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Post by Coast2Coast on Jun 7, 2016 21:34:34 GMT -6
I know a guy named Jimmy here who is one of those died-in-the-wool conservative Texans who repeatedly rants about those damn liberals. What follows wasn't my idea or my original work -- it is borrowed from someone else some years back. I adapted the basic thoughts for Jimmy. It speaks to how Jimmy's life is better because of liberals.
I'm definitely not a liberal and I'm not really a conservative. Rather, I think I can appreciate the good of all kinds of political thought. This is one side. I'll have another one touting the benefits of conservatism when the time is right to share it with a liberal friend of mine.
Anyway, I gave this to Jimmy. He got a good laugh out of it. At least he didn't pull out his .45 and tell this Damn Yankee to take a hike! This is the story of a guy named Jimmy. Jimmy gets up at 6 am and fills his coffee pot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and pure and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water quality standards.
With his first swallow of coffee, Jimmy takes his daily medication. His medicines are safe to take because some stupid, commie, pinko liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they would work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance. Now Jimmy gets it too.
He prepares his morning breakfast -- bacon and eggs. His bacon is safe to eat because some girlie man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meatpacking industry.
Jimmy dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industry from polluting our air.
Jimmy begins his work day. He has a good job, with excellent pay, medical benefits, paid holidays, sick days and vacation time because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Jimmy's employer pays for these standards because Jimmy's employer doesn't want his employees forming a union.
If Jimmy is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he will get workers compensation and unemployment insurance because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of temporary misfortune.
It's noon time and Jimmy needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Jimmy's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC, because some godless liberal wanted to protect Jimmy's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.
Jimmy is now home from work. He now plans to visit his father at his farm home in the country. Jimmy gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some American-hating liberal pinko named Ralph Nader fought for car safety standards before Jimmy was even born.
He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house, financed by the Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.
He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. Jimmy's father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself, so Jimmy wouldn't have to.
Jimmy gets back in the car for his ride home and turns on a talk radio station. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad, they hate America, that liberalism is a mental disorder and are destroying the country, and conservatives are good and the salvation of America and the world. The radio talk show host doesn't mention that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit that Jimmy has enjoyed throughout his day.
Jimmy agrees. "We don't need those big government liberals ruining our lives. After all, I am a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves. Just like me."
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Post by Kirkwoodref on Jun 8, 2016 15:33:06 GMT -6
I see the appeal of theoretical conservatism.
However, in reality it tends to be cut taxes without correspondingly cutting spending.
I welcome cutting taxes if it means fat in non-essential service(s) are culled as well.
What is considered non-essential is always the debate. So it ends up being cut taxes but keep existing service(s).
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Post by Coast2Coast on Jun 22, 2016 9:37:40 GMT -6
Today's harvest. Harvesting this size batch 3-4x/week and we are now in week 4 of this. Finding all kinds of things to do with tomatoes, okra and peppers. Always open to ideas.
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Post by Coast2Coast on Jun 22, 2016 12:42:52 GMT -6
The ad feeder on this site sure knows how to target people. I am going to go out on a limb here and say none of you guys are getting these ads
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Post by Terry's Peeps on Jun 22, 2016 12:47:42 GMT -6
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jackref
Moderator
Sweet Carolina So Good So Good So Good
Posts: 8,436
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Post by jackref on Jun 22, 2016 13:19:31 GMT -6
Use Ad Blocker Plus Chrome plug in and Ghostery. Never see ads anywhere again.
Also Coast you should make some Okra infused vodka and then use that for Bloody Marys.
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Post by Coast2Coast on Jun 22, 2016 18:32:06 GMT -6
Actually Jack, the ads are sometimes informative and helpful. They tell me what to worry about, like Mexican sludge in Texas, and what expensive products my wife has been looking at when she is on my ipad. There was this piece of jewelry that kept popping up in ads. She must have been looking at it. Maybe more than once. So I got it for her for Christmas. She wondered how I knew. Ha.
One quart of vodka infused. I finally found a use for some Stoli my kids left behind. Thanks for the tip!
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All Drop In
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Post by All Drop In on Jun 22, 2016 18:46:43 GMT -6
One of my friends went on a Facebook rant about their "News Feed" a couple months ago. He blamed Zuckerberg for things like a You Porn story being supposed news. Another of my friends informed him that Facebook's news feed is catered to your internet habits. I was almost in tears from laughter.
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Post by Terry's Peeps on Jun 22, 2016 18:48:57 GMT -6
One of my friends went on a Facebook rant about their "News Feed" a couple months ago. He blamed Zuckerberg for things like a You Porn story being supposed news. Another of my friends informed him that Facebook's news feed is catered to your internet habits. I was almost in tears from laughter. KS, this explains the raccoon porn ads you asked about.
