posted October 04, 2004 04:26 PM              

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing
industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to asubway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and
transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should
lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal
wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government
would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he
attended a state funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to
make rural loans.

The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those
big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have." :P

posted October 06, 2004 10:30 PM            

The same scenario could be played out differently.

1) The water was pure as a direct result of allowing the water / pipe companies to actually lay pipe in an area that the commie liberals wanted to set aside as a protection zone for some wild mold. Luckily the conservative congress realized that failed philosophy of such a 'set aside' and understood that without laying the pipe many would NOT have access to fresh water (including the poor that would not be able to move but instead would have to be forced to drink lead laden water).

2) His medications are a direct result of modern medicine afforded to him by the conservatives protecting patent rights that the commie liberals wanted to abolish and instead allow the government to be in charge of new medicinal advances. Realizing the government health agencies have done nothing to lead medical advances, the Republicans stepped in and gave incentives to private companies so that medical advances could still be made.

3) The bacon the Pubbie is consumming is a direct result of conservatives in the pork and meat industry fighting to keep land set aside for farmers in the farmers hands. Had the liberals had their way, China would be the leading import of all meat and we would be at the mercy of another country to supply our food. Better yet, had the PETA, ALF or Vegan liberals had their way, Bacon would be a food of the past all together.

I could go on, but of this is tedious and inane. An argument can be made an either side and to credit the liberals with clean air, clean water and meat is one huge myth...

posted October 07, 2004 01:12 AM            

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that it is a collective effort between the people who create something good and those who try to make it better that keeps progress from becoming ... congress. Pardon the lousy pun but the word druids had a laugh anyway.

posted October 07, 2004 03:39 AM              

Concerning the medicine lets not forget that the Bush administration will not let Canadian drugs into this country any longer because the medication is cheaper and more affordable to those living on limited income and the big drug companies can't make more profit that way. Also small research companies who have found effective drugs to treat certain illnesses cannot get their drugs approved because the large drug companies have a powerful lobby in Wash. D.C. and put big money into Bush's election campaign.

You are also correct about the water. It doesn't make any difference how much pipeline you lay to get water to people if the water itself is so polluted it's undrinkable.