Friday, October 17, 2008

An Observation Caught in Passing

Just a quickie today.

I forget where I saw it, read it, heard it, or caught it accidentally while telepathically eavesdropping on some brain to brain communique not meant for public consumption. But someone was opining about this recent Bail Out and made what I considered an interesting observation. An observation I keep finding with it's hand up inside the ole cranial void. The damn observation is so insistent, I will now share it with you so I can go back to being an apathetic knuckle draggin mouth breather and get it off my back.

It goes something like this. Or that. You pick.

The core conservatives (I hate sullying that time honored name by attributing it to what passes now for conservatism, but hey in the name of expediency...) Anyway the so called conservatives (read John McCain and his bud Dubya)are all about not sharing the wealth through government means. They want us to earn it ourselves and be proud of that. Somehow, government handouts to us poor slobs denigrates our soul and brings a blanket of mass self loathing down upon the shoulders of this proud and great nation. Okay, fine. Seems straight forward.

They want government to stay out of our lives they say. Okay, again fine. I appreciate their efforts on my behalf and the 95% of the country making less than what? $250 K? They say to put us all on the dole or to steal from some to give to others is another step in that evil spiral down into the depths of Socialist Hell. Okay fine, I can see their point. If everyone had the same amount of money in their pocket, that would be just awful.

So back to the observation. Got a tad side tracked there. Sorry.

They (the so called conservatives) want to protect us from socialism. Noble as it is for them to be looking out for me, I wonder then why are they introducing Socialism into the community of the 5 per-centers at the top of the economic heap? If Socialism is bad for us low lifes at the bottom, why is it good for the folks wearing Gucci shoes and sporting $20,000 face lifts? I mean come on. Is not the 700 billion dollars handed out recently just another step in that evil spiral down into the depths of socialistic Hell?

I thought about this some. I thought about it some more. I tried to put myself in their wingtips and see it from their point of view. And yeah, I guess it is indeed tough when you see next year's 16 million dollar golden parachute disappear like it never existed. I can sympathize with them knowing that without the government welfare, their limo might not be detailed as often. And why should some of the captains of industry and finance suffer when some of their buds skate? Fair is fair.

My only concern here though is this. Socialism seems to work on the idea that everyone in a set group contributes to the welfare of all in the set group. One for all and all for one. If the 5 per-centers want their socialistic pie, shouldn't their captains of industry and high finance buds foot the bill? Why is my pocket being picked? If they want to be low down stinkin socialist pinko bastards, let them pay their own way. To each his own and all that. But I don't want to pay for the lifestyle of another. Unless of course they want to give me 700 billion dollars also. That might just alter my opinion some.

13 comments:

Candace said...

Why do you hate America?

;)

GREAT cartoon!

Demeur said...

Geez after eight years of ignoring the constitution you expect them to follow their own idology? Like the braty kid who didn't win now wants to change the rules after the game is over.

Gary ("Old Dude") said...

why work at all? let the government just give you handouts, no point in working if the government is gonna just take it in taxes. I now its inconvient you have to go down to the welfare office for the hand out every week, but sure beats working for a living. Obama's people are even now talking about another big give way program after the election, increasing the unemployement benifits, ---its one sweet time to not work in America, soak all them rich people making $250K, when we all have the same amount, live in the same houses, dress the same, won't life be ------fearful, nobody daring to look or act different?---and don't dare dream, that might make ya overly ambitious and then it will be YOU paying all the taxes to give to the rest of us.

Randal Graves said...

I hope you got a warrant for that brain-to-brain intercept. Oh that's right, we can listen in on anything now! Woo!

Was that last comment snark?

Demeur said...

Unfortunately Randal he's serious.

You have a brain but this is a brain on republican ideas. The sad thing is the rethugs will screw over Gary and he'll thank them for it.

PipeTobacco said...

Mr. MaCrum:

Your words were spot on, indeed. The nonsense spouted by the "conservatives" since the Reagen era has bordered on the insane, but if you think about it, in the last 30 years, 20 of those years have been ruled by the insane... and yet if we as a society voted them in, who in reality has the screw loose?

Although I am not overly impressed with either current presidential candidate, my vote will go to Obama simply because he is not of the current "conservative" lot. In my way of thinking, Hillary Clinton should be the candidate we have on that side.

Thank you for your comments on my blog. I find them pleasant and helpful. I look forward to visiting here often and hope you continue to visit as well.

PipeTobacco
http://frumpyprofessor.blogspot.com

MRMacrum said...

candace - Since only Republicans are allowed to love America and I am not a Republican, it is logical to assume I hate America. Simple really. Simple enough for even a Democrat to understand.

It would be great if there was some wiggle room, some grey areas, but alas, not happening. The rules are clear. "Either yer fer us or yer agin us". Now spit out that wad o bacca, it's time for dinner.

deumer - Hold on a second, I hear Old Dude winding up.

