Independents as upset as Republicans!?!?
This can’t be good news for the Democrats:
In an Associated Press-GfK Poll this month, 58 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans said politics is making them angry, compared with 31 percent of Democrats who said so. About 7 in 10 independents and Republicans were disgusted, compared with 4 in 10 Democrats, and independents and Republicans were likelier than Democrats to be disappointed, depressed and frustrated.
Wonder if this has anything to do with the flurry of legislative activity these past 20 months — with Democrats moving forward on initiatives that most Americans oppose, especially as we’re learning that one such initiative, Obamacare, “is even worse than critics thought“:
Half a year removed from the unprecedented legislative chicanery and backroom dealing that characterized the bill’s passage, we know much more about the bill than we did then. A few of the revelations:
» Obamacare won’t decrease health care costs for the government. According to Medicare’s actuary, it will increase costs. The same is likely to happen for privately funded health care.
Check out the rest at the Washington Examiner.
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Question: What percentage of independents are conservatives like me who just got fed up with the Republican establishment? If there are a lot of us, doesn’t that make the whole independent pool a lot more conservative?
Comment by V the K — September 23, 2010 @ 12:04 pm - September 23, 2010
A Day in the Life of a Republican
ILC gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer’s medical plan because some Liberal Union Workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance – now ILC gets it too.
He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. ILC’s bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.
In the morning shower, ILC reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.
ILC dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.
ILC begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. ILC’s employer pays these standards because ILC’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If ILC is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn’t think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.
It is noontime and ILC needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. ILC’s deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect ILC’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. ILC has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that ILC and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. ILC also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.
ILC calls his partner from work, knowing that he was able to marry his same-sex partner because nutty activist judges pointed out that not allowing gays to marry was unconstitutional.
ILC 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. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads.
He arrives at his boyhood home. His 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 electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so ILC wouldn’t have to.
ILC gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn’t mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit ILC enjoys throughout his day. ILC 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.”
Comment by Ashpenaz — September 23, 2010 @ 12:25 pm - September 23, 2010
hey Ash : Nice little cut and paste job.
But you forgot the part about being able to have an online blog because Mr. Gore invented the internet.
Comment by TnnsNE1 — September 23, 2010 @ 12:33 pm - September 23, 2010
Ashpenaz, you make a serious mistake here.
We understand your problem. You are not capable of making good decisions, investigating matters, or making wise choices without the government. We get it. You are a ward of the state and incapable of functioning without the government telling you what to do and how to think.
Here’s a simple question, Ashpenaz; over a hundred years ago, virtually none of the things that you mention existed. By all rights, the human race should have been wiped out, because we didn’t have the government to play nanny for us. Have you ever asked how your great-grandparents, who were so much less intelligent than you were and so unenlightened, managed to get through life without dying from bad water, poisoned food, lack of electricity, Social Security, and all the other things you mention?
The short answer: Common sense and a set of values.
All of which you completely lack, having abdicated them to the government.
Simply because you cannot be trusted with anything other than safety scissors, Ashpenaz, does not mean that everyone else must be handicapped by having them.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — September 23, 2010 @ 12:37 pm - September 23, 2010
And this statement right here demonstrates the core of the welfare liberalism that Ashpenaz and the entire Obama Party espouse.
His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so ILC wouldn’t have to.
Exactly. Welfare liberalism like Ashpenaz and his fellow liberals kick and scream for is so that they don’t have to take care of their responsibilities.
It is all about pure, unadulterated SELFISHNESS.
People like Ashpenaz don’t save for their retirement; they intend to be able to sponge off others who did.
Ashpenaz doesn’t take care of his elderly parents; he dumps them off on the government.
And what does Ashpenaz contribute in exchange? Nothing. Ashpenaz and his fellow welfare addicts don’t pay taxes. They don’t contribute.
This is why Ashpenaz whines and screams and kicks about his welfare state being dismantled. Literally, he is looking at, for the first time in his life, having to pay his own bills and take the consequences of his own behavior.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — September 23, 2010 @ 12:46 pm - September 23, 2010
ILC wakes up at 0630. He is already $43,700 in debt because of reckless liberal Democrat spending.
His brother calls and informs him he’s been laid off from his job and his factory is closing, because between the crushing regulation and second-highest-in-the-world corporate tax rates imposed by liberal politicians, it can no longer compete with overseas factories. He’ll also probably lose his house, which he bought during a real estate bubble fueled by Democrats who politicized the mortgage industry.
