Because of their work – they actually cause more misery and it would pain them to know it because I do believe they are well-intentioned – as was I when i was a liberal.

I am thoroughly (mis) educated with a liberal arts degree. Trust me when I say — these people were my professors, my colleagues, my occasional lecturers — these dunces don’t know economics from a hole in the ground. For one they absolutely believe it’s a finite pie. Which is why they know there is enough for everyone. (Which is kind of like — I still have money, I have checks in the checkbook) and that everyone could live in genteel poverty. SHOULD live in genteel poverty. Themselves excepted, of course, for all the trouble of you know… helping distribute.

Our government is unsustainable at current policies and spending levels. The obligations are too high.

On what you said to Portia.

It’s a certain amount of lack of follow through (laziness)

When you play chess – you need to see 2-4 moves out and what the opponent might do or it’s over.

All of us have the capability – but will they give you or I the respect of doing so.

I “expect” it from my partner. It’s barely working but I understand the limitation given the lack of interest.

But what is the said consequences of wanting to “take” from the “successful”. Having somebody walk that through on what it means for the economy means seeing the disastrous consequences of having an enforcing government take from the successful to give to those who do little towards their success.

Usually people will shut down and give simplistic platitudes about – well they can afford it – or – shift to the deficit – or – shift to evil bad companies or billionaires like Bill Gates.

Look people you are in the top 1% of income earners if you earn $400,000 in America !

http://content.kiplinger.com/tools/income_rank/

I believe in hope too, but the kinds of people I’m talking about think they can defy the laws of nature–the same kind of person who thinks wild grizzly bears can be befriended.

So deep am I in Lalaland that I know a biology professor, a PhD, who can’t stand the thought that animals eat each other.

Portia . . .

I noticed the same thing you did–progressives switch their views whenever they feel like it. There is nothing consistent about their beliefs except thinking that Americans “deserve” what ever bad things happen to them because they’ve been successful. Successful black and minority individuals automatically become “white” and therefore “evil.” Except for Obama, of course. He’s a god that will show us the way to a community of nations.

I think this is one of the examples of “chickens coming home to roost” but not as wassname thought.

European “colonialism” by and large displaced the old tribal hierarchies in the colonized countries. This was a GOOD thing — whatever else you hear — as those were corrupt and canibalizing (sometimes literally) those under them. Probably that tribalism and those who ruled the tribes were responsible for backwardness and misery that made “colonialism” easy.

Enter communism. To combat the free world in the occupied areas, they turned to those same displaced hierarchies and taught them how to use the language of equality to acquire power. It has now come full circle. The US “progressives” were infected (sometimes literally, as in Obama’s father and others who came over here) by these “anti-colonialists” and the spirit of the movement became the same. They want to be olligoi (sp?) and govern over us by right of birth as “the best”. They’ve already managed to install this hierarchy in education and entertainment and a few other fields. They want the same for the society at large.
If you look at those fields, you’ll realize what a mess this would be for society.

(And on that, before the election, someone with clearly foreign syntax was howling on a blog that Obama DESERVED to “rule over us” because he was descended from kings and queens. I think this is what we’re facing, just not so open among homegrown “progressives”. Perhaps it is not an accident that all of a sudden I’m seeing a lot of “psychology” books claiming our entire personality is programmed by genes. They also seem to be embraced byt he left, which has swung from the infinitely perfectable man to this, without pause. All whichever suits their ascendency over us, as the “deserving” people, right?)

I like hope.

Hope is contagious.

Nobody will rip my hope away from me !

You have to appeal to that person with hope.

Fire can put out fire. Hope can re-direct hope.

A happy vivacious enterprising smart young wise woman can bring a liberal woman to her knees. 😉

So many of her contestants are incredibly dumb !

What you wrote is so true. I happened to talk on the phone today with one of my old friends who thinks Obama is godlike, and she is completely unaware of anything wrong with him. She started talking about how he’ll bring us and the world together. She really believes this because she HOPES it is true, so it WILL be true.

There are millions and millions of people like this. Facts simply don’t matter to them. They believe they are contributing to society by making good wishes.

Socialism (otherwise known as “community”) is so appealing as a concept. Its hard to explain why socialism leads to misery and poverty. It’s not obvious, and HOPE is so much easier to understand.