15 replies to this topic

[Brains]

I guess chug's happy now!


...



(it's been a long time, doing ok?)

[Chugworth]

Well hey, Brains! It's been a while since we argued discussed politics. You'd be surprised though... In this last election I almost didn't even vote. I was too disgusted with the choices. But in the last hour I decided to go ahead and do it. I went and voted for all of the libertarian choices, knowing that none of them had the slightest chance of winning.

My political view has evolved over the years, and these days I would call myself a "mild" libertarian. I no longer march to political rhetoric, and I've come to realize that I differ with the Republican party on too many areas to give them my support. I will even concede that over the years... I was wrong about a few things.

So no, I'm not exactly celebrating over the last election.

[Brains]

waw... color me intrigued. what exactly do you think now you were you wrong about?

[Chugworth]

Brains, on 08 November 2010 - 08:10 PM, said:

waw... color me intrigued. what exactly do you think now you were you wrong about?

How about global warming, for one? In the past I've posted a lot of biased articles which showed no concern for laying out and weighing all of the facts and evidence. Many of which were of the mindset of "It's snowing today so there must not be global warming." Yet, it's pretty clear that when you examine all of the evidence, the earth is indeed gradually warming. Humans are indeed contributing a large amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. And a high level of CO2 does cause warming. Where the speculation begins is when we try to predict exactly how quickly the earth will warm and exactly how bad things will get. There are a lot of factors involved.

Global warming is an issue that has been over-politicized. First by the left, and then next by the right. And there have been silly laws passed which in the big picture won't make much difference at all. Looking at the problem, I wonder just how well we could avert the damage if we were to end all pollution today. And it seems pretty hopeless that we could significantly reduce our pollution any time soon. However, we should still try to push for developing cleaner energy sources and find reasonable ways to reduce our pollution. But the Republican party has taken it too far in denying, omitting, or twisting valid science (a trend not limited to climate science), attacking climate scientists and attempting to silence them through legal means.

Of course global warming is just one particular issue though. It's funny how when you get caught up in a political or religious way of thinking (or lack of thinking), you tend to mindlessly take all the positions and repeat the rhetoric that your particular organization is pushing. We each have the ability to examine and weigh the evidence of any particular claim, but this is an ability that's horribly underused in society. These days my focus is on promoting science and critical thinking, and battling the peddlers of pseudoscience. You would have never imagined, would you?

[RobertCraven]

I'm shocked, Sir! (Gained hope +1.)

[Chugworth]

RobertCraven, on 14 November 2010 - 11:13 PM, said:

I'm shocked, Sir! (Gained hope +1.)

I'm guessing the shock must have been too much for Brains.

[RobertCraven]

HAHAHAHAHAHAAA! You killed him!!!

[Brains]

i _am_ recovering!

it was indeed a shock. I remember the fierce discussions we had on the topic. Yeaaarrss after these, I win, i tell ya! I WIN!!!

anything else you changed about? israel - palestine, for example? the decision to invade iraq?

[Chugworth]

Brains, on 15 November 2010 - 08:33 PM, said:

the decision to invade iraq?

Oh, you just had to go there, didn't you? Well in hindsight, when you look at the number of deaths, the gargantuan cost, and the questionable benefits of it all... The war in Iraq might not have been the most prudent decision. But who would have known, right?

As for Israel and Palestine - that's just a mess. I really can't give a good opinion about this because I haven't been following the story closely enough. But I will say that killing innocents is not the solution for either side.

[Brains]

Chugworth, on 16 November 2010 - 06:14 AM, said:

But who would have known, right?

* starts digging up all the posts we had *

...

and gives up.


i am not following things as closely as I have anymore either. thinking back to it. it's been 7 years already. 9 since 9/11...

time flies chapski.

I bet when we continue posting like this, we really will start page 2 soon! hold your horses!

[Brains]

Brains, on 18 November 2010 - 08:56 PM, said:

I bet when we continue posting like this, we really will start page 2 soon! hold your horses!

ok... we won't. :|

[RobertCraven]

I say we will!

[Phonics Monkey]

While I generally stay out of politics ... I will attempt to assist with attaining a page 2.

[RobertCraven]

I just read about the budget cuts. I really hope Obama's plan works out.

[Brains]

so how many more do we need to get this to page 2?

and thanks phonics for helping me here... a noble cause it is!