DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus What it means to be a liberal per Ron Howard

Ron Howard
January 24 at 5:41 AM

I'm a liberal, but that doesn't mean what a lot of you apparently think it does. Let's break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines:

1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. PERIOD.

2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Somehow that's interpreted as "I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all." This is not the case. I'm fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it's impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.

3. I believe education should be affordable. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.

4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist.

5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, well, it's because I'm fine with paying my share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare.

6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion-dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live.

7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal). All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force me to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia law on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine.

8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you.

9. I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally). I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc).

10. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc. are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation.

11. I believe our current administration is fascist. Not because I dislike them or because I can’t get over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.

12. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc. -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.

13. I am not interested in coming after your blessed guns, nor is anyone serving in government. What I am interested in is the enforcement of present laws and enacting new, common sense gun regulations. Got another opinion? Put it on your page, not mine.

14. I believe in so-called political correctness. I prefer to think it’s social politeness. If I call you Chuck and you say you prefer to be called Charles I’ll call you Charles. It’s the polite thing to do. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person?

15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else.

16. I believe that women should not be treated as a separate class of human. They should be paid the same as men who do the same work, should have the same rights as men and should be free from abuse. Why on earth shouldn’t they be?

I think that about covers it. Bottom line is that I'm a liberal because I think we should take care of each other. That doesn't mean you should work 80 hours a week so your lazy neighbor can get all your money. It just means I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved.

I thought this was a well thought out well articulated opinion so I shared.

That's pretty much right in line where I fall.

He failed to address removing money out of politics, but that's a dang good start.

I would love it if someone could post something similar from the viewpoint of what it means to be a conservative. I would be interested in how a conservative would state their opinion of themselves in a similar fashion.

Did Ron Howard Pen the ‘I Am a Liberal’ Essay?
Some people apparently think that tacking a celebrity's name onto a viral opinion can lend it some credibility.

Dan Evon

Published 31 January 2020



Director Ron Howard penned an essay starting "I am a liberal, but that doesn't mean what a lot of you apparently think it does."
Rating
Misattributed
About this rating


In January 2020, we started receiving queries about an essay supposedly written by actor and director Ron Howard that began “I am a liberal, but that doesn’t mean what a lot of you apparently think it does.”

Here’s an excerpt from the start of the essay. The original text can be found at the bottom of this article:

I’m a liberal, but that doesn’t mean what a lot of you apparently think it does. Let’s break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I’m getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines:

1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. PERIOD.

While several postings of this text attributed the essay to Howard, this article circulated on social media long before his name was attached to it.

The article was actually written by author Lori Gallagher Witt and was posted to her Facebook page in January 2018. As this article spread on social media, Witt’s name was eventually stripped from the text. When the article appeared on the website Medium in August 2019, for instance, it was preceded by an introduction explaining that a “friend” had posted the article from an anonymous author on Facebook:

A friend of mine posted the document below on his Facebook page. He did not write it, but felt that it was a good description of his personal feelings and felt a need to share it.

Witt has commented on how her work was separated from her name. In July 2019, she noted how one website was sharing her text without proper attribution:

Wow, talk about some brass balls.

He posts my words, doesn’t even mention that they’re written by someone else (though after someone told him I wrote it, there was a line added at the very bottom as an afterthought, while still keeping HIS NAME as the byline). In the comments, he responds to compliments by saying this is him making a stand, AND he uses the post to encourage people to follow him on social media.

In January 2020, she lamented that her work was once again spreading on social media without her name attached to it:

Oh yay, it’s that time of year again, when people start sharing the “anonymous” list of “why I’m a liberal.” *eyeroll*

Anonymous, my ass. Someone just took my name off it and added “copy and paste — I did!”

Here’s Witt’s original Facebook post:

In short, the popular internet essay starting “I’m a liberal, I’ve always been a liberal, but that doesn’t mean what a lot of you apparently think it does” was not written by director Ron Howard but by author Lori Gallagher Witt.


https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ron-howard-i-am-liberal-essay/

In other words...

FAKE NEWS!!!
Fake Thread!

I wonder what Opie and Richie would think of Ronnie now ... *L*...

