger. Anthony can't just be written off as another MSS.
Dave
81 - RogerMDillion
"Name once when your mind was changed."
I thought the recall was wrong, but changed my mind when I heard about the law, then I thought the law was wrong because it allows people to be lazy with democracy, which is never a good thing.
If you are talking about anyone on here changing my mind? You've got to be kidding. There's rarely any thought or discussion and it's difficult to take people seriously with their blind loyalties to political parties and imaginary gods. It's all just insults and regurgitated half-facts that people pass on without any real knowledge on whether it's true or not.
Unfortunately, this is not a place for a serious discussion, but then it's not my site. The nonsense that passes for politics drives up the traffic, which is what it's all about.
I just try to remain consistent, but don't claim to be always. If I make a mistake, I'll cop to it, unlike you, which actually makes you look worse. You said conservatives don't want to legalize drugs and then when names are given you switch to a majority of conservatives don't..., which wasn't what you said.
When you are wrong, be a man and admit your mistakes. Otherwise, you'll continue to be looked at as the 10-year-old on the playground and no one will take you seriously.
I noticed you never answered the question.
82 - Anthony Grande
"imaginary gods."
What are saying?
"I noticed you never answered the question."
What question???
Please stop with the personal attacks, I don't appreciate them.
83 - Dave Nalle
Now Roger, I'm documented as having changed my mind on Gay Marriage right here on BC.
Dave
84 - Anthony Grande
Dave, I do not remember this. Are you against it or for it now???
85 - Dave Nalle
I was for civil unions with some sort of equivalency to marriage, but without the name. Steve S. convinced me it was unfair and more importantly impractical. So I now support as my first choice the prohibition of ALL civil marriage or as a second choice the legalization of civil marriage contracts between any consenting adults regardless of gender.
Dave
86 - Steve S
it's unfair and impractical to have it be marriage or unions along the gender route, impractical in that there are 1,700 rights/benefits and privileges and there would be court cases on each and every one as people tried to sort out which were applicable to marriages, which to civil unions, and why, etc. It's also unfair in a Jim Crow way.
But if you divide it along the church/state route then it's equal. Because under the government, both straight and gay relationships would be considered Unions and under the church aspect, they could look at whatever relationships they wanted to and call them marriages.
87 - Dave Nalle
That's how I see it too, Steve. Time to bring separation of church and state to marriage too.
Dave
88 - Sick of It All
that's the avowed Policy of Rove and the GOP for the last five years...
waaaah waaah waaah ... Johnny One Note cries in his beer again. Rove this, Rove that.
89 - Sick of It All
I'm a fiscal conservative and a social liberal; so that makes me an anomaly.
What a laugh, Silas Kain! That makes you no different from the majority of the other citizens of the People's Republic of Massachusetts. Your state elect governors of that stripe! What you've described is the classic northeastern country club Nelson Rockefeller-esque Republican.
90 - Dave Nalle
What it makes Silas is one of the good guys rather than a bible thumping bigot or a greedhead coporate socialist.
Dave
91 - gonzo marx
here ya go kiddies, a rare event...
/agree with Mr Nalle
nuff said?
Excelsior!
92 - sick of it all
rather than a bible thumping bigot or a greedhead coporate socialist.
you are a disgrace to real conservatives, dave nalle. Real conservatives don't bash their own and do not paint fellow conservatives in distorted caricatures as you have. You are either on the team or off. Remember, real conservatives don't believe in gray areas.
93 - RogerMDillion
"imaginary gods."
-What are saying?
That gods are imaginary. It was pretty straight forward. Try a dictionary next time.
"I noticed you never answered the question."
-What question???
Good grief. If you don't want to answer, just ignore it. I asked you for "one example on BC where you have been open to discussion and changed your mind about a subject." It's hard to believe you don't know what question, when you turned it around and asked me and I answered.
"Please stop with the personal attacks"
It's not a personal attack to write that people won't take you seriously if don't admit the mistakes you get caught it, which is frequent. Hell, most people don't take you seriously now.
94 - Anthony Grande
So the truth comes out: RogerMDillon is a good for nothing Atheist!!!
Guess what Rogie, WE ARE ONE NATION "UNDER GOD" no matter what you say or think.
When you die and God orders you to pray for forgiveness you best know how to pray. You'll be crying like a baby.
I think the way I will counter your stupid false attacks is by quoting the Bible.
95 - steve
go easy on him andy. no one takes him seriously anyways.
96 - Dave Nalle
>>you are a disgrace to real conservatives, dave nalle. Real conservatives don't bash their own and do not paint fellow conservatives in distorted caricatures as you have. You are either on the team or off. Remember, real conservatives don't believe in gray areas.<<
Gosh what a tragedy. I'd rather be a real Republican than a real conservative. As far as I'm concerned the so called conservatives out there who bow to reaction rather than reason can kiss my ass or make some compromises if they want to be taken serious.y.
Dave
97 - Dave Nalle
>>When you die and God orders you to pray for forgiveness you best know how to pray. You'll be crying like a baby.<<
Yep, God gave us free will so that later he could command us to pray. That makes a lot of sense.
Dave
98 - Anthony Grande
A Methodist Minister who was a former Atheist, then nearly died from spontaneous human conbustion told my grandfather that when he nearly died someone ordered him to pray for forgiveness of his sins and ask the Lord to forgive him. He came back to life as a changed man. He became a Methodist minister.
