Thumping both sides of the aisle

Meet Michael Moore: hypocrite extraordinaire. He was roundly boo-ed at the Convention last night when John McCain called him a “disingenuous filmmaker.. who portrayed Saddam’s Iraq” as a peaceful utopia. And now, the Empress is out to show you, faithful reader where both he is a big liar and asking the wrong questions… and that his questions are all about the pursuit of power.

I asked one man who told me he was a "proud Republican," "Do you think we need strong laws to protect our air and water?"
"Well, sure," he said. "Who doesn't?"

Both men would say we need strong laws because corporations will pollute the planet if left without government regulation - because only the government can protect Mother Earth. That may have been true years and years ago, but American consumers are a bit more aware now. Most products are made with recycable material and can be re-cycled. I see that little arrow in a circle thing all the time. I would say that since the consumer has more information at his/her disposal; why not let the free market dictate what will happen.

At the protest this past weekend, several of those on the other side chanted something about Halliburton and high gas prices. The lady I was paired with said "And the 40 cents a gallon we pay in taxes due to state and federal regulation has nothing to do with high gas prices. " They looked like they were smacked with a 2-by-4 and went back to chanting Halliburton was evil.

Misplaced anger to be sure...

I asked whether women should have equal rights, including the same pay as men.
"Absolutely," he replied.

When accounting for age, education and experience, men and women make virtually the same. I believe its between 90 and 95 cents on the dollar. Michael Moore, later in his article, pulls out the 75 cents on the dollar statistic they feminists have been using since the 1970's. That study was faulty. It compared waitresses with corporate managers. Of course, waitresses make less than white-collar workers. Different industries. Yeesh.

Also, does Mr. Moore account for the fact that many women choose - yes I said CHOOSE - jobs that offer more flexibility, but usually go along with a lower salary? Somehow I doubt it.

Women in America have more rights than men. Just visit any family court in this country and you will see that the woman is overwhelmingly given custody, child support - almost no matter what the circumstances are.

"Would you discriminate against someone because he or she is gay?"
"Um, no." The pause — I get that a lot when I ask this question — is usually because the average good-hearted person instantly thinks about a gay family member or friend.

Even the most ardent of religious conservatives do not want to legally discriminate against gays. I think the question that should be asked "Are you in favor of gay clergy?" or "Do you support gay marriage?" Mr. Moore find that those RINO's he talked to are more conservative because those questions conflict with their religious beliefs. Should gay people be denied jobs in the public or private sector? Of course not. But should churches (or student groups at universities) be forced to accept leaders that are openly defiant of scripture?

I've often found that if I go down the list of "liberal" issues with people who say they're Republican, they are quite liberal and not in sync with the Republicans who run the country. Most don't want America to be the world's police officer and prefer peace to war.

But they don't want the UN to be the world's police officer. The UN is about as effective as a kleenex is at stopping Hurricane Francis. It ain't going to happen. Why have we turned into the world's police officer? Bill Clinton.

Did he forget that it was Clinton who sent troops to Somalia? To Kosovo? Both because UN and Europeans efforts failed or didn't materialize. And we are still in Kosovo because the UN took over things and there is no stable government. Whereas Iraqis have said "we don't want the UN here and want the US out as soon as possible" and are on their way to creating a stable government. And I can safely say that I want our troops out of there too but until the Iraqis can defend and protect themselves, we do need to be there.

They are going to try Saddam - not the World Court where the show-trial of Milosovic is dragging on into its... what year is it now?

Yes, I prefer peace to war but I am a realist. We live in a post 9/11 world where we are finally aware of the fact there are groups out there who want to destroy Western Civilizations (both foreign and domestic).

Going way way back, it was another Democrat, Woodrow Wilson who involved us when we didn't need to be. Were our interests at stake during WWI? I don't seem to recall. Then the creation of the League of Nations? And another, Franklin Roosevelt. We were attacked by Japan and needed to defend ourselves (sound like a recent story?). Our troops are still in Japan... 60 years later. They are still in Korea 50 years later - I will be glad when they leave the latter. Let the South Koreans and Chinese keep Kim Jong-Ill contained. US troops do not need to be the canaries in the cave for South Korea anymore.

They applaud civil rights...

What have we been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan? Women have more civil rights than ever. In our own country, we've made everything a right. A right to sneeze.. a right to not be offended.. a right to park in a handicapped space if you are inconveniced by walking 15 feet..

believe all Americans should have health insurance

Not at my expense. Sorry. TennCare is dying the horrible death it deserves. There are major hospitals who are refusing to accept patients because they can't afford the financial losses anymore. The state should NOT be in the business of health care.

and think assault weapons should be banned.

The ban was a joke. It was cosmetic. I'm glad its expiring soon. Guns don't kill people. People kill people. The next time someone uses a hammer to murder someone, call on the government to ban hammers.

Though they may personally oppose abortion, they usually don't think the government has the right to tell a women what to do with her body.

I agree. Those that are pro-life should make their case on moral/spiritual grounds and help these women understand the alternative to abortion, services available to assist them, and make them aware of the long-term consequences of abortion. Most importantly, we should not judge them or condemn them to Hell. That is the job of our Creator. He will judge us as well.

The government should stay out of the mess altogether and stop funding Planned Parenthood. Let them raise their own money - those t-shirts were a start.

To sum up: politics is the pursuit of power. If you don't have it, you want more of it. If you have it, you want to keep it and take it from the other guy. That is human nature. From the local PTA meetings to the UN - the dynamics are the same. I think if Michael Moore also asked questions about safety and security, he might find some different answers. His interview subjects are probably not fans of Nader or Kerry either. Given that, they may just stay home.

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