Posted on 02/18/2005 2:52:25 PM PST by loe joe
Some of my friends, family members, and co-workers wonder how I could be a political liberal in the midst of this new swell of conservatism the United States. The answers to that are all too simple.
I am a liberal because the system originated by liberals called Social Security has made my parents' retirement more possible and comfortable than it would otherwise have been.
I am a liberal because the system originated by liberals called Medicare paid for my mother to have two knees and a hip replaced at a cost that otherwise could not have been born by all of her children together.
I am a liberal because Medicare paid for my father's operation to remove a cancerous kidney at a cost that would otherwise certainly have forced my parents to liquidate their assets.
I am a liberal because that system originated by liberals called WIC gives my daughter food stamps for cheese and milk and other necessities she needs to feed her children.
I am a liberal because that system demanded by liberals called company-paid employee medical insurance helps pay doctor bills for me and my wife and my daughter and son-in-law and grandchildren and sister and most of my other close relatives.
I am a liberal because the idea of autonomy of the individual is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because the idea of political liberty is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because government by the consent of the governed is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because the Bill of Rights is a set of liberal ideas which protect us all. Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of worship, freedom of the press, due process of law, freedom from torture, the right to face our accusers, the writ of habeas corpus, and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure are all liberal ideas. Most people in the world do not have those rights.
I am a liberal because those liberal ideas in our Constitution give us control of our representatives from the school board to the Senate and President of the United States, give us the liberal idea of checks and balances, and the liberal idea of no taxation without representation.
I am a liberal because the idea of public education is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because the idea of a five day work week is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because the idea of a strong, well funded and disciplined military under civilian control is a liberal idea, as is the notion of Veteran's benefits and military retirement.
I am a liberal because the Geneva Conventions are a liberal idea. The conventions protect American prisoners and all prisoners of signees from torture and abuse.
I am a liberal because the idea of the public maintenance of roads is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because civil rights, children's rights, women's rights, and labor rights, are all liberal ideas.
I am a liberal because almost all the progressive ideas of the last four centuries have been liberal ideas resisted by the conservatives of their times. Those liberal ideas make this a better place to live for me, my family, my friends, my community, my country, and my world.
I ask people who insist on repudiating liberalism to please check off the liberal ideas above they are ready to do without.
ROFLOL! Yikes!
I am a conservative because I have strong values that would not allow the taxpayers to support my daughter and grandchildren.
That's not something to brag about!
Nice liberal values you instilled in her to "mooch" off the government.
Have you no pride?
I have never been involved in any mischief.
I certainly have never been involved in any mischief with Darksheare.
Even when Darksheare and I incited the last riot I wasn't there and by virtue of that could not have been involved.
To subtly change the subject here is a picture of my smart dog .............. as opposed to my other dogs .........
You are too humble. Sweetie!
I think they're only allowed to have one mug of the hideous stuff per day.
"Have I missed anything? I know that I did."
Abortion upon demand. :(
LOL!
Okay, so it was closer to warp 9.
Is the type of coffee common knowledge or is it as top secret as gender? If the type of coffee is common knowledge, where would someone purchase it?
There they go confusing us again.
*sigh of relief*
The repurcussions of my coffee ending up in the mugs of all during the last meeting would have been disasterous.
At least this time we didn't replace the 'tato chip dip with the patented volcanodip.
YAH! That's more like it!
I KNOW your "coffee!" It will put hair on a chest that shouldn't grow any, and strip a chest that should!
Time for a nail trim.
I dread those times with my Doxie!
It's a matter of how it is brewed.
General rule of thumb is that most sane people swear off the stuff when I brew it.
Here's how I go about performing this horrific feat:
In 12 cup drip percolator pot, fill to 6 cup mark with water.
In filter, put 6 heaping scoops of coffee.
Medium roast works best, just make sure it's a robust blend.
Found a maxwellhouse 'medium roast' that was rather anemic.
Put pinch of salt in filter, about as much as it would take to cover the surface of a dime with one even layer.
This keeps the coffee from tasting burned too quickly, it doesn't age well brewed this way.
