The Not Official MacRumor Political Opinion Poll

[numediaman]

I thought I'd start a thread where you come up with your own Opinion Poll.

I think a good rule should be that you do not have to give a long answer -- only a series of "yes" and "no" answers. The reason for this is that every question can have its own thread. In addition to telling us how you responded, you could also debate the merits of the questions themselves.

So, to start things off, I have come up with a twelve question poll. Each question can be answered as yes or no. You then count up the number of "yes" answers and it gives you a result.

If you like, you can respond with your own poll, as well as give your "yes" total for any of the polls in the thread.

Well, here goes:

War & Terrorism
1) Do you believe there are WMD still in Iraq waiting to be found?
2) Do you believe the war in Iraq is an extension of the "War on Terrorism"?

Economy & Taxes
1) Do you believe the Bush tax cuts were good for the economy?
2) Do you believe the tax cuts were fair?
3) Do you believe the economy is better today than when Bush took office?

Social Issues
1) Are you against "on demand" abortion?
2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman?
3) Are you for allowing school prayer?
4) Do you believe that regulating firearms is in violation of the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights?

Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Do you agree with this statement: "generally, the media has a liberal bias"?
2) Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught to the exclusion of creationism"?
3) Do you agree with this statement: "thanks to George W. Bush America is safer and more secure"?

EDIT: The moderator needs to change the name of this thread. I didn't mean to make is sound like an "official" MacRumor thread. Oops.

[zimv20]

easy -- all "no"

[jefhatfield]

I thought I'd start a thread where you come up with your own Opinion Poll.

I think a good rule should be that you do not have to give a long answer -- only a series of "yes" and "no" answers. The reason for this is that every question can have its own thread. In addition to telling us how you responded, you could also debate the merits of the questions themselves.

So, to start things off, I have come up with a twelve question poll. Each question can be answered as yes or no. You then count up the number of "yes" answers and it gives you a result.

If you like, you can respond with your own poll, as well as give your "yes" total for any of the polls in the thread.

Well, here goes:

War & Terrorism
1) Do you believe there are WMD still in Iraq waiting to be found?
2) Do you believe the war in Iraq is an extension of the "War on Terrorism"?

Economy & Taxes
1) Do you believe the Bush tax cuts were good for the economy?
2) Do you believe the tax cuts were fair?
3) Do you believe the economy is better today than when Bush took office?

Social Issues
1) Are you against "on demand" abortion?
2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman?
3) Are you for allowing school prayer?
4) Do you believe that regulating firearms is in violation of the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights?

Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Do you agree with this statement: "generally, the media has a liberal bias"?
2) Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught to the exclusion of creationism"?
3) Do you agree with this statement: "thanks to George W. Bush America is safer and more secure"?


wmd?...no
extension of war on terrorism...no

tax cut good...yes
tax cut fair...no
better economy now...no

on demand abortion...no
bush const. marriage amend....no
allow school prayer...yes
regulate firearms...yes

media=liberal...yes
evolution to be taught exclusively...no
usa more secure...yes

so for the issues i cannot be labeled as a liberal or conservative right down the line and for your rather long list, i would find it surprising if any person went completely down the line of the questions in a totally liberal or totally conservative fashion without some reservations

i am pro choice, but i do not consider abortion a casual form of birth control

i believe in god and school prayer, but do not wish the state to mandate religious education in all public schools

the media is generally liberal, but talk radio tends to be more conservative

evolution is the truth for the most part, but that does not mean schools should ban the story of creationism...it's the first chapter in islam, judaism, and christianity

btw...great thread and poll

[numediaman]

Thanks for changing the thread name.

By the way, here are some of the questions I rejected:

Attitudes:
1) Do you agree with the following statement: "do you believe the TV show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" is an attempt to make gays (or straights) look bad"?
2) Do you believe a constitutional amendment should be adopted to officially changing the name of the "French Fries" to "Freedom Fries"?
3) Do you believe it is wrong for a Republican to eat quiche?
4) Do you believe Democrats should shut up about clean air and just hold their breath?

I don't know, maybe these are better than the ones I used.

[Mike Teezie]

All no.

[jzieske]

4) Do you believe Democrats should shut up about clean air and just hold their breath?

Yes to all of the 12 original questions. Plus a BIG yes to this one. I am getting sick of listening to people blaming everything on SUV's and pollution. Of course I am living in one of the most leftists states in the country so what should I expect to hear.

[krimson]

War & Terrorism
1) No
2) No

Economy & Taxes
1) No way
2) No way
3) No, but recovery seems likely.

Social Issues
1) N/A, dont know enough
2) NO
3) No for Public schools, Yes for all others.
4) Yes, but only up to a point (ie, rocket launchers, grenades, etc)
project i just finished.
http://home.earthlink.net/~krimson122/images/tammy01.jpg


Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Depends on the outlet.
2) Both should be taught.
3) HELLz No.

[hr]
jzieske, what color is your sky? :D
Ill bet it's not the brownish orange we have... ;)

[jzieske]

jzieske, what color is your sky? :D
Ill bet it's not the brownish orange we have... ;)

I'll give you that but the way the liberals around here talk the would make you think that the sky is falling.

[whocares]

2) Do you believe a constitutional amendment should be adopted to officially changing the name of the "French Fry" to "Freedom Fry"?

