Ain’t the Free Market Great?

As our libertarian friends always say, we don’t need the GOVERNMENT to ban smoking to breathe freely in restaurants.

Why here I am, sitting down to a nice meal at that same LongHorn steakhouse in Savannah where I first discovered that Georgia had banned smoking in such accommodations. (Forgive the lack of links — I’m on my Treo.*)

The nice waitress just brought me my food, only about 3 hours after I left home. Yum!
All I had to do is exercise my God-given right to have my lunch in the next state.
Ain’t the free market wonderful?

* Disregard parenthetical, now that I’ve stopped and fixed things up with my laptop. I leave the parenthetical because Randy refers to it in a comment.

90 thoughts on “Ain’t the Free Market Great?

  1. Lee

    In a truly free market, restaurants who thought there was a market tobacco-free dining would market themselves as such.
    Brad dined in Georgia, where diners have no market choices, because a handful of prohibitionists have gotten the legislature to deny the choice of smoking in a restaurant, or even going to a restaurant where someone may have smoked a month before.
    Having freedom requires respect for the freedom of others to do things that you don’t like, which may be harmful to them, or just a difference in tastes, but to recognize that most of it is none of your business.

  2. Randy E

    Do you like the Treo? I’m looking into the Blackberry because of the PUSH email technology.
    Brad, I’m sure someone will respond that you should move to that liberal state with all their government intervention (unlike South Carolina and their ultrasounds).
    By the way, what are you having at LH’s?

  3. Brad Warthen

    I CHOSE, quite freely, the grilled salmon, and I CHOSE to have double steamed veggies and to forgo the rice.
    Take a really quick look at Lee’s second comment above, because it’s about to be UnPublished, by order of the Inner UnParty.
    It’s nothing but a partisan, ideological rant, and a total non sequitur to boot, given that neither of the people in the room at this time subscribe to the beliefs against which he is ranting.
    His first comment stays because it at least addresses the subject.

  4. Brad Warthen

    And yeah, I like the Treo, sort of. It will do in a pinch. For browsing, I prefer a laptop. For a telephone, I prefer my plain ol’ LG. But it’s handy at times, and it takes low-res photos, which the Blackberry I could have had instead did not.

  5. Randy E

    Lee can bring out the worst in us – even Paul started duking it out with him.
    Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials James 1:2
    Lee can be a trial.

  6. Dave

    Speaking of the free market, Ithink it is wonderful to see the decrepit crackhead Bush hater Imus taken off the air. Especially when all of his so called driveby media buddies are now dumping all over the guy for his racist comments. When he was calling W an incompetent idiot, they loved the guy. What a bunch of losers. sorry for the off topic thought here, but really Imus epitomizes how many many liberals and leftists perceive minorities. Very sad.

  7. Randy E

    Dave, I find it sad that you can’t discern comments about public officials and young college athletes who were simply playing basketball – not to mention your blind support of Coulter.
    Your comment about how “liberals” perceive minorities is diaper filling. While some politicos may take minorities for granted, there’s little doubt which party reflects the country’s demographics.

  8. ed

    If Don Imus had been a black rapper there wouldn’t have been a sqeak out of the black community about his comments. Black folks make these kinds of comments nearly every day and there is never the sort of hyperbole and mock outrage we now see. The people that are all lathered up about this are such utter hypocrites! Nevertheless, take Imus off the air. The twenty people who listened to and watched him regularly can find some other broken down, decrepit liberal jerk to idolize. Ed

  9. mark g

    Smoking is a public health hazard… breathing second-hand smoke can make you sick. There’s no disputing that.
    Smoking should be banned from all indoor public spaces for the health and well-being of its citizens. States that put their citizens first, like Georgia, recognize that. South Carolina is a backwards state in many ways– and proud of it.
    Regarding Imus and rappers– they are both wrong to perpetuate racial stereotypes. Now THIS is an issue where the marketplace should rule– tune out Imus, don’t buy (or let your kids buy) offensive rap music.

  10. LexWolf

    You call this the Free Market, Brad? How in the world can massive government interference in the free market qualify as “The Free Market”? Better check out Econ 101 – they have some correspondence courses you could take!
    All we really have here is one part of society using government to impose their preferences on the rest of society.

