Posted on 12/10/2004 9:37:54 AM PST by rogerv
Hi, gang,
I was a regular contributor to the Kerry Online Forum and am now a regular contributor to the Common Ground Common Sense forum. I am a liberal, but I'll be the first to admit, I don't have all the answers. In fact, many of hte questions that matter to me probably matter to you too. I'm concerned with questions about how to tame power, whether governmental or corporate. I'm concern with the rule of law and how we can get the powerful to take it seriously. I'm concerned with the erosion of civil liberties. And yes, I am concerned about some things you may associate with liberalism--social safety nets and taking care of those who fall through the institutional cracks.
I'm here because I think agreement is overrated and that critics can be your best friends: they keep you from getting sloppy or careless. At any rate, I think there are things I can learn from you. I don't expect you are all agreed on anything--I expect there is a lot of diversity of opinion here. If you are interested in what I have said over at Common Ground Common Sense, I'm using the same handle both places, and you should feel free to come over and look around.
Anyway, I'm new here. Anybody care to give me a tour?
Both have been answered by FR posters.
Any more questions?
I'm concerned with questions about how to tame power
And then you say this:
And yes, I am concerned about some things you may associate with liberalism--social safety nets and taking care of those who fall through the institutional cracks.
Come back once you've worked through that contradiction.
I agree with you. Back in the olden days, I trod the dark side, but uncomfortably. Like the poster above, I thought I was a liberal, but really wasn't. Under scrutiny, the things I thought I agreed with just didn't stand up.
Some of the best Freepers I know here (including Jim Robinson!) are former Democrats, former liberals. I welcome anyone into FR who is not here to insult us or yank our chains. That's just bad manners.
Roger, welcome to one of the best places on earth: a gathering of people devoted to freedom.
CIVIL liberties (government "civil" authority and power) has DRAMATICALLY increased. However, what our country was founded upon, INALIENABLE RIGHTS have been routinely attacked and undermined.
For example, freedom of Religion is an Inalienable Right, it can NOT be taken away, even by force. And only death can separate you from it if you stand your ground.
Freedom of the Press is a CIVIL right, can be infringed upon by simply seizing the object that prints the page.
Speech also is inalienable.
The right to bear arms is a civil right. The government can unconstitutionally take your arms away. However, that Civil right is BASED upon the INALIENABLE right to defend yourself and your liberty by ANY AND ALL means you desire.
Etc.
It is so important to understand what we're referring to when we speak of "civil rights"... Abortion is a "civil right" because it is a state created and state enforced right. Changing the composition of the Supreme Court could eliminate this civil right and that is why the lunatics at N.O.W. and other liberals shriek in horror.
Liberals are TERRIFIED that inalienable rights might begin to be restored. Civil rights have nearly DESTROYED inalienable rights.
See the ANTI-DNC Web Portal at --->
http://www.noDNC.com
Are you planning on giving us any responses that we can "compare?"
xcullen wrote: "We generally give our country the benefit of the doubt."
I agree with this 100%. We judge our Army by the 99.999999% of honorable solders who have put their lives on the line for all of us. Liberals judge it by the pictures they see of Abu Ghraib. We judge our President by his leadership during some of the worst days of our lifetimes. They judge our president by his slips of the tongue. We judge our country by the opportunity it presents to those who have the ability and drive to take advantage of it. They judge our country by the people who fail to take advantage of the opportunity.
I like both but this is one of my favorites
THE MAN IN LOVE WITH YOU
I'm not the hero
Who will always save the day.
Don't always wear the white hat
Don't always know the way.
I may not even be the dream
You wanted to come true.
But I'll always be the man in love with you.
I'm not the key
That opens every door.
Don't have the power
To give you all you want and more.
But when you're needing something special
You can hold on to.
I'll always be the man in love with you.
I could never work miracles
There may be others who can do what I can't do.
But no one else can be as good as me in loving you.
So when the world won't turn
The way you wish it would.
And the dreams you have don't come alive
As often as they should.
Remember that there's someone there who's heart is always true.
I'll always be the man in love with you.
Remember that there's someone there who's heart is always true.
Someone there to help you make it through.
I'll always be the man in love with you.
*****************
Happy in our jobs. A few kittens thrown into the mix. Nothing wrong with that, is there? ;)
Ya. Cat fanatics are a weird bunch. "Viking Kitties"? That's about as scary as a miniature wet Nerf football.
I too, welcome opinions from the other side. It is mentally stimulating to have a vigorous dialogue with those on the Left. Unfortunately, so many of these, "I'm a Liberal and I'm here to learn" vanity posts, are nothing more than cyber-space drive-bys committed by immature morons.
Can I ask a question???
Were you worried about this under the Clinton Administration??
you think PEST maybe?
True.
Appropriate sarcasm is (usually) well appreciated. :-)
You too!
How to tame / reengineer government power: Focus on the Constitution. If it ain't in there, it ain't mandated. As you know, much of what the government does beyond the basic job of guaranteeing national sovereignty is due to statutes, most of which were voted in since 1900. There is low hanging fruit in abundance there. I know you are a liberal and may not see this at first, but, in the process of creating a large welfare state, the downsides have been the uncontrolled growth of government and the gradual acceptance of increasing levels of Judicial activism, a process which has eroded all of our natural rights. Again, see Exhibit A, The Constitution.
As for how to deal with corporations, which I will agree have lost their sense of national duty and their sense of belonging to our nation-state, this is a more difficult nut to crack. For example, if we simply blindly forced them to be anti globalist, we'd immediately incur the wrath of the world. So that sort of extreme approach is a non starter. However, I will say this. There needs to be a set of criteria set forth regarding what constitutes a US headquartered and incorporated company versus one that really is, for example, a corporation which used to be a US corporation but has, de facto, moved to Communist Red China and really is only a selling organization in the US. So that is step one. Step two would be to fully enforce export control laws already on the books and to really make the penalities harsh, at the upper end of the sentencing and fining guidelines. Step three, again, you may disagree, but here is my principled Burkian Conservative argument, would be to tax profit from domestically produced products and services less, to allow greater write offs on investments in R&D, in retooling, in quality engineering and in training, plus, to reduce the regulations regarding typical social engieering issues such as social promotion of women and minorities. We need to allow skill, accomplishments and capability to determine pay and status and be color blind and sex blind (and sexual preference blind) - affirmative action is a crock.
More ideas but no time right now to right them down.
That's a good one ... you sound just like him!
"I'm concerned with the erosion of civil liberties. "
Which ones?
...and union leaders. You forgot about union leaders.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.