Nothing that a few weeks in the hospital can't fix, anyway.
Sorry, you must be confusing conservatives with SEIU/AFLCIO thugs.
Those on the Progressive Left are the ones that employ bused-in union thugs to gang-beat peaceful non-violent middle-aged black vendors at opposition rallies while spewing racist epithets, then go on to cry on TV about how dangerous/violent their opposition is, and that they are somehow the ones to blame for violence. How "Progressive" of them, eh?
"Loudly accuse your opponent of all the dirty tricks you yourself use even if they do not" has been a mainstay of Progressive tactics since it's birth, along with silencing opposition by any means necessary.
It's a fact demonstrated again and again throughout history; the larger a government is, and the more a government provides, the less freedom there will be and the more dissent of any kind will be silenced/punished.
What the Tea Party/Town Hall protesters should do is keep a stash of various union T-shirts, buttons, and caps. Then, when the thugs start rolling the buses in, pass out identical shirts, buttons, and caps to Tea Party members with bullhorns with orders to sow mass confusion among the thugs with conflicting commands, etc before they can hurt anyone.
That would make a totally hilarious YouTube video!:D
There's a larger problem with the whole thing, though; he is being investigated, and yet he is issuing a subpoena related, possibly, to that investigation. There's only a few possible motives for him doing such a thing, and not many of them are to help along the investigation of himself. Thus why independent prosecutors exist, and should be used for this sort of thing; the investigation of Clinton is about the closest situation I can think of at the moment--his AG couldn't be in on it because he's a Cabinet member, appointed by and serving at the leisure of the President--thus, easily influenced by him, making him possibly ineffective at the job.
If you then make it a condition that no AG or politician that may be under some kind of investigation can perform essential functions of their office (and for AG, investigations & prosecutions are a major part), then you've effectively shut down nearly all oversight and curbs on corruption. If you're a political player that thinks you may be on the investigative radar, just get the officials behind it embroiled in some meaningless charges. If the investigation gets too close, just scream about "possible conflicts".
Technically, *any* investigation *may* touch upon some other matter or investigation. How does one know unless one investigates? If it could be proven he had some foreknowledge that the investigation he launched had ties to his own investigation...well, there are already-existing policies and laws to handle such things for this exact reason, right?
Normally, if an AG/prosecutor/etc starts an investigation and it comes to light *after* the investigation starts that there may be a conflict he was previously unaware of, he would recuse himself and the case/investigation/prosecution continues. If a state AG cannot investigate anyone from the other party, that would give free rein for that party to be as corrupt and criminal as they want without fear.
Why does it seem like every time a conservative, with no clear and/or credible evidence of any wrongdoing on his part regarding the investigation in question, is in charge of an investigation regarding a Progressive, the cry is "there is nothing to prove he is NOT violating ethical/legal standards and should be attacked/investigated/prosecuted!" and when the shoe is on the other political foot, any suggestion that there may be conflicts of interest/corruption is viciously attacked, even when there is video/audio/blatant evidence that the suspicions are true?
Personally, I feel that those on the Progressive Left that scream the loudest and are most outraged when they are investigated for blatant corruption, etc are that upset & vocal not so much because of what an investigation may reveal, but they are outraged because of their arrogant attitude that THEY are on the ones who investigate OTHERS, and how dare they? THEY are only dumb hicks "clinging to their God and their guns" that should be electing us as rulers for life, like our good Progressive friend Hugo!
The USA was a great nation long before Progressiveism, and if we survive, will be a great nation again without it.
So basically, what you're saying is the corrupt have rights and the honest, whether they reveal corruption within the corruption about the corrupt have no rights whatsoever?
There ain't no foxes in this here chicken coop and we'll sue anyone who says otherwise.
The submission and your assumptions are incorrect. The subpoena has to do with another ongoing investigation into corruption in which it is suspected that the defendant(s) has engaged in possibly illegal actions regarding the proceedings through the use of Twitter and a blog.
Or is it OK now for politicians you like to break the law, and not OK for a politician you don't like to follow the law, particularly when following the law hurts your favored politician/ideology?
But what if the twitterer ISN'T at all connected to the investigation?
What if they are just a person who reads the papers and is pissed off, or who hears rumors from others or whatever?
Does a person lose their right to anonymous speech merely because someone SUSPECTS that they might someone else?
If he can get a subpoena, that means he will have had to have had a judge look at the evidence and decide the facts do, indeed, merit his request.
Does a person have to be tried & convicted before evidence of his crime can be subpoenaed?
That seems a bit backwards, but some people will justify an amazing amount of hypocrisy to defend their ideology & leaders. And, yes, I'd say the same things if the (R) & (D) tags were reversed, as it isn't about the party, just the crime(s). Just as I say that GWB screwed up a lot of stuff and I disagreed with many of his administration's actions and policies.
Apparently you haven't RTFA or done any other checking.
The particular Twitter ID's in question are linked to an ongoing corruption case against a number of Democrat politicians/operatives, and it's suspected that a defendant in that ongoing case has been tweeting & blogging anonymously about the prosecutor & AG and the investigation itself.
In many courts/proceedings, revealing proceeding-related information or attempting to poison the proceedings outside the courtroom is cause for prosecution and/or contempt-of-court charges.
If this is true and the AG has probable cause to legitimately suspect criminal actions have taken/are taking place, would he not be remiss if he did nothing?
This submission appears to be quite partisan and one-sided, as well as sparse on the facts and context.
"A conventional (smokeless powder) handgun must be.35 caliber or larger and loaded with straight-walled cartridges and may be single- or multiple-shot but cannot exceed a maximum capacity of nine rounds in the barrel and magazine combined."
Much deer hunting in Michigan occurs at ranges less than 50 yards in dense, heavily-overgrown copses with thick underbrush that makes a pistol a better hunting tool. It's hard to swing a full-length rifle or shotgun around when you're in thick underbrush or in a small hunter's tree-stand, and the shorter range also makes a pistol a good hunting choice in those scenarios.
Too bad the current US President seems to be channeling Woodrow Wilson. The demonization of middle-age & senior citizens, often with children & grandchildren with them, that have protested this governments' irresponsibility (Tea Party), and the characterization of them as violent & dangerous, is the first step towards repeating, or even exceeding, Wilson-esque suppression of dissent. Particularly when coupled with the government wishing to be able to detain citizens indefinitely without a trial or due process on their whim.
Wait wait wait, who is characterizing the Tea Party as violent and dangerous? They've been doing a really good job of characterizing themselves as clueless and uninformed, but I haven't seen anyone imply that they're dangerous (except maybe politically, but that's a different thing).
Then there's the entire Liberal/Progressive propaganda arm...oops, I meant the mainstream media...that's repeatedly tried to link the Tea Party to violence and cast it as dangerous when there have been ZERO ARRESTS of Tea Party people, but multiple violent assaults by, and multiple arrests/charges on, those who call themselves "liberal" and "progressive" and screamed about freedom of speech and protest equaling patriotism when GWB was in office.
