Comments on: A plan to convert the people who don’t like homosexuals because gay sex is “unnatural”

By: Erich Vieth

Erich Vieth — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 05:47:35 +0000

Here’s Mike Huckabee suggesting that homosexuality is as bad as beastiality. http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2008/01/huckabee_equates_homosexuality_with_bestiality.php

By: Niklaus Pfirsig

Niklaus Pfirsig — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:17:12 +0000

A few years ago, I read a novel titled “The Tomorrow File” by Lawrence Sanders. This bit of speculative fiction centers on a group of spin doctors that work for corporations and elected officials. Throughout the book homosexuals are referred to as “Republicans” and heterosexuals are callded “Democrats”.
A large part of the reason that people identify with the Republican is that they believe the laws should be made by an elite (who they assume will include themselves) to apply to the masses, but not necessarily to the elites.
The Democrats are those that want to prevent a stratification of our society, by limiting the political power and influence of the elitists.
What is needed, is a disruption in the two party system into three or posiblly four political parties that have an equal chance at gaining legislative seats.
The problem is that most people do not like being held accountable for all their actions, and would rather let someone else decide, then complain about the outcome than take a stand on what they believe is right. Stripped of the burden of responsibilty, they will vehemently defend their apathy by obsessing over ways to force the same values on their neighbors.

By: Erich Vieth

Erich Vieth — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:57:23 +0000

Why do people have sex? Cindy Meston and David Buss have compiled a long list of reasons (I commented on this list briefly here). Here’s the introduction to their extensive survey:

Why people have sex is an extremely important, but surprisingly little studied topic. One reason for its relative neglect is that scientists might simply assume that the answers are obvious: to experience sexual pleasure, to relieve sexual tension, or to reproduce. Previous research
already tells us that the answers cannot be as few or psychologically simple.

For the full article by Meston and Buss, see here.

The reasons are interesting. Here are the top 15 reasons given for having sex:

1. I was attracted to the person
2. I wanted to experience the physical pleasure
3. It feels good
4. I wanted to show my affection to the person
5. I wanted to express my love for the person
6. I was sexually aroused and wanted the release
7. I was ‘‘horny’’
8. It’s fun
9. I realized I was in love
10. I was ‘‘in the heat of the moment’’
11. I wanted to please my partner
12. I desired emotional closeness (i.e., intimacy)
13. I wanted the pure pleasure
14. I wanted to achieve an orgasm
15. It’s exciting, adventurous

Here are the most infrequent reasons for having sex, from the same survey:

1. I wanted to give someone else a sexually transmitted
disease (e.g., herpes, AIDS)
2. Someone offered me money to do it
3. I wanted to get a raise
4. It was an initiation rite to a club or organization
5. I wanted to get a job
6. I wanted to get a promotion
7. The person offered to give me drugs for doing it
8. I wanted to punish myself
9. I wanted to hurt/humiliate the person
10. I wanted to feel closer to God
11. I wanted to breakup my relationship
12. I wanted to breakup another’s relationship
13. I wanted to be used or degraded
14. I wanted to gain access to that person’s friend
15. I wanted to get a favor from someone
16. I wanted to enhance my reputation
17. It would get me gifts
18. I wanted to make money
19. I wanted to hurt an enemy
20. Because of a bet

This article couldn’t be complete without a list of many health-related reasons for having lots of sex. For that very useful list, go here.

By: Mark Tiedemann

Mark Tiedemann — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:30:08 +0000

Larry,

Kudos, man, couldn’t agree more. The apparent contradiction of Americans who want government to step in and yet see themselves as “self-governing” is born of poor thought and selfishness—what they want is for government to make it possible for Them (whichever group you mean at the time) to live the way they want and not have to put up with differences among others which may lead to a tangle of mutual responsibilities. They want to be “free” to choose their own lives, but they want government to limit those choices to a pre-approved list.

By: Alan Lund

Alan Lund — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:00:21 +0000

While I generally agree with the point of this post, I want to warn people that the use of the Conservapedia page view statistics as evidence in support of any claim is problematic, as there seems to have been an effort on the part of some of Conservapedia’s detractors to distort those statistics using bots to repeatedly access pages related to homosexuality. See, for example, this post and especially the comments that include both analysis of the statistics as well as an admission from one person who participated in the bot effort.

By: Dan Klarmann

Dan Klarmann — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:23:38 +0000

I posted about Conservapedia last March listing instances where topics were locked because experts who actually know subjects kept trying to post corrections to unsupported claims.
: Conservapedia: Providing aid to the Obscurationists

By: TJ

TJ — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:22:29 +0000

Larry, you’ve missed the point. Erich is not suggesting we actually carry out his *thought* experiment, but rather that conservatives imagine how they would feel if such a rule were in place. Hopefully that would make them see the hypocrisy of their views toward homosexuality, at least regarding it supposed particular unnaturalness.

Of course, it won’t work, because they will quote cherry-picked scripture as though it were the source of all morality for everyone, including those who believe the bible to be a fairy tale. And so it goes around and around and around.

Funny post, Erich! Thanks.

By: Larry J. Carter

Larry J. Carter — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:04:31 +0000

As long as we are making up stuff; new laws, new definitions, I’ll share one that has helped me a lot, although it’s not really new. Whenever I see the word “god” I think of the word - rulemaker - a g - o - d is one who makes rules {laws} for others.

Your thought experiment is about playing god. You don’t feel people should play god, so “let’s show them how it feels” to be made into sinners {sin is the transgression of the law, 1John 3:4}. Your attempt to make conservatives “see the light” will just offend them.

History is a battle of the rulemakers, who will decide, who will make the rules, especially, for others. Most conservatives think it’s just about religion as well, but it’s really about who makes the rules, ie: government.

Many Americans want things in government to change. They feel powerless and disenfranchised. Strange ideas, coming from self-governing people.