# Stupid liberal idea of the day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 20, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086 "2011-04-20T15:35:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 168
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3341 "2015-03-25T16:22:25Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Miller, just fuck off, okay? I really don’t have time to put up with your drooling, moronic bullshit. Yes, given your evident disabilities, I expect it takes you much longer to complete basic daily chores than most people, which really would limit the amount of time you have to spend on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3342 "2015-03-25T17:06:54Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Miller, just fuck off, okay? I really don’t have time to put up with your drooling, moronic bullshit. How much time does it take to put up with something, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3343 "2015-03-25T17:33:24Z")
What is really sad is that **Cl…ump** cannot even be arsed to put some poetic fury into it. This is the pit, the venting place, where passion pours forth to roast the objects of our disaffection, yet all **Cl…ump** can manage is a trickle of piddle that at best burns a little on the way out. Also, I think “fuck off” is still proscribed, but **Miller** is a mod, so if he thinks it is not worth a wristslap, I guess it again simply reveals **Cl…ump** as pedestrian, artless and unfeeling. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3344 "2015-03-25T17:37:07Z")
The thing is that no matter what **Clothahump** comes up with, it’s never going to top the firehose of right-wing idiocy spewing unrestrained gobbets of material over in the SRIOTD thread. Where are the liberals saying that a snowball disproves climate change, or that cancer is a fungus? Who calculate the exact percentage of the president’s “blackness”? Who think Iran is “occupying Tehran” and that snow days are an evil liberal plot? I’m aware that there are masses of left-wing idiots out there in the world , most of which sadly appear to have internet access. The difference is that the right keep **electing** theirs. Sure, the Democrats get the odd Anthony Weiner or that “Guam might tip over” guy but for the sheer volume and diversity of idiocy you just can’t compete with the current Republican party and their media minions. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3345 "2015-03-25T17:39:45Z")
> [@eulalia](#): > > Doesn’t it cost much less to maintain an existing road than to build a new one? You have to plan it out, buy up the land, build up low ground or blast and remove hills, create intersections, over and underpasses for other streets and railways, etc. I imagine that all costs a lot more than roto-milling and repaving. This comment made me remember how conservatives used to say that government should be run like a business. What business would say, “Forget adjusting to the new needs of our customers. We’re just going to maintain our business lines as they were the year before, or five years before, or ten years before, and not do anything new to address new needs. Think of how much cheaper this will be for the company!” It’s a loser idea for businesses, and its a loser idea for governments. New roads, buildings, trains, and whathaveyou are needed because the population changes over time, and we need to build new stuff to make sure that people are being served. It’s no different than with business, yet if government does it, its “bureaucrats r the stoopid!” ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3346 "2015-03-25T17:39:56Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It does, but you should never assume that governments aren’t allocating money politically first, usefully second. OK, but how is this a liberal idea? Is your claim that they’re the only ones who allocate funds badly? Just in reference to infrastructure, is there a liberal you can cite who would say we shouldn’t repair our roads and bridges and dams? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3347 "2015-03-25T18:01:58Z")
The liberal part is in just assuming that if we allocate more money, that it will be get better results. If the problem isn’t amount of money, but how that money is spent, spending more money won’t solve the problem. Might actually make it worse. We have government agencies that are tasked to analyze this kind of thing in great detail. We created those agencies because we were concerned about government inefficiency and incompetence. But now that we have these awesome tools, no one is listening to what they actually have to say: > **[Lax Oversight Leads to Waste of Federal Road Funding, GAO Says](https://www.bondbuyer.com/news/lax-oversight-leads-to-waste-of-federal-road-funding-gao-says)** > > Between 3% and 8% of federal money earmarked for the highway system since 2010 has gone to waste on inactive projects, according to a new GAO Report, which cites lax federal oversight and recommends a narrower role for the FHA. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3348 "2015-03-25T18:35:39Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The liberal part is in just assuming that if we allocate more money, that it will be get better results. See, it is statements like this that result in you being called an ignorant fuck. This is just boilerplate nonsense. The RWs want to squeeze away effectively _all_ the money, down to below the point of viability (e.g., Norquist’s “drown it in the bathtub” comment). Moderates leftward see value in government programs, many of them at least, and feel that funding them to functionality is worth doing. Numbnutses like you call that “throwing money at” them, which is nothing more than divisive bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3349 "2015-03-25T19:28:58Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The liberal part is in just assuming that if we allocate more money, that it will be get better results. If the problem isn’t amount of money, but how that money is spent, spending more money won’t solve the problem. Might actually make it worse. We have government agencies that are tasked to analyze this kind of thing in great detail. We created those agencies because we were concerned about government inefficiency and incompetence. But now that we have these awesome tools, no one is listening to what they actually have to say: > > [Lax Oversight Leads to Waste of Federal Road Funding, GAO Says | Bond Buyer](http://www.bondbuyer.com/issues/121_104/lack-oversight-waste-federal-road-funding-gao-1040293-1.html) Did you read _all_ of what they had to say? Local FHWA offices have trouble withdrawing funding from inactive projects because it makes their state counterparts pissy. So the solution is… to give the states _more_ authority? The same states that get mad about cancellations of inactive projects? It’s like calling for a ban on door locks to keep the cost of break-ins down. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3350 "2015-03-26T00:47:58Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Miller, just fuck off, okay? I really don’t have time to put up with your drooling, moronic bullshit. Clothy, I’ve scraped excrement off of my boots that showed greater merit in an argument than anything you post. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3351 "2015-03-30T12:03:09Z")
