The Pessimism of the Left

[pocketfullofshells]

Lag .... really ... Jon Stewart. This is obviously your problem. You are getting your current news from wacko entertainment.

I am not willing to debate this. Choose something relevant. Something that deals with current news stories. And, don't give me that BS that conservative radio is entertainment. It is not and they discuss current events outside of humor ... I will not accept SNL either ....

Try again or remain in the liberal category of accepting humor for real hardline news!

no use of good news sources you mean....Stewart does a better job with facts then Fox news could dream of...and thats counting all the times he makes shit up for fun ( difference is his viewers know when he made shit up...republicans on Fox have no idea)

 

[Texas_tea]

SNL is not news. Yes Stewart is on comedy central. He is sometimes too silly and hard to take when news is slow. But there are times when he is very articulate and penetrates to the core of the problem that is in the current news. That is the sort of video that would give a liberal perspective better than Rachel Madow or whatever they have on MSNBC.

Stewart, when he is serious is a counterpart to O'Reily.

Otherwise the news I watch is just factual events with no political slant or opinion one way or another. There is nothing to debate.

Sorry Lag ....

As I stated above, there is no fixing it. It is a disorder.

As long as you continue to get your news and information from low information sites/programs like Jon Stewart, Colbert, SNL, MSNBC, etc

You will not be cured .....

 

[Lagboltz]

Sorry Lag ....

As I stated above, there is no fixing it. It is a disorder.

As long as you continue to get your news and information from low information sites/programs like Jon Stewart, Colbert, SNL, MSNBC, etc

You will not be cured .....

Colbert, SNL, MSNBC, Stewart are never news. I already told you that the news I read is just factual events with no political slant or opinion one way or another.

You issued a challenge, on commentary, not news. I responded. Now you are backing down because you don't like my source of commentary, and your reason is phony.

I already told you I do not watch MSNBC, SNL, or Colbert. When Stewart is not screwing around he is commentary. He can be just as serious as O'Reily, Limbaugh, or Beck.

Your posts are replete phrases like “brainwashed sheeple” but you always back away from having to even hint about what you say is the “obvious.” The irony is that you are backing away from your own challenge and attempting to blame me. I really don't think you have any idea what “brainwashed sheeple” means to you other than an empty sound bite you can toss around.

 

[Lagboltz]

Personally, I think the answer is to embrace the technology. Use it ... let it produce the kind of economy that will be able to support our population. We need to protect the technology, not share it with competing countries, but we need to use it to advance our economy.

BUT ... I don't believe in just giving it to the people. They need to earn it ... whatever that means. Write a book - study a science - sweep a street. It is crucial to the human condition that they feel self-supported. I believe there needs to be a structure to make people strive - a streetsweeper makes a living wage, even though he only works 10 a week, an author gets two times a living wage, a robot operator 3 times, an engineer 4 times. Whatever it takes ... there must be a structure that demands personal growth.

For once I agree with everything you posted. Our future problems are also exacerbated by the aging population. Sure, they might be capable of working longer at simpler jobs, but those jobs are diminishing.

Another future factor is that the cost of practically all consumer goods is derived just from energy and labor costs. As the labor costs are driven down by automation, the remaining cost will be energy. Some cost exceptions include patent licensing, and land leasing.

Energy costs will continue to rise faster than the cost of living. A very interesting slant on energy costs is in the concept of EROEI (Energy Return On Energy Investment.) For example, how many barrels of oil can be mined with the energy of one barrel of oil. It used to be 100:1 in 1930. Now it's 10:1 in Saudi Arabia, and 5:1 in the US. It will get worse. The EROEI of ethanol from corn is around 1.2:1 to 1.6:1, a travesty in government policy.

A summary of EROEI for various energy sources is in figures 6 and 7:
http://www.roboticscaucus.org/ENERG...GENDA/documents/DFID_Report1_2012_11_04-2.pdf

 

[Texas_tea]

Colbert, SNL, MSNBC, Stewart are never news. I already told you that the news I read is just factual events with no political slant or opinion one way or another.

