gdp's Comments

NewsReal Blog : Can We Shut Down the Federal Government Even If We Raise the Debt Ceiling?

Sat, 8 Jan 2011 19:28:49 +0000

Judith--No, I think "essentials" like Social Security, etc. would still be paid out. It's the more "discretionary" stuff that would go first. So the Dems don't even have that excuse.

NewsReal Blog : Can We Shut Down the Federal Government Even If We Raise the Debt Ceiling?

Fri, 7 Jan 2011 21:19:44 +0000

Yes--a maxed-out credit card is the perfect analogy. What credit card company would repeatedly raise your debt limit after it became patently obvious you had no ability or intention ever to pay back what you'd already borrowed?

NewsReal Blog : Looking for Hate in All the Wrong Places: Is Hollywood Homophobic?

Wed, 5 Jan 2011 00:01:10 +0000

"Somebody needs to explain to me why a moviegoer who would be grossed out by a gay romantic lead would be seeing a movie about gay characters to begin with. If anything, that there’s a 'long tradition of straight actors who play gay' to begin with seems to undermine the theory that Hollywood’s consciously trying to avoid more traditional sensibilities." Because most heterosexual audience members seem to be able to stand the idea of gay characters only if they're "neutered" by being played by straight actors.

NewsReal Blog : Winning the Culture War

Sun, 2 Jan 2011 21:07:31 +0000

You may already know this, but Fred Phelps is actually a left-wing Democrat: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/dubo...

NewsReal Blog : Tucker Carlson is Correct. Animal Cruelty Should be an Execution-Worthy Offense

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:57:33 +0000

I agree--only humans have rights, not animals, no matter how cute they are and how much we should ostracize people like Vick for their actions. If you hurt someone else's animals, that's another story, because that's someone else's property--but the law should stay out of the question of mistreating your own animals.

NewsReal Blog : Hysterics Over DADT Repeal Are An Insult To The Military

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 20:16:35 +0000

Except that "Get over it or get out" is now official governmental policy, as strongly endorsed by the U.S.’s highest ranking military official, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen; the nation’s other top defense official, Defense Secretary Robert Gates; and hundreds of retired admirals and generals who signed a statement before Obama took office urging him to overturn the ban. I guess they don't really give a damn about the troops, either.

NewsReal Blog : Hysterics Over DADT Repeal Are An Insult To The Military

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:06:23 +0000

I hate how people try to make the repeal of this idiotic law so complicated, which they no doubt did before the services were integrated racially. "There are a lot of questions and concerns about repealing DADT, and no easy answers." You want easy answers? I'll give you easy answers. "How will the military now be forced to handle a gay soldier in a relationship?" Same way as a heterosexual soldier in a relationship. "Will they be forced to approve of gay public displays of affection?" It is not the military's responsibility to "approve" of any public displays of affection, gay or heterosexual. "What about those in the military who aren’t comfortable with their children seeing two men kiss while they’re doing their grocery shopping in the commissary?" Too damn bad. "How will the military be forced to handle a gay soldier who gets married in a state that allows gay marriage?" Same way as a heterosexual soldier. "Will gay spouses receive military benefits now, too?" Yes. "And what about the gay servicemembers who aren’t married because their state doesn’t allow it, but are in committed relationships — do they qualify for benefits, too?" No. "Will gay and straight servicemembers be allowed to sleep in barracks together?" Yes. "What about when a unit is deployed, and the men are forced to sleep in even closer quarters?" What about it? "What will happen to the soldier or Marine who is uncomfortable with sleeping next to a gay man?" Get over it, or get out. There, that was easy.

NewsReal Blog : Censorship Is Not Always Bad

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:05:32 +0000

By the strict, technical, traditional definition, this isn't censorship, because the property is privately owned. Only government can censor. Censorship is when you tell someone *else* they can't express their views using their own money/property--and in our society, only government can do that.

NewsReal Blog : Twas the night before Kwanzaa...

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:35:23 +0000

The cake looks like a mess. But it's very appropriate that it includes ACORNS!

NewsReal Blog : Federal Judge to ObamaCare Defenders: Nope!

