NationStates Jolt Archive

I don't agree with gay marriage, or Abortion, I would perfer to sentce people to life without parol rather then death, I think Kerry is an idiot and a Traitor.

I AM SYPHILITIC!











What?

I don't agree with gay marriage, or Abortion, I would perfer to sentce people to life without parol rather then death, I think Kerry is an idiot and a Traitor.

Gay marriage- Agree

Abortion- Agree

Capital punishment- Disagree (I strongly favor it)

Kerry- DEFINITELY AGREE!!!!!!!!

Capitalism is a better medium control than any government can claim to be. Economies never die.

Space is the future of mankind. If you disagree you live in the past!!!!!!!!

Bush is better than Kerry because Kerry is a socialist front for his buddies like George Soros.

The words "Separation of Church and State" are NEVER written in the constitution. Get smart, whacko secularists. You can take a good thing, tolerance, and take it TOO FAR.

Good day to you all.

I'm pro-choice.
Want Kerry to win.
Support stem cell research.
Against the death penalty.
Peace

I don't like any of the adamant anarcho-communists or hardcore rightists/leftists on this forum.

I was probably a bit too hard on Mr. Kerry.

Science is the future! Huzzah!!!

Abortion-Wrongoooo- kill the mothers that kill their CHILD/ren...unless it was necessary for health reasons
Gay Marriage- Ship them off to an island where they can be separate
capital punishment..some people deserve it..

Oh yeah, and most people on this forum are whining twats who try to force their religion/politics down other people's throats without ever bothering to analyse their assumptions or get their facts straight and that just shits me to tears. :mad:

And I LIKE Boney M.

Oh yeah, and most people on this forum are whining twats who try to force their religion/politics down other people's throats without ever bothering to analyse their assumptions or get their facts straight and that just shits me to tears. :mad:

And I LIKE Boney M.

Hurrah!

*Abortion- Nasty but I support it anyhow. Like the right of Nazis to free speech. Not past 24 weeks, though.
*Gay Marriage- Hell yeah! Second-Class Citizens are a relic from the 19th century. End the whacko prohibitations now.
*Capital Punishment- Life W/O Parole is good, but some people really just need to die.
*Kerry is an idiot and if it wasn't Bush, I wouldn't vote for him. But it's Bush, and even he's better than that warmongering religious nutjob. I'd even rather McCain than Kerry, and I'm a Democrat.
*Seperation of Church and state needs to be added to the consitution- we already have it based on Supreme Court rulings, so it's law anyhow, but let's do it to shut up the naysayers.
*Space is the future, definately. Get someone to Mars, and keep the Chinese from going Hog Wild- the fact that they can fund a space program in the first place is very worrying.
*Capitalism is the worst form of economics except for all the rest.
*World Government through Peace. Institute it gradually over several genereatinos and nobody will notice...
*Do we have Neutron Bombs? If not, make one of those just so that we can add another item to our deterrant list at the USA.
*Equal Rights Amendment, baby! BUT, make Women totally responsible like Men- they should be able to be drafted, put on the front lines. If they want it fair, they need to have the bad parts, too.
*Legalize Marijuana.... eh... if we have to, but tax the hell out of it and regulate it strictly. That should allieviate most drug problems.
*Tax churches.
*Teach evolution, for god's sake! It's not the dark ages.
*Also, teach history. In 8 years of public education, we've only covered the Colonization of America to the Civil War in America eight times. Nothing else.
*Repeal the PATRIOT ACT.
*Take out those stupid colour codes that are artifically elevated.
*Gradually pull out of Iraq when possible.
*Ditto Afghanistan
*But not too early.

Support Gay Marriage
Iffy on abortion
I think all the candidates in the american election suck except for the Green
I believe in the promise of Communism
Capitalism sucks
Death penalty means our jails are less crowded
God is a cruel, evil, entity
The Church should be dismantled for it's constant oppression and suppression of mankind and any public speaking of religious values by politicians should be punishable by impeachment
Religious activists should be silenced
Support cloning, stem cell research and genetic engineering
Equal rights for everyone

