Ironside, Charlie.

A good blog; I agree with many of your points. I have seen examples of exactly what you are talking about.

The question is this... can it be changed? I considered teaching when I was retiring from the military. I would have starved to death! Many college graduates choose the better salary of a business related job instead of the low pay and headaches of teaching.

The problem as I see it is that (in addition to you rpoints) young people seem to believe that this is the way to go - really. I admire their optimism and enthusiasm, but when I ask the realistic questions of of who will work and pay for all this and who will defend our country from the bad people that are still in the world - they have no answer. Or worse, they answer that those things will not matter once all the 'old ways' and "dinosaurs like me" are gone.

I believe the next generation is moving toward a bad awakening and a tough life.

The cold hard facts are these. They will never believe different unless they experience a significate emotional shock. How does the drug addicted person change their life. By a near death experience. So it is with all bad human behavior. Something so terrible must happen to cause them to re-evaluate their belief system and what they are doing with their lives. At this point, the Republicans must give the President what ever he wants. The economy must be seen by his supporters as his economy not Bush's economy, so that when it collapses they can blame no one but the president. By giving him what he wants he will run up even higher debt than his first term causing rapid inflation. Bread will cost $5.00, milk $12.00, gas $15.00 a gallon. At this point, even his supporter will wake up a demand it stop. The Republican must then remind the American people that they voted for his economic plan and that the only way to stop it is vote for Conservative Republicans in 2014. If the Republicans get veto proof majorities in Congress, everything can be undone. Without this happing, our nation will continue to decline and generations of Americans will live in poverty and desperation.

Great blog, OldIronside!

What a sad, strange world it is in which modern conservatives live.

They believed the conservative propaganda machine's assertions that traditional polling methods are worthless, and that the CPM's way (which happened to predict a Romney romp) was better, only to find that the traditional, well-tested methods were the ones that were worked.

They make up facts (and quotations from Plato) and can't understand why people no longer take them at their word.

They watch this country's wealthiest members continue to capture an ever-increasing proportion of the wealth of the country, and they blame the poorest members for it (failing to see the irony that it is not the "takers," but rather the self-proclaimed "givers," who seem to be ending up with everything).

They cheered when Romney insisted that it was his right and duty to pay as little income tax as the current tax code allows, and they cheered when Romney attacked the 47% for doing exactly the same thing (but without his $250 million cushion).

They bemoan wasteful federal government spending, but consider it an article of faith that we need to spend at least five times as much on our military as all of our potential enemies combined.

They claim to oppose abortions because human life begins at conception, but they oppose virtually every strategy known to reduce rates of abortion, and they express no concern about the 50% of living humans that die before even being implanted in the uterus.

They showed extraordinary creativity in trying to paint Obama as "not one of us" (he's a liberal, he's Muslim, he's not an American citizen, he's a terrorist, he's a socialist, he hates America, etc.) without mentioning the real reason "he's not one of us," and yet he still got elected again. Little wonder many of them have taken to Facebook and Twitter and in frustration let us know which difference really bothers them.

And perhaps saddest of all, they equate viewpoints different from their own with the End of Days.

It comes down to a couple of simple principles.

Democrats are enablers - Like a drug dealer they enable people (the poor/needy) to live a bit of a better life. On the surface this a great thing.

Republicans empower people - Like a great teacher or entrepreneur they push people to better themselves.

watchpig, you forgot "In principle this would be a great thing" at the end of your last paragraph.

Other than that, a fine example of bumper sticker sloganeering.

To all who have served in our nations military and took the oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies Foreign and Domestic. Ever wonder what Domestic means?

I can only speak for myself, Ironside, but sure, probably when I was five years old or so. I think I've been familiar with the diverse meanings of "Domestic" since then.

But your question makes me wonder something else. You seem to be unable to accept that other Americans could have a legitimate viewpoint different from your own, or to accept that some of your "facts" are not true. So when I take your original blog post here and your latest one, it sounds like you want to take military action against Americans who happen to have a interpretation of the Constitution different from your own. Is that a fair assessment?