From [the Washington Post](http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/small-investors-blame-losses-on-brokers-they-once-trusted/2015/03/30/fc2a1aa2-d6aa-11e4-bf0b-f648b95a6488_story.html): > [@](#): > > Susan Bernardo trusted her stockbroker. She wound up losing a fortune… > … The stream of interest payments she used for living expenses has mostly dried up and the value of her portfolio is half of what it was, according to a financial planner who helped her file a claim against the broker. > Bernardo says [David] Harris never told her how risky the new investments were, or about the fat 5 percent commission that brokers typically get selling them. Harris hasn’t returned calls seeking comment. > > That her broker might not have acted in her best interest **never occurred to her** , until recently. “Never occurred to her.” We can pity the senile person who shoots themselves in the face with a gun, or makes a bad investment, but pity doesn’t mean we have to steal from successful people and pay for the misfortunate and stupid. … Shit happens. All in all, stories like Ms. Bernardo’s should just remind us that money is better off in the hands of Job Creators than in the hands of stupid people like her. America will be a better place with this stupid person’s savings put back to work. The broker David Harris is to be applauded. But wouldn’t you know? Liberals are happy to identify a “problem” where none exists: > [@](#): > > The Obama administration thinks too many brokers aren’t looking out for their clients, and instead pushing risky and costly investments in a rush for big commissions. The White House is backing a proposed rule it hopes will help end the practice. The new rule would require brokers handling retirement accounts to _ **put the interest of their clients ahead of their own** _, a so-called fiduciary standard long required of lawyers, doctors and some financial professionals like registered investment advisers. The broker is required to put client’s interest ahead of his own? :eek: :smack: Admittedly, the new rule would apply only to retirement accounts, but still. Where is Ayn Rand when we need her? Please write your Congressman and stop this new abuse of power by Hussein Obama. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3352 "2015-04-04T00:39:10Z")
OK, this is not a _liberal_ idea, _per se_, but it is an incredibly stupid one, from a centrist Democrat: [California Senator Feinstein wants _The Anarchist Cookbook_ removed from the internets](http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/04/senator-calls-for-the-anarchist-cookbook-to-be-removed-from-the-internet/). ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3353 "2015-04-04T01:17:58Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > OK, this is not a _liberal_ idea, _per se_, but it is an incredibly stupid one, from a centrist Democrat: > > [California Senator Feinstein wants _The Anarchist Cookbook_ removed from the internets](http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/04/senator-calls-for-the-anarchist-cookbook-to-be-removed-from-the-internet/). I don’t think she understands how the internet works. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3354 "2015-04-04T01:22:56Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > OK, this is not a _liberal_ idea, _per se_, but it is an incredibly stupid one, from a centrist Democrat: > > [California Senator Feinstein wants _The Anarchist Cookbook_ removed from the internets](http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/04/senator-calls-for-the-anarchist-cookbook-to-be-removed-from-the-internet/). Excellent example of stupidity Let this be an example to Clothahump as to how it is done. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3355 "2015-04-04T01:42:03Z")
I know a librarian who stole the library copy of The Anarchist’s Cookbook from the library, because he didn’t think it was fit or proper to have that book publicly available. But…he’s an extreme right winger. So, maybe this is a stupid idea that has bi-ideological appeal. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3356 "2015-04-04T01:57:54Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > OK, this is not a _liberal_ idea, _per se_, but it is an incredibly stupid one, from a centrist Democrat: > > [California Senator Feinstein wants _The Anarchist Cookbook_ removed from the internets](http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/04/senator-calls-for-the-anarchist-cookbook-to-be-removed-from-the-internet/). [From TVTropes:](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/AnarchistCookbook) > [@](#): > > _The Anarchist’s Cookbook_ was a book written to protest the Vietnam War that contained various half baked recipes for things like phone phreaking and, most controversially, building homemade explosives. However, it’s really infamous for two things: > > 1. Having nothing to do with Anarchism as a political idea. (Or cooking, for that matter) > > 2. Having nothing to do with the reality of how one would safely make a homemade bomb. > > With the rise of the internet, a number of text and .pdf files have showed up bearing the name of this book. If you do a Google search for “anarchist cookbook,” some of these will probably come up on the first page. They often contain some information cribbed from the real book, as well as various tips, tricks, and pranks that have been put in over the course of twenty years (these things date back to the dark days of Usenet). As one would expect from something that was put together by the precursors to 4chan, most of the stuff in these online “cookbooks” is often so outdated or dangerously inaccurate that it makes the real Anarchist Cookbook look like an Army field manual. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3357 "2015-04-23T19:59:53Z")
Got one! [Pennsylvania State Rep wants to make it illegal to taunt officers because they’re special flowers who might get their feelings hurt.](http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/04/22/illegal-taunt-police-pennsylvania/) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3358 "2015-04-23T20:39:19Z")
> [@Sinaptics](#): > > Got one! > > [Pennsylvania State Rep wants to make it illegal to taunt officers because they’re special flowers who might get their feelings hurt.](http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/04/22/illegal-taunt-police-pennsylvania/) Having been a former Chief of Police, I doubt seriously that that state Rep is a liberal. Putting the Democratic Party label on one does not make one a liberal. Dianne Feinstein is a prime example of that. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3359 "2015-04-23T21:00:41Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Having been a former Chief of Police, I doubt seriously that that state Rep is a liberal. > > Putting the Democratic Party label on one does not make one a liberal. Dianne Feinstein is a prime example of that. Damn it! Way to steal my thunder. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/3360 "2015-04-23T22:07:03Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > The broker is required to put client’s interest ahead of his own? :eek: :smack: Admittedly, the new rule would apply only to retirement accounts, but still. Where is Ayn Rand when we need her? I can’t tell if you’re being facetious or not, but I find it hard to see how this is a stupid idea. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086.md?page=167) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086.md?page=169)