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View Full Version : A day in the life of 'Joe Middle-class Republican'.



Canuck
Fri Oct 24th, 2008, 11:18 PM
I've always been amused at the simple truth of this article...

Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised.

All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo; His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some liberal didn’t think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

Its noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten Mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his life-time.

Joe is home from work, he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dads; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republican’s would still be sitting in the dark)

He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to. After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home.

He turns on a radio talk show, the host’s keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn’t tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day) Joe agrees, “We don’t need those big government liberals ruining our lives; after all, I’m a self made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have”.

*credit for this article goes to columist John Gray*

DanFZ1
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 01:38 AM
:applause: :usa: :boobies: :cool::canuck::headbang: :yay: :bananna: :rock: :hump:

+1

zetaetatheta
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 08:32 AM
One of the best articles i have ever read.

Every American should visit a 3rd world country, where the government doesn't afford these protections and the country is made up of the haves and the have nots--no middle class. The middle class in America enjoys a lifestyle that is the envy of the world, because we change (progress) with the times. Just as a stagnant pond will die, so will a nation. I am proud to be a liberal and a progressive and will go to the grave as such.

Nick_Ninja
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 09:03 AM
+1 :up:

Pandora-11
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 10:23 AM
Yes, doesn't this sound good? BTW Was this written by John Gray, the relationship expert, or more likely by John Gray, the communist text writer and blogger.
Communists are excellent at making it sound wonderful.

Canuck
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 10:28 AM
It could have been written by Lenin himself for all I care. Most Philosophical ideologues have some valid points to make. You obviously chose to blow off a simple, yet effective look at how skewed things have become, by pulling out the RED CARD. You must have been a follower of McCarthy.

Pandora-11
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 10:36 AM
Wow, you're going to get personal and attack. His piece limits the contribution made to this society by conservatives. The balance between the two is actually what keeps us on an even-keel. A little yin and yan, Taoist. Not pulling a red card, just frightened by a wholely communist agenda AND one that takes credit for all that is good about our country. Be a Lenin enthusiast; your prorogative. (sp?)

Canuck
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 10:42 AM
Not a personal attack by me. :) And yes, it is a balance that is the ultimate objective here.

DanFZ1
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 11:52 AM
QUOTATION: "Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. "

ATTRIBUTION: THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY, letter to Charles Kingsley, September 23, 1860.—Leonard Huxley, Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley, vol. 1, p. 235 (1900, reprinted 1979).

Pandora-11
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 12:12 PM
:) OK Dan, Oh ye of wisdom and power, you and "Darwin's Bulldog" drop it on me! I sit at your knee.

DanFZ1
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 12:22 PM
I'm sure Samuel J. Plumber must surely appreciate U.S. Farm Subsidies as well. Which provide Security, Stability and lower prices at the grocery store.

I'm sure S.J.P. will also appreciate the fact that "W." vetoed the U.S. farm bill twice in eight years. (...but then what would a failed Texas Oil man know about farming...)

There seem to have only been enough votes to override the veto in congress once the Democrats got control of the House.

DanFZ1
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 12:27 PM
:) OK Dan, Oh ye of wisdom and power, you and "Darwin's Bulldog" drop it on me! I sit at your knee.

Thank you for sitting at my knee. I do so appreciate that. :hump:

p.s. I just love quoting smart people. It must be the chain lighting.


p.s.s. Hey, I just quoted you while you were almost quoting me. Are you feeling it? Because I think I'm feelin' it. God, I just love quoting smart people.

Rhino
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 02:18 PM
I'm sure Samuel J. Plumber must surely appreciate U.S. Farm Subsidies as well. Which provide Security, Stability and lower prices at the grocery store.




Are you sure YOU like the subsidies? Seems like it's the direct opposite of the argument you guys were making about the tax code in the other thread...

"Critics also argue that agricultural subsidies go mostly to the biggest farms who need subsidization the least. Research from Brian M. Riedl at the Heritage Foundation showed that nearly three quarters of subsidy money goes to the top 10% of recipients"

You can always quote the wise Reverend Samuel Kinison on some of those matters...(foreign food aid)


(It always seemed like another .gov waste. They pay people to NOT farm, then the price goes up. THEN we end up sending the higher priced food on our dime to "poor" countries. Seems like farming would give them jobs and self reliance...? Feel free to correct me.)

Pandora-11
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 03:22 PM
Feeling it big time Dan! :eyebrows:

DanFZ1
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 04:05 PM
Are you sure YOU like the subsidies? Seems like it's the direct opposite of the argument you guys were making about the tax code in the other thread...

