American neo-con agenda
- Thread starter earth_as_one
- Start date
Mistakeearth_as_one, why did you give me a bad post rating? I conceded the fact that the left wing is noble for caring about their fellow man, something that some cons could learn from. I also noticed you took me off your friends list.
You broke my heart.
A lady friend of mine became poor as a result of her husband's untimely death. They had no insurance, she couldn't pay the rent and moved into a smaller home... She looked for a decent job, (economics degree), but didn't have much luck. She took odd jobs and assistance to make ends meet. I remember feeling so helpless until Mike Harris and the "Common Sense Revolution". Suddenly my friend had hope that Mike Harris would help get her off assistance. He did alright... She and her two kids had in with her elderly mother in a cramped two bedroom apartment.
Compare the cost of methadone to the cost of incarceration?
A desperate drug addict who spent half their life in prison is dangerous and expensive. They tend to knife people for pocket change.
A drug addict who spent half their life on methadone is mostly harmless and inexpensive. They tend to look pathetic and beg.
Canada is a rich country. No one should live in poverty in Canada. All essential basics... food, clothing, shelter and education should be free. Poor people shouldn't need money. Money doesn't help, when people only spend it on vices...
If you want fancy food, clothing, shelter, booze, cigarettes, cars... earn money.
I can agree with you that incarceration isn't always the answer, especially since there is virtually no programs to help people with mental health, drug addiction, job skills, spiritual support, etc. Usually people just learn how to be better criminals, and they usually get mad at society for locking them up and making them feel worthless. You are correct on that one.
But I think there needs to be some type of secured institution for people with severe mental health issues. Years ago here in BC we used to have this mental health facility called "Riverside". However, some people high up in the government thought that it was cruel to keep people locked up just because they have mental problems. The result was our provincial government shutting down Riverside and releasing patients - with the hope that they remember to take their prescription medicine without supervision. What ending up happening was the homeless population in the Downtown Eastside(our poor area) exploded. And the former patients not only stopped taking their prescription medicine, but took up deadly illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin.
So now, the problem is much, much worse. At times the Downtown Eastside is a chaotic war zone with drugs, prostitution, muggings, human waste, and overdoses littering the streets. And its not like we can "round up" all the people with mental health issues and throw them back in the crazy house because of the sensitivity of the issue. Who should be institutionalized? Can we really "round up" people and lock them up for mental health reasons?
"Crazy house"? There's some real "sensitivity of the issue". That's the sort of judgement call that keeps folks in need of the service away from the service.
Forgive me, mental health institution. Keep in my mind, I'm not the politician or government official making a case for reopening Riverside. I'm just a knucklehead on a forum.
Easy done. Harder to do is to take the words back once they're out. I still feel badly about a "cracker box" comment I made in jest with a client back in my Literacy Outreach coaching days.Forgive me, mental health institution. Keep in my mind, I'm not the politician or government official making a case for reopening Riverside. I'm just a knucklehead on a forum.
lol, I hear ya. I've put my foot in my mouth a lot of times, even while talking to my boss. And then I look back at some the threads I started to see if I can restart some interest in them, and my God, I wrote some pretty stupid stuff. I wish I had the power to delete them!
Something in another forum made me dig this up:lol:
Should You Become A Democrat?
I have prepared the following 25 questions to help people determine if you should join the Democratic party. Feel free to share it with friends and family members and if they find themselves answering "yes" to most of the questions below, then the Democrats are the party for them.
Are you...
...speaking out against every security measure that President Bush proposes because you claim it will turn America into a "police state" while simultaneously planning to criticize Bush for not doing enough to protect us when we're inevitably hit with another terrorist attack?
...convinced that killing a baby in the womb in OK, while killing a serial killer is wrong?
...terribly disturbed by the idea that Europe might not be happy with us, but fairly indifferent to threat that terrorists present?
...of the opinion that those racist, warmongering, Fascist, Nazi-like, heartless, moronic, evil, Republicans are mean spirited hatemongers?
...horrified when you hear about dolphins being killed in a tuna net, but unperturbed by a woman aborting her own baby?
...wondering if we can "afford" a tax cut while supporting every expensive, new social program proposed in Congress?
...worried that the electronic voting machines might be rigged, but unconcerned about people voting without a picture ID?
...against a draft if it's needed by the military to field a fighting force, but for a draft if it's proposed by anti-war Democrat in an attempt to undercut support for war?
...terrified by the idea of global warming, but only minimally concerned about stopping terrorists who want to release biological weapons in the US?
...opposed to cutting taxes on the middle class and the poor if it means that the rich will get a tax cut as well?
Do you...
...criticize Republicans because you think they judge people by the color of their skin, yet support Affirmative Action?
...think that UN approval was irrelevant when Bill Clinton wanted to go into Kosovo, but that our invasion of Iraq will be "illegitimate" if the UN doesn't approve?
...support going to war for "humanitarian" reasons unless our country will also benefit in some way, in which case you're strongly against it?
