The Opinionated Liberal

10 Reasons Gay Marriage Should Be Legalized

2012-02-04T02:26:00.003-05:00

1. Economic stimulus. People will be having weddings, buying houses together, you name it.

2. Marriage is a contract between people and government that opens up over 1400 legal rights for couples.

3. Having civil unions instead of marriage is no different than having separate schools for people of different races. And "Separate but Equal" is inherently unequal.

4. Adults should be able to consent to marry each other. It is not a slippery slope, because children and animals, etc. cannot consent.

5. We don't live in a theocracy, and the majority should not be able to force its ancient ideas of morality on everyone.

6. "All men are created equal." It's in that document Republicans like to scream about. So is the Pursuit of Happiness. It doesn't only apply to straight people, just like it doesn't apply only to white people, or only men. See also: The Fourteenth Amendment.

7. "Traditional marriage" is a useless and outdated label. Slavery used to be a tradition, and the pro-slavery movement in the South once claimed abolishing slavery would destroy the American economy.

8. The "sanctity of marriage" is also a sham. See also: Newt Gingrich, Britney Spears, Larry King, Ted Haggard, and so many more.

9. Gay marriage wouldn't discourage reproduction. Why would straight couples stop having children? And who is to say gay couples wouldn't use surrogacy/artificial insemination or adoption?

10. Marriage has substantial financial, psychological, and physical health benefits for those who partake. It leads to stronger families.

Separation of Church and State

2012-02-03T13:23:00.001-05:00

The Separation of Church and State is written in the Constitution. The First Amendment states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This means, upon literal interpretation, that the government cannot create a national religion, and it cannot force citizens to follow a certain religion. Numerous other documents point to a deeper meaning of these statements, and their true intent to separate religion and politics, so-called Separation of Church and State. In fact, use of the term comes from a letter by Thomas Jefferson, in which he outlines the context in which the First Amendment was intended:

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state."

The famous Treaty of Tripoli stated similar views very bluntly; Article 11 states "the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..."

Both of these examples show that we cannot take the Constitution at its word; the words have more meaning. The government cannot establish a religion, nor can it favor one. This can be extended to mean it cannot pass laws on a religious basis. Laws must be based on the Constitution, or they will interfere with the rights of those not in the majority, for example any non-Christians. There is a fine line between religion and politics. The tyranny of the majority is always unacceptable. That is why we have rights. Might does not trump rights.

Don't get me wrong; I am not bashing religion. I respect the views of the religious, even though they differ from mine. I am merely pointing out the fine line between religion and politics. And politicians owe it to us to do their job the right way, objectively.

Best Simpson's Ever?

2012-01-16T15:26:00.002-05:00

Uber pwnage on the Tea Party, Fox News, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Ted Nugent, and so much more!

Caption Contest!

2012-01-14T00:02:00.000-05:00

I've decided to host the caption contest for this weekend on the blog itself. And as I will be volunteering all day Monday, I'll close the contest when I get home! Please pay close attention to the rules!

Rules:

1) Leave your caption in the comment section below.

2) Please, only 1 caption per person.

3) Vote for your favorite caption(s) by clicking "like."

4) Please no campaigning on this thread. Just leave your caption, and vote for your faves!

5) The caption with the most likes by 12 PM EST Monday will be the winner.

6) The winner gets the glory of having their caption featured on my Facebook page!

Have at it, OLs, and have a great (extended) weekend!

GOP Small Government Hypocrisy

2012-01-13T15:38:00.000-05:00

President Obama is playing chess with the GOP, and he's got them within a couple of moves of checkmate.

That's right. This morning, President Obama announced he is going to ask Congress for the power to make government smaller. He wants to consolidate six economic agencies into one, and save the government billions of dollars over the next decade. It's one of the things he talked about in his last State of the Union address, and he now wants to make it happen. In the move, he would get an up or down vote from Congress within 90 days. It's a move no president has made since Ronald Reagan.

According to the Huffington Post:

Beyond the politics, the merger Obama offered would have big implications for trade and commerce in America. Presidents held a fast-track reorganizational authority for about 50 years until it ran out during Reagan's presidency in 1984, the White House argued. Obama wants to merge: the Commerce Department's core business and trade functions; the Small Business Administration; the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; the Export-Import Bank; the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; and the Trade and Development Agency.

