Replies to post #96502 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[wall_rus]

Understood.....the difference, as you point out, is one of perception, nothing more. I prefer, "in your face" over "behind your back". I prefer honesty, even though I might not like it, over hypocrisy.

"Mankind is divided into rich and poor, into property owners and exploited; and to abstract oneself from this fundamental division; and from the antagonism between poor and rich means abstracting oneself from fundamental facts".
Joseph Stalin

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/joseph_stalin.html

"The mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few to ride them."
THOMAS JEFFERSON:

http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_justice.html

I count myself among the poor, so of course my viewpoint is skewed. I'm a populist. In yesterday's political environment, the Dems came closest to my way of thinking, so I supported them. That is not so much true today.

I have NEVER begrudged the rich their love of money. Personally, I think it's much overrated. Peace of mind and leisure time to spend with my friends and family have always been more important to me. I will go so far as to say that I think the love of money is a disease...an addiction no different than any other. Once you have more money, more "things" than you can possibly use in one lifetime.....why continue to work? The only logical explanation is that they are mentally imbalanced and emotionally retarded. Why this becomes an issue is the imbalance caused by the situation....... both the rich and the poor never have enough money, but the consequences of that couldn't be more dramatically in opposition...........the poor starve....the rich get fat while they feel sorry for themselves because there is always someone richer. Their self worth is directly connected to their bank account. To me, that's sad.

I can understand why the rich fight to keep their mostly ill gotten gains

"A State divided into a small number of rich and a large number of poor will always develop a government manipulated by the rich to protect the amenities represented by their property.": Harold Laski, (1930):

http://www.thoughts.com/thehughman1/blog/A-Call-Across-the-Years-534240/

......what I don't understand is why some of the rest (not rich) support them.

"It should be no surprise that when rich men take control of the government, they pass laws that are favorable to themselves. The surprise is that those who are not rich vote for such people, even though they should know from bitter experience that the rich will continue to rip off the rest of us. Perhaps the reason is that rich men are very clever at covering up what they do.": Andrew Greeley (Chicago Sun-Times, February 18, 2001):

http://www.tentmaker.org/Quotes/government_and_governing_quotes5.htm

Is it the dream that maybe one day, they also will be among that select few? Think about this very hard......only 1 in a million will ever get there! Your chances of getting hit by lightning are better. Yeah, yeah.....hard work...yatta, yatta. The fact is, you are helping support a system that causes untold misery for the majority. Capitalism is designed to protect those with the capital.

Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.”
John Maynard Keynes quotes (English economist, journalist, and financier, 1883-1946)
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/capitalism/2.html

I'm on a Joseph Stalin kick today, lol.

When we hang the capitalists they will sell us the rope we use.
Joseph Stalin
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/josephstal155812.html

So therefore, imo, Conservatives, whose essential plan is retain the status quo, the totally insulting trickle down theory, are doomed from the start. The only thing you can count on in life is change. They operate on a premise that is against the laws of nature..........they are born losers. They tend to cling to things, they must inevitably let go of and the sad part is....they will fight to the death. To me, such a mindset is the epitome of ignorance.

I cannot end this without a reference to religion...another bastion of Conservatives. It has always maintained the world is SO....the end...period. And been proven wrong time and time again.....but to no avail. The aforementioned ignorance, combined with a con man's promise of eternal life, is a potent mixture for any rational person to overcome. The rich, the power elite, knowing the benefits to them brought by religion and ignorance, cheerfully promote both.

A bit rambling, but I hope you get the drift.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ffl3KxY3g4