I agree whole heartedly that we need to hold the conservatives to their words: A "culture of life" indeed includes all of the things mentioned in this article. However, how are global warming and greenhouse gasses related to the tradgedy that took place in in the Indian Ocean last December. If there is a connection to the deaths that happened after the earthquake and tsunami, please be explicit. Otherwise, our arguments (which the conservatives already ignore) will lose credibility.

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1. Withdraw the Troops __

I agree we should never have gone, but we need to be careful: There are times when it is better to sacrifice a few to save the many, WWII being a pretty good example. My Caveat / solution would be this: ALL UNDER 30 YEAR-OLD RELATIVES OF BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS AND THE ADMINSTRATION AND THE TOP FEW LAYERS OF THE PENTAGON MUST FIRST BE GIVEN MARCHING ORDERS BEFORE AND DECLARATION OF WAR IS
ALLOW. The theory is - if it's that important, then put your own children where you're asking others to put theirs.

__ 2. Stop the Death Penalty __

I've heard it's actually cheaper to keep a baddy in jail for life (parole not allowed) than to pay for the required appeals. Make "Stop the Death Penalty" a cost-cutting concept.

__ 3. Pass Effective Gun Control Laws__

Amen - but not until I buy my own UZI and 50 Caliber (just kidding!)

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__ 4. Fund Social Services __

There is an argument to be made about welfare type systems perpetuating poorness, but in general the separation of rich and poor is truly sinful.

__ 5. Create Universal Health Care for Children __

Again - make it a cost-cutting idea. A great example is pre-natal care: It is well known that a stitch in time saves nine. ALSO - The current situations with the Pharmacy companies needs serious looking into.

__ 6. Research Alternative Energy__

We cna do more, but the reality (sorry, my lefty friends) is that wind and solar power have limited application. Conservation is the only workable idea, and it does the greenhouse gas thing too. Call me a Righty, but it seems to me we should be using Middle East oil exclusively - save what we have here for the next millenium, when it will be truly valuable.

__ 7. Investigate Prisoner Abuses__

Re-Read 1984 - when

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__ 8. Support AIDS Clinics Abroad__

Amen

__ 9. Implement a Fair Guestworker Program__

I'm not to keen on this. I'd rather a combination of things like a stiff income tax curve (to discourage huge salaries) plus real penalties for hiring illegal workers to simply pay folks living wages for fair work. Open the boarders to visit, but not to lower our workers. BTW - this helps social security and funds medical cares, etc., as well, be raising salaries for most of us.

__ 10. Join the International Criminal Court__

My Dod - Darfur - the Christian Right should spend a few years in pergatory for that one.

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As a progressive who supports the idea of a "culture of life" I applaud your working to broaden the construct. But, I think that this top-ten list does not broaden it enough.

For example, number 1, withdraw the troops, should deal much broadly with the military - end the US ability to dominate the world militarily by deep cuts in the military, eliminate nuclear weapons.

Number 5, Universal health care for children, should be universal health care for all.

But to be able to have a dialog with the conservatives, we do have to acknowledge how abortion and euthanasia can be valid concerns, too. When we can hear there real concern, then we can link our other important life issues to that genuine caring for people. If this is just used as another political gambit -- (see how hypocritical they are!) -- then we will not be listened to.

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I (mostly) agree. But proponents of the gun control issue seem to lose their capacity for rationality on the same level that the "culture of life" loses theirs, and the numbers are as changeable as the year oil will run out. Whatever the numbers, somewhere around half of "gun deaths" are suicides, around 20 percent are "death by cop," and a large number of those remaining are accidental.

The number one murder weapon in the U.S. is a knife, followed by some kind of bludgeoning, followed by suffocation or strangulation. Firearms ranks 4th. Besides not having much of on impact on the murder rate, gun control only takes firearms away from the honest citizen and does nothing to thwart the criminal.

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We progressives, too, need to look at our phrases. If "pro-choice" folks started dealing with the other
side of abortion choice, that large numbers of abortions are pressured or even coerced (see
afterabortion.info/news/Forced1.htm) by the father of the fetus or the parents of
the woman, not the woman's free choice, they would gain more hearing in helping conservatives examine their vague phrases.

