When did the republican party allow itself to be hijacked and lambasted into a corner? I'm just wondering.
We all hear so many negative things about republicans all the time that I think most of us start to believe them at some point. It's no wonder liberals hate us; they honestly believe that we hate gays, poor people, minorities, and so on. At least, that's what I think they think. I don't know, when I try to think like a liberal I get a headache. But do we really hate those groups of people, or do we just have a really different way of wanting to help them?
Whatever happened to the old adage "Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, but teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime"? As conservatives, we are totally all about teaching people to fish. Get out there. Be productive. Make a life for yourself. We know you can do it! But liberals are all like "Hey, well, maybe he can't learn to fish because his ancestors came from a landlocked area in Africa, and you're being insensitive to his cultural heritage by asking him to do something like that... you need to give him a lifetime supply of fish because you're a racist bastard."
I don't care if he came from a landlocked area of Africa. He can still get out there and learn to fish! That's the beauty of America... if he doesn't want to fish, he can go plow a field or something. I mean, there is an actual infinite amount of things that people can do in this country. But when you hold their hand and tell them that the big scary world is going to swallow them up, they're going to sit there terrified to get out there and do anything. Its no wonder that people have a hard time breaking out of poverty... but its possible. I've seen the middle of the country. You can make a VERY decent life for yourself working an "easy" job that requires little education and training. That exists. You might not know it, but it does.
But back to my original point: how did we become the obvious bad guys at every turn? We don't really hate anyone, we just have different ideas about how they should be helped. The central idea in that respect is that we want limited government, because we believe that big gov't is the problem. Its not that we don't want people to be helped, its that we don't want the "government" helping them. Government is one big, ugly, festering pile of inefficiency. It sucks, but its true. Virtually any gov't agency you go into, you'll find a bunch of people who work about 1/4 as hard as they should and they get paid about twice what they're worth. It's hard to fire people, so they don't have to worry about keeping their job (if you don't believe me, think about any university you've ever been to... they are a mess of bureaucracy and red tape, where its difficult if not impossible to get the help you need). In the free market, people compete for their jobs, and the best workers get rewarded. In the business world, the lazy people are not able to make a comfortable life for themselves the same way that they can if they work for the gov't.
So, take healthcare for instance. Libs want the gov't to take it over. Hey, that's a good idea, it will be free, and poor people will get the coverage they need. Umm, FALSE. Why would you take it out of the hands of the private business sector (remember, where good workers are rewarded and bad ones are not) and put it into a gov't system where its just going to become a hurdle jumping contest and money starts flying down the drain because you're paying all kinds of useless people do do the jobs that the private sector did twice as well. It just doesn't make any sense to me.
But, sadly, this is not the message that's being circulated. Republicans care about healthcare too... and we believe that the poor should be served through charity and volunteering, rather than by an inefficient, wasteful gov't system. It doesn't mean that we don't want them served... just that we think we have a better way of doing it.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Universal healthcare
This universal healthcare project of Obama's has me scared out of my mind. It's not that I don't want everyone to have affordable heatlhcare... I just don't think that socializing it is the best idea. I know its tough and that there are lots of people in this country without coverage (heck, at the moment, I'm one of them!) but, there's no such thing as a free lunch, people. Everything has a price. Are you sure you know what the price tag on this one is gonna be? It sounds nice and pretty now, but it definitely won't stay that way...
I was speaking with someone the other day who is from the Ukraine. She was sharing about how worried she is about the current state of the country, since she came to America to get away from an oppressive government. She said that the current state of affairs reminds her a lot of living in the Ukraine... and that its a familiar feeling that she doesn't like. She shared with me how the healthcare system worked in her country, and that she can't imagine that mistake would be replicated here. What people don't realize is that the "universal" system quickly becomes a cesspool of corruption and abuse. Since everyone technically has equal coverage, if you have a problem, you have to get at the back of the line. What if the line is too long? Well, then, the rich people start throwing some cash around, and they move up the line. If you have money, you get service. If you don't, good luck. Have fun at the back of the line. She said that one of the scariest things was that she had to worry about which doctor to bribe when she was giving birth to her children.. the nurses are telling her "okay, ready to push?" and she's saying "no, I don't know whose pocket to slip the cash into!" She said she was much more worried about who to bribe than she was about actually giving birth. How sad is that?! Do you really want that kind of system here?