Old Dude - please refer to my comment on the previous post. Oh yeah, you never come back for follow ups.

randall - What can I say? Bush has ushered in a new era of freedom. I sure feel free-er. I don't know about you. At some point though, all this freedom the Republicans seem to want to heap on us is going to backfire. People can only stand so much freedom.

Was Old Dude being snarky? I don't think so. demeur has it nailed. With Old Dude, what you see is what you get. I'm starting to understand the value of that kind of forth rightness. Of course, being a sneaky Independent is so much more fun.

demeur - sorry about putting you on hold. Where were we? Oh yeah, the Constitution, ideology and now your inability to understand the delicate nuances of intellect it takes to actually be a dyed in the fool Republican. You talk about bratty kids, jeez, do you listen to yourself? All these questions, Constitution, Idelogy, and now you assume that having a brain is somehow an advantage? I can tell you are no Republican. You never will be. And no sense trying to hide your blatant faults, they will not let you in.

pipetobacco - We have the government we deserve. Hopefully putting Obama in office will be a first step toward finding the government we should have. And as much as I would love to agree that Hillary should be the candidate, I can't. I have been in Obama's corner for well over a year now. I like him. He projects calm in what is probably the most turbulent times I can remember. And calm is what we need now. Not another cowboy.

Yeah,yeah,yeah. I know, Nam, Civil Rights, Nixon and J Edgar Hoover created some wonderful anxieties for us all. But I was so busy smokin, drinkin, and chasin tail to understand how srewed up things were. Life was one big bowl to smoke. And I smoked it. So my memory of that time ......uh where was I?

Anonymous said...

You lefties just don't get it, I'm afraid .... you see, poor people who couldn't afford to buy houses caused Wall St to crash.

Yup. It's them damn poor people again 'n again ... always causing econ trouble.

But this time they've gone way too far ... chrissake they whacked Wall St ... Wall St!

Damn poor people.

amidnightrider said...

Being a huge fan of socialism, I now wonder if my anti Bush rants have been misplaced. If I'da know he was one of us, I would offer him a third term. Oh wait. I can.

I was a supporter of a guy with the same name as the Repulican nominee, in 2000. What ever happened to "that" guy?

Back to the socialism thoughts. I am a proponent of public schools, police and fire protection, snow plowing the roads and all that socialist stuff. So yeah, I'm one of them.

Middle Ditch said...

I do love that cartoon. The fat cat is okay.

Why is Socialism so dangerous? I can't see it.

Demeur said...

Crum
I used to be middle of the road like you a registered independent until I realized that the powers in charge would have nothing of it. This is not like Canada where parties must negotiage for power. This is a strict two party system. I could be more objective if not all the power had not shifted to one party. As the saying goes absolute power corrupts and we are witnessing that now on a big scale. Yes I realize that the Dems could do the same things should they have as much. But can you stand back and be a mere spectator to the destruction that will affect you in a very large way?

1138 said...

"Nam, Civil Rights, Nixon and J Edgar Hoover created some wonderful anxieties for us all. But I was so busy smokin, drinkin, and chasin tail to understand how srewed up things were."

Ah finally the advantage of being a few years too young to be a part of the "fun" becomes apparent (I'm 51 now).

By the time I was, it really wasn't cool anymore and I found myself smack dab in the middle of military intelligence.

MRMacrum said...

presterjohn - when you put it like that the whole mess comes into perspective.Poor people are indeed the root of all our troubles. Well, the Shriners and a few Rotarians helped also, but for the most part, yeah, it's po' folks alright. Jeez, you'd think they would be happy without all the responsibility of owning stuff like houses, cars, and front loading washing machines, Owning stuff is a pain in the butt. First you got to go out and waste time buying it. You get it home, and more time pisses down the drain while you figure how to hook it up. Then just as you get used to it, it dies. And then you gotta get rid of it and start over. Damn vicious cycle. No, Poor is where it's at alright.

A midnight rider - No, Bush is not one of us. He wants to keep us from being one of him. That whole "socialism is evil" schtick is a smokescreen. The Neo-cons just do not want to share. Bastards.

Proponent of schools, cops and fire protection you say? That's not socialism, it's welfare. Why else would the republicans be fighting increased spending for them?

middle ditch - Yes the cartoon is great. You can see from the overall healthy and robust attitude of the fat cat, socialism for them seems to work out just fine.

Socialism is not evil. Read my explanation in above comment. The 5 percenters at the top want to keep it for themselves.

demeur - What can I say? Well, I'll tell ya. You made so many good points, I turned your comment into my next post.

1138 - In an effort to put my "lost years" in perspective, besides waxing poetic about the "fun", I also try to remember the "not so fun". Wasting years under the influence of one thing or another is just that, a waste. Yeah there was fun in there somewhere, but all things being equal and I had a clue like I think I do now, I would have lightened up some and kept a clearer head. No regrets. Just recognizing my stupidity for what it really was.