<p>Yes, Pope John Paul II had misgivings about the Iraq mission. But in no way is this an article of the Catholic faith. On world affairs, popes are just as fallible as anyone else. I think he was wrong on this one.</p>
<p>Regarding capital punishment, the position of the late Holy Father – which happens to be the official position of the Church – was that it is generally the wrong thing. However, in certain special circumstances (ie. letting the prisoner live would likely cause more pain, anguish, or possibly death to the people than if he were executed), the Magisterium declares that it can be permissible and should be left up to the conscience of the government responsible for the case. John Paul II echoed this.</p>
<p>Personally, I would have no problem with a full abolishment of the death penalty in the United States. Very rarely is it ever truly necessary (as described above), and there have been too many miscarriages of justice. Besides, I know that I could never pull the switch, so how can I honestly put the burden on my fellow man to do so?</p>
<p>Like:
(in no particular order) Femke Halsema (Dutch politician), Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Jon Stewart, Job Cohen and Ahmed Aboutaleb (mayor and alderman of Amsterdam)</p>
<p>Dislike:
Ann Coulter (she doesn’t know what she’s saying), Geert Wilders, Bill O’Reilly, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Abu Jhajha (or however you spell his name :)).
Though Britney isn’t all that bad compared to the others.</p>
<p>I live in a democracy. I’m a voter. I shall vote for candidates who are pro-life; you may vote for candidates who are pro-choice. If my candidate receives the most votes, I will fully expect a government that is friendly to the pro-life cause; if your candidate receives the most votes, you may fully expect a government that is friendly to the pro-choice cause. </p>
<p>This is the beauty of democracy. The people vote based on their beliefs, and if their side wins, their beliefs actually have an effect on the law.</p>
<p>No one on the pro-choice side of this debate is telling you to “kill babies”. No one on the pro-choice side of this debate is telling you to terminate a pregancy. Yes, that would be insane. But equally insane is government telling an intelligent woman that she cannot make a very difficult and carefully considered choice about what happens to her own body. Read about how that is working in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Chile.</p>
<p>“No one on the pro-choice side of this debate is telling you to “kill babies”. No one on the pro-choice side of this debate is telling you to terminate a pregancy.”</p>
<p>What they are doing is advocating the legalization of – to my mind – murder. I believe that abortion is a savage and barbaric act of murder. As a person who is against the legalization of murder, I will try to help keep it illegal or re-criminalize if it has been legalized. To me, it is an issue of human rights. It is an act of social justice to protect the unborn from being murdered, and the most effective way to do that – as is the case with all injustices – is through law.</p>
<p>This is where I am coming from. You may vigorously disagree with me on the nature of abortion, but hopefully this will help you understand me on this issue.</p>
Actually, the country’s current abortion policy was decided by the nine (appointed) members of the Supreme Court in Roe vs. Wade. As of right now, unless the President chooses to pull an Andrew Jackson and disobey the Supreme Court, there would be no way that an elected candidate can outlaw abortion.
Besides, the majority doesn’t always get represented. Less than half of America gets out to vote even for the President and sometimes the majority popular opinion still doesn’t win the election because of that wonderful thing called the Electoral College.</p>
<p>Yeah, sometimes I forget – I view things through a Canadian lens. In Canada, the legalization of abortion could very well be reversed if the public expressed enough concern about it to their elected representatives. All the prime minister would have to do is put it to a vote in the House of Commons. Democracy in action. If Stephen Harper’s Tories win a majority government in the next federal election – and they appreciate the conservative religious base that got them there – Canadians could see a real democratic decision on this serious issue take place. It might be shot down, but at least the citizens of Canada will have decided and not some politician or a handful of appointed senators. As a pro-life small “d” democrat, that is all I am asking for. Just let the people decide.</p>
<p>In some ways, Canada is more democratic than the US.</p>
Rick Mercer (> Colbert and Stewart, but those guys are cool too).
