Ken

THERE ARE MANY differences between liberals and conservatives, but I think the most striking lies in their respective definitions of freedom.

I've posted on this topic before, tracing the distinction through various issues, but the bottom line is something like this:

• Liberals view freedom as the ability of the individual to live her or his life the way he or she chooses, without coercion from others, and without infringing on the right of others to do the same.
• Conservatives view freedom as the ability of individuals or groups to coerce others without government interference.

Think about it.

Liberals think gays should be allowed to serve their country, marry, work, and live like any other citizen—conservatives think homophobes ought to be free to limit each of those freedoms for gays.

YEARS AGO, WHEN I was still a devout Christian, earning a degree in theology at a local seminary, I had a rather unpleasant exchange with an atheist.

It's just one more attempt to divide America by dividing Americans.

We had known his fiancé a long time, and when she announced her engagement we had invited them to dinner.

He arrived first.

I brought him into our living room, and began the sort of small talk strangers make on first meeting.

I asked what he did for a living, he told me, and we chatted about that for awhile.

Then he asked the same of me, and I told him about my business, and mentioned that I was also...

"...working on a degree in theology."

He huffed a little, then said, "I think that stuff is all bullshit."

THIS IS THE FINAL post in a series on fixing the deficit and getting us out of this Republican recession.

You are going to be told a lot of lies before all this is over.

You are going to be told that the deficit is so big that it can't be cured by tax cuts alone.

You are going to be told that the middle class has to take the hit, because that's the only way out.

It's all nonsense.

There was a time, not so long ago, when America was America and the American Dream was still alive for everyone.

A time when any student who was willing to put in the work could afford a good education.

A time when a hard-working family could count on the future getting better.

A time when our corporations and products were a standard of excellence worldwide.

That world did not sink under it's own weight.

I PROMISE TO SHUT UP for a while about taxes, after next Monday's post, which will complete the series on how to eliminate the deficit.

There are other important issues in the world—Christmas, spirituality, Wikileaks, how we think about morality, etc.

But the tax issue is important—more important than most Americans realize.

So today, just before finishing up that series, I'm taking the time to make clear what the Republicans, with an assist from the President, just did to the deficit, the economy, and the American Dream.

I'll use a little help from the New York Times.

If you click [here], you will see the budget choices I outlined in the first post in the series, and have been explaining ever since.

THIS IS GOING TO BE a short post.

The House is going to consider the "best deal we could get" today, and I just want to ask why the best deal we could get is the one the Republicans wanted?

It's time that the "best deal we can get" is really a deal, really a half-way point between two sides, not just a rubber stamp on the position of an ideological minority.

It's a rhetorical question.

The answer is that Obama takes his base for granted—even the elected base in Congress, and they've been letting him.

If the Democrats in the House have any sense, they'll make it clear that the "best deal we can get" includes at least a whopping inheritance tax on billionaires.

Because without that, the deal is ungettable.