General Music Chat

This nation was a new idea when it began, Rich. Our forefathers were the extreme liberals of their time. As far as I can tell, their legacy to us includes the duty to continue with their good works, which, let's face it, were only a beginning, & not the end-all be-all that your average conservative would describe them to be.

There is nothing wrong with trying to better things in the country, or in the world. It's what we all should be striving for.

One of the things I admire about you is the way you work on the small scale, adopting children in need. However, we all aren't built that way. (I, for one, simply don't have the space!) Most of us choose other paths to do what we can.

So don't put others down for doing whatever they think is best for the world, even when you know it's naive or wrong. At least these ppl are still trying, & not satisfied to simply hold onto a status quo that needs to evolve as our technology & our societal needs evolve.

So there! I has spoken!

This regime has control of our food, our gas, our transportation, the Internet, control over all formerly private communications, the banks, our heal care, the value of our money, our lighting, our school systems, the news media, even some companies formerly owned by the private sector now belong to this regime. They have cameras on the street corners, on the highways, on all exits to and from town, and facial recognition is fed into them to look for whomever they wish. Now they are controlling what foods we can eat in restaurants and in the schools , what foods that can't be served because they feel we shouldn't eat them, and now how big the proportions should be in the private food industry. And that is only the tip of the iceberg.

But I'm with you. It's better than living under a dictatorship.

Rich (and some others here) apparently never heard of that naive liberal Franklind D. Roosevelt, whose "four freedoms" I quoted. But, he only got us through the Great Depression and fought the REAL "Axis of Evil" Hitler, Tojo, & Mussolini. Pffft! What does he know? The status quo should've been good enough for him, right? And he only did it while fighting polio and his own death! C'mon! How naive can you get?

I'm kinda joking with most of my 'political ' rants
I am a conservative
I do think Reagan's worldviews are badly needed in the hallways of DC in nowadays, but beyond that..


my view reaches far beyond the scope of this temporary carcass.

Mike et al, at the end of the day, I believe this:
that Jesus IS who he said He is.
That's really the ONLY meaningful/life-changing point that I could EVER possible make on this forum.
And the ONLY thing that really matters to me.

Just wanted to get that out there so there's no doubt as to what I'm all about.

And lads, I am going to really strive to NOT spout off on these threads, because they only serve to tear one another down.

Ok, back to .NET

I'm kinda joking with most of my 'political ' rants
I am a conservative
I do think Reagan's worldviews are badly needed in the hallways of DC in nowadays, but beyond that..


my view reaches far beyond the scope of this temporary carcass.

Reagan's "worldviews":

While publicly supporting Saddam Hussein in Iraq, he supplied Iran with shiploads of weaponry during the Iran-Iraq War.

He supplied Osama Bin Laden with weaponry in the terrorist's stance against the evil USSR, so he could "win" the Cold War, "single-handedly."

He backed MORE terrorists in Afganistan for the same reasons, thus he could be said to have helped to create the Taliiban AND Al Qaeda AND our problems in Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, etc.

His version of economics - what he called "supply side economics," led directly to our complete economic breakdown, just two years ago. His deregulations & open market "ideas" have led to the selling off of American jobs; the destruction of the power of the Union base (which helped to bring about those personal gains in economic power & job security & insured retirement incomes, etc., which made living in America such an ideal); assured the ultimate power of the free, unregulated banks & insurers & other Wall St crooks to do as they've done to us all, all while, during his administration, taxes were increased to unprecedented levels as he continued to build up the American War Machine, cut the income of the retirees, & slashed domestic programs. His "mommy's" War On Drugs has cost billions in terms of domestic spending,not to mention the loss of personal freedoms. Does no one recall the way the gov't unilaterally snatched up ppl's money, cars, boats & HOMES, during the wonder years of Reagan, merely for being accused of having or selling drugs?

Yep. lawyers, bankers, insurance co's, Wall St & the like all LOVED ol' Ronnie, for giving them total economic & legislative power over us.

Sorry, but my hindsight is NOT so distorted by the thickly slathered coating of rose coloration!

As for the rest of your remarks, Rich, Reagan also opened the doors of the White House to the likes of Jerry Falwell, Jim Baker, Pat Robertson, et al. From what their ilk has shown me, there is very little of "Jesus" in their strategem for our society.

His rhetoric simply doesn't match up with his deeds, & all of those marvelous attributes that conservatives & liberals alike claim Reagan was so full of, simply do not exist, when one looks at his actual record.

He was just an actor, remember - not a very good one on the silver screen, but boy, could he make a convincing "president!"

I do think Reagan's worldviews are badly needed in the hallways of DC in nowadays,

Oh No... not another one NOT AGAIN!!!!!!

I don't care.
He told a heckler "aww shut up"

that rules.

I don't care.
He told a heckler "aww shut up"

that rules.

No, it doesn't. Not really.

I don't care.
He told a heckler "aww shut up"

that rules.

No, it doesn't. Not really.

Sure it does, Mike, with many many of our flag-waving, chaw-chewin', uneducated populace, who think that bravado proves leadership. (I'm not lumping you in with that lot, Rich, though I do believe you to be misinformed, & too easily swayed by religious catch phrases.)

