I'm a senior in High School, and have been given the option of making a speech based on anywhere/anything between Heaven and Earth. I figure that what I came up with would be of note to people such as you, who sure as hell know more about this stuff than me.

The society and culture of the United States is undergoing a new wave of destructive liberalism, one which, evinced by recent political failures, cares more for everything BUT the ideals which liberalism was and is based upon.

For an example of what I mean

SACRAMENTO, Calif -- A Democratic lawmaker on Thursday abandoned her heavily ridiculed campaign to make spanking a crime, acknowledging that the bill which had become fodder for late-night comedians would get whacked even in California's sometimes whimsical Legislature.


Instead, San Francisco Bay-area Assemblywoman Sally Lieber introduced a more narrow bill she said would help district attorneys more easily prosecute parents who cross the line from punishment into physical abuse. Lieber's new bill, however, still might not hit the mark with her colleagues.


She is seeking to classify a laundry list of physical acts against young children, including hitting with a belt, switch or stick, as unjustifiable and grounds for prosecution, probation, or a parental time-out -- a class on nonviolent parenting.

Whether her bill passes or not, spanking a child on the buttocks -- even to the point of injury -- will remain legal in California, Lieber said.


"Clearly, I take exception with that part of the law, but the votes are simply not there" to change it, Lieber said, facing a bank of eight television cameras and the largest media spotlight the soft-spoken
Democrat has ever encountered.


Until last month, the liberal Mountain View lawmaker was perhaps best known for authoring the state's minimum-wage increase.


Then Lieber, who has no children, attracted nationwide criticism after she pledged to introduce an anti-spanking bill to protect children and curb violence. Her idea was even the subject of a "Saturday Night Live" parody.

Conservative and family-values groups lashed out at her proposal, charging that criminalizing spanking epitomized overbearing "nanny" government.


Lieber at first delayed introducing her spanking ban plan before finally dropping it Thursday. Lieber said the negative attention did not affect her decision to abandon the bill, which state Democratic leaders also had warned could distract from their more important legislation on global warming and other efforts.


"We welcome the attention -- positive or negative -- because we want to get people talking about it," Lieber said, noting that several California newspapers that ran editorials blasting her idea also published articles on nonviolent parenting.


If Lieber is lucky, her new bill could become known as the anti-"baby-shaking" bill. The measure would for the first time allow prosecutors to charge baby-shaking as a misdemeanor or felony, even before there is serious injury.


Current law only allows prosecution when baby-shaking causes serious brain damage or death.


Some legal experts questioned whether the bill would add much to what is already on the books in California. But Thomas Nazario, a University of

San Francisco law professor who has advocated for greater child protection, said Lieber's bill would begin to establish a specific line between what's appropriate discipline from a parent and what is not.


If passed, it would classify most physical harm to children as unjustified, reversing the current principle under which judges and juries are asked to decide whether physical abuse that begins as discipline is justified.


The list of unjustified punishments to children would include: throwing, kicking, burning, or cutting; striking with a closed fist, striking a child under the age of 3 on the face or head; vigorous shaking of a child under the age of 3; interference with a child's breathing, or threatening a child with a deadly weapon.


"The bill strikes a balance between parental prerogative ... and protecting the most vulnerable children," Nazario said.


Whether the bill will become law remains to be seen. The bill must first survive committee hearings and then win a majority vote in both the Assembly and Senate before going to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for approval.


Some Republicans immediately blasted Lieber's new bill as no better than her first try.


Schwarzenegger has not indicated whether he would back the bill. Last month he hinted that he might be receptive to a spanking bill, but said he has concerns about enforcement.


The governor said he and his wife, Maria Shriver, do not spank their four children and use alternative methods for discipline.


Schwarzenegger said, for example, that they find it more effective to threaten to take away their children's play time. "They hate that much more than getting spanked," he told reporters

http://www.libertylounge.net/forums/...nking-ban.html

You gotta be kidding me...THATS ABSURD!!! No way kids dont like missing play time more than spanking either...

Snowblind, what's the culture of your school? Consider this carefully when choosing your topic. You don't want to pick an issue everyone agrees on or it will be quite a non-event.

Very liberal place, but open for argument. My teacher will be perfectly fine with this topic.

Henderson, I really don't understand your post in general.

Originally Posted by SNowblind

Very liberal place, but open for argument. My teacher will be perfectly fine with this topic.

Henderson, I really don't understand your post in general.

Yea, I kinda didnt read your part...Only the article itself. I thought you were just talking about the article...I think it would be a fine topic.

So, anyway, guys: IS the U.S. undergoing a new wave of unbeneficial liberalism?

Originally Posted by SNowblind

So, anyway, guys: IS the U.S. undergoing a new wave of unbeneficial liberalism?

No. There is a small group of 1960's socialists who are very prevalent and vocal in academia. Politics is not the place to look for the self destructive liberal appeasers. The reason is that neither the far left or right will be elected in large numbers. Unless an issue such as uncontrolled admission of immigrants favored by one party or the other, voters will pretty much vote the middle.

If the population gets loaded up with immigrants who will not assimilate and are used by politicians as a voting bloc, then the pendulum of public opinion will seek center after swinging too far in either direction. The press can do some harm but most thinking voters will be able to recognize their efforts to sway public opinion.

So far in our history, zealots have been recognized and defeated, but
by simple rote learning (conditioning) the public could become desensitized to the morals that have served us so well by keeping our Nation a world leader and power. Look at communism in the World today and count how many communist countries have our standard of life. Freedom has been paid for in blood of our patriots in countless and nameless conflicts since the birth of our Nation.

Can the United States of America be undermined and defeated from within? Of course. But the process will be slow and insidious by simply infecting the youth with indoctrination instead of knowledge.