Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) took to Twitter last night to share a curious perspective.
We should, at the outlet, probably put aside the theology behind this. Perhaps Walker believes there was a literal Noah who, along with his wife and kids, built a 300-cubit boat that housed two of every land animal on the planet (including, according to young-earth creationists, dinosaurs). Or perhaps he doesn't really believe this. I don't care.
What I do care about is the underlying governmental vision. To hear the Republican governor put it, Noah's ark "might have never been built" if the antediluvian patriarch had relied on "help from the government." And why is that? I suspect some Forest Service officials would have come in pretty handy. The CDC probably could have helped Noah and his family with some worthwhile vaccinations. Maybe FEMA could have helped give Noah some additional time to get the job done. I imagine the Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would have been (ahem) a Godsend.
What rankles, of course, is this notion "the government" is simply incapable of "helping" anyone do anything. I'd encourage Walker to consider the businesses that got off the ground because of loans from the Small Business Administration. Or the American enterprises that thrived after receiving tax incentives or relied on government creations like the Internet.
Or more to the point, perhaps Walker might take a look at the government subsidies that helped Mitt Romney get rich at Bain Capital.
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or the government bailout of the olympic games he was "running" while he was "not" at bain capital?
I didn't know about the olympic bailout. Was Mitt involved in obtaining it? He holds himself out as the hero who saved the olympic games, but if he depended on government funding, everyone should be made aware of it.
The irony is, that if he spent a lot of time and energy getting government funding, it might support his claim that he wasn't at Bain, but it would show how much he relied on help from the federal govt. that he wants to deactivate. Then again, he might retroactively withdraw his efforts.
But... Noah had the help of Aliens. (Giorgio A Tsoukalos said it so it must be true)
This is one of those things where you're forced to realize what we and the country are up against.
Maybe it would be useful to set aside some moments in the day and call it "Weep for America" time. This is where you contemplate how the magnitude of the stupidity of the right in this country relates to the utterly unimaginable vastness of the universe, and how insignificant you are in the face of it. At a certain point how can you not weep?
I'd say in certain ways in that story, Noah was the Government.
see, so government got in the way, so there!
It never was built.
I have a question off topic here:
Does anyone know if Romney, a practicing Mormon, has partaken of the Endowment Ceremony (where he is bestowed the “magic underwear”)? Sounds a little strange to me, but...
The Romneys were married in the SLC temple. The both would have to have received their 'endowment' prior to that ceremony.
I'm confused. These people don't use highways and roads? They don't use tap water? They don't breathe clean air? They don't know anybody who was educated in a public school? They've never flown in an airplane? They don't use the internet or satellite technology? They've never been to a public park?
It's truly bizarre to hear people say that the government doesn't help them. The level of denial is off the charts.
Not to mention historical ignorance. Walker apparently has never heard of the Transcontinental Railroad Acts. Or of the Morrill Acts. Or of Lewis and Clark, or John C. Fremont. And then there's this Internet thing we're all using. Such incredible dunces, wingers are.
Let's not forget that God COMMANDED Noah to build the ark. Old Noah might have had another bottle of wine or 2 if not.
A slightly different perspective...since Walker is an agent of the government, wouldn't this be translated to, "I'm Scott Walker - I'm useless"?
- PonB
Pretty much what I was thinking - if Scott Walker had been in charge of the government of Israel, he would have made sure it got in the way and stopped the Ark being built, probably by firing the government workers building the cradle the Ark was constructed in (infrastructure after all!)
In Scott Walker's government, Noah would have been told "No, we don't have any money to help you build the ark, there isn't any flood coming anyway, and if there is, the animals that can swim are the only ones we need."
A governor with no faith in government? Governor Walker is a fool to advertise that.
He is a fool, but not because he admits his uselessness. Right-wingers can hold on to contradictory thoughts because they don't ever evaluate ideas except singly, in isolation from each other. Walker knows perfectly well that his base can hear him say "Government is worthless" and "Put me in charge of the government" without batting an eye.
"I'd encourage Walker to consider the businesses that got off the ground because of loans from the Small Business Administration. Or the American enterprises that thrived after receiving tax incentives or relied on government creations like the Internet."
And don't forget the many businesses that rely on government contracts for their bottom lines. In Arizona alone, it's predicted there will be a loss of almost 50,000 jobs if the cuts to the defense budget are allowed to happen. And that's only in the defense industry. No one likes to talk about this part of it, however, especially not the ultra conservatives. After all, government can't create jobs, correct?
http://tinyurl.com/7h98t9z
Article from the Tucson Citizen re the predicted job losses.
