I was going to get to this last night, but work called. Instead I spent the better part of the night helping my son move furniture.
Back to Mike.
His take on the liberal roll of government got me.
The conservative view
• Governments tend to grow like snowballs rolling downhill. We must work to reverse this trend, or the government will expand and intrude on our lives even more than it does now.
True. Our government has overstepped the constitution. In fact, many congress critters have no clue what is in it.•
"That government is best which governs least." This means letting the free market do its work without a heavy hand trying to direct or restrain it.
Maybe, maybe not. A government that does not govern allows tyranny. reason is needed, and burrocraps lack that.•
The legitimate functions of federal government are to provide national security through a strong defense and to protect individual freedoms.
Add maintain infrastructure that privatization cannot, and you about sum it up.The liberal view
• Our government's job is to solve problems that private institutions aren't solving – and there's no shortage of problems that need addressing.
Unfortunately, most of the problems were caused by government in the first place.•
Large corporations, if unregulated, will do anything to maximize profits. Even the most courageous individual can't prevent corporate abuses; only the government has the power to do that.
Bullshit! Profit and abuse do not go hand in hand. A rising tide raises all boats. Besides, anyone ever notice that the richest thugs own the democrats?
• If the government can help create job opportunities during a time of high unemployment, that's a perfect use of tax dollars.
And if ass holes had wings congress would be flying. If baby IF. Dream on and drink the koolaid, All the bailouts did was funnel money to political funders like Soros.
On racial discrimination, Mike is wrong as well. The great society created by democrats did not give the minorities a hand up, it was just another form of bribery. It empowered thugs, and guaranteed votes. The present system festers like an infected wound for many people. Merit has no place, and smart poor white kids are pushed aside for mediocre minorities. Not to imply that minorities are stupid, there are many high caliber individuals among every race. What too many of the minorities lack is drive and commitment. They get it handed to them rather then work for it, and they do not drive to succeed. In the end, the fail because they did not try.
When the playing field is level, when the contest is color blind, blacks can achieve, but since they are given a hand out over their white peers, they strive less, accomplish less, and create resentment that hurts them, the companies they work for, and the nation as a whole.
Our nation will achieve success on overcoming racial disparity when we address the problem without bias, and quit trying to play favors.
On human nature and justice
The conservative view
• We have the power to choose between right and wrong and are responsible for our choices. Those who violate the law must pay the penalties. Too much leniency results in a culture of disrespect for the law and social disorder.
The liberal view
• Human beings are capable of both selflessness and brutality. Even the best of us is far from perfect. Knowing this, we rely on the rule of law – and ask that justice be tempered with mercy.
Tempering with mercy is one thing, forgetting to punish in any way form or manner is another, and is what is wrong with much of our criminal justice system. When thugs get off scott free, it only encourages them to do it again. What do they have to fear from a system that does nothing. Our justice system collapsed under the Warren court. we need to scrap it and start over.
On America's future
The liberal view
• Most of the world's most successful, prosperous nations are liberal democracies that provide their citizens with a strong safety net. This represents the natural progress of civilization. It's time for us to catch up with northern Europe.
Dude, Northern Europe is in decline. They are long past thee pinnacle of power, and are failing fast aided by islam and their decision to tolerate the intolerable. It was not liberal democracy that made them great, they became liberal democracies after they achieved greatness, and liberalism is destroying them. And US.
I do not have all the answers. I know though that when what we are doing isn't working, that its best to either reverse course, or at least stop the foolishness. Mike, being a typical liberal cannot see it.
My experience is that most liberals are people who have never worked in a real world situation. They are either in some sort of entertainment field, or some other field where individual accomplishment is unheard of such as college professors, bureaucrats, or the health care industry.
Not that all in those field are liberal kooks, many are staunch conservatives. They are an outspoken minority though, and many in the end seek self preservation over ideals.
Mike, get a job. A real one where you have to earn a living by producing something besides words on a computer screen. maybe then you will get a clue.