Scindapsus: I have a problem with a President who violates our First Amendment Right to Freedom of Religion by forcing thru a law that requires the Catholic Church to violate it's Religious Teachings. The same teachings of the Church that existed when our country was founded, a teaching that "live from the time of conception is sacred and must be protected". The First Amendment states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;..... Obamacare does prohibit the Catholic Church, and, as for my comment about the military oath I took, it means I will not be silent when I see those amoung us "Domestic" Liberals, Progessives, Socialists and Communists who willing violate the law for there own political gain. This is not an issue of a different point of view. The First Amendment is clear "Congress shall make no law". There are legal ways to change our Constitution, but I don't see anything being done by Liberals/Socialists to do it the legal way. Liberals say sit down an shut up, your out of touch with the times, your not cool,hip,or happing, your old fashioned, your time has come and gone. So when I see this distructive childhood behavior on the part of Liberals, I have an obligation to my country to speak out about the abomination the Liberal Left has become, a political threat to the suvival of our nation. I stand by my oath.

Ironside,

All I can say is every time you put thought to paper, and send it our way, you make me feel sorry for you and your weird, sad world all over again. Your facts are fake, your quotes are fake, your logic is internally inconsistent, you deny the obvious, and yet you can't understand why everyone else doesn't see The Truth in exactly the same way that you do.

The real abomination is someone claiming to be an American who likes the idea of using military force to prevent any Americans except Conservatives from having a say in how our government runs.

Ironside, remember ask not what you can do for your country ask instead what your country should do for you. I liked how you compared the low or bottom for a drug addict as the moment of change. It leads me to believe there is hope...

Scindapsus, Your rhetoric reminds me of the great and many uses of tits on a bore hog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhgAPK...

I liked that comment too, except that I don't think s/he really believes it (or, in true conservative fashion, thinks it only applies to "others"). To wit:

1) Did the election has caused him/her to "experience a significate emotional shock"? Sure sounds like it.

2) Does s/he as a result "believe different"? (and be honest here; s/he did not mean that the shocked drug user's "different belief" was that they needed to resort to harsher measures to support their habit!) You tell me...

22, I've long since given up expecting to persuade anyone of anything here. However, any time you want to intelligently discuss instead of vacuously insult, feel free.

Scindapsus, every time you put thought to paper, and send it my way, you make me feel sorry for you and your weird, sad world. Your facts are fake, your quotes are fake, your logic is internally inconsistent, you deny the obvious, and yet you can't understand why everyone else doesn't see The Truth in exactly the same way that you do. Regards 22

Standard conservative ploy, 22, but most people realize that just because you use the same words as someone with whom you disagree doesn't make you right and them wrong.

On the other hand, I guess the failure to understand this is at least partly why so many conservatives were surprised by the election results ("But conservatives used polls too, and they said that Romney would get 330 electoral college votes, not Obama!").

I'm familiar with the extent to which folks can "double down" on their own beloved facts and Truth, but it would be most interesting if you could actually show a single case of me using a fake quote, or demonstrate any internal inconsistency in my logic.

Scindapsus,I dont think you get my point. You call me out into intelligent dicussion in lue of "vacuosly" insult. But as I see it your intelligent discussions are more intelligent insult. Far more delusioning on ones self is the intelligent insult. Just an intelligent approch to nothing more than vacuous insult. In this you will find your internal inconsistency. 22

Nice try but no go. The only way you can make this work is by ignoring the specifics of my posts, and focusing exclusively on the harsh tone that they can contain.

Or, I suppose, you could be equating logic and evidence with vacuousness, in which case there's really nothing more to say.

You suppose?

Ironside, I have attempted to ignore this post but, like an addict, I have to have my fix. Your post is a lot of twaddle. You use the identical technique of pundits on both the left and the right. Take something you disagree with (the re-election of the President), pick a statistic of your choice (young peoples' voting tendencies), and weave it into the handbasket we're all going to Hell in (amazing how you brought in Bill Ayres and laid the entire education failure at his feet).

I presume your next post will attack blacks and the percentage of them that voted for Obama because it means more welfare and handouts - completely ignoring those middle and upper-class blacks who have no interest in government handouts. And then there's always the Hispanics next. And then white women with degrees.

I'm always amazed at how well you know what the President wants and how much it's going to cost us. Do everyone a favor and look at the Federal Budget over the past 16 years. See where it began to truly skyrocket and what it was being spent on. Try Red Ink, by David Wessel, an economics editor for the Wall Street Journal (so you want be influenced by any liberal claptrap).

By the way, I have two sons. Both employed, self-supporting, and one of them paying back student loans (not grants). They in no way resemble your indictment of "young people". I would not presume to state what they believe politically.

Scindapsus, good post.

Dad:

You had me at "Twaddle."

Admiringly,
#1 Son