Remember kids, it's not just the speech you like/agree with that's free, because otherwise some day it will be YOUR speech being curtailed.
Has it occurred to you that might have unintended consequences, such as discouraging investment?
I'm sure it has occurred to him, but if he is a typical Progressive, that would be an argument in favor. All this capitalism, free markets, limited government power, and individual freedom stuff is so...so...20th century.
Haven't you received your indoc^W^W^W^Winformation from your "official" EPA-sponsored church about "Environmental Justice", "Social Justice", and "Economic Justice"? It's the Gospel according to Saint Pelosi and His Obamaness.
Remember Brothers and Sisters, if your church isn't working with the EPA to promote "God's Agenda", it could find things very difficult economically. "Official" churches get special government-sponsored low-rate loans, etc.
Always remember children, Satan was a conservative! Burn one today!
Now, where are all those people who were screaming "separation of church and state!!!!" when GWB started his faith-based initiatives? The silence is deafening.
The other reason that's a lousy example is because it was the argument Woodrow Wilson used to imprison Alice Paul, suffragettes, and other people protesting World War 1 (Sound familiar? Almost like George Duh Bush). No leader or government should have that power to silence the people, even in time of war.
Too bad the current US President seems to be channeling Woodrow Wilson. The demonization of middle-age & senior citizens, often with children & grandchildren with them, that have protested this governments' irresponsibility (Tea Party), and the characterization of them as violent & dangerous, is the first step towards repeating, or even exceeding, Wilson-esque suppression of dissent. Particularly when coupled with the government wishing to be able to detain citizens indefinitely without a trial or due process on their whim.
Things in the US and the world are going to get real scary very, very fast. I expect within less than 5 years, maybe less than 2 years, state budgets will start defaulting on things like union pensions, etc and then the violent protests & riots will start, lead by unions. This has already happened in Greece and is starting to occur in the EU as well, as the economic avalanche rolls on.
This will prompt already-worried countries like China to start dumping our Treasury Notes and other international-borrowing financial instruments and refuse to extend the US credit unless the interest rate is raised far above present. This will drive the amount the US pays on the interest on the national debt through the roof.
This will cause the US Federal Government to default, and all the entitlements & programs will all but cease to exist. Then, the rest of the people will start to revolt and the fun will REALLY begin, as the US & EU collapses into a Progressive world government after a period of worldwide violence and death.
This is just one, long, chauvinistic tirade of innuendo. It's 'commentary' if we're feeling charitable, insulting propaganda about 'gun toting, Bible kissing hicks' in the U.S. if we're not.
You say that as if it were something unusual. Far be it for many to allow facts or context (or the lack of either) to get in the way of a good conservative Christian-bashing.
Here's an exercise for those outraged. Compare Texas schoolbooks to those in Saudi Arabia or Iran, or any of a number of other countries I could name, and tell me which set is more religiously-biased and has more history-revision. Then tell me why the textbooks that are among the least religiously-biased or "revised" in the entire world are the ones receiving the most outrage & attention.
Seems a bit selective and politically "convenient". Particularly when there seems to be an issue with the facts as to what the actual situation re: any such revisions actually passed or even likely to pass is.
Not that I am any kind of a fan of Marx, but speaking of revising & rewriting history to suit, he never imprisoned anyone.
Of course, Marx didn't imprison/kill anyone himself. The ideology he espoused and that was implemented by others did. As others have posted, I should have cited Lenin.
If this were the late 1920s;
All in all, your post is pretty wacky. National Socialists are going to take control & imprison teachers!!! National Socialists have made inroads into the Reichstag! Jews labeled terrorists!! Unions and community organizations are committing acts of violence!!!!
Entertaining or it would be if you weren't serious.
Neville Chamberlain, is that you, returned from the dead?
I agree with nearly all your post. I take some exception at the narrowness of this:
And never forget there are plenty on the far sides of the political spectrum that would just looove to throw anyone in jail who reads Marx or Mao or anything that is other than "Capitalism Fuck Yeah!"
When Marx & Mao both imprisoned and killed people for reading/possessing "pro-capitalist" literature, books, movies, etc and/or speaking out.
Right now in the US, pro-capitalists, particularly vocal ones like the Tea Party members and others, are being called terrorists, fascists, violent extremists, etc etc by those in government and their private sector backers like the unions despite the lack of any violence by Tea Party protesters. The only violence so far has been carried out by pro-government groups like unions and community organizations in an attempt to discourage opposition and silence protests.
They're getting attention from/labeled as a likely threat by DHS, and being attacked with crude/obscene ad-hominems and generally attacked and portrayed and/or labeled as violent/dangerous/racist/ignorant/homophobic by most broadcast & cable network news programs despite lack of any factual evidence. There are apparently, from their own statements on camera, a number of people in high positions in the current administration who express admiration for Mao & Marx among others, and even some of their ideological dogmas.
Republicans have been nearly as bad. It doesn't actually have anything to do with Republicans or Democrats. It's Progressives, who count Communists and Socialists as their allies, and who have become expert at co-opting other ideologies' common names and other political parties multiple times since the 1920s to avoid popular condemnation for failed policies and economic declines. It's historic fact (which seems to be another thing they like to revise & rewrite to suit). They've seized nearly-complete control of the Democratic Party and have made serious inroads into the Republican Party.
Capitalism and free market principles are being systematically demonized and their adherents personally vilified and attacked by an organized Progressive propaganda program with the "useful idiots" in the mainstream media and academia as accomplices. I don't understand academics and media-types being in favor of Progressiveism, as they'd be among the first eliminated if Progressives seized total power.
I doubt you have ever talked to a resident there in their native tongue. Until you have done that, you haven't watched anything, you just read someone elses opinion or presentation of it and latched on to it because thats easier than getting the experience yourself and forming your own thoughts on the situation.
Besides apparently being an apologist for the murdering Socialist thug Chavez, you also stepped in it with this one. I lived and worked for 4-plus years alongside Venezuelans in Venezuela at an aircraft/avionics maintenance FBO, still have good friends there, so you can stick that fake concern for the "will of the Venezuelan people" and the holier-than-thou, elitist superior attitude in your network port. Chavez is a monster of the worst sort.
Progressiveism/Socialism doesn't work, never has, never will. There would need to exist perfectly moral people with no faults like greed or power-lust for any Progressive/Socialist centrally-controlled government not to devolve into the stuff of nightmares like genocide, police-state hell, dictatorships, civil war, revolts, etc. History is full of such. Almost every time, for a few decades and/or a generation or two or three, people are alert and aware. Then, they forget and the Socialist Ponzi scheme of power & greed starts all over.
