# 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:** 66
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1301 "2013-10-08T01:52:10Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > In fairness, there was that congressman a few years back who was afraid that sending too many troops to Haiti (I think) might cause the island to flip over. Yes, **Bricker** ’s brought that up about 430 times in other threads. And I think it was Guam. At least somewhere in the Pacific. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1302 "2013-10-08T02:06:07Z")
Wait, Haiti isn’t in the Pacific? ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1303 "2013-10-08T03:09:07Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Oh, horseshit! This whole thing started because a few of the board’s liberals were whinging about eevil businessmen cutting back on worker hours to avoid Obamacare obligations. I posted a link to Obama saying it wasn’t a problem, and here we are, with absolutely no one addressing that question, and instead, a flock of my age old enemies have flooded into the thread spouting their same tired, worn-out bullshit. Your side is no better, chum. That’s a lesson I learned decades ago. Well golly gee willikers. You figured out real fast, who I was referring to. You want a cookie? Those scumbags who are fucking their people are just using “Obamacare” as an excuse, nothing more. They were starting to do it before the ACA even went into effect. They would love to put everyone on part time with no benefits and they have been moving more and more in that direction for years. Fraudulent trading, fraudulent foreclosuers, radioactive/toxic “assets”, bailouts, record profits, privatized profits coupled with socialized losses, and mega offshore banking for them, and they demand austerity for the poor working fvcks. Right now, the Tea Baggers are holding the House and Senate hostage while they have a bitch fit over a bill that has become THE LAW, all legal and proper. They have forced a LOCK OUT (not a shut down, a lock out), and those who are being ordered back to work are in many cases being ordered to work WITHOUT PAY. But the Tea Baggers are still being paid. Fvck the Tea Baggers. But I really don’t give a good god damn what you believe. I just got tired of “hearing” it. all. the. fvcking. time. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1304 "2013-10-08T03:16:41Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > …a flock of my age old enemies have flooded into the thread. _[franticly raises hand]_ Ooh, ooh! _[waves hand]_ Can I be an age-old enemy? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1305 "2013-10-08T04:13:04Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Your side is no better, chum. No, actually, it isn’t. Except WRT intelligence, education, wisdom, common sense, imagination, creativity, esthetic sensibilities, ethics, morality, compassion, kindness, honesty both moral and intellectual, deserved credibility, and suchlike inconsequential trifles. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1306 "2013-10-08T04:35:29Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Well golly gee willikers. You figured out real fast, who I was referring to. You want a cookie? > > Those scumbags who are fucking their people are just using “Obamacare” as an excuse, nothing more. They were starting to do it before the ACA even went into effect. They would love to put everyone on part time with no benefits and they have been moving more and more in that direction for years. > > Fraudulent trading, fraudulent foreclosuers, radioactive/toxic “assets”, bailouts, record profits, privatized profits coupled with socialized losses, and mega offshore banking for them, and they demand austerity for the poor working fvcks. > > Right now, the Tea Baggers are holding the House and Senate hostage while they have a bitch fit over a bill that has become THE LAW, all legal and proper. They have forced a LOCK OUT (not a shut down, a lock out), and those who are being ordered back to work are in many cases being ordered to work WITHOUT PAY. But the Tea Baggers are still being paid. Fvck the Tea Baggers. > > But I really don’t give a good god damn what you believe. I just got tired of “hearing” it. all. the. fvcking. time. No one is fucking their employees; what they’re doing is trying to operate as profitably as possible, which after all is what allows them to stay in business. And despite your litany of abuses and so-called abuses, the things you’re complaining about involve what is in actuality a tiny percentage of American businesses. Most are nowhere near large enough, sophisticated enough and profitable enough to engage in the kinds of activities you’re broad-brushing with. Most are small or relatively small companies that have been burdened for years with ever-increasing governmentally imposed financial obligations, restrictions and paperwork. Many are struggling simply to stay alive. So yeah, if the government in its wisdom decides to exempt part-time employees from the burdens of health care (a burden which I don’t think should be their responsibility in the first place, especially since employees can quite on a whim at moment’s notice), I certainly see nothing wrong with their taking advantage of it, for competitive reasons if no other - if one fast food restaurant or auto parts store cuts its employees back to less than 30 hours and