∞∞∞ wrote:GannonFan wrote:Is it me or is Trip getting nuttier every day? Sweet Moses, I remember when he was at least sanely arguing things, now he's jumped off the deep end, resurfaced, and swimming away at a pretty good clip. If he owned any weapons this thread alone would be enough to red-flag him. JSO comes off as dottering, but Trip just comes off as unhinged. He's like the leftie version of that nutty poster (was it a Furman fan - paladin something or other) that swore the apocalypse was coming and had a fully stocked bunker and actually signed off.
Nah, I don't believe in an impending apocalypse, civil war, or anything. Americans are too lazy for any of that (and conservatives in particular).
Personally, I think many here have ditched their values and completely drunk the conservative kool-aid. You casually brush off serious topics like they don't affect real people...as the debt/deficit grows, people continue to die from guns, people continue to die from a lack of proper healthcare (or go bankrupt getting it), Americans drown in student debt, homes have become near unattainable for young people, the government rolls back environmental protections, the military and prison industrial complexes grow, Unions are demonized, businesses have more voice than citizens, police shoot up black people with little consequence, Republicans turn a blind eye to Trump's kleptocracy, we've divested from securing our elections, and the rights of immigrants, minority groups, gay people, and women shrink.
And all for what? So the the wealth gap continues to widen while the will of the people gets ignored.
You don't give a sh*t about liberty or mankind; it's pure selfishness. Why do you think you've got an entire generation of Americans completely against what you stand for? Why do you think Republicans have a statistical issue with their long-term survival if they continue on this path? Is everyone who wants their government to work for them crazy too?
I'd be ashamed of my parents if they acted in any way like some of you do. You've completely sold the future of this nation for short-term gain. The worst is the hurt you're causing people.
Let’s take this post apart and talk about who cares about what:
- Debt/deficit – both parties are complicit and they’re hypocrites if they preach about it. A major draw of the Libertarian Party for me is fiscal responsibility.
- Gun deaths – yes, mass shootings are a tragedy and should be discussed and solutions tried, let’s start by enforcing the laws we have and focusing on (mental) healthcare. The elephant in the room when it comes to gun deaths is gang violence not lone wolf mass shooters. Why don’t Donks want to tackle that one first? It is a much more serious issue and it is probably hurting minority communities more.
- Healthcare – is a problem that Conks like to ignore or sweep under the rug and Donks. Donks are being dishonest with people about the who will bear the cost and the other impacts of a single payer plan. Both sides use it to rile up their bases but I don’t think either is interested in really resolving it.
- Student debt – the cost of an education ballooned when the federal government got so involved in student loans. You think more government involvement is going to fix the problem? Schools saw that there was a pile of money available and they took it and put it toward bigger administrative staffs and other things that did little to improve the quality of education they provided. Students made very poor decisions and took out bigger loans than they should have to pursue a degree. Question – if we forgive the debt of those that were fiscally irresponsible, what do we do for those that were fiscally responsible? Do we reward poor decision-making and essentially punish good decision-making?
- Homes & affordability – why are homes becoming less affordable? Living in Oregon I see tremendous efforts to increase affordable housing but I also see efforts to limit urban growth that actually limit housing options and drive up the costs. Both are worthwhile goals but Donks don’t want to admit that one is impacted by the other. Where is housing the most unaffordable? In major cities controlled by Donks? You can typically find affordable housing by lowering your expectations (size) or extending your search radius.
- Environmental protections – I believe in protecting the environment but it can’t be done in a vacuum. The Paris accords were sh!t. We could go to 0 carbon emissions and it would be a drop in the bucket compared to China and India and they’re not backing off. Let’s take a long-term view and focus on innovation rather than knee jerk attempts to demonize capitalism.
- Military and prison industrial complex – I agree that the growth is a problem but I blame politicians from both parties more than the military. They like the jobs and campaign contributions these companies provide.
- Unions – are they being demonized any more by the right than the left demonizes capitalism? I personally think that having government employee unions who provide campaign funds and workers for the candidates who vote on their contracts is a conflict of interest that shouldn’t be acceptable. Unions are their own worst enemy. I know of a construction union in Chicago that tied the number of workers required to the size of the job. When technology advanced and the job could be done safely and effectively with fewer workers the union refused to change the contract. Then when non-union contractors started winning jobs, the union went to the contractors and complained that they needed to do something about the non-union contractors but they refused to change the contract.
- Police violence – are police really shooting up black people with little consequence? Yes, there are bad cops who do bad things but the vast majority of them are doing the best they can at a tough job. Make them the bad guy and many of them are going to say what the hell and the gang violence is going to get worse. If progressives continue to pursue this, it is going to blow up in their faces.
- Republicans turn a blind eye to Trump's kleptocracy – that's funny! Have you heard of the Clintons? Pot meet kettle.
- Immigrants, minority, gay, and women’s rights – are they really shrinking? Or is that hyperbole because of Trump and the animosity between small fringe groups from both sides . I like to observe human behavior and IMO things are better now than they were 20+ years ago and most importantly they continue to get better.
- Wealth gap continues to widen – I agree this is a problem.
- Liberty – neither party really gives 2 sh!ts about our personal liberties. Vote third party or get off your high horse.
We are advancing and improving as a nation but your hatred for Trump prevents you from seeing it. The system the founders created is working and it is protecting us from Trump’s worst impulses.