Right now, the Progressive/Socialist-run European countries like Greece, Spain, France, Germany, etc are sliding into economic collapse because of Progressive/Socialist policies, and yet this administration and Congress are hellbent on implementing the same failed policies & reforms here that are collapsing those countries from within and causing widespread violence in the streets.
The Progressives/Socialists know this is coming and are setting up a framework of control that will take over once the collapse has weakened the Federal government. The ability to control both the mainstream media and the internet is crucial to suppress opposition. This initial establishment of the governments' power to regulate & control the internet is just a start.
Then it won't be just BP that will get a "boot on the throat", to quote Whitehouse Press Secretary Robert Gibbs at a recent Whitehouse press briefing. Because, as another Obama administration lackey was quoted as saying in a speech; "We understand that political power comes mostly from the barrel of a gun". That should scare the crap out of anyone who is paying attention.
"It's all Progressive fun and games until people get their lives and their freedom taken away."-BlueStrat
Strat
Troll!=Disagree
Moderation -1
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I must be hitting close to home. Typical Progressive reaction to challenges...silence the challenger. I suppose they don't have much choice though when history and the facts are clearly not on their side.
Guns are scary, especially those evil 'semi-auto' ones.
Cars aren't guns so they aren't scary and cars totally aren't multi-ton murder machines.
The operative difference here for those passing such laws being that when the government begins the final change-over from a Democratic Republic to a Socialist regime, you can't use a car to shoot a politician or other government official or functionary that's come to seize your property and your freedom, and send you to a re-education camp because you publicly support capitalism & democracy and own more "stuff" than is considered "economically & socially just" by those in charge with their private jets and mansions.
They haven't dared to try the nationwide banning of guns, YET, but they have no problem with making owning a gun as onerous, burdensome, and legally risky to current and potential gun owners as possible.
Strat
Troll!=Disagree
C'mon mods. You know how this works, and you know that's no troll post.
Guns are scary, especially those evil 'semi-auto' ones.
Cars aren't guns so they aren't scary and cars totally aren't multi-ton murder machines.
The operative difference here for those passing such laws being that when the government begins the final change-over from a Democratic Republic to a Socialist regime, you can't use a car to shoot a politician or other government official or functionary that's come to seize your property and your freedom, and send you to a re-education camp because you publicly support capitalism & democracy and own more "stuff" than is considered "economically & socially just" by those in charge with their private jets and mansions.
They haven't dared to try the nationwide banning of guns, YET, but they have no problem with making owning a gun as onerous, burdensome, and legally risky to current and potential gun owners as possible.
Somehow, in that rant, you managed to gloss over the fact that Chavez was elected, twice. Did any of your 'friends' participate in the national strike?
Yes, they did. Two friends were killed by Chavez' thugs. Chavez was "elected, twice" because Chavez' thugs made sure of the outcome through vote fraud, intimidation, and murder. Basically the same sort of thing we saw with the Obama campaign on steroids, like the video of those armed Black Panthers standing at the entrance to the polls, threatening & intimidating voters.
Or are you saying Mousolini was progressive? or Pol Pot? The Azaku? In other words, you are associating those horrible things with progressive ideals, because thats what you have been told.
Fascism, Communism, Socialism, and Progressiveism are all forms of central control/central planning government structures based around the idea of a large, all-powerful government. They are all forms of the same basic thing. They all put the welfare of the State over the Citizen. So, they all share certain characteristics like little or no personal freedom, no protections from government abuses, and high levels of corruption.
Greece is getting its bailout, for the same reason that the US did under the Bush administration. You remember TARP right? The one that passed under secretary Paulson? That pushed the US debt over the $10 trillion mark under the previous administration. The German banks hold almost 2/3 of the capital in Greece right now, and if they were allowed to take the losses, the contagion would spread to every other country in Europe. And Ill give you just one guess which company would fail(again) should those German banks fail. (All our AIGs really are in one basket here)
All the bailouts, rescues, takeovers, etc etc are only delaying, by a short time, the collapse while at the same time making the inevitable collapse even worse when it comes. I was against Bush's TARP and I'm against the current nonsense. The bailout of Greece has only temporarily slowed things for a few months, a year at most. Meanwhile, now Germany is on shaky ground and *when* (not "if") Greece defaults, Germany will need a bailout, maybe from France, and the chain of collapse will continue. Meanwhile, Progressives in both parties push to have the US follow the exact same path that led Greece to collapse.
The federal reserve of the US reopened their swap lines with Greece over this past weekend to help bolster this failed attempt at capitalism
No, this was not capitalism, Greece was not capitalist it was Progressive/Socialist, and that is *precisely* what led to it's failure. The Federal Reserve was a bad idea and still is, and needs to be opened up, audited, and then dismantled. The lack of political differences between the Republicans and the Democrats is largely due to Progressives in both parties. John McCain is an example of a Republican/Progressive.
Chavez is a monster, because that's what you have been told to think.
Apparently, reading comprehension is a problem for you? If you'd bothered to read my posts you'd see that I clearly stated that I lived and worked over 4 years in Venezuela. I saw with my own eyes the kind of monster Chavez is. I knew the kind of monster Chavez was long before I'd even heard the name "Glenn Beck". He killed friends of mine because they peacefully opposed him. Your comparing Chavez to the US is absurd. I wasn't aware that Bush sent out military/paramilitary/organized civilian "brown-shirt" death squads to kill those that opposed his election or policies like Chavez has done.
That kind of anger based on hindsight is useless for those moving forward. Ironically, thats the type of person that most needs government to interfere in their life, as they are not able to accurately comprehend social responsibility.
That right there is the kind of thinking that allows the Chavez's, Pol Pots, Stalins, and Mao's of the world to seize & hold power. If you're unable to win the ideological argumen
1. crooksandliars.com and mediamatters.org are sites whose main purpose is to document the outrageous behavior of the right so we don't have to rely on hearsay and wacky conspiracy theories. They actually do what you claim Glenn Beck does.
2. Glenn Beck is one seriously troubled and paranoid man. Or else he's morally bankrupt and just acting nuts so he can make truckloads of money by whipping people into a frenzy.
3. You've got the "hands over control of the internet" idea exactly backwards. Net neutrality is about preventing any entity from having control of the Internet - whether that is the government or corporations. It's the opposite of shutting down dissent - it makes it illegal to shut down dissent. And that's a good idea under any administration.
Just...wow.
Son, you didn't just drink the Progressive Kool-Aid, you filled a swimming pool and did the backstroke!
I'm not going to waste any more of my time trying to debate with you, as your posts scream that you're obviously a solid Progressive that can't be swayed by facts and logic. I'm just going to do everything I can to make sure that Progressiveism and the lies Progressives use to gain power are exposed and defeated.
