David Barton, Talking Points Memo

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Quote# 80821

It is a principle of free market. That's a Biblical principle, that's a historical principle. We have all these quotes from Ben Franklin and Jefferson and Washington and others on free market and how important that is to maintain. That is part of the reason we have prosperity. This is what the Pilgrims brought in, the Puritans brought in, this is free market mentality. Net Neutrality sounds really good, but it is socialism on the Internet.

David Barton, Talking Points Memo 68 Comments [4/25/2011 3:41:42 AM]
Fundie Index: 60

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#1282016

The_L

Id be interested to know how the Bible supports a selfish system that was devised by Adam Smith in the 17th century. Is this like how it explicitly mentions America and abortion?

4/25/2011 3:43:35 AM

#1282021

kuribo

you're an idiot who doesn't know what net neutrality is, and only hates it because glenn beck hates it.

4/25/2011 4:31:51 AM

#1282022

WMDKitty

Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Jesus*, you know, advocate socialism? Bible even says that his followers lived in a fucking commune, sharing pretty much everything. So, uh, liberal socialist hippie dude Jesus? He'd disagree with you.

*Assuming for the sake of argument that Biblical Jesus is, in fact, an actual, historical person.

4/25/2011 4:41:47 AM

#1282023

arctic knight

Keeping governments out of controlling the internet is socialism? I really wish I could understand the thought processes of these idiots.

4/25/2011 4:43:27 AM

#1282028

Mister Spak

Worshipping the free markent is unbiblical. You are only supposed to worship god.

@arctic knight: Net nutrality is a law that requires all internet traffic is treated equally so corporation can't block inconvenient content. The wingnuts respond with "hands off our internet" so corporations can legally block undesired content.

4/25/2011 4:57:26 AM

#1282031

Orion

@The_L: Capitalism was not invented by Adam Smith, his was merely a popular book that described the phenomenon. He did invent concepts like the invisible hand of the market, the division of labour and other early economic theories.

In identifying and describing capitalism he was preceded by the French scholarly discipline of the Physiocrats who describe capitalism just as it began to emerge from feudalism.

Interesting facts.

But what the Pilgrims and Puritans brought in was a Slave economy, the use of slaves undermines one of the central pillars that makes up being a capitalist system; A free labour market.

4/25/2011 5:00:10 AM

#1282035

Raised by Horses

Christianity FAIL

I swear, most "Christians" don't know a fucking thing about Jesus Christ.

And net neutrality is what protects your rights on the internet, and keeps you from being forced to make use of certain services instead of being able to choose freely, asshole.

4/25/2011 5:14:46 AM

#1282036

Xotan

NOT 'a historical', please. It's 'an historical'. Par contre, it's 'a happy...', 'a holy...'. Oh how I do wish fundies would spend as much time on English as on their turgid god-mania.

As for prosperity, compared to the American rich, most Americans are piss-poor, and likely to remain so given the brain-washing they recieve about the so-called 'evils of socialism'. Anything that might benefit the ordinary people, such as state health care, decent holiday periods etc, they are taught to regard as a covert manifestation of 'communism'. The truth is that they are being conned by the rich. The line in the song: "There's nothing surer, the rich get rish and the poor get poorer", is a truism in America. Whyfor example, did Reagan suppress R+D into alternative energy sources? Could it have had anything to do with oil? Why is petrol (gas) so expensive at America's filling stations? (Actually it's a hell of a lot cheaper than here in Europe)? Someone is lining their pockets out of the average American's pocket. Yet Americans are hard-wired not to question this sort of situation because it is 'anti-American'. The so-called free market is tilted/biased in favour of milking the market to the benefit of the rich.

And when did America last have a president that came from the ranks of ordinary people? Or put it another way, how rich do you have to be to be eligible and capable of becoming president? "It's a rich man's world", in the line of another song.

As to puritans, they brought Slavery, and also the crimes of the Salem hangings. Superstitious, ignorant and bible-based. Why that did not taint forever in the American mind the turgid shite of bible and preachers and churches, I will never be able to fathom.

4/25/2011 5:19:22 AM

#1282037

How the bloody fuck is letting rich corporations drown out their competition anything like a free market? COMPETITION is what drives capitalism, not letting the most powerful companies do whatever the fuck they want. It's kind of like how freedom really only works if you give everyone equal rights and don't let, say, the white people to enslave every other color.

