Limited philosophy
One of your "Sum It Up" correspondents (Aug. 18) writes, "The tea-party movement represents a growing number of Americans who object to the destructive 'progressive' policies emanating from both sides of the political aisle — dating back to presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson."
Roosevelt and Wilson were two great men and two of the greatest presidents we ever had. Our nation prospered and advanced under their leadership.
But this is what it has come to, eh? Tea-party members have to disavow anything that does not come from their own limited philosophy. They may as well mark Ronald Reagan and Jesus Christ off their lists of heroes because those two men definitely didn't follow the tea-party "me first, and no sharing allowed" philosophy.
The reason the term "progressive" came about is that it represented progress — it represented decisions and policies and practices that moved us out of ignorance and darkness and into the light, into better lives for everyone.
Surely not everything labeled "progressive" deserves the label — and not everything labeled "progressive" now deserves the tea party's knee-jerk derision. For proof of that: see above. No figure in the tea party can hold a candle to the accomplishments of Roosevelt and Wilson. Political "purity" throws away much that is beneficial.
MARK B. HOWARD
Winston-Salem
Pointing a finger
In the Aug. 17 letter "Downhill slide," the writer appears to blame President Obama for the country's entire national debt. According to a chart produced by the Rachel Maddow show, "Over 2/3 of the total national debt is from the last three Republican administrations — more than twice as much as all other presidents combined."
The letter writer should remember that when you point a finger, three fingers point back at you. I think there is enough blame to pass around, and to fix the problem we need to work together.
ROBERT C. DILLON
Clemmons
Bus tour
So the president says he is serious about cutting the deficit and creating jobs. Well, he really helped in both areas by taking a bus tour through three states in a mega-bus that cost $1.1 million to build. At least this created jobs for a few of the many unemployed in America — never mind, the buses were built in Canada.
America needs to wake up and vote for a president who is serious about cutting our never-ending spending and adding jobs, and not wasting taxpayers' money on a bus tour in the middle of a term, while the unemployment rate is 9.1 percent nationwide.
JAMES BLACKBURN
Winston-Salem
Voluntary contributions
If Warren Buffett wants to pay more taxes, the U.S. Treasury is set up to accept voluntary contributions. I once worked for a man who often reimbursed the Treasury after he flew on Air Force One. Further, he returned millions in unspent office funds. His name was Jesse Helms, and unlike some, he practiced what he preached.
For those who feel they are undertaxed, checks payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt may be sent to:
Bureau of the Public Debt (Dept G)
U.S. Treasury
P.O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188
JIMMY BROUGHTON
Winston-Salem
We're here
They said the tea party wouldn't last — now they can't stop talking about us. We've been called vermin, compared to rats who spread disease, and now we've been consigned to the nether region.
Evidently by his silence, the president thinks only his political opponents should be silenced and denounced for their supposed incivility. Yet where are all the examples of rude discourse on the tea-party side? Certainly none as egregious as what we've been subjected to lately.
I wonder if Rep. Maxine Waters of California considers herself a devout follower of Jesus. She feels it entirely within her right to commit "straight to hell" those who disagree with the policies of our government. She's a perfect example of power that's been entrenched for far too long.
According to this congresswoman, we the citizens of the U.S. have no right to speak out on matters that concern us if it threatens those in power. Just keep forking over your money so it can go to their constituents, and keep your mouth shut while you're at it.
WALTER EMERY
Clemmons
One of your "Sum It Up" correspondents (Aug. 18) writes, "The tea-party movement represents a growing number of Americans who object to the destructive 'progressive' policies emanating from both sides of the political aisle — dating back to presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson."
Roosevelt and Wilson were two great men and two of the greatest presidents we ever had. Our nation prospered and advanced under their leadership.
But this is what it has come to, eh? Tea-party members have to disavow anything that does not come from their own limited philosophy. They may as well mark Ronald Reagan and Jesus Christ off their lists of heroes because those two men definitely didn't follow the tea-party "me first, and no sharing allowed" philosophy.