Universal healthcare seems like an effort to level the playing field. Some pay more, some pay less, and all get the same care. Except the rich still get better care, because they're rich. You can't ever level that playing field... any attempt to bring down the rich is just going to backfire. Its so simple its ridiculous. How people can't see this is just unbelievable. I really don't get it.
I was speaking with someone the other day who is from the Ukraine. She was sharing about how worried she is about the current state of the country, since she came to America to get away from an oppressive government. She said that the current state of affairs reminds her a lot of living in the Ukraine... and that its a familiar feeling that she doesn't like. She shared with me how the healthcare system worked in her country, and that she can't imagine that mistake would be replicated here. What people don't realize is that the "universal" system quickly becomes a cesspool of corruption and abuse. Since everyone technically has equal coverage, if you have a problem, you have to get at the back of the line. What if the line is too long? Well, then, the rich people start throwing some cash around, and they move up the line. If you have money, you get service. If you don't, good luck. Have fun at the back of the line. She said that one of the scariest things was that she had to worry about which doctor to bribe when she was giving birth to her children.. the nurses are telling her "okay, ready to push?" and she's saying "no, I don't know whose pocket to slip the cash into!" She said she was much more worried about who to bribe than she was about actually giving birth. How sad is that?! Do you really want that kind of system here?
Universal healthcare seems like an effort to level the playing field. Some pay more, some pay less, and all get the same care. Except the rich still get better care, because they're rich. You can't ever level that playing field... any attempt to bring down the rich is just going to backfire. Its so simple its ridiculous. How people can't see this is just unbelievable. I really don't get it.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
astroturfing til they're blue in the face.
Sometimes I wonder if politics is where I should be devoting most of my time. I can't get enough of it. Literally. When I have a second of free time I'm checking Drudge or HotAir or The Ace... they're just all so awesome. How did we live without internet? How did we know what was going on when we had to rely on the mainstream media for correct information? It blows my mind.
Lately, they've all been talking a lot about the healthcare fiasco, the cap and trade crisis, and the economy in general. What I don't understand is when having a differing opinion became prohibited? If you only paid attention to the mainstream media, you'd think republicans were rounding up people to brainwash them against anything Obama wants to do. But you know what the great thing is? They can tell you that we're fearmongering a bazillion times, and its still not going to make it true. Thinking that government run healthcare is NOT a good idea does not constitute fearmongering. I sense some projection happening here....
What's all this about, anyway? You have your filibuster proof majority... all the convenient little votes you need in order to make the healthcare or cap and trade things happen. You don't need a single republican vote to implement those horrific changes to our country. So why come after us? If you think healthcare and cap and trade are such great, bulletproof ideas, then implement them. Do it. No one is stopping you. Oh, you don't like that idea? Little scared that it might crash and burn and it would take two generations for anyone to vote democrat again? That makes more sense. So let me get this straight... you want us to cover you in case it all goes to hell. You want to be able to shift the blame to somebody. Yeah, how about no.
We don't like your healthcare plan. We don't believe you when you say that we can keep our same coverage... because see, thats not how the free market works. Why would people pay for private coverage when the gov't is going to give it to them for free? So what will the private insurers do when they have less people paying them to be insured? Maybe... their prices will go up? So then how many people will be able to keep their plan and their doctor? And how is our broke gov't going to pay for all of that anyway? Magic money?? Haaa... yeah right.
I don't know about you, but I'm not particularly fond of the DMV. The thought of that being applied to my doctor is just down right frightening. So the next time you think that its only crazy, fearmongering right wingers who oppose the dictator, oops, i mean the president's health care plan, think again. Its pretty much anyone who isn't socialist.
Lately, they've all been talking a lot about the healthcare fiasco, the cap and trade crisis, and the economy in general. What I don't understand is when having a differing opinion became prohibited? If you only paid attention to the mainstream media, you'd think republicans were rounding up people to brainwash them against anything Obama wants to do. But you know what the great thing is? They can tell you that we're fearmongering a bazillion times, and its still not going to make it true. Thinking that government run healthcare is NOT a good idea does not constitute fearmongering. I sense some projection happening here....
