Topic: I am so proud of my friend

[OLJingoist]

I sent the letter below in response to an "Obama for America" campaign  email I received -- they got my email address from my response to an AARP survey on opinions to fix Social Security & Medicare -- and that ticked me off.
 
Said AARP survey was a sham survey purely for securing private email addresses to send campaign mail.  Don't respond to the AARP survey.  Your opinions will be ignored and instead you'll get campaign emails from Obama.
 
From: xxxx Marie
To: info@barackobama.com
Subject: RE: AARP Survey on Social Security & Medicare
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2012 23:31:26 -0700

Remove me from your email list and,
 
Don't address me as "Friend"  -- I'm no friend of yours & find it offensive for you to address me with such familiarity.
 
I find it a shameless, deceptive and offensive tactic that the AARP not only allowed, but conducted this survey on behalf of the Obama Campaign and did not so state.  This was nothing but a sham to get email addresses for campaigning.  And I'll let the AARP know I disapprove and why.
 
What happened to addressing one's countryman as "My Fellow American..."   But, then Obama will only be proud to be an American if he is re-elected...
(Heaven Forbid !!!)
 
As long as illegal aliens (definition: people who are not United States Citizens and are living and/or working in the United States illegally, i.e. against the law) are receiving social security benefits MEANT FOR UNITED STATES CITIZENS, as well as medical, educational or other benefits which should be reserved for United States Citizens Only, you and Obama are part of the problem, not part of the solution.  For that matter, I'm not convinced Obama was born in America -- I have strong doubts that his presidency is legitimate.  History will write that tale.
 
I'm a Conservative, a Republican and proud of it.  Close the American borders - and bus out the illegal aliens.  Say you'll do it, and I'll volunteer to drive a bus....I'm disabled, and it may take me a while to get it done, but I'll do what it takes to stop funding people who live in this country illegally.  My family has been in this country for many generations.  My ancestors have been fighting tyranny, oppression, religious repression and excessive taxation since the first pilgrims landed.  Others of my ancestors were Native Americans who were here long before them and yet THEY are still treated like second class citizens.
 
Under the Obama administration, America is no longer the "promised land" for legal immigration - it has now become a free ride for illegal aliens and drug dealers who feel that they can now enter our country with impunity and leach off of benefits paid for by hard working legal Americans.
 
What's next?  Will you permit terrorists to run terrorism schools on American soil under the guise of free speech and religious freedom, arguing that, hey, it's a religious jihad so they have a right to practice their religion???  Are you sitting on your brain?  Stutter all you want, what is wrong - is wrong.
 
I have a "Stop Obama Care" bumper sticker and am vehemently against that program.
 
And by the way, I just started Medicare, but it doesn't cover prescriptions, vision or dental - I have to BUY extra coverage plans if I want those.  What planet is he on?
 
I will vote to remove Obama from office in November -- and hopefully obliterate the "Anti-American" and "Anti-Christian" attitude of the Obama Administration that has left a deadly shadow over our country.
 
Tell him not to let the door hit him on the way out.
 
I am not a member of the "Silent" Majority.  I am a :
 
 
Proud Christian Republican Citizen of the United States of America
 
 
Marie Wilkins
A legally registered voter
 
I'm Voting for Mitt Romney for President
 

pledge_large.jpg (166575 bytes)
 
 

 
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2012 20:45:26 -0400
To: xxxxxxxxxxx Marie
From: info@barackobama.com
Subject: Thanks for taking the time

Friend --

Thank you for your message about Social Security and Medicare, sent through the AARP website, and for sharing your thoughts with us. President Obama's campaign is being built by the American people, and messages like yours will always help shape it.

America's seniors have earned their Medicare and Social Security through a lifetime of hard work and responsibility. For decades, American workers have contributed some of their hard-earned wages in exchange for the promise of a secure retirement -- and President Obama is committed to preserving that promise for all Americans.

President Obama knows Social Security isn't a government handout -- we work for it, we pay for it, and we earn it. He refuses to let Mitt Romney and the Republicans take it away. He's stood up to Republicans trying to slash Social Security, and he'll keep defending it against Republican proposals to radically change the program. He's committed to strengthening Social Security in a balanced way that doesn't put current retirees at risk or slash benefits for future generations -- and he refuses to subject Americans' guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market.

