[Spliffdaddy]

1) you use your ignore list

2) you believe poor people are simply unlucky

3) you believe wealthy people are simply lucky.


It's really that simple.

Years of participation on these forums has given me the knowledge and experience to produce an infallible 3-statement guide to determining whether or not a member is a liberal.

The good news is that I'm here pretty much everyday - to help you overcome the self-defeating stigma of liberal thought.

I can provide one-on-one personal counseling - if you qualify.

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

1) you use your ignore list

2) you believe poor people are simply unlucky

3) you believe wealthy people are simply lucky.


It's really that simple.

Years of participation on these forums has given me the knowledge and experience to produce an infallible 3-statement guide to determining whether or not a member is a liberal.

The good news is that I'm here pretty much everyday - to help you overcome the self-defeating stigma of liberal thought.

I can provide one-on-one personal counseling - if you qualify.

1 out of 3 for me. What does that make me, other than awesome, teabag?

[SpaceMonkey]

OMG I'm in a SMACKDOWN CROSSFIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

POW POW

OH NO YOU DIH-DAHN'T!!!!!!!

[Spliffdaddy]

Originally Posted by besson3c

1 out of 3 for me. What does that make me, other than awesome, teabag?

It makes you a Class 1 liberal, soul patch.

you don't currently qualify for one-on-one counseling.

Exceptions can be made if you happen to play the clarinet or drive a Prius.

[Krusty]

Wait a second, I'm a dyed-in-the-wool liberal and I don't believe any of those statements. Hmmmmm .....

[Spliffdaddy]

Whoa. You qualify for in-patient treatment, assuming you have adequate insurance.

Less than 1% of all liberals exhibit symptoms such as you describe.

In the meantime, please avoid Toyota dealerships, coffee shops, and musical instruments.

Please seek assistance immediately if you feel compelled to grow a 'soul patch' on your face.

[besson3c]

Spliffdaddy: have you ODed on guns, eagles, American flags, cheap domestic beer, and/or tax cuts?

[greenG4]

You can't OD on tax cuts.

[gururafiki]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

Less than 1% of all liberals exhibit symptoms such as you describe.

Wow, what are the chances of that, I'm part of that 1% too!

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by greenG4

You can't OD on tax cuts.

But you can use tax cuts to OD.

[spacefreak]

4. You hate your country and fellow citizens so much that, not only do you refuse to support them in a time of war, you actively root against them while sabotaging their efforts to win the war.

5. Even though it won't make one bit of difference in your own life, you support, promote, and applaud any effort to take from or hurt those in better financial positions than your own.

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by spacefreak

4. You hate your country and fellow citizens so much that, not only do you refuse to support them in a time of war, you actively root against them while sabotaging their efforts to win the war.

5. Even though it won't make one bit of difference in your own life, you support, promote, and applaud any effort to take from or hurt those in better financial positions than your own.

You talking about the Iraq citizens and Sadam? You Sadam supporter!

I saw power to the people.

[loki74]

Originally Posted by spacefreak

5. Even though it won't make one bit of difference in your own life, you support, promote, and applaud any effort to take from or hurt those in better financial positions than your own.

5b. Even though you are very wealthy, you support, promote, and applaud any effort to take from or hurt those in equal or near-equal financial positions to your own.

[Doofy]

6. You support Darwin's theories of how we came to be here, yet actively go against the "survival of the fittest" principles outlined therein by supporting social programs such as welfare and medicare. Thus holding back the development of the human race.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

1) you use your ignore list

This is true of me. I use my ignore list in the same situations where I'd tell people to piss off in person — I don't like people wasting my time.

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

2) you believe poor people are simply unlucky

3) you believe wealthy people are simply lucky.

These are partially true. I think poor people are very often simply unlucky and I think wealthy people are very often simply lucky. Why do you think wealthy people are wealthy? (If you say hard work, I will laugh.)

[King Bob On The Cob]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

This is true of me. I use my ignore list in the same situations where I'd tell people to piss off in person — I don't like people wasting my time.


