Stats and other strangeness

"Statistics is like a Bikini. What it reveals is tantalizing, what it
conceals is essential." - Friend of mine

Conservative: Someone who generally has enough money for beer (sometimes from
hard work, sometimes from inherited money, sometimes from an exploitive
source) and who really hopes he'll be able to buy beer before the government
takes it away from him. He doesn't like others being given beer money, but
won't turn away a proferred pint. And his major skillset is complaint.

Liberal: Someone who may have enough money for beer (from hard work, sometimes
inherited money, sometimes government program) and who really hopes he'll be
able to buy beer for himself and all his buddies so he doesn't have to go
protest for more. He doesn't mind sharing his beer money, since most of the
time he didn't have to earn it, and besides, one good pint deserves another.
He won't turn down a free pint. And his major skillset is complaining.

<chuckle!>

I find it endlessly humorous that, once-upon-a-time, being liberal meant
being open minded, fair, willing to listen to both sides of a story, free
thinking, inventive, revolutionary, etc. and being conservative
meant being closed minded, hidebound, set-in-your-ways, unwilling to try
something new and now they've grown to mean (respectively) being a
soft-hearted, care-about-your-fellow-man, can't-balance-a-checkbook
tax-n-spend policy and a supposedly-reasonable, often-isolationist,
I'm-just-fine-so-fix-yer-own-problems-bub, fiscally responsible policy.
It is quite fascinating to see how at one point, I'd have wanted to be called
a liberal (someone forward thinking, fair, educated in many
things) and how nowadays I'd be just as happy to be a middle-of-the-road
don't-want-to-be-called-either person.

Attempt at OnTopicness: It'd be interesting to see what kinds of changes the
GZGverse has brought to these definitions and which new ones have
been added. I assume their are descriptors (political/social) for
    - Martians
    - Belters
    - Megacorps
    - The block powers
    - People who think Terrans should abandon space
    - People who think Earth should rule all of space
    - People who think Earth should take a flying leap

Star travel would presumably remake many of the political definitions -
as a star traveller or a colonist off earth might have less in common
with the NAC government from Earth than someone in another on-Earth
block. Politics have divided (officially) along block lines, but it seems
likely many internal divisions exist, and that Earth is the seat
of old-money, old-power, and old-thought. Probably the colonies (many
times) perceive themselves as having left a stagnant/reactionary Earth.
And Earth no doubt percieves many of the independent colonies as upstarts
without any sense of gratitude for how Earth gave them their
start and for the wisdom of thousands of years of know-how in
administering national entities.

And with corporations larger than countries, that would have to have a huge
impact on how politics was played.

It makes for interesting speculation.

Tom.

> Thomas Barclay of the Clan Barclay wrote:

> "Statistics is like a Bikini. What it reveals is tantalizing, what it

Who was it that said if you are a conservative at twenty you have no heart,
but if you are a liberal at forty you have no brain?

> Attempt at OnTopicness: It'd be interesting to see what kinds of

These would be your green party types? i.e. "Lets not screw up all these other
planets?"

> - People who think Earth should rule all of space

> - People who think Earth should take a flying leap

i.e Branch Davidian types. Especially the ones that can afford or contrive he
wherewith all to move on to one planet and practice their various pograms,
opps I mean programs unobserved. Those'll be the scariest planets...

> And with corporations larger than countries, that would have to have a

Sure, since the old haves vs have nots will porbbaly remain the first rule of
class.

> Los wrote:

> Who was it that said if you are a conservative at twenty you have no

I believe that it was Sir Winston Churchill.

Bye for now,

> Los wrote:

> Who was it that said if you are a conservative at twenty you have no

There's a quote from some frenchman, whose name eludes me, that goes something
like this: He who is not a communist at twenty lacks heart, he who still is at
forty lacks brain.

Post-McCarthy americans would of course substitute "communist" with
"liberal"
;-)

> In message <38D3F2F9.A175B3A2@pp.sbbs.se> Henrix writes:

I've always heard this one as "...Marxist...". The implication is that young
people are more radical, more ideological and more naive in the cause of
social justice.