...claim that you want a strong economy, yet support almost every regulation & tax increase that comes down the pike?
...enjoy going to anti-war rallies run by Communists who oppose everything our country stands for?
...tend to trust things said by blood thirsty & unbalanced dictators more than you do things said by your own President -- provided that he's a Republican?
...believe that trial lawyers who win outrageous malpractice judgements against doctors and drive up medical costs for the rest of us are really "sticking up for the little guys" who end up paying the bills?
...feel that banning handguns would be a more effective crime fighting tool than severely punishing criminals & "three strikes and you're out" laws?
...think that nations like Iran, Iraq, and North Korea are only minor annoyances and that the United States is actually the greatest threat to world peace?
...point to David Duke, a former Klansman who never won an office above state legislator, as evidence of racism in the Republican party, while believing that having Robert Byrd in the Senate doesn't reflect negatively on the Democratic party?
...admire the "human shields" who went to Baghdad, but think protests in front of abortion clinics should be banned?
...believe that we're rushing to war with Iraq despite the fact that the UN has been trying to convince Saddam to disarm for more than 12 years?
...think Ann Coulter is mean spirited, vicious, & shrill, but Maureen Dowd, Ted Rall, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, John Pilger, Margo Kingston, Tom Daschle, Noam Chomsky, Arianna Huffington, Molly Irvins, Eric Alterman & James Carville (among many others) are nice, sweet-natured, and reasonable?
...tend to be minimally concerned about the victims and potential victims of terrorists, but very concerned about how the terrorists are treated after they're caught?
...feel that the rich must have inherited their money, gotten lucky, or cheated someone to earn their wealth, but that it's society's fault that people are poor?
Should You Become A Democrat?
I have prepared the following 25 questions to help people determine if you should join the Democratic party. Feel free to share it with friends and family members and if they find themselves answering "yes" to most of the questions below, then the Democrats are the party for them.
Are you...
...speaking out against every security measure that President Bush proposes because you claim it will turn America into a "police state" while simultaneously planning to criticize Bush for not doing enough to protect us when we're inevitably hit with another terrorist attack?
...convinced that killing a baby in the womb in OK, while killing a serial killer is wrong?
...terribly disturbed by the idea that Europe might not be happy with us, but fairly indifferent to threat that terrorists present?
...of the opinion that those racist, warmongering, Fascist, Nazi-like, heartless, moronic, evil, Republicans are mean spirited hatemongers?
...horrified when you hear about dolphins being killed in a tuna net, but unperturbed by a woman aborting her own baby?
...wondering if we can "afford" a tax cut while supporting every expensive, new social program proposed in Congress?
...worried that the electronic voting machines might be rigged, but unconcerned about people voting without a picture ID?
...against a draft if it's needed by the military to field a fighting force, but for a draft if it's proposed by anti-war Democrat in an attempt to undercut support for war?
...terrified by the idea of global warming, but only minimally concerned about stopping terrorists who want to release biological weapons in the US?
...opposed to cutting taxes on the middle class and the poor if it means that the rich will get a tax cut as well?
Do you...
...criticize Republicans because you think they judge people by the color of their skin, yet support Affirmative Action?
...think that UN approval was irrelevant when Bill Clinton wanted to go into Kosovo, but that our invasion of Iraq will be "illegitimate" if the UN doesn't approve?
...support going to war for "humanitarian" reasons unless our country will also benefit in some way, in which case you're strongly against it?
...claim that you want a strong economy, yet support almost every regulation & tax increase that comes down the pike?
...enjoy going to anti-war rallies run by Communists who oppose everything our country stands for?
...tend to trust things said by blood thirsty & unbalanced dictators more than you do things said by your own President -- provided that he's a Republican?
...believe that trial lawyers who win outrageous malpractice judgements against doctors and drive up medical costs for the rest of us are really "sticking up for the little guys" who end up paying the bills?
...feel that banning handguns would be a more effective crime fighting tool than severely punishing criminals & "three strikes and you're out" laws?
...think that nations like Iran, Iraq, and North Korea are only minor annoyances and that the United States is actually the greatest threat to world peace?
...point to David Duke, a former Klansman who never won an office above state legislator, as evidence of racism in the Republican party, while believing that having Robert Byrd in the Senate doesn't reflect negatively on the Democratic party?
...admire the "human shields" who went to Baghdad, but think protests in front of abortion clinics should be banned?
...believe that we're rushing to war with Iraq despite the fact that the UN has been trying to convince Saddam to disarm for more than 12 years?
...think Ann Coulter is mean spirited, vicious, & shrill, but Maureen Dowd, Ted Rall, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, John Pilger, Margo Kingston, Tom Daschle, Noam Chomsky, Arianna Huffington, Molly Irvins, Eric Alterman & James Carville (among many others) are nice, sweet-natured, and reasonable?
...tend to be minimally concerned about the victims and potential victims of terrorists, but very concerned about how the terrorists are treated after they're caught?