What's all this about, anyway? You have your filibuster proof majority... all the convenient little votes you need in order to make the healthcare or cap and trade things happen. You don't need a single republican vote to implement those horrific changes to our country. So why come after us? If you think healthcare and cap and trade are such great, bulletproof ideas, then implement them. Do it. No one is stopping you. Oh, you don't like that idea? Little scared that it might crash and burn and it would take two generations for anyone to vote democrat again? That makes more sense. So let me get this straight... you want us to cover you in case it all goes to hell. You want to be able to shift the blame to somebody. Yeah, how about no.
We don't like your healthcare plan. We don't believe you when you say that we can keep our same coverage... because see, thats not how the free market works. Why would people pay for private coverage when the gov't is going to give it to them for free? So what will the private insurers do when they have less people paying them to be insured? Maybe... their prices will go up? So then how many people will be able to keep their plan and their doctor? And how is our broke gov't going to pay for all of that anyway? Magic money?? Haaa... yeah right.
I don't know about you, but I'm not particularly fond of the DMV. The thought of that being applied to my doctor is just down right frightening. So the next time you think that its only crazy, fearmongering right wingers who oppose the dictator, oops, i mean the president's health care plan, think again. Its pretty much anyone who isn't socialist.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
why do we do what we do?
Have you ever wondered about your reasons for doing something? How often do we do things because we're motivated by others? Or because we want others to see us in a certain light? It's probably a pretty common part of the human condition... something about us makes us want to be liked. We want to be popular. We want to be the one others look up to.
Yeah, I've never really been into that.
I do things because I either A) like them, B) think its the right thing to do C) find whatever it is interesting. I don't wear an outfit because I think you'll like it. I wear it because I like it. I don't work hard because you want me to; I work hard because its right. This is probably one of those differentiation things, because I tend to respect people that do things for themselves rather than being motivated by others.
So... something that's been annoying me lately is the whole idea of being "green" for the sake of being green. What the heck. It's totally a fad. How many people are actually caring for the environment because its the right thing to do? How many of them would do it if there was no social kudos to be had? If it wasn't "in", how many people would be doing it? Few, if any.
Now, I have absolutely no problem with caring for the environment. I believe that we are stewards of the Earth, and that its our job to care for it. I recycle, and care about air quality and animals. But I don't care about these things because I want to tell people I'm soooo "green". On the contrary, I don't usually even want people to know that I think or act on these things. Recycling is so easy here in California... why would you not do it? Its just the right thing to do, and doesn't cost anything. No brainer.
But contrast that with the yuppies that have picked up the green movement as the new it thing. Celebrities tell us to conserve because its what they do (outwardly anyway). Most of them go home to their obscenely large houses and drive their gas guzzling SUV's just like the rest of you. But its a movement. Global warming is huge, even if it isn't provable (and its not, check the science). Google sun spots if you don't believe me... when we have less of them, it cools down. We don't create them, they have nothing to do with us, but they do influence the temp of the Earth. So anyway... being green is pretty much like having this seasons hottest handbag, or putting on your skimpiest dress to hit the bar scene on the rich side of town. It's in. That's lame. If its something thats "in", its destined to be "out" at some point. And that sucks. Because we can't afford for the fad to fade, as it unquestionably will.
How have we gotten to this point? Furthermore, how do we shut up these green idiots? Who the heck cares about how green you are! Quit bragging about it! Put your money where your mouth is.
Algore uses nearly 20 times more energy than the average American while George Bush sits on an almost completely energy efficient ranch in Crawford, TX. Haven't heard about that? Shocker.
This country is currently being run by what's "in", and its really starting to get old.
Yeah, I've never really been into that.
I do things because I either A) like them, B) think its the right thing to do C) find whatever it is interesting. I don't wear an outfit because I think you'll like it. I wear it because I like it. I don't work hard because you want me to; I work hard because its right. This is probably one of those differentiation things, because I tend to respect people that do things for themselves rather than being motivated by others.
