<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rss xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" version="2.0"><channel><title>my so-called liberal thoughts Articles - Brought to you by JoeUser</title><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/rss/articles</link><copyright>© 2006 - 2008 Stardock Corporation. All rights reserved.</copyright><description /><language>en-us</language><pubDate>2008-07-21T00:03:02</pubDate><lastBuildDate>2008-07-21T00:03:02</lastBuildDate><docs>http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html</docs><generator>Stardock Rss Generator v1.0, Andrew Powell</generator><managingEditor>info@stardock.com</managingEditor><webMaster>apowell@stardock.com</webMaster><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/318401</comments><description><![CDATA[So now restaurants in New York have to post the calorie counts of the food they're selling. As of friday, if they don't post these counts, they face a $&nbsp;2,000.0 fine. While many folks cry foul on the part of the evil government interfering with private business, I personally think this is absolutely wonderful!<br/><br/>Why? Because as a consumer, you should have the RIGHT to know what you're getting, especially when you're consuming it. Food isn't some consumer bauble that you buy for kicks, you ...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/318401</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/318401</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>A Step in the Right Direction!</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/318037</comments><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;<br/><br/>Capitalism only works when society&nbsp;keeps it in check through government. The truth of this statement is illustrated by&nbsp;the pandemonium we see unfolding in the market today. This chaos is thanks&nbsp;to decades of deregulation which&nbsp;has allowed a&nbsp;small number&nbsp;of rich folks to get richer while the majority of society has suffered. It has allowed corporations and businesses to operate without impartial oversight thanks to the 'honor system' belief that they would ...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/318037</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/318037</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>The Failure of Capitalism!</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/316846</comments><description><![CDATA[Chrysler's closing another auto plant. This time, the St. Louis South Plant which makes minivans is shutting down for good. In the fall, the St. Louis North Plant which makes pickup trucks is cutting back from 2 shifts to 1.&nbsp;As I've droned on about before, this is not a unique situation. All of the big autos are going through a major downturn and it's not going to get any better with the cost of gas. The recent announcement from Chrysler will cut about 2400 jobs.<br/><br/>Plants in Ohio and Delaw...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/316846</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/316846</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>More Auto Plant Closures</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/316439</comments><description><![CDATA[GM is hurting big time. Today their stock fell to a 53 year low.&nbsp;Ford aint doing so great either. In fact, just about all American companies that produce products heavily dependent on oil and gas are hurting big time. American Airlines is laying off thousands of workers and hiking prices for all checked luggage to try and offset fuel costs. Dow Chemical (which makes a gazillion products, many of which are or come from petroleum dependent processes) has already upped all of their prices acro...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/316439</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/316439</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>GM Stock Hits 53 Year Low</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/316328</comments><description><![CDATA[We had the dot.com bubble. It burst. Then we had the real estate bubble. It too has run it's course and is painfully, slowly bursting (it's not done yet folks!) We also have the homeland security bubble, in which previously obscure and tiny companies have become giants raking in billions of your tax dollars to protect you from hordes of terr'ists (and collect data on what websites you visit and phone calls you make, all the while other government programs like food stamps get cut!) But since the...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/316328</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/316328</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>Bubble to Bubble!</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/316206</comments><description><![CDATA[It looks like Dr. James Dobson is at it again.&nbsp;He is saying that Obama has a distorted view of the bible and a 'fruitcake' view of the constitution. First off you should know&nbsp;this article is not defending/attacking or advocating Obama in any way. In all truth, Dobson could have said the exact same thing about McCain, or the green party candidate, or GWB and I'd be just as incensed. My problem lies not with who the target of the day may be, but with the system that has been created that...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/316206</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/316206</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>Separation of Church and State!</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/314262</comments><description><![CDATA[Here&nbsp;is an excellent book just released that I would urge everyone to read. Chris Hedges has been a foreign correspondent since the early 80's, covering conflicts from Latin America to the Middleast to the Balkans. His earlier&nbsp;book&nbsp;"War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning" was one of the pivotal works that changed much of my opinion on foreign policy and our place in the world. I would also recommend this book as well!<br/><br/>~From http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/15033&nbsp;~<br/><br/>Coll...