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Massachusetts Rejects Gay Marriage Amendment: The proposed Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Mass. was overwhelmingly voted down, 157-39. Those that voted against it included those who had previously supported the ban. In fact, one of the co-sponsors, Republican state Senator Brian Lees, said, "Gay marriage has begun, and life has not changed for the citizens of the commonwealth, with the exception of those who can now marry. This amendment which was an appropriate measure or compromise a year ago, is no longer, I feel, a compromise today."
In less cheerful news, Karl Rove has been put in charge of Katrina reconstruction efforts (It's slipped into the ninth paragraph, so look close!). I have no doubt that his tremendous experience in things not at all related to disaster recovery will serve him well in his endeavors. Well, at least Halliburton is happy, right? And for those who believe Bush really stands for limited government, I give you a quote from him, "It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces." Yes, indeedy.
Also! Yesterday, a naked man, wearing nothing but sneakers and a football helmet ran through my university cafeteria. It's just one of those things that makes you feel kind of giggly inside.
In less cheerful news, Karl Rove has been put in charge of Katrina reconstruction efforts (It's slipped into the ninth paragraph, so look close!). I have no doubt that his tremendous experience in things not at all related to disaster recovery will serve him well in his endeavors. Well, at least Halliburton is happy, right? And for those who believe Bush really stands for limited government, I give you a quote from him, "It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces." Yes, indeedy.
Also! Yesterday, a naked man, wearing nothing but sneakers and a football helmet ran through my university cafeteria. It's just one of those things that makes you feel kind of giggly inside.
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Nothing like seeing some nakid person running past to brighten the mood.
XD
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O_O
(Cpip staring as the Sultan in the new short 'The Sultan's New Clothes' based off the childrens story 'The Emperor's New Clothes'.)
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Actually, I did go as a flasher to a Halloween party once...
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And here's where, for those of us who believe in limited gov't, you'll find plenty of criticism for Bush on the right. There aren't many of us that would claim he's a classic Republican in that sense. Yes, he advocated the tax cuts and most of us applaud those, but its more of a 'any water when thirsty is better than nothing' than 'Mmmm, a nice bucket o' Gatorade'. I don't know of any Republican but the most Totemic that would claim Bush is a limited gov't guy. It's just compared to folks like Kerry, Gore, et. al. he looks much better than he is.
I've said since 2000, that Bush is the Republican version of Clinton. The difference between the two in terms of policy is thin. Oh, Clinton was a little more to the left on certain things, and Bush is further to the right, but, put it this way:
M= Middle of the Political Spectrum.
b= Bush
c= Clinton.
L= Left
R= Right
L..............c...M...b..............R
Regardless of my agreement with him on foreign policy (or, well, close agreement) he's not a limited government guy. From the early Faith Based Initiative, to funding prescription benefits, to DHS and the TSA, to the USA PATRIOT Act and the airline bailouts, to the steel tarriffs, to No Child Left Behind, to continuing farm subsidies, and spending money on alternative energy research, to expanding medical research funding (with the exception of stem cells and that for the wrong reasons), to the vile levels of pork in the recent energy bill; he's acted more like a Democrat than a Republican in all those matters. I don't think anyone would attempt to call him a small government conservative. He likes to spend, he just wants to spend on things Democrats don't like.
*trails off into libertarian grumblings*
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But then, I've yet to see truly notable push towards limited government from the Republican party since the late seventies. Towards breaking down laws that protect citizens from abusive employers, yes. Towards reducing social networks and aid for the disadvantaged, yes. But actually reducing government influence in people's lives? Not really. And that's largely the result of allying with the political wing of the Christian fundamentalists, who largely view government as a tool to return the nation to God. Since that union, 'smaller, less restrictive government' only applies to companies, in my opinion.
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I'm for relatively limited government AND extensive foreign intervention, for instance. (I've heard the term 'imperialist libertarian,' but I'm not sure I buy it.)
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Possibly divide it into:
Social Self-determination-----------------------Social Collectivism
(Where SSD is the belief that people should be left largely alone to make the civil decisions they wish, without interference from authorities, and social collectivism is the belief that there is a 'right' set of social behaviors that people should follow, and that deviation from those should be at least discouraged or actively opposed.)
Support of domestic spending--------------------Nonsupport of domestic spending.
(How much you agree with business subsidies, welfare, domestic health spending, etc.)
Support of military spending-------------------Nonsupport of military spending
(Self-explanatory)
Federalism------------------------Localism
(Where you think the locus of power should reside, with the federal government or with the states)
Possibly a few more, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind.
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Sometimes I wonder if the /impulses/ behind the things are the same, even if the particular motivators are different, if that makes any sense. Idle speculation.
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But, well, you know my opinion on fear and humanity.
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...possibly number three, though. :D
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Or, rather, the belief that we can do something about the things that we don't like. (Whether we can do the /right/ thing is another matter entirely.)
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