Posted on 02/08/2008 3:56:23 AM PST by LowCountryJoe
That's a dense statement on your part. That's the exact thing that they argue the free people should be doing more of.
American liberty or U.S. liberty? And while we're on the subject of liberty, how are you actually defining liberty...closed borders and concrete walls? I guess open borders early last century were not conducive to liberty either, right?
The last five paragraphs of Ronald Wilson Reagan's farewell Address:
And that's about all I have to say tonight. Except for one thing. The past few days when I've been at that window upstairs, I've thought a bit of the "shining city upon a hill." The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we'd call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free.I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it, and see it still.
And how stand the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that; after two hundred years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.
We've done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for eight years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger. We made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.
And so, good-bye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
While I can't speak to Howard Stern's philosophy, I have trouble with calling Maher a "libertarian" of any stripe, for the simple reason that no matter what other issues, the core issue for libertarians is individual liberty, and Maher is a serious big government, nanny state collectivist, at least from what I've heard him espouse.
Mark
Excellent. The LP will never govern, but it can act as a conscience for the Pubbies. Reagan said something like “Libertarianism is the heart of conservatism”.
That’s not what I meant. If you didn’t slice up my post maybe you’d get it. Libertarians don’t govern in the sense that they don’t hold any significant offices. They don’t want to be held accountable by putting their theories of governance into practice, but they love to complain about those who do.
And the sad part is that the GOP will continue to be the (other) big government party in this country.
Philosophically, and in a theoretical country devoid of socialism, the LP is right on immigration. They are mentally retarded in their grasp of reality. Their stance is...end the welfare state so we can have open borders. Our ancestors came here for the OPPORTUNITY not the guarantee. Come to the great melting pot and stake your claim. If you fail, too bad, starve to death.
Now we have SS, Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, free healthcare in ER, workers comp, UE benes...it's a different world. 400,000 anchor babies born to illegal immigrants this year. $2,500 average in OB/GYN costs + free diapers and formula paid for by me and you.
Like I said, it's a different world and the LP has to realize that.
Er. So you'd rather keep the socialism? For what reason? An excuse to close the borders?
I guess I took the "stupid" pills this morning. Explain to me how doing away with all of the socialist BS is a bad thing?
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