There may or may not be a God (this is more agnosticism, but whatev)

That alone can create a forum thread that will never end until 500 million years from now when the heating sun has resulted a depletion of carbon dioxide (ironic isn't it?) that will result in the extinction of all large land animals. Even then it may be continued by sentient robots.

Does it help to know that if I trusted people to behave I would fall under the liberal libertarian end of the spectrum. But , for example, I really don't trust that the people up stream will keep pollutants out of the water . However when they made a law agains car jacking, I was appalled. Because it was already Grand theft auto and kidnapping ( plus there were other charges that could have been involved - including various gun crimes. I felt in this instance that the government was getting it the way of dealing with crime.

From what I can see now, most of the libertarians now fall on the conservative side of the spectrum -- which means no business regulations - ( or less) but they might stick there nose into other areas

I would actually go with 4.

Have you looked on ModCloth, Amy? They have some cute, cute shoes and a lot of them are on the cheap.

No lie. Also here [link] And now I NEEEEED that hot pink velvet platform pump...and an outfit to go with it.

I think the first two are the only ones that atheists themselves would use.

I've seen all four being used by atheists, although I'd disagree with #3 and just call it agnosticism. #4 I've seen used like so: "I lack a belief in God just like I lack a belief there's a teacup orbiting Neptune... but for all I know there could be a God or a teacup orbiting Neptune - I just currently have no basis for believing either."

Wow, DJ, those are wild. I would ... fall right on my face, though.

Good idea, Barb! I always look at their dresses and forget the shoes.

That alone can create a forum thread that will never end until 500 million years from now when the heating sun has resulted a depletion of carbon dioxide (ironic isn't it?) that will result in the extinction of all large land animals. Even then it may be continued by sentient robots.

I would avoid such a forum.

Nora, insent.

I agree with #3, and the only way I can see #4 is that it defaults to #2.

I may have gone a bit heavy on the libertarian snark myself, but I was Ayn Rand libertarian myself for many years. I didn't agree with the Libertarian party platform, mostly because I thought its opposition to the draft was actually at odds with the libertarian view of the role of the central government.

In general, having a libertarian viewpoint makes one a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, which I generally am. However, when the Republicans got in bed with the religious right, they became what I saw as the bigger threat to my basic principles, including that the government has no place in social policy.

Also, I got older and realized that shit happens, no matter how self-sufficient you think you are. Whether or not it was at odds with some of my principles, I didn't want to live in a society where people are forced to live under viaducts or choose between food and medicine. Also, as became even more glaringly obvious from the behavior of executives at places ranging from Enron to Goldman Sachs, lack of regulation does not lead to a golden age. It leads to nature red in tooth and claw.