These are partially true. I think poor people are very often simply unlucky and I think wealthy people are very often simply lucky. Why do you think wealthy people are wealthy? (If you say hard work, I will laugh.)

Well, lets think about that for a second...

Doctors and Lawyers and other -ists control far more wealth than the people I'm assuming you're referring to as wealthy, and if you say they didn't work hard to get there, I'd say you're dead wrong.

And if you say that there is no risk involved with some of the other people (CEOs of certain software companies), and they shouldn't be rewarded for their risk, I'll argue with you over that.

[Chuckit]

I will not argue with you that many people who are rich did work hard to get there, but I will argue that a much larger segment of people also work hard with nothing to show for it except the fact that they and their families do not starve.

The idea that if you work hard, you will be rich is made up by rich people who do not want to accept that they hit the cosmic jackpot. They don't fully know why they have so much money, but they know they worked for it, so they wrongly come to the conclusion that hard work causes wealth.

[Spliff]

Originally Posted by Doofy

6. You support Darwin's theories of how we came to be here, yet actively go against the "survival of the fittest" principles outlined therein by supporting social programs such as welfare and medicare. Thus holding back the development of the human race.

You can't use Nature to justify human behaviour. You know why? Because then rape, theft, murder, and infanticide—just to name a few—wouldn't be crimes, but rather justifiably legitimate (and non-evil) human actions.

"Survival of the fittest" works for Nature because Nature is cruel, pitiless, and indifferent. Those conditions don't make for a pleasant society.

[Kr0nos]

Originally Posted by Doofy

6. You support Darwin's theories of how we came to be here, yet actively go against the "survival of the fittest" principles outlined therein by supporting social programs such as welfare and medicare. Thus holding back the development of the human race.

Wrong.

Nature doesn't have or enforce property laws.

Oh, and it's survival of the 'fittest', not 'economically savvy'.

Try again.

[King Bob On The Cob]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

I will not argue with you that many people who are rich did work hard to get there, but I will argue that a much larger segment of people also work hard with nothing to show for it except the fact that they and their families do not starve.

The idea that if you work hard, you will be rich is made up by rich people who do not want to accept that they hit the cosmic jackpot. They don't fully know why they have so much money, but they know they worked for it, so they wrongly come to the conclusion that hard work causes wealth.

Hard work does not equal wealth, this is true, supply and demand causes wealth. If you can do something that not many other people can do, and people want it, you can easily obtain money. It comes back to you had to obtain a talent or education early-ish in life.

Yes, some poor people are poor not through their own fault, but the numbers of those are IMHO comparable to the people who are rich not through their own fault.

[Kr0nos]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

2) you believe poor people are simply unlucky

3) you believe wealthy people are simply lucky.

This is 'simply' as wrong as people believeing that wealth or poverty are strictly the result of 'merit' or making the right choices in life.

Usually it's a combination of both.

[mojo2]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

It makes you a Class 1 liberal, soul patch.

you don't currently qualify for one-on-one counseling.

Exceptions can be made if you happen to play the clarinet or drive a Prius.

SOUL PATCH!

How great is that?!!!!!

*Smackdown* (For this as well as the body of your postage!)

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by King Bob On The Cob

Hard work does not equal wealth, this is true, supply and demand causes wealth. If you can do something that not many other people can do, and people want it, you can easily obtain money. It comes back to you had to obtain a talent or education early-ish in life.

Having a talent is luck. Your education happening to coincide with something that heavily in demand just when you're ready is also largely chance. The rich are very often complete dolts who happened to waltz into the right place at the right time (read: athletes, celebrities, real estate investors), and also fairly often people who had an unusually large amount of opportunities to begin with (read: "Oh, we weren't rich, but I was able to make good money buying houses and reselling them").

Of all the rich people I know, very few can point to any conscious decision they went with that made them deserve it more than anyone else. Most often, some skill they arbitrarily chose became the flavor of the month at some point and they hopped on the good ship Gravy Train. It's good for them and I don't begrudge them that, but I'm not going to pretend I think they're clever just to show what a good sport I am.

Originally Posted by King Bob On The Cob

Yes, some poor people are poor not through their own fault, but the numbers of those are IMHO comparable to the people who are rich not through their own fault.