I doubt you have ever talked to a resident there in their native tongue. Until you have done that, you haven't watched anything, you just read someone elses opinion or presentation of it and latched on to it because thats easier than getting the experience yourself and forming your own thoughts on the situation.
Besides apparently being an apologist for the murdering Socialist thug Chavez, you also stepped in it with this one. I lived and worked for 4-plus years alongside Venezuelans in Venezuela at an aircraft/avionics maintenance FBO, still have good friends there, so you can stick that fake concern for the "will of the Venezuelan people" and the holier-than-thou, elitist superior attitude in your network port. Chavez is a monster of the worst sort.
Progressiveism/Socialism doesn't work, never has, never will. There would need to exist perfectly moral people with no faults like greed or power-lust for any Progressive/Socialist centrally-controlled government not to devolve into the stuff of nightmares like genocide, police-state hell, dictatorships, civil war, revolts, etc. History is full of such. Almost every time, for a few decades and/or a generation or two or three, people are alert and aware. Then, they forget and the Socialist Ponzi scheme of power & greed starts all over.
Right now, the Progressive/Socialist-run European countries like Greece, Spain, France, Germany, etc are sliding into economic collapse because of Progressive/Socialist policies, and yet this administration and Congress are hellbent on implementing the same failed policies & reforms here that are collapsing those countries from within and causing widespread violence in the streets.
The Progressives/Socialists know this is coming and are setting up a framework of control that will take over once the collapse has weakened the Federal government. The ability to control both the mainstream media and the internet is crucial to suppress opposition. This initial establishment of the governments' power to regulate & control the internet is just a start.
Then it won't be just BP that will get a "boot on the throat", to quote Whitehouse Press Secretary Robert Gibbs at a recent Whitehouse press briefing. Because, as another Obama administration lackey was quoted as saying in a speech; "We understand that political power comes mostly from the barrel of a gun". That should scare the crap out of anyone who is paying attention.
"It's all Progressive fun and games until people get their lives and their freedom taken away."-BlueStrat
The fact that this guy can get on TV and have people believe his shit makes me sad for this country. Honestly this will lead to America becoming a "developing" nation in short order.
First, the GP's links are to uber-partisan sites that exist to attack ideological opponents of Progressiveism, and have their own problems with facts, accuracy, and context.
As far as Glenn Beck, fortunately people don't need to believe what *HE* says, as most of his TV show consists of videos of Progressives stating their plans and goals *in their own words*. Even if you ignore anything except the videos, audio clips, and other sourced & verified facts, those alone should be enough to start numerous Justice Dept. special investigations if there weren't powerful Progressive political forces protecting these people and organizations.
The problem that conservative Republicans (and anyone else that believes in freedom of speech) has with the net neutrality legislation proposed so far is not the actual network operations regulation concerning routing/peering/QoS/etc, it's the other included stuff that effectively hands over control of the internet to the whims of partisan elected officials & their bureaucratic minions. If you think they won't use this to shut down dissent, you haven't been watching what's happened/is happening in Venezuela with Chavez.
Will you feel the same way when a Republican POTUS uses these powers the Progressives are attempting to usurp?
Your government is preciselly how your voters, people of your country want it to be (don't look at what they say when determining what they want, look at their actions - who they choose, whether or not they become part of the structure if given the chance); it's a reflection of the society.
I somewhat agree here, but with caveats. The US has been in a transitional stage for the last 100 years or so where the Progressives in both parties are attempting a large but incrementally-imposed power-grab. We are in the final stages so the size, scope, and frequency of these final incremental grabs is high and increasing, which has forced US citizens to start waking up.
The Progressives are now worried about the citizens not accepting these power grabs, much like the first few Matrix's failed because nobody accepted the reality. Therefor, increasingly over the last 100 years the Progressives have worked to game the whole election system on a huge scale, and have reduced any chance of the citizens being able to actually make their true will felt through voting by myriads of means.
Normal everyday Americans have very little say in anything the Federal government does. The Progressives have worked very hard for a long, long time to assure this.
What this means is it IS Americans' fault in that they've allowed themselves to be slowly lulled over the last century by government, media, and the consumer culture while they should have been kicking these people out of any public office a long time ago. The only short-term remedy would be a revolt and few have the stomach for it, for good reason. We are temporarily stuck as citizens, as we have little to no control until enough people stop drinking government kool-aid and a tipping-point is reached where sheer numbers will force change.
The only realistic path for true change is political change coming from grass-roots movements like the various Tea Parties who want the US to stop "nation-building", restrict the US to following the Constitution and declare war or stay home, fight only when threatened/attacked, fight to win, and then bring everyone home. Oh, and stop trying to force other nations to accept foolish things like DMCA, ACTA, etc.
If the Progressives win, get ready for metric crap-tons more of what the world hates about the US. Also, do you think the Progressives will long remain content to have "enlightened" *only* the US as to the superiority of US Progressive-elitist rule when they've got the entire military & economic might of the US at their disposal, and with effectively no checks to their power domestically?
The US hasn't had a free market for many decades. The problems the US is facing economically & socially are largely due to government fiddling in economics and attempts at social engineering.
A good public education system propelled America into the 20th century.
What has this got to do with anything I said? I will note, however, that the public schools that were one factor (but not the only by a large margin) that brought us into the 20th century was mostly completely funded in the local community, that community determined the bulk of the curriculum, and received extremely little if any Federal money.
The biggest problem with the US education system isn't a lack of money, the problem is the NEA & other teacher's unions, and the Federal Dept. of Education. They suck up tremendous amounts of money and resources, hinder learning, and protect poor teachers that would be more benefit asking if I want fries with that.
Saying that you can't have health care and freedom is just as absurd as arguing you can't have education and freedom.
Strawman, much? We had healthcare and freedom until they passed HC "reform". Now we have less freedom, healthcare is still getting more expensive, and people will be giving more of their money to the government, as well as giving up their right to make their own healthcare choices.
The government is sometimes a good idea. It does not solve every problem or even most problems, free people do. Get over it.
Slashdot Mirror
nothing will happen to him.
Nothing that a few weeks in the hospital can't fix, anyway.
Sorry, you must be confusing conservatives with SEIU/AFLCIO thugs.
Those on the Progressive Left are the ones that employ bused-in union thugs to gang-beat peaceful non-violent middle-aged black vendors at opposition rallies while spewing racist epithets, then go on to cry on TV about how dangerous/violent their opposition is, and that they are somehow the ones to blame for violence. How "Progressive" of them, eh?
"Loudly accuse your opponent of all the dirty tricks you yourself use even if they do not" has been a mainstay of Progressive tactics since it's birth, along with silencing opposition by any means necessary.
It's a fact demonstrated again and again throughout history; the larger a government is, and the more a government provides, the less freedom there will be and the more dissent of any kind will be silenced/punished.