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I agree with Jim. Universal Healthcare should be available for ALL, not just children. The cost would be a pittance compared to what we spend on waging unnecessary wars - as well as arming those who do our bidding now, but will turn those weapons against us later.

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These are all good positions, but they miss the point. the driving engine of the "culture of life" is opposition to abortion, birth control, sex ed-- it's about keeping women underfoot by controlling their sexuality. You can't counteract that mindset effectively by ignoring sexuality and women's freedom. This list is pretty much a liberal social-justice Catholic list -- nothing about abortion rights, women's rights, birth control, sex education or even gender violence, which kills many more people a year --thousands more-- than the death penalty. Essentially your list says, our culture of life might force you to have a child, but we will provide welfare for that child!
The left has got to fight the right on the actual battleground the right is fighting on, which is sexuality and gender issues. I am disturbed that this author seems to concede that ground entirely.

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Why no discussion of a living wage for US citizens? But extending working privileges to foreigners? Are you mad? Have you been to a soup kitchen lately? Those 'Guest Workers' don't take jobs from CEOs, movie stars and professional athletes, you know. And what about an end to outsourcing? Poverty comes from no job or low job. Let's work to help the worst off in *this* country.

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Guns take a few lives, but nothing compared to the federal highway system and federally nurtured auto industry. Combine this with the neo-con agenda of crushing all public transportation and gun violence is miniscule.

With the Christian right and the neo-cons seemingly taking over the government I would be quite skeptical about the citizenry laying down their arms and trusting the feds.

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American policy on every level is driven by a compulsion to maintain power. We've always been more about controlling and dominating then about quality of life. The difference is when the rest of the world wanted what we had, we percieved ourselves as better. This administration is percieved by the left as being more secretive and devious, but they are quite blatant about their disregard for the rule of law and quality of life issues and shamelessly arrogant about their abuses of power.
They even have the balls to put their sociopathic vision in writing. (project for a new american century). The question is not can we prove they are corrupt, they admit it. The question is why are we so powerless to do anything about it? As long as we let them define the issues, and we continually get sucked into a contest over things like who is the real culture of life, we are never going to change anything.
We need to stop talking about what we stand for and be it!

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A rambling note: Watch CNN lately? I am so Poped Out. CNN can ignore all the news while it waxes obsessively about the goings on in Rome. No word about a woman Pope, by the way. The first woman Pope - just think about it. Wouldn't a woman look better in all those gilded robes?

Oh yeah, Cheney's son-in-law got a cushy government job under the cloak of the Pope's demise (pun intended).

Do you think that Tom DeLay and the Prez. would stand up for embattled Wal-Mart workers the way they did for Terri Shiavo? Doubt it.

We'll never have a Culture of Life until we stop teaching our children that we live in a Democracy and teach them, instead, how to survive in our Plutocracy, where the sons and daughters of the rich and powerful (i.e., Cheney's son-in-law) feed off the corpses of poor Wal-Mart workers and dead soldiers.

Gotta go out and fill the bird feeder.

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Can we embrace the broad idea of "Let's expand the notion of what compises a culture of life."? The boundaries need to stretch beyond nationality, creed, gender, sexuality, economic levels, politics and all divisions that split up the world between good and evil, between deserving and undeserving.

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You wrote, "There is no getting around the fact that these workers from Mexico and other countries are essential to the functioning of our economy"

Au contraire. Americans aren't willing to take some of these jobs AT THE WAGE LEVELS THAT ARE CURRENTLY OFFERED.

It's economic nonsense to argue that foreign workers are "essential". Just raise the wages for these jobs to that of a living wage, and we'd get along just fine with American workers.

