Neal Boortz Commencement Address

[1IDVET]

You can actually go to www.boortz.com and listen to his program from 9:00 to 1:00 Pm (Eastern Time).

By the way this speech was never read at any school (he clarified this on the air). He made a comment to Brenda (a girl on his show) that he has never been invited to give a speech at any college and he couldn't understand why. So as a joke Brenda told him he should write a commencement speech and have it ready. That is what he did and it has spread like wild fire.

[Boats]

Boy I really enjoyed reading this piece. It's a work of art and it states the facts in an appropriate manner.

I like the statement "Obsessive-Compulsive
Compassion Disorder" it really hits the mark.

I'd like to say more but I'm sure other's agree that those kids didn't hear word he said. But as I get older I guess I get wiser and reading such works as were said above is novel and something we can all relate to.

Life is bitter sweet in many areas for those who fail to secure their goals in life. Some of us require a longer time to finally realize that what we initially set out to do was beyond our abilities. I've scaled down my reach and go for more or less whats within my range or abilities - its a tough pill to swallow when you know you can't accomplish or do the things you initially set out to do. But thats life.

To: 1IDVET I personally thank you for the enlightened reading of such a wise man. I appreciate you for allowing us to read the works of a man whose been there and done that. I wasn't sure I would get through the whole thing but once I got into it I just couldn't stop reading. I chuckled - I paused and reflected and I nodded many times in agreement. It's nice when a smart man can put those words into such an organized and meaningful manner and pass it on to those "who" may have been listening.

[Seascamp]

Looks to me like an exercise in free speech. Good for that University for allowing opposition views to be presented at a public forum like that. But, I?m against using commencement ceremonies for political drumhead pot and pan clanging by anyone. The last few I have been to, there was a cookie cutter Liberal pitch going on and the heroes of the hour, the Grads, were more focused on keeping beach balls bouncing through the seated Grads than paying any attention to more of the same old stuff. How about just honor their achievements and let the rest take a time-out. The Grads are smart enough to sort the fly-shit from the pepper when they feel a need to get to a level of belief.

At a time I thought that Liberalism was about free speech and that was the hook they had in me, but I don?t think that way anymore and the hook has been removed. It?s about their free speech and all others are to keep shut or face an onslaught of ridicule, labeling and demeaning accusations. Sure, I went through University studies after my VN service, quite a bit after actually, and learned to just keep my head down and never miss the opportunity to keep my mouth shut. I just couldn?t believe how much propaganda is presented as gospel truth, such a pity. I couldn?t believe how levered the textbooks were, more the pity. And when my daughters went through I was astounded how much more levered the books had become. That pissed me off, big time. I paid as much as $80 for a book full of biased, levered, non-real world rhetoric and did it over and over until my head swam and my check book got close to core melt down. Helpfully, my daughters just said ?don?t look Dad, just help me with a check, OK?.

Good comments Boats, I believe you just spoke for millions and millions of people who just wish they could say the same thing, but just sit in silent frustration. Polish up your thoughts Boats and go on lecture tour, you?ll be a best hit, really. I?m serious, healthy thoughts are rare and are always welcome. Good work Boats, I?m really impressed.

Scamp

[SuperScout]

If tax increases are so wonderful, as liberals and socialists seem to claim, espouse and endorse, why haven't we heard more from the left wing of the Democratic party? Is it perhaps that tax increases or the mere advocacy of such lunacy, is akin to committing political suicide? But where is the courage of their convictions? If they are in favor of higher taxes, why don't they speak up? Because they're either spineless hypocrites, or hypocritical jellyfish. And can you find one school district, city, county, state or other governmental entity that has ever taxed their way into prosperity? With this type of logic, if we just raised taxes, we would have prosperity for all, with enough revenue to fund every entitlement program ever dreamed up by the Utopian idiots! The fact of the matter is THAT YOU CAN'T TAX YOUR WAY INTO PROSPERITY - NOT NOW OR EVER!

Tax cuts don't lead to deficits - only an idiot or a fool or a moron would make such specious claims - spending more than intake leads to deficits. Here, let me type it real slowly: S-P-E-N-D-I-N-G. And I don't care if it was Republican or Democratic generated spending requests or pork, it is still overspending.

