Free Republic

It is getting excruciating is it not? Please, somebody with proper talent do a lampoon triptych with 3 images, (a) the ubiquitous file photo of JD with his bulldog scowl, next to (b) Fearless Fosdick, and (c) Pee Wee Herman. It's (past) time to hit this clown with a 2x4 and explode the myth. We have only ourselves, patsies that we are, to really blame.

Why Conservatives Are Happier Than Liberals Wednesday, May 07, 2008 By Jeanna Bryner Individuals with conservative ideologies are happier than liberal-leaners, and new research pinpoints the reason: Conservatives rationalize social and economic inequalities. Regardless of marital status, income or church attendance, right-wing individuals reported greater life satisfaction and well-being than left-wingers, the new study found. Conservatives also scored highest on measures of rationalization, which gauge a person's tendency to justify, or explain away, inequalities. The rationalization measure included statements such as: "It is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than...

Today is Thanksgiving, the day when, as the first Congress proclaimed in 1777, Americans "may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts". But those with an eye on the economy would be forgiven if, this year, they felt a little miffed with their lot. ... When four things come together, [John.Stussman] argues, it suggests that recession is near. They are widening credit spreads, a moderate or flat yield curve, falling stock prices and a contraction in manufacturing activity, as measured by the purchasing managers’ index (PMI). On each criterion, America is in trouble. The first red light is a widening...

There are many ways to parse political divisions in contemporary America. There’s left vs. right, Democrat vs. Republican, liberal vs. conservative, pro-lifers vs. pro-choicers, free-traders vs. protectionists and red staters vs. blue staters, to name just a few. They’re part of the shorthand many of us use to signal to others, at least in a general way, where we stand on the issues of the day, and position ourselves along a political spectrum that stretches from far left to far right. But they’re often crude approximations prone to blur or break down under closer scrutiny and over time. And that’s...