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1. Respect the Lives of our Military
2. Commit Ourselves to Ensuring Domestic Safety
3. Protect the Population from Deadly Weapons
4. Strategically Invest in Improving the Lives of Citizens
5. Ensure that Children Grow Up Healthy and Productive
6. Make Emerging Energy Technology a National Priority
7. Commit Ourselves to Ethical Government and Foreign Policy
8. Support Global Health Efforts
9. Secure our Borders
10. Make Full Time Work Pay Enough to Support the Worker

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I think this country needs to go the distance on this one and give healthcare for all citizens of this country - no longer should healthcare be considered a privilege, it is a basic human right - if more taxes need to be taken out of my paycheck, then so be it - after working in a huge inner city county hospital, with ER waiting time up to 12 hours, one can see the ravages of disease on our less fortunate brothers and sisters from lack of healthcare - lets show the world that this country can be humane.

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The "Culture of Life" is a joke. It cares about life when it begins, when it ends, and to hell with everything in between. Just another symptom of a woefully unsophisticated theology, that of the Christian right.

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Ultimately, a culture of life comes down to respecting and caring for each other particularly the least among us, the poor, the infirmed. But it moves beyond nationalistic, racial, ethnic, gender, and preference boundaries. It also means being good stewards of the environment--treading lightly upon this earth.
It is as Jim Wallis speaks of in his book, "God's Politics" living the prophetic message of Christianity. Doing as Jesus did, reaching out to those trapped by sin, poverty, disease, social stigma. Treating as equals woman, lepers, Samaritans, and even Roman soldiers. Today that means people different from ourselves and those who would hate us and kill us (read Al Qaeda). Loving your enemy and neighbor as your self. Mostly it is about seeking justice, living humbling, and serving as Jesus served.

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1. the war is well worth it. Haven't you noticed that peace and democracy are breaking out all over the mid-east.

2. go to europe

3. guns are fun

4. there are too many social welfare programs already. why can't families help themselves and buy one less volvo

5. now that's a great I idea. will only cost a few hundred billion dollars. ummm. lets tax the rich...which as liberals define it is anyone making $50K per year. I suppose you want to pay for illegal immigrants health care as well.

6. i agree

7. fuck off. you get shot at and bombed day in and day out.

8. why spend tax dollars fighting aid abroad. can't these people keep it in their pants.

9. i agree. fair...fingerprint, DNA, retinal scan and then let them in for 3-9 months.

10. Why so brave us soldiers who fight so you can sleep at night and write this liberal garbage can be arrested an

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Can't the idiot gun lovers realize gun control advocacy has nothing to do with hunting rifles and shotguns. It has to do with concealed weapons and automatic weapons like the AK-47 that are made for killing people. But if the NRA tells them to jump off the High Bridge, they'll line up to take their turn. This society is sick and getting sicker by the day, and I might add, more ignorant. (I am an owner of a shotgun and two hunting rifles).

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Amen!

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Meet them in the values sphere with eloquent, values language in the democratic tradition of eloquence from MLK. Begin with simple, critical change: Progressives are in favor of a CULTURE OF LIVING. This puts our side in the practical realm of what happens here and now in the challenge of LIVING fulfilling lives.
Second, consider phrases from which Blanding's practical actions flow. Like: "committed to protecting AND respecting the rights of individuals to make their own vital life and death decisions;" "committed to energy independence and global politics for long term, enduring security; "committed to policies that repair and sustain the healthy environment necessary for healthy human lives;" "committed to leaving a viable Earth for future generations to flourish;" "committed to policies that help American citizens care for their loved ones, their communities, themselves;" "committed to policies that minimize human suffering and maximize human flourishing."

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Correction: Several folks have pointed out to me that the tsunami was a seismic event and not affected by global warming (#6). Point well taken, and apologies for the bad science. On the other hand, scientists have predicted that global warming will increase the severity of other natural disasters like hurricanes, which killed more than 150 people in the U.S. last year. --Michael Blanding

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Now is the moment for the left to take advantage of the divisiveness on the right over Bush’s domestic economic policies and international imperialism and get behind a common agenda. Let’s see if we can come up with one that will have a universal appeal.

