posted on Sep, 13 2005 @ 12:29 PM
Well, you have strong opinions, and I have to give you credit for knowing your mind, but needless to say I don't agree with anything you say, and we
could go back and forth for ages and neither of us would budge an inch, nor should we, since everyone is entitled to their opinion. That being said, I
do have one comment in all due respect, which is that your opinion of what consitutes "far left" is pretty far to the right, if you consider
opposition to the Iraq war debacle to be far left. Here in Minneapolis, I would guess that support for the war is probably---no kidding---in the
neighborhood of 10 percent. For the state of Minnesota as a whole, it might be in the 30 percent range at this point. By current logic, that would
make war opposition "mainstream" at this point. Also, global warming theories are more or less mainstream accepted scientific opinion, as well, and
it is the far right---at this point the far , way far, intergalactic right---that holds onto hope that it's not true, and that's about it.
I agree with your points on gun control, I guess we have one area where we can philosophically get along. I think if cops or homeland security agents
are breaking into your home, they should be nervous! In my opinion if guns are outlawed we will have to worry a hell of a lot more about cops than
about criminals, and I am as stridently oppsed to gun control as any right-winger you will meet.
The religious left point----man, I dunno, I have to disagree, the Elian Gonzalez case was really a bad example from all sides of the issue---it turned
out that the family was being paid something like two thousand bucks a week in cash in brown paper bags from anti-Castro groups, then the cash dried
up the second the kid left, and come on---like "commie Cuba" or not, the kid was basically kidnapped by his mother, who did not have elgal custody
of him , and when she died, it only made sense to give him back to his dad---you would think a conservative person would believe in keeping the family
together when possible. Oh, and that photo with the FBI guy pointing his gun at them in the closet---plenty of reports that photo was staged. Love or
hate Cuba, it does make sense for Elian Gonzalez to be with his surviving relative now that his mother is dead---and even if she were alive, the dad
would have pretty solid grounds to file an international kidnapping claim.
This could go on forever, and like I said we both have strong opinions that won't be budging, but I'm happy to debate you on good honest terms like
those you have abided by here anytime, and maybe prove to you someday that anti-war is not the same as being anti-American ( and it's not at all
treasonous to disagree with TeamBush or any US administration, or to oppose the apartheid-genocidal government of Israel ) , so I'm sure our paths
will cross again, but out of respect we had probably let this thread go back to its original intent for the time being. Thansk for stating your points
clearly and with a minimum of hyperbole.
---Ryan