A bit of social commentary for the day

There is political CONSERVATISM and there is real CONSERVATIONISM. But, there really is no such thing as "real" progressivism, there is only political progressivism. Some of the differences between real conservationism and political progressivism can be constrasted in parts of a speech given by one of the prominent progressives, Elizabeth Warren. Her comments are in quotes, mine are in brackets:

"We believe that Wall Street needs stronger rules and tougher enforcement, and we're willing to fight for it."
[Grumpa says: We believe that government is there to protect the "little guy" and that there needs to be stronger rules and tougher enforcement against anybody who actually prevents the "little guy" from make a living; and if "willing to fight for it" means interferring with a person's ability to make a living, then the phrase "willing to fight" reflects an oppressive ideology. Yeah, yeah, she meant that the progressives are willing to fight against Wall Street; but I've never experienced oppression from Wall Street, only from progressive ideology.]

- "We believe in science, and that means that we have a responsibility to protect this Earth."
[Grumpa says: We believe in all aspects of science, and that means we have a responsibility to avoid pseudo-science used to politically support a political ideology. Yeah, yeah, I know she was talking about enviromentalism, which is a political ideology that supports political progressivism and has nothing to do with real conservationism i.e. the proper use and management of resources.]

- "We believe that the Internet shouldn't be rigged to benefit big corporations, and that means real net neutrality."
[Grumpa says: We believe the Internet should not be rigged and controlled by government at any level, especially in ways that benefit government. Any ideology that includes proposing control over the internet through "net neutrality" laws is an oppressive ideology.]

- "We believe that no one should work full-time and still live in poverty, and that means raising the minimum wage."
[Grumpa says: We believe that no one should be hindered by government policies that keep them in poverty, and from self-improvement, and from making as much money as they want free from government scrutiny (i.e. IRS audits), and that any government-imposed arbitrary minimum wage perpetuates poverty and contributes to inflation.]

- "We believe that fast-food workers deserve a livable wage, and that means that when they take to the picket line, we are proud to fight alongside them."
[Grumpa says: We believe that fast-food workers are working in an entry-level position within the work force, and that they have the opportunity to improve themselves in order to work in a higher position, and that a government-imposed artificial "livable wage" actually DECREASES the number of entry-level positions and contributes to overall financial inflation. We believe that anyone can refuse to work (i.e. strike); we also believe that any picket line that prevents a person from working where they will is an oppressive use of force, and that any government official that is "proud to fight alongside" the picketers has an oppression mentality.]

- "We believe that students are entitled to get an education without being crushed by debt."
[Grumpa says: We believe that the cost of higher education is actually artificially inflated, and that government policies allow this inflated cost to occur.]

- "We believe that after a lifetime of work, people are entitled to retire with dignity, and that means protecting Social Security, Medicare, and pensions."
[Grumpa says: We believe that after a lifetime of work, people are entitled to retire with dignity without fearing that their retirement pensions are controlled by the whims government policies.]

- "We believe—I can't believe I have to say this in 2014—we believe in equal pay for equal work."
[Grumpa says: We believe - and I can't believe I have to say this - that there are people in government who use bogus statistics to create a false perception of an injustice that is not occurring, and that they do so in order to manipulate voters. And I further can't believe that a number of voters actually fall for this deception.]

- "We believe that equal means equal, and that's true in marriage, it's true in the workplace, it's true in all of America."
[Grumpa says: We believe that equal means equal, and that's true in the prosecution of government officials who break the same laws imposed upon common citizens. Yeah, yeah, I know she actually meant that those who practice homosexuality should be equally treated in all of America, so we believe that every person has a right to believe and to live as they want and that normal sexual practices do not need public displays and public advocacy groups in order to be accepted by society.]

- "We believe that immigration has made this country strong and vibrant, and that means reform."
[Grumpa says: We believe that LEGAL immigration has made this country strong and vibrant, and that any "reform" should actually mean "revival" that must include the equal enforcement of current immigration laws. I mean, really - do progressives want the laws to be equally enforced or don't they?]

- "And we believe that corporations are not people, that women have a right to their bodies. We will overturn Hobby Lobby and we will fight for it. We will fight for it!"
[Grumpa says: We know that a corporation cannot exist if it were not for people, that corporations indeed reflect the personal beliefs of those people; we believe that it is sad that a law had to be adjudicated to protect the right of personal believe, and that any government official seeking to overturn any confirmation of any person's right to freely believe as they will has a tyrant's mentality and should not be considered for elected public office. We believe that women have a right to their bodies, and that they have the natural responsibility to protect themselves and, if pregnant, to defend their unborn children against any thing or ideology seeking to bring harm to that unborn child.]

And the main tenet of conservatives' philosophy, according to Warren? "I got mine. The rest of you are on your own."
[Grumpa says: I'm still working to get mine (it's called "pursuit of happiness"), and government policies should not prevent anyone from pursuing their own happiness.]