The Social Security his father depends on (because liberal Democrats denied him the opportunity to put some of his social security into a more diversified portfolio) will probably be gone by the time he retires, because its unfunded liability is over $56 Trillion. This is because progressive politicians have for decades been raiding social security to pay for current expenditures and stuffing the Treasury with IOU’s.
He fills his car with gas, giving the Government over 50 cents per gallon, which, instead of going to improve roads like it is supposed to, is confiscated by liberal politicians to bailout the bloated pensions of union cronies. Also, much of the rest of the cost of the gasoline goes to support oppressive foreign regimes like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela… because liberal Democrat politicians have shut down most US energy exploration and production.
By the time ILC goes to bed that night, the national debt has gone up by another $3.8 billion dollars. Thanks liberal politicians.
Comment by V the K — September 23, 2010 @ 1:11 pm - September 23, 2010
Ashpen exemplifies what VDH calls the Peasant Mentality in America. He doesn’t want to be responsible for his own circumstances, he wants the Lord of the Manor to take care of him.
There’s a place for people who feel that way, and it’s called ‘Europe.’
Comment by V the K — September 23, 2010 @ 1:53 pm - September 23, 2010
To Ash I will say but two things…all of your purported liberal, union, tree-hugger ‘advances’ were made INSIDE the most free-market economy and under the protection of the world’s finest military; NEITHER of which your liberal, union, tree-hugger appreciate one whit.
Without them, you don’t have a pot to piss in or the opportunity to whine.
Comment by rodney — September 23, 2010 @ 3:01 pm - September 23, 2010
No, I want the Lord of the Manor to treat me with dignity, recognize the value I give to the village with my work, and make sure I’m healthy, sheltered, protected, educated, and fed. You should look up the Magna Charta sometime. The Lord has responsibilities to his subjects. I would be better off in Feudal England than I would be under the Pledge to America.
Comment by Ashpenaz — September 23, 2010 @ 7:07 pm - September 23, 2010
The Independents do not want to live in a European USA or as Obama wants, a USSA built on Communism instead of Capitalism. The Democrats have awakened the Sleeping Giant & have made him angry…
Comment by Sebastian Shaw — September 23, 2010 @ 7:12 pm - September 23, 2010
Although I am technically a registered Independent, I define myself as a Conservative more than anything else politically speaking.
Comment by Sebastian Shaw — September 23, 2010 @ 7:14 pm - September 23, 2010
I want the Lord of the Manor to … make sure I’m healthy, sheltered, protected, educated, and fed.
You may be too stupid or weak to take care of those things for yourself, but not all of us are.
I don’t want to live as a Feudal Serf. I want to live as a free man.
Comment by V the K — September 23, 2010 @ 7:16 pm - September 23, 2010
“I want the Lord of the Manor to … make sure I’m healthy, sheltered, protected, educated, and fed.”
Ash, I’m not insulting you, but you have described what I do with my dogs. YOU should make sure you are your own man & guide your own destiny without government involvement. As V has said, you want to be Feudal Serf, a slave to the government. This is antithetical to the very foundation of America.
Comment by Sebastian Shaw — September 23, 2010 @ 7:43 pm - September 23, 2010
Serfs only had to work 3 days a week.
Exactly how are you a free man? You are owned by the corporation you work for. Can you freely stand up against the practices of your corporation, say, if you think a faulty pipe is going to explode into the Gulf? Can you leave your job and keep your health insurance? If you are so free, why are you so afraid of unemployment? How is being owned by a corporation better than being own by a Lord, except you have fewer days off?
Comment by Ashpenaz — September 23, 2010 @ 9:20 pm - September 23, 2010
Serfs only had to work 3 days a week.
Leaving the serf with 4 wonderful days of leisurely mead-drinking, because all of their needs were met by the Lord of the estate in exchange for those 3 days of work. That lucky serf had no need to desperately try and eek out some means of survival for himself and his family on those remaining days of the week that his Lord graciously left free. Hooray for lazy, crazy days of Feudalism!
How is being owned by a corporation better than being owned by a Lord, except you have fewer days off?
Well, for starters, no CEO of any corporation that I’ve ever worked for has shown up at my hovel and demanded his legal right to take the virginity of my maiden daughters, though I’ll admit that’s probably more of a “lifestyle choice”…
Comment by Wesley M. — September 23, 2010 @ 10:01 pm - September 23, 2010
Can you freely stand up against the practices of your corporation, say, if you think a faulty pipe is going to explode into the Gulf?
