citizenship test

[AHGOD]

Originally posted by AKIron
or Californians

Or people who can't speak English in this country.

[lazs2]

iron... nope.  If you are not a citizen then you shouldn't be allowed to vote.
lazs

[Dowding]

Do liberal Brits throw around terms like "fascist" the way their Yankee brethren wield labels like "bigot" and "Nazi"? You guys really ought to agree on a common leftist lexicon.

So you're whining about labels, while throwing around labels yourself? Poor you - been called a Nazi bigot once too often?

Maggie was a Fascist. She had a tattoo of Enoch Powell just above where they plugged the power leads in.

[AKIron]

My first thought was that Davis was attempting to buy the Hispanic vote, not of those illegally here but of those most sympathetic to them.

Then I realized that he may have made it possible for non citizens to vote. I'm not sure about this though since I don't know what's required to register to vote there.

This is an action very similar to what Clinton did when he solicted campaign money from China. While I have no ill will towards the people of Mexico and little towards the Chinese, I find selling the integrity of our self governance to be traitorous.

[LoneStarBuckeye]

Originally posted by Dowding
So you're whining about labels, while throwing around labels yourself? Poor you - been called a Nazi bigot once too often?

Maggie was a Fascist. She had a tattoo of Enoch Powell just above where they plugged the power leads in.

No, I've not been called a Nazi or a bigot, but I've seen plenty of others subjected to that sort of baseless, irrational compartmentalization on these boards.  What labels am I "throwing around"?  "Liberal" and "leftist"?  Hardly the equivalent of "fascist".

It disgusts me to see leftists (label) like you preaching from the pulpit of moral superiority to which you have absolutely no claim.  Don't pity me.  I neither need nor want anything from the likes of you, least of all your pity.  

By the way, you're no Dowding.

[Dowding]

Your post is full of contradictions and inconsistency.

No, I've not been called a Nazi or a bigot, but I've seen plenty of others subjected to that sort of baseless, irrational compartmentalization on these boards.

So you thought you'd engage in some of your own? Something doesn't quite add up.

What labels am I "throwing around"? "Liberal" and "leftist"? Hardly the equivalent of "fascist".

YMMV, wouldn't you say?

It disgusts me to see leftists (label) like you preaching from the pulpit of moral superiority to which you have absolutely no claim.

Wait a minute, what were you saying about baseless, irrational compartmentalization again?

Don't pity me. I neither need nor want anything from the likes of you, least of all your pity.

What is this, fluffy handbags at 10 paces?

By the way, you're no Dowding.

Did everyone see that? He attacked my internet BBS handle!!! I think I might cry, I really might. Clearly I've been outsmarted by a superior wit.

Really.

[LoneStarBuckeye]

Dowding:

I don't think my post contains any contradictions or inconsistencies.

I don't think that referring to someone as a "leftist" is an stigmatizing, "irrational compartmentalization."  It is simply an assessment of where one lies on the political spectrum.  If you want to label me a "rightist," go right ahead.  (Although "fascist" could arguably be placed in this category, I think that its stigmatizing power outweighs any value it may have as a truly descriptive term.)

And, I don't think it is a stretch to observe that you have often assumed the moral high ground on any number of issues (e.g., gun control).  In my view, you have no rightful claim to it.

I don't get the bit about fluffy handbags.  Is supposed to be funny or sarcastic or something else altogether?

The "you're no Dowding" quip wasn't an attack on your "handle."  He was a great man who played a key role in fending off the real "Nazis" and preserving your great Nation.  It just strikes me as an odd choice.  Sort of like an American calling himself "Eisenhower," "Patton," or something like that.

[LoneStarBuckeye]

Originally posted by Dowding
Clearly I've been outsmarted by a superior wit.

One more thing, I'm not trying to outsmart you or anyone else.  I don't think you are unintelligent or lack a fine wit.  To the contrary, based on what I've read on these boards, I'd say that you're probably quite intelligent, well-read, and well-informed.  That's why it pains me so to see you resort to tactics like labeling someone a fascist.  You're better than that.  (I don't mean to preach, because I know that I'm probably guilty of the same offense.  I'd like to think that I'm better than that, too.)

Nonetheless, you and I are never going to see eye to eye on most issues of substance, and no amount of arguing will ever change that.  These are not questions decided by intelligence or wit; rather, they are issues determined by perspective, values, and fundamental notions about the role that government should assume.

[Dowding]

And, I don't think it is a stretch to observe that you have often assumed the moral high ground on any number of issues (e.g., gun control).

I'll bite - is that gun control regarding America or gun control in general? I'd be interested in what you consider 'moral high ground'. I'd also be grateful for some quotes.

I don't think that referring to someone as a "leftist" is an stigmatizing, "irrational compartmentalization." It is simply an assessment of where one lies on the political spectrum. If you want to label me a "rightist," go right ahead. (Although "fascist" could arguably be placed in this category, I think that its stigmatizing power outweighs any value it may have as a truly descriptive term.)

