But some weapons simply are not and were not intended for private ownership and serve no purpose but racking up a body count.)

And the AWB didn't stop any of them.  They were already illegal.

Not to mention 'Assault Weapons' by the US Justice Department's figures only accounted for about 2-8% of violent crimes. The weapon of choice in this country for criminals is overwhelmingly handguns. And all of that is ignoring companies using loopholes to continue manufacturing things like machine guns or criminals just sidestepping the law through smuggling or getting people to buy guns for them.

None of them, really. I see Andrew, Soult, and a bunch of other people as much more likely candidates for higher office.

Yes (D), the unions at that point were out of control.

[Conservative Democrat]

Conservative Democrat

Based on your answers to the questionnaire, you most closely resemble survey respondents within the Conservative Democrat typology group. This does not mean that you necessarily fit every group characteristic or agree with the group on all issues.

Conservative Democrats represent 14 percent of the American public, and 15 percent of registered voters.

Basic Description
Conservative Democrats’ religious orientation and conservative views on many social and political issues set this group apart from the other Democratic-leaning groups, Liberals and Disadvantaged Democrats. Conservative Democrats’ views are moderate with respect to key policy issues such as foreign policy, regulation of the environment and the role of government in providing a social safety net. Their neutrality on assistance to the poor is linked, at least in part, to their belief in personal responsibility.

Defining Values
Less extreme on moral beliefs than core Republican groups, but most oppose gay marriage and the acceptance of homosexuality, and support a more active role for government in protecting morality. No more conservative than the national average on other social issues such as abortion and stem-cell research. Most oppose the war in Iraq, but views of America’s overall foreign policy are mixed and they are less opposed to Bush’s assertive stance than are other Democratic groups.

Who They Are
Older women and blacks make up a sizeable proportion of this group (27% and 30%, respectively). Somewhat less educated and poorer than the nation overall. Allegiance to the Democratic Party is quite strong (51% describe themselves as “strong” Democrats) but fully 85% describe themselves as either conservative or moderate ideologically.

Lifestyle Notes
46% attend church at least once a week, 44% attend Bible study or prayer group meetings, a third (34%) have a gun in their house.

2004 Election
Bush 14%, Kerry 65%.

Party ID
89% Democrat, 11% Independent/No Preference, 0% Republican,(98% Dem/Lean Dem)

Some of that fits but the demographics and views on homosexuality as well as Iraq (to an extent) don't at all.

Option 2 sounds the least ridiculous, so that one.

[Baldwin]'s also an obvious closet racist given his views on MLK and other aspects of history. That's not uncommon to libertarians, but racism like all other forms of collectivism is fundamentally antithetical to it.

I've heard that before--can you explain why racism is relatively prevalent among libertarians?

I think unfortunately a lot of the ideological tenants of libertarianism like anti-federalism (i.e. states' rights), staunch opposition to business regulation, opposition to compulsory schooling, etc. all are easily co-opted by racism and have been heavily in the past.

I know Duke and some others will crucify me for this, but I think Fiscal Responsibility is losing its appeal.

Verily's right.  No President has been fiscally conservative in decades.  Sorry, your politics are the ones that have failed.

     Agreed. In fact, Clinton, a Democrat, was the closest that we've had to fiscal conservatism in recent years.

I still credit Newt Gingrich.

He was a crucial component, but if we hadn't made the tax code more progressive we probably still wouldn't have balanced the budget (let alone achieved a surplus).

Call me in 2010.

Of those two, Barr. Baldwin is a fundamentalist conservative and a protectionist. He's also an obvious closet racist given his views on MLK and other aspects of history. That's not uncommon to libertarians, but racism like all other forms of collectivism is fundamentally antithetical to it. That said neither is ideal, especially for the Big L types who should probably be off in compounds or taking over third world countries instead.

Twenty-Ten.

Now, for the increasingly pressing question: what will we refer to this decade in hindsight?  "The 2000s," could refer to the decade, century, or even millennium.  "The First Decade of the Twenty-First Century," my personal favorite, is a bit clunky.  Any thoughts?

Personally I prefer the Zeros. I'm sure the rest of the Anglosphere will call it the Aughts or something along those lines though.

Robert Byrd is an American hero and one of the greatest Senators in American history.

Did you read that in the KKK Newsletter?

I'm getting tired of hearing this. Byrd is guilty of a lot, not least of which is being a pork king. But ever since he apologized for his racist past and moved on with his life, he's acquired one of the best civil rights records of any senator. If you're going to go that route I could dig up a ton of racist or highly questionable quotes that Reagan and a lot of other Republican heroes have said.

Too much. I like the quote though.

FF, in spite of being somewhere to the Left of Evo Morales.

1948 - Decided (Truman)
1952 - Decided (Eisenhower)
1956 - Decided (Eisenhower)
1960 - Decided (Nixon)
1964 - Undecided (Goldwater)
1968 - Decided (Nixon)
1972 - Decided (Nixon)
1976 - Decided (Carter)
1980 - Undecided (Reagan)
1984 - Decided (Mondale)
1988 - Decided (Bush)
1992 - Undecided (Clinton)
1996 - Decided (Clinton)
2000 - Decided (Gore)
2004 - Decided (Kerry)
2008 - Undecided (McCain)

Stupid, very stupid.

I get the same impression. The party's message is somewhat incoherent and there doesn't really seem to be anyone stepping up to the plate for the next election. Barring major shenanigans I think the next 4 years are Democrats to lose.

Lew Rockwell? The same racist loser who wrote the Ron Paul newsletters? LOL

It took a long time, but I think I've made my decision...

Obama will win anyway. I recommend voting McCain in order to minimize the extent of the blowout. (The larger Obama's majority, the larger the "mandate" he'll claim for so-called reform.)

One of several reasons I've decided to crossover.

Seeing as the drinking age here is somewhat reasonable...I don't have these problems.

However, when in the U.S., it's a major pain in the ass.

But to answer the question: absolutely not..why should it be more fun to go through such a hard time just to have a drink?

Because it's not such a hard time. Find a random keg party. Took me about 20 minutes usually.

In that 20 minutes I could just drive/walk down to a store, pick up $15 worth of Bacardi and go back to wherever I was living instead. And have time to share it with people if I wanted instead of basically being forced to because I wasn't the one doing paying. It's just a hassle either way you look at it.

Bob Barr, if only because of the massive hypocrisy.

Resistance

FF.