*Abortion- Nasty but I support it anyhow. Like the right of Nazis to free speech. Not past 24 weeks, though.
*Gay Marriage- Hell yeah! Second-Class Citizens are a relic from the 19th century. End the whacko prohibitations now.
*Capital Punishment- Life W/O Parole is good, but some people really just need to die.
*Kerry is an idiot and if it wasn't Bush, I wouldn't vote for him. But it's Bush, and even he's better than that warmongering religious nutjob. I'd even rather McCain than Kerry, and I'm a Democrat.
*Seperation of Church and state needs to be added to the consitution- we already have it based on Supreme Court rulings, so it's law anyhow, but let's do it to shut up the naysayers.
*Space is the future, definately. Get someone to Mars, and keep the Chinese from going Hog Wild- the fact that they can fund a space program in the first place is very worrying.
*Capitalism is the worst form of economics except for all the rest.
*World Government through Peace. Institute it gradually over several genereatinos and nobody will notice...
*Do we have Neutron Bombs? If not, make one of those just so that we can add another item to our deterrant list at the USA.
*Equal Rights Amendment, baby! BUT, make Women totally responsible like Men- they should be able to be drafted, put on the front lines. If they want it fair, they need to have the bad parts, too.
*Legalize Marijuana.... eh... if we have to, but tax the hell out of it and regulate it strictly. That should allieviate most drug problems.
*Tax churches.
*Teach evolution, for god's sake! It's not the dark ages.
*Also, teach history. In 8 years of public education, we've only covered the Colonization of America to the Civil War in America eight times. Nothing else.
*Repeal the PATRIOT ACT.
*Take out those stupid colour codes that are artifically elevated.
*Gradually pull out of Iraq when possible.
*Ditto Afghanistan
*But not too early.

If religion is not allowed to be taught in schools, neither should evolution. Neither of them can be proved or disproved scientifically.

i think religion is a crutch, and if i respect the religious it is in spite of their delusions rather than because of them.

i am one of the few people who doesn't just support the right to choose, i support abortion. i think more people need to be encouraged to have abortions. i think bearing a child with the intention of giving it up for adoption is a crime, and anybody who does that should be sterilized so they can never again bring a new life into the world.

i pity people who aren't bisexual. i think they let a minor detail stop them from experiencing joy, and they let what is between a person's legs determine whether or not they will love them. while my brain can understand that they may have been born that way or conditioned to limit themselves, i still pity them for the world of human contact that they miss out on.

i hate capri pants. really, seriously. i instantly dislike people who wear them. i feel bad about that, and i try to be more open-minded, i really do. but i just can't stand the damn things.

It's extremely difficult to find anything resembling a rational argument on this board. Yes, there are rational posters and occasional rational respondants; but on the whole the discussions are ruined by children and imbeciles who have no grasp of history.

Children, don't parrot what your parents tell you. Stop quoting party-sponsored websites. Don't believe everything you see on television or in the movies. And don't post here without educating yourself first.

I agree wholeheartedly with Doomduckistan on the color codes-whatever it's called and the Patriot Act. However, I don't agree on Afghanistan or Iraq. I'll throw in my two cents:

Afghanistan and Iraq- Pull out immediately, unconditionally, and permanently

But evolution has been recognised by the Church (in the 1990's) and as far as I know no other religions are stupid enough to suppress knowledge to their people so teaching evolution isn't breaching on anyone's rights. Teaching religion in public schools is like trying to convert people, and is an infringement on people's right to choose.

Children, don't parrot what your parents tell you. Stop quoting party-sponsored websites. Don't believe everything you see on television or in the movies. And don't post here without educating yourself first.

Amen to that! :)

Jennifer Government is uninspired shite!



Hmm... that might have been taking things a bit too far.

[runs]

Abortion- All for it, I don't give a flying fuck about fetuses
Stem cell research- see above
Gay marriage- I think gay people could show straights about how to hold a loving relationship
Kerry- I'll take a chimp over Bush, so Kerry is in for me.
Religious right- I don't care if you think homos are sinners, I don't care if you are against abortion because your feelings are your own. Just keep your opinions to yourself. Not everyone is in your fucked up religion and believe what you do. Get over it.

But evolution has been recognised by the Church (in the 1990's) and as far as I know no other religions are stupid enough to suppress knowledge to their people so teaching evolution isn't breaching on anyone's rights. Teaching religion in public schools is like trying to convert people, and is an infringement on people's right to choose.

