The Introduce Yourself thread!

[Helene]

This one needs to be heavily edited (again)! So here goes..

I thought I'd introduce myself.. Although I always drop tidbits here and there, I figured, it might be nice to actually say.. well, this is who I am..

Ok.. I'm Helene, 26 years old, from the Netherlands. I am attending grad school, with a major in English literature. I have a 4 year old son, and am a single mother. I am currently in love though !
Politically.. I'm a left wing libertarian, meaning, I believe that the government should mind its own business, but, should create equal opportunities for all, so that personal responsibility is limited to real personal responsibility, instead of the responsibility to succeed against all odds.
I'm interested in politics cause it's an important part of life.. and I also follow some international relations courses at uni.
Furthermore, I have an uncanny amount of knowledge about the biological/physiological aspect of the development of a new life.

I enjoy debating things, because my opinions do change.. I feel I learn things here, and if no earth shocking changes in my opinions have occured as of yet, at least they have been better defined.

Helene

[bolagard]

OK, here goes:

I am a 43 year old father of five. I spent 10 years as a firefighter/paramedic before being medically retired because of an air conditioning unit which collapsed through a ceiling on me while fighting a fire. I am married (sorry Helene) and live in Fort Worth, Texas. I am an emergency room nurse in a level II trauma center. I enjoy watching my daughter play softball, hunting, and discussing politics.

Politically, I am very conservative. I tend to follow the views of Ayn Rand, although I believe her religious views were terribly misguided. I believe that our American Constitution is almost sacred and I find infuriating those in power who disregard it. (It seems that being infuriated is becoming a full-time job.)

After being injured, I decided to go back to college for my degree, majoring in Biology, with a minor in Nursing. I used to believe I had an uncanny amount of knowledge about the biological/physiological aspect of the development of a new life before actually studying Biology in depth. After becoming educated in the subject, my view on abortion changed dramatically.

I'm not so much what you'd call cute; I guess I'm just a regular looking guy. My wife likes me, so that's cute enough, I reckon.

[Geforce25]

I'll jump in. (I always do)

I'm a 44 year old father of 3, married, and live in Corona, CA. Corona is a suburb of Los Angeles.

I am the Director of Information Technology for my company, and have a BS in Computer Information Systems from the California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. (Cal Poly)

I am economically an ardent free market supporter, though I don't believe that the WTO and large internationalist corporations represent a free market. Socially I'm very liberal, I don't believe in the war on drugs, nor do I believe in laws against prostitution, gambling, or other "victimless" crimes.

I was fortunate enough to be born in America, and believe her to be the freest nation on earth. I've done a fair amount of traveling, and have yet to encounter another nation with either the personal liberty or the opportunity that America has.

I believe that American policy should benefit America, and that other nations must be responsible for their own welfare. I oppose world government because I realize that no matter how pure the motives may be, world government can only be a dictatorship. I oppose the UN as an organization which exists for no reason save the transfer of wealth from the productive nations to the unproductive for the benefit of a few multinational corporations wishing to exploit cheap labor in those underdeveloped parts of the world.

I believe that America should protect her borders from invasion, and protect sea and air routes. But that is as much as we should do. Europe must learn to take care of Europe. If a dictator marches through, then Europe must deal with it. George Washington called for "Good will towards all, trade with some" but no involvement in the affairs of Europe or the rest of the world.

Not one drop of American blood should be spent to stop the next Hitler or Soviet Union. All that our blood and sacrifice has purchased is the hatred and contempt of those we died to save. America first, and America only is the only sane policy for America, just as Netherlands first is the only sane policy for the Netherlands.

[mabus]

Now its my turn.

I'm a single () 22 year old IT Student (Economics in minor)from ........ Koettelbach, that's a giant 100 citizen village close to the famous Nuerburgring (8 kilometers away).

My political beliefs are lead by a certain picture of "my" Utopia, which was formed by right, left, liberal and religious thoughs. Though I've already resignated because history shows that this world will never change, I enjoy discussing the events and thoughts of our time with others, especially those who are not of my opinion.

