Quote: Heisenberg wrote in post #15

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JFK would be considered a Tea Party member by MSNBC, Bill Maher, et all today.


"...the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God."

"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country"

"For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed."

“Israel was not created in order to disappear - Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom.”

“The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility and flow of risk capital... the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy. “

“I believe in an America where the free enterprise system flourishes for all other systems to see and admire - where no businessman lacks either competition or credit - and where no monopoly, no racketeer, no government bureaucracy can put him out of business that he built up with his own initiative.”

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This horrible crime in Connecticut has gotten me to thinking about the general debasement of our culture. There's the usual suspects: removing God from the public, lack of regard for human life, promotion of sexuality, etc., but one I don't see mentioned very often is the promiscuous and blatant lying by our elected public servants. We reluctantly expect a certain amount of truth shading from politicians - it's always been that way. You don't get elected on a platform of "I'm going to eliminate ____ program", for instance, and instead you use the code words of "cut waste and abuse". But, this current crop of entitled, self-enriching pols have exceeded all expectations in their level of and willingness to engage in mendacity with their constituents. Many of them seem to prefer the lie to the truth, even when the truth would be better for them. And, it's not just the 0 administration, though they are the poster children for the movement. Our Republican representatives, for the most part, seem all too willing and even anxious to lie to our faces. They have become examples, not of public service and leaders to be looked up to, but examples of "get it while you can" (and, it doesn't matter what you have to do to get it).

I think it contributes to the overall sense of anarchy and nihilism of our times. The "do what feels right to you" culture has bloomed fully now. And, if you have a grievance against society, because you have it,it becomes a real grievance, and in many disturbed minds, it becomes an acceptable, actable offense.

And, that's my Saturday-morning-after-a-horrible-event ramblings.

Quote: Sanguine wrote in post #18

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This horrible crime in Connecticut has gotten me to thinking about the general debasement of our culture. There's the usual suspects: removing God from the public, lack of regard for human life, promotion of sexuality, etc., but one I don't see mentioned very often is the promiscuous and blatant lying by our elected public servants. We reluctantly expect a certain amount of truth shading from politicians - it's always been that way. You don't get elected on a platform of "I'm going to eliminate ____ program", for instance, and instead you use the code words of "cut waste and abuse". But, this current crop of entitled, self-enriching pols have exceeded all expectations in their level of and willingness to engage in mendacity with their constituents. Many of them seem to prefer the lie to the truth, even when the truth would be better for them. And, it's not just the 0 administration, though they are the poster children for the movement. Our Republican representatives, for the most part, seem all too willing and even anxious to lie to our faces. They have become examples, not of public service and leaders to be looked up to, but examples of "get it while you can" (and, it doesn't matter what you have to do to get it).

I think it contributes to the overall sense of anarchy and nihilism of our times. The "do what feels right to you" culture has bloomed fully now. And, if you have a grievance against society, because you have it,it becomes a real grievance, and in many disturbed minds, it becomes an acceptable, actable offense.

And, that's my Saturday-morning-after-a-horrible-event ramblings.

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