[NudiJuicervich]

Wow this thread has gone strait to the dogs.

I thought it was a little hypocritical from the start.

[grubnismarl]

You fail to see the other side of the coin. Liberals have raised taxes to levels of insanity, and they have created all those stupid "consumer protection" laws designed to beat down any business that makes a product which a moron could use to hurt himself. Liberals worship price controls, nationalization, redistribution of wealth, and other impractical economic crusades. On economic issues, liberals are utopian socialist crackpots.

The fundamental principle of economic liberalism is that "businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity." If that is not an inversion of reality, I don't know what is.

Oh poor rich fuckers!

[Nzmoafzn]

Frankly I'm with Frank
I AM certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our
national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again
give that support to leadership in these critical days.
1
In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen;
our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of
industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.
2
More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.
3
Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were
not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.
4
True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.
5
The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.
6
Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.
7
Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it
thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live.
8
Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now.
9
Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources.
10
Hand in hand with this we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to
provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land. The task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products and with this the power to
purchase the output of our cities. It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. It can be helped by insistence that the Federal, State, and local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced. It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, and unequal. It can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities which have a definitely public character. There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act and act quickly.
11
Finally, in our progress toward a resumption of work we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order; there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments; there must be an end to speculation with other people's money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.
12
There are the lines of attack. I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the several States.
13
Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo. Our international trade relations, though vastly important, are in point of time and necessity secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy. I favor as a practical policy the putting of first things first. I shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment, but the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment.
14
The basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not narrowly nationalistic. It is the insistence, as a first consideration, upon the interdependence of the various elements in all parts of the United States—a recognition of the old and permanently important manifestation of the American spirit of the pioneer. It is the way to recovery. It is the immediate way. It is the strongest assurance that the recovery will endure.
15
In the field of world policy I would dedicate this Nation to the policy of the good neighbor—the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others—the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors.
16
If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective. We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at a larger good. This I propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in time of armed strife.
17
With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems.
18
Action in this image and to this end is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors. Our Constitution is so simple and practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form. That is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has produced. It has met every stress of vast expansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations.
19
It is to be hoped that the normal balance of executive and legislative authority may be wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us. But it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure.
20
I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption.
21
But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the
crisis—broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.
22
For the trust reposed in me I will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time. I can do no less.
23
We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of the national unity; with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values; with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike. We aim at the assurance of a rounded and permanent national life.
24
We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift I take it.
25
In this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come. 26

[husartrof]

Neocons like to call their enemies liberals as if it was a bad thing. Lets take a look at what liberals have done for the country and what conservatives have done and then someone tell me what anyone can be proud to be a conservative.

Liberals:

-Ended segregation
-Won for women and African-Americans the right to vote
-Created Social Security, Medicare, the Voting Rights Act and the Clean Water Act.

What did conservatives do? They opposed every single one of those things. I think there should be a national Liberal day where everyone takes a moment to remember what Liberals have achieved despite being fought at every juncture by the conservatives. If it wasn't for liberals, we'd all be living in the stone age like Iran or Afghanistan for crying out loud.

Well it was also the liberals who brought us:
-Korean War
-Vietnam War
-Jimmy Carter
-Affirmative Action
-Inner City Rioting

oh yeah, let's not forget that they are a bunch of sadistic baby killers.

[idobestbuyonlinepp]

Well it was also the liberals who brought us:
-Korean War
-Vietnam War
-Jimmy Carter
-Affirmative Action
-Inner City Rioting

oh yeah, let's not forget that they are a bunch of sadistic baby killers.

You'd have life simply as Hell.

[shemadagaswer]

Well it was also the liberals who brought us:
-Korean War
-Vietnam War
-Jimmy Carter
-Affirmative Action
-Inner City Rioting

oh yeah, let's not forget that they are a bunch of sadistic baby killers.

-Not a bad war
-Not a good war
-A good former president
-It had it's time and place
-Not sure I get this ...Inner City Rioting? ...I don't think you can pin this strictly on liberals ...

[zbckFNlW]

The first order of business should be to clarify exactly how you are using the term liberal. Are you referring to liberal in the classic sense, that is, classical liberalism as defined by the US constitution, or modern liberalism which is at its heart, socialism?

