Hair-raising

I read this article, and could not believe my eyes. http://townhall.com/Columnists/FrankPastore/2008/10/07/sarah_palin,_matt_damon,_dinosaurs_and_%e2%80%9cdivine_deception%e2%80%9d?page=full&comments=true It is apparently possible in the USA to have postgraduate degrees in both Political Science and Theology and still believe in the fable of a Young Earth (in other words, in creationism in its most idiotic form) and have one's view published in supposedly respectable conservative fora.

That being the case, it becomes easier to understand why all the lies against Sarah Palin have gained so much credibility. They are wrong about her, but the type that generated them really does exist. Unless the conservative environment does something to rid itself of this kind of member, they will go on poisoning their image with the rest of the world. It is no damn good to keep harping on the fact that fifty years ago, Bill Buckley refused the John Birch Society a place in his movement, if this sort of thing is allowed now.

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It may have struck some of my conservative friends that I recently posted rather a lot of critical items. The reason for this is fairly simple. I and people like me cannot find a home in what now passes for the left - a grouping that betrayed its own roots in the working classes, that has forgotten its own values and reason to exist, and that has become a herald of mere antinomianism. We have obviously many more things in common with most of today's conservatives, beginning with the assumption that permanent values exist. But all the same, the longer I for one spend time with conservatives and in conservative environments, the more aware I become of things that I simply cannot accept. You may call this being independent, or being a candid friend. At any rate, if I have come here in order to keep my own view of right and wrong, it must be expected that I will not give it up only in order to stay here.

Controversial survey meme (swunked from rfachir

1. Do you have the guts to answer these questions and re-post as The Controversial Survey?
No - I'm just posturing (brilliant answer stolen from rfachir)

2. Would you do meth if it was legal?
No. What little experience of intoxication I have had, I have not enjoyed.

3. Abortion: for or against it?
Against.

4. Do you think the world would fail with a female president?
What, you mean women aren't capable of careerism, mendacity, bad faith, hypocrisy, fraud or incompetence?

5. Do you believe in the death penalty?
No, except in war circumstances. And then it is not an act of justice, but of necessary defence.

6. Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?
Yes. The hypocrisy of allowing people to kill themselves and ruin others with whiskey, but not with "drugs" so-called, annoys me.

7. Are you for or against premarital sex?
It is an extremely bad idea, but people will do it anyway. That however does not exempt us from pointing out that it is an extremely bad idea. It is better to be hypocritical than stupid.

8. Do you believe in God?
Yes.

9. Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
Sure. After all, the state of Indiana once mandated that the irrational number PI should be made to equal four. Folly and unreality have never been an obstacle to the fantasy of lawmakers.

10. Do you think it's wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally moving to the USA?
Illegal immigration is bad news. A country should be able to regulate its own borders. It also should be willing to; if people will not go to the trouble and expense, on their own heads be it.

11. A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it?
Yes. Of course, there ought to be supervision, but twelve-year-old girls are surprisingly responsible. In fact, they are often more responsible than eighteen-year-old ones.

12. Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen?
Where I come from, there is no minimum drinking age. Recently there has been a lot of trouble with teen-agers and young adults getting drunk, which did not use to be the case. I have no strong feelings either way. But I think parents should be able to teach responsible drinking in the home. Mine did so with me, and I have only once got drunk in my entire life.

13. Should the war in Iraq be called off?
At first, I was in favour of it because I hated the Saddam regime. Then I changed my mind when I realized what a botch the Americans were making of managing the country. Now my view is that what you started you must finish.

14. Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree?
Yes. And helping a suicide should be a crime. It is an act of squalid, sentimental selfishness.

15. Do you believe in spanking your children?
I don't believe in forbidding it. But laws against child abuse are absolutely necessary.

16. Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
Sure. Then I would take the million dollars, make sure of it, and THEN punch the person who offered it to me in the face. And I would use the money for a good lawyer if he wanted to take the issue further. (I rephrase the question to mean an Italian or European flag, obviously.)

17. Who do you think would make a better president: McCain or Obama?
As I repeatedly said, they both have their points, but on the matter of abortion and of foreign policy I can only support McCain.

18. Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
If they don't know my views on these matters already, I have not expressed myself clearly enough. Anyway, they are my views, and others will have theirs - and put them into writing, too.