May 7, 2012 -- 3:45PM, mountain_man wrote:

May 7, 2012 -- 2:42PM, mytmouse57 wrote:

Don't resort to lecturing because you can't come up with a good argument.

You have yet to present something worth discussing. All you've done is whine about people using sweeping generalizations and then go on to use sweeping generalizations yourself. You whine about personal attacks - as in calling a homophobe a homophobe - and then use a long string of personal attacks yourself. Try coming up with a good reply and then we can have a good argument. Until then, there's not much choice.

And so, you resort to argumentum ad Pee-Wee Herman: "I know you are, but what am I?"

My obsevation still stands, there is a severe bias among some on these boards against Christians and political conservatives. 

It's ironic, but not unpredictable, and certainly nothing to whine about.

May 7, 2012 -- 4:55PM, farragut wrote:

Well, I can certainly claim an honest bias against theism in all its flavors, and against the radical reactionaries that pass themselves off as conservatives.  It grieves me that the party that I used to love and respect is now the party of god, mysogony, racism, and homophobia.

Are you implying that misogyony, racism, homophobia and reactionary politics naturally follow from theism?

Because some posters here seem to think so. 

I'm afraid I do see a linkage. But I am not in a position to collect the data necessary for a robust multivariate analysis.

May 7, 2012 -- 3:15PM, farragut wrote:

May I comment on a point of this dialogue? Yes, there still are a few responsible conservative Republicans. I consider myself to be one in the tradition of the late great Margaret Chase Smith. My fundamental positions include limited government, fiscal responsibility, strong national defense, respect for the Constitution, and individual freedom.  That last point is most pertinent to this discussion, for individual freedom means that the government must stay to hell out of people's bedrooms, their wombs, their doctor's offices, and their personal contracts.

I had almost forgotten about Margaret Chase Smith. Nowadays she's not called a "conservative" Republican - she's called a moderate Republican or even (strange as it may sound) a liberal Republican. Back in the day, she was simply a Republican. I'm just old enough to remember when that kind of Republican wasn't unusual. They were well-educated, well-bred, generous, public-spirited, and religiously tepid (Episcopalian). Nice people.

May 7, 2012 -- 5:24PM, farragut wrote:

I'm afraid I do see a linkage. But I am not in a position to collect the data necessary for a robust multivariate analysis.

Don't sweat it. In many cases, I see said linkage too. 

However, I would argue those are instances of bastardized practice -- not an automatic result of general principle.