Though I know that it is lead by corruption, I think the EU is the best solution for Europes future problems. It will certainly take at least 50 years to turn it into a real nation, but the process is on its way ... slow like a snail. I'm anti-nationalist and like to make a difference between the past and the present, that's why all those WWII and cold war arguments suck soo dearly to me

[anengen]

I figured I'd post a "so long" post, and I guess I can include some drivel about me as I head out the door.

I'm Andreas, I'll be 24 in a week, and I come from Norway. I live in a small apartment in Oslo, with my girlfriend of two years, Hedda. I got my Bachelor degree in computer science in 2001, and have since then finished a one year mandatory military service. It spoiled two school years though, so I've been working for some months now. This coming fall, we'll be moving across the country as I'm going for my Master's degree. I've got no kids, and I can't see myself purposely making any for atleast a couple of years. Partly I guess, because I want to move abroad after uni, atleast for a while, but Hedda's more inclined to stay in Norway. Time will tell I guess.

Politically, I guess I pretty much belong in the center, atleast by Norwegian standards. I'm not really that interested in politics though, but I do get engaged over issues that I find important. Also, the job that I had until last week was horribly boring, and this site helped provide a daily distraction. For that I'm thankful . My only real spare time "hobby" is Muai Thai/kickboxing, but it's also pretty important to me, and it typically claims 2-3 hours every day. It's great physical and mental training, and "legally" smacking your buddies around at practice is priceless . Most evenings we spend as a group of friends, and while we often have discussions, they're often not about political subjects. I did enjoy reading the posts made here though.

The reason I'm saying "so long" is that I'm finally free from that job, and (after alot of saving up) I'm leaving tomorrow for a six week trip to Thailand.

So cya 'round people, and have a good summer.

~Andreas

[Phelos]

Dutch, 27, journalist, live in Amsterdam. Part-time musician/ debater/writer.

But please answer me one question: this forum is not a very busy one and when I go through the Google-motions, most discussion forums concerning US politics are a) just not there or b) not visited a lot by people.

So can anyone give me the URL of a really popular political discussion board? Or is that non-existent (or only to be found in right-wing circles)? If so, then the US is in more policital trouble than I care to think.

Because: what is a democracy worth when the citizens of said democracy do not debate or discuss? And why is that?

Thnx & regards,

Phelos

[ICX]

I'm 19 years old and a student at Vanderbilt University, where I intend to double major in Economics and Political Science if I don't decide to go pre-law my upcoming (sophomore) year.

Up until about a year ago, I considered myself conservative but my political stance varied on issue to issue. I pretty much took whatever was said in my high school econ and government classes as the truth and got my news in sound bites.

My political sentiments as they stand now developed rapidly after 9/11. Growing up in New Jersey and working in New York, the terrorist attacks affected me deeply, as it did many of my family friends. I remember for the first time taking genuine pride in being an American, and my patriotic feelings stuck. I have tremendous disdain for the current, fashionable anti-American rhetoric being spewed by liberal malcontents, who seem to be dissenting for the sake of doing so.

I believe in the free market, campaign finance reform, the repeal of affirmative action, education reform, patriotism, and the moral superiority of America. At the risk of sounding sanctimonious, America, as a country whose culture is a conglomerate of the best aspects of other cultures, has to hold itself to a higher standard than the theocracies we currently find ourselves in conflict with. I have faith in my government and my troops. My political views will no doubt continue to develop and be shaped by the people here, which is one of the reasons I joined these boards.

[Marc]

Okay, here goes.

I am 26 now...for those silly people that get confused easily...j/k. Born and raised in Seattle, WA. Have a beautiful fiance' and will be getting married this summer.

BA and MA in Political Science. Plan on starting an MPA (Master of Public Administration) this fall. Once I finish that I will start on my PhD in Public Administration. Would eventually like to get an MBA and JD just for my own interest in learning the disciplines. Also would like to teach part-time at some point.