Yes.
Can you leave your job and keep your health insurance?
Yes. And I can get other health insurance that isn’t nearly as expensive.
If you are so free, why are you so afraid of unemployment?
I’m not. I have three years of living expenses saved up, and I have money set aside to cover my minimal debts in the event of an emergency — all without having to touch my retirement funds.
Why can’t you do that, Ashpenaz? What’s your excuse?
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — September 23, 2010 @ 10:47 pm - September 23, 2010
If your boss asked for the virginity of your maiden daughter in exchange for keeping your job and health insurance, knowing that being fired means never having a job in your profession again, what would most people choose? In this economy (created by the Republicans)?
I suspect that most people with a mortgage would say, “Honey, here’s the nice man who’s going to deflower you. Play safe!”
Comment by Ashpenaz — September 23, 2010 @ 10:49 pm - September 23, 2010
NDT–I look forward to spending your money on my medical bills and retirement.
Comment by Ashpenaz — September 23, 2010 @ 10:52 pm - September 23, 2010
“If someone who has the riches of this world sees his brother in need and closes his heart to him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 Jn 3:17). It is well known how strong were the words used by the Fathers of the Church to describe the proper attitude of persons who possess anything towards persons in need. To quote Saint Ambrose: “You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handing over to him what is his. For what has been given in common for the use of all, you have arrogated to yourself. The world is given to all, and not only to the rich.”
http://www.osjspm.org/option_for_the_poor.aspx
Comment by Ashpenaz — September 23, 2010 @ 10:57 pm - September 23, 2010
“If someone who has the riches of this world sees his brother in need and closes his heart to him, how does the love of God abide in him?”
That’s a good question, Ashpenaz.
Since you refuse to sell your goods and give them to the poor and you yourself steal from others so that you don’t have to work, how does the love of God abide in you?
And since you want to quote the Bible, Ashpenaz, try these verses.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us. For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”
Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.
Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed.
II Thessalonians 3:6 – 14
So how does an idle person like yourself who brags about how he steals from others fit into this?
Answer: He doesn’t. You simply have not read the Bible, nor are you in any way acquainted with what is actually in it. You simply are using it as an excuse to rationalize your own laziness and unwillingness to work.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — September 23, 2010 @ 11:20 pm - September 23, 2010
You are owned by the corporation you work for.
Um… no. I am employed by the corporation I work for because they compensate me competitively and give me flexible hours and telecommuting options that enable me to raise my family. They are not mandated by Government to do so, but they do because it’s worth it to them to retain my services.
I don’t have as much in savings as NDT because I have an expensive hobby of raising and adopting foster kids. I do, whoever, have a church and a family who would look out for me if I were to become down on my luck; which is far preferable to relying on an impersonal government bureaucracy; and my experience with the foster care system has given my ample exposure to *that.”
Comment by V the K — September 23, 2010 @ 11:39 pm - September 23, 2010
Re: #17
Well, I can’t speak for “most people,” but I suspect that most people would do some variation of what I would: Go public (media love stories of evil CEOs versus the powerless, especially in this economy), press whatever criminal charges might apply (I know just the female officer to have take my complaint), sue his ass (more camera time for Gloria Allred), and if necessary, change careers (after you’ve done it once, the fear of doing it again tends to be much less).
Then again, I don’t see the appeal of serfdom, and someone who does might choose a different option for his family.
Comment by Wesley M. — September 23, 2010 @ 11:46 pm - September 23, 2010
This goes back to Ash’s mentality.
He doesn’t like what he’s getting paid in health and benefits. His estimate of his worth is greater than others are willing to pay. Rather than take this as a sign that he over estimates his worth in the market, he chooses to have the government steal for him, while making himself a serf to the government. (And don’t talk to him about deflowering, it would be the most action he’s gotten in years.)
He’s not even a serf, he’s nameless Cardassian #6, who the Obsidian Order has hired to bully the people of Bajor. He doesn’t care who he has to hurt or what condition he leaves them in, as long as he gets ‘his’.
Funny think about nameless Cardassians… They normally have red shirts.
Comment by The_Livewire — September 24, 2010 @ 6:48 am - September 24, 2010
Ash does not have a single clue about feudal England, or the life of the serf.
I would doubt very much that a serf only worked 3 days a week for the Lord of the manor.
A serf in feudal England was a slave. They did not get paid for the work that they did. They were not free to travel to other parts of the country. They faced death if the were caught “stealing” a loaf of bread.