Brew, recirculate if need be, usually not.
Add sugar and dairy creamer.
Creamora and coffeemate are not recommended unless you like the heart racing that Ranger Pudding gives.
That, and the nondairy creamer will give you both a headache and a buzz with the coffee.
One thing not mentioned was that they did use non-dairy creamer.
I usually put about 8 spoons of sugar in this stuff, it ends up being like Russian Kava, thick and sweet with that bitter overtone to it.
Oh, and I am NOT responsible for seeming demonic possession of the coffeepot, or the coffeepot ending up acting as if it has been damaged.
Be sure NOT to add creamora or coffeemate to the brew, unless you LIKE ranger pudding style heart racing.
When I brew that stuff for myself, I recirculate the stuff to brew a second time, but that's me for my own personal enjoyment, and it may wreck the coffeepot.
Don't forget the salt, it's important to the finished brew.
Hmm, yes.
Happens often.
Must be due to our habit of having bad ideas, usually at the same time multiple threads apart.
Ahhhh...no...
There is no confusion...
You are a gunner. He is an ex-gunner...
*snort*
(Once a gunner, always a gunner?)
LOL!
I often get asked exactly how I stumbled across this stuff.
I used to have a Corningware percolater.
And my coffee is exactly the way the perc made it.
I am a liberal because the system originated by liberals called Social Security has made my parents' retirement more possible and comfortable than it would otherwise have been.
Since when has ‘increased comfort’ at the expense of others been a right?
FDR was a closet socialist. His best bud was Stalin. No saint, he. And SS was only supposed to be a temporary solution.
I am a liberal because the system originated by liberals called Medicare paid for my mother to have two knees and a hip replaced at a cost that otherwise could not have been born by all of her children together.
How nice. You're welcome?
That’s crap. Perhaps if you and all your siblings gave up some “increased comfort” of your own… or ‘liquidated some assets’….
I am a liberal because Medicare paid for my father's operation to remove a cancerous kidney at a cost that would otherwise certainly have forced my parents to liquidate their assets.
Better that someone else had to liquidate their own assets, or more to the point, be unable to form any significant assets at all, so that your parents didn’t have to pay for their own care with their own assets, eh?
I am a liberal because that system originated by liberals called WIC gives my daughter food stamps for cheese and milk and other necessities she needs to feed her children.
A welfare state benefits no one. Why did you not provide food to your own daughter and grandchildren? Would that have caused you to (GASP!) “liquidate assets”?
I am a liberal because that system demanded by liberals called company-paid employee medical insurance helps pay doctor bills for me and my wife and my daughter and son-in-law and grandchildren and sister and most of my other close relatives.
Er… no. Company paid health-insurance was a new idea, instituted by employers during WW2 wage freezes as a way to attract employees by providing perqs.
I am a liberal because the idea of autonomy of the individual is a liberal idea.
Say that three times fast with a straight face while visions of government handouts dance in your head. Ever heard the saying “He who has the gold, makes the rules?” Not so conducive to individual autonomy. Sheesh.
I am a liberal because the idea of political liberty is a liberal idea.
Say this one slowly and try to keep a straight face while remembering how all the liberals didn’t want to liberate Iraq.
I am a liberal because government by the consent of the governed is a liberal idea.
This is getting redundant. Repeat the suggestion above while remembering how the liberals want the US to pass a 'global test' and base our decisions regarding our own welfare on the opinion of places like France and organizations like the UN.
I am a liberal because the Bill of Rights is a set of liberal ideas which protect us all. Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of worship, freedom of the press, due process of law, freedom from torture, the right to face our accusers, the writ of habeas corpus, and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure are all liberal ideas. Most people in the world do not have those rights.
Aaaaand once again. Keep telling yourself that while you recognize how liberals refused to get on board to uh..liberate Iraq, and while you campaign tirelessly to eliminate the right to bear arms from the American People, and while you campaign equally tirelessly to shut down conservative speech or policies and probably donate to the ACLU so they can eliminate all hint of religion in the public square. (In the interests of liberty of course)
I am a liberal because those liberal ideas in our Constitution give us control of our representatives from the school board to the Senate and President of the United States, give us the liberal idea of checks and balances, and the liberal idea of no taxation without representation.