You do realize this is irrelevant, don't you? It's the Belgian who invented them, not the French. If the term 'French Fries' bothers you ( :rolleyes: ), why not revert to the English term 'chips', and revert your chips to the 'proper' term 'crisps'? :p :p :p

[zimv20]

I'll give you that but the way the liberals around here talk the would make you think that the sky is falling.
the past few days has marked an era of goodwill in these forums. please save your sweeping generalizations for somewhere else.

[krimson]

I'll give you that but the way the liberals around here talk the would make you think that the sky is falling.

i dont agree with activists on either side exaggerating situations, but when you're a kid out for morning recess or lunch recess, then hearing the bell and the announcement that a Stage 3 Smog alert has been issued, and that you need to sit in the auditorium instead of being outside playing kickball, it does change what you think of pollution in general.

that's what shaped my thinking, and will probably stick with me for life.

[numediaman]

You do realize this is irrelevant, don't you? It's the Belgian who invented them, not the French. If the term 'French Fries' bothers you ( :rolleyes: ), why not revert to the English term 'chips', and revert your chips to the 'proper' term 'crisps'? :p :p :p

Sorry, I've corrected my post (fry to fries).

Love the Belgians -- they've given me my favorite band (bet no one can guess their name), and the waffle (though a web site says it was the Greeks, oh well).

[Neserk]

War & Terrorism
1) Do you believe there are WMD still in Iraq waiting to be found? (laughs)
2) Do you believe the war in Iraq is an extension of the "War on Terrorism"? (laughs even harder)

Economy & Taxes
1) Do you believe the Bush tax cuts were good for the economy? (falls on floor)
2) Do you believe the tax cuts were fair? (cries)
3) Do you believe the economy is better today than when Bush took office? (Cries Harder)

Social Issues
1) Are you against "on demand" abortion? Not sure what that means
2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman? :rolleyes: The amending process should be saved for issues that are government related, not religious
3) Are you for allowing school prayer? No one ever stopped me. Oh, public prayer in school? No, I'm against public prayer, so was Jesus.
4) Do you believe that regulating firearms is in violation of the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights? Nope.

Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Do you agree with this statement: "generally, the media has a liberal bias"?
I wish...
2) Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught to the exclusion of creationism"? Creation is a statement of religious faith. Evolution is the best explanation we have for what is out there. Creation stories can be taught during History/Social Studies, Evolution taught during science.
3) Do you agree with this statement: "thanks to George W. Bush America is safer and more secure"?(looks over shoulder for crazy person with gun) umm, no.

[skunk]

No x 12.

[amnesiac1984]

War & Terrorism
1) Do you believe there are WMD still in Iraq waiting to be found?
2) Do you believe the war in Iraq is an extension of the "War on Terrorism"?

1) No
2)No, I believe the war in Iraq is the first few stages of the attempted implementation of Armageddon and the second coming of christ.

Economy & Taxes
1) Do you believe the Bush tax cuts were good for the economy?
2) Do you believe the tax cuts were fair?
3) Do you believe the economy is better today than when Bush took office?

1) Not sure, don't live there, don't really care a huge amount.
2) Probably not as the rich can afford to pay taxes.
3)from what I've heard No.

Social Issues
1) Are you against "on demand" abortion?
2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman?
3) Are you for allowing school prayer?
4) Do you believe that regulating firearms is in violation of the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights?

1)I'm pro-choice because I believe the soul of an unborn child is not actually part of the fetus or embryo and only joins the body some point after or during birth. I'll have to get back to you on that one.
2)Of course not, it is just about the most unjust thing going on in America at the moment.
3)People should be allowed to pray in school but prayer is something that should be done privately and is between you and god. so being given a prayer to read is pointless
4) No because guns are different now. Also, even though I am all for maximising freedom I am against anything that you can do that causes harm to others. A gun has only one purpose, to harm others.

Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Do you agree with this statement: "generally, the media has a liberal bias"?
2) Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught to the exclusion of creationism"?
3) Do you agree with this statement: "thanks to George W. Bush America is safer and more secure"?

1) Maybe but from what I saw of your media during the Iraq war it was anything but liberal. And if there is a liberal bias, fox news makes up for it in rightness and in size. There's no point in having a liberal media if most of the people watch the one station that isn't liberal.
2) Disagree completely, creationism should only taught as part of any bible studies that might be going on.
3) No purely for the reason that so many people in the world now hate America because they hate that 1 guy so much. I'm serious, even people who are very conservative think he is a complete bafoon.

[pseudobrit]

War & Terrorism
1) Do you believe there are WMD still in Iraq waiting to be found?

Yes.

We will eventually find trace/residual amounts of something. It will not, however, be enough to threaten the US or Britain.

2) Do you believe the war in Iraq is an extension of the "War on Terrorism"?

No.

Economy & Taxes
1) Do you believe the Bush tax cuts were good for the economy?

No.

2) Do you believe the tax cuts were fair?

No.

3) Do you believe the economy is better today than when Bush took office?

No.

Social Issues
1) Are you against "on demand" abortion?

Yes. I am personally opposed to the practice of abortion but realise that you cannot void or interfere with a decision that has been made between a woman and her doctor.

2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman?

No.

3) Are you for allowing school prayer?

No.

4) Do you believe that regulating firearms is in violation of the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights?

