@Anonymous: I don't quite understand your intent. Clinton gave us peace and prosperity. If that's what you are referring to, I will give you a monocle man.

@Anonymous: Wrong. Reagan military spending and Berlin Wall speech pushed them over the edge. Sorry Lib boy

@Anonymous:
Except, that isn't debt at all, in that graph, as we've never had that amount of fluctuation in debt during the Clinton years. You may have given me a trade defict/surplus graph, but not a debt graph.

Also, that graph is flawed, considering that the y-axis doesn't label if the numbers are in millions, billions, trillions, etc., and therefore cannot be used as acceptable evidence.

@Anonymous: http://www.scrippsnews.com/911poll
More evidence.
Mediocre education system.
Dumbass Christians
- Rick Perry
- 68% Believe that evolution, a scientific 'fact', should be taught alongside creationism.

@Anonymous:
Scrippsnews? What kind of backwater news sites are you using to scrape up such weak evidence? Also, I like how that article didn't link to the original polling by Ohio University, and that you assume that the opinions of 1,010 people equals the rest of the country, populated by billions of people.

>Mediocre education system.

This may be true, but I would like to see you try to provide a quality education to billions of people. Last time I checked, Australia, Japan, and other countries said to have higher quality schooling have a lower population than the United States. Of course our system is going to be seen as mediocre compared to your system.

>Dumbass Christians
>implying everybody in the U.S. is a Christian

I'm an atheist and I find your comments stupid, you "dumbass". However, I don't judge your entire country as full of "dumbasses" because of your behavior. It's not the logical thing to do.

>- Rick Perry

A politician who meant to say something meaningful, but chose the wrong words, and blew himself into a blunder that makes I, a conservative just as he is, shake his head in shame.

- 68% Believe that evolution, a scientific 'fact', should be taught alongside creationism.

>[citation needed]

Also, what's wrong with presenting both sides of the argument? I'm an atheist and I support evolutionary theory, but I also respect the right for those to believe what they want. Also, in reality, both evolution and any type of divinity haven't been proven or disproven without a doubt (since we can't go back in time millions of years to see evolution work, or 6000 years ago to see if God created the Universe, or whatever). Both are in a Schrodinger's Cat situation, where they both are true and are not true at the same time.

Please stop being an offensive twat, who makes brash generalizations in order to insult a nation full of people who are all inherently different. Learn to judge peop…

@Anonymous: >This may be true, but I would like to see you try to provide a quality education to billions of people.

I didn't know the U.S. had billions! Wow!

That is how polling works you take a sample of the populous and extrapolate as representative of the whole. USA's population is over 310 000 000 (note that you're still in the millions not in the billions.)

3/4 of Americans are Christians, it is written in the pledge of allegiance (1954? revision) one nation under god.

>Education
USA is a first world country and a supposed "superpower" they should be able to educate their children even when states and districts hold jurisdiction over curriculum which completely flies in the face of the population argument. Also another point worth mentioning is that outcomes from education is highly influenced from society's values towards education. In Australia we are unfortunately being Americanized but still not as bad as the U.S system.

>Rick Perry
He is not ashamed to admit he is a Christian but he should be ashamed to admit that kids can pray in schools and celebrate saturnalia, err I mean Christmas.

>Evolution
Evolution is a fact and the main theory regarding how evolution takes place is an observed and well documented theory. Schrodinger's cat doesn't apply as it is a philosophical argument not physical. Separation of church and state is important and to allow creationism the state has to defy the separation to promulgate a certain belief system. I am fine with it being taught as part of Religious Education from an objective standpoint (ie. not catechism), but not as an alternative to scientific fact in evolution as a theory of life's origin. Evolution is scientifically verified whilst creationism has not the slightest shred of evidence. If people want to brainwash their kids they can do it in their own time. Also I don't hear people lobbying to teach different religion's creation story only the Judeo-Christian story. Evolution is proven you imbecile also absence of proof is not proof itself.

>green text doesn't work on canv.as

@Anonymous:
Eh, overestimations, sorry, but the point still stands we're still trying to provide for millions of people, and we simply do not have the resources to do so.

@Anonymous: If it's too difficult for them then maybe the federal government shouldn't be doing it.