True enough, but the same argument could apply to teaching evolution in schools. I personally feel the only things that should be taught in school are proven facts. Not theories, not ideas, but only facts. Let the students formulate their own theories. Children should be allowed to say "under God" and to pray or read the Bible in school, but it shouldn't be compulsory.

i am one of the few people who doesn't just support the right to choose, i support abortion. i think more people need to be encouraged to have abortions. i think bearing a child with the intention of giving it up for adoption is a crime, and anybody who does that should be sterilized so they can never again bring a new life into the world.
Don't necessarily assume that you're one of the few, Bottle. It's just that most of us who agree with you have an aversion to torch-bearing mobs burning crosses in our front yards, so we don't mention our opinions to the great unwashed public.



As for the rest of your post ... music to my ears. Agreed.

Abortion- All for it, I don't give a flying fuck about fetuses
Stem cell research- see above
Gay marriage- I think gay people could show straights about how to hold a loving relationship
Kerry- I'll take a chimp over Bush, so Kerry is in for me.
Religious right- I don't care if you think homos are sinners, I don't care if you are against abortion because your feelings are your own. Just keep your opinions to yourself. Not everyone is in your fucked up religion and believe what you do. Get over it.

I know this is a 'speak your mind' thread, but all the same, please refrain from flaming.

If religion is not allowed to be taught in schools, neither should evolution. Neither of them can be proved or disproved scientifically.
huh? evolution most certainly can be, it just hasn't been yet. part of being a scientific theory is giving ways that your theory can be disproven, and evolution has done that at great length. evolution has been ammended and expanded to account for new information, and parts of the theory have been disproven by data.

Hurrah!

The bit about Boney M, or the other thing? :confused:

*All for abortion, but not after 2 or 3 months
*Free Spech excpept for hatemongers, etc
*Life and let life. Let gay people marry, and we'll stop asking for it :fluffle:
*Teach evolution, there is enough pysical evidence to prove it, or at least almost prove. Damn Missing Link!
*Capitalism may be a bad form of economics, but at least you're allowed to be rich
* My Opinion On What They Should Do To Politicians: :sniper:

huh? evolution most certainly can be, it just hasn't been yet. part of being a scientific theory is giving ways that your theory can be disproven, and evolution has done that at great length. evolution has been ammended and expanded to account for new information, and parts of the theory have been disproven by data.


Most of the so-called 'evidence' that supports evolution is based on fraud, poor research, wild speculation, deliberately misinterpreted evidence, and fabrication. Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, of course, but I personally agree with the following quote (for the life of me, I can't remember who said it): "Evolution is one tenth bad science, nine tenths bad philosophy."

Not everyone is in your fucked up religion and believe what you do. Get over it.
NEVER EVER EVER EVER CALL MY RELIGION FUCKED UP EVER THAT IS BASHING MY FREIND PLAIN AND SIMPLE BECASUE WITH MY RELIGION AS THE FOUNDATION OF MY LIFE, WELL LET'S JUST SAY THE SONS OF THUNDER HAVE NOTHING ON ME, NOTHING.

huh? evolution most certainly can be, it just hasn't been yet. part of being a scientific theory is giving ways that your theory can be disproven, and evolution has done that at great length. evolution has been ammended and expanded to account for new information, and parts of the theory have been disproven by data.
Well...as someone kept mentioning...
Evolution is an observation, not a theory. The original post would've been better if it read "If Creationism can't be taught in science class then the Big Bang theory shouldn't be taught either."

True enough, but the same argument could apply to teaching evolution in schools. I personally feel the only things that should be taught in school are proven facts. Not theories, not ideas, but only facts. Let the students formulate their own theories. Children should be allowed to say "under God" and to pray or read the Bible in school, but it shouldn't be compulsory.
I never used them being theories as an argument. We can't teach anything BUT theories, the fact is we don't know what everything is, we can make assumptions based on out sensory data, but in truth everything is a theory.
I agree that children should be allowed to pray or oath etc. in public schools, as long as like you said it's not compulsory. I just think that government officials shouldn't since they represent the entire country, doing so would be like the teacher in a public school demanding that the entire class, regardless of religion, pray to the Christian God.