Yes, that was what I said originally. The majority of poor people and the majority of rich people got where they are not because of anything we can specifically credit them with, but just because they didn't happen to have the same luck.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Spliff

You can't use Nature to justify human behaviour. You know why? Because then rape, theft, murder, and infanticide—just to name a few—wouldn't be crimes, but rather justifiably legitimate (and non-evil) human actions.

"Survival of the fittest" works for Nature because Nature is cruel, pitiless, and indifferent. Those conditions don't make for a pleasant society.

Originally Posted by Kr0nos

Wrong.

Nature doesn't have or enforce property laws.

Oh, and it's survival of the 'fittest', not 'economically savvy'.

Try again.

7. You uses phrases like "the animals do it, it's natural" when you wish to justify something you agree with (say, homosexuality), yet deny that link to nature when it suits your argument to do so.

[Chuckit]

People usually use the "animals do it, so it's natural" argument to disprove the statement "It's unnatural."

[Zeeb]

Originally Posted by Doofy

7. You uses phrases like "the animals do it, it's natural" when you wish to justify something you agree with (say, homosexuality), yet deny that link to nature when it suits your argument to do so.

You guys aren't just "conservative" you're extremists. I know a number of conservatives that are capable of compassion whereas the general vibe I get from you seems to be dispassionate disregard for humanity.

Yet this is fun and I will continue in your tradition.

You know you're a liberal if:

8. You feel a little uncomfortable when you pass someone starving in the street

9. You don't believe that those less fortunate than you deserve it because why else would God have made you superior to them? Those poor people just need to die or work in a meat processing plant.

10. You don't believe that forced labor camps should be set up for all immigrants, homosexuals and political dissidents--they need something to do.

11. You don't believe that just because you own your own business that you should be able to treat your employees however you like with complete disregard for their health and safety.

that's all for now.

[Nicko]

What is it with this thread? I can't read most of the replies. Must be the ignore list.

[ebuddy]

Originally Posted by Zeeb

You guys aren't just "conservative" you're extremists. I know a number of conservatives that are capable of compassion whereas the general vibe I get from you seems to be dispassionate disregard for humanity.

Yet this is fun and I will continue in your tradition.

You know you're a liberal if:

8. You feel a little uncomfortable when you pass someone starving in the street

... and even though you see that empty bottle of Ravenswood wine next to him, you throw him a ten spot out of guilt. He promptly gets up, goes to liquor store, and empties another bottle of ravenswood wine on your dollar. He thanks you for your "compassion".

9. You don't believe that those less fortunate than you deserve it because why else would God have made you superior to them? Those poor people just need to die or work in a meat processing plant.

... or stay on the corner for more handouts and enablings at the hands of those wrought with guilt.

10. You don't believe that forced labor camps should be set up for all immigrants, homosexuals and political dissidents--they need something to do.

... like manufacture your ipod in China. Invented by, advertised through, and touted primarily by liberals who feel good about themselves because the problem is not in their back yard.

11. You don't believe that just because you own your own business that you should be able to treat your employees however you like with complete disregard for their health and safety.

... and you rest easy knowing that 95% of the companies in this country do care and that your choice of employers is yours to make.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by greenG4

You can't OD on tax cuts.

Sure you can. Cut all taxes (ie: OD) and you won't have any money to pay for your military.

[Pendergast]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

1) you use your ignore list

2) you believe poor people are simply unlucky

3) you believe wealthy people are simply lucky.


It's really that simple.

Years of participation on these forums has given me the knowledge and experience to produce an infallible 3-statement guide to determining whether or not a member is a liberal.

The good news is that I'm here pretty much everyday - to help you overcome the self-defeating stigma of liberal thought.

I can provide one-on-one personal counseling - if you qualify.

I knew it. I am not a liberal!

And no need for counselling, thank you.

[Pendergast]

Originally Posted by mojo2

SOUL PATCH!

How great is that?!!!!!

*Smackdown* (For this as well as the body of your postage!)

Elementary school must be quite a life.