That would depend if you think there is such a thing as rational compartmentalization. I don't. Compartmentalization is just laziness and is used to avoid the issue. Terms like 'leftist', 'rightist' etc are used to get people's back up. Everyone does it from time to time because it is easy, but let's at least recognise it for what it really is.

I also think that people who can't discern an inane joke from serious commentary are not particularly worth engaging with. Maggie was not a fascist - but I have a distaste for her that will never go away. I saw a lot of stuff happen that were direct repercussions of her decisions. And I'm talking tactical day-to-day decisions, if you will - not grand policy, which might be argued was reaction to circumstance.

She might as well have been a goose-stepper to me.

The "you're no Dowding" quip wasn't an attack on your "handle." He was a great man who played a key role in fending off the real "Nazis" and preserving your great Nation. It just strikes me as an odd choice. Sort of like an American calling himself "Eisenhower," "Patton," or something like that.

Not been around communities like this long? People take on names of people involved in history behind the games. That is true of every type of historical simulation out there. Take a look at the Combat Mission boards and you'll find Mansteins and Pattons etc etc. It doesn't mean anything really.In AH we have a Yeager, Ike etc. I actually meant to choose Keith Park, since he did actually fly combat missions but confused the big cheese with his subordinate.
 
But it still is a little infantile to use a handle as a basis for a personal attack. Calling it a 'quip' is certainly giving it more credit than it deserves.

[LoneStarBuckeye]

Originally posted by Dowding

But it still is a little infantile to use a handle as a basis for a personal attack. Calling it a 'quip' is certainly giving it more credit than it deserves.

Again, it was not a "personal attack."  It was actually meant to be funny.  Perhaps you're familiar with the (in)famous "You're no John Kennedy" statement of recent vintage in American electoral politics?

[Dowding]

No, I'm not. I have enough trouble mustering interest for British politics.

[Ripsnort]

Lonestar, whats ironic is the (American) definition of a democrat today is that of fascism in yesteryear...

Economically speaking—
CAPITALISM: business is privately owned, and privately controlled.
COMMUNISM: business is collectively owned, and collectively controlled.
SOCIALISM: business is government owned, and government controlled.
FASCISM: business is privately owned, but government controlled (what most Democrat politicians want).
Politically speaking—Fascism is the extreme rule of law and control of human activity (i.e., “authoritarianism,” commonly and mistakenly called, “totalitarianism”).  In this respect, it differs from Stalinist socialism only in the ownership of property.  Since property is controlled by the state in both instances, this is only a matter of form.
Democrats in this country are often called “socialists”—just as Hitler’s Nazis were called “National Socialists,” but were really fascists.
Democrats advocate a paternalistic, “big-brother” style of government—just like the Nazis.  Some critics call it the “nanny-state.”
In the 1960s, Democrat politicians translated Nazi gun-control laws, and passed them as the Gun Control Act of 1968.  Democrats now propose other Nazi-inspired laws, including the banning of handguns—just like Adolph Hitler, the inventor of handgun control.
Democrat politicians and the so-called “liberal” media consistently use variations of the big-lie technique—just like the Nazis.
      The big-lie technique was pioneered by the Nazi minister of propaganda, Dr. Josef Göebels.  The theory is, the bigger the lie, and the louder and more often you tell it, the easier it is for the public to believe it.  The technique was successful because the basically honest public had little insight into the mind of a liar, and instinctively reasoned that no one would dare tell a lie that big.
      One of the modern variations developed by Democrats is the many-lie technique, where so many lies are told that we develop a blasé attitude toward the problem.
      Another technique, foretold by George Orwell in his once-futuristic book, 1984, is the use of double-speak (called newspeak in Orwell's book), where terminology is used to mean the opposite of what it sounds like—witness the misuse of the word, “liberal.”
      Leading Democrat, Ted Kennedy, as quoted in the January 28, 2002 issue of U.S.News & World Report, smiled and described yet another technique: “...you take someone’s argument and you misrepresent it and you misstate it and you disagree with it. ...It’s very effective.  I’ve done it myself a number of times.”
      The result of the big lies, the many small lies and double-speak is seen in the big truth effect, where the truth now seems so farfetched that people have trouble accepting it—witness the difficulty many will have with this essay.
Democrats and other so-called “liberals” attempt “thought-control”—just like the Nazis—through government schools, control of the major media outlets and journalism schools, day-care, dumbed-down politically correct (PC) textbooks and curriculum, so-called “liberal” faculties at most colleges and universities, government funding (i.e., censorship) of the arts and of public TV and of public radio, forced unionization of government workers, regulations, hate-crime legislation, and so on.  They are now using scare tactics in their attempt to reign-in a predominantly libertarian internet.  Many radical feminists, multi-culturalists, PCers and victim-mongers advocate censorship and destroy publications—just like the Nazis.
Democrats excel in the use of the politics of envy, hatred and division—just like the Nazis—and emphasize our differences, rather than celebrate our commonalities.  They try to pit us against each other by using classist terminology such as upper-class, middle-class, lower-class, working-class, white-collar and blue-collar, or by hyphenating us into rich-Americans, poor-Americans, far-right, far-left, Asian-Americans, white-Americans, Afro-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, native-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, straight-Americans, gay-Americans, urban-Americans, rural-Americans, and on and on and on.  In the attempt to divide us, most Democrat leaders today engage in scapegoating—just like the Nazis.
Democrats, led by Woodrow Wilson, ran most blacks out of government—just as later their ideological cousins, the Nazis, ran the Jews out of government.
Democrats have reduced opportunities for minorities, by regulating away those opportunities, and by opposing school choice.  The result has been that large segments of minorities remain isolated in the ghetto—just as the Nazis did with the Jews.
Democrats have enslaved large segments of minorities within the barb-wire of “welfare”—just as the Nazis enslaved minorities within the barb-wire of the concentration camps.
Speaking of which, Democrats invented the modern concentration camp.  The Nazi concentration camps were modelled on British concentration camps used during the Boer War, which were modelled on the horrific prisoner of war camps created by Democrats during our Civil War.
Democrats and other so-called “liberals” use pseudo-religious justification of their agenda—just like the Nazis.  They attempt to misrepresent, twist and misquote the teachings of the major religious writings of the world, especially in the case of the Judeo-Christian Bible.  Toward that end, they have infiltrated many religious organizations and schools, and have created misleading presentations of religious stories and lessons in the entertainment industry and literature.
Many so-called “liberals” are preoccupied with initiatory societies, mystery cults, ancient beliefs, paganism, myths, fantasy and pop-theology—as were many Nazis.  Surprisingly, most of these philosophical systems agree with the Judeo-Christian teaching (and Newton’s Second Law of Thermodynamics) that all actions have consequences; therefore, we are responsible for our own actions and conditions.  The irony here—as it was under the Nazis—is that these so-called “liberals” still insist on victim-mongering and scapegoating.
Democrats and other so-called “liberals” and “moderates” allow what most pro-life Republicans consider the ultimate hate crime—abortion.  Democrats have even been at the forefront in the battle to legalize partial-birth and after-birth “abortions”—considered by many pro-choice and pro-life Republicans to be a sacrifice of a child to the god of convenience.
Many so-called “liberal” politicians act as if they believed that they are above the laws of God, the laws of cause-and-effect and the laws of men—just like the Nazis.
Many Democrats and other so-called “liberals,” playing God, work within the philosophy that the end justifies the means—as did the Nazis.
So-called “liberals” use pseudo-scientific justification of their agenda—just like the Nazis.
Democrats and other so-called “liberals” are often responsible for the invasion of our privacy, in the name of the public good and protection of our children—just like the Nazis.