NEVER EVER EVER EVER CALL MY RELIGION FUCKED UP EVER THAT IS BASHING MY FREIND PLAIN AND SIMPLE BECASUE WITH MY RELIGION AS THE FOUNDATION OF MY LIFE, WELL LET'S JUST SAY THE SONS OF THUNDER HAVE NOTHING ON ME, NOTHING.
U ATAKED MAH RELIGION AND NOW I HAEV 2 RANT BAK AT U LIEK A 12 YAAR OLD!11!111 OMG LOL BLAH BLAH BLAH11111!! OMG WTF LOL

NEVER EVER EVER EVER CALL MY RELIGION FUCKED UP EVER THAT IS BASHING MY FREIND PLAIN AND SIMPLE BECASUE WITH MY RELIGION AS THE FOUNDATION OF MY LIFE, WELL LET'S JUST SAY THE SONS OF THUNDER HAVE NOTHING ON ME, NOTHING.
if you can't handle people disagreeing then go away. i think religion, all religion, is fake and pitiable, but you don't need to throw a fit. plenty of people think i am going to hell for not agreeing with them, but i don't have a tantrum all over them. just take a breath and move on.

I never used them being theories as an argument. We can't teach anything BUT theories, the fact is we don't know what everything is, we can make assumptions based on out sensory data, but in truth everything is a theory.
I agree that children should be allowed to pray or oath etc. in public schools, as long as like you said it's not compulsory. I just think that government officials shouldn't since they represent the entire country, doing so would be like the teacher in a public school demanding that the entire class, regardless of religion, pray to the Christian God.

Good points.

Nuke the unborn gay whales for Christ!

if you can't handle people disagreeing then go away. i think religion, all religion, is fake and pitiable, but you don't need to throw a fit. plenty of people think i am going to hell for not agreeing with them, but i don't have a tantrum all over them. just take a breath and move on.

He's not upset because the person disagreed with him. He's upset because the person flamed and insulted him.

Most of the so-called 'evidence' that supports evolution is based on fraud, poor research, wild speculation, deliberately misinterpreted evidence, and fabrication. Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, of course, but I personally agree with the following quote (for the life of me, I can't remember who said it): "Evolution is one tenth bad science, nine tenths bad philosophy."
i suppose i should just let it go, since this isn't an evolution thread. suffice it to say that the people who have spent the most time studying science and evolution pretty much agree it's solid, so i don't think there is much reason to keep it from schools. once you have spent 50 years studying evolution and compiling evidence against it perhaps i will listen to you :).

Guys, what're you saying, wouldn't it be less stressing to all be analphabets and live relaxed and happy??? I mean, as my motto says, To de pototo we serve with honor and corage! Peace guys, you can contact me at lucchesi_mauro@hotmail.com

I was forgetting, I'm from Argentina... :sniper: :sniper:

He's not upset because the person disagreed with him. He's upset because the person flamed and insulted him.
no, the person said something nasty about his religion. there's a difference. if i say "Christianity is stupid" that doesn't mean i just called Bill the Christian stupid; i said he believes in something stupid, not that he himself is stupid.

if you can't handle people disagreeing then go away. i think religion, all religion, is fake and pitiable, but you don't need to throw a fit. plenty of people think i am going to hell for not agreeing with them, but i don't have a tantrum all over them. just take a breath and move on.
Hai. Though he was responding to his religion being attacked, that still stands as a true statement.

Thank you, would you be amazed to know I'm 13?

Actually....the real thing about it is...
Evolution is taught as a theory and there is physical evidence that can be studied to prove or disprove it, making it science.
Creationism is generally taught (by Christians) as unquestionable fact with nothing to study that can prove or disprove it. That's not really science...

What happened to the 'without getting bashed' part of this thread? :eek:

Bush AND Kerry and their political parties: Two Wings of the same Evil Dragon travelin' along singin their song: Global Gov't.
Wake Up

Actually....the real thing about it is...
Evolution is taught as a theory and there is physical evidence that can be studied to prove or disprove it, making it science.
Creationism is generally taught (by Christians) as unquestionable fact with nothing to study that can prove or disprove it. That's not really science...
another good point. plus, i WAS taught creation theory in school...about 12 of them, if memory serves. as long as ALL creation theories are taught, i don't see any danger; kids will be able to understand it is all just human attempts to explain what they don't get.