The reason the term "progressive" came about is that it represented progress — it represented decisions and policies and practices that moved us out of ignorance and darkness and into the light, into better lives for everyone.
Surely not everything labeled "progressive" deserves the label — and not everything labeled "progressive" now deserves the tea party's knee-jerk derision. For proof of that: see above. No figure in the tea party can hold a candle to the accomplishments of Roosevelt and Wilson. Political "purity" throws away much that is beneficial.
MARK B. HOWARD
Winston-Salem
Pointing a finger
In the Aug. 17 letter "Downhill slide," the writer appears to blame President Obama for the country's entire national debt. According to a chart produced by the Rachel Maddow show, "Over 2/3 of the total national debt is from the last three Republican administrations — more than twice as much as all other presidents combined."
The letter writer should remember that when you point a finger, three fingers point back at you. I think there is enough blame to pass around, and to fix the problem we need to work together.
ROBERT C. DILLON
Clemmons
Bus tour
So the president says he is serious about cutting the deficit and creating jobs. Well, he really helped in both areas by taking a bus tour through three states in a mega-bus that cost $1.1 million to build. At least this created jobs for a few of the many unemployed in America — never mind, the buses were built in Canada.
America needs to wake up and vote for a president who is serious about cutting our never-ending spending and adding jobs, and not wasting taxpayers' money on a bus tour in the middle of a term, while the unemployment rate is 9.1 percent nationwide.
JAMES BLACKBURN
Winston-Salem
Voluntary contributions
If Warren Buffett wants to pay more taxes, the U.S. Treasury is set up to accept voluntary contributions. I once worked for a man who often reimbursed the Treasury after he flew on Air Force One. Further, he returned millions in unspent office funds. His name was Jesse Helms, and unlike some, he practiced what he preached.
For those who feel they are undertaxed, checks payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt may be sent to:
Bureau of the Public Debt (Dept G)
U.S. Treasury
P.O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188
JIMMY BROUGHTON
Winston-Salem
We're here
They said the tea party wouldn't last — now they can't stop talking about us. We've been called vermin, compared to rats who spread disease, and now we've been consigned to the nether region.
Evidently by his silence, the president thinks only his political opponents should be silenced and denounced for their supposed incivility. Yet where are all the examples of rude discourse on the tea-party side? Certainly none as egregious as what we've been subjected to lately.
I wonder if Rep. Maxine Waters of California considers herself a devout follower of Jesus. She feels it entirely within her right to commit "straight to hell" those who disagree with the policies of our government. She's a perfect example of power that's been entrenched for far too long.
According to this congresswoman, we the citizens of the U.S. have no right to speak out on matters that concern us if it threatens those in power. Just keep forking over your money so it can go to their constituents, and keep your mouth shut while you're at it.
WALTER EMERY
Clemmons
LTE1: I associate "progressive" with "social justice," both being weasel words for coercive collectivism, examples of which are forced union membership and income redistribution.
ReplyDeleteLTE2: Citing Rachel Maddow lends no credibility but may give insight into the LTE writer's ideology, discussed above in LTE1. However, the LTE writer is correct in that there are a lot of dirty hands in this mess, and that resolving it is paramount.
LTE3: This is as nitpicky as my Word watch. He's the President, for Heaven's sake. He requires communications, accommodations for staff and security, plus the bus must be armored and otherwise protected. No doubt many of the bus' components were sourced here in the US, and the vehicle's mere appearances in various communities no doubt stimulates economic activity.
I will not vote for President Obama in 2012, but this criticism is silly and probably hypocritical. If an R candidate wins in 2012, and later takes to the road in the bus, will this LTE writer sound off about that? If Obama stayed in the WH, we'd hear about him holing up and avoiding scrutiny. Or if he used AF1, we'd hear about the cost and CO2 footprint. I can find real fault elsewhere.