It's a move that will shrink the deficit and appeal to voters. Which is why the GOP has to come out against it. It will make Obama look good! And no matter which way it goes, pass or fail, either Obama looks good or the GOP looks bad. It's a win-win situation, and I for one cannot WAIT to see how the right spins this into socialism or something.

Here's to a second term, OLs! (At least it beats Mitt Romney becoming President!)

Let me know what you think in the comments section below or on Facebook!

Stephen Colbert Running For President! #Colbert2012

2012-01-13T09:19:00.001-05:00

Stephen Colbert, in inimitable fashion, announced he is creating an exploratory committee for running for the office of President. He transferred power of his Super PAC to colleague (with whom he's "not coordinating").

It's a sad day when it takes a comedian to show us what is wrong with the laws around Super PACs, presidential candidates, and the decision in Citizens United. Check out the video below, folks!

10 Reasons Why Corporations Are NOT People

2012-01-07T22:10:00.000-05:00

Just in case it isn't exceedingly obvious to you...

10. Corporations are made of people. To say that this makes corporations equal to people is to commit the fallacy of composition.
9. The Constitution says "We the People," not "We the Corporations."
8. Corporations are clearly soulless, and often corrupt and evil, entities.
7. Corporations can't step into a voting booth.
6. Corporations can't get cancer.
5. Corporations get more tax breaks than actual people. And people are actually forced to pay their taxes.
4. People don't get bailouts from the government after blowing up the economy.
3. Money ISN'T the same thing as speech.
2. Corporations cannot go to jail for their crimes.
1. Corporations cannot be executed for their crimes.

Remember...the Constitution says "We the People," not "We the Corporations."

Santorum's Racist Comments on Welfare (VIDEO)

2012-01-05T10:35:00.000-05:00

The man who almost beat Mitt Romney in Iowa has finally admitted his racism. The man who is in second place in the GOP nomination process is a racist. And don't tell me the fact that he assumes black people are the only ones who need Medicare isn't racist.

Here's the quote to remember folks:

”I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”

If you want to see him backtrack and deny his comments, click here. Watch his statement below:

Mitt Romney Narrowly Wins the Iowa Caucus By Just 8 Votes

2012-01-03T11:56:00.001-05:00

The final results are in, and Mitt Romney won the Iowa Caucus by just 8 votes. Rick Santorum finished a close second, to the surprise of Ron Paul and many in the GOP.

It was the closest outcome in history. The previous record went to the 1936 primary in South Dakota, which was decided by just 257 votes. There was also very high turnout, with about 117,000 votes cast. Romney took 30,015 votes to Santorum's 30,007.

What does it say about Romney? He couldn't win in Iowa in 2008, and he can't win big now. If he can outspend his opponents by millions but come that close to losing, there is something to be said about the lack of enthusiasm he generates from his supporters. It says a lot if the latest GOP "Flavor of the Week" (AKA "not Romney") can make the race so close. Something tells me this might spell the eventual end of the Romney campaign, like his poor showing in Iowa did last time. But I can't see the future. We'll see, folks.

Ron Paul finished 3rd, Gingrich finished 4th, Rick Perry finished 5th, Bachmann finished 6th, and Jon Hunstman finished 7th. Perry said he'll head back to Texas to reassess his campaign, rather than continue to N.H. We'll wait and see who stays in the race, and who goes.

You can see the full results here.

God could not be reached for comment on why Perry and Bachmann did so poorly.

Romney Drops Out Of Race, Endorses Ron Paul

2012-01-02T13:50:00.000-05:00

A disappointed Romney addresses the press.

With just hours left before the Iowa caucus, Mitt Romney announced he was dropping out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination.

"I'm just not crazy enough," he said. "The people have shown us that they want a truly insane candidate, and since the media has been consistently ignoring me, I've decided it is my time to go. We've got to get behind what the people are showing us they want, and that is, according to the latest polls, Ron Paul."

"Believe me, I tried to get the nomination. I flipped. I flopped. I pandered. I told people I was unemployed, even though I'm a millionaire with several mansions. I wear magic underwear, for Pete's sake! Yet I couldn't take the lead from Paul, and I thought that said something, you know? So I am endorsing the craziest one of 'em all, Ron Paul. And it's not just because he's leading the polls."

