Left/Center-Left/Center-Right/Right

[DownWithTheLeft]

Guess liberty's just for the straight white man, huh?

Not really.  The question asked about "gay marriage", I vehemently oppose gay marriage.  I am neutral on civil unions, although I personally oppose them.

Never mind gay marriage. You have no logical argument against gay adoption. They are not going to molest their kids anymore than any other group. They're not going to 'turn them gay.' And no, 'they'll get picked on' isn't a valid argument either. If someone is getting picked on because their parent(s) are a minority you take that out on the people doing it, not the parents.

That isn't really my argument at all, I personally just feel that kids are better off being placed into 2 parent stable families when applicable.  If a gay couple does not have a civil union, I don't like the child being placed into an environment where the couple is not legally intertwined

Its funny how liberals think gays are so important but don't give a damn about innocent children

I'm not a liberal. I do take issue with the idea that something that doesn't even have a brain yet is a 'child' worthy of more rights than actual adults. Like most sane americans.

Besides that you said racial profiling was OK. I don't know about anyone else, but I personally see the right to not be harassed because of the color of your skin to be a pretty basic civil liberty. If the cops are looking for a minority suspect that's fine but we should not be discriminating against people when a crime hasn't even been committed yet.
[/quote]
I know your not a liberal, the comment wasn't directly for you but in general.  And an unborn being killed for no reason does not equate to not giving a privilge a group of minorities that isn't even a government issue.  As far as racial profiling, it makes no sense not to, if a group of crime experts (similar to w/e that thing is on Criminal Minds) thinks that a certain ethnicity committed the crime, don't interview everyone in the name of "fairness"

[Associate Justice PiT]

Assault Weapons Ban -- left

Why?

     Because assualt weapons have no place in a modern civilization. Handguns are necessary for self-defense. Assualt weapons might have a point if you were to be attacked by squads of say, 20-30 people.

'Assault weapons' are just guns that look like military weapons. But that doesn't make them anymore dangerous. The semi-automatic versions of military assault rifles actually smaller calibers and less-powerful ammunition than many legal hunting rifles.

     I don't support hunting rifles being legal either. In the spirit of the second amendment, I think that guns should be legal solely for the purpose of self-defense. A hunting rifle is overkill for that purpose, so I don't see there being a reason that it should be legal.

[NDN]

That isn't really my argument at all, I personally just feel that kids are better off being placed into 2 parent stable families when applicable.

Research shows otherwise.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Right, so gays shouldn't be allowed to adopt children because they don't have legal recognition, which you also oppose.

I know your not a liberal, the comment wasn't directly for you but in general.  And an unborn being killed for no reason does not equate to not giving a privilge a group of minorities that isn't even a government issue.

What?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

That's not racial profiling, although something like 15% of people misidentify someone's 'race' (whatever that is). The central point of the issue is whether or not the police should focus on stopping or 'keeping an eye on' minorities more than whites. Which is text book racism.

[AkSaber]

Assault Weapons Ban -- left

Why?

     Because assualt weapons have no place in a modern civilization. Handguns are necessary for self-defense. Assualt weapons might have a point if you were to be attacked by squads of say, 20-30 people.

I like to think I'm something of an expert when it comes to firearms and their respective laws. Allow me to impart some of my knowledge.

The term "assault rifle" has a technical definition. I believe it is the Army which says assault rifles are selective fire (meaning they can shoot semi or full auto) and utilize an intermediate cartridge. (which is basically a round that is a rung below what those belt fed medium machine guns and battle rifles use.

The term "assault weapon" has no technical definition. What makes a rifle an assault weapon is not how it functions, but certain cosmetic features that appear on it. I think it was the head of the Violence Policy Center, back in the '80s, who said that anything that looks like a machine gun will be assumed to be a machine gun by the public. They came up with the term "assault weapon" to try to link the semi-auto only rifles with their fully automatic military cousins.

The ban on assault weapons has nothing to do with machine guns. Those are regulated by a completely different law, the National Firearms Act of 1934. The phrase "assault weapons" is quite inflammatory and conjures up images of AK-47s and M16s blasting people away. I guess that's what it's supposed to do. Assault weapons look exactly like fully automatic firearms, but that's it.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Assault Weapons Ban -- left

Why?