The slogan “power to the people” might not seem so “red” in a country with a dying middle class as it once did. Isn’t it interesting that the right has taken over that color? Please stop allowing the right to steal expressions from our language and give them their own definitions. Is there anybody out there who isn’t pro-life? How about “family values;” we all have them, and we need them if we intend to preserve our families in whatever form they may take. And what about the “moral majority;” one of the characteristics of sentient beings is a moral/ethical code of conduct. Let’s take back our language!

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Step one must be to abdicate our assumed position as world leader. I promote internationalism strongly flavored by peace, tolerance of diversity, and compassion independent of financial status. The World Court and the United Nations are great ideas if they have the authority to make policy, not just recommendations. With this, Iraq, alternative energy, prisoner abuse, gun control, death penalty, and communicable disease research become international peace or human rights issues. Health care is a domestic issue and a part of the social service system, which is in deplorable shape.

I resent the notion that universal health care only applies to children. Finally, I believe your guestworker notion is misguided. Work visa restrictions should be one of those internationally decided things mentioned above.

The European Community can serve as a test case. Let's try to emulate their strengths and correct their weaknesses as we work toward a sustainable fu

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Mike Blanding expresses the self-defeating hatred of many Democrats today as they cling to any reason to oppose the president and his policies. Even when Bush agrees with something Blanding would probably also agree with, he manages to call the president a hypocrite. One should ask what, if anything, Blanding finds good about this president. If he should answer "nothing," as seems likely, I think it would collapse the integrity of his arguments and expose them for what they are: nothing more than the emotional exhortations of a sore loser. Mike: get over it!

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These same poor-lifers are the ones that spit the rhetoric that all liberals want are government handouts, in order to justify thier indifference to actual human sufferring as opposed to projected human suffering.

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Actually, the "Culture of Life" is a term invented by the late Pope John Pal II, for whom it was much, much more than either the fundamentalist zealots or the warbird neocons, or even your own list, can possibly imagine.

John Paul condemned not just the policies you wish to reverse (I agree with you, btw), but targeted a consumerist culture driven by a military/industrial/commercial complex that subordinates everything to the power of money. The conservatives did what they always do -- they coopted, and bankrupted a truly superb idea and narrowed down to suit their own dark purposes. A real "Culture of Life" would orient itself toward the elevation and protection of human life, care for people and against war, death, disease and exploitation (even of women). You won't hear that coming out of this administration, or the demonstrators grandstanding outside Mrs. Schiavo's hospice center. They can't see beyond the political points and dollars to be made.

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Why do honest citizens need guns? Ask the Jews of Warsaw! The American people defeated a King in the past—and we may need to defeat another King in the future.

Many big city leberals on the coasts don't hunt or fish but many flyovers do! If ya wanta get the people in Kansas to stop voting Republican stop being knee jerk on gun control.

Most people in favor of gun control know nothing about guns—which is a real problem when preaching to those that do.

!. Hunting rifles are much more deadly than assault guns. War is conducted up close, not at 600 plus yards—guess which guns are deadly at 600-1,000 yards? Guess which guns the U.S. supplies to its snippers? Since the start of the Vietnamese war the U.S has dropped the standard round from .30-06 to .308 and then to .223.

2. Fifty caliber rifles are used by competition target shooters. Name me one robbery that was commited with a .50 cal rifle? One murder?

c.d.

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"There is no getting around the fact that these workers from Mexico and other countries are essential to the functioning of our economy"

You've got to be kidding? Most illeagals replace american workers! Union janitors were replaced with lower payed illegals in So Cal. Contractors are hireing illegals in the construction business in So Cal. Not many bus boys speak english in So Cal. You get the idea. Just because illegals don't take jobs from college educated white liberals doesn't mean that they are not taking jobs from Americans. Recognize this and you might get the vote in Kansas again.

BTW there are still many white American citizens still picking crops in the central valley of California. But not many of them are liberals!

c.d.

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There is an aspect of respect for life that must top the list - the life of this planet. Given our environmental crisis, all the other items must be placed in context with the survival of LIFE in all its forms and diversity. We do not own this planet, we borrow it from our children.

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Where could you ever buy a fully automatic AK47 or any other fully automatic weapon with-out a federal tax stamp?