What happened to the 'without getting bashed' part of this thread? :eek:
He was the one who took it as an insult and attacked him back. Other than that we weren't exactly bashing people.

another good point. plus, i WAS taught creation theory in school...about 12 of them, if memory serves. as long as ALL creation theories are taught, i don't see any danger; kids will be able to understand it is all just human attempts to explain what they don't get.
That is true, as long as more than one is introduced (I know here by gr 9 everyone has already learned a myriad of creation theories) it is harmless since it leaves room for someone to choose.

I thought we wouldn't bash on this forum. Hehe. No need for this to get personal.

Return to the moon, humanity! It is our destiny!!!

Bash- call me an idealist fool
criticize- unfeasable, unimportant

I think eveolution is false - I also think that the sun is rolled across the sky by a giant scarab beetle, and televisons have tiny imps inside of them that make the pictures move ;) [/sarcasm]

Why can't we all just get along?

Except for Nazis. I refuse to get along with anyone who tries to tell me that my ancestors were 'race traitors' as though the term actually has any meaning.

What happened to the 'without getting bashed' part of this thread? :eek:

It's nearly impossible to have a flame-free thread. Everything you say makes someone sore as hell.

another good point. plus, i WAS taught creation theory in school...about 12 of them, if memory serves. as long as ALL creation theories are taught, i don't see any danger; kids will be able to understand it is all just human attempts to explain what they don't get.
If it were up to "Whittier-," kids would only know about the Christian version of Creationism until at least age 16.

It's nearly impossible to have a flame-free thread. Everything you say makes someone sore as hell.

i like puppies...wanna make something of it?!

I thought we wouldn't bash on this forum. Hehe. No need for this to get personal.

Return to the moon, humanity! It is our destiny!!!

Bash- call me an idealist fool
criticize- unfeasable, unimportant
"Their immigration is completely out of the question, that would be like spreading parasites across our healthy universe," - Knives (genocidal alien from Trigun) regarding humanity's immigration across the galaxy.
Going to the Moon is unimportant. If we want to go somewhere we should go to Mars, atleast there we can make it a habitable planet.

I like Beeker. Anyone wanna make something of that? :mad:

And Bottle, kiss my lily-white arse you puppy likin' pervert! :p

i like puppies...wanna make something of it?!
Fag.












(j/k)

I like Beeker. Anyone wanna make something of that? :mad:

And Bottle, kiss my lily-white arse you puppy likin' pervert! :p

Who's Beeker?

i like puppies...wanna make something of it?!

If you're deliberately trying to annoy me, then:

A)You must be very bored or emotionally immature;

and

B)You'll have to try much more than sarcasm to rile me up. ;)

If you're deliberately trying to annoy me, then:

A)You must be very bored or emotionally immature;

and

B)You'll have to try much more than sarcasm to rile me up. ;)
actually, i was trying to be silly and have some fun. but feel free to get annoyed, most people do when i talk :P

Fag.












(j/k)

oh yeah? well you puppy-haters are going to HELL! so there!

oh yeah? well you puppy-haters are going to HELL! so there!
Got the T-Shirt....nuff said.

actually, i was trying to be silly and have some fun. but feel free to get annoyed, most people do when i talk :P

I'm not annoyed. I am, however, feeling like a complete idiot, for failing to notice you were merely kidding, and for that I apologize.

actually, i was trying to be silly and have some fun. but feel free to get annoyed, most people do when i talk :P

We don't like people what talk 'round these parts. :mad:

I'm not annoyed. I am, however, feeling like a complete idiot, for failing to notice you were merely kidding, and for that I apologize.

no worries, i do the same myself. posting makes for difficult communication of humor, and i don't pull it off well anyhow :P.

I'm anti-Religion, but Pro-God.
For Gay Marriage and Abortion
I dont really like Kerry or Bush
I hate snakes, Jack, I hate em!
And I think that the truth IS out there.

I speak from the standpoint of a disillusioned American, keep that in mind.

On abortion: Is the fetus' brain functioning yet? If not, it's fair game, after that, only if it's a hazard to the mother.

Gay Marriage: What the hell business does the government have in marriage in the first place, anyway? There should be no distinction between any type of marriage - but none of 'em should be called 'marriage' by the state. Civil unions for everyone. Church validates it in the eyes of (insert higher power here), or not, that's their option.
Addendum: I'd actually like to suggest polyamorous unions (as opposed to just polygamous unions, which cause more trouble than can be endured in most cases - difference being that polygamous involves one person married to multiple others, polyamorous being that every person involved is an equal part of the union).