What the Tea Party/Town Hall protesters should do is keep a stash of various union T-shirts, buttons, and caps. Then, when the thugs start rolling the buses in, pass out identical shirts, buttons, and caps to Tea Party members with bullhorns with orders to sow mass confusion among the thugs with conflicting commands, etc before they can hurt anyone.
That would make a totally hilarious YouTube video! :D
Strat
This submission appears to be quite partisan and one-sided, as well as sparse on the facts and context.
You must be new here...
Heh! As soon as I posted that and looked at it, I thought to myself; "...in three...two...one..." :D
Strat
but guy is still a chicken-fucker.
I have no idea whatsoever.
I'll have to leave it to your apparent expertise.
Strat
There's a larger problem with the whole thing, though; he is being investigated, and yet he is issuing a subpoena related, possibly, to that investigation. There's only a few possible motives for him doing such a thing, and not many of them are to help along the investigation of himself. Thus why independent prosecutors exist, and should be used for this sort of thing; the investigation of Clinton is about the closest situation I can think of at the moment--his AG couldn't be in on it because he's a Cabinet member, appointed by and serving at the leisure of the President--thus, easily influenced by him, making him possibly ineffective at the job.
If you then make it a condition that no AG or politician that may be under some kind of investigation can perform essential functions of their office (and for AG, investigations & prosecutions are a major part), then you've effectively shut down nearly all oversight and curbs on corruption. If you're a political player that thinks you may be on the investigative radar, just get the officials behind it embroiled in some meaningless charges. If the investigation gets too close, just scream about "possible conflicts".
Technically, *any* investigation *may* touch upon some other matter or investigation. How does one know unless one investigates? If it could be proven he had some foreknowledge that the investigation he launched had ties to his own investigation...well, there are already-existing policies and laws to handle such things for this exact reason, right?
Normally, if an AG/prosecutor/etc starts an investigation and it comes to light *after* the investigation starts that there may be a conflict he was previously unaware of, he would recuse himself and the case/investigation/prosecution continues. If a state AG cannot investigate anyone from the other party, that would give free rein for that party to be as corrupt and criminal as they want without fear.
Why does it seem like every time a conservative, with no clear and/or credible evidence of any wrongdoing on his part regarding the investigation in question, is in charge of an investigation regarding a Progressive, the cry is "there is nothing to prove he is NOT violating ethical/legal standards and should be attacked/investigated/prosecuted!" and when the shoe is on the other political foot, any suggestion that there may be conflicts of interest/corruption is viciously attacked, even when there is video/audio/blatant evidence that the suspicions are true?
Personally, I feel that those on the Progressive Left that scream the loudest and are most outraged when they are investigated for blatant corruption, etc are that upset & vocal not so much because of what an investigation may reveal, but they are outraged because of their arrogant attitude that THEY are on the ones who investigate OTHERS, and how dare they? THEY are only dumb hicks "clinging to their God and their guns" that should be electing us as rulers for life, like our good Progressive friend Hugo!
The USA was a great nation long before Progressiveism, and if we survive, will be a great nation again without it.
Strat
So basically, what you're saying is the corrupt have rights and the honest, whether they reveal corruption within the corruption about the corrupt have no rights whatsoever?
There ain't no foxes in this here chicken coop and we'll sue anyone who says otherwise.
The submission and your assumptions are incorrect. The subpoena has to do with another ongoing investigation into corruption in which it is suspected that the defendant(s) has engaged in possibly illegal actions regarding the proceedings through the use of Twitter and a blog.
Or is it OK now for politicians you like to break the law, and not OK for a politician you don't like to follow the law, particularly when following the law hurts your favored politician/ideology?
Some animals are more equal than others.
Strat
But what if the twitterer ISN'T at all connected to the investigation?
What if they are just a person who reads the papers and is pissed off, or who hears rumors from others or whatever?
Does a person lose their right to anonymous speech merely because someone SUSPECTS that they might someone else?
If he can get a subpoena, that means he will have had to have had a judge look at the evidence and decide the facts do, indeed, merit his request.
Does a person have to be tried & convicted before evidence of his crime can be subpoenaed?
That seems a bit backwards, but some people will justify an amazing amount of hypocrisy to defend their ideology & leaders. And, yes, I'd say the same things if the (R) & (D) tags were reversed, as it isn't about the party, just the crime(s). Just as I say that GWB screwed up a lot of stuff and I disagreed with many of his administration's actions and policies.
Strat
Isn't free speech allowed unless you're directly threating someone?
Apparently you haven't RTFA or done any other checking.
The particular Twitter ID's in question are linked to an ongoing corruption case against a number of Democrat politicians/operatives, and it's suspected that a defendant in that ongoing case has been tweeting & blogging anonymously about the prosecutor & AG and the investigation itself.
In many courts/proceedings, revealing proceeding-related information or attempting to poison the proceedings outside the courtroom is cause for prosecution and/or contempt-of-court charges.
If this is true and the AG has probable cause to legitimately suspect criminal actions have taken/are taking place, would he not be remiss if he did nothing?
This submission appears to be quite partisan and one-sided, as well as sparse on the facts and context.
Strat
I'm guessing he meant a handgun. When was the last time you'd gone hunting with a glock pistol?
Actually a Glock over .35 caliber, even being semi-auto, can be legally used for deer hunting in Michigan in the appropriate portion of the season.
From: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10366_37141_37706-31578--,00.html
"A conventional (smokeless powder) handgun must be .35 caliber or larger and loaded with straight-walled cartridges and may be single- or multiple-shot but cannot exceed a maximum capacity of nine rounds in the barrel and magazine combined."
Much deer hunting in Michigan occurs at ranges less than 50 yards in dense, heavily-overgrown copses with thick underbrush that makes a pistol a better hunting tool. It's hard to swing a full-length rifle or shotgun around when you're in thick underbrush or in a small hunter's tree-stand, and the shorter range also makes a pistol a good hunting choice in those scenarios.
Strat
Too bad the current US President seems to be channeling Woodrow Wilson. The demonization of middle-age & senior citizens, often with children & grandchildren with them, that have protested this governments' irresponsibility (Tea Party), and the characterization of them as violent & dangerous, is the first step towards repeating, or even exceeding, Wilson-esque suppression of dissent. Particularly when coupled with the government wishing to be able to detain citizens indefinitely without a trial or due process on their whim.
Wait wait wait, who is characterizing the Tea Party as violent and dangerous? They've been doing a really good job of characterizing themselves as clueless and uninformed, but I haven't seen anyone imply that they're dangerous (except maybe politically, but that's a different thing).
Well, there's Bill Clinton: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvkM98tfvVg
Nancy Pelosi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tmQwVm9Vqc
Then there's the entire Liberal/Progressive propaganda arm...oops, I meant the mainstream media...that's repeatedly tried to link the Tea Party to violence and cast it as dangerous when there have been ZERO ARRESTS of Tea Party people, but multiple violent assaults by, and multiple arrests/charges on, those who call themselves "liberal" and "progressive" and screamed about freedom of speech and protest equaling patriotism when GWB was in office.
Remember kids, it's not just the speech you like/agree with that's free, because otherwise some day it will be YOUR speech being curtailed.
Strat
Has it occurred to you that might have unintended consequences, such as discouraging investment?
I'm sure it has occurred to him, but if he is a typical Progressive, that would be an argument in favor. All this capitalism, free markets, limited government power, and individual freedom stuff is so...so...20th century.
Haven't you received your indoc^W^W^W^Winformation from your "official" EPA-sponsored church about "Environmental Justice", "Social Justice", and "Economic Justice"? It's the Gospel according to Saint Pelosi and His Obamaness.
Remember Brothers and Sisters, if your church isn't working with the EPA to promote "God's Agenda", it could find things very difficult economically. "Official" churches get special government-sponsored low-rate loans, etc.
Always remember children, Satan was a conservative! Burn one today!
Now, where are all those people who were screaming "separation of church and state!!!!" when GWB started his faith-based initiatives? The silence is deafening.
Strat
The other reason that's a lousy example is because it was the argument Woodrow Wilson used to imprison Alice Paul, suffragettes, and other people protesting World War 1 (Sound familiar? Almost like George Duh Bush). No leader or government should have that power to silence the people, even in time of war.
Too bad the current US President seems to be channeling Woodrow Wilson. The demonization of middle-age & senior citizens, often with children & grandchildren with them, that have protested this governments' irresponsibility (Tea Party), and the characterization of them as violent & dangerous, is the first step towards repeating, or even exceeding, Wilson-esque suppression of dissent. Particularly when coupled with the government wishing to be able to detain citizens indefinitely without a trial or due process on their whim.
Things in the US and the world are going to get real scary very, very fast. I expect within less than 5 years, maybe less than 2 years, state budgets will start defaulting on things like union pensions, etc and then the violent protests & riots will start, lead by unions. This has already happened in Greece and is starting to occur in the EU as well, as the economic avalanche rolls on.
This will prompt already-worried countries like China to start dumping our Treasury Notes and other international-borrowing financial instruments and refuse to extend the US credit unless the interest rate is raised far above present. This will drive the amount the US pays on the interest on the national debt through the roof.
This will cause the US Federal Government to default, and all the entitlements & programs will all but cease to exist. Then, the rest of the people will start to revolt and the fun will REALLY begin, as the US & EU collapses into a Progressive world government after a period of worldwide violence and death.
Have a nice day! :)
Strat
This is just one, long, chauvinistic tirade of innuendo. It's 'commentary' if we're feeling charitable, insulting propaganda about 'gun toting, Bible kissing hicks' in the U.S. if we're not.
You say that as if it were something unusual. Far be it for many to allow facts or context (or the lack of either) to get in the way of a good conservative Christian-bashing.
Here's an exercise for those outraged. Compare Texas schoolbooks to those in Saudi Arabia or Iran, or any of a number of other countries I could name, and tell me which set is more religiously-biased and has more history-revision. Then tell me why the textbooks that are among the least religiously-biased or "revised" in the entire world are the ones receiving the most outrage & attention.
Seems a bit selective and politically "convenient". Particularly when there seems to be an issue with the facts as to what the actual situation re: any such revisions actually passed or even likely to pass is.
Strat
Not that I am any kind of a fan of Marx, but speaking of revising & rewriting history to suit, he never imprisoned anyone.
Of course, Marx didn't imprison/kill anyone himself. The ideology he espoused and that was implemented by others did. As others have posted, I should have cited Lenin.
If this were the late 1920s;
All in all, your post is pretty wacky. National Socialists are going to take control & imprison teachers!!! National Socialists have made inroads into the Reichstag! Jews labeled terrorists!! Unions and community organizations are committing acts of violence!!!!
Entertaining or it would be if you weren't serious.
Neville Chamberlain, is that you, returned from the dead?
Strat
I agree with nearly all your post. I take some exception at the narrowness of this:
And never forget there are plenty on the far sides of the political spectrum that would just looove to throw anyone in jail who reads Marx or Mao or anything that is other than "Capitalism Fuck Yeah!"
When Marx & Mao both imprisoned and killed people for reading/possessing "pro-capitalist" literature, books, movies, etc and/or speaking out.
Right now in the US, pro-capitalists, particularly vocal ones like the Tea Party members and others, are being called terrorists, fascists, violent extremists, etc etc by those in government and their private sector backers like the unions despite the lack of any violence by Tea Party protesters. The only violence so far has been carried out by pro-government groups like unions and community organizations in an attempt to discourage opposition and silence protests.
They're getting attention from/labeled as a likely threat by DHS, and being attacked with crude/obscene ad-hominems and generally attacked and portrayed and/or labeled as violent/dangerous/racist/ignorant/homophobic by most broadcast & cable network news programs despite lack of any factual evidence. There are apparently, from their own statements on camera, a number of people in high positions in the current administration who express admiration for Mao & Marx among others, and even some of their ideological dogmas.
Republicans have been nearly as bad. It doesn't actually have anything to do with Republicans or Democrats. It's Progressives, who count Communists and Socialists as their allies, and who have become expert at co-opting other ideologies' common names and other political parties multiple times since the 1920s to avoid popular condemnation for failed policies and economic declines. It's historic fact (which seems to be another thing they like to revise & rewrite to suit). They've seized nearly-complete control of the Democratic Party and have made serious inroads into the Republican Party.
Capitalism and free market principles are being systematically demonized and their adherents personally vilified and attacked by an organized Progressive propaganda program with the "useful idiots" in the mainstream media and academia as accomplices. I don't understand academics and media-types being in favor of Progressiveism, as they'd be among the first eliminated if Progressives seized total power.
Strat
Instead people buy and iPad, and let Apple erode their value!
Would it not be wise to lubricate said "value" before Apple "erodes" it to minimize discomfort?
Just askin'.
Strat
I doubt you have ever talked to a resident there in their native tongue. Until you have done that, you haven't watched anything, you just read someone elses opinion or presentation of it and latched on to it because thats easier than getting the experience yourself and forming your own thoughts on the situation.
Besides apparently being an apologist for the murdering Socialist thug Chavez, you also stepped in it with this one. I lived and worked for 4-plus years alongside Venezuelans in Venezuela at an aircraft/avionics maintenance FBO, still have good friends there, so you can stick that fake concern for the "will of the Venezuelan people" and the holier-than-thou, elitist superior attitude in your network port. Chavez is a monster of the worst sort.