No.

Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Do you agree with this statement: "generally, the media has a liberal bias"?

No.

2) Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught to the exclusion of creationism"?

Yes. I am against the outright exclusion of any theories from an academic setting. I would say I feel more strongly about this statement in reverse though (since I live in an area where creation is being taught to the exclusion of evolution)

3) Do you agree with this statement: "thanks to George W. Bush America is safer and more secure"?

No.

[SlyHunter]

YYYYY YNYN Y No but shouldn't exclude creationism let people make up their own minds and they can best do that if they know more not less. And finally Not really. Bush isn't the one who put us in danger and while he removed some threats I don't think we are anymore safer than we were.

[miloblithe]

No on all, with the possible exception of 1 per pseudobrit's point.

[Don't panic]

War & Terrorism
1) Do you believe there are WMD still in Iraq waiting to be found?
no, and I don't think that the bush administration believed it one year ago, either

2) Do you believe the war in Iraq is an extension of the "War on Terrorism"?
no, unless you mean that it will extend the lenght of the war on terrorism, which it will unfortunately do (by a decade or more)


Economy & Taxes
1) Do you believe the Bush tax cuts were good for the economy?
No, but they might have been ok if implemented more honestly and especially if not coupled to other disastrous economic provisions (such as, you guessed, the war in iraq)

2) Do you believe the tax cuts were fair?
NO

3) Do you believe the economy is better today than when Bush took office?
in general, no, but there are some who are doing better

Social Issues
1) Are you against "on demand" abortion?
This one is tricky. In my view it is always, to some extent, an act of egoism, but I think it can be legitimate. So, I'm generally pro-choice, especially for therapeutic abortion, cases when the health of the mother is in danger, rape and similar situations. It shouldn't become a family planning tool. I would also add that I don't think that the day-after pill equiparates to an abortion, and that I find being against contraceptives criminal and being anti-abortion and simultaneously pro-death penalty schizophrenic

2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman?
please...

3) Are you for allowing school prayer?
Not in public schools

4) Do you believe that regulating firearms is in violation of the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights?
I don't think that regulation per se is a violation of the second amendment. The extent of the regulation allowable is a matter of dicussion/interpretation. I believe they should regulated to a much larger extent than they are now and even Desertrat couldn't convince me to the contrary (although he did have some interesting arguments)

Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Do you agree with this statement: "generally, the media has a liberal bias"?
some of the media pursue an agenda, most of the media follow the current political climate, very few are independent. The US is a quite conservative country (compared to the rest of the world), so most of the media tend to be conservative (especially the mainstream ones).
Because a large part of the population is ultraconservative, to them the media appears (and is) liberal. It's a matter of perspective. To me they have a significant conservative bias

2) Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught to the exclusion of creationism"?
Evolution should be thought in science classes.
Creationism should be discussed, on par with the other cosmogonies (greek/roman, mesoamerican, japanese, chinese, hinduist, egyptian, sumerian and so on) in history lectures about ancient mithology

3) Do you agree with this statement: "thanks to George W. Bush America is safer and more secure"?
Probably after afghanistan it was (although at the cost of civil liberties), certainly not after iraq or after the last turns with the israeli-palestinian conflict

[numediaman]

I can see now that at least two of the questions are not written well.

I used the term "on demand" because that was how it used to be called.

The evolution question should have been written as: Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught as having more validity than other theories including creationism"?

Oh well, it was a first try. Why doesn't someone else give it a try?

[Desertrat]

War & Terrorism
1) Do you believe there are WMD still in Iraq waiting to be found? Not tons of nerve gas nor boxcars of anthrax. However, I don't doubt there was a knowledge base. Any country with the facilities to make pesticides can make nerve gas. Any country with any sort of serious medical facilities can make anthrax-type stuff.

2) Do you believe the war in Iraq is an extension of the "War on Terrorism"? To a relatively minor extent. There are other countries which have more active in support of Al Qaida. However, if one regards the WOT as a many-year effort, achieving the Bush goal in Iraq might better enable other efforts. (But that's a guess.)

Economy & Taxes
1) Do you believe the Bush tax cuts were good for the economy? Retail store numbers said "Yes".
2) Do you believe the tax cuts were fair? As fair as any across-the-board cuts can ever be.
3) Do you believe the economy is better today than when Bush took office? No, but the dip began before he took office. And, it's probably gonna take a dive before long, no matter who's in office.

Social Issues
1) Are you against "on demand" abortion? Adult women? Between them and their "significant others" and their doctors.
2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman? No.
3) Are you for allowing school prayer? Sure. Didn't hurt me; I wuz ogling girls.
4) Do you believe that regulating firearms is in violation of the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights? Not entirely; see the Anti-Federalist Papers, but I think many laws do violate the 2nd.

Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Do you agree with this statement: "generally, the media has a liberal bias"? Yeah, as I've stated before.
2) Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught to the exclusion of creationism"? No, but then I don't have a lot of use for "Creationism". (To the limited extent that I understand what is meant.)
3) Do you agree with this statement: "thanks to George W. Bush America is safer and more secure"? No, but not much to anybody else, either. About the only useful thing I know of is that limited part of the Patriot Act II which speaks to removal of "The Wall" between the CIA, et al, and the FBI. I think whomever got elected in 2000 would have pushed for more money into airport security and more money into staff for anti-terrorist inspections at ports or border crossings.

