Posted on 02/16/2010 7:27:44 PM PST by ggrrrrr23456
So, what exactly is a Libertarian?
I have a friend who calls himself a Libertarian. I've known him for about a year. We both have similar interests, share the same political views (generally), and have respect for a benevolent and gracious higher power.
Lately, my friend has been sending out articles written by "Libertarians" and those associated with the Campaign for Liberty. Most of these articles are highly critical of the war on terror, ridicule the efforts of the Bush administration to combat the terror threat, and seize on any opportunity to highlight misguided efforts at Guantanamo, Afghanistan, or Iraq.
I get the impression that my friend believes the government, in its pursuit of terrorists, is seriously endangering the rights of free, law-abiding citizens like you and I. While I can understand the concern, especially in light of the Obama administration's alarming statements regarding military veterans and so-called right-wing extremists (aka Teapartiers), I am searching for the right response that addresses the terror issue without negating the importance of the preservation of individual liberty.
I would appreciate your input.
You too? OMG! LOL
And there’s more hilarity on the way!
(I was just watching it recently myself.)
write us a song. Kumar can’t be that entertaining. LOL
Well, I’m not watching it right now. I just have the whole movie memorized.
No it doesn’t. What factory do I own? None. What factory does the government own, much less all or most of them? None.
How does the government allocate resources except thru taxes? I ain’t heard the gov’t setting quotas for coal production, or shoes for the peasants?
Figuratively, you have been slipped a rufie by the LICE, and you are seeing things that aren’t there.
parsy, who is trying to wake you up! Hear my words that I might teeeeach you! Take my arms that I might reeeeach you! Oh, wait. That’s the Sound of Silence. sorry....
Then he proceeded to defend his social conservatism in that same interview.
Even when speaking to the libertarians themselves, he only went only that far and it seems that quote you showed from that 1975 interview is as good as it gets for libertarians and Reagan.
Most are just “Government should just leave me the heck alone.”
I have never considered myself a Libertarian, because I disagree with common Libertarian views such open borders, abortion, WOT and third party voting, but I am really feeling their passion on wanting the gooberment to stay out of my life.
First and foremost, I am a Federalist, as our Founding Fathers were. That means obey the 10th Amendment! All laws, powers and legislative actions fall to the States unless the Constitution specifically gives the Federal Government the authority. That usually leaves me in the position of acting like one of the "just stay out of my life and leave me alone" Libertarians on a Federal level, and then wanting conservative legislation on a State level.
Not even close. I am flying wingman for parsy so he can watch his ridiculous program.
SS is funded by YOU and is available to YOU(maybe)
Socialism would evenly distribute income, good, service, food, medical care, etc in a utopian model that has never worked.
From each according to his work,
To each according to his need.
Have you ever hear the story of the Mayflower compact and our experiment with socialism? Utter failure and fixed real soon.
them that didn’t produce would be given.... are you ready?..... NOTHING!
That’s right and tough luck or lack of work. You no worky, you no eaty and that was codified into law.
You took mercy on someone and you would be summarily shot, for the good of the settlement.
Read up on it an see the difference between what you are saying and reality.
BTW, I think I know where are going and what you saying, no problem, you just have ill defined terms that aren’t relevant.
LOL
Well, they just escaped the cat house. Here’s one I did the other day. The first of my New America songs for when I become a wandering poet and balladeer after the gov’t puts us all on relief:
Introduction: I believe the gov’t is going to have to print money. The current deficit is about $14 trillion. There is another $75 - $100 trillion coming in social security and medicare bubbles. This isn’t counting the ongoing yearly deficits, infrastructure needs, and relatively declining population. This also doesn’t count state government deficits and unfunded liabilities. This also doesn’t count the interest on the debt,
Meanwhile, our yearly GDP is about $15 trillion per year. Historically, federal tax collections have been about 20% of the GDP, call it $3 trillion a year... We complain about the effects of this amount of tax on the economy. Yet at this rate, it will take about 35 years to pay off the debt, not counting any interest. Even if taxes increased by 50%, to about $4.5 trillion or 30% of GDP, it would still take about 17 years to clear the deficit. And there would be an additional trillion and a half taken out of the economy.
Politically, social security is not going to be changed in any significant way, or medicare. They can’t be without throwing old folks and sick folks out into the streets. The best alternative is to print money and let the government ameliorate the bad effects with a form of monthly “Citizen’s Assistance.” I suspect we will all get a monthly BIG (Basic Income Grant) check, for necessities of life like food, shelter, utilities, and misc cash for other stuff. Health care will be single payer gov’t. Then, we can work for additional income if we desire.
