Odd thought on friends and available categories

[redbird]

I mentioned this to wild_irises and she said to go ahead and post it.

If I'm ever tempted to think that my LiveJournal friends list is a valid cross-section of anything (with the possible exception of my social circle as a whole), I need only remember that there are more transgendered people on my friends list than there are Republicans (or Tories [1]). There may, in fact, be more space probes and fictional characters on my friends list than there are Republicans/Tories (and that is not an accurate reflection of my social circle as a whole).

If anyone who thinks I'm wrong about the numbers or proportions wants to come out as a Republican, please do.

[1] My first thought was just "Republicans," but considering the geographic distribution of my friendslist, it seemed only fair to throw Tories into the mix.

Comments

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

I think the war on terror is important

So why are you voting for Bush? He doesn't consider the war on terror to be important: certainly not important enough to override PNAC plans to divert resources from the war on terror and invade Iraq instead. And then there's the Plame Affair, and the lack of support for rebuilding Afghanistan, and .... oh, never mind. If you're determined to vote Republican, you probably will anyway. But be aware that if you do, you will be treating the war on terror as a mere electoral campaign issue, because that's all it is to Bush.

[snippy]

I disagree with your assessment of what the war on terror means, and I also disagree with your assessment of what it means to the president.

I don't think we have a huge interest in rebuilding Afghanistan, not nearly as much interest as we do in rebuilding Iraq.

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

I disagree with your assessment of what the war on terror means

I didn't say what I thought the war on terror meant.

and I also disagree with your assessment of what it means to the president.

Then you haven't been observing Bush's behaviour very closely over the past two and half years.

I don't think we have a huge interest in rebuilding Afghanistan, not nearly as much interest as we do in rebuilding Iraq.

Morally and ethically, I believe that the US has a responsibility towards Afghanistan, given that the war that damaged Afghanistan in the 1980s was essentially started by the CIA. Practically, the US can certainly afford the fifteen billion that it is estimated Afghanistan needs over the next five years. And given that the US attack on Afghanistan in October 2001 was justified by the claim that the Taliban supported al-Qaeda and that the al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan were the source of the attack on America on September 11, you would think that those who supported the attack on Afghanistan two and a half years ago, would not want the situation likely to arise in Afghanistan if the US refuses to support rebuilding Afghanistan.

But I guess if you think it unimportant that the Taliban regain control of Afghanistan, and that the US can dismiss all responsibility towards the country it so greatly injured over the past twenty years, well, you're right, and so is Bush. But I disagree.