[Wiskedjak]

How to tell if you're a conservative:

#1. You've got at least 5 different SMACKDOWN!!! images bookmarked, ready for quick rollout whenever you need to declare an argument won.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

1) you use your ignore list

2) you believe poor people are simply unlucky

3) you believe wealthy people are simply lucky.

None of those apply to me - how odd.

Not even the fourth and fifth points (that you forgot) do:

4) you own less than ten DVDs and less than 50 CDs.

5) you have a library that spans at least one entire room of your apartment.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Doofy

6. You support Darwin's theories of how we came to be here, yet actively go against the "survival of the fittest" principles outlined therein by supporting social programs such as welfare and medicare. Thus holding back the development of the human race.

"Social Darwinism", which you're talking about, is based upon a subtle, but profound, complete misunderstanding of Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

[davesimondotcom]

Hey, I had a soul patch a couple years ago, does that make me a liberal?

I'm also pro-choice on abortion, pro-gay rights and have been known to hug a tree or two. Does that make me a liberal?

I don't link to any SMACKDOWN! graphics, nor do I use ignore. Hmm... I'm having an identity crisis.

[DBursey]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

1) you use your ignore list

2) you believe poor people are simply unlucky

3) you believe wealthy people are simply lucky.


It's really that simple.

Years of participation on these forums has given me the knowledge and experience to produce an infallible 3-statement guide to determining whether or not a member is a liberal.

The good news is that I'm here pretty much everyday - to help you overcome the self-defeating stigma of liberal thought.

I can provide one-on-one personal counseling - if you qualify.

I would imagine the majority of both liberals and Liberals would fall short on your list of qualifications!

[goMac]

Originally Posted by spacefreak

4. You hate your country and fellow citizens so much that, not only do you refuse to support them in a time of war, you actively root against them while sabotaging their efforts to win the war.

Yep. You know me. I'm breaking into weapons plants and bringing down the production lines, poisoning our troops food, and I've got my "Kill the troops banner." I really want Americans to die. All the time.

George Bush has absolutely nothing to do with the position we're in, and the right is completely not interested in manipulating people to think that it's the lefts fault that we're losing the war that Bush got us into.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by davesimondotcom

I'm also pro-choice on abortion, pro-gay rights and have been known to hug a tree or two. Does that make me a liberal?

Well, trees are just so cuddly. Nobody could blame you for that.

[Spliff]

What right-wingers see when they read The New York Times

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Spliff

What right-wingers see when they read The New York Times

Judging from the ad at the top of the page, I have the feeling that that is Steven Colbert style satire. Actually, after reading it, I think it is Steven Colbert style satire.

I think the jokes on you. Either that or you know it's a joke.

[Spliff]

Originally Posted by goMac

Judging from the ad at the top of the page, I have the feeling that that is Steven Colbert style satire. Actually, after reading it, I think it is Steven Colbert style satire.

I think the jokes on you. Either that or you know it's a joke.

It's from The Huffington Post. I don't know what their political affiliation is or if they even have one. I just enjoy satire, whether it's aimed at the Left or the Right. It's all about the ludicrousness of humanity.

[greenG4]

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak

Sure you can. Cut all taxes (ie: OD) and you won't have any money to pay for your military.

Next time I'll put a joke warning on my post.

[finboy]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Having a talent is luck....

The majority of poor people and the majority of rich people got where they are not because of anything we can specifically credit them with, but just because they didn't happen to have the same luck.

Exploiting a talent requires skill and hard work. I know plenty of folks with talent who've never done anything with it.

As for the second part -- luck favors the prepared. If the majority of folks you know got where they are (up or down) via luck, you need to get out more.

[finboy]

Originally Posted by Kr0nos

Wrong.

Nature doesn't have or enforce property laws.

Find a great white and tell it that. Those property rights are absolute.

I think a pack of lions enforces its property rights quite well, too.

[Spliff]

Originally Posted by finboy

Find a great white and tell it that. Those property rights are absolute.

I think a pack of lions enforces its property rights quite well, too.

Those aren't rights. That's territoriality. It's neither legal or illegal. It just is.