It doesn't matter who wrote it, it's the thought that counts.
Regardless of who wrote it, it is a pretty good description.
Again, I challenge a conservative to describe themselves.

Ernest T. Bass broke his winder!

If you don't want to do that, tell me what you disagree with in the original post's description of a liberal and why you disagree.

Seems to me what it means to be a lib is to lie about who wrote something in order to advance the agenda.

Kinda like mail-in voting.

It certainly does matter, Melania stole a whole graph from Michelle's speech. #GOPConvention and the liberal nation had a meltdown.

Biden is pretty good at plagiarizing, himself also.

Go ahead and tell us how you're oppressed some more.

That's what your posts scream to me.

Whoever wrote it - it was a well written piece and addresses several myths about what "Liberals" may or may not stand for.

I am sure glad that there is some controversy over who wrote it ... it means all the Trumpites can talk about the issue of authorship and deflect from discussing the talking points in the text. Phew.

Thanks for posting Jester. 40, shut up! Shut up and go away.

Quoted for emphasis.
Not one comment from conservatives about the actual content.

Not one comment about what conservatives stand for.

I'm trying to have a conversation about what people stand for. Apparently conservatives don't stand for anything.

Nothing but change the topic and deflect.

I’ll play ....

First off .... POOR RON being mis labeled and mis understood ... i feel real sorry for him ... i or any other trump supporter wouldn’t have any idea what thats like ...




I agree . Spot on ... thats an awesome sentiment but unless u want complete government control its impossible IMO ....

Thats a 100% utopian statement and unfortunately utopia doesn’t exist ....

Could we do a better job ... ABSOLUTELY .... is there way more cracks than there should be ... 100% ...

I think we all agree that this is a big issue .... i think we part ways when it comes on how to solve it ... please tell me what your solutions are that don’t include both bigger government control and more money being thrown at the problem ....

There has to be another plan other than just having the gov’t take it over and throwing more money at it ... cause the bigger discussion here is two fold for me ....

1. Our government has never in its history run anything efficiently .... Seriously Jester ... what does the gov’t do well? ... SS/nope ... Ocare/nope ... Medicaid/nope .... Fannie or Freddie/nope .... u may find one or even two things they’ve done “OK” ...

2. The solution to every problem we’ve had according to libs is to throw more money at it .... thats worked real well .... look at our public schools ... over the last 40 years we’ve thrown more money and gobbs of it every single year .... healthcare ... not for nothing ... the gov’t had over 2 years to get a website done and couldn’t do it ... TWO YEARS with every resource and boatload of money thrown at it and they couldn’t even get the website done ...

Thats all for now .... i’ll give u a chance to respond ...

On a side note ... I’m a curious cat that loves asking questions .... the more opinions and insights the better info u have ....

How did O care work out for U? ... how did what u thought it would be compare to what it actually was? ... what were the three best things about it ... what were its three biggest pitfalls ...

I was typing when u posted that .... obviously I’m game and will go point byy point with U and tell my stance on each of them .... your call ...

I’ll reply to U but am not wasting my time with the usual suspects ...

First of all, gmafb. If someone posted a conservative article and misrepresented who wrote it a lot of folks here would be having a hissy fit. I lean conservative, so I'll address this item by item.



Ron Howard
January 24 at 5:41 AM

I'm a liberal, but that doesn't mean what a lot of you apparently think it does. Let's break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines:

1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. PERIOD.
I believe we should take care of it's weakest members also. But the funding covers a hell of a lot more than the disabled, sick and elderly and homeless. There are hundreds of thousands gaming the system, and when someone tries to point this out they get labeled a heartless bigot.

2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Somehow that's interpreted as "I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all." This is not the case. I'm fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it's impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.
This is a frickin' myth. People aren't dying en masse because they can't afford healthcare. Our hospital doesn't turn anyone away. The people hurting the worst are those with crappy employer plans and the marketplace plans.

3. I believe education should be affordable. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.
I don't have an argument here.

4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever....but mention work for welfare and the liberals have a meltdown.
I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist.
Drama much? There's a definite problem with the mega wealthy controlling things, but again...people aren't dying en masse because they can't afford to go to the doctor.
How many people actually froze or starved to death because of conservative policies?