Progressiveism/Socialism doesn't work, never has, never will. There would need to exist perfectly moral people with no faults like greed or power-lust for any Progressive/Socialist centrally-controlled government not to devolve into the stuff of nightmares like genocide, police-state hell, dictatorships, civil war, revolts, etc. History is full of such. Almost every time, for a few decades and/or a generation or two or three, people are alert and aware. Then, they forget and the Socialist Ponzi scheme of power & greed starts all over.
Right now, the Progressive/Socialist-run European countries like Greece, Spain, France, Germany, etc are sliding into economic collapse because of Progressive/Socialist policies, and yet this administration and Congress are hellbent on implementing the same failed policies & reforms here that are collapsing those countries from within and causing widespread violence in the streets.
The Progressives/Socialists know this is coming and are setting up a framework of control that will take over once the collapse has weakened the Federal government. The ability to control both the mainstream media and the internet is crucial to suppress opposition. This initial establishment of the governments' power to regulate & control the internet is just a start.
Then it won't be just BP that will get a "boot on the throat", to quote Whitehouse Press Secretary Robert Gibbs at a recent Whitehouse press briefing. Because, as another Obama administration lackey was quoted as saying in a speech; "We understand that political power comes mostly from the barrel of a gun". That should scare the crap out of anyone who is paying attention.
"It's all Progressive fun and games until people get their lives and their freedom taken away."-BlueStrat
Strat
Troll!=Disagree
Moderation -1
40% Troll
30% Interesting
30% Overrated
Extra 'Troll' Modifier 0 (Edit)
Total Score: 0
I must be hitting close to home. Typical Progressive reaction to challenges...silence the challenger. I suppose they don't have much choice though when history and the facts are clearly not on their side.
Strat
Guns are scary, especially those evil 'semi-auto' ones.
Cars aren't guns so they aren't scary and cars totally aren't multi-ton murder machines.
The operative difference here for those passing such laws being that when the government begins the final change-over from a Democratic Republic to a Socialist regime, you can't use a car to shoot a politician or other government official or functionary that's come to seize your property and your freedom, and send you to a re-education camp because you publicly support capitalism & democracy and own more "stuff" than is considered "economically & socially just" by those in charge with their private jets and mansions.
They haven't dared to try the nationwide banning of guns, YET, but they have no problem with making owning a gun as onerous, burdensome, and legally risky to current and potential gun owners as possible.
Strat
Troll!=Disagree
C'mon mods. You know how this works, and you know that's no troll post.
Just confirmation that I'm right.
"you can't use a car to shoot a politician or other government official or functionary that's come to seize your property and your freedom..."
You don't shoot people with cars, that's silly, though if done it would be awesomely silly. You run them down, back up, and repeat a few times.
What's the most awesome way to kill a politician if you're a geeky mechanical engineer?
Car-tapult! :D
Strat
Guns are scary, especially those evil 'semi-auto' ones.
Cars aren't guns so they aren't scary and cars totally aren't multi-ton murder machines.
The operative difference here for those passing such laws being that when the government begins the final change-over from a Democratic Republic to a Socialist regime, you can't use a car to shoot a politician or other government official or functionary that's come to seize your property and your freedom, and send you to a re-education camp because you publicly support capitalism & democracy and own more "stuff" than is considered "economically & socially just" by those in charge with their private jets and mansions.
They haven't dared to try the nationwide banning of guns, YET, but they have no problem with making owning a gun as onerous, burdensome, and legally risky to current and potential gun owners as possible.
Strat
Somehow, in that rant, you managed to gloss over the fact that Chavez was elected, twice. Did any of your 'friends' participate in the national strike?
Yes, they did. Two friends were killed by Chavez' thugs. Chavez was "elected, twice" because Chavez' thugs made sure of the outcome through vote fraud, intimidation, and murder. Basically the same sort of thing we saw with the Obama campaign on steroids, like the video of those armed Black Panthers standing at the entrance to the polls, threatening & intimidating voters.
Or are you saying Mousolini was progressive? or Pol Pot? The Azaku? In other words, you are associating those horrible things with progressive ideals, because thats what you have been told.
Fascism, Communism, Socialism, and Progressiveism are all forms of central control/central planning government structures based around the idea of a large, all-powerful government. They are all forms of the same basic thing. They all put the welfare of the State over the Citizen. So, they all share certain characteristics like little or no personal freedom, no protections from government abuses, and high levels of corruption.
Greece is getting its bailout, for the same reason that the US did under the Bush administration. You remember TARP right? The one that passed under secretary Paulson? That pushed the US debt over the $10 trillion mark under the previous administration. The German banks hold almost 2/3 of the capital in Greece right now, and if they were allowed to take the losses, the contagion would spread to every other country in Europe. And Ill give you just one guess which company would fail(again) should those German banks fail. (All our AIGs really are in one basket here)
All the bailouts, rescues, takeovers, etc etc are only delaying, by a short time, the collapse while at the same time making the inevitable collapse even worse when it comes. I was against Bush's TARP and I'm against the current nonsense. The bailout of Greece has only temporarily slowed things for a few months, a year at most. Meanwhile, now Germany is on shaky ground and *when* (not "if") Greece defaults, Germany will need a bailout, maybe from France, and the chain of collapse will continue. Meanwhile, Progressives in both parties push to have the US follow the exact same path that led Greece to collapse.
The federal reserve of the US reopened their swap lines with Greece over this past weekend to help bolster this failed attempt at capitalism
No, this was not capitalism, Greece was not capitalist it was Progressive/Socialist, and that is *precisely* what led to it's failure. The Federal Reserve was a bad idea and still is, and needs to be opened up, audited, and then dismantled. The lack of political differences between the Republicans and the Democrats is largely due to Progressives in both parties. John McCain is an example of a Republican/Progressive.
Chavez is a monster, because that's what you have been told to think.
Apparently, reading comprehension is a problem for you? If you'd bothered to read my posts you'd see that I clearly stated that I lived and worked over 4 years in Venezuela. I saw with my own eyes the kind of monster Chavez is. I knew the kind of monster Chavez was long before I'd even heard the name "Glenn Beck". He killed friends of mine because they peacefully opposed him. Your comparing Chavez to the US is absurd. I wasn't aware that Bush sent out military/paramilitary/organized civilian "brown-shirt" death squads to kill those that opposed his election or policies like Chavez has done.
That kind of anger based on hindsight is useless for those moving forward. Ironically, thats the type of person that most needs government to interfere in their life, as they are not able to accurately comprehend social responsibility.
That right there is the kind of thinking that allows the Chavez's, Pol Pots, Stalins, and Mao's of the world to seize & hold power. If you're unable to win the ideological argumen
1. crooksandliars.com and mediamatters.org are sites whose main purpose is to document the outrageous behavior of the right so we don't have to rely on hearsay and wacky conspiracy theories. They actually do what you claim Glenn Beck does.
2. Glenn Beck is one seriously troubled and paranoid man. Or else he's morally bankrupt and just acting nuts so he can make truckloads of money by whipping people into a frenzy.