You issued a challenge, on commentary, not news. I responded. Now you are backing down because you don't like my source of commentary, and your reason is phony.

I already told you I do not watch MSNBC, SNL, or Colbert. When Stewart is not screwing around he is commentary. He can be just as serious as O'Reily, Limbaugh, or Beck.

Your posts are replete phrases like “brainwashed sheeple” but you always back away from having to even hint about what you say is the “obvious.” The irony is that you are backing away from your own challenge and attempting to blame me. I really don't think you have any idea what “brainwashed sheeple” means to you other than an empty sound bite you can toss around.

OK my friend ... If you want to debate the words of a comedian as hard line news facts and opinions ... then please, fire away.

But, I must tell you, I do not have access to his show.

 

[Lagboltz]

OK my friend ... If you want to debate the words of a comedian as hard line news facts and opinions ... then please, fire away.

But, I must tell you, I do not have access to his show.

Remember the purpose of this exercise you propose is to illustrate how we liberals are brainwashed sheeple. I will allow you to go first and give me at least one link to a youtube video that will illustrate that point.

 

[Texas_tea]

Remember the purpose of this exercise you propose is to illustrate how we liberals are brainwashed sheeple. I will allow you to go first and give me at least one link to a youtube video that will illustrate that point.

No ... that is not the "purpose" of what I was proposing at all. The fact that you get your information from a comedy channel already illustrates how liberals like yourself are misinformed.

The purpose of the challenge I was proposing was to spur some real and current debate. A recent topic that was discussed by an outlet of your choice and then one of mine in hopes of showing that one or both were either spin, fact, total BS or just maybe actually relevant.

 

[Lagboltz]

No ... that is not the "purpose" of what I was proposing at all. The fact that you get your information from a comedy channel already illustrates how liberals like yourself are misinformed.

The purpose of the challenge I was proposing was to spur some real and current debate. A recent topic that was discussed by an outlet of your choice and then one of mine in hopes of showing that one or both were either spin, fact, total BS or just maybe actually relevant.

Well, if you are not going to explain the soundbite “brainwashed sheeple,” the idea of looking at news that covers ObamaCare, gun laws and Bengazi doesn't sound like a reasonable substitute. These subjects have been covered ad nauseam in this forum. It would only lead to bitter bickering and we would no longer be BFF.

 

[GBFan]

Well, if you are not going to explain the soundbite “brainwashed sheeple,” the idea of looking at news that covers ObamaCare, gun laws and Bengazi doesn't sound like a reasonable substitute. These subjects have been covered ad nauseam in this forum. It would only lead to bitter bickering and we would no longer be BFF.

I think my feelings are hurt --- I thought WE were BFF.

Let me check ....

Nope, I was wrong ... my feelings aren't hurt.

 

[Texas_tea]

Well, if you are not going to explain the soundbite “brainwashed sheeple,” the idea of looking at news that covers ObamaCare, gun laws and Bengazi doesn't sound like a reasonable substitute. These subjects have been covered ad nauseam in this forum. It would only lead to bitter bickering and we would no longer be BFF.

Didn't I state earlier that that liberalism was a mental disorder that there was not really a cure for?

Here's the deal Lag ... if you really want to be informed ... listen to Mark Levin. He is a Constitutional Attorney .... you may not agree with what he has to say but, at least you will bring (I think) an informed debate to the table.

If not ..... keep listening to comedians for your hardline news info and do not be surprised when folks like me call you brainwashed sheeple!

 

[Lagboltz]

Didn't I state earlier that that liberalism was a mental disorder that there was not really a cure for?

Here's the deal Lag ... if you really want to be informed ... listen to Mark Levin. He is a Constitutional Attorney .... you may not agree with what he has to say but, at least you will bring (I think) an informed debate to the table.

If not ..... keep listening to comedians for your hardline news info and do not be surprised when folks like me call you brainwashed sheeple!

