I'd like to introduce myself...

Steelplate said:
Hi....I'm Steelplate, and I'm an alcoholic....no...just kidding. Although I do admit a penchant for microbrews.

Anyway...I'm 48 years old, married to a wonderful second wife after my first "monogomously challenged" one kicked my heart around one too many times. I served in the US Army from 1983-1986 and was honorably discharged. I mostly have worked in the Public Sector in an institution for the Developmentally disabled (mentally retarded, for the non-pc among us).
I hold no degrees, my world view and my insight is from experience and quite frankly, the school of hard knocks. I have held private sector jobs....I was a welder before I started working for the Commonwealth of PA and in 2000, I left the state after getting some IT certs to work in the private sector as first a technician, then promoted to senior tech, where I had 10 techs underneath me. After three years of this, I realized that my calling wasn't in the IT field...it was working with the DD. So, despite a decent degree of success, I applied and was granted reinstatement back to do the job I love.
On a personal note, I am a life long Steelers fan...which is the basis for my nickname, I am an outdoorsman and own a few weapons...just the basics...shotgun, deer rifle, .22 for plinking and a pistol and a compound bow. I play guitar and sing in an acoustic blues/folk/rock duo which gigs as schedules allow.
Politically, I am a registered Democrat and a lifelong Christian. I base my politics on the Jesus' words in the Judgment of Nations, better known as "the goats and the sheep" in the book of Matthew. That being said, our Constitution calls for individual rights and so, on social issues such as gay rights and abortion, I believe that it is important to put personal beliefs aside and look at these issues from a Constitutional perspective rather than a religious one...I may not personally agree...but they deserve the same rights as everyone else.

OK....that's about it. I look forward to discussing issues with you all. I will be as civil as I am treated. Thanks for reading this ridiculously long post!
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Welcome public sector worker/democrat. Why is that little combination so prevalent?:)
Go together like fleas on a dog's rump. You will find a lot of friends here. They simply love demorats here. :)
 
OnearmSword said:
Welcome public sector worker/democrat. Why is that little combination so prevalent?:)
Go together like fleas on a dog's rump. You will find a lot of friends here. They simply love demorats here. :)
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Why is it that giant bags of douche are so predominantly Tea Party Republicans? At least Libertarians I can respect a little...they want their vision of "liberty" to extend to everyone....while teabaggers hide behind their guns and their twisted version of Christianity(think Taliban) to make sure that liberty only applies to like minded people.
 
Steelplate said:
Really? Narcissism? Assuming you are a Conservative....I think the narcissism card plays pretty weak from a bunch of people who's mantra in life seems to be "I got mine, go screw yourself".
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Actually, it's "I see you got yours*, now screw off so I can get mine!" (*Buffett, Gates, Kennedys, etc.)
 
Threedee said:
Actually, it's "I see you got yours*, now screw off so I can get mine!" (*Buffett, Gates, Kennedys, etc.)
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But, I guess the Kochs, Walton's and the Conservative billionaires are cool with you? I love this idiotic straw man...liberal billionaires who support the tools to help you "get yours"....through education aid, TRYING to make healthcare more accessible and affordable ( to save YOU money), etc....are your impediments.... but the Conservative ones with the "every man for himself" attitudes are your saviors....twisted dude.
 
They aren't saviors; they just aren't part of the problem. There's actually nothing special about them. The liberal ones have all sorts of adoring fans who thing they are saviors, though, as indicated by your post.
 
Threedee said:
They aren't saviors; they just aren't part of the problem. There's actually nothing special about them. The liberal ones have all sorts of adoring fans who thing they are saviors, though, as indicated by your post.
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Wrong....what makes you think that I feel they are saviors? It's your side that worships this false notion that greed is good and use words like American Exceptionalism to wrap a flag around it. I have no problem with people being successful. I have no problem with Capitalism....what I do have a problem with is one class of citizens having one set of rules that pander to them, and another set of rules for everyone else....all because the first set can afford lobbyists and attorneys to allow them to cheat.
 
We should be preaching more American Marginalism, of course.

It does suck when rich folks break the rules and get away with it. AIG, Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, Freddie, Fannie, and a handful of others come to mind. My beloved Washington Mutual wasn't cool enough with the politicos for a bailout, so I magically became a Chase customer...
 
Threedee said:
We should be preaching more American Marginalism, of course.

It does suck when rich folks break the rules and get away with it. AIG, Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, Freddie, Fannie, and a handful of others come to mind. My beloved Washington Mutual wasn't cool enough with the politicos for a bailout, so I magically became a Chase customer...
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No....not American Marginalism....a fair day's pay for a fair day's work....and a fair day's pay is one where you can raise a family on. The problem is, due to corporate influence on policy, combined with overzealous unions unwillingness to give concessions in the 70's...the concept of one parent working and the other one providing a stable, nurturing home is virtually a thing of the past. The way it should be is that with a LITTLE fiscal discipline, one wage should be family sustaining....two wages should provide AMPLE security.

The problem is the redefinition of the American Dream. It used to be that the American Dream was to have a good, steady job, a home of your own and enough money in the bank to send your kids to college and have a nest egg for retirement. Now it's defined as being filthy rich.
 
There are a lot of studies which argue that family model wasn't really very common back in the day, but it certainly appeals to me. My question is, what is your problem with people who want to be rich? Also, who are you going to apply to for a livable wage except to one of those crazy rich bastards?
 
Threedee said:
There are a lot of studies which argue that family model wasn't really very common back in the day, but it certainly appeals to me. My question is, what is your problem with people who want to be rich? Also, who are you going to apply to for a livable wage except to one of those crazy rich bastards?
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Where did I say I had a problem with people who want to be rich? Rich isn't the problem....nothing is ever enough is. A return to a robber-baron type of nation is.

Also, I didn't say it was common.... I said that was the epitome of the american dream.

Lastly, being rich doesn't exclude one from civic duties and responsibilities. You can't have it both ways. You can't hide untaxed money away AND bitch about government spending. You can't export jobs that were once the backbone of our economy to slave labor nations AND bitch that the economy sucks. You can't lobby for a profit driven health care system AND bitch about how expensive it's become.

The wealthy elite have laid the groundwork for many of our difficulties and they want you and I to pay for it through shitty wages, out of pocket health insurance, and 401k's. While they take in greater and greater profits and the country stagnates.
 
But you can front other people's civic responsibilities so that they can phone it in and be part of the community of sheep rather than a goat. One reason why I would love to be rich - I could claim credit for the works of hundreds of other people!
 
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