  11. Randy E

    Yes, how dare we impose our right to health on others. Damn government even subverts our rights with speed limits and blood alcohol content restrictions – SOCIALISTS BE DAMNED!…but it’s ok if the government wants to redistribute wealth to pay for private schools…

  12. ed

    Mark, right on! Up with free markets! Except, why can we not have really free markets wherein market forces are allowed to work where smoking is concerned? I say restauranteurs and proprietors should be allowed operate establishments that allow smoking if they so desire. Some will allow smoking, some will not. You and I and people like us who dislike smoking can choose not to frequent the establishments that allow smoking. Ultimately, market forces will force businesses OUT of business which do not meet the needs of their customers. This is the essence of freedom, amd is much desireable to your scheme, which really only forces people to do what they otherwise would not do. Ed

  13. Dave

    Randy, When Ann Coulter says something I disagree with I will let you know. But remember she is not an elected official, and uses strong rhetoric to sell books, get attention, etc. Give that doll a break will ya. Ed is right about the double standard with liberals. Trent Lott had to resign his leadership post over a gratuitous comment about Strom, but Sen. Byrd remains the “conscience” of the Senate after using n-words as an ex=Klan member. But again, here is one observer thoroughly enjoying the Imus implosion by the likes of Sharpton the race baiter and Jesse Jackson the corporate hustler. The Rutgers girls didnt deserve to be degraded publicly by anyone, so Imus gets what he deserves. Good riddance.

  14. mark g

    The free market does many things well. But when it comes to the health and safety of its citizens, we can not leave it up to the free market.
    What about health inspections of the kitchens? We could leave that to the free market, and people would only choose to eat at restaurants that have sanitary kitchens. But how would they know before they became sick and keel over? So we have inspections of kitchens to keep the public safe.
    Amusement rides could be governed by the free market, and if you get ejected from the coaster you’re riding, hey, others could just choose not to try it. But of course we expect inspectors to give some kind of safety approval.
    Public safety is one of the most basic functions of good governemnt.
    Second hand smoke makes people sick– the teenagers who work at restaurants, and the families who visit.
    Progressive governments that take their responsibilities seriously– in the US and abroad– regulate smoking in public places. South Carolina is a backwards state.

  15. kc

    Take a really quick look at Lee’s second comment above, because it’s about to be UnPublished,
    No, no, please leave it up. It’s hilarious.
    I’m still not convinced Lee isn’t a genius parody troll.

  16. Lee

    The sales tax on food is higher in Savannah, too. That’s reason enough for statists to burn gasoline to dine there instead of in SC.

  17. Dave

    The free market may eventually clean up the driveby media. Now Katie Couric’s team has been caught plagiarizing a WSJ piece. Katie is innocent because she thought this is what CBS does, fake but accurate. She learned well from Rather it appears. Hopefully her last place ratings will cost her the nightly anchor spot.

  18. ed

    I’d go even further than that, Dave. I hope that CBS news folds up altogether. Do we REALLY need four (if you count MSNBC) network news and variety shows spouting propaganda, left wing talking points and global warming orthodoxy every night? Survival of the fittest works well in nature…I say let the the lion of ratings chase down and devour the CBS news crippled wildebeest calf. In my dreams I see Katy Couric in a foodstamp line. Ed

  19. Randy E

    Speaking of propaganda, what would Fox Noise say about Brad’s smoke free dinner. Billow Riley would have Brad on, tell him to shut up, then claim he presented both sides so we can decide.

  20. bud

    Here’s the free market at work. I drove one of these death traps for 6 years in the 1970s. Never suspected the thing was so dangerous. If one of you free-market cheerleaders ever loses a loved one because of corporate greed you’ll see the value in government oversight.
    http://www.fordpinto.com/blowup.htm

  21. Wally Altman

    It blows me away that anyone could oppose government intervention in the case of such a clear threat to public health.
    Brad, I don’t see anything wrong with deleting comments that you consider to be out of line, but I think that the classiest way to deal with them is to delete them and then proceed as if they were never posted.

  22. Doug Ross

    As a big “L” Libertarian, I actually don’t have a problem with anti-smoking laws because the smoker violates one of basic rules of Libertarianism (from http://www.lp.org)
    “Essentially, we believe all Americans should be free to live their lives and pursue their interests as they see fit as long as they do no harm to another”
    The evidence about the health risks of smoking and secondhand smoke seem fairly conclusive, so it seems reasonable to expect a Liberarian government to protect the non-smoker.
    Now, the challenge for you big government types is to justify the blue laws that are in effect. How is the public served by setting an arbitrary time when a local business can choose to open? or allowing liquor to be sold in restaurants on Sunday but not in stores? These are the types of government actions that mystify us big L Libertarians.