'Rat

[G4scott]

War & Terrorism
1) Do you believe there are WMD still in Iraq waiting to be found?
2) Do you believe the war in Iraq is an extension of the "War on Terrorism"?


1) Yes (see my post "If The Bush Administration Lied About WMD, So Did These People (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=68530) ")
2) To an extent. I believe that Iraq did and most likely would have harbored terrorists had we not gone to war.


Economy & Taxes
1) Do you believe the Bush tax cuts were good for the economy?
2) Do you believe the tax cuts were fair?
3) Do you believe the economy is better today than when Bush took office?


1) Yes
2) Yes
3) No, but I don't place the blame on the economy on Bush, and I do believe it's recovering


Social Issues
1) Are you against "on demand" abortion?
2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman?
3) Are you for allowing school prayer?
4) Do you believe that regulating firearms is in violation of the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights?


1) Yes. If you get knocked up when you didn't plan to, and it wasn't rape, that's your fault. If not as many people had unprotected sex, then we wouldn't have more children than we can afford. That way, women who are rape victims can chose to have their child put up for adoption, where there would probably be more people willing to adopt, or they could chose an abortion if their life was in danger or other extreme circumstances.
2) Mixed. Religiously, I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. I also believe that the tax benefits for married couples is there to make it easier to raise a family. I have no problem with gay people having relationships, and becoming partners, but when it comes to raising children, I believe we should have some sort of moral standards.
3) Mixed. I have nothing against prayers in school, but I know that some people are offended, and that instead of being politically correct and recognizing all religions the same, it would be a good idea to keep the practice of religion out of school curriculum or activities. I still believe that students can pray on their own, or in groups of people who decide to. They do have freedom of speech.
4) Mostly no, but part of me says yes. I do believe that owning guns should be a right we should have. I think restricting gun ownership for everyone is a bad idea. I know people with several guns, and a gun dealer. These people are responsible people, and collect guns as a hobby. They shouldn't have to pay for the mistakes of others.


Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Do you agree with this statement: "generally, the media has a liberal bias"?
2) Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught to the exclusion of creationism"?
3) Do you agree with this statement: "thanks to George W. Bush America is safer and more secure"?

1.) Yes ( here's why (http://www.intellectualconservative.com/article3175.html) - although I know that most people here would probably disregard the article because of it's source, the numbers presented paint a good picture of the political bias in our media)
2) No
3) I might not say we're safer, but I will say that we are no more unsafe. Bush's foreign policy has just brought all of the anti-US groups out of the woodwork. They were there before, but now they're more exposed, which is why they seem to be more of a threat.


I liked this poll. It really helps to understand everyone's positions on different topics...

[blackfox]

War & Terrorism
1) Do you believe there are WMD still in Iraq waiting to be found?
2) Do you believe the war in Iraq is an extension of the "War on Terrorism"?

1. Perhaps...I say this because most countries have the capabilities to produce chemical and biological weapons, but I doubt that they are in Iraq now (in large quantaties)...either way, kinda irrelevant as my problem with the US assertion for war was that they would pose a threat to the US, which I feel is patently false.
2. Theoretically yes (as I am sure some terrorists have been/would be within Iraqs borders). However, hardly the most dire threat...and it seems that Iraq is now much more likely to harbor terrorists...so excellent self-fufilling prophecy...

Economy & Taxes
1) Do you believe the Bush tax cuts were good for the economy?
2) Do you believe the tax cuts were fair?
3) Do you believe the economy is better today than when Bush took office?

1. In the short run yes...in the long run no.
2. No. If they were, they would've been presented more clearly to the public.
3. Yes, but not necessarily because of Bush...economic cycles do not pay attention to partisan politics...I will say that another administration might have done a better job...However, with ballooning deficits, Bush has ensured that FUTURE economies will have some problems.

Social Issues
1) Are you against "on demand" abortion?
2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman?
3) Are you for allowing school prayer?
4) Do you believe that regulating firearms is in violation of the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights?

1. May just be dodging a bullet, but I believe that is an issue between an adult woman, her partner and a doctor...so no comment.
2. NO...such things do NOT belong in the Constitution...I believe that the state should recognize ONLY civil-unions (for straight and gay couples) and that if you want a marriage you get a separate ceremony recognized only by your Church..
3. Not really...but I think it is a little overboard to strike ANY religious reference from school...leave it up to individual communities to decide...
4. Do not know enough about the issue...do think we have the right to have guns, but armor-piercing, cyanide-tipped bullets?...maybe not.

Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Do you agree with this statement: "generally, the media has a liberal bias"?
2) Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught to the exclusion of creationism"?
3) Do you agree with this statement: "thanks to George W. Bush America is safer and more secure"?

1. Depends on your perspective...if you are conservative...yes, if you are a liberal...no. All owned by conglomerates anyway, so it is almost beside the point...
2.I think both have their place...present both (in the proper context), let people decide...however, if you do teach creationism, you might as well allow prayer...
3. NO. This administrations arrogance has ensured that...

As has been said before...great idea for a thread Numediaman...thanks

[vwcruisn]

I'll give you that but the way the liberals around here talk the would make you think that the sky is falling.