"Critics also argue that agricultural subsidies go mostly to the biggest farms who need subsidization the least. Research from Brian M. Riedl at the Heritage Foundation showed that nearly three quarters of subsidy money goes to the top 10% of recipients"

You can always quote the wise Reverend Samuel Kinison on some of those matters...(foreign food aid)


(It always seemed like another .gov waste. They pay people to NOT farm, then the price goes up. THEN we end up sending the higher priced food on our dime to "poor" countries. Seems like farming would give them jobs and self reliance...? Feel free to correct me.)

There are many arguments on both sides of farm subsidies, and yes, the big companies get the big bucks. See, they don't mind when we spread the wealth around. Hell, even Ducks Unlimited is on the list of recipients.

It's not quite so cut and dried though. Here's the link. It's a one pager.

http://www.foodfirst.org/backgrounders/subsidies

...and these figures from this link:

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/10/blog-post.html

"Notice that spending on food consumed at home in the U.S. is only 5.7% of total household consumption (disposable personal income), by far the lowest in the world, at least for the 71 countries in this study. Spending on food in the EU countries at 12.1% of disposable personal income is more than twice the U.S. rate. Japan's rate of 14.6% is more than 2.5 times greater than the U.S. and even Canada at 9.2% doesn't even come close to the U.S.

Russians spent almost 29% of their income on food in 2007, the Chinese 35% and the Indians 32.4%, levels even higher that the U.S. rate of 21.2% in 1930 (http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/CPIFoodAndExpenditures/Data/table7.htm). That is, the average American in 1930 spent less of their disposable income on food than the average person in almost half of the countries list above spent in 2007.

Bottom Line: When it comes to affordable food (as a share of disposable income), there's no place on the planet where it's cheaper than the U.S. And it's gotten better and better over time, as food expenditures in the U.S. have fallen from 21.2% of income in 1930 to only 5.7% in 2007."

It is worth mentioning that the red ink is not my idea. I can't make it go away.

It is also worth mentioning that Europe's Subsidies are $100 billion compared to those of the U.S. which are $44 billion. Not bad for us considering that agriculturally speaking, because of our size, that $44 billion has to go twice as far. It serves the purpose of stability though because, for every artificially created floor below which the price cannot fall, there is (inherently) an artificially created ceiling above which the price cannot rise.

As you can see, for comparatively little money from the tax payer, the benefit is definitely there. Stable pricing is one point, Security is another.

Over the course of history, nations like India ( invaded by tiny island called Britian) and Russia have scewed up by either spending too much or not enough on the Military. Sophomore level macro economics text books refer to this in the "Guns & Butter" analogy. It's really more like an algorithm.

It infers that if you are a rich and opulent nation like India, but you don't spend money on the military, people will successfully invaded your country. It also indicates that if you are Russia and you spend no less than 20% of your GNP on the military while the United States of America never even spends 8% of it's GNP on military spending, then you will starve. Without food from abroad, what kind of war could Russia win without starving to death? I ask rhetoricaly. Guns = Military, Butter = Food. If you scew up your agricultural programs, you scew up your "Guns & Butter" algorithm.

20% of a tea cup is still far less than 8% of a 5 gallon plastic bucket.
Ultimately, it was the American Farmer who won the cold war, with a little help from Gorby and Ronny and Congress and the American Tax payer.

wikipedia states this more clearly:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns_versus_butter_theory

DanFZ1
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 04:19 PM
Feeling it big time Dan! :eyebrows:

:cyber: :makeout:

...there had just better be a woman on the other side of that keyboard.;)

Pandora-11
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 04:23 PM
:boobies:

DanFZ1
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 05:43 PM
:boobies:

:rolleyes:Leon Phelps: Ooh ! It's a lady! :hump:

Pandora-11
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 07:43 PM
Leon Phelps: What is love? What is this longing in our hearts for togetherness? Is it not the sweetest flower? Does not this flower of love have the fragrant aroma of fine, fine diamonds? Does not the wind love the dirt? Is not love not unlike the unlikely not it is unlikened to? Are you with someone tonight? Do not question your love. Take your lover by the hand. Release the power within yourself. Your heard me, release the power. Tame the wild cosmos with a whisper. Conquer heaven with one intimate caress. That's right don't be shy. Whip out everything you got ...

Pandora-11
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 07:44 PM
I think we got off the subject.

DanFZ1
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 09:10 PM
Leon Phelps: What is love? What is this longing in our hearts for togetherness? Is it not the sweetest flower? Does not this flower of love have the fragrant aroma of fine, fine diamonds? Does not the wind love the dirt? Is not love not unlike the unlikely not it is unlikened to? Are you with someone tonight? Do not question your love. Take your lover by the hand. Release the power within yourself. Your heard me, release the power. Tame the wild cosmos with a whisper. Conquer heaven with one intimate caress. That's right don't be shy. Whip out everything you got ...