  23. Lee

    The BS (Bogus Science) about “second-smoke” is as pervasive as the disinformation about “global warming”.
    There have been extensive, long-term studies of people exposed to customers smoking in a enviroments where the combustion gas and particulate concentrations were captured and measured every day. The most extensive study was the one on overseas airline flights, where the cabin atmosphere was metered and logged and the crews had complete physicals twice annually. Those non-smokers exposed all day to tobacco smoke had fewer health problems than the control groups of non-smokers who worked in non-smoking environments.
    Yes, cigarette smoking is not good for you. Neither is most restaurant food. Only the worst sort of anal retentive moralist would want the government to enforce his lifestyle choices on people in places he will never visit.
    The anti-tobacco zealots of today are just like the anti-alcohol zealots who perverted the Constitution to institute Prohibition. From our perspective of 80 years later we can see how wrong-headed that prohibition was. This crusade is just as selfish and unAmerican.

  24. bill

    Dave,I think it’s time for you to hear the brutal truth about “Ann Coulter”-
    From Encyclopedia Dramatica-
    Ann Coulter (born Joseph Raymond McCarthy Coulter at least 100 years ago) is a conservative transsexual with a syndicated column. His right-wing diatribes are so full of bs that he MUST be trolling IRL. For instance, the chapters in his book “Godless” about evolution read like they were written by Jack Chick after a week long cocaine bender. Some people find him amusing, although Ann Coulter is not funny and all these people have s****y senses of humor.
    What is most dramatic is that Ann Coulter used to be a black man. Born Abu Karim Muhammad al-Jamil ibn Nidal ibn Abdulaziz al-Filastini to a black muslim family, s/he had male to female surgery at a young age. The typical hormone therapy was incomplete in his case. He has no breasts and features typical of women who take testosterone steroids. Watch “her” Adam’s apple bob up and down on “her” throat when “she” talks on Fox News. He also received skin and hair treatments to make him look more aryan.

  25. Brad Warthen

    Let me get this straight, because I don’t keep a scorecard on these yahoos — y’all are saying this Don Imus is of the “liberal” persuasion…
    I’ve never heard the guy, but I seem to remember reading about him back in the 90s as somebody who constantly trashed the Clintons. Isn’t that the same guy?
    To me, all this stuff goes in the same drawer as all the hand-wringing over Anna Nicole whatever.

  26. Lee

    Anyone with an ounce of decency, liberal or conservative, wanted Clinton impeached. He was a crook with an endless string of money scandals, who tried to buy off one of his intern escorts with a State Department job, then a $100,000 job in New York, threatened witnesses, etc.
    Any private business executive would have been fired on Day One.
    Don Imus mostly has guests from the liberal media (Tim Russert, Bob Woodward types) and Democrats of the Chris Dodd ilk.

  27. bill

    Brad,
    As a music trivia buff,I can tell everyone something they probably didn’t know about Don Imus.This was his most important contribution to society.He’s the yahoo who sang-
    “I don’t care if it rains or freezes, as long as I got my plastic Jesus, riding on the dashboard of my car.I can go 100 miles an hour, as long as I got the almighty power, riding on the dashboard of my car.”

  28. Doug Ross

    Imus counts many politicians, businessmen, media types, and musicians among his friends. He does significant charity work for SID’s research and runs a working ranch in New Mexico where he hosts hundreds of kids with cancer and their siblings.
    He’s an equal opportunity offender – mainly targeting the hypocrites and attention-seekers. He’s says what he thinks… he can be profane, brutally honest and politically incorrect.
    His ratings are fairly low but the demographics of his listeners/viewers are among the most widely sought by advertisers. A visit to his show can easily push a book or CD to the top of Amazon’s top sellers.
    He’s an ex-cocaine addict… now seems to be addicted to Nicorette gum. He runs all sorts of side businesses with his wife, mainly focused on all natural products – although to look at him, he appears to be near death’s door most days.
    His show was on AM1400 radio in Columbia some time ago but not any more.
    I watched/listened to him more in the past than I do now but that is mainly due to my schedule and the number of commercials that now take up too much time.

  29. Ready to Hurl

    Doncha love the Faux News propaganda victims who whine about the shortcomings of CBS?
    Is there a word for deluded, irrational, hyper-hypocrisy on steroids?
    If not, then the last 17 years (or, since the advent of GasBag Limbaugh) has proven the desperate need.

  30. Ready to Hurl

    bud, if you dig deeper into the Pinto matter then you’ll probably find that Lee was on the engineering team.

  31. bud

    More like the management team RTH. Apparently the engineers knew about the design flaw and wanted to delay production a few weeks but Lee Iaccoca (could that be our Lee?), insisted the thing go into production immediately (design flaws and all). This was an extremely callous and diabolical example of corporate greed at it’s worst, perhaps rivaling the cigarette companies.