So... something that's been annoying me lately is the whole idea of being "green" for the sake of being green. What the heck. It's totally a fad. How many people are actually caring for the environment because its the right thing to do? How many of them would do it if there was no social kudos to be had? If it wasn't "in", how many people would be doing it? Few, if any.
Now, I have absolutely no problem with caring for the environment. I believe that we are stewards of the Earth, and that its our job to care for it. I recycle, and care about air quality and animals. But I don't care about these things because I want to tell people I'm soooo "green". On the contrary, I don't usually even want people to know that I think or act on these things. Recycling is so easy here in California... why would you not do it? Its just the right thing to do, and doesn't cost anything. No brainer.
But contrast that with the yuppies that have picked up the green movement as the new it thing. Celebrities tell us to conserve because its what they do (outwardly anyway). Most of them go home to their obscenely large houses and drive their gas guzzling SUV's just like the rest of you. But its a movement. Global warming is huge, even if it isn't provable (and its not, check the science). Google sun spots if you don't believe me... when we have less of them, it cools down. We don't create them, they have nothing to do with us, but they do influence the temp of the Earth. So anyway... being green is pretty much like having this seasons hottest handbag, or putting on your skimpiest dress to hit the bar scene on the rich side of town. It's in. That's lame. If its something thats "in", its destined to be "out" at some point. And that sucks. Because we can't afford for the fad to fade, as it unquestionably will.
How have we gotten to this point? Furthermore, how do we shut up these green idiots? Who the heck cares about how green you are! Quit bragging about it! Put your money where your mouth is.
Algore uses nearly 20 times more energy than the average American while George Bush sits on an almost completely energy efficient ranch in Crawford, TX. Haven't heard about that? Shocker.
This country is currently being run by what's "in", and its really starting to get old.
Monday, June 15, 2009
solid...
It's amazing what Palin can do when she's not up against a hostile interviewer... there is such a big difference between this vid and the one done by Matt Lauer just about a day before (if that). In the Today show clip, you can tell that Lauer hates her guts... practically spitting the questions at her with disgust... and here, Wolf Blitzer has the gall to ask her questions in a neutral tone. The nerve!
Her answers are complete and articulate. As they always are when she's given a fair shot. :)
Thank God for Sarah Palin, these brief clips are keeping me sane.
Her answers are complete and articulate. As they always are when she's given a fair shot. :)
Thank God for Sarah Palin, these brief clips are keeping me sane.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Prop 8 upheld?!
California actually did something RIGHT?! Interpreted the law without bending it to meet a social agenda? You've gotta be kidding me! When was the last time this happened? Never? I am completely surprised that this was upheld. As soon as it passed in November I immediately thought that it would be overturned. You know, similar to the way they took our vote away the first time we voted on the gay marriage issue years ago (was it 2000 or 2004? I can't remember).
What many people don't seem to understand is that prop 8 was not the ideal way to oppose gay marriage in CA. No one wanted to change the constitution, it just ended up being the only way to let the people have a voice. The first time the voters decreed that CA would not allow same sex marriage, four people on the CA supreme court nullified the vote of millions. This was a huge slap in the face to the people who had voted... essentially telling us that it didn't matter what we voted for, they were going to do what they wanted. Umm, how about no. We pay you to work for us. So, they had to create an ammendment to reverse the order of those 4 stupid egotistical judges. The people agreed. Prop 8 passed.
Now, I think that it's necessary to comment on the moral argument that is espoused by so many liberals. "Shame" on us. We are not doing the "right" thing. Gay people deserve as many "rights" as the rest of us. Why do we always have to be shamed when we don't agree with liberals? What is it about your moral position that gives you the right to shame me out of mine? Shame on you! This was never an "equal rights" issue. It was a legal one. You took away our vote, and we took it back. Simple as that.