     Because assualt weapons have no place in a modern civilization. Handguns are necessary for self-defense. Assualt weapons might have a point if you were to be attacked by squads of say, 20-30 people.

I like to think I'm something of an expert when it comes to firearms and their respective laws. Allow me to impart some of my knowledge.

The term "assault rifle" has a technical definition. I believe it is the Army which says assault rifles are selective fire (meaning they can shoot semi or full auto) and utilize an intermediate cartridge. (which is basically a round that is a rung below what those belt fed medium machine guns and battle rifles use.

The term "assault weapon" has no technical definition. What makes a rifle an assault weapon is not how it functions, but certain cosmetic features that appear on it. I think it was the head of the Violence Policy Center, back in the '80s, who said that anything that looks like a machine gun will be assumed to be a machine gun by the public. They came up with the term "assault weapon" to try to link the semi-auto only rifles with their fully automatic military cousins.

The ban on assault weapons has nothing to do with machine guns. Those are regulated by a completely different law, the National Firearms Act of 1934. The phrase "assault weapons" is quite inflammatory and conjures up images of AK-47s and M16s blasting people away. I guess that's what it's supposed to do. Assault weapons look exactly like fully automatic firearms, but that's it.

     Thank you for the information. I guess my position would be closer to center-left in that case.

[AkSaber]

Assault Weapons Ban -- left

Why?

     Because assualt weapons have no place in a modern civilization. Handguns are necessary for self-defense. Assualt weapons might have a point if you were to be attacked by squads of say, 20-30 people.

I like to think I'm something of an expert when it comes to firearms and their respective laws. Allow me to impart some of my knowledge.

The term "assault rifle" has a technical definition. I believe it is the Army which says assault rifles are selective fire (meaning they can shoot semi or full auto) and utilize an intermediate cartridge. (which is basically a round that is a rung below what those belt fed medium machine guns and battle rifles use.

The term "assault weapon" has no technical definition. What makes a rifle an assault weapon is not how it functions, but certain cosmetic features that appear on it. I think it was the head of the Violence Policy Center, back in the '80s, who said that anything that looks like a machine gun will be assumed to be a machine gun by the public. They came up with the term "assault weapon" to try to link the semi-auto only rifles with their fully automatic military cousins.

The ban on assault weapons has nothing to do with machine guns. Those are regulated by a completely different law, the National Firearms Act of 1934. The phrase "assault weapons" is quite inflammatory and conjures up images of AK-47s and M16s blasting people away. I guess that's what it's supposed to do. Assault weapons look exactly like fully automatic firearms, but that's it.

     Thank you for the information. I guess my position would be closer to center-left in that case.

No problem. I'm just glad there's a subject out there I can call myself an expert at.

[dead0man]

I don't support hunting rifles being legal either. In the spirit of the second amendment, I think that guns should be legal solely for the purpose of self-defense. A hunting rifle is overkill for that purpose, so I don't see there being a reason that it should be legal.

But why?  It's not like Joe Blow Gangbanger is using his 30.06 or Barret .50cal to rob the local Target.  A hunting rifle, no matter how powerful makes for a really sh**tty weapon of crime.  Even the Aussies and Brits understand that.  Ignorance of something is no reason to want to ban it.  That's how we got into the stupid war on drugs.

[Associate Justice PiT]

I don't support hunting rifles being legal either. In the spirit of the second amendment, I think that guns should be legal solely for the purpose of self-defense. A hunting rifle is overkill for that purpose, so I don't see there being a reason that it should be legal.

But why?  It's not like Joe Blow Gangbanger is using his 30.06 or Barret .50cal to rob the local Target.  A hunting rifle, no matter how powerful makes for a really sh**tty weapon of crime.  Even the Aussies and Brits understand that.  Ignorance of something is no reason to want to ban it.  That's how we got into the stupid war on drugs.

     Of course, if it's not a weapon that you would want to use for self-defense or to commit a crime, you shouldn't really be upset if I take it away. You have to understand that since I've lived in big cities my whole life, I approach issues from a blind urban perspective.

[Phony Moderate]

Bump.

