The Government is Good Thread

[kalm]

Being it's the 4th of July, I think we need a thread devoted to all the wonderful things provided us by our government. You know... a bit of gratitude toward the programs, agencies, and men and women that make this country great.

I especially want to hear from you flag waving, gun rack sporting, illegal firework exploding, ungrateful, 'Merica hating conks that do all the bitching.

I'll start it with two no-brainers:

1) Armed services - I hit range balls the other night with a recently retired AF chief that was deployed 6 times over the past decade. Tremendous sacrifice, nothing but humility, super cool dude.

2) National Parks - Teddy Roosevelt was a visionary and the one's within reach of here (Glacier, Olympic, Mount Rainier) are breathtaking, well maintained, and very user friendly.

What you got?

[expandspanos]

1) Armed services - I hit range balls the other night with a recently retired AF chief that was deployed 6 times over the past decade. Tremendous sacrifice, nothing but humility, super cool dude.

So, you went golfing with a guy who has been over-deployed to wars that are for corporate profit, global domination and aren't for national defense (as the founding fathers attested)- You should ask that guy what he thinks about attacking Iraq- a nation with ZERO connection to 9/11-

Ask your hero golf buddy what he thinks about not attacking Saudi Arabia- The nation responsible for Bin Laden's funding and the 15/19 hijackers who supposedly did 9/11 (even though many of the named "suicide hijackers" have turned up alive) Saudi Arabia being responsible for 78% of the "Hijackers" who attacked New York on 9/11- never attacked, or even threatened (or even talked about).

This government is doing a great job!



I think they've done a wonderful job attempting to whitewash the "FSA spying on every American" scandal like they're the Stasi- They're doing a great job at that!

Also, you have to give them credit for not telling on each-other for attending "The Cremation of Care" ceremony at Bohemian Grove against the law (Logan Act)- they're doing a good job at that as well.

So, yes, the government is doing a really good job!

-The 4th of July isn't about blowing a government that sucks- it's about standing up for American ideals and demanding our government follow the Constitution (which they are not doing).. This government is a COMPLETE failure- and the fact that your friend has been deployed 6 times in a decade for pointless wars that have bankrupted the country should tell you that.

[∞∞∞]

NASA. The Smithsonian Institution. I'd also say the EPA, but I know a lot of people disagree.

[Chizzang]

and the fact that your friend has been deployed 6 times in a decade for pointless wars that have bankrupted the country should tell you that.

I disagree (slightly) with this ^ they have not bankrupted the country
These wars have assisted in bankrupting the middle class...
All the evidence suggests the uber-wealthy have expanded their finances and acquired more during this past decade

The only thing that's bankrupt is the system that used to be the footing for middle class Americans

I believe we're spending way too much assisting those who won't help themselves
and creating a 1% at the top that now owns and controls even more than it did just 10 years ago

The average worker is losing this battle (badly)

[Ibanez]

3 Cheers for Treason!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HI54UNI]

There are some things govt does well, especially at the local level in most places. My trash gets picked up every week, my water is clean, the shit goes away when I flush, the snow gets plowed in the winter, and the local schools are good. The feds do what they are supposed to do with national defense, they keep the king of England from coming into my house and shoving me around.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTtCu9WexxY[/youtube]

[HI54UNI]

And since spanos checked in.

[TheDancinMonarch]

There are some things govt does well, especially at the local level in most places. My trash gets picked up every week, my water is clean, the **** goes away when I flush, the snow gets plowed in the winter, and the local schools are good

These work well because you actually have some control. Take 100 people to City Hall and they'll listen. Take 1,000,000 to DC and you are irrelevant.

[Baldy]

Being it's the 4th of July, I think we need a thread devoted to all the wonderful things provided us by our government. You know... a bit of gratitude toward the programs, agencies, and men and women that make this country great.

I especially want to hear from you flag waving, gun rack sporting, illegal firework exploding, ungrateful, 'Merica hating conks that do all the bitching.

I'll start it with two no-brainers:

1) Armed services - I hit range balls the other night with a recently retired AF chief that was deployed 6 times over the past decade. Tremendous sacrifice, nothing but humility, super cool dude.

2) National Parks - Teddy Roosevelt was a visionary and the one's within reach of here (Glacier, Olympic, Mount Rainier) are breathtaking, well maintained, and very user friendly.

What you got?

I got a few quotes from that 'merica hating gun loving uber Conk Thomas Jefferson.

“I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
― Thomas Jefferson

“The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”
― Thomas Jefferson

“When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty.”
― Thomas Jefferson

“The Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”
― Thomas Jefferson

And my all time favorite...

“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”
― Thomas Jefferson

[Skjellyfetti]

I got a few quotes from that 'merica hating gun loving uber Conk Thomas Jefferson.

Wow. Only 2 of your 5 favorite Jefferson quotations are actual Jefferson quotations.

“When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty.”
― Thomas Jefferson

We have not found any evidence that Thomas Jefferson said or wrote, "When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny," or any of its listed variations.

To date however, the most likely source of this quotation appears to be a series of debates on socialism published in 1914, in which John Basil Barnhill said, "Where the people fear the government you have tyranny. Where the government fears the people you have liberty."

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferso ... yquotation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

“The Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”
― Thomas Jefferson

This exact quotation has not been found in any of the writings of Thomas Jefferson.

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferso ... -quotation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”
― Thomas Jefferson

This exact quotation has not been found in any of the writings of Thomas Jefferson. It bears some slight resemblance to a statement he made in a letter to John Norvell of June 14, 1807: "History, in general, only informs us what bad government is."[3] However, the quotation as it appears above can definitely be attributed to John Sharp Williams in a speech about Jefferson, which has most likely been mistaken at some point for a direct quotation of Jefferson.

