A Father Daughter Talk (reposted from anonymous)

Lifted from a forwarded email sent by a friend:

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be very liberal, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch conservative, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs.

The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing?"

She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over."

Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, "That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!"

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the conservative side of the fence."

If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his
situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.
(Unless it's a foreign religion, of course!)

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a
good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended."

US cuts aid to Honduras

Well now... the U.S. government, which as we all know is so interested in preserving constitutional government that it's trying to get HR 3200 passed so we can all have the right to have all our medical records read and reviewed by Uncle Sam, has decided to extend its defense of constitutional government to other countries, starting with Honduras, which had the nerve to impeach Pres. Manuel Zelaya for 1. trying to run a private election to extend his own term, 2. running illegal drugs through his country, and 3. helping himself to the national treasury, 4. accepting undue influence from a foreign head of state, among other things.... and toss him out of the country... letting him fly out on the same foreign head of state's military aircraft, rather than conduct it properly, by imprisoning him and giving the leftist rabble in Tegucigalpa a reason to riot in the streets.

Because, you know, any democratic government is all about minding everybody else's business... whether it be Honduras's business... or yours.

Update:  Watch the series of AP photos about Manuel Zelaya and the demonstrations in Honduras.  Tell me you're looking at people protesting a military coup when the military is nowhere in sight, the demonstrators are the ones perpetrating all the violence (albeit bloodless stuff like eggs and water balloons), and the AP/AFP/Reuters series that Yahoo posted conveniently leaves out pictures, if they even took any, of Micheletti's supporters while parroting the captions on all the posters calling for Zelaya's return and for cancelling the regularly scheduled November 29 elections!!!  Who's on the side of democracy again??  Are the Associated Press, Reuters, and  Agence France-Presse a little leftist here??

On the About AFP web page, its mission statement saith:  

"Article 2

"Agence France-Presse may not under any circumstances take account of influences or considerations that would compromise the accuracy or objectivity of the news; it must not under any circumstances pass under legal or de facto control of an ideological, political or economic group.”

How well is AFP fulfilling their mission?  Are the pictures evidence of either accuracy or objectivity when they protray only one side, favoring Mel Zelaya's return and water and egg throwing protesters who are literally egging a constitutional republican government into CANCELLING elections??  Or is Agence France-Presse actually under control of leftist agents with political motivations?  How about Reuters?

Everything we do as Reuters journalists has to be independent, free from bias and executed with the utmost integrity. These are our core values and stem from the Reuters Trust Principles. As a real-time, competitive news service whose reputation rests on reliability, we also value accuracy, speed and exclusivity. The way in which we, as Reuters employees, live these values is governed by the Reuters Code of Conduct. That code, with a few notable exceptions that apply specifically to journalists, governs the behaviour of all Reuters employees and is essential reading. As journalists, however, we have additional responsibilities if we are to fulfil the highest aspirations of our profession – to search for and report the truth, fairly, honestly and unfailingly.

Mmm hmm.  I would say the way the Honduras photo series was shot, portrayed and captioned violates Reuters Code of Conduct, but that probably doesn't faze its reporters either.  What about the Associated Press?  Everybody trusts the AP... the good ole AP.

It says, 

"...we insist on the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior when we gather and deliver the news... we avoid behavior or activities that create a conflict of interest and compromise our ability to report the news fairly and accurately, uninfluenced by any person or action.. we must be fair. Whenever we portray someone in a negative light, we must make a real effort to obtain a response from that person. When mistakes are made, they must be corrected – fully, quickly and ungrudgingly...it is the responsibility of every one of us to ensure that these standards are upheld. Any time a question is raised about any aspect of our work, it should be taken seriously."

Oh really?  Where was the "real effort to obtain" responses from Roberto Micheletti, the Liberal Party, or the supporters of the interim government in Yahoo's photo series about the Honduras affair??