We live in a pretty ideal country, the USA. I don't have to devise a new country. We already have a fine place to live.
However, it's not a perfect country. As our forefathers said, they were going to form "a more perfect union". They knew they didn't have a perfect country, and they also knew they would never have a perfect country. They were simply creating a new and improved nation. The past 230 years has been the history of making this country a better place for everyone to live.
Over the past 230 years, we have abolished slavery; given women the right to vote; created equal rights for people of all races, colors and religions; abolished prohibition; legalized unions; improved working conditions for employees; created minimum wages and maximum hour laws; created Social Security and Medicare for the elderly, etc., etc.
Today's New Frontiers involve creating universal health care coverage; promoting embryonic stem cell research; establishing gay rights including the right of same-sex marriage and the right to serve openly in the military; protecting abortion rights for all women; legalizing marijuana and taxing the sale thereof (like liquor); creating reasonable gun control laws; safeguarding and protecting the State of Israel and not placing undue pressure on the Israeli government to jeopardize the security of its people; normalizing relations with Cuba and allowing all Americans to freely travel there; keeping religion out of the public sector so that all persons can practice religion (or non-belief) in their own way without imposing their religious beliefs on others, etc.
Conservatives call most of these programs "Socialist" -- which is a lot of malarkey. These are all-American programs and they are part of what makes capitalism work. They make the system function fairly so that many more people can participate in the abundance that capitalism produces, not merely the few at the top.
Conservatives have always opposed social progress and they continue to do so. Conservatives are Communists because, like Communists, they want most of the material goods and wealth to be concentrated in the hands of a few people at the top (in the case of Communism, that was the Communist Party leadership). Conservatives are America's Real Terrorists because their policies of de-regulation and using the tax code to re-distribute wealth to the few people at the top almost destroyed our
economic system, and because they fight tooth and nail against the social and economic programs that would make this a better, fairer, healthier and stronger country.
Obama is very much on the right track with his policies. As the Right-Wing Hate Media attacks Obama with ever-greater venom, it becomes even more important to expose their lies and show people how much damage the Right-Wing is doing to this country.
In short, we have a great country. We also have a duty to stop the Right-Wing from wrecking it.
CJP
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22 comments:
How does the tax code re-distribute wealth? Last time I checked the wealthiest Americans are the ones paying almost all the taxes collected. That is re-distribution to the wealthy???
I would bet your idea of reasonable gun control differs alot from my idea of reasonable gun control.
You also keep talking about abortion rights and how you believe its the WOMANS RIGHT to choose. What about the MANS RIGHT to choose?
Brandon, do you belong to a secessionist group?
CJP, what about reasonable drug laws? Why are we wasting so much money on drug law enforcement and imprisonment, especially for marijuana? Why, because of the cons misguided morality, and their love of telling people what to do.
The cons sure love their freedom, as long as it's their version of freedom.
Well, you made a half-assed effort, but it's not good enough, CJP. You covered what you want for America in only one short list that ends in "etc." Then, predictably, the rest of your post proceeds to simply bash conservatives again.
Define, in detail, what direction you want America to go with regard to gay rights, abortion, health care, etc. etc. etc. Lay out EXACTLY how you want the laws to change, what rights you perceive to be lacking now and what need to be added/changed. Define the federal government's role vs. state government's role in this. What do you want the federal government to control as opposed to state and local governments? How do you view the Constitution; is it a document to be upheld in its entirety or should parts of it be amended/changed/deleted?
Define your vision of taxation. Define your vision of the United States economy, how it will work under your ideal concept, and its role in the global economy.
Define your ideas of national borders and how it pertains to immigration.
And do it factually and unemotionally, without bashing conservatives.
This takes a bit more work than you exerted on your first try -- I assume that it will especially be difficult for you to write this without diverting into a "Conservatives bad!" rant somewhere in the middle of it.
But try again.
"What I Believe In"
CJP,do you believe in the big guy upstairs? Take a second and look at W, [Raygun], Palin, 9/11, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, on and on. Isn't the big guy the common thread tying that group together? Lots of interesting best selling books written and detailing such.
Yes, lay out your views on religion, too, and its role (or non-role) in your vision of the ideal U.S. society.
Again, do this in a way that outlines your ideas, without diverting into conservative-bashing.
Do all of that, and then we'll see where our views meet and where they diverge. I am expecting that you may be surprised.
I agree Anon, I think our views are probably pretty close. Except health care and I am sure a few other areas.
Just ignoring my questions again?
Anonymous-
No, I dont belong to a secessionist group. It was funny listening to you comment how conservatives are talking about taking the country back by force. Why dont you try to pass some more gun control laws. See how many conservative ACTUALLY turn in their weapons.