And of course the liberals and socialists will have us conveniently forget that such mere trifles of history, like terrorists attacks, a very brief, but successful war in Afghanistan, and a regime change in Baghdad don't, can't and shouldn't have any impact on national spending levels. Gasp, oh, the reality of it all!

Giving sitting, standing, or recumbent Presidents any credit for the good or bad of a current economic condition is the intellectual equivalent of crediting a madame with morality - neither has anything to do with the other. To extol the wondrous legacy of Bill Clinton, other than the semen-stained dress, the depeted morale of the military, and the missing china from the White House, one cannot lay the economic wonder of the Nineties at his feet - it was private enterprise that spawned and nurtured the growth.

I could go on, but those with an ounce of intellect will get the point; others..........

[Gimpy]

You want MORE PROOF!

Looks like y'all need some more "convincing", huh? Think I can?
Yes, I can. Here is a catalogue of some of the major issues on the national agenda. In every single one of them, the conservative position advances the cause of ?cheap labor?. I defy any conservative reading this to show me one single conservative position, belief, principle or policy that has any tendency to boost the earning power of labor.
1. DUBYA?S TAX CUTS AND RESULTING BUDGET DEFICITS. Twenty years ago, cheap-labor conservatives claimed that tax cuts would stimulate the economy, and lead to balanced budgets. They don?t even bother spouting that crap any more. Now they say that deficits ?aren?t so bad?, they don?t drive up interest rates, and they don?t create inflationary pressure.
Here?s the real skinny. The purpose behind tax cuts and budget deficits is to bankrupt the government.
Conservatives hate ?social spending?. That?s what they mean by ?big government?. They want you naked in as harsh an economic environment as they can create. But here?s the problem. Most ordinary people aren?t so ruthless. Most people think life is for living, not working your ass off until you drop. So if we the people can provide some basic social infrastructure for things like a basic retirement, assistance for higher education, unemployment compensation to get you through those Republican periods of high unemployment -- well, most people support all of that stuff. Conservatives lose elections when they talk about undoing it. Just wait and see!
So the manipulative sons of bitches ? who don?t really believe in your right as a citizen in a democracy to establish institutions that do you any good ? have come up with a ?stealth plan? to get rid of our entire social welfare infrastructure. It?s called ?bankruptcy?, and it is not an accident that the first thing Dubya did when he took office was bring back the deficits Bill Clinton had eliminated.
2. OPPOSITION TO EVERY IMPROVEMENT IN WAGES AND WORKING CONDITIONS IN US HISTORY. This is obviously directly related to ?cheap labor? and doesn?t require much further explanation. In fact, the heading serves as the ?One Sentence Response? ? and I would stress the ?every improvement in US history?, all the way back to abolition of slavery, and such obvious reforms as child labor laws. Cheap-labor conservatives have never been the friend of working Americans. Ever.
3. OPPOSITION TO ANY SORT OF NATIONAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. Health care costs are outrageously expensive, and threaten people with financial ruin. Also, health insurance is primarily provided by employers through ?group plans?. So if you lose your job, you lose your health coverage. This is not quite as a big a problem, since the passage of COBRA ? which was opposed by guess who? That?s right, the cheap-labor conservatives.
In short, national health insurance would provide a huge measure of security for working Americans from potential financial catastrophe ? which catastrophe is therefore no longer a force keeping you suitably intimidated by your employer.
4. SCHOOL VOUCHERS, OPPOSITION TO THE FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, OPPOSITION TO LOCAL BOND ISSUES, ETC. Way back in the late nineteenth century ? where the cheap-labor conservatives are trying to take us ? conservatives opposed universal public education. You can go to ?Freeper? right now and find cheap-labor conservatives who still oppose it. And the reason is simple. Ignorant and illiterate people have fewer options in life, making them fit subjects for ?industrial serfdom?.
In other words, an ineffective public education system is necessary to create a semi-literate workforce of ?industrial serfs?, which accounts for cheap-labor conservative opposition to increased teacher pay, smaller class sizes, improvements in physical infrastructure, and anything else that might actually work.
Let?s just propose a simple thought experiment. Suppose we had 95% functional literacy, with similar high school graduation rates, and vast numbers of those high school graduates going to college, or receiving specialized technical training. When everybody is properly educated, who is going to ride on the back of the garbage truck? Who is going to pick tomatoes? Who is going to digger footers on construction sites? And what kind of wages are such workers ? who are in short supply and smart enough to know it ? going to command?