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste to your lady garden...

~ Leon Phelps quoting Kahlil Gibran on Love. :yes:

DanFZ1
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 09:18 PM
I think we got off the subject.

Leon Phelps: Ya know, when a man works hard his entire life enduring hundreds of ladies, many of whom he does not even remember you'd like to think that at the end of the day he will be given a lot of money, without having had to earn it. <= There we go.

I would hate to be accused of hijacking this thread. :siesta:

Pandora-11
Sat Oct 25th, 2008, 09:28 PM
http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTc4NDE5MzY0N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzIzNTEyMQ@@._ V1._SX279_SY400_.jpgYou ARE the ladies' man!

DanFZ1
Sun Oct 26th, 2008, 01:24 AM
http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTc4NDE5MzY0N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzIzNTEyMQ@@._ V1._SX279_SY400_.jpgYou ARE the ladies' man!

I am so totally hi-jacking this thread with my first haiku:

Anticipation
The Courvoisier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courvoisier) is warm
Pandora awaits?

~ danfz1 ~

Pandora-11
Sun Oct 26th, 2008, 10:19 AM
:makeout:OMG!!! I've never gotten a haiku. Senryu, maybe.
THAT was magnificent!
Even though I don't know what a cervasse is, it surely must be warm.
Took a little French....is that French for crabs? :)

DanFZ1
Sun Oct 26th, 2008, 11:36 AM
:makeout:OMG!!! I've never gotten a haiku. Senryu, maybe.
THAT was magnificent!
Even though I don't know what a cervasse is, it surely must be warm.
Took a little French....is that French for crabs? :)

NOOOOO!!!! :cry:

My first haiku and I scewed up.

I was trying to spell Courvoisier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courvoisier) without looking it up. :)

...butt as a ladies man, ...

I can tell you from experience that the fact that you do not know what the french word for crabs is, is very encouraging.

chancre (pronounced shanker) is the French word for crab according to "So What Shall We Eat" http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2006/02/15/so-what-shall-we-eat/.

I find it always helps to use Google to help avoid any embarrassment ( and "chancre"). ~ "The Ladies Man is here to help."

" i don't care if you are a docter, clamidia is a soup..i seen it on my grocery store shelf...i think the desease your reffering to is, uh, clam chowder (http://www.moviequotes.com/fullquote.cgi?qnum=131432) " ~ The Ladies Man.


p.s. I am editing my haiku, at which point most of this post will be irrelevant. :)

Pandora-11
Sun Oct 26th, 2008, 03:21 PM
Lovin' your mind!

I was just kidding about the crabs. I was thinking that you meant crevasse or like a crevice which would have made you a very nasty boy!
Regardless, warm up the cognac.

puckstr
Mon Oct 27th, 2008, 08:38 AM
:puke:

Pandora-11
Mon Oct 27th, 2008, 09:58 AM
[quote=puckstr;372730]:puke:

Gee Punk, that's not very nice. I was loving my first haiku.

DanFZ1
Mon Oct 27th, 2008, 08:19 PM
Lovin' your mind!

...which would have made you a very nasty boy!
Regardless, warm up the cognac.

No place for beginners or sensitive hearts

When sentiment is left to chance.

No place to be ending but somewhere to start.



No need to ask.

He's a smooth operator, :violin:

Smooth operator,

Smooth operator,

Smooth operator.



Coast to coast, la to Chicago, western male.

Across the north and south, to key largo, love for sale. :cyber:


p.s. read what I posted in the "Democrats have ever intention of taking our guns..." :rolleyes: (http://www.cosportbikeclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=26885)

Pandora-11
Mon Oct 27th, 2008, 09:17 PM
(http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:void%20window.open%28%22/music/lyric.nsf/PrintLyrics?OpenForm&ParentUnid=54ADDF87964E859248256895002600F7%22,%22 _self%22%29)



Diamond life, lover boy.
We move in space with minimum waste and maximum joy.
City lights and business nights.
When you require streetcar desire for higher heights.

Face to face, each classic case.
We shadow box and double cross,
Yet need the chase.

A license to love, insurance to hold.
Melts all your memories and change into gold.

DanFZ1
Mon Oct 27th, 2008, 10:32 PM
(http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:void%20window.open%28%22/music/lyric.nsf/PrintLyrics?OpenForm&ParentUnid=54ADDF87964E859248256895002600F7%22,%22 _self%22%29)



Diamond life, lover boy.
We move in space with minimum waste and maximum joy.
City lights and business nights.
When you require streetcar desire for higher heights.

Face to face, each classic case.
We shadow box and double cross,
Yet need the chase.

A license to love, insurance to hold.
Melts all your memories and change into gold.

:bananna: <=={See, that's me. I'm a smooth operator}