It is not an exercise in name-calling to point out that the Democrats are obviously a fascist party.

What is less obvious is that the Democrats are mercantilists, not capitalists or socialists.  Mercantilism is an effort to achieve economic unity and political control using policies designed to keep the state prosperous by economic regulation, primarily for the benefit of a few elites.  Democrats are reactionaries, not liberals. Mercantilism is an ancient system, responsible for many wars.  Republicans, the true historical liberals, favor the free-market of capitalism, which is more conducive to peace.

Democrats and so-called “liberals” have shaped the political discussion so thoroughly that accepted political terminology is Orwellian double-speak.

[Wanker]

You know Rip, is it too difficult to form your own opinions about issues? All you ever post are quotes from other people.

I'm more interested in what you think and what your arguments are. How about giving us an original Ripsnort opinion once in a while?

[MJHerman]

Originally posted by Holden McGroin
Here are the first 10 questions for the test I wrote:

All real americans could get thru these questions in about 58 seconds.

1. Name 3 John Wayne movies.

2. Who played 1st base on the 27 Yankees?

3. Who was the first Playboy centerfold?

4. Who played 3rd base on the 69 Orioles?

5. What gun did Dirty Harry use?

6.  Name 3 Gary Cooper movies.

7.  What was the name of the a/c that delivered greetings to Nagasaki?

8.  Who was the first winner of the Indy 500?

9.  What was Patton's outfit in France?

10.  Who played Goalie for the gold medal hockey team in 1980?

1.  Sands of Iwo Jima, The Green Berets, Fighting Sea Bees.
2.  Wally Pipp, then Lou Gehring after Wally got "Wally Pipped".
3.  Marilyn Monroe.
4.  Brooks Robinson.
5.  .44 Magnum.
6.  Ummmm.....
7.  Bock's Car.
8.  Ummm.....
9.  3rd Army.
10.  Ummmm...

Even a dumb Canaduhian got 7/10.  Do I get the right to 70% of a vote?

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by banana
You know Rip, is it too difficult to form your own opinions about issues? All you ever post are quotes from other people.

I'm more interested in what you think and what your arguments are. How about giving us an original Ripsnort opinion once in a while?

I read that article, and said "Yep!"  So, thats my opinion. I couldn't have written it better.