Furthermore, the rights thing doesn't have to be an issue at all. I am all for civil unions, in CA and anywhere else. I don't want gay people to be prohibited from owning property together or seeing each other in the hospital or whatever. Go ahead, civilly unite to your heart's content. I probably tend to lean libertarian on this issue actually, because I don't really think the gov't should have anything to do with marriage at all. To me, marriage is a religious institution, not a government one. The problem with allowing gay "marriage" is due to my religious beliefs about marriage. The Catholic church has always stood against gay marriage, and would not allow it. If CA had rejected prop 8, gay marriages would be legal. Then, in a few years, a gay couple would want to be married in the Catholic church. The Church would say "Umm, we don't think so." Can you guess what would happen then?! You better believe they'd slap a big fat discrimination lawsuit on the Church. The court (being the liberal P.O.S. that it is, would probably side with the gays. Then what? The Church would either have to change 2000 years of Church teaching or be sanctioned by the gov't or whatever. At that point, you're infringing on MY right to freedom of religion. The gov't shouldn't EVER be allowed to tell any religion what to do. But that's where its going.
So yeah, I'm gonna stand against it. You can take your "shame on you"s and shove it. I DON'T want gay people to have limited rights. They deserve happiness every bit as much as the rest of us. But I also don't appreciate the law bypassing the wishes of the people in the sake of being "progressive". That's how we got into this mess in the first place.
OH! And just in case you were wondering, Obama feels much the same way. Why so silent about the gays, Barry? Don't want them to find out that you're anti gay marriage too?! Miss California got slammed on her one answer to the gay marriage question... too bad Perez Hilton didn't know that Obama probably agreed with her. And everyone's favorite target Sarah Palin has actually stood for gay rights in her state, vetoing a bill that would have limited their rights. But you probably haven't heard anything about any of that, have you?
What many people don't seem to understand is that prop 8 was not the ideal way to oppose gay marriage in CA. No one wanted to change the constitution, it just ended up being the only way to let the people have a voice. The first time the voters decreed that CA would not allow same sex marriage, four people on the CA supreme court nullified the vote of millions. This was a huge slap in the face to the people who had voted... essentially telling us that it didn't matter what we voted for, they were going to do what they wanted. Umm, how about no. We pay you to work for us. So, they had to create an ammendment to reverse the order of those 4 stupid egotistical judges. The people agreed. Prop 8 passed.
Now, I think that it's necessary to comment on the moral argument that is espoused by so many liberals. "Shame" on us. We are not doing the "right" thing. Gay people deserve as many "rights" as the rest of us. Why do we always have to be shamed when we don't agree with liberals? What is it about your moral position that gives you the right to shame me out of mine? Shame on you! This was never an "equal rights" issue. It was a legal one. You took away our vote, and we took it back. Simple as that.
Furthermore, the rights thing doesn't have to be an issue at all. I am all for civil unions, in CA and anywhere else. I don't want gay people to be prohibited from owning property together or seeing each other in the hospital or whatever. Go ahead, civilly unite to your heart's content. I probably tend to lean libertarian on this issue actually, because I don't really think the gov't should have anything to do with marriage at all. To me, marriage is a religious institution, not a government one. The problem with allowing gay "marriage" is due to my religious beliefs about marriage. The Catholic church has always stood against gay marriage, and would not allow it. If CA had rejected prop 8, gay marriages would be legal. Then, in a few years, a gay couple would want to be married in the Catholic church. The Church would say "Umm, we don't think so." Can you guess what would happen then?! You better believe they'd slap a big fat discrimination lawsuit on the Church. The court (being the liberal P.O.S. that it is, would probably side with the gays. Then what? The Church would either have to change 2000 years of Church teaching or be sanctioned by the gov't or whatever. At that point, you're infringing on MY right to freedom of religion. The gov't shouldn't EVER be allowed to tell any religion what to do. But that's where its going.
So yeah, I'm gonna stand against it. You can take your "shame on you"s and shove it. I DON'T want gay people to have limited rights. They deserve happiness every bit as much as the rest of us. But I also don't appreciate the law bypassing the wishes of the people in the sake of being "progressive". That's how we got into this mess in the first place.
OH! And just in case you were wondering, Obama feels much the same way. Why so silent about the gays, Barry? Don't want them to find out that you're anti gay marriage too?! Miss California got slammed on her one answer to the gay marriage question... too bad Perez Hilton didn't know that Obama probably agreed with her. And everyone's favorite target Sarah Palin has actually stood for gay rights in her state, vetoing a bill that would have limited their rights. But you probably haven't heard anything about any of that, have you?
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