But wait, there?s more. Let?s consider your average dittohead ?wannabe? living in the suburbs. Does he really want his children competing with those ?brown? children for a seat in the university? What interest does he have in universal education that actually works? And you know how conservatives are about their ?self-interest?.
Well, he can?t very well advocate ?resegregation?. So here?s what the cheap-labor conservatives came up with. ?Vouchers?. Some of those ?brown? children can escape from failing schools ? but not all of them. As for the one?s that are ?left behind?, well there?s a garbage truck with their name on it ? assuming they don?t wind up in jail.
5. ?LAW AND ORDER?. According to cheap-labor conservatives, the only legitimate function of government is to protect the fortunes and privilege of the ?haves?. Economic progress like ?full employment?, living wages, and first rate education system, all improve the living standards and prospects of the ?working poor? ? and the ?cheap-labor conservatives? can?t have that, can they. So that leaves prison as the only ?social program? the conservatives support. They say we ?throw money at every problem?. Well ?cheap-labor conservatives? throw prison at every problem.
6. ?FAMILY VALUES? AND THE ?CULTURE WAR.? They say they are defending American ?culture? ? but that ?culture? is the culture of the corporate ?middle class?. It features conformity, hierarchy, ?respect for authority?, regimentation and other ?values? of the industrial work place. In fact, America was founded by a group of decidedly undisciplined nonconformists. But that won?t do at all, if you want a docile workforce who will work cheap.
7. RACISM AND OTHER FORMS OF BIGOTRY. This one is amazingly easy to understand. Dividing working people against each other along racial, gender and ethnic lines keeps them from uniting along class lines. Consider the following example. In 1990, the nation was suffering under yet another period of Republican high unemployment. That was the year that Jesse Helms ran his famous ?angry hands? commercial against Harvey Gantt, former African-American mayor of Charlotte. ?You needed that job, but they had to give it to a minority.?
This gambit is 150 years old. The cheap-labor conservatives produce a high deficit, high interest rate, ?structurally sluggish? economy ? then tell struggling white wage-earners that the ?problem? is ?unqualified minorities?. It was classic ?scapegoating?, when the real culprits were the cheap-labor conservatives who liked that sluggish economy.
And in case you doubt whether they liked the sluggish economy, consider the eight year tantrum they threw as President Clinton undid the deficits, brought interest rates down, and fueled an eight year economic boom, bringing unemployment to a 30 year low. Naturally, throwing a wrench into that economy was the first order of business after Dubya?s inauguration.
8. ?RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS.? Since prison and punishment are generally ineffective to reduce crime, and since the ?cheap-labor conservatives? will hear of no economic improvements that are effective, ?self defense? is about your only protection from crime. Instead of better schools, full employment and other improvements in social conditions, the cheap-labor conservative solution is ?buy a gun?.
9. ?PRO OIL? ENERGY POLICIES. Answer this question, why don?t we have efficient cost effective renewable energy systems? Why didn?t we follow Jimmy Carter?s advice in 1979, and undertake the ?moral equivalent of war? for energy independence. The technology has been around for decades. In the case of hydrogen fuel cells, the first one was invented in 1843 ? that?s ?eighteen forty three?.
Energy is like labor in its central importance to the economy. But while conservatives want ?cheap labor? they want ?expensive energy? ? in sources they can monopolize and control. Unfortunately, sunlight is like air. It?s kind of hard to ?corner the market? on it. Meanwhile, the biggest beneficiary of ?cheap energy? is the work force ? who pay a larger portion of their income for energy. Well, we can?t have that. Lowering a wage earner?s ?balance of payments? is just like giving him a raise. The same logic, by the way, motivates a ?high interest rate? environment.
Now you know why conservatives bad mouth ?renewable energy?, and claim that the government ?has no business? subsidizing R&D into this technology ? as if the government hasn?t subsidized R&D into virtually every piece of high tech gadgetry in your house. Meanwhile, there is one form of ?alternative energy? they like. Nuclear power. Why? Because nuclear power is horrendously expensive, and can be monopolized by the huge corporations selling it.
Meanwhile, they support destruction of pristine habitats like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. All of which proves that the cheap-labor conservatives will do anything ? and I mean anything ? to prevent any improvement in the wage earner?s economic circumstances, including making sure he doesn?t have access to ?cheap energy?.
These aren?t the only examples of ?cheap-labor conservative? policies and positions.
But now you can see how, in specific examples. More importantly, you can now analyze cheap-labor conservative rhetoric, ideology and policy.