The President knows that America's seniors also paid for and earned their Medicare through a lifetime of hard work and responsibility, and he's equally committed to keeping it strong for today's seniors and future generations:

    -- Obamacare is closing Medicare's doughnut hole. So far more than 5 million people with Medicare have saved money on their prescription drugs, with millions saving an average of $600 last year.

    -- Obamacare also means recommended preventive care is now free, which has already helped nearly 33 million people on Medicare save money and stay healthy with regular checkups and lifesaving cancer screenings. It also saves Medicare money by preventing costly illnesses and helping to catch them before it's too late.

    -- The President extended the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by cutting waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies while recovering more than $10 billion dollars in health care fraud.

President Obama believes that when it comes to America's seniors, we're all in this together -- that's why he's standing by them, protecting Social Security and strengthening Medicare.

Mitt Romney's message to seniors is the opposite: you're on your own. He would slash Social Security, end Medicare as we know it and force seniors to pay more for their health care.

Romney said his only plan for changing Social Security involves cutting benefits. He has ruled out asking the wealthiest to pay their fair share to help strengthen Social Security. His plan mirrors a proposal that would cut Social Security by up to 40 percent for workers now in their 20s. He'd turn Medicare into a voucher program that could force seniors to pay $6,400 more for their care every year. Romney also promises to repeal Obamacare, which would force seniors to go back to paying hundreds of dollars more for their prescription drugs and take away the free preventive care that's already helped millions save money and stay healthy.

The President takes the promises we make to our seniors through Social Security and Medicare seriously, and he will not break them. For more information about the President's accomplishments for seniors, please visit:

http://my.barackobama.com/Seniors-for-Obama

Thanks again for your message and for joining the conversation about Social Security and Medicare.

Sincerely,

Andrea Bazan
National Senior Vote Director
Obama for America
Paid for by Obama for America

Contributions or gifts to Obama for America are not tax deductible

Marie came around from being staunchly liberal to understanding reality. I am so proud of her.

[Pandora]

Bravo for Marie!

[AlanS]

 

[IronDioPriest]

One spark at a time.

[Weisshaupt]

Marie came around from being staunchly liberal to understanding reality. I am so proud of her.

Okay, so if you (or she)  are willing to share, I would love to know the details of this "conversion". How was it accomplished? In my experience there is only one sort of conversion- the kind where a conservative, immersed in liberal groups, is "staunchly liberal" because they simply have never heard another, contrary opinion spoken. In my experience (and I am one of them)  once exposed to actual conservative arguments about a deeply believed  subject, that they find that once seen, they find they cannot "un-see", though they may try for a period. . They will then feel remorse at the realization that they have committed horrible sins against their fellow man, and feel mortified that they  supported programs and a philosophy that damaged and hurt the very people they had claimed to help.  Properly repentant about the first issue , they dive in and start learning about other topics they have been mislead and misinformed upon, and may even ask you for additional reading and places to look.  I call this a "conversion" in quotes, because the person was always conservative: they always cared about if they were factually right or wrong, always thought that there was a difference between good and evil, and always genuinely believe that their rights ended where another's began, even though they were misguided ( or deliberately mislead) on certain topics, or was just not very self-examined and not paying attention.  Often the best way to determine if this is the case is to pose the case to the new "convertee"- "Don't you think you were always conservative? That certain things your liberal friends just said  didn't ring true to you, but that you just didn't follow up?" Every time I have asked that question (even of myself) , I have gotten an affirmative answer. They were pretending - going along to get along, or just not thinking too hard about it.

I have yet to hear of any "conversion" where this wasn't the case. Real liberals believe  from the outset that people who disagree with them don't have  or deserve rights, and will say or do anything to have their way, with no regrets or hand wringing about "if its right", and certainly don't care if they are factually correct. They feel they are entitled to have their own facts, independent of reality. As such, they just don't have the ability or interest to look at a conservative argument, and dismiss it out of hand as coming from a disreputable  source (someone who disagrees with them)  If a conversion of this second type of liberal occurred I am very interested  in learning the circumstances.