  32. bill

    Yeah,I think The Gold Coast Singers got credit for writing and doing it first but Cool Hand Luke really made it popular.I must have seen that movie ten times down on Main street.Wish I could remember which theater.I think it’s really a traditional/public domain song.Plenty of people have covered it.My favorite version is Billy Idol’s.Pseudo-Cool guy,dumb song,what more can you ask for?

  33. Randy E

    Bud, you get to the heart of the market model solves everything scam. The bottom line drives the process and outweighs concern for public well being.
    Analagously, penicillin may be effective on many forms of bacteria, but not on fungi and viruses.

  34. Lee

    What makes you think your personal tastes in restaurants – their furnishings, music and atmosphere – is a social problem requiring armed force to make everyone else submit.
    The same mentality that cannot tolerate diversity in education, also thinks the government must mandate a lower common denominator in dining.

  35. Ready to Hurl

    Yeah, Brad, you freedom-hating socialist/communist/liberal nazi!
    The next thing that’ll you propose is jack-booted gubmint food safety inspectors for restaurants.
    Wait…

  36. LexWolf

    “What about health inspections of the kitchens? We could leave that to the free market, and people would only choose to eat at restaurants that have sanitary kitchens. But how would they know before they became sick and keel over? So we have inspections of kitchens to keep the public safe.”
    And yet, even with all this vaunted government inspection, we hear again and again about dozens or hundreds of patrons sickened at some establishment or another? Why is that? Are we getting your taxmoney’s worth from these government inspectors? Obviously not. Some probably have standards similar to this Health Inspector.
    “Amusement rides could be governed by the free market, and if you get ejected from the coaster you’re riding, hey, others could just choose not to try it. But of course we expect inspectors to give some kind of safety approval.”
    Ditto here. Even with all the government inspections there are still accidents again and again.
    There is no reason why we need such government inspection here at all. Who inspects electrical devices? Underwriters Laboratory and similar organizations which somehow manage to perform at least as well as your government inspectors, at a far lower cost. There is no reason at all why such private organizations couldn’t also perform such a function for restaurants or amusement park rides. Establishments which are checked could display a large decal at the entrance and customers could then decide if they want to patronize places lacking such decals, all done without the dead hand of big government.
    But of course, that would make too much sense for the big-government ideologues who only see the same “solution” for every situation: more taxes, more spending, more regulation, more intrusion in every nook and cranny of our lives.

  37. Lee

    Never mind that all amusement rides, bridges, elevators, stairways, roads, wiring and everything that could possibly pose a hazard to the public or to private users or bystanders is designed to industry standards by degreed engineers, sealed by a supervising Professional Engineer and often by a registered Architect, and tested by insurance company laboratories.
    If there were no government inspectors, all the prior due diligence would still be done.

  38. Dave

    For the big gov. lovers who think that gov. legislation is the key to all of our ills. Back in 1992, Lockheed Martin was caught giving kickbacks to foreign government officials to get contracts. Our gov. passed the FCPA then,, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. All were happy then, especially those like Randy, bud, Brad. Guess what. The first prosecution under that law came in 2004 under the BUSH admin. to their credit. But this is pretty typical of how the legislative cycle works. I add CFR to that type of silliness and I can imagine McCain is not too proud of the good that one accomplished.

  39. Ready to Hurl

    If the system doesn’t function 100% perfectly then it’s useless, eh, Lexie.

    If there were no government inspectors, all the prior due diligence would still be done.

    If pigs had wings then they could fly, too.
    Bud posted the Pinto example of engineers being overruled by bean counters.
    Since the absolute purpose of capitalism is maximizing return on profit then why would anyone believe that public safety would trump profit?

  40. Dave

    bill, based on that wild and crazy rant about Ann Coulter, how about sending me whatever you were smoking. Must be good stuff. As for Imus, he cried when the corrupt Harold Ford lost in TN. He is about as left as one can get. also, from what I have read his sick child ranch takes in about $7 million to $10 million a year yet offers a summer camp to maybe 100 kids for a short time. Do I suspect some funny money stuff there? Yes. Imus doesnt like Gov. Richardson as I think they plan to audit the operation. More to come on this.

  41. Lee

    bud posted the Pinto Myth. He probably isn’t old enough to have seen a Pinto.
    Every engineer, except some at the government, work under tight constraints, either in R&D budgets or in the target production costs of the vehicle. The Pinto sold for about $1,100 and outperformed the VW, Toyota and Datsun of its day in every aspect, including safety.
    For a real comparison, look at some government cars, like the Yugo, or those nameless junkers from East Germany and the USSR. The same workers who built that junk in East Germany were working a few years later for BMW, Audi, VW and Mercedes, making real cars. The difference was their sorry employer, socialist GovCo.