Look at the popularity of ppl like Palin, Beck, & Limbaugh...or Falwell, Baker, & Robinson...the Tea Party is teeming with them. They have followed the Reagan model of shouting down opponents with rhetoric that lacks substance, using patriotic catch phrases, equating progressive views with socialism or communism or even satanism, & pandering to all of our nation's baser emotions, while triggering those knee-jerky responses against many things that our ppl truly need. They can push for the eradication of SSI, medicare, medicade, abortion, yadda yadda yadda, just by tossing out a few carefully chosen words that will surely enflame the emotions of the ppl who choose not to think for themselves, or read the Constitution, or are unable to understand what it means to be free. They can get many ppl to accept their personal enslavement, the removal of opportunities for growth, the selling off of their jobs, higher taxes, ANYTHING, as long as they use the right wording, & demonize the right ppl.

Growing up in the era of Reagan, with zero money and only Family and the Curch my Grandmother went to for help, we quickly saw prosperity. No hand outs. No welfare. No charity.

The problem with big government today, and this is the problem alluded to by Reagan in one of his most popular speeches, is it's cost and reach. I blame the Clinton administration, the Bush administration, Congess' knee jerk reaction to the twin towers and I blame leftists. I blame them for the actions THEY took. Not my reaction to them. Levin calls them Statists and I agree. I get my foundation for the opposition to big governemnt not only from my own success coming from nothing to what I have today, and still growing, but from one of the bible verses that has always stuck with me:

When I was a child I thought as a child, spoke as a child and acted as a child. Now I am a man and have put away childish things.

Or, to paraphrase "Major Payne" - "Pop that government tittay outta your mouth"

It all boils down to becoming an adult, learning self reliance and taking personal responsibility. I do not care what figure in the past did what. I do not want to hear about irrelevant sins of our forebears. I lived through the Ollie north trials. I know what it is to see blame spread. That does not make the ideas of self reliance, freedom and living for oneself wrong. It means that the weakness of men will always be there. If you want to start pointing blame at the side you disagree with then you are just proving MY point. "I can not be allowed to be free because the conservative X did this or Liberal Y did that."

I would rather die a free man, along side my family then live on my knees, with the memory of the freedoms we once held. That is what the ideas of Reagan mean to me. And not just Reagan. He was just one of the voices, imperfect as any other human.

Then, unlike most, I take personal responsibility not only for my actions, but for my reactions. Those weak willed, weak minded, lazy people who would rather blame some imagined or real influence for the things they do not want to take responsibility for make me angry. I took control of my own weakness and made it a strength, something i work on daily. Without a crutch and without the government.

That is what growing up Reagan brought to me. Compassion is more often watching someone fail, and letting them pick themselves up. They then realize thier failure, and it strengthens them. If they have the capacity to learn. If they have not been told all thier lives that trying is the ONLY important thing.

I could go on, but until you can point out a perfect leader on the left, right or in the middle, I am afraid you will not convince me that the liberal ideas and crutches proposed by the left are worth the cost in both money and freedom lost. Reagan is much more preferred to everyone after him and the idiot that preceded him.

bassdude, appreciate the thoughts there..
sadly, Reagan apparently did some things wrong, and so is now Satan incarnate.

religious catch phrases...heaven help us
now, THAT'S an insult!

Well Bass, as a Libertarian Socialist (I think), I believe government should mostly stay out of our lives. But, it still has necessary roles to play. That "government titty" keeping us alive being one of them (I'm disabled bro. So is my girlfriend). Some folks go too far wanting too much government. Some go too far wanting none at all! But, there's no civilization without it. It's how people organize in masses. So, the arguing over it never ends and probably never will.

Celtic piping wrote:

religious catch phrases...heaven help us
now, THAT'S an insult!

Let me premise...I might be wrong here

One never knows what can trigger people’s sensitivity, taking a comment and turn it into an insult misses the point I think.

I don’t get insulted when some religious zealot tells me that I’m evil because I don’t believe what s/he believes nor would I take their views on non believers as an insult coz I know they are wrong as they know to be right… thus whatever opinions I have for people of faith I keep'em within.

It is fact of life that demagogues with their rhetoric use whatever means they deem necessary to make a point or to rally the masses and religion has been one of the tools that has been used unscrupulously time after time by some. (Phil’s point in his post I think)

This is not an anti religion post… it’s an anti misunderstanding post a reminder that whatever dogma one has... sacred as it is to the believer. it has been and will be used as a tool by the demagogues… and when an individual from another religion points it out… it’s important to make the distinction between a criticism on religion vs. a criticism on the way that particular religion is been used or misused.

Hey Phil I know Celtic’s comment was a reaction to your post I also know you don’t need me to defend your words I just want to point out that little thing called the message (religion) and the messanger (the demagogue)

OK people before somebody accuses me of generalizing... most religious people are not demagogues

It's all no more than a dog n pony show for us all; The same international bankers that controlled the creation of the U.S. is still pulling the strings of "the world" now. Reagen, Carter, Bush... all just mouth pieces.
We always have been enslaved.

neo...
neo...