Im sorry but i just dont understand how someone can be so against somebody thats trying to clean up the air that YOU breathe. My god what is wrong with people these days :confused:

[skunk]

My god what is wrong with people these days :confused:
I think it's something to do with the air they're breathing.... :rolleyes:

[amnesiac1984]

Im sorry but i just dont understand how someone can be so against somebody thats trying to clean up the air that YOU breathe. My god what is wrong with people these days :confused:

I know what you mean, people act like its nothing to worry about because its not a huge problem and we can still live. On the other hand, I won't be happy with air pollution until it no longer exists and the air we breathe is as clean as it was before the industrial revolution.

[skunk]

On the other hand, I won't be happy with air pollution until it no longer exists and the air we breathe is as clean as it was before the industrial revolution.
What about all that methane? Before the agricultural revolution would be better ;)

[yamabushi]

No to all of the above questions.

[Ozi]

no to all the questions, especially the tax cuts one.

i am borderline on the "abortion on demand" one... I think some counselling is needed too, to ascertain that the right decision is being made.

Also, If the government, and religious leaders weren't so conservative/right wing in their views, maybe USA could get decent sex ed for its kids, and free condoms in schools, negating the whole abortion issue.

Theres bugger all chance of that happening with Bush around though... *sighs sadly* :(

[Desertrat]

Ozi, re "Also, If the government, and religious leaders weren't so conservative/right wing in their views, maybe USA could get decent sex ed for its kids, and free condoms in schools, negating the whole abortion issue."

The modifier "some" would help a lot. :)

Always remember that our real national game is washing our dirty laundry in public, with activism from relatively small parts of the population or the leadership of whatever sort. Everybody, of course, has some sort of opinion, one way or another, but that's true everywhere. Overall, usually, there's a lot less there than meets the eye.

Regards,

'Rat

[Neserk]

Im sorry but i just dont understand how someone can be so against somebody thats trying to clean up the air that YOU breathe. My god what is wrong with people these days :confused:

Because they want MONEY. And didn't you know that with enough MONEY they can move somewhere they don't have to breath the air they have polluted? ;) POlluted air is for the poor.

[krimson]

it's just as smoggy in Beverly Hills as it is Downtown LA...

mailbu on the other hand... :D

[bryanc]

I'm definately in the 'no' to all of the above camp.

Neat poll.

Cheers

[takao]

Economy & Taxes
1) Do you believe the Bush tax cuts were good for the economy?
2) Do you believe the tax cuts were fair?
3) Do you believe the economy is better today than when Bush took office?
can't comment on this i am not from the USA

Social Issues
1) Are you against "on demand" abortion?
no, this is a private thing of everybody..
2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman?
no ...this is private but i think adoption should be only available for heterosexual marriages....the schoolyard would be absolute horror for a kid if other kids find it out that the kids parents are 2 man or 2 women ...
3) Are you for allowing school prayer?
in general absolutly no ... this should be only made with pupils spereated in beliefs as it was done at our school : 2 hours "religion" with different teachers and different rooms for the catholics/protestants but it was mroe about teaching the basic beliefs of each religion with a little bit singing ,painting ,writing,reading and discussion
4) Do you believe that regulating firearms is in violation of the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights?
i don't know the american Bill of Rights but i think regulating firearms is very important political point for the US to accomplish...in austria you have to pass multiple psychologistic (sp?) tests if you want to buy a firearm and they have to be repeated every 3-5 years (AFAIK) but even with a weapons owner ID you are _not_ allowed to carry them around in the streets...for this you need to make more tests and they have to be repeated even more often,if you were once in prison you change of getting a gun is non existant, if you refused serve the military conscription service you are not allowed to buy guns either,only a few different types of rounds are allowed, man stopping amunition is only allowed for special police forces, pump-guns are _banned_,so are semi automatic assault rifles or other heavy equipment, full automatic guns of course completly banned,etc. tc. there are even certain laws against long knives etc. etc.

Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Do you agree with this statement: "generally, the media has a liberal bias"?
since the 60ties the german speaking media is in the liberal corner (with exception of national Tv stations)
but the american channels,news which i can get with satelite dish,internet are very conservative in general
2) Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught to the exclusion of creationism"?
the perfect place for "creationism" (funny word lol) would be a "religion" lesson...it has nothing to do with history......here evoltion is mainly taught in biology together with that DNA,RNA,m-RNA,etc. in history there are only a few hours about the first humans
3) Do you agree with this statement: "thanks to George W. Bush America is safer and more secure"?
safer and more secure than before ? perhaps but i doubt it...
safer and more secure than other countries ? clear answer: absolutly NO

[Neserk]

2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman?
no ...this is private but i think adoption should be only available for heterosexual marriages....the schoolyard would be absolute horror for a kid if other kids find it out that the kids parents are 2 man or 2 women ...



That is an odd comment... wouldn't it make more sense to educate the rest of the world on the facts about children who are raised by same sex parents rather than letting school yard bullies dictate the law?

PS I've seen children in the classroom who have 2 moms or 2 dads. No problems from the playground. If there was you better believe that the children causing the problems would hear about it!

[Desertrat]

takao, a question as to comparative security: I'm assuming the original question referred to Al Qaida. Okay, is Spain safer? Or the Philippines? Or Indonesia? Or Saudi Arabia? They seem to have loud, thumping noises with AQ claiming credit. I note England states it's stopped some AQ plots. The Balkans seem to have some involvement with this AQ problem, as well.

