Relax, Sarah Palin just solved California's drought crisis

How interesting, that China is importing alfalfa from California to feed their dairy cows, when the majority of feed for our cows, and especially our beef cattle, is the much-worse-for-them soy and corn.

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I’d join your study group since my sole criteria is “is there beer?”.

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Yes. The answer is YES.

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cali’s neighbor to the north has snowpack, but this year it was 11% of average!

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GAAAAAH!!!

It has also been 100f for a week, and isn’t getting much better. I am going to seriously have to start collecting rainwater.

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i hear rain barrels, especially for gardening, work great. ( now, if it only it would rain… )

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A lot of conservatives spend a lot of time outdoors, and there is a reason that “conservative” and “conservation” share a root.

The conservative narrative is that environmentalists are really communists in disguise who are using environmental arguments as a cover for their economic agenda. Conservatives value the natural world, but fail to see the tension between that and their big business boosterism.

I suspect this is because conservatives don’t really believe big business is so great, but because professing that belief drives liberals crazy, and conservatives love to drive liberals crazy.

Note how consilient this theory is with @timquinn’s theory about pre-consciousness and political speech.

Also a ton of great reasons why they are totally different words. Politics and politeness share a root too. In can’t say I find the semantics enlighening in this case.

I also believe you’ve misunderstood me - I was saying that conservatives that don’t go outside are doing the blaming referred to by @macunningham - and not all conservatives regardless of their outdoor loving feelings say such things, as you have inferred/understood.

My brush was not so broad, but I can see where I may have miscommunicated.

I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree about this. I think the etymologies “conservative vs. conservation” to be well-worth considering in thinking about these problems, and I think despite your intentions, “politics vs. politeness” is another very fruitful comparison.

I don’t know that my response really contradicts this. I can certainly acknowledge that a lot of conservatives that don’t value nature will blame environmentalists for whatever. I think my response just contributed a perfectly compatible explanation for why conservatives who do value nature could still be anti-environmentalist.

I think my comment must have come across as more adversarial than intended, as I was more agreeing with or expanding on what you said than disagreeing with it.

I see the root. What does that -mean-? I don’t agree it gives someone wearing a big C on their jacket a better voice on the matters. And I’ve not met many republicans who admire sarah palin for her brilliant mind, while out doing fieldwork in wild areas.

Yes, you do think it is another fruitful comparison, and you have been extreeeeemly polite. Be well.

Back when “conservative” meant conservative, sure. But the word as used in the political context now means the opposite. It’s like when “bad” meant “good” a few decades ago.

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That the concept of “conservation” is likely compatible with the value system of a “conservative”, and that therefore the clash of values between “conservatives” and “conservationists” probably come down to something other than the environment.

I doubt many conservatives admire Sarah Palin for her brilliant mind in the first place, as much as the fact that she’s a regular person and thus (to their minds) more trustworthy and has more common sense than a “beltway insider”. Most of the conservatives I know are big on the outdoors and mildly anti-intellectual in the “I know what’s right for my family better than some egghead in Washington” way.

It doesn’t quite mean the opposite, I don’t think, but you’re right that what we call conservatives don’t consistently advocate for existing systems that seem to work mostly all right.

I think the “bad” comparison isn’t very good, because I think “bad” was meant similarly to how marketers use the term “decadent”. That is, “bad” in regards to an external value system that the listener is meant to understand they should not be taking entirely seriously in the first place.

The fact that she, Sarah Palin, is a regular person. Well said.

Sorry, should have put “in their minds” qualifier on that one, too.

Dude, I’m a yankee. I probably have pretty much the same opinion of Sarah Palin you do. I’m just making the effort to understand other points of view.

If liberals and conservatives ever find common ground on conservation it will likely be by appealing to the “I want things to be exactly the same way they were back in my grandpappy’s time” part of the GOP mindset. After all, the reason we have the National Parks system is because Republican Teddy Roosevelt got all teary-eyed at the idea that his descendants might not have a chance to enjoy any of America’s unspoiled wilderness. (Even if his idea of enjoying that wilderness frequently involved shooting it.)

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That is a much clearer way of saying what I was trying to say, thanks!

But at the time, neither Roosevelt nor the Republican party were considered conservative. In fact, they were considered progressive.

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Fair enough, consider me a skeptic rather than an opponent, no offense intended. I agree there is a certain amount of “I could be Vice President too” personal identification there which is probably a lot of the rest of her base. My experience of her base, and this is my personal experience as experienced with conservative folks who work in and love nature, was mostly that she was ‘‘hot’’ and also pissed off yankees. I’m not sure any conservative can really defend her actual record of environmental conservation. I have to agree that the ability for any of us to achieve her level of success is something that people who one “can fool most of the time” might also identify with her for. Thank you for clarifying, and don’t stare too long into the abyss that is Sarah Palin™. :wink:

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well, she plays a “regular person” out in public. according to google her net worth is $12M which is most certainly not a “regular” american by any stretch of the imagination.

Some people think “liberals” are against freedom…

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