09-14-2008, 06:22 AM
I am more afraid of those who would destroy Government, such as this supposed Paine-character (or should I say caricature) than I am those who would try to restore good Governance. A pretty good example of where we end up when opposition to Government itself (not those who administering the Government, but Government itself) becomes armed and hostile, is Timothy McVeigh and the innocent dead of Oklahoma City, or Jim David Adkisson who killed a couple people in the congregation of the Unitarian Church in the Tennessee Valley --right wing terrorists whose motives are never examined or discussed.
Conservatives and so-called libertarians advocate the destruction of Government ("Government IS the problem" -- Ronald Reagan) because they believe that with Government out of the way, enterprise will be freer, industry will be rewarded and many, if not, all will benefit.
To effectuate this philosophy, they burrow into Government, using social conservatism as a catapult (Look over there - gay people!) and destroy it from within. Once it is out of the way --and they are nearly there-- they can destroy all programs that promote the general welfare (welfare to Thomas Paine meant well-being, and that is the sense I intend). Their first task, however, is to bankrupt the Government, as people WILL NOT allow the open dismantlement of Government. Starving the beast, as Grover Norquist says, would suffice however (Robert Frost: Some say the world will end in fire, but I think ice is nice and would suffice). To that end, they prosecute wars that are unnecessary against people who were very unlikely to show up on my lawn or to harm more people than are routinely killed in traffic and industrial accidents everyday. The Iraq War cost $10 BILLION dollars a month. This administration just gave ONE BILLION to the Nation of Georgia, but they tell you YOU know how to spend your money better than Government does --but when conservatives get your money, they give it to their buddies. They just bailed out Fannie and Freddie. The price tag to that is unknown but may be in the billions, and possibly even in the trillions. Bear Stearns? Bailed out. Lehman Brothers? We shall see. But the clear goal is to bankrupt the Government so that it can never operate again. Then we will have achieved the Conservative and ersatz libertarian dream: skeleton government. E-coli in your food? Let the market handle it. China poisoning your dog? Ditto. Need to educate your kid? Do it yourself or pay someone who will profit off of such education.
Liberals on the other hand believe we can accomplish more if we work together. Liberals believe that if we contribute to a common fund and to the commonwealth, we can do great things: have a functioning police force, have schools worthy of our nation, have bridges that won't collapse in a light breeze, have levees that will protect Orleanians the way the Dutch are protected ......and that we can go to the moon, if we so choose, and thereby enshrine our nation among the greats.
That is where we are today -- two roads diverge in a wood. One half of the nation wishes to take us toward the destruction of our government; one half believes that WE are the Government, or can be, and that we need to act as one again.
As for the anti-immigrant diatribe which was the apparent point made by the pasty fop in the video, he has a point but expresses it so poorly as to render it meaningless. The point is this: we need to insist that when immigrants come to this country that they become acculturated. As a gay person, I definetely do not want Somalians muslims coming here, becoming citizens and then taking away my rights because some God who was dreamed up in the Middle Eastern sands told someone who wrote something down on a scroll that I should be condemned to death, along with people that eat either shrimp or fish without scales. I will take my chances with real Americans, thank you. I also agree with fop-phony-Paine that immigrants need to learn and speak English as quickly as possible. When I lived in France, ALL immigrants spoke French, and quick, or else they could get nothing done. Clerks gave them blank stares. Bi-linqual education is a flaming joke. Best way to learn a language is immersion. I also agree that unbridled immigration is just plain bad because our culture can no longer absorb it. The solution is really, really clear: Beefed up Border Patrol IN AMERICAN cities -- not on the border. We can't control the border, but we can spot immigrants in our cities pretty easily.
Getting back to the so-called libertarian aspect of this diatribe, we recently had a bond vote in my community here in California. A BIG local hospital wanted to float a bond for a new Emergency Room. Voted down. The philosphy was "Stop taxing us" (They even have a website). I just kept thinking about Hawaii and the little clinic they want to build in Pahoa. I was thinking -- you damn fools. You want not to be taxed at all? You want government to get out of the way? Fine -- you will have dirt roads, no water system, rampant larceny if not worse, and you will be begging for a little clinic somewhere. In the meantime, you will have to be flown somewhere (if you can afford it) if you have a heart attack.