I think what Walker meant was the that his Republican counterparts of the day would not have believed in climate change, therefore they would have filibustered any attempt at ark building (cutting edge technology of the day), so he's probably right. The ark would not have been built if help from the government was needed.
Imagine this. The US government authorized and oversaw production of the most advanced shipbuilding program in the history of the world, begining in WWII. This effort continues today, Nuclear powered submarines, Aircraft carriers and the list goes on. These are manafactured primarily in the United States, primarily to defend the United States and our allies. The United States government, though imperfect, knows how to get things built, more often on time supplying good jobs to well trained and skilled workers via private manufacturers and GOVERNMENT oversight. Scott Walker is many things, among them should be a sense of shame for what he often thinks, says and does.
I guess we still are asking the question, "Will your life be better with your neaghbors helping you or working against you?"
Two things here:
1) Businesses helped by tax incentives is like saying you got better when the mean man quit hitting you.
2) The Internet was not "created" for business. You make it sound like this was the idea the government had in place when it was "invented". It was the business community that made the Internet a commercial viable idea, not government. "Boy, wasn't that a smart government to go to the trouble to invent the Internet so new businesses could be created and grow." This was not the case.
While you're right, the government didn't make the Internet with the idea that business would be able to exploit it, if government hadn't created the Internet in the first place, business wouldn't have had the opportunity presented to them.
And, let's face it, the tax incentives (subsidies, whatever) we give to business does help a lot of them to thrive... just look at the oil industry. I would love to be the mean man hitting them.
The government didn't create the interstate highway system, electrify much of rural America, build our great dams, or establish the space program with a commercial end goal, either. None of those things would have happened had it been left to private industry, because the scope would have been too big and the payoff period too long for any business to make the investment.
But businesses have certainly used all of those programs for commercial benefit. More power to them (literally in several of those cases). But they owe at least part of their success to government. That's why they should be paying fair levels of taxes, and why it's ridiculous for people to claim that they did it all on their own.
And that's the singular point Obama was making.
Yes great analogy Gov. Walker. I can hear Obama now, "You didn't build that!"
The impediments to the construction:
Zoing Laws, Builders permits, animal violations, PETA objecting, Pam Anderson and other PETA folks naked on Noah's front lawn and in the NY Times, Yes the NY Times vilifying him, ACLU condeming him and his family, family services and DSS taking his kids away or doing an overview, MSNBC ridiculing him for his crazy right wing wingnut, tin foil headed, religious nut case views. Until the rain came ........and he was singing "A long time ago while the earth was new" blasting the Irish Rovers Unicorn song on his Ark Stereo! hahahahahahahaha
Great job Scott Walker!
OK . . . let's remove the impediments:
No zoning laws - so it's OK with you if someone builds a gas station next to your house?
No builders permits - no guarantee that your house won't fall down around your ears in a couple of weeks.
Animal violations - OK with you if your neighbor opens a petting zoo in his back yard?
PETA objecting, Pam Anderson and other PETA folks naked on the front lawn, NY Times - OK, I agree with you about those.
ACLU - more likely to defend Noah, since he's doing it for religious reasons.
Family services, DSS - Don't know why they'd get involved unless he's mistreating his kids. And then they should get involved - don't you agree?
MSNBC - Fox wouldn't treat him any better since he wasn't a Christian (Christ hadn't been born yet). In fact, the only way they would support Noah is if Obama did not.
damskippy
I am only joking about the whole thing of course. But I do get Walker's point. That obsticles that would naturally become issues right from the onset. How hard it would to get by time frames and work logistics as concern the many hurdles we in oour day have to overcome. Of Noah's time natuarally predates any of the devices I am talking of. By naming things like zoning, building permits and such doesn't mean I disagree with their usefullness of necessity. Not at all I don't object to that. Just imagining being initially denied a permit or needing to seek out the OK from a local Board of Selectman to get past zoning issues. That sort of thing.
Although I don't care a heck of a lot for PETA I can't say I'd object to seeing or catching a view of Pam Anderson naked on my front lawn. Ya know, out the bay window in the living rm. My kinda Bay Watch. But the NY Times is the NY Times, maybe I'd ok the sports section. No editorials please. PETA, They might however seek a lawsuit against Noah for maltreatment towards Unicorns.
ACLU may say it's opposed to Noah on the grounds or seperation of church & state. Or creatiing a religious institutional symbol which neighbors and Genesis said they did, complain.
Family Services because the kids had to clean the stalls every day til the Ark was completed. Child Labor laws. Ooops, never mind here comes Trumpka! Saved by the Unions & Organized Labor.