Abortion - Far-Left
Affirmative Action - Anything from Far-Left to Center
Artwork Funding - Left
Assault Weapons Ban - Left
Campaign Finance Reform - Left
Capital Punishment - Far-Left
Concealed Carry - Left
D.C. Statehood - Left
Defense Funding - Far-Left
Environment - Left
Euthanasia - Left
Faith Based Initiatives - Far-Left
Farm Subsidies - Left
Flag Burning Amendment - Far-Left
Gay Adoption - Far-Left
Gay Marriage - Far-Left
Medicare/Medicaid - Far-Left
Minimum Wage - Far-Left
School Vouchers - Left
Racial Profiling - Far-Left
United Nations - Left
War on Iraq - Far-Left

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Wow, I'm amazed by how much more authoritarian I was only two years ago. Doing it again:

Abortion -- left
Affirmative Action -- right
Artwork Funding -- right
Assault Weapons Ban -- right
Campaign Finance Reform -- center-right
Capital Punishment -- left
Concealed Carry -- right
D.C. Statehood -- left
Defense Funding -- left
Environment -- center-right
Euthanasia -- left
Faith Based Initiatives -- center-left
Farm Subsidies -- right
Flag Burning Amendment -- left
Gay Adoption -- left
Gay Marriage -- left
Medicare/Medicaid -- center-right
Minimum Wage -- center-right
School Vouchers -- right
Racial Profiling -- center-right
United Nations -- right
War on Iraq -- left

[Mint]

Just shows how arbitrary the definitions are:

Abortion - Right
Affirmative Action - Right
Artwork Funding - Right
Assault Weapons Ban - Right
Campaign Finance Reform - Pretty Left
Capital Punishment - Left
Concealed Carry - Right
D.C. Statehood - Left
Defense Funding - Isolationist (far right/left overlap frequently here)
Environment - Center
Euthanasia - Left
Faith Based Initiatives - Right
Farm Subsidies - Center-Right
Flag Burning Amendment - Indifferent
Gay Adoption - Really libertarian, but left in practice
Gay Marriage - See above.
Medicare/Medicaid - Left (UHC)
Minimum Wage - Right
School Vouchers - Right
Racial Profiling - Left or Center
United Nations - Far Right
War on Iraq - See military funding

[Phony Moderate]

Wow, I'm amazed by how much more authoritarian I was only two years ago. Doing it again:

Racial Profiling -- center-right

And you still are....

[tpfkaw]

Abortion - center-left personally, center-right policy-wise (I'd overturn Roe v. Wade)
Affirmative Action - right
Artwork Funding - right
Assault Weapons Ban - right
Campaign Finance Reform - right
Capital Punishment - left
Concealed Carry - right
D.C. Statehood - right
Defense Funding - left
Environment - right
Euthanasia - left
Faith Based Initiatives - center-right
Farm Subsidies - I'm not sure what's considered "left" or "right," but against them.
Flag Burning Amendment - left
Gay Adoption - left
Gay Marriage - government out of marriage.
Medicare/Medicaid - right
Minimum Wage - right
School Vouchers - right
Racial Profiling - center-left
United Nations - neutral
War on Iraq - left (not in favor of reparations or any of that nonsense)

[Associate Justice PiT]

Wow, I'm amazed by how much more authoritarian I was only two years ago. Doing it again:

Racial Profiling -- center-right

And you still are....

     Yeah, coppers being racist isn't going to stop because anyone tells them to. If we want to solve problems like that, the racist dialectic of race needs to be given cement overshoes & thrown in the Hudson, so to speak.

[RI]

Abortion: Right
Affirmative Action: Center-Right
Artwork Funding: Center-Left?
Assault Weapons Ban: Right
Campaign Finance Reform: Center-Left
Capital Punishment: Left
Concealed Carry: Center-Right
D.C. Statehood:
Defense Funding: Center-Left?
Environment: Left
Euthanasia: Center-Right
Faith Based Initiatives: Center-Right
Farm Subsidies: Meh
Flag Burning Amendment: Which is which again?
Gay Adoption: Center-Left
Gay Marriage: Center-Left
Medicare/Medicaid: Left
Minimum Wage: Center-Left
School Vouchers: Left
Racial Profiling: Left?
United Nations: Left
War on Iraq: Left...I think

[Mint]