Everyone knows Iowa picks the nominee and the President accurately. Remember President Pat Robertson? Yeah, me too. It's a smart move on Romney's part. Rumor has it that he might be on the ticket as V.P. You never know, Ron Paul is pretty crazy.

"I think I, I'd accept joining Mr. Paul on the ticket when he gets the nomination," Romney said "but don't get me wrong. I'm not doing this to look good, or to get on the V.P. ticket. I've really changed my mind."

Christine O'Donnell changed her endorsement to follow Romney. “That’s one of the things that I like about him — because he’s been consistent since he changed his mind,” O'Donnell said, "but if he is endorsing Ron Paul, I'll have to agree.

You heard it here first, folks.

Top 10 GOP Gaffes of 2011

2011-12-30T19:46:00.000-05:00

It's the end of the year. You know what that means! Time for the top gaffes (so far) of the GOP circus...I mean primary process.

Gingrich Says We Should Arrest 'Radical' or 'Activist' Judges (VIDEO)

2011-12-20T23:32:00.001-05:00

The title says it all. Separation of Powers? Checks and Balances? The Constitution? Doesn't matter to Newt! He says we should be able to arrest and interrogate judges if they make 'radical' decisions. In other words, we'd be arresting judges we disagree with. What makes our country work is a judiciary that can check the power of Congress and the President. Intimidating Justices is not the way to go, and it is clearly unconstitutional.

Check out this video from Hardball.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

10 Great Reasons to Vote for Obama in 2012

2011-12-15T12:27:00.000-05:00

1. He's not Ron Paul.
2. He's not Newt Gingrich.
3. He's not George Bush, ahem, I mean Rick Perry.
4. He's not Mitt Romney.
5. He's not Rick Santorum.
6. He's not Michele Bachmann.
7. He's not Jon Hunstman.
8. He's not Donald Trump.
9. You can't clean up the mess Bush left us in just 4 years.
10. All of his accomplishments as President, some of which you can see here and here, which will be undone if a Republican is elected.

Best of the Rick Perry "Strong" Spoofs

2011-12-13T09:32:00.000-05:00

Here's just a few of the best parodies of Rick Perry's "Strong" video.

Here's the original:

Here are the spoofs (in no particular order!):

Bad Lip Reading: Rick Perry's "Strong" ad - watch more funny videos

Rick Perry's Bigoted Video Gets 600,000 Dislikes (PHOTO)

2011-12-09T20:51:00.001-05:00

UPDATE (12/11/11 1:48 PM EST): Now over 600,000 dislikes:

Click to see full-size image!

______________________________________________________________________
These two pics say it all! (You can view the clip here.)

Click to view full-size image.

Gay Marriage Slam Appears to be Troy Mayor's Facebook Post

2011-12-02T21:32:00.003-05:00

UPDATE (12/3/11 1:27 PM EST): Daniels has removed the status in question. A screencap is available here.

UPDATE: (11:00 PM EST) She had commented earlier on the breaking news article defending her post, but later the comment disappeared from the website. Here is the text of the comment:

"Yes Kevin - the gay community calls themselves queer. I firmly support marriage as being defined as between one man and one woman and I am not going to change my position. That said, I love all people and will continue to work towards promoting a vibrant City of Troy. The groups that despise me are digging deep to try to find something to worry about. They probably should start worrying about how they can best work with a new Mayor who believes that we live in a free country and we all have first amendment rights to speak our minds on any and all issues that are before us. IF they would try to find some common ground rather than spending so much time trying to destroy me, we might advance the community towards a prosperous future. BTW, I am still carrying my I Love New York bag. Janice Daniels, Mayor of the great City of Troy"

___________________________________________________________________________

Recently-elected mayor of Troy, MI Janice L. Daniels posted this homophobic status update back in June:

I think I am going to throw away my I Love New York carrying bag now that queers can get married there.

As of this evening at 9:25, the post had not been removed, and had 176 shares on Facebook. You can view it here. She appears to be standing by her words, but in case she removes it, here is a screenshot. Click the picture to view the full size image. Let's make this viral, folks! She should represent all of her citizens, and statements like this are clearly irresponsible. She should apologize and/or step down!