Lester B. Pearson… Canadian liberalism at it’s best. Trudeau had the most character, but the NEP was just wrong.
Romeo Dallaire. Wow. I have so much respect for him.
Bono. I like U2, and helping the world is pretty cool. He’s been performing for human rights organizations since the 80’s.
Ani DiFranco. Way to redefine the F word and write kickass songs.
Jeffery Sachs. Economists are cool too.
A corporation is a legal person, so I pick Dove. The “campaign for real beauty” is a refreshing change. </p>
<p>Love/Hate:
Stephen Harper. Okay, so I was never a Canadian Alliance fan back in the day, despite being born and raised in AB. I still disagree with some elements of his party policy, but overall, I like him a lot better than any past conservative PM. I think he deserves kudos for sticking with the canadian peacekeepers in Afghanistan and knowing that a Nato and UN - sanctioned ground operation is not analagous to Iraq. That, and Paul Martin was just… ughhh. </p>
<p>Hate:
Richard Dawkins. He takes it a bit too far.
Sacha Baron Cohen. I saw Borat. Meh. Not really that funny. I think the humour coach needs to go over the “sarcasm” lesson again. Subtle is good.
Paris Hilton (and other celebrities of the same type). Just go away. Please???
Political Correctness - okay, not a famous person, but I hate it all the same. Let’s sue people for wearing santa hats and putting Christmas trees in airports. “Holdiays” even derives from “holy days”, so either way… YOU LOSE, PC!
Cheney = scary. And also Ted Morton = scary! Thank God he’s not my premier (teehee).
Again, not famous people, but in general: people who refuse to see the grey areas in political debate, privatisation of everything (<em>cough</em> canadian health care <em>cough</em>), and the post-feminist movement that equates empowerment with girls gone wild and having to adhere to the standards of corporate america (for more info on that last one google “Ariel Levy”, who should be on my love list for writing a book that explains it!)</p>
<p>I certainly do disagree with just about everything that you have said. I believe that barbarism and savagery is what happens to living, breathing women in societies where abortion is illegal. However, I also believe that neither one of us will ever change our minds, so there is no point in disputing the issue here.</p>
<p>Fides, how do you reconcile your admiration for Coulter with your Catholicism? Even though I am no longer Catholic, I know that the Catholic church does not condone the sort of hateful spewings that this monster is known for.</p>
<p>You can disagree with Michael Moore all you want, but his movie is not full of hate as are Coulter’s rantings.</p>
<p>There is a difference between ideas that you disagree with, and ideas presented with HATRED.</p>
<p>Hatred is always Anti-Christian, no matter how you slice it and no matter how much you justify it. Coulter is one of the most blatantly hateful humans I’ve ever seen. How you can admire her and still call yourself a Christian is beyond my comprehension.</p>
<p>I think you should actually read one of her books, all the way through, and not rely on the liberal smear campaign against her for your information. I don’t think Coulter is hateful at all. </p>
<p>You want hateful? Go to the bookstore and pick out any one of the hundreds and hundreds of attacK books on President Bush. That, my friend, is HATRED.</p>
<p>I’ve seen enough actual footage of Coulter to feel her hatred. Extremely judgmental.</p>
<p>Of course there are plenty of people who hate bush. I don’t deny that. I am not selective in saying that hatred is wrong. Hatred is anti-Christian, in the true sense of what Jesus preached, wherever it is found.</p>
<p>Coulter gets branded with the “hate” stick because she is an outspoken conservative and makes her cases so damn well, with style and sly humor. To the contemporary liberal mind, conservatives are supposed to be slow-witted and humorless I guess. Any intelligent, educated, well-rounded individual who actually believes in conservatism must be hateful! </p>
<p>She gets misinterpreted a lot. When she is plainly joking around, liberals take her seriously; when she is being serious, liberals think she’s joking.</p>
<p>Fides, have you ever heard of All in the Family and the main character, Archie Bunker. You may not understand some of the jokes though, because you think they are serious.</p>