Posted on 01/08/2003 8:37:36 AM PST by Big Guy and Rusty 99
Sometimes, because my wife is six months pregnant, I must take a cab to work. Today, I had the "pleasure" of having a commie taxi driver. Our conversation started with my referring to the fact that the bank I work for is closing. He told me that you'll see more of that with a Republican administration in office. He told me how Highway 436 was filled with vacant shops during the Reagan Eighties.
I asked him: "Doesn't that fall on the role of the Governor?"
He said: "Ok. Nationally we were left with the biggest deficit ever under Reagan."
I told him: "Only because the Democratic Congress went back on their word to cut spending to balance the tax cuts."
He went on to blame talk radio because "It is easy to push the hot buttons of people."
I replied: "Talk radio is 'right wing' is because left wing shows fail every time."
He changes the subject: "It's like Iraq. We have no business being there."
I said: "He has nuclear and chemical weapons."
He said: "So do twenty-five other countries."
I said: "He's used them on his own people."
He said: "That's their own business."
I said: "With that kind of attitude, there would be no Jews in Europe."
He said: "If Irag attacks Tel Aviv, Israel will take care of it. Besides, that's not why we attacked the Germans."
I said: "Yes, I know that. We joined World War Two because they attacked our allies. Israel is one of our allies."
He said: "It was a different world then . . ."
I said: "It's the same world."
I couldn't look at his face. He had nostril hair long enough to braid. He also had lots of crusties, so that his nose hairs looked like stalagmites (or are those stalagtites?)
He said: "America of today is like Germany of 1930. Our civil rights are being eaten away with Homeland Security."
I asked angrily: "Are you comparing our President to Hitler?"
He worriedly shot back: "Uh no, Hitler was nuts."
I asked angrily: "Are you going to comapre the World Trade Center attack to the Reichtag fires?"
He worriedly shot back: "Uh no . . ."
He says: "I am just worried about my civil liberties. There was a case in Florida were a family were held in handcuffs and their dog shot just for being suspected of a crime."
I asked: "Would you rather that a cop gets shot?"
He said: "If it protects my civil liberties, yes."
I asked: "Aren't police officers there to protect you from crime?"
He trailed off: "Yes, but . . ."
He started to praise Clinton and how he was attacked by a "vast right campaign" started by right wing radio, while Reagan was given two presidential honeymoons because he was shot.
I asked: "Are you blaming him for that?"
He said: "No, It wasn't Reagan's fault. But he left this country a mess and Bush Jr. is taking away the rest of our civil liberties . . . "
We got to my destination. He is ranting on about his civil liberties and how Bush is taking them away. I really need to get to work. I pay him. (Yes, I did give him a tip even though he's a commie.)
I asked: "Do you like Lincon? Do you think he was a good President?"
He said: "Yes, He was pretty good."
I asked: "Did you know that during the civil war he suspended Habeus Corpus?"
He had no answer but kept on his Bush bashing rant. I told him: "Save your arguments, I've heard them all before." I got out of the cab and wished him a good day.
So you're finally waking up to the fact that life is unsafe? Guess what? It always has been. It was never a legitimate reason for government to overstep its bounds, and it isn't a legitimate reason now. If you don't want to deal with the dangers then find some mountain somewhere to hide away at, but don't be trying to take away our freedoms just because you feel unsafe.
Look, we learned from WWII that you can't stand idly by and hope things turn out okay. It's better to face up to the inevitability of mad-men like Hussein obtaining long range missiles and nukes, unless we prevent it.
We don't demand nations adopt our form of government, or main religion or anything else except a willingness to live in peace with their neighbors and the rest of the world. We conquer nations and leave them to decide their own destiny afterwards. We often provide them millions or billiosn of dollars to help them afterwards.
Depends whether you're holding him up by the throat or dangling him over a cliff by his ankles.
2) I don't see the ATF busting down my door anytime in the future. I have never committed a crime and never will. (Wait, I did tear that "do not remove under penalty of law" tag from my mattress.) 3) I'd rather be safe than dead. Like I said, The dead have no civil rights. Not the liberals haven't tried to give them the right to vote.
In many ways we have more rights than before. Things like Miranda rights, and a right to a court appointed attorney, right to a speedy trial.
The biggest "right" we have lost is the ability to conduct our affairs without getting sued, unless we commit some genuine mismanagement.
There is a large tract of privatly held land on a mountainside near my home that is great for hiking. The developer/owner must maintain all kinds of nasty no tresspassing signs in order to afford liability insurance made mandatory by the stupid tort laws.
My contention is that we should have a "right" to not be sued unless we commit a genuine neglegent act. Tort law and the insurance costs it requires is a huge infringement on what should be a "right".
This is the biggest thing we've lost, and the Dems are opposing tort reform, and even the Reps don't talk about it as a "right" that we deserve.
Yes, we have more rights than before but unfortunately, many of them (like Abortion) aren't enumerated in the Constituion.
I haven't had my 3rd cup of coffee yet.
We didn't have the lawsuit problem when the framers were writing the bill of rights, otherwise no doubt they would have written in some protections. Now we do have a lawsuit problem, and we need a hard core protection from this kind of abuse.
I heard Bush say something about tort reform in his speech yesterday. Hope he can pull something off.
Do you think the only reason we have privacy protections is so that people can have an easier time breaking the law. Is that really the reason the 4th amendment was fought for and incorporated into the Constitution?
I don't see the ATF busting down my door anytime in the future. I have never committed a crime and never will.
Do you really believe that they only break down the doors of guilty people? May you always be this innocent and naive, son.
I'd rather be safe than dead. Like I said, The dead have no civil rights.
You'll probably find it plenty safe in Cuba right about now, if safety is your only real concern. And make no mistake about it: With that attitude multiplied by several million people, that's exactly the type of society we're headed for.
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