I am updating this post that I first put up here all the way back on November 5th of 2005 because I think it is apropos given all the irony of Tea Party complaints regarding the government that is walking and trampling all over their lives. In fact just discovered the other day that Thom Hartmann read the program on his radio show so I can add that to the post here too.
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I’ve been thinking a lot lately of how the neo-con pundits on the extreme right have taken the word “Liberal” turned it into a dirty swear word. I was then reminded of a website I visited a while called liberalslikechrist.org (yup you read that one correctly) and it had this little essay called A Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican Conservative which was written by John Gray of Cincinnati, Ohio originally as a TvNewsLIES Reader contribution.
A Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican Conservative: Joseph gets up at 6:00 am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure they are safe and work as advertised.
All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.
Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo; His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air.
Joe walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.
Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation days because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some liberal didn’t think he should loose his home because of his temporary misfortune.
It’s noon time, Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposits are federally insured by the FSLIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Depression.
Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his life-time.
Joe is home from work, he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dads; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards.
Joe arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republican’s would still be sitting in the dark).
Joe is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to. After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home.
Joe turns on a radio talk show, the host’s keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn’t tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day) Joe agrees, “We don’t need those big government liberals ruining our lives; after all, I’m a self made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have”.
Hartmann adds a couple of his own items at the end of the reading to remind us that we all the protected by a socialist police and fire department and that we all drive on socialist roads.
Imagine all the damage those lousy liberals have done to us with the oppressive government walking all over us every day.
And speaking of socialist fire departments here is a website AngryTownHall.com that’s campaigning to end the tyranny of us having to deal with socialist fire departments and they are signing up supporters via a Facebook campaign.
(Note to my not-so-bright Tea Bagging Teabonics brethren the AngryTownHall.com is Satire.)