...feel that the rich must have inherited their money, gotten lucky, or cheated someone to earn their wealth, but that it's society's fault that people are poor?
Here you go, this should make everything perfectly clear.
There are two principal meanings of the term neoliberalism. The first refers to a set of market-liberal economic policies. In the developed world neoliberalism is often coupled with Thatcherism and grew up in opposition to Keynesianism. In the developing world it emerged in opposition to the development strategies based on import-substitution industrialization which had dominated the period 1945 to the early 1980s. Here it is often linked to the so-called ‘Washington Consensus’ (privatization and deregulation; trade and financial liberalization; shrinking the role of the state; encouraging foreign direct investment) and to the structural adjustment programmes promoted by the IMF and World Bank. More recently, it has been used (for example by the anti-globalization movement) to characterize the economic ideology behind capitalist globalization. Whilst all of these usages are related, the economic use of the term neoliberalism is somewhat general and imprecise.
The second use of the term is within academic International Relations. Here it describes a theoretical approach to the study of institutions (sometimes described as neoliberal institutionalism or regime theory). Developed in the mid-1980s as a reaction to the dominant neorealist paradigm, neoliberal institutionalism sought to demonstrate that international cooperation is possible, even on realist premisses—namely that states are rational, unitary actors which seek to maximize their utility in an anarchic international system. Although recognizing that the absence of a sovereign authority at the international level creates opportunities for conflict, defection, and cheating, neoliberals argue that institutions and regimes help states cooperate by reducing uncertainty, linking issues, monitoring behaviour, and enhancing the importance of reputation. These arguments are countered by neorealist theorists who stress the importance of relative rather than absolute gains and the extent to which powerful states can shape institutions for their own purposes and avoid them when they are too constraining.
Read more: neoliberalism: Definition from Answers.com
Why do the poor spend so much of what money they get on vices like cigarettes, booze etc.
The term Neo-con is out of vogue, it should be 'Realist".
There are two principal meanings of the term neoliberalism. The first refers to a set of market-liberal economic policies. In the developed world neoliberalism is often coupled with Thatcherism and grew up in opposition to Keynesianism. In the developing world it emerged in opposition to the development strategies based on import-substitution industrialization which had dominated the period 1945 to the early 1980s. Here it is often linked to the so-called ‘Washington Consensus’ (privatization and deregulation; trade and financial liberalization; shrinking the role of the state; encouraging foreign direct investment) and to the structural adjustment programmes promoted by the IMF and World Bank. More recently, it has been used (for example by the anti-globalization movement) to characterize the economic ideology behind capitalist globalization. Whilst all of these usages are related, the economic use of the term neoliberalism is somewhat general and imprecise.
The second use of the term is within academic International Relations. Here it describes a theoretical approach to the study of institutions (sometimes described as neoliberal institutionalism or regime theory). Developed in the mid-1980s as a reaction to the dominant neorealist paradigm, neoliberal institutionalism sought to demonstrate that international cooperation is possible, even on realist premisses—namely that states are rational, unitary actors which seek to maximize their utility in an anarchic international system. Although recognizing that the absence of a sovereign authority at the international level creates opportunities for conflict, defection, and cheating, neoliberals argue that institutions and regimes help states cooperate by reducing uncertainty, linking issues, monitoring behaviour, and enhancing the importance of reputation. These arguments are countered by neorealist theorists who stress the importance of relative rather than absolute gains and the extent to which powerful states can shape institutions for their own purposes and avoid them when they are too constraining.
— Andrew Hurrell/Laura Gomez-Mera
Read more: neoliberalism: Definition from Answers.com
Why do the poor spend so much of what money they get on vices like cigarettes, booze etc.
The term Neo-con is out of vogue, it should be 'Realist".
'cuz they're cheaper than $500-a-plate political dinners, world travel and nights out at the Opera....
Vogue.... Ain't that rollin' paper?
Vogue.... Ain't that rollin' paper?
''Since the size and invasiveness of the government has grown under every conservative government over the last 60+ years all I can say is, You could have fooled me!''
That sure is an honest answer.
Here in the States it is exactly the same thing - right wingers always blame Dems and libs but the fact is that is their side of the political aisle that has expanded government intrusionism both at home and abroad thereby increasing taxes to pay for it.
.....................................................................
"I have prepared the following 25 questions to help people determine if you should join the Democratic party"
I can prepare a similar list which asks, should you become a Republican.
That sure is an honest answer.
Here in the States it is exactly the same thing - right wingers always blame Dems and libs but the fact is that is their side of the political aisle that has expanded government intrusionism both at home and abroad thereby increasing taxes to pay for it.
.....................................................................
"I have prepared the following 25 questions to help people determine if you should join the Democratic party"
I can prepare a similar list which asks, should you become a Republican.
The Anti-Semitic Force is strong with this one..
In your opinion Mr Utah which of the various semitic peoples am I anti to? I had no idea one had to be a semite to be a zionist. In fact isn't it a fact that most zionists are not semites?