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Post by Positivity KS on Jun 22, 2016 19:18:24 GMT -6
One of my friends went on a Facebook rant about their "News Feed" a couple months ago. He blamed Zuckerberg for things like a You Porn story being supposed news. Another of my friends informed him that Facebook's news feed is catered to your internet habits. I was almost in tears from laughter. KS, this explains the raccoon porn ads you asked about.
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Post by Coast2Coast on Jun 22, 2016 19:25:24 GMT -6
i had no idea there was raccoon porn, so I googled it and just watched one on you tube. I wonder what ads my wife will see next time she grabs my ipad.
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jackref
Moderator
Sweet Carolina So Good So Good So Good
Posts: 8,436
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Post by jackref on Jun 22, 2016 19:40:18 GMT -6
Can't wait to hear all about it Coast! The okra infused vodka, not the raccoon porn.
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All Drop In
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Post by All Drop In on Jun 22, 2016 19:44:39 GMT -6
i had no idea there was raccoon porn, so I googled it and just watched one on you tube. I wonder what ads my wife will see next time she grabs my ipad. Hopefully it doesn't involve anything worse than raccoon porn.
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Post by Positivity KS on Jun 22, 2016 19:51:59 GMT -6
Dammitt, now I have to Google it.
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All Drop In
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Post by All Drop In on Jun 22, 2016 20:00:44 GMT -6
Dammitt, now I have to Google it. At least you're not Hawg. He would ask what raccoon porn is. Although Hawg wouldn't have an entire YouTube account dedicated solely to raccoon porn. This is like LeBron James saying he's going to Google headbands.
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Post by Hawg Ass on Jun 22, 2016 22:16:40 GMT -6
Dammitt, now I have to Google it. At least you're not Hawg. He would ask what raccoon porn is. Although Hawg wouldn't have an entire YouTube account dedicated solely to raccoon porn. This is like LeBron James saying he's going to Google headbands.
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Post by Positivity KS on Jun 22, 2016 22:23:18 GMT -6
At least you're not Hawg. He would ask what raccoon porn is. Although Hawg wouldn't have an entire YouTube account dedicated solely to raccoon porn. This is like LeBron James saying he's going to Google headbands. I think he was more ripping me but I still can't get enough of that emoticon.
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Texas WTF?
Jun 22, 2016 22:24:53 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Hawg Ass on Jun 22, 2016 22:24:53 GMT -6
No, he thinks my Google function in life is turned off.
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Post by Positivity KS on Jun 22, 2016 22:27:27 GMT -6
Well he was right about that part anyways.
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Texas WTF?
Jun 22, 2016 22:28:38 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Hawg Ass on Jun 22, 2016 22:28:38 GMT -6
Well he was right about that part anyways. Why you no good sumbitch!!
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Post by Coast2Coast on Jun 23, 2016 8:44:57 GMT -6
I guess this is one way to reduce the prison population and costs..expose sick prisoners to extreme heat and give them arsenic water to drink.
A group of prisoners alleging they have to drink arsenic-laden water to stay cool inside their hot Texas lockup won a legal victory Tuesday in an ongoing lawsuit after a federal judge ordered the Texas prison system to provide safe drinking water that doesn’t violate “contemporary standards of decency.”
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison has given the prison system 15 days to replace the water supply at the Wallace Pack Unit in Navasota, located about 70 miles northwest of Houston.
The judge’s order came in a lawsuit the inmates filed in 2014 in Houston federal court alleging they’re being exposed to dangerous heat at the unit. The lawsuit alleges Texas houses inmates in conditions that are inhumane enough to violate the U.S. Constitution’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment. The Pack Unit is a low security geriatric facility that houses about 1,400 inmates, many of whom are sick or disabled.
In his 15-page ruling, Ellison wrote the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has been “deliberately indifferent” to the ongoing risk inmates at the unit face from prolonged exposure to “extreme heat” and from having to drink arsenic-laden water in order to reduce the risk from the heat. The drinking water at the Pack Unit has contained between 2 and 4½ times the amount of arsenic permitted by the Environmental Protection Agency, the judge said.
The prisoners have “demonstrated that (the prison system’s) current and ongoing conduct violates contemporary standards of decency,” Ellison wrote. At least 20 prisoners have died indoors in non-air-conditioned Texas prisons from overheating since 1998, including 10 who died in 2011, Ellison said.
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Post by Coast2Coast on Jun 23, 2016 15:10:18 GMT -6
So tonight, right here in the "Live Music Capital of the World" I'm going to catch one of my all-time favorites and legends, going back to the 60s, one of the first great white guys who played the blues...guitar, keyboards and blues harp....John Mayall. Dude is 83 and still rockin! It will be the second concert I've seen of an octogenarian....saw BB King when he was in his 80s. And then in two weeks, it will be another 83 year old in concert, Willie Nelson. I know I listen to old music, but this kind of proves it.
