Friday, May 21, 2010

I'm Confused

I don't understand the thinking behind Republican Senate candidate in Kentucky, Rand Paul. He says that the federal government should not prevent private business from discriminating against people based on race, religion, or national origin because it denies people their "liberty" (the liberty to be a racist asshole). Then, the very next day, Mr. Paul says it is "un-American" for the President of the United States to criticize BP (a foreign company operating in US waters) for their role in causing what may be the greatest environmental disaster in American history.

So, according to Paul, it is pro-American to discriminate based on race, and un-American to try and hold companies accountable for destroying the Gulf Coast. Does this make sense to anyone?

7 comments:

J. Marquis said...

Yes, because we must all worship at the holy altar of almighty Business.

Bryan said...

It does make perfect sense, speaking of Rand, Ayn Rand. "In 1998 readers responding to a Modern Library poll identified Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead as the two greatest novels of the twentieth century—surpassing Ulysses, To the Lighthouse and Invisible Man. In 1991 a survey by the Library of Congress and the Book-of-the-Month Club found that with the exception of the Bible, no book has influenced more American readers than Atlas Shrugged."

And that trend has resurged actually, ironically since the recession/depression started.

What's more American than the Russian Ayn Rand and what is more American and popular than her "Virtue of Selfishness"?

T. Paine said...

It wasn't the recession/depression that caused the surge in popularity of "Atlas Shrugged", rather it was the gross over-reach of government in curbing our liberties (esepecially those regarding what was once private businesses which are now GOVERMENT controlled.)

Bryan said...

"it was the gross over-reach of government in curbing our liberties"

Ah, you mean the Bush administration and Homeland Security and the increase in spying on the citizenry, etc.?

By these once private businesses that are now government controlled, you mean the bailout of companies that simply wouldn't exist anymore if they weren't funneled money.

Sadly for you Randian supporters, most of the bail-out money is going in gigantic sums to precisely those Randian deregulated "titans" who failed in their "creative" schemes and thereby brought about the downward spiral.

It is not the great creative geniuses who are now helping out lazy ordinary people, it is rather the ordinary taxpayers who are helping out the failed "creative geniuses."

Bryan said...

The even more insane element is that though it was Ayn Rand disciples like Alan Greenspan that got us into this mess in the first place, instead of the "objectivists" (what a ridiculous self title for these bozos) thinking, "hmmm...maybe there is something logically incorrect with her....philosophy" (and I am generous calling it a philosophy), instead, they babble on about "NO...what was wrong is that deregulation wasn't implemented enough, they weren't faithful Randians and this is what caused the disaster.... therefore the only solution is to take more of the hair of the dog that bit you...DERUGLATE!!! Give the corporations even more freedoms."

What a bunch of wankers....

T. Paine said...

Bryan, the very policies that the fool Bush instituted seem to have been continued under Lord Obama, and yet I hear nary a peep from the left on this adminstration's spying on citizens and over-reach of Homeland Security etc.

Further, far better that those companies had been left to go through bankruptcy rather than bailout at taxpayers expense. Then those crooks in charge would have known that there were indeed consequences for their greedy actions and they were NOT too big for the government to let fail.

Lastly, I also agree that had we put regulation and better oversight in play with regards to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, we might have averted this catastrophe.

Instead Barney Frank and Chris Dodd and their Democratic cohorts cried racism at McCain for proposing such regulation saying that there was no need and McCain was being racist for preventing loans to unqualified minorities for homes they could not afford.

You are correct on that account, sir.

Dave Splash said...

As far as criticism of the president from the left, if you don't see it, then you are not looking. Fox and Limbaugh tell you Obama is some left wing radical, so naturally, it must be true.

The reality is that this president has bent over backwards to appease the right in this country, and the right turns around and shits all over him.

I'd love for Obama to be an actual liberal. I can't wait until he finishes cleaning up the disaster he inherited from the conservatives. When he does, perhaps he will.