A beginner's work in progress.......
Published on September 28, 2004 By dabe In Politics
"A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN" 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 subway 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." This is posted on the blog of "Tom Tomorrow" the cartoonist, attributed to "South Knox Bubba". Enjoy.... http://www.thismodernworld.com/
Comments (Page 1)
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on Sep 28, 2004
I want to read this, but I need some paragraph breaks . . . can you help me out?
on Sep 28, 2004
I tried to insert breaks, but it just wouldn't happen. I agree. Breaks are critical.
Go to the link at the bottom of the page. The article is there. Again.... http://www.thismodernworld.com/
on Sep 28, 2004
Thanks for directing me to the link . . . he he he . . . I'm to dense to have done that to begin with. *sorry* It's a very interesting article. Thanks for sharing it.
on Sep 28, 2004
Try the html BR tag.

on Sep 28, 2004
After reading this, I'm wondering how you would know anything about Republicans... or life, for that matter... You aren't one, and whether you have one or not is kind of up in the air with me...

on Sep 28, 2004
After reading this, I'm wondering how you would know anything about Republicans... or life, for that matter... You aren't one, and whether you have one or not is kind of up in the air with me...


Lovely. That's just so helpful. I admit, the article makes only a pretense at actually "knowing" a republican. The point is to list all those things we all benefit from that (arguably) come as the result of more liberal ideology. I'd think you'd at least challenge that some of those benefits are at least bi-partisan if not out and out the result of some GOP law making. But no, you question this re-poster's knowledge about life and whether he has one. You can't even admit that some ideas from the Left have benefitted all of us. Nope, it's just "I'm Right and you're wrong." Period.

This Tom Tomorrow piece goes to the heart of my biggest concerns with the current political climate. Namely, those with privilege have a hard time seeing it let alone acknowledging it. That's true of all of us, Right, Left or inbetween. As a result, we make rash choices that may increase our privileges in the short term, but don't really protect them in any sustainable way. We won't really know what we've gambled away until it is gone. "And don't it always seem to go..." (with apologies to Joni Mitchell.)
on Sep 28, 2004
The point is to list all those things we all benefit from that (arguably) come as the result of more liberal ideology.


Actually that is the dumbest, most ignorant stereotype going. next thing you are going to say, in your own ingnorant way, is that republicans were against the civil rights act.

But then you will never be convinced. You have to have some basis in reality for someone to even try, and this article and that comment shows you are bereft of rational thought.
on Sep 28, 2004
The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards


Ah yes, the Clean Water Act, signed in 1972 by Richard Nixon, a REPUBLICAN.

His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.


The Food and Drug Act, signed in 1906 by Teddy Roosevelt, a REPUBLICAN.

Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.


Meat Inspection Act, 1906, TR again.

the tax-payer funded roads


Maybe it was originally funded by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, signed by Eisenhower, a REPUBLICAN.

on Sep 28, 2004
Just because someone's a Republican doesn't mean they aren't liberal.
on Sep 28, 2004
Actually that is the dumbest, most ignorant stereotype going. next thing you are going to say, in your own ingnorant way, is that republicans were against the civil rights act.


Do you f--king read????? I opened the door to the kind of post Madine was able to make. I admitted that the benefits elaborated in the Tom Tomorrow post were not all entirely liberal in origin. I pointed the direction to that line of analysis as a better mode of response/critique than BakerStreet's caustic dismissal. No, I wouldn't say that all Republicans were against the civil rights act. That would be ignorant. Since you fail to anticipate my capacity for cutting through the partisan crap and giving credit where credit is due, you obviously are the ignorant one (at least on ths point).

This is what really pisses me off about conservatives like "Dr. Guy." (Note: not all conservatives, just the ones who respond this way. ) Here I open the door to a reasonable conservative response/critique for a liberal fiction, and I get punished as the closeminded stereotyper "bereft of rational thought." All I ask for in return is some recognition that the Left has contributed some things of value to our current state of affairs. And you cannot even go there. I am starting to think it isn't just paranoia that some of you folks want to simply erradicate the Left.

Does your worldview really rely on things being so black and white?



on Sep 28, 2004
Ur... considering you posted a shamefully black-and-white article, you expected a lot of grey responses? Read your junk again. You posted caustic, you got caustic.

" I am starting to think it isn't just paranoia that some of you folks want to simply erradicate the Left."


Mmm, yeah, that is building a bridge there. I hate it when people like you post snide, mindless articles and then try and backtrack and pretend you just wanted to "make people think"...
on Sep 28, 2004
You need to wake up as to the state of the unions that you lionize in your blog. The unions are as much big business as the businesses they set out to fight. I know this for a fact, because I was one of the 40 some odd underground miners, member of Teamsters local #986, who risked our lives for ore for a measly 9 bucks an hour and worked in unbearable conditions because the union wouldn't hold the management's feet to the fire.
on Sep 28, 2004
Ur... considering you posted a shamefully black-and-white article, you expected a lot of grey responses? Read your junk again. You posted caustic, you got caustic.


First, I didn't post the article. dabe did. And it was a re-post at that. I was just responding to it. Like you.

And not like you. Any causticity in my response was reserved just for you, Sherlock, and your blanket, caustic dismissal of anything valuable here (including, apparently, those GOP originated benefits I hinted at and Madine has now so carefully detailed).

I hate it when people like you post snide, mindless articles and then try and backtrack and pretend you just wanted to "make people think"...


I aint backtracking off of anything. I didn't post the article! If anything, I was demonstrating that a liberal can mount a pretty reasonable critique of a liberal argument. Better than the caustic, dismissive tripe you led with, at least. I started some bridgework, but it was pretty much shot down by you and Dr. Guy. And aint that just typical?

Now why don't you try a little backtracking. Or is it still impossible for you to ever admit you were mistaken?
on Sep 28, 2004
As Landen mentioned...not all liberals are Dems and not all conservatives are Repubs... TR was espeically known to be conservative in the true sense of the word when it came to the environment (although now his views on the environment would be considered liberal) since he believed in conserving the environment for future generations. The evolution of the two parties is (to me) fascinating on certain issues...
on Sep 28, 2004
Mistaken about what? It is a caustic article, it got a caustic response. You say something asinine about Conservitives wanting to "eradicate the Left" in the same breath you are all whiney about people making things black and white.

By the way you were defending it and the words you used, I just figured you and dabe were the same person.

Your outrage is disingenuous. You think you can take a snide tone and then not expect one in return. When the person who wrote the article talks about Republicans, they are talking about me. YOU don't take offense at it because it isn't mis-characterizing you. I consider the article's tone caustic. Same old double standards.
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