Also, the Legal Dictionary at Lawyers.com mentions "slander" as being "false OR malicious" statements several times.
But I didn't need dictionaries to know this, alright? I go to Indiana University, one of the best schools for journalism on the globe, and I trust that they won't teach us improper meanings of terms. These people are professors, so who am I going to trust? You and a few dictionaries, or professionals AND some dictionaries? Besides, it's pretty childish to keep arguing a technicality when the more important question is of morality, not law.
And we liberals DO have morals, you know. We're out to benefit ALL people, from the dregs of society to the political masters who rule us all.
Also, you're allowed to voice your dislike for a public figure. Michael Savage is a public figure, so calling HIM an idiot isn't technically "malicious speech."
On to the issue of me being a "good" liberal or not. Am I in any way a hypocrite because of my stance on Michael Savage's hate speech? Let's ask THIS question instead. Which is worse: An angry man putting down Muslims, blacks, children with autism, gays, and sometimes even women? Or telling him he can't be PAID to scream nonsense over the radio? Which form of freedom would a "good" liberal support? Because you can't have both. Only one. I choose the less damaging of the two.
Fire Savage.
Now! If it'll ever be allowed to be DROPPED (my goodness, I hadn't intended to make my "Fire Savage" rants a theme, but that's how the comments ended up flowing, so hey...), I'd like to continue with the current events.
Okay, so we all know that the nearly-trillion-dollar stimulus package has been cut down significantly, but which areas took the biggest hits? Some things were thrown out entirely, and some were merely reduced. Personally, I agree with some of the cuts, and disagree with some others that I think could have helped create jobs in America.
For example, I can understand cutting out the $300 million for federal prisons. I don't see how that would add jobs, you know? It'd just make prisons "nicer," and in my opinion, prisons are homey enough for lawbreakers. I understand the cuts from NASA, a few wildlife preservation organizations, and some scientific research.
And I'm GLAD that $600 million was cut from No Child Left Behind. Personally, I have no idea why that ridiculous act hasn't been repealed yet. It's such a misnomer! It HARMS quality education.
But on the other hand, funding for construction of new high schools and institutions of higher education has been eliminated, and I think that's a bad idea. Manual labour jobs are in pretty high demand right now, with the masses of factory workers being laid off, and I really think that building schools would have been an awesome way to pull an FDR on this recession.
$40 billion is also being cut from state aid that would help prevent worsening recession on a more local level. I'm not sure whether or not I even understand how that part works, so I can't really make a decision. But that part seems to be the biggest controversy.
Overall, though, I guess I'm okay with the stimulus package as it is right now. Maybe when the most vital things are taken care of, other organizations can receive the money they deserve later on down the road. I mean, I'm all about the science, nature, and outer space stuff...but maybe they should be separate. A lot of that stuff wouldn't create too many new jobs, anyway.
But we'll see where it goes. Currently, the House favours a bill that works primarily on the state and local levels, whereas the Senate is really liking the bit about cutting taxes. And Obama's getting pretty pissed, it seems, that no one can agree on anything so we can just get this show on the road.
I'm getting pretty impatient too. This recession had better be over by the time Ashley and I are out of this buffer that is college, because we're big fans of money, and actually having it...