Have worked in various government jobs at the school level, district level, port authority level, county level, state university level, state level, federal level. I guess I get around.

I am currently an officer in the Navy. I don't plan on making a career out of it as I would like to move back home to be around my friends and family. I wouldn't mind a job in the private sector, but am interested in a state job perhaps.

Within the next couple of years I would like to start a non-profit corporation (a scholarship foundation) to raise money to help kids pay for college. I am thinking about making 25% of whatever they receive considered a loan, but tax deductible if they make a donation of that size to the foundation. I guess it would basically be forgiving the loan if a donation of equal value was given.

I consider myself to be open-minded and rather diplomatic. I like discussing politics because I think it helps me understand things more in depth and helps to challenge my own beliefs. I have seen and experienced quite a few different things in my relatively short life, which have helped shape how I see things and what I believe.

I am glad that we have people here with such varying views on different topics of discussion. It is important to be challenged; that is one of the reasons why I am thankful that bolagard and others have graced us with their presence.

[Marc]

Anybody new want to tell us a little about yourself?

[WFCY]

Hi everyone. I'm Charles. friends in US call me Chaz. I'm 25. currently doing a PhD in computational linguistics in Germany. I was born Chinese, and now a US citizen. I've lived and studied in Taiwan, NZ, USA, and UK. Speak Mandarin Chinese and German besides English. Majored in Computer Science, and Philosophy. Single (again...).

My favorite philosophers had been Plato, Kant, Frege, Bertrand Russell, the Logical Positivists, and now Noam Chomsky (Marx, Luxemburg and Bakunin arn't on the top of my list actually). You can say I am a radical when it comes to politics. I am an agnostic in the Thomas Huxley/ William James sense, and without too much contradiction I do hold spiritual believes; in political spectrums would prefer to label myself as an anarchist/libertarian socialist if I have to. That entails, I think the history of mankind makes more sense if you see it as a never ending class struggle, and nearly everything that is meaningful to me in politics can be understood in the light of this.

I take part in non-partisan political groups, consisting of self-help activists, promoting peace, economic equality, civil and human rights, conservation and environmentalism etc. I think in order to maintain a sustainable degree of freedom, and to move towards true democracy, it is necessary to band together with fellow men and women, combine voices and solidarity, and not to be isolated. Invariably I feel there's a degree of self-contradiction and foolhardiness in all this, that on the one hand it's essential for our survival to commit to such an optimism, but on the other hand, doing so is buying into a political system which assumes democracy. So I have some doubts on the effectiveness of such activism, since the assumption doesn't hold fundalmentally. The other way is true revolution, which repeats in the course of history and I don't think it will stop in our century.

I am quite pessimistic about the current world affairs and human nature in general. I think there will be violent civil wars in USA in about 40-50 years ahead. There would be obvious turmoils when oil and gas are depleted (or simply the pass of Hubbert peak), and furthermore, catastrophies from global warming. It is questionable whether our civil societies would be democratized and rational enough to face our own consequences. I think the human history will end in my lifetime. I do not know what I can do about it really, but I'm doing what I can.

Regarding US Politics specifically. I think it is not a democracy, and it had never been (but neither is Europe or anywhere in the world, I do agree that they are tolerable however). The place is not free, although I know everyone would disagree- You can own guns, bad mouth the president..... so what? You call that freedom? But most woman faces difficulties when seeking abortion, homosexuals get eyed in public, organizing labor unions will get you fired, you cannot put anti-war commercials on national TV or even wear such T-shirts in malls, and the communist party was outlawed etc... That is not a free country I tell you- it is only "free" because you preceived it through a very limited perspective. The United States, in my view, is really a corporate ployarchy. I also have problems with their foreign policy. USA have been the source of great grievances around the world. Talk about that later.

BTW... You guys wanna know what my sig says?

"At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality."