A Response to Heathen Republican's Very Fine Piece, "Seven Progressive Principles"

Being that I'm neither a Progressive nor a Conservative, one could readily argue here that any contributions of mine are potentially superfluous. But, hey, why in the hell not, right?...................................................................................................In terms of the death penalty, yes, I presently oppose it - not, mind you, because I think that a society doesn't have the right, collectively, to impose it. Not at all. My opposition to it centers instead around a) the unequal application of it (minorities and poor people being disproportionately singled out) and b) the fact that innocent people may in fact be unjustly killed. In my mind, unless there is an absolute and unimpeachable proof that the person committed said crime, the death penalty should not be on the table (yes, a life sentence is harsh, too, but at least there exists a possibility that the person could someday be exonerated).....................................................................................................As far as war (and the killing associated with it) goes, this I find to be even less conducive to demarcation. I mean, certainly, the conservatives (mostly in the form of the neoconservatives) have in fact been far more hawkish over the past 10 years or so. But historically, it is far, far, murkier. Take LBJ, for example. Certainly nobody can doubt this fellow's progressive credentials (the Great Society, Civil Rights, etc.). And, yet, this same individual got (lied, actually) us into Vietnam at a cost of nearly 30,000 dead (just the tally during his tenure) American kids. Contrast this with Ike (granted, not necessarily a conservative by today's standards) who largely kept us out of foreign entanglements (Vietnam, the Suez)................................................................................................And even today, folks, the distinctions remain just as cloudy. President Obama himself, for instance, has a) surged in Afghanistan, b) increased drone attacks in Pakistan, and c) gotten us involved in the Libyan shit-fest. This, me-buckos, while, at the same time, traditional conservatives like George F. Will preach for restraint/measure. It is absolutely crazy, I'm telling you.