[PharmaDrMan]

Neocons like to call their enemies liberals as if it was a bad thing. Lets take a look at what liberals have done for the country and what conservatives have done and then someone tell me what anyone can be proud to be a conservative.

Liberals:

-Ended segregation
-Won for women and African-Americans the right to vote
-Created Social Security, Medicare, the Voting Rights Act and the Clean Water Act.

What did conservatives do? They opposed every single one of those things. I think there should be a national Liberal day where everyone takes a moment to remember what Liberals have achieved despite being fought at every juncture by the conservatives. If it wasn't for liberals, we'd all be living in the stone age like Iran or Afghanistan for crying out loud.

Apparently, what it means to be liberal is that you think you did everything good in the world yourself without interacting with anyone else.

Total silliness. Really.

Matt

[FelixQY]

Yes.

Liberals brought everything good.

Conservatives only bring bad.

Liberal good.

conservative bad.

.......... pass it here man I need a hit




By seeking to bestow “equality” on all institutions (when absolute equality can’t exist) they may actually destroy that which they’re trying to extend to others .

[zdoppiklonikaa]

The essence of being a liberal:

"The absolute conviction that there is one set of rules for you, and another, completely different set of rules for everyone else."

my hope is that enough Americans will reject their naive idealism before they bring total ruin upon America and themselves. Admire their ideals, but do so with reservation. Recognize their useless brilliance, their unavailing commitment, and their uncompromising convictions, but do not permit your emotions to be swayed by their call. Their ideas are foolish no matter how often and consistently they’re repeated.

[DexOnenlyCymn]

Just as every tyrant and terrorist group has done throughout history, the hard left intends to obliterate truth and freedom by first posing as progressive humanitarians and pacifists.

Lenin “created a regime that erased politics, erased historical memory, and erased opposition.” (David Remnick, “leaders & revolutionaries: V.I. Lenin,” Time.) – much like what we’re seeing today in the actions by the ACLU.

History repeatedly demonstrates that left wing ideology is THE primary tool to stifle freedom, capitolism and democracy. They don’t want dialog; they want dominion. The ACLU fashions itself as the fourth branch of Govt. Joining their ranks is the (NLG) national lawyers guild, MoveOn.org, people for the American way, Americans for separation of church and state, planned parenthood, the national education association, and national peoples action. Many of these groups are funded by leftist pots of gold like the tides foundation, the ben and jerrys foundation and the mcarthur, ford and rockefeller foundations.

Using American courts, these hard left groups agitate via judicial activism, overturning established law and the popular will of the people. They use litigation and legal threats as a fourth branch of Govt., showing no respect for true democracy when they seek to impose their left wing agenda on the country. As such they’re enemies of democracy, not advocates of it. The ACLU urged the U.S. supreme court to uphold a ninth circuit court of appeals decision which ruled that the phrase “under God” should be removed from the pledge of allegiance.

Yes.

Liberal = good

conservative = bad

[RedImmik]

Apparently, what it means to be liberal is that you think you did everything good in the world yourself without interacting with anyone else.

Total silliness. Really.

Matt

Far be it for me to be pedantic, but doesn't your definition fit conservatives equally well?

[art_fan_12]

I thought it was a little hypocritical from the start.

Very much so and gotten worse.

[Caliwany]

Far be it for me to be pedantic, but doesn't your definition fit conservatives equally well?

Some, perhaps.

In the real world, it is the combined efforts of both the "right" and "left" that cause a meeting in the middle (or more towards the middle) that gets anything done.

Matt

[xochgtlm]

Neocons use "liberal" as a bad word..Let's take a look what it means to be liberal

You chastise neocons for giving the word liberal a bad connotation while at the same time using the word neocon in like manner. Priceless.

[OrefZorremn]

You chastise neocons for giving the word liberal a bad connotation while at the same time using the word neocon in like manner. Priceless.

Liberals have given the word liberal a bad connotation on their OWN. They don't need these "neocons" or "bushbots" or something to do it FOR 'em.



Just as every tyrant and terrorist group has done throughout history, the hard left intends to obliterate truth and freedom by first posing as progressive humanitarians and pacifists.

Lenin “created a regime that erased politics, erased historical memory, and erased opposition.” (David Remnick, “leaders & revolutionaries: V.I. Lenin,” Time.) – much like what we’re seeing today in the actions by the ACLU.