Fox seems to believe in a Judeo Christian concept. Think that "drowns" your argument hahahahaha
On a serious note I think what Walker was trying to say is that President Obama would be givng his now famous "You didn't build that" speech. And that one person, given all the same tools as anyone else, sometimes that one person does the exceptional. A stand alone concept that no one else would dare to try.
I like the Noah concept. I think it's a neat analogy.
Let's face it, if Noah needed government to assist he wouldn't get the ark built. But not for any of those reasons or in today's political climate. The right would never believe the science telling them the earth was going to flood. It would just be a 'theory'. So, therefore, no funding from said ark from the government.
It's like the movie 2012. If that situation actually was to occur, we'd still be arguing about the 'theory' and dead before we even got to the point about arguing because the dang arks were going to be built in China. Heaven forbid! IMHO, based upon today's GOP, the China theory was more farfetched than the tectonic plate swap.
I don't know. I'd light heartedly disagree. The flood was not a science. It was a revelation. I think the republicans would whole heartedly finance any funding. They are after all depicted as the "Religious Right". But no, this was not a scientific disclosure. This was not global warming, this was God's personal warning to Noah.
More to the point of the Walker analogy, it was one man's project to fulfill a commanded dream by God to try in this day & age to build an ark. And it all stems from the Presidents "You didn't build that" "You got some help along the way." Maybe so Mr President but like so many others today, Noah's help along the way was more of a divine hand being extended, not manmade. Noah lived on the same earth given all the same helps and aids and creations of commerce (in relative form for the time) but he and he alone built the ark. And after all was said and done, You wouldn't be on it Mr President when the rains did begin to fall and the ark was taken up by the waters.
Satire would picture Obama up to his chin in waters at the crest of the Washington Monument yelling at Noah as the waters led it further and further out of sight,.........."You, you didn't build that!" "Gulp"
What it is is a goofy story.
Well, well people can't be bothered to read the whole quote.
So easy to just nod and pass along the campaign ads, as they are always exactly factual. not
I could cut and paste Ronald Reagan himself saying he likes taxes and hates puppies.
In other countries, governments provide extensive R&D funding and other support that helps private businesses get off the ground and gain competitive advantage. They game the system and distort the market as a kind of business nationalism. So I would ask Scott Walker this: If China is giving its startups advantages through government support, why can't we? If India is subsidizing the capital budgets of private enterprises that originate in Hyderabad, why can't our government help an enterpreneur with a great business idea who needs an SBA loan in Peoria? If we always let businesses rise and fall purely on their own, denying them the resources, innovation, and risk-management assistance they could otherwise access if they needed to, there won't be any American companies left creating American jobs -- other nations that tilt the playing field to their advantage through government backing will see to that.
This f-wit is on the gov't payroll being paid by gov't collected, taxpayer provided dollars. Every pay check that this sh!thead draws is an egregious waste of gov't resources.
Imagine if Noah (and "the ark) actually never existed and that the tale was borrowed over and over again; that is the real non-starter here.
How is it that Noah isn't listed in the many Jhesus geneologies?
Noah after the waters disappear, I am the 100% Tax This!
Occupy Earth Noah Style hahahahahahahahaha
Here are just a few well-known companies that started with SBA loans: Constant Contact, Qualcomm, Symantec, Columbia Sportswear, Dogfish Head Brewery. Ask them if their SBA loans helped them grow their businesses.
This comes from the SBA 100 - 100 companies that have created at least 100 jobs (and in many cases far more) since receiving an SBA loan. http://www.sba.gov/sba-100
Per the story, the Ark saved humanity from extinction. Walker claims government wouldn't do so. As it turns out, he has it exactly backwards: my alma mater, a public land grant university, houses the national asteroid deflection project, dedicated to research on how to identify, track, prepare for, and if (when) needed, provide warning and deflect an asteroid to avoid an extinction or partial extinction event. This is being done by government. because the private sector won't: there is no money to be made in the market until it is too late to start the project (and then they'd find a way to supply it in a way that only wealthy, mainly white, families would be protected.)
so in fact, government is as we speak building an ark. is it too much to ask Walker to show a little gratitude?
Walker is correct. With the teapubs in office, not only would it not get built because of a filibuster, they would be demanding control of what animals be brought into the ark or they would not allow any tax money to be used to build it unless the rich get tax breaks and the middle-class get shafted with more taxes again.
Scooter is trying to get ahead of the 'evil' government officials leading him off in handcuffs. If his is not arrested by election day I will be very surprised.
Scott Walker IS John Doe
From Governor Walker's official website:
Governor Walker Requests Additional Disaster Assessments for Northern Wisconsin