Its been years since Bonnie and Clyde and other Americans have been able to buy Browning Automatic Rifles!

You own two shot guns which are used for many more liquor store hold-ups than fully auto AK47s.

c.d.

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How can we expect reasonable discourse when only 30% of Americans believe in evolution & 70% believe the Judeo-Christian myth of creation? When there are those who believe that the Grand Canyon could have been caused by Noah's flood, that God left geologic clues just to test our faith in Him?
All cultures have a mythic explanation for the beginning of our planet & its life forms but the Judeo-Christian story has prevailed because of the centuries old dominance of its culture.
Is it any wonder that our fellow citizens are so easily misled?
louise

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Personal honesty ? Jeezus ! He lied US right into a phony, industry driven war which thus far has cost the American tax payer 160,750,000,000 and driven up the deficit like a child who never had to pay his own way. Honesty? This coke snortin’ alcoholic, awol, little prince of a billionaire?

His desire to protect America from its enemies? Boy! Now is that a great achievement! That puts him right on par with about 290,000,000 other Americans. By enemies I suppose you mean the 18,000 Iraqi civilians who have died thus far.

All this while ridin’ high on the coat tails of Jeezus! Your damned right I don’t like him.

You managed to name two exceedingly puny good attributes. Got more?

Jeez!

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Personal honesty ? Jeezus ! He lied US right into a phony, industry driven war which thus far has cost the American tax payer 160,750,000,000 and driven up the deficit like a child who never had to pay his own way. Honesty? This coke snortin’ alcoholic, awol, little prince of a billionaire?

His desire to protect America from its enemies? Boy! Now is that a great achievement! That puts him right on par with about 290,000,000 other Americans. By enemies I suppose you mean the 18,000 Iraqi civilians who have died thus far.

All this while ridin’ high on the coat tails of Jeezus! Your damned right I don’t like him.

You managed to name two exceedingly puny good attributes. Got more?

Jeez!

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You have a good list, but are you saying that your Top 10 should be added to the Republican Top 3, or that they should replace their Top 3?

Pro-life liberals care about all 13 of these Culture of Life issues. Check out Consistent Life and Pro-Lifers for Peace and Justice.

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...abolishing capitalism?

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Give ya a break? Well, someone as obviously bankrupt morally, as uncaring, unfeeling, self-centered and ignorant of the subjects you elected to elucidate on, obviously won't be affected by these kind and thoughtful responses from those who understand and actually THINK about these issues. So, I guess it's gonna be up to someone like me, who has NO respect for sexually frustrated, chauvinistic, myopic, "fever blisters" such as yourself, to spill the beans for ya. The churches of the "Red states" are filled with hypocrite swine, thinking much like you, that they are the chosen. They are. They're chosen to remain for the big post-Rapture party. Have fun, jerk.

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Radicalman, if I wanted to attack people I'd be a Bushie! Fighting fire with fire accomplishes nothing except scorched earth. We must accept that the vast majority of those who "oppose" us are very much like us--decent, loving, (hopefully) teachable human beings who have no idea that we all share deeply similar values and only differ in our idea of the best ways to ensure those values. As long as we keep calling each other liars and evil-doers, nothing will change except for the worse. In my humble opinion...

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I agree with my friends here that the tsunami was not really a result of any human causes, tectonic plates being safely out of our reach! But I think I remember reading something about the coral reefs being degraded as a result of pollution in the ocean and that because of that, a natural barrier that would have slightly decreased the severity of the "hit" was taken away. Still it would not have prevented it. I think we can take the Christian conservatives to task who said that the tsunami was a message from God. The hubris is beyond belief.

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Here's my two cents about this sorry state of affairs.

1. Send more troops, preferably from europe, africa and asia to Iraq. Getting picked off in twos and three's does nothing but prolong this nightmare but pulling them out would give the country over to Islamic facists.