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferso ... -quotation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Skjellyfetti]

Here's some actual Jefferson quotes for you to ponder this Fourth of July.

Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours its own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich upon the poor."

- Letter to Edward Carrington 1787
http://founders.archives.gov/?q=%22anim ... a=&r=1&sr=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Aristocrats... fear the people, and wish to transfer all power to the higher classes of society.

Letter to William Short, 1825
http://www.yamaguchy.com/library/jefferson/1825.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[CID1990]

I disagree (slightly) with this ^ they have not bankrupted the country
These wars have assisted in bankrupting the middle class...
All the evidence suggests the uber-wealthy have expanded their finances and acquired more during this past decade

The only thing that's bankrupt is the system that used to be the footing for middle class Americans

I believe we're spending way too much assisting those who won't help themselves
and creating a 1% at the top that now owns and controls even more than it did just 10 years ago

The average worker is losing this battle (badly)

Oh shit a Cleetzang sighting!

Plus, you co-opted something I was going to say.

It's like a two-fer!


Sent from the center of the universe.

[expandspanos]

[Baldy]

I got a few quotes from that 'merica hating gun loving uber Conk Thomas Jefferson.

Wow. Only 2 of your 5 favorite Jefferson quotations are actual Jefferson quotations.

“When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty.”
― Thomas Jefferson

We have not found any evidence that Thomas Jefferson said or wrote, "When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny," or any of its listed variations.

To date however, the most likely source of this quotation appears to be a series of debates on socialism published in 1914, in which John Basil Barnhill said, "Where the people fear the government you have tyranny. Where the government fears the people you have liberty."

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferso ... yquotation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

“The Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”
― Thomas Jefferson

This exact quotation has not been found in any of the writings of Thomas Jefferson.

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferso ... -quotation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”
― Thomas Jefferson

This exact quotation has not been found in any of the writings of Thomas Jefferson. It bears some slight resemblance to a statement he made in a letter to John Norvell of June 14, 1807: "History, in general, only informs us what bad government is."[3] However, the quotation as it appears above can definitely be attributed to John Sharp Williams in a speech about Jefferson, which has most likely been mistaken at some point for a direct quotation of Jefferson.

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferso ... -quotation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Well...well, look at what crawled out from under it's rock.
Welcome back, cumfart.

[Ibanez]

I have the freedoms to call you a cunt, own a gun, peacefully assemble, due process, vote and not to be harassed by the police. I've never been awaken at night to give quarter to American troops. I'm sure I have lost some privacy, but that was probably lost long before I was of voting age


Sent from my iPhone

[Ivytalk]

In the spirit of positive thinking, I'll say the court system as a whole. For all of its flaws, the judicial branch works better here than anywhere else I can think of.

[dbackjon]

NASA. The Smithsonian Institution. I'd also say the EPA, but I know a lot of people disagree.

Definately the EPA - given us clean air, water, soils.

[blueballs]

I don't get a damned thing from the government that I don't pay for- in spades.

Unfortunately the same doesn't hold true for far too many people.

[HI54UNI]

NASA. The Smithsonian Institution. I'd also say the EPA, but I know a lot of people disagree.

Definately the EPA - given us clean air, water, soils.

EPA is a lot like unions. Both were started for good reasons and initially they did a lot of good things. Now both are out of control.

[houndawg]

Here's some actual Jefferson quotes for you to ponder this Fourth of July.

Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours its own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich upon the poor."

- Letter to Edward Carrington 1787
http://founders.archives.gov/?q=%22anim ... a=&r=1&sr=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Aristocrats... fear the people, and wish to transfer all power to the higher classes of society.

Letter to William Short, 1825
http://www.yamaguchy.com/library/jefferson/1825.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One class fights wars the other class profits from. Same as it ever was.

Baldy: Stupid conk fvck, get your quotes right.

[JohnStOnge]

The system for requiring that drug manufacturers provide confidence through controlled experiments (clinical trials) that new drugs are effective in doing what they're advertised as doing before they're allowed to so advertise them and sell them.

Yes, it's true that evidence of problems sometimes emerges when drugs go into broad usage. That's unavoidable. But for the most part, in the United States, if a drug is on the market claimed as doing a certain thing it does that thing. Ibuprofen does relieve headache. Crestor does lower cholesterol. Hydrocodone does relieve pain. So on and so forth.

It clearly directly involves interstate commerce so there's no doubt that the Constitution actually authorizes the Federal government to be involved in it. There may be many things that the Federal government should not be involved in, but this is not one of them. And, on balance, the Federal government does a good job with it. Not perfect. But nothing's perfect.

[Baldy]

Here's some actual Jefferson quotes for you to ponder this Fourth of July.


- Letter to Edward Carrington 1787
http://founders.archives.gov/?q=%22anim ... a=&r=1&sr=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Letter to William Short, 1825
http://www.yamaguchy.com/library/jefferson/1825.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One class fights wars the other class profits from. Same as it ever was.

Baldy: Stupid conk fvck, get your quotes right.

Knew it wouldn't take long for Cumfart Sr. to open his cockholster.

Don't really give a fuck if those quotes are attributed to Jefferson or not. If you and your little boi have a problem with it, take it up with Google.

[∞∞∞]

This thread reminds me of the essay the little girl in "Parks and Rec" wrote after talking to Ron Swanson:



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so4vfI_GQaU[/youtube]

[ASUMountaineer]

[∞∞∞]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xanybsr6zto[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJpcTrqtAp0[/youtube]