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:47:13 +0000

No--what was at issue was the farmers' growing and consuming it on their own farms, which supposedly affected the federally regulated market. If the farmers decided not to grow/consume wheat--and also not to consume wheat on the federally regulated market--the feds would have left them alone. The feds would not have forced them to purchase wheat outside of their farms. I think the whole ruling is BS, but that was the reasoning behind it.

NewsReal Blog : Federal Judge to ObamaCare Defenders: Nope!

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:25:27 +0000

No--the judges ruled in that case that the feds could regulate the decision to grow wheat on one's own farm and consume it, rather than buying it on the federally regulated market.

NewsReal Blog : Thank a "Pissed-off Teabagger" Federal Health Care Law Declared Unconstitutional!

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 01:53:10 +0000

Great minds think alike! :)

NewsReal Blog : Ann Coulter Takes Aim at Butt-Less Chaps

Tue, 7 Dec 2010 19:26:16 +0000

I'm a fan of Coulter's, but this has to be the single worst column she's ever written.

NewsReal Blog : 10 Differences between Conservative and Leftist Cities

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:59:45 +0000

In fact, Detroit wasn't even included in Travel + Leisure's survey--probably because it wouldn't make the top 25 in a single category.

NewsReal Blog : 10 Differences between Conservative and Leftist Cities

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 21:19:25 +0000

Well, I was clear about the limitations of the analysis--the political rankings are based on those provided on that Sustain Lane site, and I'm happy to rerun them if anyone knows of better rankings. "Third variables" such as weather can of course possibly explain relationships between ideology and best times to visit, and I noted this possibility. I was also clear that Travel + Leisure's rankings could be biased toward liberal mores, and I noted this on the final page of the post. As for directions of correlations, I always point out whether they are positive (meaning conservative cities = better) or negative (meaning liberal cities = better), though I didn't use the terms positive/negative because this isn't a statistics textbook. Outliers can be viewed on T + L's ranking pages, which I provided a link to.

NewsReal Blog : 10 Differences between Conservative and Leftist Cities

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 21:14:20 +0000

I guess we're talking relative differences here--conservative relative to San Fran, NYC, etc.

NewsReal Blog : Where Exactly Are The Laws Demanding Americans Bully Gays, Cindy McCain?

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 05:59:09 +0000

So everyone's whining that they were bullied because they wore glasses, or were poor, or small, or fat, and therefore gays have no justification claiming that legal discrimination can lead to a culture that supports bullying. Newsflash: no one is prevented from marrying someone he loves for wearing glasses, serving openly in the military for being poor, donating blood for being small, or adopting children for being fat. How can you people not see the difference?

NewsReal Blog : The 10 Best Political Apps for the Iphone

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 05:36:30 +0000

I've never paid a penny for the NYT--I get everything I need online for free. :)

NewsReal Blog : Cindy McCain Takes Jab at John's Gay Rights Stance in Absurd Ad

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 19:55:17 +0000

I thought this ad was quite reasonable, and not at all radical or specious. The only public policy positions the celebrities mentioned wanting to change were ones I all agree with: marriage equality, repealing DADT, allowing people to donate blood (after being screened for HIV), and being allowed to adopt children. If they had started arguing in favor of "hate crimes" legislation or anti-private sector discrimination, they would have lost me. Their point about "discrimination" is obviously based on the assumption that the discrimination gay people face is wrong; if you disagree with this notion, then yes, you're not going to appreciate the ad. If society tells people they can't marry someone they love just because they're gay, or can't serve openly in the military just because they're gay, or can't donate blood even if they don't have HIV just because they're gay, or tells them they can't adopt children with their partner just because they're gay, then I certainly think that trickles down to how potential bullies think they can treat their peers. Congrats to Cindy McCain for not being afraid to contradict her boneheaded and hypocritical husband, who swore years ago that when military leaders came to him asking for the repeal of DADT (which Mullen and Gates have, among others, including hundreds of retired admirals and generals) he would agree to it.

NewsReal Blog : Do Not Blog About Something If You Haven't Adequately Studied It. Why is This a Hard Concept?

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 18:54:13 +0000

I can assure you: Rand's philosophy is explicitly, implicitly, and every other -plicitly anti-Gospel.