5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, well, it's because I'm fine with paying my share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare.
...again with the "Americans dying without healthcare". It's getting old. Your liberal representatives are quite good a lining corporate pockets themselves.

6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes....oh good lord. Hyperbole much?

What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion-dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live. No argument here with the exception of restaurant servers. I think the establishments would have to price themselves out of business if they had to pay high wages to the staff.

7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal). All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force me to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia law on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine.

8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you.
Agreed. There is no need for specialty laws or hate crime legislation.

9. I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally).We also can't open our borders to everyone and offer an unchecked path to citizenship. I absolutely believe that the democrats are coddling illegals for their eventual votes.


I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc).

...like sanctuary cities? What are these ways you speak of?

10. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc. are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation.
No argument

11. I believe our current administration is fascist. Not because I dislike them or because I can’t get over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past. Both parties are controlled by crooked power mongers.

12. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc. -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.
Did Rocket write this one? Singling out white, straight males is a bigoted process.

13. I am not interested in coming after your blessed guns, nor is anyone serving in government. What I am interested in is the enforcement of present laws and enacting new, common sense gun regulations. Got another opinion? Put it on your page, not mine. Now that sounds like an invitation for healthy debate, lol. What exactly do you mean by "common sense gun legislation"?

Thanks Diam for making this a productive conversation.

First, for the record, I am not a liberal, I am very much middle of the road. I posted the liberal stance because I stumbled across it and found it a well thought out and articulated piece.

2, I 100% agree that the government doesn't do anything well. Too much politics go into decisions rather than making the best decision for the people. There is a reason the terms SNAFU and FUBAR were created my the military. I am definitely for healthcare for all but 100% against Medicare for all.

I personally believe the role of government is to be driven by the wants and desires of the majority while protecting the rights of the minority and protecting those who cannot protect themselves.

I could go on for hours about Obamacare. I'll stick to the readers digest version.

The theory behind it was good, the execution was poor. The best thing it does is protect those with preexisting conditions and eliminates caps to coverage.

The problem is that you are trying to make people but insurance who don't have insurance because they cannot afford it in the 1st place.

There needs to be a free baseline coverage. It doesn't have to be great. But it needs to cover the basics necessities of healthcare.

Then if you want something more, you can purchase a supplemental policy or a totally private policy.

Not sure if I hit all your points. I'm doing this on my phone and i am getting sleepy.

Heading to bed shortly, so won't be replying again until sometime tomorrow.

Appreciate the well thought out post.
As a stated in my last post, heading to bed. I'll reply to your post tomorrow.

I don't usually get involved heavily in the political threads anymore, but Bombay Saphire sometimes brings out my political inner self.

You should have known better than to ask for an intelligent conversation about this topic. LOL

I have tried many times and always get shot down. The reasons range from it's a football board to it is the political forum to I am w/Biden in the basement or a Trumpian. LOL

I am not a conservative. I am a liberal, but I disagree w/some of things said in your original article. I could give a rat's ass who wrote it. In my opinion, I think some of the points were good and some were not.

I don't know what the exact term is for what I am......I think OCD told me once or twice, but I forget it. I'm not much into labels, other than to say that I am a human being who cares about others and our planet.

Maybe we can PM and I can share some of my thoughts. Then again, maybe not. LOL

Thanks for the reply .... u hit on enough ... thanks for your input on O care ... it seems we agree on what the problem is but not so much on potential solutions .... although u didn’t actually comment on that ....

No rush ... this can go at as slow a pace as we choose ...

On to point two ....



I thought healthcare was accessible too all .... they can’t turn u away at the hospital can they?

Let other people do the work yet receive the benefit.

LOL....sounds liberal to me.

Fake this........Nearly 100,000 US deaths so far, all on trumps watch. Pffft MAGA haters and conservatives.... mass murders at work.

A couple of "clerical points"

1, I do not consider myself a liberal. I consider myself middle of the road. I don't disagree with many liberal concepts but feel many liberals take things to the extreme. Not even most, but they are the most vocal ones. I am taking on the role of liberal for the sake of this discussion.