  42. Lee

    Profit motive is one reason the private sector is more concientious about safety. Products which cannot meet industry standards cannot find insurance or retailers.
    Products with a reputation for failure soon have few customers, the poor and less savvy ones, and the prices they command are low.
    Government product and services have no quality controls. They don’t care if anyone wants it or not. The just have to show up for work 4 days a week for 7 hours to collect their pay. If they screw up and kill someone, they can’t be sued, and the only ones ever fired are the whistleblowers.

  43. Randy E

    Dave, there you go again with “big government”. In lieu of parrotting terms, why don’t you explain the concept by answering a couple simple questions.
    You are against abortion, should the government get involved?
    Massachusettes allows gay marriage, should the government prevent this?
    You cite some abuses in government. Because some transportation workers don’t work like they should, government shouldn’t oversee transportation?
    Money channelled to those in need is not always used properly, as you pointed out. As a result, government shouldn’t look after those in need?
    Come on Dave, step up to the plate. Simple questions.

  44. Brad Warthen

    “Big government lovers.” All that big-government, small-government stuff is a matter of utter indifference to me, and I have yet to understand why it’s more than that to anyone else, aside from the fact that some folks have never quite gotten comfortable with the idea of paying taxes.
    Who cares what “size” the government is? Make it as big as a planet, or squeeze it into a matchbox. I just want it to work. Talking about the “size” of it, as though there were some perfect size that one could reliably state, seems to me like counting angels on the head of a pin or something.

  45. Lee

    Brad, what do you think is the point at which government becomes too large?
    One obvious limit is when it consumes so much of the wealth created by the private sector that the economy stops growing or shrinks, and tax revenues decrease even as the rates are increased.
    We are just under that point right now, thanks to a tiny tax cut in 2001. In the nine prior years, 3 tax increases had stopped the economy cold until some other taxes were reduced.
    Then there is the separate issue of oppressive control. Those who don’t want to grow up want more control. They want the government to be their mommy and daddy.

  46. Dave

    Ok, today conservatives won a doubleheader. Imus got canned from Msnbc and the Nifong criminal got what he deserved. It is worth mentioning that the Unperson totally fell for the Nifong rubbish and violation of the constitution. For all of you attorney lurkers out there, notice that the drive by media will absolutely NOT mention that Nifong was a Democrat. Doesnt he make you ashamed to be a Democrat after his prosecutorial misconduct and criminal behavior? I hope so.

    Randy, The only government intervention I want in abortion is to not pay one penny for those getting abortions. Of tax money that is. Thosewho get abortions will meet our maker and pay their repentances on that day. On gay marriage, let them go get married anywhere they want, but it is a marriage that our government cannot recognize. Thus, forget about spousal health care coverage, survivor benefits, etc. If two people of the same gender want to “marry”, stay out of my church in any attempt to try and legitimize the unholy union. But go ahead, give each other rings, and tell all you are married. But then shut up about it and stop trying to ruin traditional family structures. The vast majority of these so-called marriages dont last more than a couple of years anyway. So who is kdding who here.

    Government would be well served to get out of the road maintenance business also. PA is going broke because of lucrative PennDot pension benefits. If we keep it up, we will see that happen here too. Why not outsource to accountable private industry for road maintenance? Its a win win for all but the employees will need to work as private industry does. Take a look at the org chart of the SC Dot and justify why we need all the overhead.

    For those in need, the gov. should be there for a “temporary” safety net. Do you consider three generations of the same family as welfare recipients living off of welfare temporary? Lets get real here. As soon as the per child welfare payment would be eliminated, you would see the minority illegitamate birth rates drop dramatically.

  47. Randy E

    For those in need, the gov. should be there for a “temporary” safety net. – Dave
    Hmmm, government intervention.
    On gay marriage, let them go get married anywhere they want, but it is a marriage that our government cannot recognize. – Dave
    Hmmm, the government should go out of it’s way to discern which marriage is valid – government intervention.
    Why not outsource to accountable private industry for road maintenance? – Dave
    Accountable to whom? The GOVERNMENT! Hmmm, government oversight.
    So, Dave admits government has a role – a role he determines is valid. So “big government” is a pejorative term for government acting in ways Dave finds unacceptable.
    BTW, nice expression of Christian love in that post. That’s not a reflection of the Jesus I know.