After all, we've been a specific target of AQ since its formation in 1988, with 1993's WTC I as its first major effort. Given their success with WTC II in 2001 and the lack of further successes here, I'd have to say the jury is still out about our internal safety--although there are multitudes of significant targets here and we have no real border security.

'Rat

[takao]

takao, a question as to comparative security: I'm assuming the original question referred to Al Qaida. Okay, is Spain safer? Or the Philippines? Or Indonesia? Or Saudi Arabia? They seem to have loud, thumping noises with AQ claiming credit. I note England states it's stopped some AQ plots. The Balkans seem to have some involvement with this AQ problem, as well.

After all, we've been a specific target of AQ since its formation in 1988, with 1993's WTC I as its first major effort. Given their success with WTC II in 2001 and the lack of further successes here, I'd have to say the jury is still out about our internal safety--although there are multitudes of significant targets here and we have no real border security.

'Rat

i thought about my comment more on the overall picture including the guns situation...you mentioned england stopped some AQ plots...for me this means it is safer there ;)

and for the balkan...you know what nickname the balkan has in austria since hundreds of years ? "Pulverfaß" = "powder barrel" because it is so unstable and can explode very fast... and of course the balkan is very split up about religion ...this caused the last civil war in the 90ties with the terrible murders & genocides from each side...

spain ? well they are in coalition with USA and UK so they are in the same boat..

but the difference i guess is just as you said : the USA had a pretty big border to control and thats their problem....(and of course this playing around on the whole world dosn't help the situation either)

but we are getting offtopic and i have to catch my train now

[Freakk123]

War & Terrorism
1) Do you believe there are WMD still in Iraq waiting to be found? Nope
2) Do you believe the war in Iraq is an extension of the "War on Terrorism"? No

Economy & Taxes
1) Do you believe the Bush tax cuts were good for the economy? No
2) Do you believe the tax cuts were fair? No
3) Do you believe the economy is better today than when Bush took office?
HA! No way!

Social Issues
1) Are you against "on demand" abortion? No
2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman? HELL NO!
3) Are you for allowing school prayer? Undecided.
4) Do you believe that regulating firearms is in violation of the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights? NO. StopTheNRA.com (http://stopthenra.com)

Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Do you agree with this statement: "generally, the media has a liberal bias"? No
2) Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught to the exclusion of creationism"? NO, NO, NO!
3) Do you agree with this statement: "thanks to George W. Bush America is safer and more secure"? Unfortunately, we're just as unsafe as before.

[Thomas Veil]

War & Terrorism
1) Do you believe there are WMD still in Iraq waiting to be found? NO.
2) Do you believe the war in Iraq is an extension of the "War on Terrorism"? NO.

Economy & Taxes
1) Do you believe the Bush tax cuts were good for the economy? NO.
2) Do you believe the tax cuts were fair? NO.
3) Do you believe the economy is better today than when Bush took office? NO.

Social Issues
1) Are you against "on demand" abortion? YES.
2) Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman? NO.
3) Are you for allowing school prayer? NO.
4) Do you believe that regulating firearms is in violation of the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights? NO.

Attitudes & Beliefs
1) Do you agree with this statement: "generally, the media has a liberal bias"? NO.
2) Do you agree with this statement: "evolution is an unproven theory that should not be taught to the exclusion of creationism"? NO.
3) Do you agree with this statement: "thanks to George W. Bush America is safer and more secure"? NO.

[numediaman]

This isn't a new poll, but some may find it fun. An Iraq quiz -- pretty easy, but see how you do. This is from a British web site (I'd give you the URL but you might cheat!)

1) Modern Iraq was formed from three provinces of which entity?

a. Austro-Hungarian empire
b. Saudi Arabia
c. Persia
d. Ottoman empire


2) What is Saddam Hussein's ethnic and religious background?

a. Shi'a Moslem
b. Sunni Moslem
c. Kurdish
d. Christian


3) Which senior Iraqi figure survived an assassination attempt in Karbala, in November 1998?

a. Taha Yassin Ramadan
b. Tareq Aziz
c. Uday Hussein
d. Izzat Ibrahim


4) In November 1994, Iraq recognised Kuwait's borders and independence.

a. True
b. False


5) In 1980, the Iran-Iraq war broke out. How long did it last?

a. Nine months
b. Two years
c. Six years
d. Eight years


6) How did Saddam Hussein come to power in 1979?

a. Following elections
b. After a bloody coup
c. Predecessor assassinated
d. After peaceful handover


7) The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was the springboard of Saddam Hussein's rise to power. What does Ba'ath mean?

a. Revolution
b. Justice
c. Victory
d. Renaissance


8) In which part of Iraq was Saddam Hussein born?

a. Tikrit
b. Mosul
c. Baghdad
d. Basra


9) When did modern Iraq become independent?

a. 1920
b. 1921
c. 1932
d. 1948


10) Which country administered Iraq before independence, under a League of Nations mandate?

a. France
b. Italy
c. Great Britain
d. United States

[skunk]

1) Modern Iraq was formed from three provinces of which entity?

d. Ottoman empire


2) What is Saddam Hussein's ethnic and religious background?

b. Sunni Moslem

3) Which senior Iraqi figure survived an assassination attempt in Karbala, in November 1998?

c. Uday Hussein

4) In November 1994, Iraq recognised Kuwait's borders and independence.

a. True

5) In 1980, the Iran-Iraq war broke out. How long did it last?

d. Eight years


6) How did Saddam Hussein come to power in 1979?

c. Predecessor assassinated

7) The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was the springboard of Saddam Hussein's rise to power. What does Ba'ath mean?

d. Renaissance


8) In which part of Iraq was Saddam Hussein born?

a. Tikrit

9) When did modern Iraq become independent?

a. 1920


10) Which country administered Iraq before independence, under a League of Nations mandate?


c. Great Britain
How'd I do? :)

[mactastic]

How'd I do? :)

I was gonna put those same answers. Only one I was unsure of was #4.