2, I am not a conservative. I wish someone who considers themselves a conservative would find a post similar to the original post here, or write there own, so that we can have this type of discussion about conservatives as well.

3, I am, however, very anti-Trump. I am not the person who feels because Trump does it then it is wrong. I support him standing up against China. I don't know that he is doing it in the best way possible but I don't know that he isn't. I do feel the bad things about him significantly outweigh the good. But that is a discussion for a different thread.

4, I saw that the original post was not actually written by Ron Howard. I also saw that the author was clearly noted in the original article but that as it pasted through the internet it fell off. I don't believe it was intentional. Regardless, the point of this thread is to discussion what was written not who wrote it. We have acknowledged the gaffe now let's move on.

5, I hate when someone argues: If the roles were reversed you would have done ...
First, that is all supposition. You don't know. You especially don't know how I would have reacted.
Second, even if true, someone else's poor behavior does not justify yours. And using that as your justification does nothing more than confirm that you know what you are doing is wrong/inappropriate.

There are 2 places where medical care is provided:

Inpatient, meaning in the hospital. No one gets turned away from the hospital because they do not have insurance or money. No one. But there is a cost. A big hospital admission can lead to significant/debilitating debt. Often times the hospital will write it off as charity care. but that has a detrimental impact on your credit score.

Outpatient, meaning anywhere that isn't in the hospital including your doctor's office, urgent care facilities and outpatient infusion centers and Home Health Care etc. What happens when you see your doctor and he diagnoses your illness, prescribes you the appropriate medication and you cannot afford it? This is very real and I see it in my practice all too frequently.


As for the fix for Obamacare, that is not an easy solution. It would take a lot of time and work to outline it and while, if given access to the governments financial data, I think I could fix it, but that is a whole 2nd job.

Jfanet, will get to you later.

Vers, would be happy to discuss in PM but after this thread runs it's course. I can only take so much political discussion before it gives me a headache, and I have already passed that point.

Disclaimer, when I use the term liberal or conservative I am referring to the majority of those who identify themselves in that manner. Of course the totality does not fall into anything as a blanket statement.

1, I agree. We need to protect the weak and disabled. Agreed that too many people take advantage of it. We need to find a better way of running it but it feels like the conservatives want to get rid of all the help. Not all but the loud and vocal, and the current administration sure seem that way.

2, See my above post to Diam, let me know if that doesn't adequately address this

3, We are in agreement. There needs to be affordable higher education. I am against free college. In my college there were full time students who had full time jobs to pay for their tuition. They never, ever missed a class. The ones who's parents paid for it all? They frequently missed.

4&5, I don't know what work for welfare means.
Yes, there is some drama to that statement but there is a homeless problem and a healthcare payment problem and a hunger problem. Also there is a tax shelter problem for the rich that the rest of us don't get to take advantage of.

6, That statement may be hyperbolic, but minimum wage needs to be increased. Why are conservatives so against that?

8, While I definitely feel there are hate crimes, I don't feel the need for hate crime laws. A crime is a crime and should be punished as such. All crimes have a motive. The reason you do something shouldn't excuse the crime (except self defense) nor should the reason elicit a more punishment.

9, I don't think that there should be an unchecked path to citizenship. But there should be a path. Liberals are too much come to our country an do as you please but conservatives are so opposed to anybody coming in. In large the excuses they give are lame at best. Personally I wish one of the requirements be that all immigrants have a basic understanding of the English language by some time frame. 2 problems with that. one is that English is not the official national language of the United States. I think it should be but as of the present we have never had an official national language. Second, many Americans born here have a poor understanding of the English language.

I don't know ways, but not splitting up families is a start.
I personally don't think you should be considered an American just because you are born on American soil. If your parents aren't American when you are born then you aren't either. But the constitution says otherwise.

10&11, nothing to say as we agree.

12, There is a lot of racism (by all races) and misogyny and bigotry. As a white male from a good family, I realize that my life has been pretty easy. I think the present administration is feeding into people who feel this way and riling them up for his own benefits. It sure seems that the people who fall into the above descriptions are almost all Trump supporters. Note I didn't say all Trump supporters fall into those categories.