I tried listening to Mark Levin's recently recorded shows and here are the results.

The first show started with the Super Bowl. Mark went on about how the players held their hands over their hearts while they played the National Anthem. Then he actually played the full National Anthem on his show. After 6 min I gave up.

The second show went on about the al Qaeda threat and that he was not happy about domestic NSA surveillance (Jon Stewart and I agree) and how there is no reason for it because it has no bearing on what's going on. He described in way too many words how he is blessed to have his platform. He doesn't pretend he is the center of the universe. He likes to be around family and his dog Barney. After 15 min. I gave up on that.

The third show started out with how the American people can't stand Obama, Congress, and the Supreme court and how we should repeal Obama care. He said Obama lied to the people (Jon Stewart said that too and meant it. PolitiFacts from the liberal MSM awarded Obama the lie of the year award.) Mark said that we don't need Obama care because insurance companies could do the same things such as offer policies without preexisting conditions, and offer free condoms if that's what the people wanted. He complained about phasing out incandescent bulbs and now he's going to have to stock up on them. He said he is going to have to stock up on trans-fats because the government outlawed that too. (I don't know him well enough to tell if he was serious or joking.) He said the Antitrust Dept. is anti-capitalism without any further explanation. He called Pelosi, Reid (drooling) etal. the stupidest people in the US, not going into further detail.

Summary: He is way too slow in getting any points across. Many of them are frivolous. The more important points are just stated without much background. His talk about how the insurance companies could handle the things ObamaCare brought in is a little too late because they certainly had a chance before ObamaCare.

I agreed with a lot of what he said. He didn't inform me of anything new about what conservatives generally think. I had high hopes for Mark Levin, but he failed me. I guess I'm doomed to be with the “brainwashed sheeple” but neither you nor I know what that sound bite means do we. Have you considered that you might be of the brainwashed sheeple by following Mark and believing he could be a savior of liberals.

 

[GBFan]

I thought 'brainwashed sheeple' was a fairly consistent term these days ... I'm surprised you would pretend not to understand it.

 

[Texas_tea]

The third show started out with how the American people can't stand Obama, Congress, and the Supreme court and how we should repeal Obama care.

Levin also stated in one of those shows that one of the reasons Obamacare needed to be repealed is because it is an unConstitutional law.

More specifically, one having to waive their 4th Amendment Right and their protection under the 1996 HIPAA law when signing up.

Do you agree with Levin that Obamacare needs to be repealed for this reason (and there are others)?

Have you considered that you might be of the brainwashed sheeple by following Mark and believing he could be a savior of liberals.

Oh no ... I clearly stated earlier that there is no cure for liberalism.

 

[Lagboltz]

I thought 'brainwashed sheeple' was a fairly consistent term these days ... I'm surprised you would pretend not to understand it.

You misunderstood. I do understand what it means, as it is often applied to religious cults, etc. I was asking what TexTea how he thought it applied to liberals, but he could not say. Whatever his definition, it could also apply to a brainwashed conservative. He couldn't explain how a Free Thinking liberal would be different after deprogramming, nor what that deprogramming would be. Now his focus is calling it a mental disease. To me he is just playing word games, or maybe he really believes in something he can't express. So for now it is just an empty sound byte.

 

[Lagboltz]

Levin also stated in one of those shows that one of the reasons Obamacare needed to be repealed is because it is an unConstitutional law.

More specifically, one having to waive their 4th Amendment Right and their protection under the 1996 HIPAA law when signing up.

Do you agree with Levin that Obamacare needs to be repealed for this reason (and there are others)?

I didn't listen to Levin long enough to hear him say anything about search and arrest warrants. I don't know what the HIPAA law is.

I have Medicare and I am not interested in the details of what conservatives are complaining about. Medicare is much better than any private policy I have ever had. Too bad it's not universal.

Oh no ... I clearly stated earlier that there is no cure for liberalism.

I'm getting bored of you silly word games.