[skunk]

I was gonna put those same answers. Only one I was unsure of was #4.
I may well be wrong on that one!

[Ozi]

The modifier "some" would help a lot. :)

Always remember that our real national game is washing our dirty laundry in public, with activism from relatively small parts of the population or the leadership of whatever sort. Everybody, of course, has some sort of opinion, one way or another, but that's true everywhere. Overall, usually, there's a lot less there than meets the eye.

Regards,

'Rat

yes i agree... sorry i just wanted to have a rant. I know there are people on both sides of the issue, but I think that there are more people who are "anti-sex ed" than there are people for it. Also, if you wrote a letter to every high school (or college, or what ever the USAian term is for educational instituion for youth aged 13-18) asking them to provide condoms, free of charge, to students, I believe around 80% would reject the idea.

but you are correct, it is wrong of me to say "all" religious and educational leaders are right wing. All generalisations are stupid. LMAO!

~ozi

[numediaman]

How'd I do? :)

Three wrong -- not bad. Thanks for playing. Next!

[Don't panic]

d. Ottoman empire

b. Sunni Moslem

b. Tareq Aziz

a. True

d. Eight years

c. Predecessor assassinated

d. Renaissance

a. Tikrit

d. 1948

c. Great Britain

[numediaman]

Three wrong -- nice try. If we don't get a winner by tomorrow I'll post the correct answers. The first person to get all ten correct wins a copy of Bob Woodward's new book signed by Deep Throat.

[Freakk123]

1) Modern Iraq was formed from three provinces of which entity?

d. Ottoman empire


2) What is Saddam Hussein's ethnic and religious background?

b. Sunni Moslem


3) Which senior Iraqi figure survived an assassination attempt in Karbala, in November 1998?

d. Izzat Ibrahim


4) In November 1994, Iraq recognised Kuwait's borders and independence.

a. True

5) In 1980, the Iran-Iraq war broke out. How long did it last?

d. Eight years


6) How did Saddam Hussein come to power in 1979?

d. After peaceful handover


7) The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was the springboard of Saddam Hussein's rise to power. What does Ba'ath mean?

d. Renaissance


8) In which part of Iraq was Saddam Hussein born?

a. Tikrit


9) When did modern Iraq become independent?

c. 1932


10) Which country administered Iraq before independence, under a League of Nations mandate?

c. Great Britain

[numediaman]

We have a winner. You will receive a copy of Bob Woodward's new book "The Crawford Years" (about Bush's missing four years as President) signed by Linda Lovelace. Congratulations. :D

[blackfox]

This isn't a new poll, but some may find it fun. An Iraq quiz -- pretty easy, but see how you do. This is from a British web site (I'd give you the URL but you might cheat!)

1) Modern Iraq was formed from three provinces of which entity?

a. Austro-Hungarian empire
b. Saudi Arabia
c. Persia
d. Ottoman empire

D...Ottoman empire (Kurdish Mosul, Sunni Baghdad, Shiite Basra)
BTW "Iraq" means "well-rooted" in Arabic...

2) What is Saddam Hussein's ethnic and religious background?

a. Shi'a Moslem
b. Sunni Moslem
c. Kurdish
d. Christian

B...Sunni (Athough this is only a guess from where he was from)


3) Which senior Iraqi figure survived an assassination attempt in Karbala, in November 1998?

a. Taha Yassin Ramadan
b. Tareq Aziz
c. Uday Hussein
d. Izzat Ibrahim

C...Although I might be remembering something different...

4) In November 1994, Iraq recognised Kuwait's borders and independence.

a. True
b. False

I don't know...I will hazard 'A' as it makes sense in context...

5) In 1980, the Iran-Iraq war broke out. How long did it last?

a. Nine months
b. Two years
c. Six years
d. Eight years

D...8 years

6) How did Saddam Hussein come to power in 1979?

a. Following elections
b. After a bloody coup
c. Predecessor assassinated
d. After peaceful handover

Is this a trick question? In 1958 the King and PM were executed by Col. Kassem(b and c)...in 1963, Kassem was overthrown and executed by Baathist military officers, led by Abdul Aref (Saddam @ 26 paticipates)..(b and c)...in 1968, Aref killed by Al-Bakr(saddam becomes internal security chief)...(b and c)...but I think the transition from al-Bakar to Hussein was D...


7) The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was the springboard of Saddam Hussein's rise to power. What does Ba'ath mean?

a. Revolution
b. Justice
c. Victory
d. Renaissance

D...