Don’t like it, but no way government can balance budget without massive societal disruption. No way to collect enough taxes to pay the bills. Being practical, I am practicing guitar so I can use my BIG check to travel around as a wandering poet and balladeer in New America. My first song:
BIG Check Blues (Annotated)
Written by the Freeper, parsifal.
(Spontanioso Bluesio)*
((This is a typical 12 bar blues song in the key of E. First line is E. Second line is A and E. Third line is B7 and E. By choosing this key, the Poet is forcing lazy guitar players to use their pinky on the B7.)
Gots my BIG** check this morning, already got the blues.
Gots my BIG check this morning, and already got the blues.
My BIG check’ ain’t big enough for me buy no booze.
When I first got my BIG check, I got me some womens, too.
When I got my BIG check, Lawd, I got me some womens, too.
Now my womens has left me, and Lawd I’m feeling blue.
Lawd, this nasty inflation sure is deflating me.
You know, this nasty inflation sure is deflating me.
I done shrunk so much I ain’t half the man I used to be.
In the good old days, the BIG check was the life of me.
When it first come out, Lawd, that BIG check was the life of me.
Paid my room and board and my medical care was free.
Didn’t need no time card, didn’t need no big boss man.
Lawd, didn’t punch no clock - didn’t need no big boss man.
Took my Dobro*** out serenading all across the land.
Lawd, I sang some songs and was alley cattin’ every night.
Yeah, I sang them songs and went Tom cattin’ every night.
Lawd, I had enough money to treat my womens right.
I needed some whiskey and needed some COLA’s, too.****
Lawd, I drank some whiskey but I needed those COLA’s, too.
Til ‘flation-itis set in, Lawd I caught the Weimar Flu.*****
Now hyper-inflation’s crashed the world down “round my head.
Lawd, that hyper-inflation’s brought the world down ‘round my head.
Need a truck load of BIG checks just to buy me a loaf of bread.
If it gets much worse, I gots to get a job, Oh Woe!
If it gets much worse, I gots to get me a job, Oh Woe!
No Tom cattin’ “round with my old Dobro, no mo. . .no mo. . .
* Italian for “In a spontaneous blues style”
** “BIG check” is a Basic Income Grant check. The Poet is taking some poetic license as the money will probably come in the form of a renewable debit card.
*** Dobro is a registered trademark of Gibson Guitars of America.
**** COLA stands for “Cost of Living Adjustment”
***** There is currently no actual influenza variant known as the “Weimar Flu.” The Poet specifically disavows any implied aspersions upon any German, living or dead. There is no communicable disease known to be carried specifically by those of German descent. “Weimar” here refers to the hyper-inflationary period of the Weimar Republic.
parsy, who is working on his second
Not so, the 1965 Immigration Act did that, so Democrats did it and the libertarians and the libertarian part of the GOP contributed.
Parsy who is too funny and has me in stitches tonight.
Had to read that again just for the laugh.
Rufie of LICE! LOL
They just got recaptured.
parsy
“If the US did not offer welfare, free schools and free healthcare to illegal aliens it wouldn’t matter much how “open” the border was.”
That isn’t so, announce to the many hundreds of millions of third world people living on dirt floors and using horse drawn wagons on rutted, muddy, dirt roads with people dying of disease and lack of clean water and sanitation, that they can’t get welfare or free schools but that they can all move to America to live their struggle here with our wonderful infrastructure and western ways, and they will come.
If I had a deadly, poor, sick, life with no hope and was told that I could go to America to see if I can survive without welfare, then I would do it.
For countless other millions of people to find out that they could move here (with no welfare) and that if they were too lazy to work hard that they could always make it with open prostitution, drug selling, and introducing and manufacturing new drugs, along with gambling and more exotic porn and live in a totally open and legal market place of vice and human weaknesses, then they would jump on that offer in a minute.
I heard that with the harmonica and everything. I even imagined a smoky bar in South Tulsa or Pryor.
My thoughts even went to NOLA and some dark room with the smell of whiskey and smokes, with peanuts on the floor.
Vendome who likes Parsy’s clever repartee’
http://libertarianparty.com/platform
3.4 Free Trade and Migration
We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade. Political freedom and escape from tyranny demand that individuals not be unreasonably constrained by government in the crossing of political boundaries.
Economic freedom demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital across national borders. However, we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals who pose a threat to security, health or property.
sounds too close to open borders to me.
There is currently no actual influenza variant known as the “Weimar Flu.” The Poet specifically disavows any implied aspersions upon any German, living or dead. There is no communicable disease known to be carried specifically by those of German descent. “Weimar” here refers to the hyper-inflationary period of the Weimar Republic.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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