Don't worry----I got MORE if that ain't enough!

When WILL you guys EVER learn?

[SuperScout]

There was not one response to the stark Truth of all Truths: there has never been a governmental entity that has taxed and spent its way into prosperity. And have you noticed why? Because this is one of the Undenyable Truths.

Bankrupting the Government? What was the liberal agenda doing before the Republican Revolution of 1994? And who forced Clinton to sign the bill the required us to have a balanced budget? (Hint: Conservatives) Who had been spending us into oblivion? (Hint: Liberals) Conservatives don't hate social spending, we just would like to see why there is a requirement to do this in the first place. (Hint: look in the US Constitution as a guide).

Here are the choices: would you rather live in your own home that you own, or are buying, or would you rather live in public housing? Would you like to be treated at the Mayo Clinic, or at Scott and White Clinic, or by any doctor of your choice, or would you rather be treated at a public health clinic? Would you like to enjoy the benefits of your own labors in the form of a higher retirement income, or would you rather rely on Social Security payments as your sole source of income? All you socialists and liberals sign up for the latter choices, and show us just how committed you are to your professed beliefs.

[Gimpy]

You can't get away from the TRUTH that easy!

First you have to answer to MY points of contention mentioned in the previous post!

But, I have no doubt that you really can anyway! So you continue to "dodge" and try and change the "tune" to YOUR song, huh?

Same old, same old Kornservative horse$hit!!

[SuperScout]

And was there any refutation to the Truth about how governments don't/can't spend their way into prosperity? No. All the alleged tenets of conservativism that you cut and pasted from somebody else are not necessarily the tenets that are espoused by conservatives. Not one conservative ever said, to my knowledge, that all government actions, programs, and laws are bad. Far from it; the original issue of "law and order" is an issued near and dear to the conservative heart, for without it, we have the chaos of Watts, Detroit, and Benton Harbor. Property rights long preceded any federal statute; they are deeply embedded in English common law, and have precedent long before that (some say back to Biblical times). But it is the government that is supposed to protect us and enforce the laws of private property, not act as some confiscatory agent when someone farts in the direction of a protected snail darter, or some other ridiculous example of government powers run amok. You have this very broad brush, with a very sticky handle that you can't seem to get out of your angry little hand, running around trying to paint bad, foolish and untrue slogans in a desparate attempt to draw attention to yourself. Hatred is truly not very becoming.

[1IDVET]

I apologize for posting this in the wrong forum, but, I was thinking that it would get more attention in there. Seems like the political forum can be a wasteland at times.

After reading your tirade there Gimpy, and how you want a reply, I am still waiting for mine.

If you liberals are so damn adamant about giving away money, just take up a collection and send it to me.
I have a mortgage, a car payment, a wife, an ex-wife, two kids, a dog, five fish, and am disabled. I am quite sure there is a cause in there somewhere. Oh yeah, I need phone service, gas, electricity, food, I also think I'd like to quit my job and live off the fatheads, er, fat of the land. :re:

And what's so hard about sharks with friggin' laser beams attached to their heads?! :cd:
Throw me a bone here! :cl:

[MORTARDUDE]

I have no faith in the wisdom of the federal government to spend our tax dollars...

I have a book I will gladly lend to anyone interested..it is

"Fat City : How Washington Wastes Your Tax Dollars", 1980, Donald Lambro...

Altho 23 years old it still applies to today...many of the items listed are still in the budget today....At that time the budget was
"only"
$ 548 Billion dollars...

Larry