  48. Randy E

    I actually agree with Dave about the abuses and misuses of government. Tony Blair spoke of making opportunity and responsibility meet.
    The GAO chief is on a crusade to warn the country of how we are spending our way into the demise of our country. As much as neo-cons despise McCain, he’s the only major player who has taken a stand against the pork – the anti-republican for the past 6 years of huge spending increases.
    If the government is going to provide money to those in need, why not put them to work – like FDR did in the 30s?

  49. Lee

    FDR’s socialist policies actually prolonged the Great Depression. His initial programs were the platform of Herbert Hoover, which Roosevelt ran against in 1932. His later programs were borrowed from Mussolini and Hitler’s work programs.

  50. Ready to Hurl

    News flash for Dave: Imus isn’t a liberal and doesn’t carry water for liberals.
    If Nifong goes to jail, I hope that he’s sent to the same prison as Republicans Rep. Duke Cunningham, Rep. Bob Ney, Rep. Don Sherwood, Republican bagman Jack Abramoff, Rep. Tom Delay and Rep. Mark Foley.
    Who knows if Monica Goodling, Gonzo’s former senior counsel, will be prosecuted since she’s already declined to testify in case she implicates herself in criminal activity.
    I guess that you’re pretty desperate for good news– what, with the implosion of the Bush Administration and the emergence of a truly dismal field of ’08 presidential candidates.

  51. LexWolf

    RTH,
    I wasn’t aware that Sherwood, Delay and Foley were convicted of anything so why should they be in jail?
    Now, which jail do you think William “Cold Cash” Jefferson (D-LA) should be in? Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and her husband? Alan Mollohan (D-OH)? Sandy Berger? Sen. Harry Reid?

  52. Dave

    Newsflash to Randy and Hurl, the groupies supporting and apologizing for Imus are people like Craig Crawford, Jeff Greenfield, etc. The last time I checked Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter were not lobbying to keep this racist on the air.

    And the condescending comment about Jesus is typical of those who think they have a private franchise on Our Lord. Jesus died once after suffering on the cross to give us our salvation. However, since men laying with men is a sin, the repetitious practice of that sin is not going to be received well on judgement day. If you want to defend that practice, have at it but I would pray for those who practice that level of immorality.

  53. Ready to Hurl

    Who said the following on his syndicated radio show?
    ***Speculated that the “liberal elite news media” would consider the death of Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi “bad news.”
    ***Seculated that “[t]here has got to be some people, though, like some of my liberal friends,” who “probably look at” Zarqawi’s death “on some level as bad news” because “they hate President Bush so much.”
    ***”I just wonder how long it’ll take for you and the other members of the liberal elite news media to describe” Zarqawi’s death as “a Karl Rove stunt because the president’s poll numbers are so low.”
    Chose one:
    (1) Al Franken
    (2) Sean Hannity
    (3) Rush Limbaugh
    (4) Don Imus

  54. Lee

    A Nigerian official who has defected and is cooperating with the FBI has said that Rep. Jefferson (LA) was a bag man for Congo bribes to other members of the Black Congressional Caucus.
    Jack Abramoff was involved in the scandal where Bruce Babbitt and others were not prosecuted by Janet Reno for $1 BILLION missing from the savings accounts of children on Indian reservations. He was paying bribes to Democrats and Republicans.

  55. Ready to Hurl

    Lexie, I hate to rock your neat black and white world but Imus is a non-doctrinaire shock jock. He particularly likes to smooze with media “stars.”
    His opinions vary all over the spectrum.
    I haven’t paid much attention to Imus, but probably for every “liberal” comment that you can dredge up, I can find a wingnuttish statement.
    He seems to enjoy offending both ends of the spectrum equally.
    But, if the only way you can fit Imus’ offensiveness into your juvenile worldview is to consider him a liberal, hey, it’s your delusion. Just don’t expect anyone (besides other delusionals) to believe it, too.

  56. Lee

    There was no controversy for a few days after Imus made this insult, until Al Sharpton saw an opportunity to incite racial division.
    Sharpton is the last person to criticize slander. He made his career off slander and libel, and inciting mob violence. From Tawana Brawley’s false accusations against the police to Sharpton inciting a mob to firebomb a Jewish clothing store and kill the black security guard, he is the worst sort of racist, who is given a platform by white liberal racists in the infotainment media.