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/314262</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/314262</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>Collateral Damage: What it Means to go to War</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/312299</comments><description><![CDATA[Several years ago when I was in school I worked a part time job in security&nbsp;at a big high-rise building. It was during my time spent working there and&nbsp;in the&nbsp;general downtown area of a big city, that I&nbsp;observed the effects&nbsp;that wealth&nbsp;and power have on most people. Now as a disclaimer, wealth doesn't automatically turn people into jerks. I met lots of very well off folks who were the nicest people you'd ever meet. But by and large, there was a culture of superiority...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/312299</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/312299</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>The Effects of Wealth and Power</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/311870</comments><description><![CDATA[Yesterday I had a big&nbsp;serving of humble pie and&nbsp;revealed to much of&nbsp;the local running community&nbsp;just how much&nbsp;of a jerk I really am.&nbsp;Some of the businesses&nbsp;in town&nbsp;ran a mother's day cure for cancer race (entry fee plus money raised all goes to cancer research) so I figured I'd do it because I love to run, good cause and all that. I'm really not a competitive person.... I run just because I truly love it and 99% of the time I'm the nicest guy you'll meet o...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/311870</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/311870</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>I am a Jerk</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/311496</comments><description><![CDATA[This last week, one of my good friends and co-workers had a brush with his own mortality and thankfully it looks like he's gonna be okay. From here on out though, his life is going to be drastically different. For the sake of this article, we'll say this fellow's name is Jack. First though, a disclaimer-<br/><br/>I love junk food. I love wolfing down a greaseball double-bacon cheeseburger and fries then topping it off with some ice-cream or&nbsp;deep-fried cheesecake.&nbsp;On certain occasions when I'...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/311496</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/311496</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>Junk Food Will Kill You</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/311164</comments><description><![CDATA[A&nbsp;time of great change is upon us. In the last few weeks there were riots in the streets&nbsp;of Egypt, Somalia, Haiti, Morocco, Madagascar, Thailand and Mauritania. And this is just the beginning. Here in Canada, Filipinos are buying up rice and shipping it back home to the Philippinnes, another country that may soon see rioting.<br/><br/>The people in these nations&nbsp;were&nbsp;not rioting over politics or ideology. They&nbsp;were not rioting because of religion or human rights abuses by thei...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/311164</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/311164</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>Global Food Riots</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/310657</comments><description><![CDATA[Many folks like to harp against the evils of big government and how all it does is create a stumbling block for industrious private business with endless reams of red tape, taxes and laws.&nbsp;In some regards, these complaints are entirely valid. But government organizations play a crucial role in our society. They exist to ensure the protection and best interest of the public, both physically and financially.<br/><br/>This necessity exists for a simple reason- someone's gotta be the traffic cop and ...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/310657</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/310657</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>Government Regulation is Necessary</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/310249</comments><description><![CDATA[There is indeed no oil shortage, nor is there a food shortage.&nbsp;Global&nbsp;demand for both food and energy&nbsp;has been regularly outpaced by the&nbsp;supply but prices on both commodities have skyrocketed.&nbsp;Despite political rhetoric about needing to produce more oil and build more refineries domestically, that will not change the price, nor will any refineries come online anytime soon. All of those "solutions" will take years and cost a lot of money. Besides, here in Canada we're reg...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/310249</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/310249</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>There is No Oil Shortage</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/308403</comments><description><![CDATA[Excerpt from an article on the current state of the Union-<br/><br/>http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/14046<br/><br/>&ldquo;By virtually any measure, the United States is the least progressive nation in the developed world. It trails most of Western Europe in poverty rates, life expectancy, health care, child care, infant mortality, maternity leaves, paid vacations, public infrastructure, incarceration rates, and environmental laws. The wealth gap in the US has not been so wide since 1929. The Wal-Mart fo...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/308403</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/308403</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>Couldn't Have Said it Better Myself</title></item><item><author>Artysim</author><comments>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/307394</comments><description><![CDATA[Is the Surge really working?<br/><br/>Although I am an unabashed liberal, I would like to ask the fine folks here to consider this article without political bias. I could care less whether a republican or democratic president was responsible for giving the order to go into Iraq. History does have a habit of repeating itself- so with that in mind I'm going to go ahead and ask if the surge is really working, considering previous occupations and how they ended... first, a little history.<br/><br/>Back in janua...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/307394</guid><link>http://artysim.joeuser.com/article/307394</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:03 -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2008-07-21T00:03:03</pubDateParsed><title>When Will Iraq's Tet Offensive Begin?</title></item></channel></rss>