The life of a serf was very bad compared to the life that we have today. We get compensated for the hours worked. The “boss” does not own us because we have the right to withdraw our labour by quitting the job. A serf never had that right.
Comment by StraightAussie — September 24, 2010 @ 7:36 am - September 24, 2010
If the Feudal System was so bad, why are Renaissance Faires so popular?
Do you have the right to withdraw your labour? Or even your labor? What would happen if you quit? It’s unlikely you could get another job in this economy, and your employer knows it. So he can ask for extra hours and unethical behavior (such as ignoring faulty pipes) and you have to do it. You are just as much owned by the corporation you work for as the serf was by his Lord, and you don’t even get to hold dances.
Incidentally, I have a job, a savings account, and health insurance. But I’m aware of a whole world out there of people who don’t, and I vote to help them.
Comment by Ashpenaz — September 24, 2010 @ 8:17 am - September 24, 2010
P.S., NDT–I’m a Christian. I follow Jesus, not Paul. Jesus didn’t have a savings account or even a home. He said not to store up treasures on earth. He told us to consider the lilies of the field which neither toil nor spin.
Comment by Ashpenaz — September 24, 2010 @ 8:19 am - September 24, 2010
If the Feudal System was so bad, why are Renaissance Faires so popular?
Because people only have to play act and dress up for a few hours on the weekend. You don’t see very many people actually forsaking modern conveniences to live in hovels under Medieval standards of hygiene, nutrition, and dentistry.
Comment by V the K — September 24, 2010 @ 9:35 am - September 24, 2010
Because people only have to play act and dress up for a few hours on the weekend. You don’t see very many people actually forsaking modern conveniences to live in hovels under Medieval standards of hygiene, nutrition, and dentistry.
Clearly you’ve never been to the third day of a gaming convention
But Ash’s statement here shows his real mindset:
Do you have the right to withdraw your labour? Or even your labor? What would happen if you quit? It’s unlikely you could get another job in this economy, and your employer knows it.
You can choose to withdraw your labour and go elsewhere. Like every choice, it has consequences. Ash wants to have others pay for the consequences of his actions.
Where have we heard that before? Oh yeah
“Think of an economy where people could be an artist or a photographer or a writer without worrying about keeping their day job in order to have health insurance.”
And *this* is priceless
P.S., NDT–I’m a Christian. I follow Jesus, not Paul. Jesus didn’t have a savings account or even a home. He said not to store up treasures on earth. He told us to consider the lilies of the field which neither toil nor spin.
So Ashpenaz is a Lutheran, a Methodist, and now a Christian depending on when the mood strikes him. so, like his morals, his beliefs shift from moment to moment. At least I’m clear i’m a heretic. I think Ash is more of the Khlysty heresy. Maybe we should call him радéния instead?
Comment by The_Livewire — September 24, 2010 @ 10:04 am - September 24, 2010
If the Feudal System was so bad, why are Renaissance Faires so popular?
Codpieces, corsets, and cleavage. Next question?
Comment by Wesley M. — September 24, 2010 @ 10:45 am - September 24, 2010
Wow. Somebody reeeaaaaallly wants my attention. I had no idea I could be so important to slow kids.
V, How’d you know?!
Nope. Wrong.
Nope. Wrong.
Nope. Wrong.
Nope. Wrong. Water had already been made clean in America by people acting in free markets, before crypto-fascist “liberals” decided to take it over and take credit for it.
Nope. Wrong.
Nope. Wrong. Medications had already been made safe in America by people acting in free markets, before crypto-fascist “liberals” decided to take it over and take credit for it. Also, the latter do a relatively poor job of it – just as with everything they do, e.g. public education. If we went back to private enterprise doing it, it would end up being that much better.
I could go on, Ash, but there’s no point. Nearly everything you’ve said is stupid. I don’t have that much time in my morning. You might study what the others have said in response.
You want government – like your edition of God, I suppose – to be the perfect mommy-daddy you never had. In a related development (but you will probably never see why it’s related), you wouldn’t understand caring and compassion for other people if those things hit you over the head with a 2×4. Hint: They cannot be achieved by government force. Forcing people is their opposite.
There you go. You object to spin V put on the metaphor – Not to the metaphor as such. What a revealing admission.
You will be doing the world a great favor, Ash, if you grow up one day. But by now I guess that, deep in your greedy angry heart, you don’t ever want to do the world such a favor. Because:
There it is. The greed and malice, Ash, in your heart.