  57. Randy E

    And the condescending comment about Jesus is typical of those who think they have a private franchise on Our Lord – Dave
    You mean someone who calls a woman a “whore” for having a baby out of wedlock or supports Anne Coulter after she called someone a “faggot” and Rush Limbaugh for calling Obama a “halfrican”? Which franchise is this? How does the bible support this?
    However, since men laying with men is a sin, the repetitious practice of that sin is not going to be received well on judgement day. – Dave
    The venom spewed towards gays is what I consider, from reading the BIBLE, contrary to Christian love – “Love the man, hate the deed”.
    So you speak with authority that this “repetitive sin” (homosexuality) is worse than any other sin? So Dave doesn’t repeat any of his sins?! Wow, that was Dave walking across Lake Murray?!!? Where do they sell this King Dave version of the Bible?

  58. Lee

    Modern liberalism has been reduced to a movement which insists that there is no morality, and seeks to forbid criticism of their licentious behavior.
    All the major religions, which seek to respond to God’s blessings by behaving in a manner more considerate of oneself and other moral or naive persons, is seen by liberals, socialists and other humanists as the enemy of their degraded lives.
    The vicious attacks on the Catholic church by the atheists of the French Revolution was the first glimpse of the ugliness to come from secular socialism.

  59. Lee

    This latest witness corroborates the physicical evidence seized by the FBI from Jefferson’s office and home, which shows several Nigerian companies in his childrens’s names, and correspondence asking shares in a Nigerian broadband company in exchange for the Congressman voting for foreign aid and development loans and grants to Nigeria.
    Source: CNN May 22, 2006
    http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/05/21/jefferson.search/index.html

  60. Ready to Hurl

    Bruce Babbitt and others were not prosecuted by Janet Reno for $1 BILLION missing from the savings accounts of children on Indian reservations.

    True to form, Lee ignores information that doesn’t fit his theory and continues to parrot his partisan canards.
    Polly wanna cracker, Lee?

  61. Lee

    Butch Reno letting Babbitt go fits right in with all the other coverups by the Clintonistas. Shall I name a few dozen?

  62. Ready to Hurl

    Good luck flogging that corruption scandal concerning an insignificant cipher among House Dems. If he’s indicted/convicted it’ll be a backpage story with little impact on the HoR, national politics or much else.
    Meanwhile, the former leader of Republicans in the HoR faces charges of political corruption in maintaining Rethuglican domination of the HoR.
    “…inject illegal corporate contributions into 2002 state elections that helped the Republican Party reorder the congressional map in Texas and cement its control of the House in Washington.”
    So, you’re equating supposed corruption of a back bench nobody Dem with the forced resignation and indictment of the key player in the K Street Project for a New Rethuglican Century.
    You’re either looking through the wrong end of a telescope or the bottom of an empty liquor bottle.

  63. Lee

    I haven’t found any corruption by Democrats that bothers Democrats.
    Last week it was your denial of that the NAACP had been bankrupted by its executives looting the treasury. After a few days of letting you bluff, I posted the news stories and you vanished from that thread, el pronto.

  64. Dave

    Randy, I was actually water skiing and all this time you thought I was walking on water. And, I guess you think the writings in scripture about Soddom and Gomorrah are some kind of a stupid fiction tale. You really need to sit down with whomever your priest is and have a discussion about how you condone practicing homosexuality. The prior Pope and the current Pope Benedict have done a remarkable job at cleansing the Catholic church of this malady and sin. But whatever you think is between you and your Savior so you are on your own. Keep on praying about it.

  65. Randy E

    Dave,
    once again, you confuse Christian love of our fellow man with judgement of deeds. I take issue not with homosexuality, but with your venom towards others in the context of Christianity.
    Jesus didn’t call Mary M a “whore” because she slept around. He took issue with her actions but showed her mercy. He permitted those in the mob wanting to stone her to throw the first rock if they were free from sin. None could walk nor ski on water so they left.
    BTW, does the term new covenant ring a bell? OT was eye for an eye. Jesus speaks of turn the other cheek…I guess that exists only in my version of the Bible.

  66. Randy E

    Addendum: I was not expressing my position on homosexuality one way or the other. I was expressing my position on your venomous attitude toward homosexuals.

  67. Dave

    Yes, that is the good ole non-involved no-opinion Randy. Blog and debate about what others think and write but of course you dont express your own opinions. And guess what, read more carefully when you read scripture. Christ told the prostitute to SIN NO MORE. Do you understand that command from our savior? It doesnt mean, oh well, so what if the whores are whoring every day, so what if gays are fornicating over and over, lets all just be nice and the heck with this morals stuff. What you call my venom is a total mischacterization. I am more than willing to let God judge the reprobate sinners, as long as they stay away from my family and me. They can answer for themselves. If you want to be Mr. Nice Guy and justify sin, go for it. And why is Unperson trying to comment? Or is Unperson grieving over its support for its hero, Nifong. Unperson owes many many people an apology over its support for Nifong and the direct attack on our constitution.

