Quoting skipnet50:

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1) Sexual Preference is NOT a guaranteed right granted in our Constitution, nor should it be. It is a personal and private choice, whatever it is, and I don't care what it is, just don't stick it my face.

Just because it isn't a specified right, doesn't mean it isn't a right.  This is covered by the ninth amendment:

"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

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The supposed rights that are denied to "gays" are fictitious and are handled quite nicely thank you very much.

I am sorry, but that just isn't true.  Just to touch on one 'supposed right'...the 14th ammendment guarantees 'equal protection under the law'.  Marriage is a legal contract.  Denying gay couples the right to enter into that contract is a violation of that ammendment.

Unicus:

I am no longer going to discuss this or any issue relating to it until we have some adults on hand. It seems that despite the just expressing my opinions there are those who who are happily trying to shut me up with their negative votes relating to my comments and i am sure the children will also attack this one, and this ONE is the only one they could possibly attack but. This reputation quite frankly only works when adults are using it. Grow up.(generic comment, Unicus, not aimed at you)

Skip

Quoting skipnet50:

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North I would have thought so, as well. But as i noted in another post here, the people claim to be tolerant are in reality the intolerant ones and the rep system PROVES it beyond a doubt.

Skip

Help me out here: Can you actually see with the new reputation system who voted how on you ?

Thank you north,

I am aware of that. I was just wondering why Skip made the comment about people that 'claim to be tolerant....' and that the rep system proves it (with the negative votes I guess) without knowing who they are ???

So that's a maybe then...   

@ Skip:
If you're getting negative votes for voicing your opinions, then that is just totally ridiculous. It's completely irrelevant whether or not one agrees with them (from what I've seen I reckon I would disagree with quite a bit of what you've said...) - that should as far as I'm concerned NEVER be a reason to cast a negative vote. People should be able to distinguish genuine differences of opinion from personal attacks, inflammatory remarks etc. As Adlai Stevenson once put it: a free society is a society where it's safe to be unpopular.

Quoting kahless:

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Quoting northbloke:

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Are you afraid it will descend into insult-trading?

YES!

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Or do you believe political discussions have no place in these forums.

YES!

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Or do you think we have simply gone off-topic and should get back on track?

YES!

But this is only my very, very personal opinion! 

The General Discussion Forum by definition:

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Discuss anything and everything, within the bounds of the forum guidelines.

So far I haven't seen anything outside the bounds of the forum guidelines.  And this discussion is certainly about "anything and everything."

And that's MY very personal opinion.

Quoting northbloke:

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Kahless, I'm curious why you feel so strongly about stopping this discussion? So far it's been relatively civil and as far as I've seen, free of personal insult. There has been the odd dubious comment, but nothing noteworthy (or vote-worthy).
It is true that political discussions are the most likely to become inflammatory, but so far I feel this thread has stayed on the right side of the line (just).
Please understand this isn't an attack or accusation - I am truly curious. Are you afraid it will descend into insult-trading? Or do you believe political discussions have no place in these forums. Or do you think we have simply gone off-topic and should get back on track?

Quoting skipnet50:

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...
The biggest failing in this country's government the last forty years is that with the democrat Congress and sometimes Democrat WH, many things have been taken under the wing of the Central bureaucracy and taken them away from the states....

Skip

Quoting skipnet50:

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I didn't say the system here was perfect. That is an area that does need to be addressed. That said, however, even that problem has been caused by a poltical party that has become very interested in making the cebtral Government as big as possible. I am not going to say that FDR had ulterior motives, i don't believe he did. However, we now know that the Social Security system which he created was full of unintended consequences which his party has manipulated to great negative effect over the years, with the end result being the situation that richie has described so eloquently.
...
Skip

Skip knows that I am a local leader with the Democratic Party here in California, that I am a registered lobbyist, and that there are laws with my name as author. If he does not think that referring to the Democratic Party at the "Democrat" Party is insulting, than he is far less informed than he purports. It is an insult, started by neocon pundits, which has infected the worst aspect of the Republican Pary. These posts are insulting to all Democrats (members and supporters of the Democratic Party) and particularly to me.

This is offensive not just to my party, but to the two-party system.



Ken or Gerri, please lock this insult bearing thread down.