2. FIX the death penalty, don't get rid of it. Because, let's face it, some people deserve to die.

3. Gun control. I think there should be a searchable database for any citizen who buys a gun of anykind. I think there should be strict limits on who is allowed to sell a gun and I would outlaw gun shows where anyone with enough cash can get any type of weapon. That said I also think any citizen who wants to own a gun and passes a background check and agrees to be entered into a database should be able to own a gun. Remember, gun's alone aren't the problem, the NRA is.

4. Social Services/ Healthcare.
I'm of the opinion that if Canada can do it,

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So the issue of giving more , or ANY money to s/ services is a no-brainer. Hell those canucks already have the plans in place, all we'd have to do is copy what works and tweak the rest.

5. Alternative energy.
All for it. Windmills, solar, hydro, gremlins, whatever. Maybe even an X-Prize for the first car that runs petrol free. I also think we should use nuclear power. It's cheaper, cleaner and safer and yes, I know it's fucking nuclear but if it's done right, regulated right and built right it can be USED right.


6. Torture/Prisoner abuses.In terms of using the scandal's at ahbu ghraib to point out the hypocricy of the right wing bullshit machine, I'm all for it, but if cutting someone's thumb off will prevent an assualt like 9/11?.. Wellll.....

7. Get involved, get registered to vote and run for office. Everytime you hear, read or see something that makes you stop in either anger or approval, GET INVOLVED. There's n

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Cut off from # 4. If Canada can do it, we can. (There's no maple leaf on the moon is there?)

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this getting cut off in mid rant really burns my ass. Fix this fucking thing already, 1000 letters only? Bullshit.

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I only have an issue with 5., Create Universal Health Care for Children.

I say we need universal health care for everybody. People don't stop needing healthcare once they turn 21.

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I see one basic flaw with this logic. It makes too much sense. It doesn't support big business and works more for the environment and people. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could get everyone to join up on this bandwagon? I agree with everything you wrote and hope it will enlighten someone in power. We need to also consider outsourcing. If we outsource, consider outsoucing the presidency and congress and penalize corporations who take away jobs. There should be some sort of human dignity law passed. I think we used to call it civil rights. Make the Constitution the law of the land again. Wouldn't that be refreshing? Imagine all the people sharing all the world..

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At the heart of things is our predatory capitalist policies. Until we reign in our own corporations and those who profit unjustly from the toil of the American and foriegn worker abroad, we cannot address anything on the list. Perhaps our soundest approach to this issue would be to found a new political party, the American Workers Party, that would focus initially on three very specific issues. These would include the establishment of strong unions, passing laws to create and protect a true living wage, and the establishment of universal healthcare for all. Following behind these issues would have to be the establishment of a sound energy/transportation policy that could be sustained without robbing other nations of their resources. Finally, we must redefine our government as an institution that serves the people, not the rich.

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__ 2. Stop the Death Penalty __

This solves two problems in my book -- one, I think life imprisonment far exceeds death as a penalty -- most folks on death row, well, killings just too good for them. Two -- If an innocent person is wrongly convicted there is a chance to exonerate such.

__ 3. Pass Effective Gun Control Laws__

On this I think there are laws enough -- as there are laws on almost every sort of crime -- laws are like restraining orders, only effective if complied with -- and progressives may need their guns soon the way things are going --

11. A high priority for evironmental preservation and care.

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Most of these points are "of course." Less obvious but potent is the use of alternative energy. Decentralized production (off the grid energy) decreases vulnerability to terrorism, for example. Principally, big oil should not be able to push us into war for pure greed. We can expect WMDs in our future as a RESULT of this war.

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true.

if every citizen in england can get free health care every time they are hurt, why not us? we're the most powerful nation on the planet!!! we can do what we want.

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It would be interesting if a poll was conducted on a yes or no basis about all ten proposals. I think the American people would vote no with a very large majority. Almost all Americans would find one, at least, of those proposals to justify a no vote.
I support each of the ten proposals, but Americans in general are just not yet convinced of the need for change.
It is so much easier to blame than to change. After all, justice, fairness, equality and compassion toward others is no way to run a business.

Victor James Clifton

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I like the whole list thing, its very enlightenment and rational, and of course is totally pointless in dealing with the fundamental problem that conservatives are, by their ideological and phlosophical weltanschauung, irrational subjectavists.