@Anonymous:
Dude, it was just a simple mistake, sue me. I'm sorry I can't be a mistake free robot that knows everything. The point still stands, regardless,

@Anonymous: I'm willing to bet that he was being hyperbolic, but because of his poor education lacks the vocabulary to express himself properly.

@Anonymous:
"That is how polling works you take a sample of the populous and extrapolate as representative of the whole."

So, in other words, make a horribly misconstrued picture of a large population based off a minority sample of the said population. I guess 100% of Australians are morons because you are a moron, then.

"USA is a first world country and a supposed "superpower" they should be able to educate their children even when states and districts hold jurisdiction over curriculum which completely flies in the face of the population argument. "
How does that fly in the face of the population argument? My point is that we don't have enough money or resources to provide an education that is relatively better than your education system because we have hundreds of millions of people to provide for. Australia only has 4,193,000 people under 18, according to here: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/australia_statistics.html

"In Australia we are unfortunately being Americanized but still not as bad as the U.S system"

How is it unfortunate? Is it unfortunate just because it's American, and you don't like anything American, or can you provide evidence to support your claim.

"He is not ashamed to admit he is a Christian but he should be ashamed to admit that kids can pray in schools and celebrate saturnalia, err I mean Christmas."

Dude, just stop with the anti-Christian shit. It's people like you after all that makes Perry believe that there is a "war of Christianity".

"Evolution is a fact and the main theory regarding how evolution takes place is an observed and well documented theory."

Sure, and somebody can say the observed some sort of divine being or action, and documented. After all, isn't any religious text (Bible, Qur'an, other texts) documented "evidence" of their gods?

"Schrodinger's cat doesn't apply as it is a philosophical argument not physica…

(Damn cutoff)

Except it's a central point of quantum physics, and the logic behind it can be applied to most religious arguments. It fits perfectly here.

"Separation of church and state is important and to allow creationism the state has to defy the separation to promulgate a certain belief system."

I have some news for you... The separation of church and state is more about that the government cannot control religious entities (taxing, establishing laws against religions), not that the government cannot have some religious influence within it. The entirety of the First Amendment about keeping government out of the rights of the citizens, not about saying that the citizens cannot input their beliefs into the government. I'm an atheist and even I recognize that and respect that. The schools can teach creationism if they want.

@Anonymous:
Except I'm owning up to my mistake... What's wrong with saying "I made a mistake, here is what I meant, and I'm sorry for making the said mistake?"

You're the one acting high-and-mighty here.

Also, how does making a bad estimate make me bad at math? I just pulled the number out of my ass based off my ignorance of the actual population size. No math used or needed.

@Anonymous:
And there you go with your generalizations again...

@Anonymous: Not a generalization at all, just a statement about one person who had already claimed to have not received a very good education.

@Anonymous: Take a monocle-sticker, kind Anon.

@Anonymous:
"I am fine with it being taught as part of Religious Education from an objective standpoint (ie. not catechism), but not as an alternative to scientific fact in evolution as a theory of life's origin."

Except it can be taught as an alternative, because the last time I checked, people can believe what they want, regardless if it is true or not. Who are you to tell people what to believe? The Thought Police?

"Evolution is scientifically verified whilst creationism has not the slightest shred of evidence."

Which is fine, but people can believe what they want.

"If people want to brainwash their kids they can do it in their own time."

How is this brainwashing, especially when brainwashing is proven within psychology to be false? Most people learn about evolution in their freshman year of high school. I'm pretty sure people's religious beliefs have settled by then, and that even if evolution was taught alone, it wouldn't make a difference if the class was filled with Christians. When I took my freshman biology class, I was really the only one who was the dissenting opinion when asked about our beliefs concerning creationism vs. evolution. And this was even before the class started to learn about evolution.

"Also I don't hear people lobbying to teach different religion's creation story only the Judeo-Christian story."

You'd be surprised, but of course you don't hear about any other religion lobbying for their side to be taught because of the Judeo-Christian majority.

"Evolution is proven you imbecile also absence of proof is not proof itself. "

If absence of proof is not proof itself, then technically you cannot prove any god doesn't exist. I told you earlier, I supported evolution, but I also respect peoples' rights to believe what they want because I am not a control freak dick.

@Anonymous:
Why are you giving monocles to false information and just utter wrongness?

@Anonymous:
"What do you mean by "we've never had that amount of fluctuation in debt during the Clinton years?"