Evolution vs. Creationism: Natural selection is viable by and vulnerable to scientific method. Creationism isn't really anything that can be dealt with scientifically (and don't try to present an argument with evidence from an eighth-hand account, say the Bible, and expect it to be nearly as credible as what you observe in the lab). Ergo, natural selection is what gets taught in science classes. Creationism and the little warm puddle thing do have their place in school though - philosophy. A class designed for people to question things. Let individuals puzzle it out for themselves, in an environment conducive to it.
Addendum: As far as education goes, I'm more worried that neither the state nor a lot of private institutions are teaching people how to think and reason for themselves, or how to express themselves.
Addendum to the addendum: There needs to be a division between preparatory schools and technical schools. Not to say you can't do both, but some people just won't do with one or the other (mostly the prep side), and the current education system doesn't take technical anything into account to any large degree.

Capital Punishment: Yeah, but you'd better be real freaking sure of what you're doing.
Capital Appeals: Get all your grievances assembled for court the first time, because each appeal after will only be against the previous appeal unless new evidence comes up. This also allows for a natural expiration of the appeal process, when the appeal being challenged is so basic that the decision can literally be made in five minutes.

Religion: I'm not willing to blindly accept or deny any belief system, really. Obviously the ones that amount to bossing around people while luring them with shiny things (like paradise or something) need a lot of work done to them before they actually add up to something. More energy should be focused on establishing the nature of the supernatural, rather than whether you're going to burn or not when you get there. That said, just about anything is cool until you start proselytizing or blowing things up or kidnapping people for rituals. Yeah, that means I instinctively loathe the tractmonkeys. And this also means I'm opposed to folks like Falwell and Pat Robertson. Deal with it.
Addendum: Heaven wouldn't be too far from hell, really. One starts from pleasure, one from pain, but they'd both merge at infinite boredom before too long. (You think about how you'd react to getting everything you want forever (where's the challenge) or the lava hot tub (let's change it up already).)

Separation of Church and State: Put it in the constitution. And take it beyond just keeping religious favoritism out of government. Religious and corporate leaders have no business being political leaders.

The PATRIOT act: It makes every citizen of our country into a suspect. It needs to die.

The INDUCE act: From a purely technical standpoint, this would make having pen and paper illegal (in the case of books) or even, you know, being a human being capable of memorization. This is nothing more than a choose-your-own-arrest-warrant, and could lead to a fissure in the nation itself.

The DHS Alert Meter: Has this actually EVER served its stated function? At all? (Not the political manipulation one, the 'warn people of things' one.) Use it or lose it.

Bush or Kerry?: Honestly, I don't think there's a good candidate out there. But Bush's proposed draft plan is a threat to an entire generation (specifically, mine). We saw what losing a generation did to Europe. That's not necessarily his worst mistake, but I sincerely hope the voters of this country decide it's his last, and given the two-party system, Kerry's the only way to make it so.

Speaking of the draft: Egalitarian (meaning any able-bodied individuals) or none at all. I'd prefer the none at all option, because if your people won't do everything in their power (and procure weapons to increase that power) to fight off an invasion by themselves, the military probably won't be able to help, and military actions outside the country don't require millions of people if you do them in a competent, cooperative, and not-going-to-screw-things-over-so-businesses-can-get-paid-from-taxpayer-income-to-clean-up-our-mess fashion (at least not anymore, I'm not sure if the second world war could have been handled with strike tactics, especially without modern technology).
Addendum: I suppose I have a special distaste for anything that tells me I -HAVE- to do something solely because of where I was born. I consider myself to owe debts to my parents and no one else, since they're the ones supporting me and answering to the government for me. While taxes really are a matter of where you are, obligations involving life and limb should be reserved for the country you CHOOSE to be a citizen of.

Cloning: There's legitimate reasons. Cloning organs, yes. Studying the nature of the human genome and the life cycle, yes. Making an army of yourself, hell no.

Stem Cells: What else are you going to do with an aborted fetus?