  68. Randy E

    judge the reprobate sinners, as long as they stay away from my family and me – Dave
    “Reprobate sinner” as opposed to a virtuous sinner? So Dave and his family are free from sin and apparently live in a hermetically sealed bunker to avoid us sinners.
    I’ve expressed my views, part of which was making a point about Christian love. This can’t be parsed from Jesus’ message no matter how you try.
    When Mary, the adultress, was brought before him, he didn’t call her a “whore”. At the well, when he met the Samartian woman who was shacked up with some guy (like Jolie) he didn’t call her a “whore”.
    He knew Peter would deny him 3 times but didn’t condemn him. There’s the parable of the Prodigal Son. There’s Jesus sitting with tax collectors while the Pharisees complained “he welcomes sinners and eats with them”.
    if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15)…unless of course you are free from sin.

  69. Lee

    Homosexuals have all the rights of any other persons, except for a few that cannot be logically granted to them because of their nature. Just as a man cannot be a mother, a homosexual relationship cannot be marriage, because marriage is a commitment between man and woman.

  70. Dave

    Randy, first lets agree that Jesus didnt call Mary a nappy headed ho, although I still dont know what nappy is all about. I think if people of faith lose the ability to see that there are wrongs and there are rights, then that is like the hiker losing the ability to determine north or south. In a larger sense, this inability to call wrong wrong, or evil evil, is what is plaguing our whole society now. So now liars arent really wrong, they have issues with honesty, deadbeat dads arent wrong, they are misguided victims of society, and mentioning God in school is wrong, because after all students need time to learn about condoms and Two Penguins. Rationalizing that wrong is really not wrong anymore is perhaps our society’s most fundamental problem. Think about that as you rationalize that the Catholic church or any legitimate church should begin marrying gay folks.

  71. Ready to Hurl

    Last week it was your denial of that the NAACP had been bankrupted by its executives looting the treasury. After a few days of letting you bluff, I posted the news stories and you vanished from that thread, el pronto.

    Oh, for Pet’s Sake, Lee!
    This is such a distortion of the truth. (I’m being “civil” here for Brad’s tender eyes.)
    Anyone reading the last ten, or so, posts of Confederate Radio will recognize that you couldn’t prove your allegations about the leadership of the NAACP being indicted and pleading guilty of embezzlement. You certainly didn’t support your CONCLUSION that the NAACP’s financial difficulties engendered their campaign against the Rebel battle flag on the SC Statehouse.
    You couldn’t present evidence to support your allegations and I quit even checking the thread. You STILL haven’t proven your charges with any credible evidence.
    You live in a fantasy world. You take a few allegations, half-truths or whole falsehoods and then string them together into a bogus canard.
    If you were really concerned about corruption that affects every American then you’d be more concerned about the billions of tax dollarsin cash that disappeared without a paper trail into the Iraq meat grinder.
    Of course, that wouldn’t fit into your partisan obsession with slagging the Dems.

  72. Lee

    You carefully avoided denying any of the FACTS this time, focusing entirely on vague references as part of your weak personal attack.
    The FACT is that the NAACP mounted the Confederate Flag Hate Campaign as cover for the embezzlement scandals.
    The FACT is that they had two presidents in a row with gang ties, who were both ex convicts.

  73. Lee

    From the NAACP’s own website
    Benjamin Chavis and William Gibson ( of Greenville, SC), were removed from office in 1995.
    http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0834933.html
    They leave it at that. You can find the rest of the story of the missing money in lots of newspapers, even a little in The State.
    Gibson was accused of diverting $500,000 to his personal accounts, but an audit showed he only stole $111,930. ( USA Today 5/6/2002)

  74. Randy E

    Think about that as you rationalize that the Catholic church or any legitimate church should begin marrying gay folks. – Dave
    Dave, please share where I stated my support for gay marriage. Again, the issue I was addressing was Christian love as opposed to derogatory comments about others.
    We are in agreement about the push to make the essence of Christianity fit today’s culture – cafeteria Christians who choose which aspects of the Gospel is worth following.
    I happen to be a conservative Catholic which includes love for all my brothers and sisters despite their sins. For example, I had a cousin who committed a serious offense and was convicted. I still love him as my cousin while I condemn the act he committed.
    My original point is that you seemed to be venting hate towards homosexuals, which is clearly a “franchise” Jesus would not condone.

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