Interesting how we have so much in common.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Abortion: Left
Affirmative Action: Center-Left
Artwork Funding: Center-Left
Assault Weapons Ban: Center-Right
Campaign Finance Reform: Left
Capital Punishment: Left
Concealed Carry: Center-Right
D.C. Statehood: Left
Defense Funding: Left
Environment: Left
Euthanasia: Left
Faith Based Initiatives: Left
Farm Subsidies: Center-Right
Flag Burning Amendment: Left
Gay Adoption: Left
Gay Marriage: Left
Medicare/Medicaid: Left
Minimum Wage: Center-Left
School Vouchers: Center-Left
Racial Profiling: Center-Left
United Nations: Center?
War on Iraq: Left

[Dr. Cynic]

Well, let's see here...

Abortion - Center-Left
Affirmative Action - Centrist
Artwork Funding - Centrist
Assault Weapons Ban - Center-Right
Campaign Finance Reform - Center-Left
Capital Punishment - Left
Concealed Carry - Center-Left
D.C. Statehood - Left
Defense Funding - Centrist
Environment - Center-Left
Euthanasia - Center-Left
Faith Based Initiatives - Left
Farm Subsidies - Center-Right
Flag Burning Amendment - Center-Left
Gay Adoption - Left
Gay Marriage - Left
Medicare/Medicaid - Center-Left
Minimum Wage - Left
School Vouchers - Center-Left
Racial Profiling - Center-Left
United Nations - Left
War on Iraq - Center-Left

[Mechaman]

Abortion-Center Right
Affirmative Action-Center Right
Artwork Funding-Right
Assault Weapons Ban-Right
Campaign Finance Reform-Center Right
Capital Punishment-Left
Concealed Carry-Right
D.C. Statehood-Left
Defense Funding-Left
Environment-Center Right
Euthanasia-Left
Faith Based Initiatives-Center Left
Farm Subsidies-Right
Flag Burning Amendment-Left
Gay Adoption-Left
Gay Marriage-Left
Medicare/Medicaid-Center Right
Minimum Wage-Center Right
School Vouchers-Right
Racial Profiling-Neutral
United Nations-Right
War on Iraq-Left

[angus]

ooh, I love opinion questions!  let's see...

Abortion:  either far right or far left.  I don't think it's any of my business if you terminate your pregnancy, and I don't want to see laws restricting access to abortion clinics.

Affirmative Action:  far right.  I'm against it totally.

Artwork Funding:  far left.  I support government funding of public art project for both educational and aesthetic purposes.

Assault Weapons Ban:  Center right.  I generally oppose weapons bans, maybe minor restrictions.

Campaign Finance Reform:  Far right.  I'm opposed to restrictions on free speech.

Capital Punishment:  Far left or far right.  I don't support capital punishment in any case.

Concealed Carry:  unsure, probably rightist.   I'd not allow convicted murders to carry concealed weapons, so I guess I favor some restrictions, but generally I'm a second-amendment supporter.

D.C. Statehood:  Far right or far left.  It should have statehood since polls show it wants it.  And like all states, it should be able to conduct its affairs free from federal interference.

Defense Funding:  Centrist.   It's too bloated now, and needs to be drastically cut, but I do support maintaining a standing army and navy, premier in the world.

Environment:  Center left.  I generally err on the side of ecological concern when business and ecological interests collide.  (which is a decidedly conservative position, imho, but described as left.)

Euthanasia:  Far right.  I don't think the government should be involved in this at all, including its funding (which precludes far left).  I do think it's a family's decision, not the government's.

Faith Based Initiatives:  Centrist.  Generally, though, I think we should enter a period of austerity an budget cutting, so I'm not a fan of this type of discretionary spending, so maybe center-right.

Farm Subsidies:  Far right.  I'm against them.  Period.

Flag Burning Amendment:  Far right or far left.  I don't think we ought to have laws telling folks whether they can burn flags.  (or korans, for that matter.)

Gay Adoption:  Far left, probably.  (Maybe it's far right.)  In any case I'm not against it.

Gay Marriage:  Centrist.  I support legislation which recognizes same-sex marriages equal to traditional marriage.

Medicare/Medicaid:  Centrist.  I support some safety nets for old/poor people, but I think those programs are bloated and inefficient, and I would support their abolition and incorporation into other, more efficient, programs.