[Kr0nos]

Originally Posted by finboy

Find a great white and tell it that. Those property rights are absolute.

Give me an AK-47 and I'll talk to that great white about property rights.

[thunderous_funker]

Originally Posted by finboy

Find a great white and tell it that. Those property rights are absolute.

I think a pack of lions enforces its property rights quite well, too.

Except that lions and great whites don't outsource the defence of such rights to an animal goverment.

In other works, "fittest" is defined in a completely different way for the purposes of natural survival than economic survival. Unless, of course, you think property and capital should be gathered and distributed on the basis of physical superiority (or at least firepower).

In my experience, the most vocal proponents of social darwinsim are hardly ever the "fittest" of the herd, but rather the very weak and very fortunate who suddenly find themselves in a position of luxory and fear for their ability to preserve it. And quite often, they outlaw the means they used to acquire it in the first place.

[davesimondotcom]

Originally Posted by Spliff

It's from The Huffington Post. I don't know what their political affiliation is or if they even have one. I just enjoy satire, whether it's aimed at the Left or the Right. It's all about the ludicrousness of humanity.

Huffington definitely leans left, just so you know. But they don't try to hide it, either.

But that is one funny satire, to be sure.

[mojo2]

Originally Posted by davesimondotcom

Huffington definitely leans left, just so you know. But they don't try to hide it, either.

But that is one funny satire, to be sure.

Yeah, davesimondotcom! She's a smart, attractive woman even though her politics suk.

SoftBank invests $5M in Huffington site
Political blog also says it gets funds from Greycroft Partners in effort to expand.
August 7 2006: 10:07 PM EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The Huffington Post, an online news and blogging site run by political commentator Arianna Huffington, said Monday that it has received a $5 million investment led by venture capital firm SoftBank Capital to help it expand.

The investment marks the site's first round of venture capital funding. Alan Patricof's Greycroft Partners also invested in the latest round, the Huffington Post said in a statement.

The Huffington Post was launched with about $2.5 million raised from friends and family, Huffington said in an interview. It runs on advertising revenue, but Huffington said she wants to expand the site's offerings.

"Advertising would not be sufficient for this expansion," she said.

Plans include hiring staff to update the site 24 hours a day, and hiring in-house reporters as well as multimedia staff to do video reports, Huffington said.

The investment is the latest sign of interest in online news operations as traditional media fight to hold on to their viewers, readers and advertising dollars amid blogs, Internet-only news and other free options.

Huffington launched the Huffington Post site a little more than a year ago. She touted it as a place where celebrities, political figures and a varied list of invitees could post their musings - often on political topics of the day - alongside wire dispatches and other news reports.

The site now contains blog entries from more than 750 contributors, including recent ones from playwright and film director David Mamet and actor Alec Baldwin.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/07/news...ffington.reut/

(Sorry, Spliffdaddy. I don't mean to derail your thread. It's just that this news is pertinent and wouldn't likely support a thread. )

[loki74]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Why do you think wealthy people are wealthy? (If you say hard work, I will laugh.)

You, my friend, are completely ridiculous, or tragically misinformed.

I'm not about to say that all cases of "rich" people are the result of hard work, but believe you me, that is frequently the case.

And I'm not talking about the millionares who literally bathe in money--I'm talking about your everyday, upper-middle class American who has a stable carreer and makes six figures, for it is these people who tax hikes hurt the most.

A prime example of this is my own father. He grew up dirt poor--salt pancakes for breakfast, and electricity if you're lucky. Now he is a business owner and a fine doctor (although lawyers are threatening this... but that's another rant for another thread) and we are quite well-to-do. I guess it was luck, huh? Believe you me, I will be quick to raise my voice at any dumb bloke who alleges any such absurdity. I still don't fully understand how he managed to pay for med school! But I do know this--luck had nothing to do with it; the notion is completely ridiculous.

So yes, it is true. Having millionares for parents pays off, and so does winning the lottery. But don't--don't--even try to suggest that all people who are well-to-do (or even filthy rich) got there on sheer luck. If you do, I cannot tell you how wrong you are. Hard work pays off too, and it pays off damn well.