StraightAussie, indeed.
Thanks everyone else for being you!
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — September 24, 2010 @ 11:36 am - September 24, 2010
TL, that nails it.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — September 24, 2010 @ 11:50 am - September 24, 2010
P.S., NDT–I’m a Christian. I follow Jesus, not Paul.
And who did you quote?
“If someone who has the riches of this world sees his brother in need and closes his heart to him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 Jn 3:17).
That would be John.
And who else did you quote?
To quote Saint Ambrose: “You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handing over to him what is his. For what has been given in common for the use of all, you have arrogated to yourself. The world is given to all, and not only to the rich.”
So let’s see. Neither of those are Jesus.
And this got really precious.
Jesus didn’t have a savings account or even a home. He said not to store up treasures on earth. He told us to consider the lilies of the field which neither toil nor spin.
So why are you demanding that others provide you with a home, savings account, job, etc.? Practice what you claim to follow.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — September 24, 2010 @ 12:06 pm - September 24, 2010
Incidentally, I have a job, a savings account, and health insurance. But I’m aware of a whole world out there of people who don’t, and I vote to help them.
I’m sorry; what did you quote previously, Ashpenaz?
To quote Saint Ambrose: “You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handing over to him what is his. For what has been given in common for the use of all, you have arrogated to yourself. The world is given to all, and not only to the rich.”
So hand it over. Practice what you preach, hypocrite. Why have you not handed over all of your possessions to the poor when you are whining and screaming that others should do so.
You vote. Pathetic. You don’t pay a penny out of your own pocket; you try to use the power of government to take from others to pay your responsibilities.
I vote to force you to accept your responsibilities. Learn to save. Pay your own bills. Help the poor out of your own pocket. Grow up.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — September 24, 2010 @ 12:10 pm - September 24, 2010
You grow up. Nyah.
I quoted my Catholic Social Teaching site, as usual. My point is that there is another way to be a conservative other than a greedy, conscienceless free market capitalist who thrives on the exploitation of the poor. Your solution for Haiti: Accept your responsibilities. Learn to save. Pay your own bills. Help the poor out of your own pocket. Grow up. Your solution for NOLA after Katrina: Accept your responsibilities. Learn to save. Pay your own bills. Help the poor out of your own pocket. Grow up. Your solution for Sudan and Uganda: Accept your responsibilities. Learn to save. Pay your own bills. Help the poor out of your own pocket. Grow up. Your solution for anyone who has been trampled by our economic system and is out of a job for reasons beyond their control: Accept your responsibilities. Learn to save. Pay your own bills. Help the poor out of your own pocket. Grow up.
How about this instead? Let’s use a flat tax to create a social safety net so we can all have what we need. Let’s make sure we have laws and regulations which protect workers from being exploited. Then, make as much money as you want. Or don’t want.
Comment by Ashpenaz — September 24, 2010 @ 12:36 pm - September 24, 2010
Clearly you’ve never been to the third day of a gaming convention
If Ashpen wants to live in his parents basement forever and have them take care of him, that’s his business. It’s when he demands to live in all of our basements and have all of us take care of him and demand the government force us to let him that I have a problem.
Comment by V the K — September 24, 2010 @ 1:17 pm - September 24, 2010
NDT: Since I didn’t have all day for Ash’s stupidity and stopped after his first paragraph, I naturally missed that. Of course, he’s lying. Big Government doesn’t help the poor; it injures them greatly. To vote for Big Government, is to vote for degrading and injuring the poor.
Small-government capitalism helps the poor. It creates a framework where those willing to work (or to “help themselves”) will do so, and society can take aid the rest via charity. I (in contrast to Ash) actually care about poor people. I give to them from my own resources – resources that are indeed my gift and not their property, because I created the resources in question – AND I vote to help the poor for real. Grownups act like that.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — September 24, 2010 @ 1:24 pm - September 24, 2010
Ash said: “P.S., NDT–I’m a Christian. I follow Jesus, not Paul. Jesus didn’t have a savings account or even a home. He said not to store up treasures on earth. He told us to consider the lilies of the field which neither toil nor spin.”
Brendan in Philly says: Ash, I wish you a speedy reunion with your Lord. In fact, the speedier, the better.
Comment by Brendan in Philly — September 24, 2010 @ 1:55 pm - September 24, 2010
I quoted my Catholic Social Teaching site, as usual.
