(05-14-2010 12:10 PM)B-rock Odrama Wrote:  I think this conservative myth about smaller gov't needs to be debunked. Government is the only thing that protects us little people from the Corporate giants. The hypocritical claim by most Republicans/conservatives is that they want less government but they are all for military expansionism and adventurism. I don't mind paying taxes for services. I have more control over things when government runs them then when the private sector runs them.

The myth that needs to be debunked is that government is our friend that protects us. I know, I know, corporations are run by greedy arrogant b@st@rds out to screw us for the sake of profits. Guess what? Government is run by human beings, just like large corporations, and there is absolutely no reason to believe that government bureaucrats are any less greedy or arrogant. Most government bureaucrats are greedy for power more than money, and that is a bigger threat, at least IMO.

And no, government and quasi-governmental agencies are NOT more transparent than the private sector. Compare how much we know about how Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling took down Enron to how much we know about Franklin Raines and Barney Franks and the goings on at Freddie and Fannie. Or what the Fed is doing with our money. Or why the FBI ignored information in their possession that could have prevented 9/11.

If we let government run things, then exactly WHO protects us from the government?

(05-15-2010 07:52 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(05-14-2010 12:10 PM)B-rock Odrama Wrote:  I think this conservative myth about smaller gov't needs to be debunked. Government is the only thing that protects us little people from the Corporate giants. The hypocritical claim by most Republicans/conservatives is that they want less government but they are all for military expansionism and adventurism. I don't mind paying taxes for services. I have more control over things when government runs them then when the private sector runs them.

The myth that needs to be debunked is that government is our friend that protects us. I know, I know, corporations are run by greedy arrogant b@st@rds out to screw us for the sake of profits. Guess what? Government is run by human beings, just like large corporations, and there is absolutely no reason to believe that government bureaucrats are any less greedy or arrogant. Most government bureaucrats are greedy for power more than money, and that is a bigger threat, at least IMO.

And no, government and quasi-governmental agencies are NOT more transparent than the private sector. Compare how much we know about how Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling took down Enron to how much we know about Franklin Raines and Barney Franks and the goings on at Freddie and Fannie. Or what the Fed is doing with our money. Or why the FBI ignored information in their possession that could have prevented 9/11.

If we let government run things, then exactly WHO protects us from the government?

Socialism would have solved all of this. The problem was that government didn't go far enough. Oh but we are getting there and you will love it. Health care, education, a chicken in every pot.
So to answer your question, the people. The people will protect us. Power to the people. I'm so glad that conservatism is on it's death bed.




"I throw down the gaunlet at conservatism, and I say Socialism now, Socialism tomorrow, and Socialism FOREVER!"

(05-14-2010 12:49 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I have wondered about a possible constitutional amendment providing that no more than one SC justice could come from a single judicial circuit. Since we have 12 (11 districts plus the DC circuit) we couldn't have 1 from each circuit unless we increased the size of the court (not necessarily a bad idea, but I don't want this guy appointing three more justices). But if we prohibited more than one from a single circuit, that would at least force some geographic diversity.

Given there is no (or very little) constitutional direction to how the court system itself is structured, it would seem like that amendment would impose a lot of structure that was previously not in the constitution.

(05-14-2010 02:52 PM)T-Monay820 Wrote:  I really don't find the lack of diversity to be an issue with the judicial branch. I still have faith in the ability of the majority of judges to rule based on their understanding of the law. I mean, Roberts came from Harvard and you can hardly say he has the same interpretation of the law as Ginsberg. An example would be gays: despite the stance of the majority of our nation's religions condemning it, the courts (and the judges of those religions) still uphold the law which allows it despite their personal objections. I realize that this is not true across the board, but I do have believe that the majority of our judges rulings are gonna be more from their understanding of the law rather than their faith, or race, or education institute, or personal background. So I tend to focus more on the fact that Pelosi gets the Constitution wrong, rather than the fact that she's Catholic (granted she's not a judge, but you get the point).

Given that abortion is one of the hot topics for the court and that the official position of the Catholic Church is against abortion, this does seem like a legitimate issue to me. Back when JFK ran for office, there was a lot of concern that the potential president would take marching orders from the Vatican. And, various members of the Catholic hierarchy have been in the news prominently trying to assert that politicians can't be "good catholics" unless they vote in specific ways. So, this does seem like a legitimate concern to me.

The irony that the court is dominated by Catholics seems ironic to me in that the founding fathers wrote quite a lot of rhetoric against the Catholic Church and its influence on government.

(05-15-2010 06:12 PM)B-rock Odrama Wrote:  Socialism would have solved all of this. The problem was that government didn't go far enough. Oh but we are getting there and you will love it. Health care, education, a chicken in every pot.
So to answer your question, the people. The people will protect us. Power to the people. I'm so glad that conservatism is on it's death bed.




"I throw down the gaunlet at conservatism, and I say Socialism now, Socialism tomorrow, and Socialism FOREVER!"

Idiots like this^ fail to understand that free-market Capitalism, I.e. freedom, has not only turned this nation of colonies into the most powerful and prosperous nation on the planet, but also the destination of immigrants looking for a better future. ....and many of them left Socialist countries.

A better definition of insanity, I can think of none.

(05-16-2010 11:25 AM)Rebel Wrote:  

(05-15-2010 06:12 PM)B-rock Odrama Wrote:  Socialism would have solved all of this. The problem was that government didn't go far enough. Oh but we are getting there and you will love it. Health care, education, a chicken in every pot.
So to answer your question, the people. The people will protect us. Power to the people. I'm so glad that conservatism is on it's death bed.




"I throw down the gaunlet at conservatism, and I say Socialism now, Socialism tomorrow, and Socialism FOREVER!"

Idiots like this^ fail to understand that free-market Capitalism, I.e. freedom, has not only turned this nation of colonies into the most powerful and prosperous nation on the planet, but also the destination of immigrants looking for a better future. ....and many of them left Socialist countries.

A better definition of insanity, I can think of none.

And idiots like you miss the sarcasm in his post. No wonder you miss the real world as it goes flying by right over your head.

(05-16-2010 03:52 PM)RobertN Wrote:  And idiots like you miss the sarcasm in his post. No wonder you miss the real world as it goes flying by right over your head.

What's to detect? This is a message board and I don't know that noob.

....but in all honesty, it's exactly what you moronic progressives want.

These ARE your people:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/dis...id=4383498

They've been his cheerleaders after every single entity he's taken over, oil companies, the media, and now steel plants. Anyone dissenting is shouted down. ....then again, you're probably one of the ones shouting.