LTE4: Some folks aren't as civic-minded as Buffett. We have spent money that should have either raised by taxation or unspent in the first place. We will need to increase revenues as we decrease spending. Bumping high marginal rates is part of the revenue increase, barring a total (and needed) overhaul of the tax system. In the meantime, so-motivated folks can indeed send checks to Parkersburg.
LTE5: Maxine "No Justice, No Peace!" Waters (D-South Central riots) is a disgrace to her office. The House needs to move on investigating her malfeasance, then give her the boot, ideally to face prosecution for corruption.
Mr Broughton...no doubt that box will be full by tonight? Maybe that has been the problem all along--the ready and willing payers just didn't know where to send their extra contributions. Thanks for the public service.
ReplyDeleteStab....I thought I was going to be first on the page. Missed by two minutes.
ReplyDeleteGood AM, WW!
ReplyDeleteI will defer for a few minutes tomorrow. Sometimes I write my comments here and paste 'em to the "Journal;" other days vice versa. I'll drop my pearls first on the "Journal" tomorrow.
I will not say I'm casting pearls before swine, as some of this forum's posters are bilateral posters and comment in the "Journal's" forum, too. None of them are in any way swinish.
There is a poster over on the Journal page that I enjoy when I get over there. She handles herself pretty well.
ReplyDelete"Progressive"...that word again. It's definition belies its intent. To repeat a well worn Washington expression: the Conservative dreams of a world without threat; the Progressive dreams of a world without opposition.
ReplyDeleteI'm a progressive and I'm ok. Sleep all night and I type all day. Hello everyone.
ReplyDeleteWho Deb, ww? We went to school together. She is very well spoken for a Regent University Graduate and a dominionist.
Bob, you do both well! Yes, Deb is who I was talking about. Once or twice a week I check the Journal to see if any life exists there which is where I see her and a few others. I have never heard of a dominionist as far as I know. Maybe by another name?
ReplyDeleteDominionism is a tendency among Protestant Christian evangelicals and fundamentalists that encourages them to not only be active political participants in civic society, but also seek to dominate the political process as part of a mandate from God.
ReplyDeleteBaptists on steroids. I was/am just a plain "back row Methodist".
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: That's the issue with true believers(TB). When you have made an ideology your entire identity and disavow anyone or any thought that deviates one iota from said ideology, you've surrendered yourself as well as your thought processes to whomever drives the ideology. This is how cults are formed. Once you lose the ability to make objective evaluations, that becomes a formula for poor decision making.
LTE 2:"...when you point a finger, three fingers point back at you" - that drives me up the wall! Reagan and the Bushes significantly contributed to our debt, but I would suggest a more independent source than Ms. Maddow.
LTE 3: Oh, please. $1.1M out of a $3T budget is equivalent to crying over $1.10 in a $3M budget. The bus is carrying the freakin' POTUS for crying out loud. Of course, it's going to be expensive because of all the security and communication requirements. And yes, travelling across the US and the entire globe for that matter is an important and necessary part of the President's job.
LTE 4: Jesse Helms is why I'm not a Republican. Long one of the world's richest persons, Mr. Buffett is in a prime position to state whether or not billionaires are able to pay a higher tax pct. Taxes as a pct of GDP are at the lowest level in 60 years which constitutes 50% of the debt problem.
LTE 5: I imagine there are CA newspapers that have had LTE's complaining about some of Rep. Foxx's quotes. As long as Rep. Waters makes the TB's in her (I assume) gerrymandered district happy and Rep. Foxx makes the TB's in her gerrymandered district happy, they both have life-long jobs. Why complain about someone not on your ballot? If you don't like the names you're being called, well, welcome to politics. It's ugly.
Hi Bob and dotnet!
ReplyDeleteWhew, I feareded that dominionist was a synonym for dominatrix.
The term comes from Genesis 1:28
ReplyDeleteGod said unto them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
I think the emphasis is "over every living thing"
Sounds like my last wife.
ReplyDeleteStab...you will not be joining that church?