4/25/2011 5:25:18 AM

#1282040

gay thiest

wait, why would anyone besides big businesses be against net neutrality?

@xotan
I think it has, I don't know many sane people who think that the latter actions of the puritans were good or justified. it's only the extremists who follow the puritan mindset who don't learn from their mistakes.

4/25/2011 5:29:26 AM

#1282046

pete

Mr. Barton is a bald-faced liar and/or completely insane. People like Glenn Beck and Michele Bachmann (InsaneR-Mn.) worship him because his drivel reinforces their prejudices.

4/25/2011 5:51:57 AM

#1282051

TGRwulf

Free market is a biblical principal? Come again?

Also, extra fundy points for assuming that all the founding fathers are Christians.

4/25/2011 5:56:28 AM

#1282055

breakerslion

Worshiping the Free Market = Worshiping Mamon.

Heretic!

If the free market is so desirable, why is it that, just when Tohoku Electric Power Co needs money the most, its stock is in the dumper? Isolated example? Can you say, "Superfund site?"

4/25/2011 6:18:55 AM

#1282069

Raised by Horses

@WMDKitty

Republican Jesus, on the other hand..

4/25/2011 6:52:18 AM

#1282071

aaa

I don't think you understand what net neutrality is. It's nowhere near socialism. It's only meant to make sure that ISP's don't abuse regional monopolies.

4/25/2011 7:05:49 AM

#1282072

Brandy Bogard

So you WANT corporations to repeal freedom of speech on the net? Get fucked.

4/25/2011 7:07:01 AM

#1282074

Doubting Thomas

If a free market is a biblical principle, why did Jesus go all Jean-Claude Van Damme on the money changers in the temple?

And I know fundies like to get things completely backwards, but since when is allowing freedom to all websites on the internet considered socialism?

4/25/2011 7:16:26 AM

#1282075

Vrresto

Jesus told Christians to give their all money to the poor and stated that prioritizing earthly treasures above all would prevent you from entering heaven. He was also a long-haired traveling pacifist who shared all his belongings, didn't own property and crashed at other people's houses. Sounds like a hippie liberal communist to me.

4/25/2011 7:23:57 AM

#1282078

Murdin

This quote get brownie points for containing the highest density of right-wing buzzwords I've ever seen. Free market, Biblical, Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, free market again, Pilgrims, Puritans, free market once more, socialism.

4/25/2011 7:28:10 AM

#1282083

NoriMori

@Xotan

NOT 'a historical', please. It's 'an historical'. Par contre, it's 'a happy...', 'a holy...'. Oh how I do wish fundies would spend as much time on English as on their turgid god-mania.

Seriously? Are you fucking kidding me? What is this, the 1800s? This pissses me off more than the OP.

My Apple Dictionary:
The traditional rule about whether to use a or an before a word beginning with h is that if the h is sounded, a is the correct form ( : a hospital;: a hotel). But if the accent is on the second syllable ( : historic;: habitual), there is greater likelihood that, at least in speaking, 'an habitual' will sound more natural. One form is not more correct than the other, although some constructions may strike readers as pretentious or old-fashioned.

Wow, they read my mind! I find your pedantry to be pretentious and old-fashioned! Especially since you're wrong anyway.

4/25/2011 7:33:38 AM

#1282091

LAchlan

Is it the warm weather that's bringing em out?

4/25/2011 7:55:50 AM

#1282099

Dr. Razark

@#1282037
"How the bloody fuck is letting rich corporations drown out their competition anything like a free market? COMPETITION is what drives capitalism, not letting the most powerful companies do whatever the fuck they want."

That IS the free market. Those participating in the market a free to do what they want, how they want. If they manage to get a monopoly, it's the market forces at work. Competition leads to some succeeding, and some failing. Eventually, one entity out-competes everyone, and you are left with a monopoly.

Not that that's a good thing all the time.

4/25/2011 8:14:57 AM

#1282112

Osiris

If you read your Bible you would know that Jesus hated wealth and wanted people to donate as much as they could to the poor.

Jesus was a communist.

4/25/2011 8:49:14 AM

#1282116

freako104

where in the Bible is anything about free market? Ever read about Jesus healing the poor and sick and wounded?

4/25/2011 8:52:49 AM

#1282117

Allegory for Jesus

Funny that socialism (give all of your possessions to the poor) is probably a "Biblical principle" in the same way. Damn you, inconvenient Bibble quotes!

Also: What NoriMori said.

4/25/2011 8:54:22 AM

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