another doesn’t, guess who’s going to lower prices and guess who’s going to go out of business. If you don’t like the fact that businesses take advantage of governmentally created loopholes when they can, then blame the lawmakers. The reason we have lawmakers is to determine what we can do and what we can’t. You might as well bitch because people are driving 45 mph on a road posted as such when you think the limit ought to be 25. And as far as you being tired of hearing your opponents’ never-ending bitching, I can assure you they are every bit as tired if not more so of listening to that coming from your side. Richard Gephart once observed that politics is a substitute for violence, and when the reporter he made that comment to grinned as though Gephart was kidding, Gephart assured him that it was the truth. I have no doubt that without a system to create these laws which allow much of the behavior you’re so incensed about we all be shooting at each other. So it could be worse, and I assure you once again that you’re not the only one fed up with hearing crap coming from the other side. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1307 "2013-10-08T04:45:55Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > No one is fucking their employees; what they’re doing is trying to operate as profitably as possible, which after all is what allows them to stay in business. And despite your litany of abuses and so-called abuses, the things you’re complaining about involve what is in actuality a tiny percentage of American businesses. Most are nowhere near large enough, sophisticated enough and profitable enough to engage in the kinds of activities you’re broad-brushing with. Most are small or relatively small companies that have been burdened for years with ever-increasing governmentally imposed financial obligations, restrictions and paperwork. Many are struggling simply to stay alive. So yeah, if the government in its wisdom decides to exempt part-time employees from the burdens of health care (a burden which I don’t think should be their responsibility in the first place, especially since employees can quite on a whim at moment’s notice), I certainly see nothing wrong with their taking advantage of it, for competitive reasons if no other - if one fast food restaurant or auto parts store cuts its employees back to less than 30 hours and another doesn’t, guess who’s going to lower prices and guess who’s going to go out of business. > > If you don’t like the fact that businesses take advantage of governmentally created loopholes when they can, then blame the lawmakers. The reason we have lawmakers is to determine what we can do and what we can’t. You might as well bitch because people are driving 45 mph on a road posted as such when you think the limit ought to be 25. > > And as far as you being tired of hearing your opponents’ never-ending bitching, I can assure you they are every bit as tired if not more so of listening to that coming from your side. Richard Gephart once observed that politics is a substitute for violence, and when the reporter he made that comment to grinned as though Gephart was kidding, Gephart assured him that it was the truth. I have no doubt that without a system to create these laws which allow much of the behavior you’re so incensed about we all be shooting at each other. > > So it could be worse, and I assure you once again that you’re not the only one fed up with hearing crap coming from the other side. That was just a load of shit. 🙂 > **[Wal-Mart Returning To Full-Time Workers-Obamacare Not Such A Job Killer After...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2013/09/25/wal-mart-returning-to-full-time-workers-obamacare-not-such-a-job-killer-after-all/)** > > (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest employer, announced Monday that 35,000 part-time employees will soon be moved to full-time status, entitling them to the full healthcare benefits that were scheduled to be... > [@](#): > > Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest employer, announced Monday that 35,000 part-time employees will soon be moved to full-time status, entitling them to the full healthcare benefits that were scheduled to be denied them as a result of Wal-Mart’s efforts to avoid the requirements of Obamacare. > > While some analysts believe that the move comes as Wal-Mart is attempting to deal with the negative view many Americans have of its worker benefits program, a closer look reveals the real reason for the shift— > > Wal-Mart’s business is going south due to the company’s penchant for putting politics and the squeeze on Wal-Mart employees ahead of the kind of customer satisfaction that produces prosperity over the long-term. > [@](#): > > The moral to the story? > > Wal-Mart is finally learning what all American businesses who seek to avoid their health care responsibilities to employees will soon learn. > > It may be a clever enough dodge to cut employees below the 30 hours per week in order to avoid the expectations of Obamacare, but the move comes at a substantial price to be paid in lost revenue and profits. Given that the entire point of business is to show a profit, it is only a matter of time before employers learn what Home Depot learned some years ago and what Wal-Mart is slowly beginning to figure out—you get what you pay for. > > Cut back on employees and you will, eventually, cut back on your profits as the savings a business creates by cutting worker hours leads to greatly decreased sales as customer satisfaction disappears. > > While there are no shortage of Americans who enjoy deriding the Affordable Care Act as a ‘job killer’, what will soon emerge—and sooner than you may think—is an understanding that the losses experienced by businesses that cut worker hours will far exceed whatever is gained by avoiding giving employees the healthcare benefits their families so badly require. > > Don’t believe it? > > Just ask Wal-Mart. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1308 "2013-10-08T04:46:17Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > No, actually, it isn’t. Except WRT intelligence, education, wisdom, common sense, imagination, creativity, esthetic sensibilities, ethics, morality, compassion, kindness, honesty both moral and intellectual, deserved credibility, and suchlike inconsequential trifles. I’m aware that you’re entire world view is constructed around this fiction, but the behavior of most of the liberal posters in this thread alone is sufficient to put the lie to every aspect of the notion. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1309 "2013-10-08T04:50:22Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I’m aware that you’re entire world view is constructed around this fiction, but the behavior of most of the liberal posters in this thread alone is sufficient to put the lie to every aspect of the notion. Piffle, as pointed before I did not post the first reply to you with insults, that then you decided to ignore what others besides FOX had reported, that was insulting. And as even Forbes can tell you , the crap on this issue is coming from your side. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1310 "2013-10-08T04:54:45Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > That was just a load of shit. 🙂 > > [Wal-Mart Returning To Full-Time Workers-Obamacare Not Such A Job Killer After All?](http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2013/09/25/wal-mart-returning-to-full-time-workers-obamacare-not-such-a-job-killer-after-all/) No, actually it proves nothing except for what Walmart has found works best for it. I seriously doubt that anyone is going to notice a better customer experience at their local auto parts store or dog groomer’s because the person who waited on them is a part-timer vs. full timer. Walmart needs a certain caliber of employee to assure that stock comes in the back door, gets accounted for properly, makes it onto the shelf in a highly timely fashion, and checked out properly at its check stands. If it begins to have problems keeping employees around to perform these duties, many of which take place in the middle of the night, it cannot stay in business. My experiences with more than a few Walmarts would indicate that its alleged concern for the quality of its customers’ experience has not been much in view for a great many years now, and yet there have always been long lines at the check stands. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1311 "2013-10-08T04:59:22Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > No, actually it proves nothing except for what Walmart has found works best for it. I seriously doubt that anyone is going to notice a better customer experience at their local auto parts store or dog groomer’s because the person who waited on them is a part-timer vs. full timer. What you said was: “No one is fucking their employees; what they’re doing is trying to operate as profitably as possible, which after all is what allows them to stay in business.” It turns out that the dick move of making most of their jobs to be part time did bite them in the ass. So the point stands, **to remain in businesses** Wall-mart is backtracking from the idea that you thought was a nice loophole; so yeah what you said was crap indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1312 "2013-10-08T05:04:32Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Piffle, as pointed before I did not post the first reply to you with insults, that then you decided to ignore what others besides FOX had reported, that was insulting. And as even Forbes can tell you , the crap on this issue is coming from your side. Sorry, but I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. First you posted a response to my comment about what Obama said by pointing out a distinction without a difference, namely that when he said there was no widespread evidence of employers cutting back hours due to the ACA, it didn’t mean that it wasn’t happening to some degree. I replied (right away, I might add) that the term “no widespread evidence” itself carries the implication that it was going on to some degree. To the best of my recollection that was the end of our conversation on the subject, with the thread then devolving into nonsense regarding Woody Allen. As I said, I know that English is not your first language and when you said nothing else I figured you understood what I was talking about and accepted my explanation. Again, there is nothing in the phrase “no widespread evidence” that precludes all activity whatsoever. If, as **BrainGlutton** likes to pretend, you as a liberal are immersed in scholarly surroundings, you might want to ask the next passing English professor if this is not so. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1313 "2013-10-08T05:07:27Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Sorry, but I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. First you posted a response to my comment about what Obama said by pointing out a distinction without a difference, namely that when he said there was no widespread evidence of employers cutting back hours due to the ACA, it didn’t mean that it wasn’t happening to some degree. I replied (right away, I might add) that the term “no widespread evidence” itself carries the implication that it was going on to some degree. To the best of my recollection that was the end of our conversation on the subject, with the thread then devolving into nonsense regarding Woody Allen. > > As I said, I know that English is not your first language and when you said nothing else I figured you understood what I was talking about and accepted my explanation. Again, there is nothing in the phrase “no widespread evidence” that precludes all activity whatsoever. If, as **BrainGlutton** likes to pretend, you as a liberal are immersed in scholarly surroundings, you might want to ask the next passing English professor if this is not so. Then “going on to some degree” is not a good basis to then follow with complete sweeping affirmations that what we are saying is crap, it does indeed mean that overall we are more on the money. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1314 "2013-10-08T05:08:21Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > What you said was: > > “No one is fucking their employees; what they’re doing is trying to operate as profitably as possible, which after all is what allows them to stay in business.” > > It turns out that the dick move of making most of their jobs to be part time did bite them in the ass. So the point stands, **to remain in businesses** Wall-mart is backtracking from the idea that you thought was a nice loophole; so yeah what you said was crap indeed. I was speaking in generalities of a huge country’s worth of businesses, most of which are small, as my post make perfectly clear. You are (in my opinion dishonestly) trying to use the example of a single enormous retailer to try to prove me wrong. It’s a cheap tactic that fools no one even though it’ll probably garner you backslapping from the more dishonest among your political cohort. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1315 "2013-10-08T05:09:31Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Then “going on to some degree” is not a good basis to then follow with complete sweeping affirmations that what we are saying is crap, it does indeed mean that overall we are more on the money. I would phrase it that according to the president you’re making a mountain out of a molehill. ETA: Plus I didn’t say that what people were saying on this issue was crap. That was in regard to **SteveG1’s** complaints about right wing politics, with my crap comment referring likewise to left wing politics. Once again you’re playing your little game of trying to keep me tied up all night with semantic word games, and once again I’m compelled to tell I ain’t gonna play that shit. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1316 "2013-10-08T05:11:56Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I was speaking in generalities of a huge country’s worth of businesses, most of which are small, as my post make perfectly clear. You are (in my opinion dishonestly) trying to use the example of a single enormous retailer to try to prove me wrong. It’s a cheap tactic that fools no one even though it’ll probably garner you backslapping from the more dishonest among your political cohort. No, the cheap dishonest thing is apparent to others when you show here that you did not read the article cited and learned that it also refereed to other retailers like Home Depot doing the right thing and not going out of business. So no,\*\* it was not just about a single retailer\*\*, so more crap from you. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1317 "2013-10-08T05:15:29Z")
Like I said, semantic word games. Ain’t gonna play that shit. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1318 "2013-10-08T05:16:09Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I would phrase it that according to the president you’re making a mountain out of a molehill. > > ETA: Plus I didn’t say that what people were saying on this issue was crap. That was in regard to **SteveG1’s** complaints about right wing politics, with my crap comment referring likewise to left wing politics. > > Once again you’re playing your little game of trying to keep me tied up all night with semantic word games, and once again I’m compelled to tell I ain’t gonna play that shit. Neither do I, I’m not playing games, you are only pushing crap as shown already with the cites presented. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1319 "2013-10-08T05:28:53Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Once again you’re playing your little game of trying to keep me tied up all night… Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit quoting in full… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/1320 "2013-10-08T05:41:02Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Like I said, semantic word games. > > Ain’t gonna play that shit. Not well, at any rate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086.md?page=65) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086.md?page=67)