Conservatives and so-called libertarians advocate the destruction of Government ("Government IS the problem" -- Ronald Reagan) because they believe that with Government out of the way, enterprise will be freer, industry will be rewarded and many, if not, all will benefit.
To effectuate this philosophy, they burrow into Government, using social conservatism as a catapult (Look over there - gay people!) and destroy it from within. Once it is out of the way --and they are nearly there-- they can destroy all programs that promote the general welfare (welfare to Thomas Paine meant well-being, and that is the sense I intend). Their first task, however, is to bankrupt the Government, as people WILL NOT allow the open dismantlement of Government. Starving the beast, as Grover Norquist says, would suffice however (Robert Frost: Some say the world will end in fire, but I think ice is nice and would suffice). To that end, they prosecute wars that are unnecessary against people who were very unlikely to show up on my lawn or to harm more people than are routinely killed in traffic and industrial accidents everyday. The Iraq War cost $10 BILLION dollars a month. This administration just gave ONE BILLION to the Nation of Georgia, but they tell you YOU know how to spend your money better than Government does --but when conservatives get your money, they give it to their buddies. They just bailed out Fannie and Freddie. The price tag to that is unknown but may be in the billions, and possibly even in the trillions. Bear Stearns? Bailed out. Lehman Brothers? We shall see. But the clear goal is to bankrupt the Government so that it can never operate again. Then we will have achieved the Conservative and ersatz libertarian dream: skeleton government. E-coli in your food? Let the market handle it. China poisoning your dog? Ditto. Need to educate your kid? Do it yourself or pay someone who will profit off of such education.
Liberals on the other hand believe we can accomplish more if we work together. Liberals believe that if we contribute to a common fund and to the commonwealth, we can do great things: have a functioning police force, have schools worthy of our nation, have bridges that won't collapse in a light breeze, have levees that will protect Orleanians the way the Dutch are protected ......and that we can go to the moon, if we so choose, and thereby enshrine our nation among the greats.
That is where we are today -- two roads diverge in a wood. One half of the nation wishes to take us toward the destruction of our government; one half believes that WE are the Government, or can be, and that we need to act as one again.
As for the anti-immigrant diatribe which was the apparent point made by the pasty fop in the video, he has a point but expresses it so poorly as to render it meaningless. The point is this: we need to insist that when immigrants come to this country that they become acculturated. As a gay person, I definetely do not want Somalians muslims coming here, becoming citizens and then taking away my rights because some God who was dreamed up in the Middle Eastern sands told someone who wrote something down on a scroll that I should be condemned to death, along with people that eat either shrimp or fish without scales. I will take my chances with real Americans, thank you. I also agree with fop-phony-Paine that immigrants need to learn and speak English as quickly as possible. When I lived in France, ALL immigrants spoke French, and quick, or else they could get nothing done. Clerks gave them blank stares. Bi-linqual education is a flaming joke. Best way to learn a language is immersion. I also agree that unbridled immigration is just plain bad because our culture can no longer absorb it. The solution is really, really clear: Beefed up Border Patrol IN AMERICAN cities -- not on the border. We can't control the border, but we can spot immigrants in our cities pretty easily.
Getting back to the so-called libertarian aspect of this diatribe, we recently had a bond vote in my community here in California. A BIG local hospital wanted to float a bond for a new Emergency Room. Voted down. The philosphy was "Stop taxing us" (They even have a website). I just kept thinking about Hawaii and the little clinic they want to build in Pahoa. I was thinking -- you damn fools. You want not to be taxed at all? You want government to get out of the way? Fine -- you will have dirt roads, no water system, rampant larceny if not worse, and you will be begging for a little clinic somewhere. In the meantime, you will have to be flown somewhere (if you can afford it) if you have a heart attack.