For those who converted from Republican to Democratic political views, what were your reasons for supporting Republicans and conservatism before? What led you to your change?
There's been very little change in my views since I started voting in 1980.What's changed is that both parties have moved away from those views pretty dramaticslly since then. The republicans of the eras prior to mine were much more about conserving the principals which the Constitution lays out to limit and guide government. By the time I was old enough to join the fray they had shifted to the "conservative" "morals" of today: Pro corporate fascism and pro religion (thanks for nothing Birchers!). Since I left in '82 over my speaking out against the Grand Lie of trickle down "economics", BOTH parties have shifted so far to the "right" that today's democratic party brass now stand where the nucking futts republican party brass stood then.IF you want the Truth of what the parties are, and what they actually "stand for" my advise is to ignore their words and look at the laws they pass at Public Citizen or Map Light... then ask one key Question: " Who Profits From This as passed?". Take a look at the '54 party platform and the actions which came out of that.Then look at the actions of the parties since Reagan got into office.I left the Republicans in '82 after the party brass told me directly to either shut up, about their grand lie of trickle down (voodoo) "economics", or get out.I got.Joined the dems and left them shortly after because I wouldn't get behind their position on blanket amnesty for illegal aliens.
Why do people and the media blame murders and other serious crimes on video games and certain music?
Because they want a concrete explanation that they can understand. Actually gory and violent video games can indeed desensitize us to death and the pain of others in some ways. Of course, this does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that video games are to blame for school shootings or terrorism or any other evil the human race can think to bring upon others. It’s just that it makes us feel like we have some sort of control over the violence in the world around us if we can control the perceived cause of it. If I can blame video games for causing murders, I can take my little brother’s Call of Duty games from him, attempt to censor video games from his high school and speak out about how violent they are, which makes me feel powerful in preventing crime even if it doesn’t. The sad truth of the matter is that some violent crimes are probably sparked by horror films, video games and music, but the people committing these crimes already have a screw loose to begin with, and so there isn’t just one factor we can blame. Mental illness, a lack of gun control, school bullying, racism, paranoia and many other things come into play here. We cannot control crime or violence simply by taking away whatever form of media influenced a few bad apples to do something horrible. I’m sure Ted Bundy, Adolph Hitler and Muhammad Atta never played violent video games or music, and yet look at the atrocities they committed. So definitely other factors cause crime too and taking away one does not guarantee anybody’s safety.
What are some slang terms used among police officers?
The most derogatory terms for the bad guys and citizens who are just pains in the rectum:A.H. = Adam Henry (A-dam H-enry) If you don’t get it…..sometimes you will hear it as “Jack Hole”…..now what starts with an “A” that ends with HOLE ?RICHARD CRANIUM= What starts with a “D” and is a nickname for Richard ? What is the non-medical layman’s term for the Cranium ? Do these clues HEAD you in the right direction ?
Why do people seem more concerned with the 2nd Amendment than the 1st?
Why do people seem more concerned with the 2nd Amendment than the 1st?I’m concerned with all of my civil rights but…I don’t have to get a permit to exercise my 1A rights.There’s no waiting period to exercise my 1A rights.There isn’t a significant movement suggesting that we repeal the 1A (well more of an outspoken minority than significant movement but it seems to be a larger group than those that support the repeal of any other amendment).I’m not constantly hearing that the 1A is obsolete.People don’t try to claim that my 1A rights don’t apply to modern technology.No one tries to convince me that “the people” means anything other than “the people” when reading the 1A.Quora isn’t flooded with trollish questions wanting to know how we can bypass the 1A.I don’t hear things like “Relax, no one is trying to ban ALL religions,” or “You’ll still have plenty of other words and phrases to choose from so it’s not an infringement if we ban the ones on this list.”No one is trying to ban churches that have certain decorations. No one is banning books because they don’t like the covers.No one is suggesting that an 18 year-old who is able to join the military, enter into legal contracts, get married, bury himself in debt, and make tons of other life-changing decisions somehow lacks the mental capacity to exercise his 1A rights.My 1A rights are repeatedly protected by the courts whereas we have to sit there with our fingers crossed every time a 2A issue comes up. Yes Heller and McDonald were huge victories. Yet the NY SAFE Act still exists, though one provision was overturned, some states still effectively deny their citizens the right to carry, some states still ignore FOPA, we have yet to get an assault weapon ban overturned, so yes it is still very much a mixed bag in the judicial arena.My 1A right doesn’t protect the means to defend my life and the lives of those around me.The 2A is the only amendment that provides a physical means to enforce observance of the rest or our rights.It’s not that either one is more important than the other, it’s that one is more consistently under attack and is less-defended by those who are not directly affected by those attacks.