Oops, turns out Arafat probably was murdered after all..

[regexcellent]

I'm making fun of the whole blame america first thing c0ckney does where western countries are the bad guys and ****ing crazy hyper-conservative religious whackjobs are the good guys because A BLOO BLOO THEY'D LOVE US IF ONLY WE TURNED OUR BACKS ON OUR ALLIES AND LET THEM EXECUTE RAPE VICTIMS IN PEACE

It's like he believes in the complete reverse of reality, like we're stuck in some sort of matrix world and he is the enlightened one who has broken out and seen the lies and seen that the monster is us.

[Sava]

I'm making fun of the whole blame america first thing c0ckney does where western countries are the bad guys and ****ing crazy hyper-conservative religious whackjobs are the good guys because A BLOO BLOO THEY'D LOVE US IF ONLY WE TURNED OUR BACKS ON OUR ALLIES AND LET THEM EXECUTE RAPE VICTIMS IN PEACE

It's like he believes in the complete reverse of reality, like we're stuck in some sort of matrix world and he is the enlightened one who has broken out and seen the lies and seen that the monster is us.

Apologies. A lot of old religious bastards here write letters to the local paper decrying liberal "relativism". Basically, just making a fancy argument for why bigotry against gays should be okay.

[regexcellent]

In otherwords, everything is evil when we do it, but when really ****ing evil people do even worse **** on the other side of the world, it's just part of their culture or something

[Sava]

In otherwords, everything is evil when we do it, but when really ****ing evil people do even worse **** on the other side of the world, it's just part of their culture or something

I don't know anyone here who says that.

[giblets]

I don't care if their culture considered it acceptable... confederate slaveowners were trash.

[regexcellent]

a lot of israel's assassinations have targeted arab nuclear scientists, who, as far as i know, have not killed a single israeli.

Oh man I totally glossed over this.

Ahahahahaha.

So, you know what those nuclear scientists are ****ing doing, right? What, are the Israelis supposed to wait until Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are smoking craters before killing them?

Oh right, but all that highly enriched weapons-grade uranium usable only in warship reactors and nuclear bombs is totally for peaceful purposes, like, uh...um, cooking?

Oh oh oh I got it, lemme guess: they wouldn't be trying to build a bomb if only we stopped levying sanctions against them!

edit: and this is assuming that it was actually Israel in the first place, and not the MEK.

[Sava]

I don't care if their culture considered it acceptable... confederate slaveowners were trash.

and most of their descendants are too

and the people who fought for them

and most of the descendants of those people too

[Imran Siddiqui]

I don't know anyone here who says that.

Seriously. It's the biggest conservative strawman out there.

The only thing that comes close to that at all is people saying "we're better than that", which is basically saying those people on the other side of the world are people who act like savages because they are uncivilized.

[PLATO]

PLATO: I love you man... but what's with the States' rights thing? The whole notion of state sovereignty was thoroughly rejected with the Articles of Confederation. That's battle has been fought. It's not making a comeback. For your own sanity, I would just advise you to deal with the fact that the federal government exists.

It's certainly your right to cream your pants over a rejected 18th century political system. And I believe you when you say its not about racism. There are certainly tons of racists out there who present their arguments in other forms.

I just... I don't understand. There's no coherent argument that can be made in favor of States' rights. That kind of system didn't work. Above all else, it doesn't work economically. Individual state currencies. State militias (as opposed to the US army). None of it makes any sense.

The U.S. Constitution is basically a States Rights Document........

[notyoueither]

Point taken. But I was referring to our highest ideals... not to what actually happens in reality.

Bafflegab.

We accept the sovereignty of states all over the world where there is a central power capable of exerting control. The point is that in some places (where drone strikes tend be carried out) that condition is absent or the 'bad guys' are being ignored by whatever powers might be.

There's a reason there are no drone strikes in 99% of the world, despite the presense of people who could be targets in some of that 99%.

[regexcellent]

Seriously. It's the biggest conservative strawman out there.

Apparently you've never heard of Code Pink?

[Sava]

Bafflegab.

We accept the sovereignty of states all over the world where there is a central power capable of exerting control. The point is that in some places (where drone strikes tend be carried out) that condition is absent or the 'bad guys' are being ignored by whatever powers might be.

There's a reason there are no drone strikes in 99% of the world, despite the presense of people who could be targets in some of that 99%.

Yes.

Did I say something to the contrary?

[Sava]

Apparently you've never heard of Code Pink?

They have about a dozen members and are completely irrelevant.

[Sava]

The U.S. Constitution is basically a States Rights Document........

Whatever gave you that idea?

[The Mad Monk]

The Constitutional Convention.