Clarification/Follow-up by ETWolverine on 10/19/04 11:28 am:
Excon,

Don't read too much into it... I was having a weak moment. But I'm much better now. :)

Seriously. Truth is, I feel that NEITHER the naked blade nor the naked body should be shown to kids. My kids don't watch live TV for that reason, and only the tapes that I allow them to see... mostly Sesame Street, Elmo and Uncle Moishe stuff, with a little bit of baseball thrown in. (My son can't figure out why his dad is a Yankee fan but his mom from Houston is rooting for the Astros.)

I happen to be against government censorship in general with the exception of national security issues. But I reserve the right to censor what my kids see for myself. That's what parental responsibility is all about.

There's that word again... "responsibility".

My comment was no so much meant as a comment on what kids should see. It was more of a comment about society in general. Murder on TV is more acceptable than love on TV. I find that problematic. Neither one, in my opinion, should be accessable to young kids.

But on the other hand, for adults, what makes one more acceptable than the other... especially when the accetable one is the one that shows people harming other people?

Something is wrong with our moral compasses.

And I don't think that what I'm saying is outside the Conservative way of thinking. I think that this sort of review of our moral compasses is ENTIRELY in keeping with Conservative values.

Elliot

Clarification/Follow-up by excon on 10/19/04 11:45 am:

Indeed, Elliot. It is an honest conservative view. It isn't the view, however, of the Republican party. They would usurp your parental "responsibility".

I don't disagree, either, that our moral compass is out of kilter. It's what one does about it that matters.

In the face of the real world, you have taken the "responsibility" to make sure your kids learn your way of life. I'm also sure, that in the process, you let them know that there are dangerous things in the world that they need to be aware of.

The Republican party, whose platform represents a distorted view of conservatism, believe that the government should intervene to outlaw the offending behavior. Clearly, that's what the intention is of those Republicans who say "blankety blank" sends the wrong message to our children. You never hear a Democrat say that.

excon

Clarification/Follow-up by ETWolverine on 10/19/04 12:04 pm:
>>>You never hear a Democrat say that. <<<

Really? Ever hear of Joe Lieberman? The champion of music video censorship and parental warnings and video game censorship and parental warnings? How about Tipper Gore? Wife of Al Gore, and champion (along with Al) of censorship in music lyrics. o they count as Democrats?

And perhaps we SHOULD be hearing more Dems saying something about it.

Do YOU think that seeing violence on TV sends a bad message to kids? How about sex?

I do.

You are right, it is what we do about it that makes the difference. But what are the Dems doing about it other than completely ignoring the problem and asserting everyone's "right" to put the stuff on TV?

Nothing.

You might not like the Republican party's approach to kids and media. But at least they are trying to do SOMETHING. Parents should be the front line of defense for this issue... I agree 100% with that. But when cartoons shows that are ostensibly created for kids show "mega-violence", and the networks consider that acceptable veiwing for my kids, then there is an issue that needs to be addressed. At the very least, a determination of what defines a "kids show" needs to be addressed, and ground rules need to be set as to what can be shown in a kids show.

Ignoring the problem as most Dems are sure isn't helping matters.

Elliot

Clarification/Follow-up by Yiddishkeit on 10/19/04 4:05 pm:
Excon-

Let's review...

My reply was:

1. Some people do make that choice.

2. However some people are born that way. Then I gave an example.


The next part concerns the assumption made by your comments...

*That's my wifes cousin as stated in my original reply...not my cousin.

*He wasn't so little...well of course excluding his last year of life before he passed on from aids.


Are we "clear" now?


Bobby

Clarification/Follow-up by Yiddishkeit on 10/19/04 4:26 pm:
Excon-

PS. I can see how that my original reply could be interpreted as contradicting. I hope my follow-up clarified my position on the matter. I'll keep this in mind as I present my view on future subjects.


Bobby

Clarification/Follow-up by kindj on 10/20/04 6:39 am:
>>(My son can't figure out why his dad is a Yankee fan but his mom from Houston is rooting for the Astros.)<<

Because, at least in this case, his mom has better sense!

;)

DK

Clarification/Follow-up by ETWolverine on 10/20/04 7:06 am:
Dennis,

I've never doubted my wife's sense.

But just because something makes "sense" doesn't make it right.

Elliot

Clarification/Follow-up by tomder55 on 10/20/04 8:04 am:
the Yanks are making me lose too much sleep . It really is rediculous to have 8:15 PM start for games that last 5 hrs . For us early risers on the east coast ,we really get screwed with that and 9:15 Pm starts for Monday night football.

I'd like to ask Torre if he has an objection to giving David Ortiz (or as Kerry said Manny Ortez)the Barry Bonds treatment and just walk him already!

Clarification/Follow-up by kindj on 10/20/04 12:46 pm:
Reading you all's responses, I realized that I never really answered the question; rather, all I did was make it bigger.

When my professors/administrators/peers/wife asked my what I thought we should do about the problem (that I listed), I said that we need better parents, first of all, to stand up to the schools and tell them enough is enough. WE, the PARENTS, NOT the school board, NOT the universities, NOT the principals, NOT the Department of Education, WE THE PARENTS are responsible for raising good, decent, well-educated kids. Trouble is, we (speaking universally and not specifically) have abdicated our child-rearing responsibilities to the schools, and by extension, to the US Gov't. THAT never should have happened.

We need to take it back. We need to teach, if necessary, other parents how to parent, and we don't need another damn government agency to tell us how to do it. We are the voters, and we are the taxpayers. We are the bosses, not the bossed.

"Yeah, but Dennis," some have whined,"what about those parents that just don't care?" Someone had to teach them not to care. Human nature, I believe, is to take the parenting job seriously and approach it with love, humility (before God) and authority. It's our society that teaches us different. Our society (and the liberal wing of the gov't) REWARDS ineffective parenting, REWARDS laziness, PUNISHES success. Time to take it back.

There are those who will not succeed at anything they try. I'm not ignorant of the fact that the poor will always be with us, and need to be looked after. There will always be those who are poverty-stricken through no fault of their own. But there are those who are there because of the conscious choices that they've made, and they expect MY money and YOUR money to be given to them so that they can CONTINUE to be a drain on a benevolent society.

We have to take it back.

DK

Clarification/Follow-up by Yiddishkeit on 10/20/04 1:04 pm:
My favorite NYY player is Jeter. A-rod needs to stop acting like a baby. The officials got the calls right last night with exception to the ump that was inconsistant with the strike zone calls for both teams. Should the Yankees win the curse of Bambino is still in affect and if the Red Sox win it's the curse of A-Rod...which btw the Texas Rangers for some reason became a better ball club without him. I'm rooting for the Stros as they say in Texas...but the Cards are good enough to win it all. Even if the Stros don't advance to the WS this is the best they have ever done. Hopefully they will and perhaps my souvenier 1973-74 Astro team signed baseball should go up in price. Both series have made for great entertainment.


Bobby