[Alphabet Soup]

My brother often offers up a challenge:

"Take your best shot. Prove your case. convince me with reason why your point of view is superior to mine and I'll convert right here on the spot."

He's had several takers over the years but his faith in conservatism has never been in jeopardy. Never have I heard a case for leftism that wasn't couched in feelings in lieu of reason. Of course the moment you remind them of this is the moment they switch gears and begin alternatively pandering and/or insulting.

It's what they do....

[OLJingoist]

Marie came around from being staunchly liberal to understanding reality. I am so proud of her.

Okay, so if you (or she)  are willing to share, I would love to know the details of this "conversion". How was it accomplished? In my experience there is only one sort of conversion- the kind where a conservative, immersed in liberal groups, is "staunchly liberal" because they simply have never heard another, contrary opinion spoken. In my experience (and I am one of them)  once exposed to actual conservative arguments about a deeply believed  subject, that they find that once seen, they find they cannot "un-see", though they may try for a period. . They will then feel remorse at the realization that they have committed horrible sins against their fellow man, and feel mortified that they  supported programs and a philosophy that damaged and hurt the very people they had claimed to help.  Properly repentant about the first issue , they dive in and start learning about other topics they have been mislead and misinformed upon, and may even ask you for additional reading and places to look.  I call this a "conversion" in quotes, because the person was always conservative: they always cared about if they were factually right or wrong, always thought that there was a difference between good and evil, and always genuinely believe that their rights ended where another's began, even though they were misguided ( or deliberately mislead) on certain topics, or was just not very self-examined and not paying attention.  Often the best way to determine if this is the case is to pose the case to the new "convertee"- "Don't you think you were always conservative? That certain things your liberal friends just said  didn't ring true to you, but that you just didn't follow up?" Every time I have asked that question (even of myself) , I have gotten an affirmative answer. They were pretending - going along to get along, or just not thinking too hard about it.

I have yet to hear of any "conversion" where this wasn't the case. Real liberals believe  from the outset that people who disagree with them don't have  or deserve rights, and will say or do anything to have their way, with no regrets or hand wringing about "if its right", and certainly don't care if they are factually correct. They feel they are entitled to have their own facts, independent of reality. As such, they just don't have the ability or interest to look at a conservative argument, and dismiss it out of hand as coming from a disreputable  source (someone who disagrees with them)  If a conversion of this second type of liberal occurred I am very interested  in learning the circumstances.

You have an awful lot of personal beliefs in your statement, that clouds the answer to the question with me.
especially your last paragraph that describes a progressive mindset in my book.
I am just glad that she saw what is happening to America and spoke out.

[Weisshaupt]

You have an awful lot of personal beliefs in your statement, that clouds the answer to the question with me.
especially your last paragraph that describes a progressive mindset in my book.
I am just glad that she saw what is happening to America and spoke out.

Yep, my beliefs in this area are definitely all based on anecdotes and personal experience.  I don't doubt her conversion, I just have spent years trying to study this and see if there is anything that will convert a liberal.  In all of the cases I have run across, the conversion was an awakening, not a shift in actual philosophy or world view. So every time I hear of a conversion, I ask. If she was genuine liberal of they type I describe; immune to logic,  indifferent to fact, and uncaring about those she abuses,  then I am very interested in what brought about the change. The description of the "true liberal" is deeply rooted in all of the arguments I have had over the years, with close friends and family, ll of who exhibited those traits, no matter what methods I tried.  If there is something that finally wakes them up, I want to know about it, but at this point, I am convinced there is no cure that doesn't involve  lead poisoning or blunt trauma.

[Libertas]

My brother often offers up a challenge:

"Take your best shot. Prove your case. convince me with reason why your point of view is superior to mine and I'll convert right here on the spot."

He's had several takers over the years but his faith in conservatism has never been in jeopardy. Never have I heard a case for leftism that wasn't couched in feelings in lieu of reason. Of course the moment you remind them of this is the moment they switch gears and begin alternatively pandering and/or insulting.

It's what they do....

I really like your brother, 'Soup!   

[Alphabet Soup]

Yea, he can be a PITA but he's a good man to have at my six.