Which is why liberals have hijacked the Judicial Branch (which I notice you don’t mention) in order to implement unwanted policies and laws upon this nation without the aforementioned 'representation'.
I am a liberal because the idea of public education is a liberal idea.
Liberals didn't start public education. They took it over. And we see how well that has turned out, yes?
I am a liberal because the idea of a five day work week is a liberal idea.
Says who? Upton Sinclair?
I am a liberal because the idea of a strong, well funded and disciplined military under civilian control is a liberal idea, as is the notion of Veteran's benefits and military retirement.
Oh, right. So that’s why liberals refuse military recruiters on campus; call our military baby-killers, those veterans you're so concerned about that were spit on (by liberals), celebrate a nitwit like Kerry who impugned an entire generation of military, and root for the enemy this very day? I must have misunderestimated liberals’ respect for the military and their crucial role in protecting our freedoms. My bad.
I am a liberal because the Geneva Conventions are a liberal idea. The conventions protect American prisoners and all prisoners of signees from torture and abuse.
No, they are not “liberal” ideas. They are an attempt that began in the 1860s by people of all philosophies to mitigate the suffering of battle casualties. While we're at it, ask our POWs how well the Geneva Conventions protected them.
I am a liberal because the idea of the public maintenance of roads is a liberal idea.
Ahem. Wrong again. It was, in fact, Eisenhower a Republican president who established the federal highway system and who said "We have fallen far behind in this task—until today there is hardly a city of any size without almost hopeless congestion within its boundaries and stalled traffic blocking roads leading beyond these boundaries. A solution can and will be found through the joint planning of the Federal, state and local governments."“The obsolescence of the nation's highways presents an appalling problem of waste, danger and death. Next to the manufacture of the most modern implements of war as a guarantee of peace through strength, a network of modern roads is as necessary to defense as it is to our national economy and personal safety.
How that must suck for you that his interest in public roads was for NATIONAL DEFENSE purposes. Oh, the irony!
I am a liberal because civil rights, children's rights, women's rights, and labor rights, are all liberal ideas.
No, they’re not. They’re ideas from everyone. And BTW, it was Republican Pres Eisenhower who sent troops to Arkansas to force integration of schools and who implemented desegregation of the US Military and Democrats who voted overwhelmingly against civil rights.
I am a liberal because almost all the progressive ideas of the last four centuries have been liberal ideas resisted by the conservatives of their times. Those liberal ideas make this a better place to live for me, my family, my friends, my community, my country, and my world.
Today’s liberals are no more aligned philosophically with yesterday’s and yesteryear's 'liberals' than an elephant to a mammoth. In fact, today's liberals resemble nothing so much as socialists. They just haven't worked their way over to their true name yet because they're still peeing down our legs and trying to convince us it's raining. We conservatives just aren't buying it anymore - not with 60 years of failed 'liberal' policies to direct us to correct the problems - which, by the way, I think is the source of all the tantruming we see indulged in by today's so-called 'liberals'. Pure infantile frustration i.e. No more cookies for you!
Still, they've begun the renaming process by starting to call themselves "progressives". Anyone want to take bets on how long it will be before 'liberals' give up the pretense and just start calling themselves Socialists?
Another little tidbit on WIC. Since someone else pays for these goodies, the people getting these freebies don't bother to check prices either. I was in the grocery store one evening and had to pick up a gallon of milk. I got the walmart brand because it is cheaper. But I noticed a young woman with her WIC voucher reach and get the most expensive brand of milk. Something like 5 bucks a gallon. I casually mentioned that the WalMart brand was cheaper and just as good. She sort of blew me off and put the expensive brand in her buggy. This happens with food stamp users, too. Not only are they picking our pockets, they are doing it up in style.
I used to work for a subsidiary of Corning, so I KNOW your "coffee"!
LOL!
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