Nanotechnology: It's got a lot of uses. Making stuff at home and turning the world into quicksilver or key lime pie aren't two of 'em (The first because pain to assemble, the second because it takes too much power to replicate on its own and anything self-replicating would need just the right materials.) Alloying or armor is good. Maintenance is good. Combine it with the EPR paradox - the one that says that the halves of a split atom will both change state at the exact same time, regardless of distance, should either half be altered as such (should it hold valid under scrutiny) - and you'll probably have viable faster-than-light communication. They can also aid in replicating natural soil processes for hydroponics towers, to help feed the species and all - just don't expect things that taste like murder (like beef and veal and stuff - see Denis Leary to understand the reference) to be anything but expensive when humanity's a pack of fifty billion spanning several dozen worlds.

Life Extension: The human body is about as complex as, say, an aircraft carrier, while the human mind is quite a bit further. That being said, it's probably easier and safer (from the perspective of not knowing whether consciousness (call it a soul if it makes you feel comfortable) is transferable or not) to keep intact the body we do have than to try uploading ourselves to computers. This is where nanotech and genetic engineering merge. For a probably somewhat above nominal energy fee (meaning you'd need twice or so as much food each day, I'd expect) one could, theoretically, become functionally immortal - not necessarily you cannot die, but the rate at which your life expectancy is increasing is outstripping time.

Capitalism: As such, it's better than anything else. But government does have to be involved to keep the abuses to a minimum and the abusers out of the system. The culture of lying, invulnerability to demand, and irresponsibility should be phased out. Something has to make up for the fact that people don't know everything, you see.

Health care: Public for issues involving pathogens or other contagions, and for something that would eliminate someone's ability to make a living wage. //Obviously, anything else is open to private practice.

Welfare: Only for people who are completely incapable of holding a living wage. Anyone else should be limited to job-seeking and training assistance.

Electricity/power: We're looking in the wrong direction. Fusion's not necessarily worthless, but whether its risk/reward ratio is lower (read better) than fission's is up for serious debate. Fuel cells could work, but again hazard (and you take the reactions for electricity, you don't just burn it for explosive power like in an internal combustion engine). Whether the zero-point energy concepts that come up on the internet every so often are viable is still to be determined, but they do show some promise, and they've been accepted by the US Patent/Trademark Office (even with the anti-perpetual-motion bias against them), so they're worth investigating.

National IDs: Hell yes, they'd make life a lot easier, and wouldn't aid the powers that be in any significant way. But the citizen should have control of what information each entity with whom they interact can access, and they sure as hell shouldn't be required to carry the damn card (booklet? Integrate it with a passport maybe?) around every single place they go outside their house.

Drugs: Unless they make you much more likely to hurt other people, route the lot of 'em through the FDA, and feel free to tax 'em like alcohol and tobacco.

Gun ownership: There are things for self-defense that should be allowed, after training and licensing, to be owned by private citizens. Military assault rifles with attached grenade launchers and tactical nuclear weapons are not self-defense weapons.

Space: We're going to lose the Earth at some point. Maybe not now, maybe not next summer, maybe not even for a hundred million years (but superheating of the planet's surface due to proximity and a growing star should do the trick by then), but it will happen, and we have to be ready for the possibility that it will happen while humans are still on this particular plane of existence. Exploration, understanding, colonization, all important. But places like the Moon can't hold a substantial population, and Mars will take a lot more work than anyone thinks, maybe more than it would be worth. At the very least you need lots of water, lots of power, and some way to make lots of food. Your best bet outside Earth in this system is probably Europa. But look into terraforming Venus while you're at it; it couldn't hurt.
Addendum: If it wasn't obvious, returning to the moon and permanent space communities and about a thousand new stellar observatories are more or less implied here.

Aliens: Well, it'd seem a bit odd if we were the only form of life in the universe. Whether we'll meet anything sentient, let alone as or more advanced than us, is entirely up for grabs. There's one thing for sure, though: Someone is going to try and have sex with it, and that'll bring back almost as much controversy as I'm discussing here.

Secession: The concept of White v. Texas saying there's no legal out from the Union just means that it's up to the discretion of the current government. And while it could lead to a war, you probably won't see volunteers going after people they know or love, and a draft for it will meet a response along the lines of a revolution.

The Pledge and Money: For all you religious folks that call the god stuff tradition, time for a bit of history. The 'under god' and 'in god we trust' stuff is all about making Americans feel superior to the Russians and Chinese and their allies. The cold war's gone, that should go with it. Let people pray as they want in public, as long as they aren't using it to try to convert anyone or something like that.

If I think up anything else, I'll bring it in.