I have never seen such emotionally charged sarcastic drivel from him as was in that post, and it made me wonder if he is well.
I will wait for him to respond and try to make some sense out of the nonsense in his previous post, if at all possible.
ohioWfan, my post was not emotionally charged at all. I was sort of joking around yet making a point at the same time, and I directed it to PapaBear simply because I found his comment (which I was responding to) humorous and entirely true at the same time. PapaBear said:
I am not willing to kill in order to stop somebody from looking at some woman's breasts.
I took his point that laws should be a big deal. That laws are societies declaration that coercion will be used, ultimately death if necessary to enforce said law, and that we shouldn't make them lightly and about things that are not vitally important and agreed upon by most of society. I agree with this line of thinking, and I agree with the point that I am not willing to send tax payer funded law enforcement after someone for looking at breasts.
In this thread there are people babbling about porn being a marxist plot. This is simply absurd. It is the marxist countries that MOST restrict the internet and the ability of citizens to see what they want. Maintaining "social order and virtue" is one of the excuses Communist countries like China, Vietnam and Cuba use to monitor and regulate the net. I don't need a link to some hair brained 60's era communist blueprint for corruption. Obviously the marxist mostly failed as the fall of the Soviet Union and Berlin Wall kinda proved.
When it comes to things like porn, gambling, drinking, etc, I am far more concerned about people that believe what is taught in a church should be made the law of land and enforced through coercion via law enforcement. This is EXACTLY the kind of thinking that pervades Islamic countries. They do not believe people will make the right choices, so they wish to take those choices away.
And to answer your question, no, I am certainly not turning into a paulbot. Probably few people on this forum dislike Ron Paul more than me. I consider the guy a loon with a herd of fanatical, drug addled, conspiracy theorist followers. If you've really read enough of my posts, you should know the venom I direct at Paul is fairly epic. I am not a libertarian in any way, shape or form - I don't even like that Ron Paul is allowed to use the GOP label to run for President.
I believe in limited government, an aggressive foreign policy that works to garner respect for this nation (and fear) rather than the silly goal of trying to get everyone to love us, and a massive military with an ability to project power as needed. I'm not entirely black and white on all government. There are obviously things the government does need to use coercion to accomplish, but cracking down on internet porn is simply not one of them.
My problem all along with Santorum is I know he can't stay away from social issues that should not be the focus of this election. If it were just opposing abortion and gay marriage, something we all pretty much agree on, I'd have less trouble with him. But even then, those items which I agree with him on should not be the primary focus of the 2012 election when we know Obama would love to fight over those issues rather than his complete economic failure. Hussein does not want to talk about debt, he does not want to talk about failed stimulus, he does not want to talk about gas prices, etc. What Obama wants to do, and you can already see this plainly with the left's manufactured "war on women" meme, is talk about social issues - ESPECIALLY if he can fight over things like condoms, porn, whether women should have more babies, etc, which are items the public is just not going to side with us on. Santorum would fall right into that trap, because in the end, Rick is known and most passionate about these issues. He would be a far better priest than a politician. And I don't say that as an insult either. I don't necessarily disagree that porn can be a negative influence on people, families and society in general - but I don't want guys like Santorum thinking good values and habits (taught by churches, families and communities) means we need laws to prevent people from using free will and making their own choices.
I hope that gives you a better idea where I am coming from. Don't mistake my all too often blunt language and twisted sense of humor for an attempt to offend a fellow conservative. We are all on the same side. Fighting amongst ourselves on these topics is as healthy as any family debating issues at home. We all come to together when necessary. I am not a fan of Rick Santorum, but if he wins the nomination I will vote for him in the general election.
Great post...well articulated.
In this thread there are people babbling about porn being a marxist plot. This is simply absurd. It is the marxist countries that MOST restrict the internet and the ability of citizens to see what they want.
I think you're entirely missing the point as to the tactic Marxists would use to destroy America. It is not the tactics that leaders would use in their own countries, but rather their goals for destroying one of our strengths.....our moral founding and nature.
I would recommend to you the documentary, Agenda: Grinding Down America, regarding the personal experience of Idaho legislator Curtis Bowers, at a meeting in the 60's in CA where the goals were set forth.
You know me (I think) well enough to know that I'm not a 'wingnut' conspiracy theorist, but you don't have to be a nuclear physicist to see that the goal of the left from the get-go has been to destroy every moral fiber of America's being - from abortion and eugenics, to porn and cultural decay, to destroying religious freedom, taking any discussion of God out of the public square, creating the welfare state, destroying the family, the rebellion against all authority, the huge growth of a central and controlling government - all those things are coming to being.
I know that there is a slice of conservatism that resents and rejects moral absolutes, but I think your comparison of Christianity and basic decency with Islamic fundamentalism is way, WAY off base. Our country was founded on moral principles and it depends on a moral people for its survival. I believe Rick Santorum recognizes that, and that the majority of conservatives agree with him.
I completely agree that he needs to work on steering the media away from the traps it keeps setting for him, but I think he's got time to do that (once he beats Mitt for the nomination! :) But I completely reject the leftist notion that he wants to set up some sort of theocracy, and I see it as coming from irrational fear, and not any substantive reality.
I am MUCH relieved to see you haven't fallen under the spell of the insane, Paul, and I appreciate your explanation regarding your humor and what seemed like an out-of-character sarcastic post. I have a long history of reading your posts, and I am relieved to find out that you haven't actually changed! I am glad to have been mistaken.
I am SO with you on being on the same side, which is why I get disturbed at what I see as irrational attacks on Rick Santorum and any who have chosen him as our best conservative option. I said it before, but I'll repeat it, that if it were Newt in the lead, I'd be cheering him on....not attacking his past, or my differences with him. Just stating that I have them.
Frankly, I'm going to work my tail off for ANY of the nominees who runs against Obama (I can say that because there ain't no way that goofy Paul is going to win it!).
We have a Marxist menace in the WH, and we need to work together to get him out of there!
(The documentary is worth watching, even if you don't agree with every word of it. It's well documented, and it's not difficult to see that the goals are being achieved, and one of America's greatest strengths diminished).