Another what if question:
What are you going to do when conservative comes to your door and you already turned in your weapons?
But Brandon, doesn't the great Glenn Beck wants to lead the nut jobs in an armed revolt if necessary? I'm not positive but I think he does. And Chuck the Norris volunteered to be the president of Texas. Would you move down to Texas to get away from commie loving Obama? A sizable group of cons would. Brandon, are you with those nutty cons, or are you against them?
Good points, Anonymous. Put the question to them.
Right on.
"What are you going to do when conservative comes to your door and you already turned in your weapons?"
In your famous leaders favorite words, "There you go again". Like I have said before, I'm ready for the nutty cons starting a traitorous revolt. And if there's not enough prison space to accommodate all the nuts, we'll just double up. And the prisons are mostly run by private companies, so you're sure to get good care. Baaa haaaa haaaaa.
Nationalized health care is failing, with speed, in countries across Europe. Horror stories come daily from the Canadian system in which there is a waiting list of two to three years to get a simple colonoscopy. (A person who actually had colon cancer would die before ever being tested.) Now try and and sell my this new and evolutionary idea based those facts. Why can't we learn from other countries' mistakes and save ourselves while we still have a chance.
Mac, Canada spends nowhere near what we spend on health care. Go look at Japan, and France and many other countries.
Definitely. Having lived under socialized medicine in both Sweden and Canada for three years total, I was VERY glad to get back to the United States. Even in just my three years, I saw enough downhill trend to convince me that these systems will be unsustainable in 20 years, maybe less. They weren't that great even to start with -- long lines and improper health medical diagnoses and decisions were the norm -- but when an elderly lady with emphysema whom I knew was repeatedly denied the proper care that she needed, and then finally told that her emphysema had progressed to a point that there was nothing more that they could do, which hastened her death, I knew the system had really deteriorated to the point of being, well, even immoral.
I was extremely glad to get back the U.S.'s free-market, private-industry form of healthcare, even if it meant having to pay more for it But even that is an illusion. I paid through the nose in Sweden in taxes. Taxes on this, taxes on that, taxes on freakin' everything. I probably paid at least twice as much in taxes as I am paying for my private health insurance policy and care now in the U.S. No joke.
Hey CJP, you should expand on your "What I Believe In" like Anon says. Don't go off bashing conservatives for half of it, just tell everyone your beliefs.
"Hey CJP, you should expand on your "What I Believe In" like Anon says. Don't go off bashing conservatives for half of it, just tell everyone your beliefs."
CJP, I think that was the evil Anon, not me.
-Anonymous
No, I wouldnt consider myself a nutty conservative. Why wont you answer the question? You keep shifting power to the government and hoping they will take care of you. What are you going to do when they arent there to hold your hand?
"CJP, I think that was the evil Anon, not me."
Huh?
I call you Anon, you used to call me Anonymous. Never mind.
I think you're right, Anonymous. That sounds like Anon. He's made that point before, more than once.
CJP-
Look at what you list at what cons are calling Socialist programs or moving us towards socailism. It's totally inaccurate. How bout these just to name a few. Government run health care.Running the auto industry.Control and adding to the housing collapse. Firing CEO's of companies? Stuff you only see in Socialist countries. I was not a fan of either presidential canidate, but gimme a break this country is not headed in right direction. When your in debt you don't create more debt, and don't give me that to create job's cause the only real job's created were government job's. Also this whole going green hmmm wonder if the company who's in bed with the Obama Admin GE is gonna profit bigtime from this.... That's hardly even touching on these subjects. Change? yeah change is what we are gonna be saying when we are broke in the street. You just bash the repubs dont just pick a team to be on and attack.If you love this country think whats really right for it. If you think we headed down the right path then your icompetent.
Hmm...This is the "evil anon" posting again. (Heh...that title makes me crack up. I'm sure if we got together and had a beer together -- a la the beer summit -- you'd find that that moniker doesn't fit. Just like I get together with some of my lib relatives and friends and have a good time. We avoid talking politics, but hey, we still enjoy each others' company.)
Anywho --Just to clear things up, I think there's an Anonymous (the guy who can't keep a focused debate going), "evil anon" (that's me! muhahahaha!), and I guess an Anon3 too.
So I guess that's the best I am going to get out of CJP for "What I Believe In," huh? Better than nothing, I suppose, but not very detailed, pointed or thorough, and goes off on a "conservatives bad!" halfway through.
But I should make good on my promise to write the same type of thing. Don't have time right now to do it up right, but I'll try to write up a good summary and post it later.
Have a good weekend.
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