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Post by Coast2Coast on Jun 23, 2016 15:19:22 GMT -6
So this leads me to the list of the TOP TEN WHITE GUYS WHO PLAY BLUES GUITAR. Mayall isn't on this list and he isn't on the list of the top ten blues harp players, but he's #1 on the list of guys who do both. Here's my list. I'm sure the blues afficianados among us have their own.
10. Rory Gallagher 9. Roy Buchanan 8. Ry Cooder 7. Jeff Beck 6 Warren Haynes 5. Joe Bonamassa 4. Derrick Trucks 3. Eric Clapton 2. Stevie Ray Vaughn 1. Duane Allman
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All Drop In
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Post by All Drop In on Jun 24, 2016 7:32:48 GMT -6
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Texas WTF?
Jun 24, 2016 15:41:45 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Coast2Coast on Jun 24, 2016 15:41:45 GMT -6
So the millennials want to use whatever ride sharing app that springs up without any responsible corporate or govt oversight. That will work for a very short time...until a drlver, who is not legitimately verified with a background check, rapes or robs someone. It is amazing to me how many people are more concerned about spam, phishing and malware than they are about getting into a car with an unvalidated stranger they only "know" through the internet.
I use Uber when I travel because I know drivers have been verified thoroughly, even if it doesn't include fingerprints. Without driver verification, no chance I use these.
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Post by Coast2Coast on Jul 1, 2016 9:14:49 GMT -6
Top 10 things seen in first year in Texas:
10. Brisket BBQ. Good, better....still searching for the "best". 9. Gun stores, ranges and collections. 8. How poor the schools are and unable to provide quality education, but how nice the high school football stadiums are. 7. How charities try to help provide essential services, like buying school books, paying routine school maintenance bills and normal road repair, because government is woefully under-funded. 6. Showing your social security card more in 1 year in Texas than in 45 years in other states. 5. Chiggers and fire ants. 4. Bad, fast drivers. 3. Drought followed by torrential rains and floods. 2. Mouthy Texas women who have way too much to say. 1. Smiles, smiles, smiles because life is good.
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Post by denisdman on Jul 1, 2016 9:24:02 GMT -6
I am fairly convinced that public schools across this country are in bad shape. It's been alleged that Texas' are very bad, but I don't think Illinois is doing much better.
In any case, when you look at International test scores, our country should be ashamed. For the amount of money poured into education, we get terrible outcomes.
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Post by Coast2Coast on Jul 1, 2016 10:12:35 GMT -6
Not sure I agree with that. In the New Trier school district, where I moved from, the majority of teachers have a master's degree and they earn on average $75k or more. Here, teachers have Bachelors degrees and earn under $30k on average. NT has top notch test scores, here not. Should we be surprised that the outcomes are very different? People in NT are willing to pay top dollar to educate their kids. Here, not. Of course, most of Illinois and Texas are not NT and they choose not to pay for, or argue they cannot afford to pay for, top quality teachers. People look at the total $ spent on education and think they are spending a lot. But are they really spending enough?
Would you want that sanitation worker with minimal education making the same or better money as your local teachers teaching your kids? Yet many school districts and local governments pay them about the same. And then expect the results of the schools to be great. I don't think that is a logical or reasonable expectation. If you paid teachers more, you would attract higher quality teachers. This is not to disparage any teacher, and there are many great teachers who are under-paid for their skills and the outcomes they deliver. But in many school districts across the country, the best and brightest are in the corporate world, not teaching. Don't we want and should we not try to afford more of the best and brightest teaching our kids? We know from the model of New Trier and other similar districts, it works.
Put the discussion of the big macro dollars aside and think about it individually. Are we really spending that much? How much is the education of our kids worth? I would guess over a a lifetime, many people pay more for their cars than they do in taxes for public education. And surely many of those same people complain about how expensive bad education costs. I would suggest that our childhood publc education is worth a lot more than our cars and a lot more than most taxpayers are willing to pay. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. And while they would not say or admit this, it seems many people put more value in investing in nice cars than in educated children.
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Post by denisdman on Jul 1, 2016 10:53:18 GMT -6
I understand the economics of offering more money to attract higher quality talent. It's a great point. Unfortunately, government does not have the necessary resources to pay like New Trier does. I think the bigger issue with our education system is low standards from both parents and schools. Culturally, we set expectations very low and engage in social promotion. It is exactly the reason why Asians thrive going to the same schools as the rest of the population. Culturally, they expect their children to perform well.
If you ever followed my posts on CSFMB, you would know I am a Libertarian. And I have said the only place where I think this country needs to spend additional dollars is on education. It is the great equalizer. As someone who came from a single parent family and went to all public schools, my current lifestyle and earnings is a testament to the value of education.
So I think we probably agree more than we disagree. It's just that our government does not have the money for its current commitments let alone more for education. My children attend private school, and those schools provide a better outcome at half the per pupil cost.
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All Drop In
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Post by All Drop In on Jul 1, 2016 12:09:36 GMT -6
Libertarian by people in 2016 = Literally by Gorilla Monsoon in Announcing
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