Photo from here. Click to view full-sized image.

The story was broke here, and the website has been crashing off and on due to high traffic. Check it out!

The Best Pepper Spray Recipes

2011-11-26T21:59:00.002-05:00

Picture from here.

Since Megyn Kelly decided that the pepper spray police are using on peaceful protesters is just a food product (video below), I'd like to offer up a few good recipes in which we can use this new product to its full potential.

I am actually just kidding on the recipe part. I am no chef, and pepper spray is a sophisticated ingredient. I know when I am out of my league.

But I think it is worth pointing out how absurd her claim is. Chiles are rated in hotness on a relative scale called the Scoville scale. They are rated by the concentration of capsaicin, the ingredient which makes peppers hot. Habanero peppers, among the hottest known to man, rate at 200,000-350,000 Scoville units. Jalapenos sit at 3,500 to 8,000 Scoville units. U.S. Grade pepper spray is rated at 2 MILLION to 5.3 MILLION Scoville units. Using the lower end of the numbers, that makes the spray 5-10 times (a full order of magnitude) hotter than Habaneros. That's over 25 times as hot at the upper end, which is the grade I would imagine cops can use. Habaneros can cause burns if you touch them without gloves. You wouldn't be very happy if you ate pepper spray. Get the picture?

Click picture to view full-size image.

Since the spraying at UC Davis, a petition has been circulating to make Kelley eat her words...live on television. I for one second the motion.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

2011-11-12T13:21:00.000-05:00

Being a comedian is where it is at these days, especially where politics is concerned. With the current GOP field, you don't even need to write any material! They're doing the work for you!

If they are not downright crazy, they get embroiled in sex scandals (Cain), or they forget their own platform (Perry). I am waiting for SNL to get on top of that one. Some cheat on their spouses while touting family values (Gingrich). Some are involved in "pray away the gay" clinics and taking government money for their business while blasting handouts and "big government." (Bachmann) You really cannot guess if these people graduated from high school. Yet they want to hold the most powerful office in the world? I cannot help but laugh.

The GOP field is a joke! And they are going to have to get serious if they don't want Obama to win in a landslide. So congrats to all of the comedians out there, who have another year of job security in a tough economy. And good luck to the GOP!

Why YOU Need to Vote in 2012

2011-11-11T14:30:00.000-05:00

This political cartoon excellently sums up the current nomination process for the GOP. Their candidates are charged with several counts of sexual harassment. Others forget their own platform. Others change it so often it becomes incoherent. Some cheat on their wives while she is in the hospital with cancer. Others, well, are just plain crazy. You cannot even guess if they successfully graduated from high school, yet they want to run this country??? It's insanity!

I'd like to say I am optimistic that people will see the obvious flaws in these candidates and elect Obama by another landslide in 2012. And that they will think when voting for their congressmen. But given past elections, I cannot be so sure. So I have to encourage you all to vote with your brain and your conscience in November. Register early, and make sure you are registered properly, and meet the requirements in your area. Republicans are desperate to quiet voters, so expect it to be harder than normal to cast your vote.

And so, at the bottom of my blog posts you will see a banner which links to a website on which you can register, or get more info on how to do so in your state. It will look like this!

GOP Nominates Jesus, Jesus Refuses

2011-11-06T11:49:00.001-05:00

Reince Priebus, RNC chair,
addresses the crowd after
last night's debate.

After last night's GOP debate, the Republican Party announced it would officially nominate Jesus Christ as its Presidential candidate.

At an emergency press conference, the Republican Party leaders hastily put together a statement regarding the upcoming election.

Reince Priebus, chairman of the RNC, read this statement to the media late last night:

"Given the lack of a serious GOP candidate, the RNC has decided to forego traditional procedures and nominate Jesus Christ for the Republican ticket. The national party sees it as a way to save time and money on the hectic primary process, and to begin to focus on our true job: making Obama a one-term President! And besides, it's Jesus! Who doesn't love Jesus?"

Upon hearing this, Jesus himself flew from Heaven to address the press.