3. You've got the "hands over control of the internet" idea exactly backwards. Net neutrality is about preventing any entity from having control of the Internet - whether that is the government or corporations. It's the opposite of shutting down dissent - it makes it illegal to shut down dissent. And that's a good idea under any administration.
Just...wow.
Son, you didn't just drink the Progressive Kool-Aid, you filled a swimming pool and did the backstroke!
I'm not going to waste any more of my time trying to debate with you, as your posts scream that you're obviously a solid Progressive that can't be swayed by facts and logic. I'm just going to do everything I can to make sure that Progressiveism and the lies Progressives use to gain power are exposed and defeated.
Strat
I doubt you have ever talked to a resident there in their native tongue. Until you have done that, you haven't watched anything, you just read someone elses opinion or presentation of it and latched on to it because thats easier than getting the experience yourself and forming your own thoughts on the situation.
Besides apparently being an apologist for the murdering Socialist thug Chavez, you also stepped in it with this one. I lived and worked for 4-plus years alongside Venezuelans in Venezuela at an aircraft/avionics maintenance FBO, still have good friends there, so you can stick that fake concern for the "will of the Venezuelan people" and the holier-than-thou, elitist superior attitude in your network port. Chavez is a monster of the worst sort.
Progressiveism/Socialism doesn't work, never has, never will. There would need to exist perfectly moral people with no faults like greed or power-lust for any Progressive/Socialist centrally-controlled government not to devolve into the stuff of nightmares like genocide, police-state hell, dictatorships, civil war, revolts, etc. History is full of such. Almost every time, for a few decades and/or a generation or two or three, people are alert and aware. Then, they forget and the Socialist Ponzi scheme of power & greed starts all over.
Right now, the Progressive/Socialist-run European countries like Greece, Spain, France, Germany, etc are sliding into economic collapse because of Progressive/Socialist policies, and yet this administration and Congress are hellbent on implementing the same failed policies & reforms here that are collapsing those countries from within and causing widespread violence in the streets.
The Progressives/Socialists know this is coming and are setting up a framework of control that will take over once the collapse has weakened the Federal government. The ability to control both the mainstream media and the internet is crucial to suppress opposition. This initial establishment of the governments' power to regulate & control the internet is just a start.
Then it won't be just BP that will get a "boot on the throat", to quote Whitehouse Press Secretary Robert Gibbs at a recent Whitehouse press briefing. Because, as another Obama administration lackey was quoted as saying in a speech; "We understand that political power comes mostly from the barrel of a gun". That should scare the crap out of anyone who is paying attention.
"It's all Progressive fun and games until people get their lives and their freedom taken away."-BlueStrat
Strat
The fact that this guy can get on TV and have people believe his shit makes me sad for this country. Honestly this will lead to America becoming a "developing" nation in short order.
First, the GP's links are to uber-partisan sites that exist to attack ideological opponents of Progressiveism, and have their own problems with facts, accuracy, and context.
As far as Glenn Beck, fortunately people don't need to believe what *HE* says, as most of his TV show consists of videos of Progressives stating their plans and goals *in their own words*. Even if you ignore anything except the videos, audio clips, and other sourced & verified facts, those alone should be enough to start numerous Justice Dept. special investigations if there weren't powerful Progressive political forces protecting these people and organizations.
The problem that conservative Republicans (and anyone else that believes in freedom of speech) has with the net neutrality legislation proposed so far is not the actual network operations regulation concerning routing/peering/QoS/etc, it's the other included stuff that effectively hands over control of the internet to the whims of partisan elected officials & their bureaucratic minions. If you think they won't use this to shut down dissent, you haven't been watching what's happened/is happening in Venezuela with Chavez.
Will you feel the same way when a Republican POTUS uses these powers the Progressives are attempting to usurp?
Strat
Your government is preciselly how your voters, people of your country want it to be (don't look at what they say when determining what they want, look at their actions - who they choose, whether or not they become part of the structure if given the chance); it's a reflection of the society.
I somewhat agree here, but with caveats. The US has been in a transitional stage for the last 100 years or so where the Progressives in both parties are attempting a large but incrementally-imposed power-grab. We are in the final stages so the size, scope, and frequency of these final incremental grabs is high and increasing, which has forced US citizens to start waking up.
The Progressives are now worried about the citizens not accepting these power grabs, much like the first few Matrix's failed because nobody accepted the reality. Therefor, increasingly over the last 100 years the Progressives have worked to game the whole election system on a huge scale, and have reduced any chance of the citizens being able to actually make their true will felt through voting by myriads of means.
Normal everyday Americans have very little say in anything the Federal government does. The Progressives have worked very hard for a long, long time to assure this.
What this means is it IS Americans' fault in that they've allowed themselves to be slowly lulled over the last century by government, media, and the consumer culture while they should have been kicking these people out of any public office a long time ago. The only short-term remedy would be a revolt and few have the stomach for it, for good reason. We are temporarily stuck as citizens, as we have little to no control until enough people stop drinking government kool-aid and a tipping-point is reached where sheer numbers will force change.
The only realistic path for true change is political change coming from grass-roots movements like the various Tea Parties who want the US to stop "nation-building", restrict the US to following the Constitution and declare war or stay home, fight only when threatened/attacked, fight to win, and then bring everyone home. Oh, and stop trying to force other nations to accept foolish things like DMCA, ACTA, etc.
If the Progressives win, get ready for metric crap-tons more of what the world hates about the US. Also, do you think the Progressives will long remain content to have "enlightened" *only* the US as to the superiority of US Progressive-elitist rule when they've got the entire military & economic might of the US at their disposal, and with effectively no checks to their power domestically?
Strat
This is just 'free market as a panacea' nonsense
The US hasn't had a free market for many decades. The problems the US is facing economically & socially are largely due to government fiddling in economics and attempts at social engineering.
A good public education system propelled America into the 20th century.
What has this got to do with anything I said? I will note, however, that the public schools that were one factor (but not the only by a large margin) that brought us into the 20th century was mostly completely funded in the local community, that community determined the bulk of the curriculum, and received extremely little if any Federal money.
The biggest problem with the US education system isn't a lack of money, the problem is the NEA & other teacher's unions, and the Federal Dept. of Education. They suck up tremendous amounts of money and resources, hinder learning, and protect poor teachers that would be more benefit asking if I want fries with that.
Saying that you can't have health care and freedom is just as absurd as arguing you can't have education and freedom.
Strawman, much? We had healthcare and freedom until they passed HC "reform". Now we have less freedom, healthcare is still getting more expensive, and people will be giving more of their money to the government, as well as giving up their right to make their own healthcare choices.
The government is sometimes a good idea. It does not solve every problem or even most problems, free people do. Get over it.
Fixed that for you. You needn't thank me.
Strat