# 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:** 310
**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:** [September 18, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6181 "2017-09-18T21:19:43Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Well, for a new topic… > > The Emmys tanked to an all-time low rating after their repeated whining about Trump. The evening was supposed to be about recognizing outstanding performances. Instead, the liberal twits hosting and appearing on the show managed to turn it into a massive wankfest. I don’t know why they thought they needed to politicize the affair, but they did. > > They may well have killed the Emmys from now onward. Not that that would be a great loss in the long run. According to the _Hollywood Reporter_, the above is incorrect. > [@](#): > > The Emmys are becoming a tougher sell for viewers. For another year, initial ratings for the TV awards were down — **though the total viewership ultimately just bested the lows from 2016** … > > … **Sunday competition from the NFL has certainly been one source of shrinking viewers, but many point to a broadening body of winners — including lesser-watched series on cable and streaming outlets, while broadcast shows go relatively unnoticed — as one reason for smaller tune-ins.** Though considering the popularity of 2016 winner Game of Thrones, that argument may not hold that much weight. > > Others, including several readers who’ve already been riled enough to contact me via the link below, will posit that the lows are the result of the many shots fired at Donald Trump. **And while that may be true to a small degree, to say that Sunday’s ratings are rebuke of Colbert and others’ mockery of the president would be ignoring the fact that these scores are only incrementally off from the previous two Emmys.** (my bolding) I’ve never watched an Emmy broadcast. OTOH, if I had remembered that Stephen Colbert was hosting, I might have tuned in. Oh, well. > **[TV Ratings: 2017 Emmys Avoid New Low With 11.4 Million Viewers](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tv-ratings-emmy-telecast-track-low-1040575/)** > > Updated: With early returns down from 2016 numbers, adjustments have it tying the previous year. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6182 "2017-09-18T21:27:13Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Well, for a new topic… > > The Emmys tanked to an all-time low rating after their repeated whining about Trump. The evening was supposed to be about recognizing outstanding performances. Instead, the liberal twits hosting and appearing on the show managed to turn it into a massive wankfest. I don’t know why they thought they needed to politicize the affair, but they did. > > They may well have killed the Emmys from now onward. Not that that would be a great loss in the long run. _Every_ loyal American should take\* every\* opportunity to disparage Trump. It’s really important. These are not “normal” times and we should be going about our normal business as if we had a sane and competent President. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6183 "2017-09-18T21:34:25Z")
Sean Spicer said the ratings were better than ever. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6184 "2017-09-18T21:42:41Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Well, for a new topic… > > The Emmys tanked to an all-time low rating after their repeated whining about Trump. The evening was supposed to be about recognizing outstanding performances. Instead, the liberal twits hosting and appearing on the show managed to turn it into a massive wankfest. I don’t know why they thought they needed to politicize the affair, but they did. > > They may well have killed the Emmys from now onward. Not that that would be a great loss in the long run. Dude, do you even _watch_? ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6185 "2017-09-18T22:07:20Z")
The four most recent “Stupid liberal ideas” really do point out that this thread is simply a parody of the SRIOTD. In no particular order, we have the Emmy’s, a laughable false flag, the butt of Clothahump’s neighbor, and Photoshop. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6186 "2017-09-18T22:08:52Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > The four most recent “Stupid liberal ideas” really do point out that this thread is simply a parody of the SRIOTD. In no particular order, we have the Emmy’s, a laughable false flag, the butt of Clothahump’s neighbor, and Photoshop. With the “free space,” I now have Bingo! ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6187 "2017-09-18T22:36:50Z")
So the newest SLIOTD is that Humpy didn’t like the Emmys. Not a policy issue, not a legislative attempt at Tom-foolery, not an attempt to undermine peoples rights, a TV show he found uncomfortable. You really are a delicate little snowflake, aren’t you Humpy. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6188 "2017-09-18T22:37:17Z")