8) In which part of Iraq was Saddam Hussein born?

a. Tikrit
b. Mosul
c. Baghdad
d. Basra

A.....

9) When did modern Iraq become independent?

a. 1920
b. 1921
c. 1932
d. 1948

D...I think...

10) Which country administered Iraq before independence, under a League of Nations mandate?

a. France
b. Italy
c. Great Britain
d. United States
[/QUOTE]
C...after defeating Turks in WWI

Good quiz Numedia...you can draw some interesting parallels between the good-intentions of Britain in nation-building and how that fell apart, and of current events...(assuming a modicum of god-intentions part f the US)

*EDIT* OK, I got a few wrong...no book for me...story of my life...Uday was disabled in a car wreck then, right?...

[numediaman]

*EDIT* OK, I got a few wrong...no book for me...story of my life...Uday was disabled in a car wreck then, right?...

Question three is definitely a trick question. Uday survived an assassination attempt in 1996 -- though he was paralyzed. It was Saddam's right hand man, Izzat Ibrahim, who narrowly missed biting it in 1998. It's hard to keep some of these minor facts straight.

I think a better question would have been this: Saddam Hussein met with the ambassador of a western country in July of 1990 to ask whether they would object to an invasion of Kuwait -- what country was this?

Answer:
July 25, 1990: In a meeting between Saddam Hussein and US Ambassador to Iraq April Glaspie, Glaspie tells Hussein, "I have direct instructions from President Bush to improve our relations with Iraq. We have considerable sympathy for your quest for higher oil prices, the immediate cause of your confrontation with Kuwait. ...We know you need funds. We understand that, and our opinion is that you should have the opportunity to rebuild your country. We can see that you have deployed massive numbers of troops in the south. Normally that would be none of our business, but when this happens in the context of your other threats against Kuwait, then it would be reasonable for us to be concerned. For this reason, I have received an instruction to ask you, in the spirit of friendship -- not confrontation -- regarding your intentions: Why are your troops massed so very close to Kuwait's borders?" Hussein answers that he intends to try to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Kuwait; Glaspie asks what solutions Hussein would find acceptable. Hussein wants to keep the entire Shatt al Arab [a strategically important waterway] under Iraqi control, and if given that, he is willing to make concessions to Kuwait. However, if he has to give up some control of the Shatt, he will renounce all control in favor of bringing Kuwait back under Iraqi dominion. Glaspie replies, "We have no opinion on your Arab-Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait. Secretary [of State James] Baker has directed me to emphasize the instruction, first given to Iraq in the 1960's, that the Kuwait issue is not associated with America." Reportedly Hussein takes this as a green light from the US to proceed with the invasion. A month later, Glaspie is confronted by British journalists with the transcripts of the meeting, and is asked, "You encouraged this aggression -- his invasion. What were you thinking?" She lamely replies, "Obviously, I didn't think, and nobody else did, that the Iraqis were going to take all of Kuwait," to which the astounded journalist asks, "You thought he was just going to take some of it? But how could you? Saddam told you that, if negotiations failed, he would give up his Iran [Shatt al Arab] goal for the "whole of Iraq, in the shape we wish it to be." You know that includes Kuwait, which the Iraqis have always viewed as an historic part of their country!" When Glaspie refuses to answer, the journalist continues, "America green-lighted the invasion. At a minimum, you admit signalling Saddam that some aggression was okay -- that the U.S. would not oppose a grab of the al-Rumalya oil field, the disputed border strip and the Gulf Islands [including Bubiyan] -- territories claimed by Iraq?" Again, Glaspie refuses to respond, and is driven away in a limousine before she can refuse to answer further questions. (New York Times/Montclair State University, US/Iraq Relations Timeline, Consortium News, Iraq History and Culture)

[blackfox]

Question three is definitely a trick question. Uday survived an assassination attempt in 1996 -- though he was paralyzed. It was Saddam's right hand man, Izzat Ibrahim, who narrowly missed biting it in 1998. It's hard to keep some of these minor facts straight.

I think a better question would have been this: Saddam Hussein met with the ambassador of a western country in July of 1990 to ask whether they would object to an invasion of Kuwait -- what country was this?

Answer:
[INDENT]July 25, 1990: In a meeting between Saddam Hussein and US Ambassador to Iraq April Glaspie....SNIP....

There are many who think that this was the lowest period of US Foreign Policy...that there was no coherent policy towards Iraq...there were no specialists w/in the foreign service community who could be considered MIddle East experts, and Bush was more occupied with the fall of the Berlin wall...so an erroneous policy of appeasement was adopted...There are also many that think that the nomination of April Glaspie to ambassador to Iraq was an idiotic idea...she was a well-qualified, wholly professional woman, but was ultimately given the post becuse of the pressure to give a woman a high-level ambassadorship...in the words of a Foreign Service contemporary:
"If you are willing to put aside Political Correctness, it is possible to say that the US fought a war because of Affirmative Action." The fact that Hussein would and did not take a woman seriously, had the effect of Glaspie working extra hard to appear to please, exarcerbating the appeasement policy of the time, and giving the impression to Hussein that we were not going to follow up on any threats...basically giving the impression to Hussein that he could do what he wanted, as he could indefinitely string along the US, through Glaspie and other Mid-East Policy wonks, who had no idea what was going on...again an example of how important correct intelligence work is...