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to an NPR report about evangelicals and politics:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/2011/08/24/139781021/the-evangelicals-engaged-in-spiritual-warfare?sc=fb&cc=fp
I haven't had time to read any but the intro, but it appears to be discussion worthy.
Hey WW, joineth not that church I will.
ReplyDeleteI bumped into a guy the other day at a stop sign. He told me to be fruitful and multiply too, but not in those exact terms.
ReplyDeleteI bet he suggested that multiplication occur via parthenogenesis.
ReplyDeleteBob...what ever you do, GET IT ON FILM!!
ReplyDeleteSpiritual warfare...hmmm. I can see it now regarding the wounded: Pentacostals will want to heal them on the spot while the Baptists want to pray for them in their tribulation.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Catholics, Episcopalians, and Lutherans will drink to it :)
ReplyDeleteThe Methodists will blush over a bottle of grapefruit juice, and the Presbyterians will argue with each other and question each other's doubtful ancestry.
ReplyDeleteJesus Christ....this forum goes to Hell when I'm not around.
ReplyDeleteWe've got a gay commentator telling us about a man telling him he should procreate, and we got a left wing Democrat telling us why he's not a Republican.
Will wonders ever cease?
Let's get back to the basics. I'm glad the stock market is doing better. Even when you've got a ton of money, it hurts to see it going out the door like confetti.
A kid rushes to tell his farmer father of a visitor:
ReplyDeleteKid: Pa, they's a preacherman up ta to house, come to visit! He's talkin' with Ma.
Dad: I'm pretty busy for a few minutes, sonny. What kind of preacher is he?
Kid: I don't know.
Dad: OK, tell him I'll be up there in a few minutes. find out what kind of preacher he is. If he's a Methodist, he's gonna expect to be fed, so tell your Ma to fix a chicken. If he's Lutheran, he's gonna want a drink, so get the jug of squeezin's outta the tool shed.
Kid: OK, Pa, but s'pose he's Baptist?
Dad: Sit on your Ma's lap till I get up there!
Hi Bucky. Nice of you to drop by and rejuventate things. And I'm glad the market is up today, also.
ReplyDeleteBucky...speaking of markets, do you ever buy gold?
ReplyDeleteOkay WW...I'll bite. No, I've ever bought gold.
ReplyDeleteNow, make it good.
you mentioned markets today and I saw where gold took a big drop, hence my question. Nothing more.
ReplyDeleteCNN....HUGE Hurricane Irene on the way. Will threaten most of the U.S.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if CNN would give an accurate description of what is predicted to happen.
CNN's weather much like when I watch WXII's weather. Shortly thereafter, I always end up in my basement waiting for the train sound to come over head. But it never comes.
Bucky, what is predicted to happen?
ReplyDeleteYou've got a computer Bobby, check it out. There's a hurricane center website.
ReplyDeleteYou were 'WAY' out on a limb the other night. Do you even remember? What got into you, or rather, what were you thinking?
What's up with the Stabmeister- quit 'stalling', and get back on topic. Can you believe such a comment?
ReplyDeleteno
ReplyDeleteno to I don't remember the other night, I've had so many of them.
ReplyDelete'Huge' Hurricane Irene strikes Bahamas, aims for U.S.
ReplyDelete"This is a huge storm," said CNN Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. "The cloud field is more than 800 miles across. The tropical storm force winds extend out 200 miles from the center."
After it makes a sharp turn to the north, the storm could threaten large sections of the Eastern Seaboard, from the Carolinas into the Northeast.
ok, which part of that is inaccurate?
and BTW, could threaten and will threaten are different, you said will and cnn said could, you misrepresented their forecast.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/08/24/tropical.weather/index.html
ReplyDeleteHey Coach Bob - I'm sorry to say, I think you have an admirer. My friend who is a therapist agrees. You have my sympathy and a willing, sympathetic ear from me whenever you need support. :-)
ReplyDeleteRe: LTE 4 - "Jesse Helms .... he practiced what he preached." There's an understatement.