"I am afraid I must refuse this nomination," said the Lord. "For the GOP does not represent my ideals. For Pete's sake, I healed the sick for free! They call that socialism. I fed the poor. I preached that the rich should sell their possessions to help the poor, and that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven. It's documented in my bestseller! Besides, ruling the universe is a much easier gig than trying to run this broken system. And I wasn't even born in America! And stop saying Obama wasn't born here, he was, I know it. I'm God!"

The Creator and Ruler of the Universe flew back to His throne in Heaven. We're still waiting for word on whether Priebus will resign in disgrace, and how the GOP will move forward from this setback.

Congress: Forgive College Debt!

2011-11-03T13:33:00.000-04:00

In the late 90s and early 00s, the housing market thrived. The government encouraged banks to lend money so everyone could live the American Dream and own a home. The problem? Many people could not afford homes. Whether you blame people for buying homes they couldn't afford, or the predatory lending methods used to scam people into buying homes, eventually people began to default on their mortgages en masse. The housing bubble burst. Prices plummeted, and foreclosures skyrocketed. Scammers on Wall Street manipulated this system and made obscene amounts of money selling bad loans with inflated ratings to other companies, leading to the need for bailouts and the recession. The ultimate problem here was debt. People had mortgages and credit card debt they couldn't pay for, and the system couldn't make up for it.

It is time for us to anticipate the next debt crisis and avoid it. No, it is not the debt the U.S. owes to itself (the national debt), which the government could forgive anyways and just be done with it. It is college debt. Students are faced with increasing costs for their education, and fewer job opportunities because of the recession. This is going to end in the same way as the housing bubble. Students with too much debt that they cannot pay because they cannot get jobs will default on their loans. The average student graduates with $25,250 in loan debt. There are about 19.7 million students in colleges right now. If they all graduate with the same amount of debt, that adds up to a staggering $500 billion. That is a HUGE problem, on the scale of the amount we paid to Wall Street crooks.

Instead of paying criminals to make obscene amounts of money, why don't we forgive student loan debt? Make it free as it is in many European countries, or require so many years of service for it, be my guest, but I think real people are much more important than big bankers, and they have much more to contribute to the country. Putting that $25,250 back in their pockets would greatly help the economy. It would encourage people to get degrees, which would put education back on the forefront, and make the U.S. an education powerhouse again. And it would prevent a debt crisis.

It's just something to think about, in my opinion.

Take Our Country Back!

2011-10-30T10:49:00.000-04:00

Will someone please explain what this little bit of rhetoric means?

Back to what? The good ol' days before corporate regulation stopped our tap water from being flammable, and corporations from manipulating the system to become obscenely wealthy by betting on our assets? Because it looks like you won the battle there! Look at the Gulf of Mexico. Look at the economy! Both are in shambles. So it can't mean that, can it?

So did you mean back to the days before labor rights? Where asking for a living wage and conditions that won't kill you could get you fired? Where when you were unemployed, you were simply screwed, and when you retired, you were forced to live in poverty? I'd say with the current Congress and state governments, you are well on your way back!

So what pillar of modern society are you left with to destroy? Women's rights? Congress is full of bills trying to destroy the right to choose, even in cases of rape, incest, or health. Minority rights? Anti-sharia bills (which is an absurd concept) are going up left and right, and anti-immigration bills have passed in several states.

What's left? And do we really want to live in the year 1900 again? Before union rights, before universal voting rights, and before environmental protections? When life expectancy was just 48 years? It's absurd, folks! I don't want to take MY country back, it want to take it FORWARD!

Occupy Wall Street and GOP Hypocrisy

2011-10-29T22:11:00.002-04:00

I think it is high time I addressed the Occupy Wall Street Movement and the related movements that are sweeping the world.

I'd first like to say that I admire that people are out there protesting greed, corruption, and the gross manipulation of the financial markets that caused them to collapse in the first place. The world has suffered greatly because of it. People lost their homes and their jobs. They lost their savings, and their dignity. The OWS movement is a brave outcry against an obviously broken system, and I applaud the world for standing in unity with the domestic movements.

But I cannot help but notice the hypocrisy in the response from the right on this issue. Tea Partiers were heroes for holding rallies with heavily-armed rednecks waving grossly misspelled and racist signs; but the OWS movement represents only the pot-smoking hippies? It is called the 99% movement for a reason! They represent the interests of the less-than-obscenely-wealthy. I wish those teabaggers would get it through their thick skulls that voting for people who favor the rich only helps the rich, not them!