Minimum Wage:  Very far right.  I'm against minimum wage laws.  It created unemployment.  A salary is a matter to be negotiated between worker and employer, not the government.

School Vouchers:  unsure. probably center-left.  I'm against them if they further degrade the existing public schools, which I think they do.  But I live in a nice district so it's easy to be against them.  I'm not sure I'd be so against them if I lived in Harlem or Alabama.

Racial Profiling:  centrist.  If it is effective and legal, then by all means, profile for law enforcement, and not just racially.  If it's ineffective or wasteful, or can be shown to be illegal, then we shouldn't do it.

United Nations:  centrist.  I am a big fan of being a member, but we pay about 42% of its budget, and that really should change.  And we need austerity measures right now.

War on Iraq:  far left initially, now centrist.  I even wrote to my two senators, Boxer and Feinstein, asking them to vote against authorization back in 2003.  Now, we sort of have an obligation to fix the place since we tore it down, but I'd advocate as quick a departure as possible, so centrist.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Yeah, abortion is difficult for me to classify. I am in favor of unrestricted access to abortion, but oppose government funding of abortion clinics.

[Vepres]

Abortion - left
Affirmative Action - right
Artwork Funding - center-left
Assault Weapons Ban - center-right
Campaign Finance Reform - center-right
Capital Punishment - left
Concealed Carry - center-right
D.C. Statehood - center-left
Defense Funding - left
Environment - center-left
Euthanasia - center-left
Faith Based Initiatives - left
Farm Subsidies - center-right
Flag Burning Amendment - left
Gay Adoption - left
Gay Marriage - left
Medicare/Medicaid - right
Minimum Wage - center-right
School Vouchers - center--right
Racial Profiling - center-left
United Nations - center-left
War on Iraq - left

[Platypus]

Abortion-Center
Affirmative Action-Center-Right
Artwork Funding-couldn't give a shi'ite
Assault Weapons Ban-Left (on the aussie equivalent)
Campaign Finance Reform-Center-Left (          "           )
Capital Punishment-Left
Concealed Carry-Left
New Zealand Statehood-Center (vague support)
Defense Funding-Center-Left
Environment-Center-Left
Euthanasia-Center
Faith Based Initiatives-Don't really support or disagree with; a total non-issue for me
Farm Subsidies-US-Right AUS-Center-Right
Flag Burning Amendment-Left...but not an issue here
Gay Adoption-Center-Left Straight couples adoption is best, but any loving couple's adoption of a child is great.
Gay Marriage-Center-Left Give me civil unions and I'll be happy enough.
Medicare/Medicaid-Left More center/center-left for Australia.
Minimum Wage-US-Center-left Aus-Center
School Vouchers-Reasonable idea...but there are better solutions. Don't really care about them, to be honest.
Racial Profiling-Center-Left A neccesary evil?
United Nations-Center-Left
War on Iraq-US-Center-Right Aus-Right

and 4 and a half years later...

Abortion: Center-right
Affirmative Action: Center
Artwork Funding: Pretty much the same.
Assault Weapons Ban: Left
Campaign Finance Reform: Left
Capital Punishment: Left
Concealed Carry: Left
DC Statehood: center-right (NZ statehood: support, so center-left, I guess)
Defence funding: Aus center-right; US center-left
Environment: Center-left
Euthanasia: Center
Faith Based Initiatives: center-left
Farm subsidies: Oppose, which I presume means right. Less strongly oppose in Australia, because there are rather few and most of those that do exist relate to drought/flood/bushfire etc
Flag Burning: Left
Gay adoption: Center-left
Gay marriage: Center-left
Medicare/Medicaid: Center-left in Australia, ridiculously far left in the US
Minimum wage: Center-left in the US; center in Australia
School vouchers: one of the issues in the US that interests me least. Centrist, I guess.
Racial profiling: Center
United Nations: Center-left
War in Iraq: eh, center I guess. More relevantly, I suppose, for the Afghanistan conflict i'd be roughly in the middle in the US, and center-right in Australia.

[angus]

     Yeah, abortion is difficult for me to classify. I am in favor of unrestricted access to abortion, but oppose government funding of abortion clinics.