13, Gun control/regulation is a complicated issue. I personally do not own a gun, I don't want a gun, and really don't want to be around a gun. But I respect the rights of those who do. A few of my thoughts. Ak47's should be illegal. You are not allowed to carry around a hand grenade, you can't own and drive around a tank, you can't keep a "dirty bomb in your basement. I think the AK47's should fall into that category. Maybe make a law that prohibits any weapon that if used by an untrained person can kill a certain number of people in a certain timeframe. I don't know enough about guns to begin to offer any parameters.

I also think you should have to have a gun license to buy a gun or have one in your possession. To get the license you need to pass a background check and take a gun safety course and pass a test on gun safety. If there is a need for more than a handgun or a hunting rifle, then you have another class of license where you have to give a reason why you need it, undergo more intensive background check and psychological testing, and additional training. Kind of like with driving. With my driver's license I cannot drive a semi truck. I need a special license for that.

Phew, I feel like I just gave birth... to a Senator!
Good post Jfanet but responding wore me out.
I don't know if I should hope your Bombay Sapphire is empty or not.

This goes with the old saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In the bulk of the civilized world, the disabled, sick and elderly are protected and those societies consider that a very high priority. I was raised to feel and believe that as well. I wouldn't go so far as to say they are totally neglected but they are certainly marginalized and not nearly as high on the priority list as they should be.



I'm a person who believes parties should compromise to reach something that's good for Americans. That neither extreme holds the keys that are best for all. The ACA didn't work out that way. By the time it was made into law, it was so watered down from what was proposed to begin with that it was nothing more than a base with which to expand on.

I have used the example that the first time man tried to build an airplane it was a massive failure. Yet mankind did not just abandon its development of flight. Our healthcare system is a massive failure for far too many Americans for me to believe that improvements are not attainable. When our society accepts a healthcare system where they can take everything a person has work for their entire life due to medical bills, Houston, we have a problem.



I don't see this as a liberal idea at all. I think many who would label themselves as conservative share this view as well. I'm not a proponent for free college myself. But let's be real for just a moment. There are common sense ways of greatly reducing college costs without free college. It's far too detailed to try and include in this more general topic, but I'll give you just one example.

As of now the government absorbs all of the bad debt in the college loan system. Financial institutions are simply the middle men who are paid whether the student pays that debt or not. So they reap all of the rewards while taking none of the risks. Why would we ever do that? If our government pays off all of the bad debt, why not just do the loans?

That way all college students would receive loans at the prime rate rather than inflated loan percentages. Borrowing college money at 3.5% rather than 8% would of itself greatly reduce student debt. I could go on but as I said, this would require a thread of its own.



This topic is one that is hard to address without extremes being hard to reach. I'll just say that most developed nations have done a far better job at achieving these basic principals and all we hear are excuses why we can't. I simply don't accept that.



Higher taxes may be needed to accomplish those things. But at the present time I think it's more about where our priorities lie and not an actual money problem. There are certainly far too many loopholes that permit subsidies and tax relief to those who don't need or deserve it than go to help those who need it the most.



See my answer to #5 for the bulk of my answer to this. In addition, it's not hard to find what the cost of a basic living is in differing parts of America. I promote more of a variable living wage depending on the geographical location than a one size fits all. But multi billion dollar corporate entities making money hand over fist should not have their employees making so little they have to rely on the government teet. There's no way the American tax payer should be subsidizing their employees. This is the very definition of corporate welfare.



As a Christian myself I agree with this. I refuse to advocate forcing my religious beliefs on others via the law. Freedom of religion must include freedom from religion.



I certainly agree.



I guess the best way to describe the way I feel is immigrants should be required to assimilate. Much like yourself I think English should be our national language and as such be required learning to become a U.S. citizen. I've never been one who favors open borders. On the other hand I'm not one who feels the process to enter our nation should be so restrictive by numbers that it makes it nearly impossible for those from certain countries to enter our nation.

It's once again an issue I think some common sense compromise would go a very long way to find some middle ground. But that has become dirty talk at this point in time. DACA is something that I find very confusing. Our nation has an investment in their education and they have invested a lot to becoming Americans. This is what I consider extremism not making some kind of allowance in this situation.