But surely because they don't agree with us they are socialists? And apparently that makes it OK for the police to beat and mace unarmed, peaceful demonstrators, and to deny these people their First Amendment guarantee to Freedom of Assembly. But the armed Tea Party rallies were perfectly legitimate. In other words, It's OK If You're A Republican!

Infrastructure Investment: Millions of Jobs for Americans

2011-10-28T20:57:00.000-04:00

Alright, Americans. It is time for the government to recognize that unemployment is a serious issue. Despite the fact that corporations are making obscene amounts of money, and their bonuses are setting all-time records, unemployment is still at 9.1 percent. This means that 1 in 10 Americans are not employed, and not stimulating the economy. Many of these people are looking for jobs, but cannot find them, or cannot get hired because they aren't currently employed (which is absurd, in my opinion). Many of them are veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and deserve a good job. The recession is over, but the people are still hurting.

I'm not a strong believer in government, but I recognize this is a place where the government can prove its worth. Because they can borrow money, they can spend money to replace the lost demand in the economy. This is Keynesian economics. It is what worked to drag us out of the Great Depression, and it is what will drag us out of the Great Recession.

The infrastructure that made America into a superpower is holding America back. Our roads and bridges are crumbling with age and neglect. Roads and highways are clogged with traffic. And local and state governments cannot afford to fix them, because of the economy. Here's my idea. The government can borrow some of that money that we are currently spending killing people in the third world and spend it here. Hire Americans who desperately want or need to work. Rebuild our roads and bridges. Modernize the infrastructure. Make America even greater. Give us a brighter future. And these Americans will make a living wage with which they will stimulate the economy, and the corresponding increase in hiring and tax revenues will pay for the work. And people will not suffer in poverty.

I cannot stand idle while my fellow people suffer and experience poverty. I cannot stand by while they lose their jobs, their savings, their homes, and their worldly goods. It is time to tell our government to hire people to do what is already in their best interest.

Now who is with me?

What's At Stake in 2012?

2011-08-23T20:12:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking about the upcoming 2012 races, both in Congress and for the White House. And the rhetoric from the right really has me concerned. Here are some things to think about as the elections approach.

So what is at stake in 2012?

1. Social safety nets: The GOP needs to slash the budget in order to pay for the two wars, tax cuts for the obscenely wealthy, and Medicare part D that they put on the credit card during the Bush administration. The first things to go are tax breaks for the middle class, and programs like Social Security and Medicare. And with the Paul Ryan budget plan out there, you know they're serious about this!

2. Education: With the government slashing spending to fit the GOP's ends (whatever they are), one way they will cut spending is in education. Some have threatened to end the Department of Education. With fewer and fewer resources, schools will close, teachers will lose their jobs, and class sizes will increase. Standards will fall, and students will be ill-equipped to work or go to college. Without this investment in the future, other countries will continue to dominate us in all academic areas and produce better workers.

3. The Environment: This is an obvious issue. The GOP value profit above all, and regulations protecting the environment get in the way of those who are already obscenely wealthy from being richer. So the EPA would be slashed, and you can forget about green jobs! Other countries need those jobs and patents, apparently.

4. Infrastructure: Our aging infrastructure would be the perfect jobs plan. It could put millions of people back to work and stimulating the economy, so naturally Republicans are against it! It would make Obama look good going into 2012, and we can't have that! So the roads and bridges will continue to degrade and become more dangerous, and able hands will not work to fix them and restore our once-great infrastructure.

5. Jobs: Ultimately, the GOP crusade against government translates into lost jobs. When agencies lose funding, they have to find savings, and that means firing average people like you and me.

6. The Economy: With their plan to kill jobs and starve the government, the economy will suffer too. People who do not have jobs cannot spend. And without the government either giving them jobs (which is expensive) or making up for that lost demand (Keynesian policies a la FDR), the economy would likely descend into a deeper recession or a depression.

So the next time you're dissappointed with Obama or Democrats, give these things a thought. A LOT is at stake here, that all Progressives (and all Americans, really) should really care about. Think with your vote in 2012.