God didn't put us here to pray to him. No one knows why we are here. But what is wrong for saying thank you for a meal or praying for a loved one who is in trouble or a loved one who has recently died???
I do not regulary pray, I haven't been to Church in 10 years and I still know that God exists and Jesus died for our sins, and because of this I consider myself a good Christian.
Roger should start rethinking his life.
99 - Steve S
how does one nearly die from spontaneous human combustion? Do they just get Gene Wilder hair and have smoke come out their nose?
But what is wrong for saying thank you for a meal or praying for a loved one who is in trouble or a loved one who has recently died???
that is out of the blue. Like everything else. What is this in reference to? Who said it's wrong to say thank you for a meal?
100 - RogerMDillion
"I think the way I will counter your stupid false attacks is by quoting the Bible."
Really? What Bible quote defeneds your position that no minorities have ever been in a Democrat administration? (Ron Brown)
What Bible quote defends your claims that no conservatives support the legalisation of drugs? (William F Buckley)
To show off your bible knowledge how about we start with an easy one? If Eve was the first woman, who was Cain's wife, with whom he begat Enoch?
What? You want a NT question? Okay. Why does the Gospel of Matthew have an angel announcing the birth of Jesus to Joseph (Matthew 1:20), but in The Gospel of Luke the angel visits Mary (Luke 1:28)?
If you want to follow the teachings of Christ, that's fine, but don't act like the stories in it, a good portion of which were taken from other, older religions like the Flood, are anything more than stories.
By the way, there's no Santa Claus, either.
101 - sick of it all
I'm concerned the so called conservatives out there who bow to reaction rather than reason can kiss my ass or make some compromises if they want to be taken serious.y.
Taken seriously by whom, dave? You and some nitwits on a website? Compromise, appeasement, and capitulation is for the weak and indecisive. Politics is war, didn't you ever learn that? Conservatism isn't the real McCoy unless there is a reactionary component. It's necessary in its defense from attacks from the Left. Where have you been? At least 30 million people a day listen to the radio or watch TV to hear the conservative line and no where in there are softies like George Will shaking things up.
102 - Anthony Grande
Steve, comment 98 was directed at comment 97.
Roger, comment 100 was probabally the most stupid unthought our uneducated comment I have yet to see on BG.
If you like it or not God does exist, and if there is a Hell it was made for people like you.
103 - Steve S
Steve, comment 98 was directed at comment 97.
But it has nothing to do with comment 97.
Comment 97 says it is unlikely God would force prayer, so then comment 98 asks what is wrong with willfully praying. Makes no sense.
104 - Anthony Grande
"To show off your bible knowledge how about we start with an easy one? If Eve was the first woman, who was Cain's wife, with whom he begat Enoch?"
Genesis isn't that detailed. There is some stuff we have to assume, like I assume God created several others besides Adam and Eve. Or maybe Cain married one of the products of Evolution where Science and the Bible intertwine.
______________________________________
Steve why do you even care??? It doesn't concern you or Gay Marriage.
105 - billy
If you like it or not God does exist,
how do you plan to porve something that has never been seen exists?
where is he if you are so smart?
god is a big fiction for stupid people who are insecure who will believe anything, no matter how outlandish, to feel accepted.
ie most republicans.
106 - Anthony Grande
I hope there is hell
107 - RogerMDillion
"Roger, comment 100 was probabally the most stupid unthought our uneducated comment I have yet to see on BG."
So you don't read your own comments? If you stopped making comments that were factually wrong, you wouldn't get corrected so much. And you were the one who wanted to start using Bible quotes.
"I hope there is hell"
A Christian who doesn't believe in Hell? How do you not know? It's a pretty basic tenet of the faith. Your doubt explains why you need daily reinforcement like having "under god" in the pledge.
Why is it always the most fanatical about God who seem to know so little about what it's truly about?
108 - Anthony Grande
Roger, I think you have the wrong immpession of me. I am not religious. In fact I haven't attended Church since I was 4. I just have common sense.
What comments are factually wrong that I have made???
109 - RogerMDillion
"I assume God created several others besides Adam and Eve."
Why? Seems like an important part to leave out, especially when you think that those people should have been entitled to Eden and life without death. After all, they didn't suffer from Original sin under your assumption.
"Roger, comment 100 was probabally the most stupid unthought our uneducated comment I have yet to see on BG."
I'm still marvelling at the brillance of this line. You should change your name to Irony Grande and get it put on a t-shirt.
110 - gonzo marx
oh..."Hindu's and Buddhist's believe in God"
how's that for a starter?
Excelsior!
111 - Anthony Grande
Don't ask me why. I am no holy man. Go talk to a Priest or a Rabbi, they will give you an answer to many of your questions about God and life.
112 - RogerMDillion
no minorities have ever been in a Democrat administration?
no conservatives support the legalisation of drugs?
How many do you want? Now that you've opened the door, I'm sure other will join in.
113 - gonzo marx
and we don't get french benefits...
heh
Excelsior!
114 - Anthony Grande
It is not a conservative belief to legalize Marijuana.
And I apoligize but when said that first one was worded wrong: It should have said that there are no rise to riches minorities or not many in the DemocRatic Party.
115 - RogerMDillion
You better sit down. You are going to get dizzy from all that spinning.
If you change the questions after you ask them, it makes it quite easy to be correct all the time.