What I think about...
Apr. 27th, 2004 11:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
logomancerABORTION: Keep it legal. Fundamentalists have no right to impose their morals on everyone else.
DEATH PENALTY: Get rid of it. It's irreversible, and our legal system makes too many mistakes.
PROSTITUTION: Ought to be legalized and regulated, with standards of health and cleanliness. A tax on transactions couldn't hurt either.
ALCOHOL: Ought to be kept legal. There should be harsher penalties for DUI though.
DRUGS: Marijuana and possibly ecstasy ought to be legal, at least. While the other drugs I don't care much about, I think that violence and death caused by the illicit drug trade is a bigger problem than the deaths caused by drugs themselves. The drug war is ineffective, expensive, and very dangerous to civil liberties (search and seizure laws, etc.). Legalized drugs should be subject to purity standards (like any other drug) and a tax.
SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE: Premarital sex is OK, extramarital sex is OK as long as your spouse says it's OK.
GAY MARRIAGE: Legalize it. They should have the same rights as anyone else. The churches can marry whomever they want, but same-sex couples should be married in the eyes of the law.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: I think we need to speed up the immigration process so more people can have some sort of legal status. I don't think that illegal immigrants should be exploited by the likes of Wal-Mart.
SMOKING: Don't like it, but I'd be a hypocrite if I said it should be banned. But I think that the taxes on it could be higher, particularly in VA and NC.
DRUNK DRIVING: Stiffer penalties -- suspension of your license for first offense, revocation the second time. Vehicular assault/manslaughter under the influence should net one a hefty fine, a good deal of jail time, and a permanent license revocation.
CLONING: Cloning -- yes, even human cloning -- might be useful. We just need to be sure to keep our work humane. Using them for war is right out.
RACISM: Discrimination based on things one can't change about themselves is inexcusable to me.
RELIGION: Everyone's entitled to a choice on their religion. Nobody is entitled, however, to impose their beliefs on others. Also, religion has no place in government.
WAR in IRAQ: One of the most moronic wars in the history of the United States. Bremer is creating his own little dictatorship over there. I say pull out and let the Iraqis sort things out.
BUSH: Bush should rot in whatever hell he believes in for all of the pain and suffering caused by his stupidity and malicious behavior. Right now, there is no human being I detest more than him. He is contemptable slime.
DOWNLOADING MUSIC: The RIAA should learn to get over this. People are going to download music for free no matter what they do. And it gets them more mindshare anyway. Personally, I don't download much RIAA music, since there's plenty to listen to for free elsewhere. Cheap music is good, like iTunes and Magnatune, but I am against all forms of DRM.
LEGAL DRINKING AGE: Should be lowered to at least 18. There are people who can handle it at that age, and they'll do it anyway.
PORN: As long as the subjects consent, I have no problem with it. Ashcroft can take his War on Porno and...shove it up his ass. ;-)
SUICIDE: Assisted suicide should be legal. Euthanasia too, if there's something written and notarized expressing the person's wishes in the matter. I think it's a lot better if people thinking about suicide seek psychiatric help. And by help, I don't mean doping the guy up to the tits, which is a recurring problem in psychiatry nowadays.
DEATH PENALTY: Get rid of it. It's irreversible, and our legal system makes too many mistakes.
PROSTITUTION: Ought to be legalized and regulated, with standards of health and cleanliness. A tax on transactions couldn't hurt either.
ALCOHOL: Ought to be kept legal. There should be harsher penalties for DUI though.
DRUGS: Marijuana and possibly ecstasy ought to be legal, at least. While the other drugs I don't care much about, I think that violence and death caused by the illicit drug trade is a bigger problem than the deaths caused by drugs themselves. The drug war is ineffective, expensive, and very dangerous to civil liberties (search and seizure laws, etc.). Legalized drugs should be subject to purity standards (like any other drug) and a tax.
SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE: Premarital sex is OK, extramarital sex is OK as long as your spouse says it's OK.
GAY MARRIAGE: Legalize it. They should have the same rights as anyone else. The churches can marry whomever they want, but same-sex couples should be married in the eyes of the law.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: I think we need to speed up the immigration process so more people can have some sort of legal status. I don't think that illegal immigrants should be exploited by the likes of Wal-Mart.
SMOKING: Don't like it, but I'd be a hypocrite if I said it should be banned. But I think that the taxes on it could be higher, particularly in VA and NC.
DRUNK DRIVING: Stiffer penalties -- suspension of your license for first offense, revocation the second time. Vehicular assault/manslaughter under the influence should net one a hefty fine, a good deal of jail time, and a permanent license revocation.
CLONING: Cloning -- yes, even human cloning -- might be useful. We just need to be sure to keep our work humane. Using them for war is right out.
RACISM: Discrimination based on things one can't change about themselves is inexcusable to me.
RELIGION: Everyone's entitled to a choice on their religion. Nobody is entitled, however, to impose their beliefs on others. Also, religion has no place in government.
WAR in IRAQ: One of the most moronic wars in the history of the United States. Bremer is creating his own little dictatorship over there. I say pull out and let the Iraqis sort things out.
BUSH: Bush should rot in whatever hell he believes in for all of the pain and suffering caused by his stupidity and malicious behavior. Right now, there is no human being I detest more than him. He is contemptable slime.
DOWNLOADING MUSIC: The RIAA should learn to get over this. People are going to download music for free no matter what they do. And it gets them more mindshare anyway. Personally, I don't download much RIAA music, since there's plenty to listen to for free elsewhere. Cheap music is good, like iTunes and Magnatune, but I am against all forms of DRM.
LEGAL DRINKING AGE: Should be lowered to at least 18. There are people who can handle it at that age, and they'll do it anyway.
PORN: As long as the subjects consent, I have no problem with it. Ashcroft can take his War on Porno and...shove it up his ass. ;-)
SUICIDE: Assisted suicide should be legal. Euthanasia too, if there's something written and notarized expressing the person's wishes in the matter. I think it's a lot better if people thinking about suicide seek psychiatric help. And by help, I don't mean doping the guy up to the tits, which is a recurring problem in psychiatry nowadays.
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no subject
Date: 2004-04-28 03:34 am (UTC)Interesting reaction, but you're forgetting certain situations...One of which I remember discussing in my Drivers' Ed class.
What if it's Sunday, you're Catholic, and you took Communion (read: RED WINE) before you left church? Should a person be arrested for a DUI basically for religious reasons? This actually happened to a friend of mine and her dad, so they felt pretty strongly about it.
I don't disagree with you, I'm just trying to make you think.
What brought this multi-subject rant on, anyway?
no subject
Date: 2004-04-28 05:58 am (UTC)Speaking from the other side, as a member of religion/s which endorse both ceremonial and social alcohol consumption, I generally make the same choices in either case: consume token ceremonial amounts myself, have a designated driver, call a friend/cab, wait for a bus, or when all else fails hang around chatting with a bigass glass of water for a couple hours. Seems like any of those would work. It's sad how much religion and common sense diverge nowadays.
no subject
Date: 2004-04-28 09:41 am (UTC)It's a meme. And as for the drunk driving thing...when I mean drunk, I mean really drunk, not what I would call legally drunk these days. They should factor in body mass when considering when someone is legally drunk or not. Something like Drunk Factor = Blood Alcohol Content / Body Mass Index. If it's above a certain ratio, then you get nicked. Simple.
no subject
Date: 2004-04-28 11:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-28 11:45 am (UTC)