Then you're probably "far right" on that issue, as am I.  I called it "far right or far left" thinking that some will also come to the same specific conclusion--that we ought not to restrict it at all--but come at it from the left.  They'll see it as a humanitarian issue, or possibly a "women's rights" issue even.  In these cases the statist could reasonably argue that a proactive government-issue economy which leads to total equality is benefitted by unrestricted abortion access.  I really don't see it that way, but I do know that if the world is full of unwanted children it'll be left to us to underwrite their nurture, through taxpayer-funded government programs.  Moreover, I don't have ethical qualms with pregnancy termination. 

You have to have noticed that some of these issues don't really lend themselves to left/right classification, anyway.  Presumably this is why the major political quiz devices now have an up/down (call it anarchy versus authority, if you like) axis in addition to the left/right axis.  Human fetal abortion is an issue that exemplifies this well.  It is possible to be a Leftist (statist or redistributionist) and reach the conclusion that abortion is tantamount to murder, and it's avalid and consistent philosophy, and it's possible to be a statist/redistributionist and not really have any ethical qualms with abortion.  Similar comments can be made about the Rightist (Libertarian or Classic Liberal).  If you see abortion as murder, and you think murder should be prohibited, then you would logically conclude that no one should be licensed to terminate pregnancies, and this would be the case no matter your socioeconomic tendencies.

If we're going to talk about who pays for someone else's medical procedure, then it's another matter entirely, of course.  But in this country when we debate "abortion" it usually is a debate over when it should or should not be permissible, or under what conditions it should be permissible.  Thus it's more one of those up/down issues rather than a left/right issue. 

Other issues on that list which are a bit like this have to do with guns (although you could argue that property rights folks like to keep them handy, which would make it an economic issue), flag burning (unless you own a store that sells them), affirmative action (unless you feel that the overall economy is damaged by treating others as inherently less human and need a helping hand, then it's rather more of a white man's collective guilt issue), and possibly euthanasia.  So on some of those I put Far right or far left, but as a syllogistical matter, for me the conclusion is probably reached from the rightist (classic liberal) frame of reference.  Not to say that I'm strictly a Classic Liberal, as evidenced by my arts funding philosophy.  Also, as a cop-out, I selected centrist where it didn't really matter.  That is, if my views in those areas seemed to be in the majority, then deciding whether I came to those views from the Left or the Right didn't seem to add anything interesting to the analysis.  Although by nature I am a Kantian, so I have certainly given some thought to whether I came to my centrist views from the left or from the right, and whether my conclusions were internally consistent.

[Beet]

Probably done this before but-

Abortion- Left for early term, Right for late term.
Affirmative Action- Right. I understand some of the arguments for it but still oppose it.
Artwork Funding- Right.
Assault Weapons Ban- Center. Should be decided on a state by state / city by city basis.
Campaign Finance Reform- Left. Oppose restrictions on spending, but support big public financing and small donor matching.
Capital Punishment- Center Left. Generally oppose in practice, but not necessarily in every theoretical case.
Concealed Carry- Center Left. Adjust policy based on unbiased studies of the effect on public safety. A society with tons of people walking around carrying guns in normal situations doesn't appeal to me, however.
D.C. Statehood- Left.
Defense Funding- Center. A lot of waste but not the biggest budget buster.
Environment- Center. Accept validity of AGW theories. Economic growth takes priority over the environment. The best arguments for preserving the environment are based on how doing so will provide economic utility or other utility for humans, including sustainable energy, health, and parks. But it is true that these things are threatened by unrestricted growth.
Euthanasia- Left.
Faith Based Initiatives- Left.
Farm Subsidies- Right.
Flag Burning Amendment- Left.
Gay Adoption- Left.
Gay Marriage- Left.
Medicare/Medicaid- Center-Right. Cut and cap funding, reform to 'bend the cost curve', but don't privatize.
Minimum Wage- Center. Status quo and index it to inflation.
School Vouchers- Center-Right. Generally a good idea for failing public schools.
Racial Profiling- Center-Right. It should not be codified or formalized in any way but not necessarily immoral or completely avoidable.
United Nations- Left. An important instrument of diplomacy, even if weak and corrupt.
War on Iraq- Left.