The driving force behind conservatism is simply the acquisition and utilization of power for the benefit of the power holder. Since this is their only true core belief, the conservative/reactionary is free to compile list upon list of programatic conceptions that are little more than propganda bludgeoning points to be used to deaden what little intellect resides in the masses. The Catholic Church first learned this principal and actually established the office (still existing) which gave this method of disinformation its name - propoganda. And of course, the methodology involved was greatly developed in the century by Czarist secret police, Italian fascists, German Nazis, and the rightwing abomination masquarading under Stalin's Communist State - among others.

All this simply means is that to fight for the 10 points listed here as a 'culture of life' shouldn't be argued as such. they should be simply the sort of thing that a rational ethical person would naturely see as laudable goals or steps towards goals, and the second thing to do is carefully analyze conservative positions and then show how any position taken by a conservative on any issue ultimately provides a direct concrete benefit for a tiny priviledged elite at the expense of the vast majority of people every time -- that their 'morality' is little more than a con job designed to preserve the priviledged in their priviledges.

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I seem to have been the only conservative to have read this top ten list, so I will give my opinion on this subject. Withdrawing the troops will only end up in more deaths since Iraq can't take care of itself yet. So whether you agreed with the invasion or not, you have to agree that civil war will erupt if we pull out. And timetables are useless, take a look at South Korea, we still have troops there. I completely agree with number 2, but as for number 3, guns don't kill people, people do. People need to keep that in mind. I don't own guns, but I still believe it's none of the government's business on whether you own one or not. As for social services? Ha, that's a joke. Liberals nor conservatives can't even balance the budget, you expect them to run a beaurocratic social system more extensive than we have now? Compassionate, yes, but the government should not be involved. Universal Health care sounds great, especially since I don't have health insurance. But all that will come of it is a continuation of the shitty free health care that does exist while we pay more taxes. I'm all for alternative energy, no arguments there. I don't give a rats ass about prisoners and neither should you. If you were to put those prisoners in an American prison I highly doubt they would last long. A couple of naked pictures? C'mon guys didn't you do that shit to your drunk friends in college? As for number 8, let's work on AIDS in America first and to hell with the UN. I concur with number nine, but as for number 10, I really don't think that joining the International Criminal Court will help us support the culture of life any more. It will just make the US look better on paper.

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I've often wondered if the "right" actually believes the crap that they say or are they just saying that to stir up shit? I have a really hard time fathoming how these people can believe that they are doing the right things... They just seem so divorced from reality that it's scary. That's a big problem with the States (Canada too to a certain degree)... People haven't had to endure war and suffering first hand, they've never had their cities bombed, they've never had occupying troops in their neighbourhoods. They're so insulated and isolated from the rest of the world that they just don't understand compassion and humility. They're all about the ME ME ME... Money! Power! Let's Get 'EM! Very small minded. I find it sad that people actually think this way.

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I am perpetually bothered by conservatives' use of the term "culture of life." A culture of life for them is evidently one in which some dominant group reigns and minority groups follow humbly without question or dissent. My anger boils over when such a term as culture of life is applied to a woman's right to an abortion. If we are talking about a culture of life, why are we constantly oppressing women's lives by denying them control over their own bodies. Not only do abortion clinics face threats constantly but the procedure is not even covered under health insurance. Even more, birth control medication is frequently not covered by health insurance (yet Viagra and male enhancement products are).

It goes to show that our patriarchal society only continues to oppress and will do so until standards of masculinity and feminity become redefined so that the former is not held so much higher than the latter by the conservatives in power.

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So, are these "culture of life" people going to raise all of the children who will be saved from abortions if they get their way? Will they be raising all the hundreds of thousands of embryos that are left over after a couple has had the child they want? I am guessing not. How selfish these people are to deny humanity the opportunity to find a cure for disease that afflicts people who are wanted who are already in our society. I guess preserving the "culture of life" means to preserve embryos in perpetuity in a culture dish. That is no life!!!

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