The Audio Stylings of Chris Levens
"I'm a Gangster"

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The Christian Right should be fighting for prison reform.

Supposedly, The Christian Right loves the U.S. Constitution. Also, The Christian Right wants to eradicate Homosexuality.

It is no secret that U.S. prisoners are subject to brutal homosexual rape. I think this constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The government is responsible for this violation of our constitutional rights. If the government is going to imprison people in such a way that it can be constituted un-cruel and usual punishment, then the government needs to regulate and control the prisons in a responsible manner. By neglect, U.S. prisoners are subject to a very cruel punishment, not to mention morally reprehensible by the Christian Right.

Of all people, The Christian Right should be passionately opposing the homosexual raping of U.S. prisoners.
 11:48 AM   •  3 satisfied customers!!  

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I got a question that I don’t know the answer to; any help on getting an answer will be appreciated.

Are the only people who think Iraq is not in the midst of a civil war Pres. Bush and his hard-line supporters? Or has Bush finally acknowledged that Iraq is in civil war?
 11:04 AM   •  1 satisfied customer!  

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Have you ever heard someone say the current war is all about oil?

If you found this proposition rediculous, give yourself two points.

Give yourself another 5 five points if you also find the following statement equally rediculous: the current war isn't about oil, it is about fighting for (insert favorite patriotic adjective here, i.e., "freedom", "democracy", "peace", "homeland security", etc.).

Though the current war is about oil, it isn't all about oil; oil is a major thing this war is about, but it isn't all this war is about. I hope this distinction makes sense. It seems this is a real sticking point for people: the two views above have a difficult time making an accurate assesment of the size of oil's role as a cause of this war.

Also difficult is getting a clear picture of how and why oil is a major catylist for this war. In Terry Gross's (NPR Fresh Air host) interview with James Baker, there is an interesting insight into the role that oil plays in this war. James Baker "served as chief of staff and treasury secretary under President Reagan, and was also secretary of state and chief of staff under President George H.W. Bush." Baker, as a Conservative White House insider, has a worthwile perspective on oil's role in White House policy.

What I found most interesting, and insightful, was a written policy in four White House administrations (Ford, 2 Reagan, H.W. Bush) that states the USA would "go to war to defend secure access to the energy reserves of the Persian Gulf." The reason oil is worth going to war over is that it is essential to the health of the US economy and our global political interests. The interview gets really interesting as he explains the US's policy to defend America's economic interests and security at the expense of other nation's well being.

Oil is essential to the economic well being of the USA. Just think about the economic troubles we had in the 1970s that were largerly due to OPEC cutting supplies. Oil is the soft underbelly of the USA -- for all our high tech weponry, we are vulnerable in our dependence on oil. A serious lack of oil could lead to serious chaos in the United States. Whoever controls the oil supply can leverage that against the USA. It is in the USA's interests to secure cheep oil.

The cost of this national security is the national security and economic wellbieng of the people who live in the Persian Gulf, and possibly Venezuela. Our security costs them their security. What the USA cannot abide is to have oil producing countries nationalizing thier oil or tampering with oil's participation in the "free market". To protect our standard of living, the USA is willing to go to war and destroy people's lives.

All I can say is, "wow".

If oil's role in this war is hazy to you, I recomend listening to this interview. It gets more interesting once he gets to the oil section.
 11:21 PM   •  13 satisfied customers!!