I am a conservative...

I saw this quote as a reply in a Digg thread.  I thought it was the most perfect statement that summed up my beliefs on the whole public option debate:

I am a conservative.
This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy.

I then took a shower in the clean water provided by a municipal water utility.

After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

I watched this while eating my breakfast of U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time, as regulated by the U.S. Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level
determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.

On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the U.S. Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and Fire Marshal's inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its
valuables thanks to the local police department.

And then I log on to the internet -- which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration -- and post on Freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can't do anything right.

You know what's funny. I was just thinking about this earlier today. Some guy posted it on reddit like a month back and it popped into my head for whatever reason.

I am a conservative by the definition of the word, not party affiliation, but it's hard to argue with that. I support a public health care option and have never called Obama a socialist.  I mean I think life would go on and things would be pretty much ok if the fed didn't have its fingers in all the pies, but still.

straight into my facebook notes

Extreme right wing policies don't work for everyone, only those that are lucky.  They just lead to troubles, and eventually result in government intervention to make things better.

Extreme left wing policies don't work, either.  Having no freedom, and everything controlled by the govermnent, just leads to stagnation or poverty, and eventually ends up with more freedom (See: the U.S.S.R.)

Why not just go down the middle, and find the happy medium between the two sides?  At least, that's the very essence of my political views

I think you mean this guy.

Aside from that, amusing read

Theyre sailing High

I approve of Train's post.

Quote:
Because those two statements you posted aren't agreed upon by all.

Quote:

The postal service has to compete with a widely available, free, and instantaneous competitor: the internet.  To send letters with a private company like Fedex/UPS, it would cost much more per letter.

I would put most of the blame of education on apathy and poor parental inspiration/guidance.  Have you actually seen the organization of a poverty-stricken, inner-city school?  They actually have some of the greatest public services in the community.

For the majority of our transportation being individual and not public, I would say our DOT's around the nation are doing an impeccable job.  Road systems require CONSTANT maintenance and care.  The reason we don't have as many mass-transit options compared to many western-European nations is simply because there isn't as much demand.

I would much rather it cost $1B to develop a prescription drug (which much of the money goes to clinical trials and testing), than to have many more dollars going into death and damages from under-developed medications.

You are correct about the FED.

I'm not familiar with these EPA regulations, though I'd like to read up on that.

NASA's funding has been cut, yes, but I don't see how that has any bearing on this statement.

Weather is quite possibly one of the most unpredictable sciences.  That's probably why meteorologists need to take higher math than even the highest level engineer.  It's fun to criticize a weatherman not predicting rain on a random afternoon, but if you knew exactly what went into making weather, you'd be surprised there even was a weather section on the local news.  It really is that crazy.

I too do not understand much of the department of agriculture.