This is another issue that I don't see as a liberal idea t all. I think over regulation can strangle business. I think under regulation endangers our people and environment. Regulations has become a buzz word not in any way based in reality.



I won't go that far. But what I will do is say this administration has laid bare the loopholes that are open to abuse the power of the presidency. Loopholes that certainly need to be closed so some of this never happens in the future. The question is, now that one president has abused it, which future president will give up such power? My guess is none of them.



I think liberals have framed this in a way that is far too combative. There is a much easier and more logical way to frame it that is so much easier to understand. I'll use another old cliché to sum it up. "If you haven't walked a mile in my shoes". It's impossible to understand or imagine just what someone has to go through or endures if you have zero experience with it. Pretending that your life experience in any way makes you qualified to understand what someone in a very different set of circumstances has gone through, you are only fooling yourself.



The definition of "common sense gun regulations" varies greatly from one person to another. As such it makes it very hard to comment on this point. I have nothing against that as what I feel that means. Not so much with what some others thinks this means.




And that's where the rub comes in. Since the rules seem to be these days that there should be no such thing as political correctness, it's been pretty much open season on being an azz hat. I've been a pretty much if you can't beat em', join em' player in that. And more often than not it seems those who proposed the idea of doing away with political correctness are often times those who seem offended the most.

But the way it's being used has nothing to do with what that means IMO. I agree that people shouldn't have to watch every word they say. That people, on both sides, use it as an excuse to just be flat out nasty and that's exactly what I said when the whole idea of doing away with political correctness first became a popular idea.

There's a difference between having to tiptoe around everything you say and being an azz hat. But once again, if there's a way to abuse an idea, people will.



I think there is and will be a transition to renewable energy. Anyone wishing to look will see that major oil and gas companies are already investing heavily in the renewable energy market. They see the future is coming. People fighting for the coal industry fail to see that it's the glut of natural gas that's killing coal. So they're just fighting for one fossil fuel over another one and can't see that it's imply a matter of the free market system they normally applaud.



I think this also applies to everyone in America regardless of sex, nationality, religion or sexual preference.



Depending on who you ask, this doesn't describe a liberal at all because they're not "liberal enough" to be considered a liberal. Ask others and this makes feeling this way makes you an anti-American and a terrible human being.

That's when I feel that I'm on the right path. When neither extreme feels I'm right, and both are on the attack. I'm not a fan of extremism. History alone teaches me that.

Nice post Pit. Agree with just about everything. Except maybe the move to sustainable energy. I think we should but man, there is just so much opposition. I have a hard time believing that I will see it in my lifetime. Hopefully another 40 years. I fear that when we do it will be too late.

I can assure you that it wouldn't match up with what the "so called" conservatives are pushing these days

Before we move on i just want to make sure i understand what your saying correctly ...

- no one can be turned away for emergency medical care at an emergency room ... it will create a huge debt for U that u can either pay off or take a hit on your credit score ....

Is that correct?

- your second scenario is for folks that have health insurance but they don’t have good enough insurance to cover the cure for whatever ails them .... that would include meds and/or surgeries ...

Is that correct?

jc

Oh, I think it's cute how you are trying to grasp the concepts the adults are talking about. You go Diam!

Right. Blame China if you want to point fingers.

FWIW, I will try to do this today. It's a busy day at work, but I'm working from home so I'll chip away at a monster post a little at a time. To do the post justice will take a while, though. It'll be worth it, as there are actually 1-2 people in here that are interested in actually conversing.

I'll also write up a post with a proper response to the not-Ron-Howard story. Overall, I enjoy and benefit from articles/posts like that. I find that even though I try to fight it I still fall victim to lumping people into buckets where they might not fit. I hate it when people do it to me (I'm a conservative but NOT a Republican), so I shouldn't do the same thing.

Even though it's not all that pertinent to the discussion we're trying to have, I would think that Ron Howard, as an artist who works with artists, and/or the author of this latest iteration of this essay, would be more sensitive to the topic of plagiarism.

Oob, looking forward to reading both posts.
WHen you post the what a conservative in post, will you start a new thread with it? Thanks