Greetings to all.
Hi Sharon!
ReplyDeleteHow is that leak?
I'll admit it. I like Bobby. He's nothing like that nitwit Kit/Rush. He uses objective data to make his point, not emotional garboil.
ReplyDeleteHi Staballoy!
ReplyDeleteStill leaking, but more slowly. Still waiting for the plumber, hopefully he'll stop by tomorrow.
On a brighter note, my cat has decided to come back in the house. She still seems tentative, but at least she's inside.
Everything good in your world?
The LTEs seem stale today, don't they?
Bucky, I disagree about Kit, but you've clearly put a lot more thought into Kit than I have. I simply enjoy discussing with Kit, but I don't analyze beyond that.
ReplyDeleteAnd if I were going to compare Bob's comments to another regular poster's comments, I would compare them to ASL's, not Kit's.
Coach Bob: I just read your LTE3 comment on the regular journal site. AWESOME!
ReplyDeleteTennessee, Canada?!
And anyway, even if Tennessee were in Canada, we should let it slide. Remove oil and Canada brings in way more US product than we bring in Canadian product. Canada is an excellent trading partner to us.
And to close the loop on my tour of news fora, ASL is indeed a powerhouse like Bob. Man, he's smart. He gives me hope.
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought there was only one Reille Hunter.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon :) love ya
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother always said "Never say the name of the devil, because he always comes when called."
ReplyDeleteSo here I am, except not who you think, Bucky Boy. You have very poor reading skills if you think that I am Kit...our styles of thinking AND writing are totally different, not to mention our interests.
As to Deb Phillips, I am certainly not surprised to learn that she is a FlimFlam U. grad. She repeats the same meaningless mantra day after day and when the ex-Stonewall gets after her, she simply disappears. Most of the other posters over there are just like her...dull, predictable and ignorant.
I miss the more vigorous voices from the old site, but it is dead and gone.
Your check's in the mail Sharon.
ReplyDeleteDeb's from Regent...I'm not surprised. She's probably one of those insufferable sorts who says "Have a blessed day!" I just spent more time than I care to admit trying to rebut an anti-Woodrow Wilson diatribe of hers.
Rebutting is not possible in Deb's world. She is, indeed, a dominionist, which means that she is always right, no matter how insane her premise.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's a total waste of time. I feel like I need to defend Wilson's good name though. It really makes me mad the way he's been defamed.
ReplyDeleteDominionists are all alike. Since they cannot be wrong, anything that they do is excused by god.
ReplyDelete"I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator"
Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
Good evening, folks!
ReplyDeleteO.T., one of the vigorous voices from the old site, stonewall, contacted me for instructions in signing on. I replied, so ideally, he will join us. I am trying to get some non-Forum folks to join us, as well, folks who disdain talking heads, preferring to read and think.
Also, I'm trying to set up a more user-friendly site that will allow others to post items on other pages, but my incompetence and fatigue delay me.
OT, there are "dominionists" on all sides. For many of them, those who disagree are not only wrong, but are deemed insane, evil or both.
ReplyDeleteBut who of us, liberal or conservative, thinks that a position we hold is wrong? Who would hold a position he believed to be wrong?
Hallelujah! The return of NCLaw! Finally an opponent (almost) worthy of debate.
ReplyDeleteHe will continue to make the same nonsensical statements over and over and allow some of us to strike back at those statements.
Of course, our statements will show him to be the fool that he is, but from his viewpoint, our statements will show us to be the fools that we are.
At least there will be statements that are more or less statements. The other day I posted some simple facts about female roles in the US military dating back to the American Revolution. Dumbo Bucky said "I'm not going to believe that stuff." Because Bucky doesn't believe in any sort of fact, just his own misconceptions and prejudices.
Maybe the LawMan can bring some of the zip back to the forum. Of course, I will always be able to prove him wrong on any point. Or so I hope.