Which isn’t Jesus. Why you quoted someone else when you claim to only follow Jesus is beyond me.
My point is that there is another way to be a conservative other than a greedy, conscienceless free market capitalist who thrives on the exploitation of the poor.
You are not a conservative. You are a greedy, conscienceless fascist who thrives on exploitation of those who work, as you made clear in this statement:
NDT–I look forward to spending your money on my medical bills and retirement.
What the hell gives you the right to steal from me, you thief? I didn’t give you that money. You are trying to take it from me by force. I earned it. I worked for it. Do you SERIOUSLY believe that Jesus authorizes you to steal?
Let’s use a flat tax to create a social safety net so we can all have what we need.
No. How about YOU put your money where your mouth is and sell everything you have and give it to the poor?
Don’t you remember what you quoted, Ashpenaz? You have no right to own anything. You are not entitled to anything. You should sell all of your possessions and give them to the poor.
To quote Saint Ambrose: “You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handing over to him what is his. For what has been given in common for the use of all, you have arrogated to yourself. The world is given to all, and not only to the rich.”
You won’t make that sacrifice, so you try to steal it from others and enrich yourself in the process.
Thief.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — September 24, 2010 @ 2:20 pm - September 24, 2010
“It stands to reason that where there’s sacrifice, there’s someone collecting sacrificial offerings. Where there’s service, there’s someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master.” —Ayn Rand, The Soul of a Collectivist, For the New Intellectual, 73
Comment by V the K — September 24, 2010 @ 2:59 pm - September 24, 2010
Jesus – not Catholic Social Teaching, or being a supposed Lutheran, or being a supposed Methodist, or whatever the baloney of the day is, but Jesus – has an answer:
Greedy, malicious fascists who give little or nothing to the poor, but who instead have the Roman tax collector rape and loot their neighbor on their behalf, will, I daresay, receive forgiveness if they realize their sin and get on their knees and beg for it – but probably not otherwise.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — September 24, 2010 @ 3:01 pm - September 24, 2010
Umm–I think that loving your neighbor as yourself involves not calling them “greedy malicious fascists.”
Comment by Ashpenaz — September 24, 2010 @ 5:19 pm - September 24, 2010
As a Christian, one can still love greedy malicious fascists. Hate the sin, love the sinner and all that.
Comment by V the K — September 24, 2010 @ 5:26 pm - September 24, 2010
Ever heard of Tough Love? The truth isn’t always pretty. The responsibility is on you, to improve yourself.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — September 24, 2010 @ 5:26 pm - September 24, 2010
(#43 continued) – Also Ash, I am not the one out here trying to claim the prestige of Christianity for myself; you are.
You will probably never know my exact religious beliefs. I know for sure that I’ve never stated them (on this blog).. But here you are, telling us yours… a different belief each day, in fact. It must be wonderful to have such a wealth of beliefs to pick and choose from, as the occasion suits. But: If you are going to try to claim the prestige of religion X for yourself and your immoral causes, Ash, then you will find yourself held to that religion’s standard.
So this is what I’m really saying: unlike you, I actually care about the poor. You preen about your religion and yet, by that religion’s standards, I probably behave better than you. Isn’t that ironic?
What is even less loving to The Other than (accurately) describing him as greedy, malicious fascist, is your really and actually being one. Good luck in Hell, Ash, when you get there.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — September 24, 2010 @ 5:37 pm - September 24, 2010
(and in case some future reader wouldn’t realize: my use of “fascist” here does not refer to Ash’s party affiliations, which I wouldn’t really know, but to his underlying philosophy of worshipping State power and using the latter to steal and oppress)
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — September 24, 2010 @ 5:51 pm - September 24, 2010
Umm–I think that loving your neighbor as yourself involves not calling them “greedy malicious fascists.”
Why don’t we ask the expert on the subject?
I mean, after all, if Jesus can go around calling people who steal from and try to lord over others greedy and malicious, clearly it falls within the dictum of “Love your neighbor”.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — September 24, 2010 @ 6:20 pm - September 24, 2010
Oh my, this just caught my eye for the first time as it flew past in the scrollbar:
… for NO other reason because I FREAKING COOK IT.
NO BACON IS SAFE TO EAT UNLESS IT IS PROPERLY COOKED FIRST. AND ALL BACON IS SAFE TO EAT IF IT IS PROPERLY COOKED.
Get. A. CLUE! LOL
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — September 25, 2010 @ 12:39 am - September 25, 2010