NYT columnist thinks that an 11-year old mowing the lawn at the White House is “Not sending a great signal on child labor, minimum wage & occupational safety”. What the fuck? > **[NY Times reporter slammed after saying boy mowing White House lawn sends bad...](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ny-times-reporter-slammed-after-saying-boy-mowing-white-house-lawn-sends-bad-signal-on-child-labor)** > > A former New York Times labor reporter has been slammed on social media for a snarky tweet hitting the White House for letting an 11-year-old boy mow the Rose Garden lawn last week. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2017, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6189 "2017-09-18T22:47:15Z")
People actually watch award ceremonies? I imagine that must be like watching Miss \ but without the benefit of trim. How bored can a person get that, with 197 channels to choose from, they end up on that sort of soporifica? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6190 "2017-09-19T01:11:36Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > NYT columnist thinks that an 11-year old mowing the lawn at the White House is “Not sending a great signal on child labor, minimum wage & occupational safety”. > > What the fuck? > > [NY Times reporter slammed after saying boy mowing White House lawn sends bad signal on child labor | Fox News](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/09/17/ny-times-reporter-slammed-after-saying-boy-mowing-white-house-lawn-sends-bad-signal-on-child-labor.html) As a bedwetting liberal, I do believe we have a winner. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2017, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6191 "2017-09-19T02:22:20Z")
**Mr. Hump**? Don’t you recall that you were instructed to post your sources (and to try to avoid #FakeNews) ? We can lead you to water — but you have to open your own mouth-hole and drink. > [@Clothahump](#): > > The Emmys tanked to an all-time low rating > … repeated whining … liberal twits … massive wankfest… “Tanked”? Faux News wrote “cratered”; some other [RightWingLies.com](http://RightWingLies.com) wrote “plummeted.” Where did “Tanked” come from? Don’t tell me that **Humpy** can use a thesaurus all by itself! LameStream-Media wrote that after ratings fell for a few straight years, _the Emmy’s rating was actually up slightly this year!_ Yet **Humpy** wrote “Tanked”. :smack: Does it even pretend to have a brain? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6192 "2017-09-19T02:37:36Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > NYT columnist thinks that an 11-year old mowing the lawn at the White House is “Not sending a great signal on child labor, minimum wage & occupational safety”. > > What the fuck? > > [NY Times reporter slammed after saying boy mowing White House lawn sends bad signal on child labor | Fox News](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/09/17/ny-times-reporter-slammed-after-saying-boy-mowing-white-house-lawn-sends-bad-signal-on-child-labor.html) I’ll bet the kid didn’t get paid, either. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6193 "2017-09-19T02:55:33Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > LameStream-Media wrote that after ratings fell for a few straight years, _the Emmy’s rating was actually up slightly this year!_ > > Yet **Humpy** wrote “Tanked”. :smack: Does it even pretend to have a brain? It’s kind of like how Trump says Obama decimated the military, when in fact Obama spent some $200 billion more on defense after withdrawing from Iraq than Bush spent at the height of the invasion (2003-4). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6194 "2017-09-19T03:35:53Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > NYT columnist thinks that an 11-year old mowing the lawn at the White House is “Not sending a great signal on child labor, minimum wage & occupational safety”. > > What the fuck? > > [NY Times reporter slammed after saying boy mowing White House lawn sends bad signal on child labor | Fox News](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/09/17/ny-times-reporter-slammed-after-saying-boy-mowing-white-house-lawn-sends-bad-signal-on-child-labor.html) > [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > As a bedwetting liberal, I do believe we have a winner. A child volunteers for the honor of mowing a millionaires lawn for free; I think that’s exactly the message Trump wanted to send. And people defend it as a good lesson in learning the value of a day’s work, so at least some people are falling for it. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6195 "2017-09-19T04:47:10Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > A child volunteers for the honor of mowing a millionaires lawn for free; I think that’s exactly the message Trump wanted to send. And people defend it as a good lesson in learning the value of a day’s work, so at least some people are falling for it. Falling for what? It’s not exactly the most endearing story, but it’s a far cry from a scathing statement on child labor (as you noted, the kid volunteered), minimum wage (the kid set his own price), or occupational safety (he was wearing gloves, close-toed shoes and eye protection while operating machinery for which he seems to have developed some skill). I can’t decide which was dumber: some kid mowing the WH lawn for Trump or criticizing it under that pretense. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6196 "2017-09-19T05:01:23Z")
Trump. Trump is always worse. Sorry, what was the question again? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6197 "2017-09-19T05:59:59Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Falling for what? > > It’s not exactly the most endearing story, but it’s a far cry from a scathing statement on child labor (as you noted, the kid volunteered), _**minimum wage (the kid set his own price)**_, or occupational safety (he was wearing gloves, close-toed shoes and eye protection while operating machinery for which he seems to have developed some skill). I can’t decide which was dumber: some kid mowing the WH lawn for Trump or criticizing it under that pretense. Emphasis mine. I don’t care very much about this specific incident, one way or another, but the section i have bolded precisely misses the point. The fundamental principle of the minimum wage is that you don’t always get to set your own price. I could set the price for my labor at $5.00 an hour, but under California law my employer is required to pay me $10.50, and would be violating the law if he paid me my asking rate. I can’t set my own price because we, as a society, have decided that the minimum is not determined by an indivudal’s willing to sell him- or herself for the smallest amount possible. When groups like labor unions and the People’s Party and the socialists and the Progressives were fighting for minimum wage laws in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, one plank of their argument in favor of a minimum wage was precisely that the idea of “liberty of contract,” under which individuals competed for jobs and negotiated their wages one-on-one with their employers, was fundamentally unfair, at least at the bottom end of the economic ladder, because of the massive discrepancies in power and need between the two bargaining parties. As an African American socialist and labor leader named Peter Clarke [wrote](https://herb.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/1915) in the _Cincinnati Commercial_ newspaper, in 1877, in support of striking railroad workers: > [@](#): > > But when [workers] see high railroad officials receiving the salary of princes, when they hear of dividends in stock and railroad bonds, they cannot understand why there is no money for the man whose labor earns these vast sums…When they complain, they are told that they are at liberty to quit and take their services elsewhere. This is equivalent to telling them that they are at liberty to go and starve. The basic principle of a minimum wage is precisely that: a minimum decided upon by society. It would be a meaningless concept if a worker could circumvent it simply by choosing to “set his own price.” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6198 "2017-09-19T06:29:49Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Falling for what? > > It’s not exactly the most endearing story, but it’s a far cry from a scathing statement on child labor (as you noted, the kid volunteered), minimum wage (the kid set his own price), or occupational safety (he was wearing gloves, close-toed shoes and eye protection while operating machinery for which he seems to have developed some skill). I can’t decide which was dumber: some kid mowing the WH lawn for Trump or criticizing it under that pretense. The original statement about safety, minimum wage, etc. could be an interesting start to a conversation. I don’t know that I’d call it stupid, but probably an overreaction to cite law and policy issues when it’s just a kid mowing someone’s lawn. But the reply about how this is a lesson in self-sufficiency and the value of a day’s work really was stupid. His work does have value, but he’s not going to learn that by doing it for free. And the person who made that tweet fell for Trump’s message in the same way Tom Sawyer’s friends fell for the message that it would be fun to whitewash Aunt Polly’s fence. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6199 "2017-09-19T07:10:47Z")
John Blutarsky, President, USA. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2017, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6200 "2017-09-19T08:45:15Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > People actually watch award ceremonies? I imagine that must be like watching Miss \ but without the benefit of trim. How bored can a person get that, with 197 channels to choose from, they end up on that sort of soporifica? It’s never been the same since NPH stopped hosting it. I mean, it was always going to be downhill after [this opening number](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apbnAHshuIM). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086.md?page=309) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086.md?page=311)