That we didn't go down in the course of 8 years, as that graph showed.

You said it yourself that the debt increased during those years, so why doesn't that graph show it?

@Anonymous: Wrongness? I completely agree with him.

Oh great, cookie bombing again...

@Anonymous:
How can you? This anon completely refuted his points:

https://canv.as/p/itzgq/reply/880256

@Anonymous:
I wasn't providing any arguments, I'm just tired of sticker spam in any of these threads.

lol @ people taking the #politics board seriously. You would think they would have learned by now.

@Anonymous: "I have some news for you... The separation of church and state is more about that the government cannot control religious entities (taxing, establishing laws against religions), not that the government cannot have some religious influence within it. The entirety of the First Amendment about keeping government out of the rights of the citizens, not about saying that the citizens cannot input their beliefs into the government. I'm an atheist and even I recognize that and respect that. The schools can teach creationism if they want."

No, it isn't. The seperation of state and church is not about that the country shouldn't control religion. It is about independence FROM religion and also about religion freedom. Don't you know the basics of democracy? Or do you think the USA should tolerate witch trials, exorcism, child-marriages, human sacrifice, etc. just because there is a religious group which believes in those things?
Creationism is based on FAITH not science; therefore has nothing to do in BIOLOGY -> a scientific discipline.
And like i said it is also about freedom of religion. I don't have do be an atheist to be against creationism in schools. Just from a different religion than christianity. When you start to teach creationism in biology you favour one religion over all the others. Which means

Teach your children whatever your religion tells you; just don't do it in school.

First Amendment to the United States Constitution
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States

"[...]The establishment clause is "[t]he First Amendment provision that prohibits the federal and state governments from establishing an offic…

@Anonymous: No, he didn't?

Why are you trying to say that just because their is no evidence for something that it is somehow positive vindication for God, needless to say you should be familiar with Bertrand Russell's teapot argument which totally spits in the face of the whole you can't disprove my god therefore he exists fallacy. Also if you believe that just because it is an alternative it should be taught that opens up every wacko's creation story. Again I could understand if evolution was a matter for contention in the scientific community but it is not it is a fact and the theory of it is widely supported, perhaps we should have the Catholic church's ideology as an alternative to heliocentricism.

@Anonymous: lol @ the concept of "learned politics"
nobody knows shit

@Anonymous: [cont.]

Teach your children whatever your religion tells you; just don't do it in school.

First Amendment to the United States Constitution
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States

"[...]The establishment clause is "[t]he First Amendment provision that prohibits the federal and state governments from establishing an official religion, or from favoring or disfavoring one view of religion over another."[...]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Establishment_of_religion

@Anonymous: that you cant read or understand simple graphing is scary anon, go take a time out for a bit

@Anonymous:
"No, it isn't. The seperation of state and church is not about that the country shouldn't control religion."

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

You just proved yourself wrong...

"Don't you know the basics of democracy?"

Yes, and controlling religion and peoples' beliefs isn't democratic.

"Or do you think the USA should tolerate witch trials, exorcism, child-marriages, human sacrifice, etc. just because there is a religious group which believes in those things?"

Yes, but America shouldn't tolerate anybody who wants to, plans to, and actively carries out such activities. There is a difference between having a belief and carrying that belief out.

"Creationism is based on FAITH not science; therefore has nothing to do in BIOLOGY -> a scientific discipline."

So? People are still entitled to their own beliefs, no matter how wrong they are. Are they hurting you because they don't believe we descended from apes as evolution calls for? No, not at all. Somehow, you just can't handle the fact people have different opinions.

"And like i said it is also about freedom of religion. I don't have do be an atheist to be against creationism in schools. Just from a different religion than christianity. When you start to teach creationism in biology you favour one religion over all the others."

This, I can agree with, but like I said before, we have a Judeo-Christian majority, so majority rules, and isn't that a key element of democracy?

@Anonymous:
Hey, fuck you. That graph cannot be accepted as evidence anywhere because it isn't properly labeled? You know where I learned that from? My math class.

Stop being mad because I pointed out how wrong you were.

@Anonymous: Im a different anon, im mad because you cant read graphs

Khan can help though

http://www.khanacademy.org/video/reading-bar-graphs?playlist=Developmental+Math+2

Good luck bad@maths anon, maybe he will teach you the difference between millions and billions.