The strip is not about liberty as a concept, but the Statue of Liberty herself. She underwent restoration from 1984-1986, and as Binkley says, there was a lot of Lady Liberty merchandise being pedaled at the time in honor, or commemoration…or just plain old exploitative greed. :)
The sad thing, of course, is that this is the truth of what happens to most of our physical e-waste that gets thrown out or is supposedly being recycled by unscrupulous companies.
Some of these neocons crack me up—they can’t see any good in things like this, like that it will save money on their electric bill, if tree-huggin’ libruls like it because it’s good for the environment! I hear some of these same people talk about how much they like fresh air and the beautiful groves of trees near their homes…just what exactly do you think the environment is, people? Total cognitive dissonance.
I have a naive friend who sadly believed all this bulb hoo-ha. She not only believed that everyone was going to be forced to buy flourescents, but that she would’ve had to replace every light fixture in her house to be able to use them. sigh I told her that the law actually only requires incandescents to be more efficient. She was so relieved it was embarassing.
Speaking of humorous and dissonant, you’ll find a lot more liberals in the cities, and more conservatives in those upscale suburbs of which you speak, Lewreader. At least here in the real world.
@doughfoot “I don’t get it. Kids aren’t let in to R-rated movies, and sometimes those ratings are only for violent content.”
But it’s disgusting how often you see young kids sitting in the theater with their parents at R movies, and how often I’ve heard mothers say even about PG-13 that they didn’t know there’d be “that” in the movie and they’re all indignant. (and sadly yes I’ve heard it more about sexual themes than violent ones.) So, um, maybe do some research before you take your kid to see it?
As for games, I know a lot of parents complain they didn’t know or don’t understand about the ratings. Again, people—educate yourselves and find out! Likewise, I think some people don’t even pay attention (or care?). It’s just, my kid wants this for a birthday or holiday gift, and so they get it for them.
“It is the individual’s job to show compassion to his fellow man.” Yeah, and that works out so well, doesn’t it? Because people like you think it’s up to every OTHER individual but themselves to be the compassionate ones. The Salvation Army and Catholic Charities, just to name 2, would be hard pressed to serve all their clients without government grants. We could get into the separation of church and state argument here, but these agencies are not allowed to preach to those they assist and must help everyone without questioning their faith—or at least that is how they operate in my area—and their services are more necessary to more people than ever.
The strip is not about liberty as a concept, but the Statue of Liberty herself. She underwent restoration from 1984-1986, and as Binkley says, there was a lot of Lady Liberty merchandise being pedaled at the time in honor, or commemoration…or just plain old exploitative greed. :)