Chamblee54

Eighteen Questions was originally published November 3, 2008. It is a set of questions about popular topics. I copied 18Q off either facebook or LiveJournal. We will include answers from two people. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
The late Michael Liebmann is the source of 18Q. Michael passed away July 26, 2016, due to complications from surgery. Unfortunately, we had been out of touch for a number of years. We had been facebook friends, and one day I discovered that Michael “unfriended” me. As is usually the case, I was not given a reason. I suspect that it was my non-support of Israel.
18Q was written in 2008, and many of the answers below are obsolete. I regret that Michael was not part of my life for six years before his passing. I recall Michael supporting Israel’s attack on the Mavi Marmara. This was a Turkish ship, carrying aid to Gaza in defiance of the Israeli blockade. An American citizen, Furkan Dogan, was killed. The incident was in 2010. Michael unfriended me shortly afterwards. I have not been to Dim Sum since then. …
I sometimes do dim sum with a man named Michael Liebmann. He has a LiveJournal, under an alternative identity SFFilk. SFF goes to festivals, sets up a table, and sells CDs of folk music. (Warning: sketchy Geocities link.) Folk was misspelled as filk, leading to the handle Southern Fried Filk. SFF is the source of today’s questions. We will present both his answers, and Chamblee54’s reply. Many of the answers seem strange in 2024.
1. Do you have the guts to answer these questions and re-post as The Controversial Survey? SFF Yes C54 Yes. I also have the toenails, eyebrows, and lumbar discs. Guts are overrated, and more plentiful as we move into middle age.
2. Would you do meth if it was legal? SFF No C54 No. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean you need to join the crowd. Voting Republican is legal.
3. Abortion: for or against it? SFF For C54 Like the lady said to the Pope, if you don’t play the game, then you don’t make the rules.
4. Do you think the world would fail with a female president? SFF There have been female presidents before, like Indira Gandhi. C54 It might, but would pass again soon. Fail and pass are part of the cycle, and should be accepted and embraced.
5. Do you believe in the death penalty? SFF Yes C54 As long as it is not too severe.
6. Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already? SFF Yes C54 That should have happened a hundred years ago. Reefer was legal a hundred years ago, and should have remained that way.
7. Are you for or against premarital sex? SFF For. I can’t get married, so any sex I have would be premarital. C54 See answer to question 3.
8. Do you believe in God? SFF Yes C54 This is not a believe kind of thing. I suspect that God does exist, although the semantics of the issue are sticky.
9. Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized? SFF Yes C54 Yes. However, lawyers and Professional Jesus worshippers should not be allowed to reproduce.
10. Do you think it’s wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally moving to the USA? SFF Yes. As the grandson of immigrants who came here legally, I don’t exactly tolerate the fact that so many people are coming here illegally. If they want to come, let them do so legally! C54 This is a toughie. My families have been here hundreds of years. This is getting into question 3 territory. If I were a poor Mexican, and the barriers to legal immigration were steep, I might have a different opinion.
11. A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it?
SFF I don’t know C54 It depends on where she finds it.
12. Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen? SFF I think it’s 18 here in Georgia. C54 It was 18 when I was a kid. I spent many a happy evening in bars. However, in the eighties, big brother federal government said to the states, if you want federal highway money, then you need to raise the drinking age to 21. In asphalt happy Georgia, that was a no brainer. To get back to the question, yes, the drinking age should be 18.
13. Should the war in Iraq be called off? SFF I’m not sure “called off” is the proper term. C54 We have dug ourselves a deep hole in Babylon. Even if we were to start to withdraw today, it would take a year or so to get everyone out. There is reason to believe that forces would attack our troops during this withdrawal, and that we would have to fight our way out. There is also the matter of the Sunni tribes that we are paying to help us fight foreign fighters. What will happen when we introduce these guys to the American concept of the layoff? It is a lot easier to start a war than it is to finish one. This is one reason I was opposed to the start of this one.
14. Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree? SFF I’m not sure. C54 Physician assisted suicide does seem to be illegal. As to whether it should be legalized … why does a person need help? Shouldn’t it be fairly simple to off yourself?
15. Do you believe in spanking your children?
SFF Yes, if they did wrong. C54 See answer to number 3.
16. Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars? SFF Considering the fact that the proper way to dispose of a worn flag is by burning it, C54 Flag burning was a non issue until 1989. Somebody took a case to the Supreme Court, and there was a ruling made. At that point, flag burning became a “hot” issue. This is similar to what is happening with Gay Marriage now. There is little grass roots support for same sex marriage, but a court ruling has forced the public to decide. While the media account execs in California are getting big commissions now, the rest of the population has been dragged into a divisive battle that few wanted. Maybe we should burn the Supreme Court instead.
17. Who do you think would make a better president? McCain or Obama? SFF Honestly? Neither one. C54 What does honesty have to do with presidential elections?
18. Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers? SFF Yes, but at least I’m being honest. C54 What does honesty have to do with the internet?