tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23662617.post4276675132592261870..comments2023-10-12T04:28:37.276-07:00Comments on Graphictruth: Dear Bill O'Rielly - Yo Mamma!Bob Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12331371505961522315noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23662617.post-65948315967737456052009-02-15T18:24:00.000-08:002009-02-15T18:24:00.000-08:00I don't really need to believe or disbelieve in th...I don't really need to believe or disbelieve in the goodness of Bush's heart. All I need to know is that he is singular in living memory for failing to achieve a single policy initiative - at least, if we are to believe the stated intent. <BR/><BR/>from NCLB to energy policy to financial oversight to - obviously - food safety funding and infrastructure, the entire bush administration was a failure.<BR/><BR/>This cannot be said of Regan - whom I dispise, and Carter, in whom I was disappointed, or the clinicians, who were about as good as we deserved, in the Irish sense of these things. "No better than he ought to be, to be Ireland's king."<BR/><BR/>Finally, something to understand about taxes. the money you pay to the government is not the only taxes you pay - in terms of practical effect. You should also include things like the cost of insurance - which increases according to the general crime rate, which is in turn directly influenced by public policy. <BR/><BR/>You should also consider extra time and extra precautions to be a tax. For instance, I will absolutely agree with the right to bear arms. But if you honestly feel the necessity to have a concealed weapon on your person, there IS a huge problem and you are paying a very high, unaccounted tax upon your freedom and your stress levels. <BR/><BR/>Ideally, we pay taxes at a low rate in order to forestall very high rates of infringement upon our lives and liberty. And in that sense, we should all be thinking of government as being not unlike an insurance company, and we should be expecting the same or better levels of customer service and - indeed - return on investment. <BR/><BR/>Justice Holmes "I like paying taxes; with them I buy civilization."<BR/><BR/>When civilization does NOT come out the other end, it's not an inherent problem of government - it's the result of outright malfeasance. For I assure you, no civilization in the history of the world has existed without a proportional, highly skilled and professional civil service. <BR/><BR/>Period. <BR/><BR/>Furthermore, when government is sabotaged and corrupted, civilization has a tendancy to screech to a halt. <BR/><BR/>I'm skeptical that the average neocon is actually capable of functioning within a neofudal transitional environment, much less digging potatoes. Old marxists they are, and old marxists they remain - so no doubt they will try to collectivize the means of production - that is to say, round up some people, call them Comrade and treat them as slaves.<BR/><BR/>As I stated, if it seems prudent to carry a concealed weapon at all times, there's something very wrong.Bob Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12331371505961522315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23662617.post-73024801816437630322009-02-15T17:19:00.000-08:002009-02-15T17:19:00.000-08:00Sorry, for the long break in responding to your co...Sorry, for the long break in responding to your comments. Fact is O'Rielly should have simply apologized and admitted that he was out of line. He has a lot of good things to say about our country and our culture that are worth hearing him on. I don't like the fact that he tried to defend his comments once he realized that some were not willing to give him a pass and move on. This is not the way O’Rielly normally talks (I know because I watch his show often) so I was willing to give him a pass until he defended it. His defense just amplified that fact that he was wrong on this one.<BR/> BTW – I hope that Obama’s supporters (those who actually voted for him) are beginning to realize that while W. was a poor communicator and had horrendous PR advise, in most cases he was acting in the best interest of the nation. The only way he could act given the realities in this troubled world and the political venom he had to deal with from his first day in office until his last. Obama will likely do many things exactly like W. because they are the right things to do but he will finesse it so it looks like “change we can believe in”. Speaking of change, tax season is upon us and I was thinking of trying one of those new "whoops I guess I really screwed that up" tax planning ideas I learned recently watching the cabinet confirmation hearings. How about you?Pop-Pophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08702140992378314572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23662617.post-91946627331998539072009-02-12T18:30:00.000-08:002009-02-12T18:30:00.000-08:00An honest person would have to admit that O'Rielly...An honest person would have to admit that O'Rielly's comments were obviously juvenile humor and in fun. You have no right judging the man's thoughts or intentions. How would you feel if somebody stated as fact that Obama intentionally lied to the country about bringing integrity back to the government in order to get elected. That would not be fair since he could simply be willing to put aside his integrity for the good of the country. I would never do that.Pop-Pophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08702140992378314572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23662617.post-840540920233775462009-02-11T14:03:00.000-08:002009-02-11T14:03:00.000-08:00Some people just bring out the best in me... which...Some people just bring out the best in me... which is why he has an entire category and his own t-shirt. The man is Gresham's law and The Peter Principle in a suit - with no pants.<BR/><BR/>And thanks for commenting! :)Bob Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12331371505961522315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23662617.post-67982991631623163202009-02-11T13:50:00.000-08:002009-02-11T13:50:00.000-08:00Wow - remind me to never get on your bad side! Tha...Wow - remind me to never get on your bad side! Thanks for writing about this. :)Jillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02175591212176951287noreply@blogger.com