Best products from r/Liberal

We found 22 comments on r/Liberal discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 27 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

Top comments mentioning products on r/Liberal:

u/tob_krean · 3 pointsr/Liberal

> Here's the problem I have with liberal arts: other people have to pay for that education.

And here is the problem I have with people in this country. We have gotten so concerned about "what other people are paying for" that we don't even stop to question if any of us are getting our money's worth, including you.

It is the collective jealousy that "someone might be getting something for nothing" or might be getting ahead of our own station that we pull each other down in a race to the bottom, and its sad, and it needs to stop.

And we're not even talking about subsidizing education here, something that many other industrialized countries have while we instead build up elite universities that other countries send their students to but our own citizens' can't fully enjoy (with the exception of the online MIT university, I will commend that).

In essence, you seem to be bitching about the fact that these programs even exist and I find that pretty shallow.

> I agree with you things such as philosophy, sociology and English. Those are majors that require work and effort to excel in. The other degrees do not.

That's simply your opinion. Speaking as someone who excelled in English yet never cared for it, appreciated the timelessness of Shakespeare supporting others pursuit of it, I actually got the most out of journalism and if I were like you I'd say all English majors are useless. But I don't actually feel that way, and if I did, I would be wrong to do so.

> At my school, the history program is the cesspool for every student that can't get into a major (where I go to the majors are competitive).

Yup, I know. CivilEng here, remember? What I found instead is that the "competitive" environment was to a certain extent BS, that cookie cutter curriculum fed by TA drones fostered a lot of people who went through the motions. It was a reasonable state school, but not everyone was learning there because it was a tired formula.

Where did I find people with a high degree of creativity? The arts.

And likely some of those students might have benefited from that as well because I blame the program, not really the students. I stepped away from it when I couldn't get what I wanted out of the program and got tired of Simon Says.

Make no mistake, I also give an equally hard time to those in the arts who question the value of higher level math and science. It cuts both ways. I'm not simply singling out.

Had the Internet not exploded when it did I would have gone back, but instead I am probably more successful as a person embracing a multi-disciplinarian approach. Besides, its not like as a civil engineer I might find enough work. We aren't maintaining our infrastructure anymore anyway... /sarcasm, in jest.

> These are people who on average aren't doing more than one hour of homework a week. No motivation or critical learning is being acquired. The only skills these people are improving on is the ability to drink heavily.

That's your problem. Stereotyping based on just your personal experiences combined with a heavy does of jealousy. No offense, but to take this position you aren't doing much critical or creative thinking yourself. What you see doesn't condemn the academic discipline, just their implementation of it.

You also would be surprised how many "dumb" people have power and are moving up the ladder at happy hour. Again, I kid, but some of these people might be learning networking skills. Can't say how many people I've seen bust their ass to be outdone but people who knock back a few because they know the right people. This I'm actually not kidding about. Not to say those skills are really developed at a kegger, but I can say those who are just stuck in a book will be in for a rude awakening when someone half as qualified with the ability to schmooze sneaks past them.

You're proud of your studies as an electrical engineer. And you should be. Know what I'm proud of? Investing in a program that helped take a kid from a problematic background and combined with opportunities at school and in our arts group because a successful technical director in NYC theaters and electrician at Juilliard. So forgive me if I'm less than impressed with the position you put forth.

How does that saying go, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

> And the issue about polymaths.

Is that you don't understand them? A polymath is simply "a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas" and while the fact that I used DaVinci may have confused you, it shouldn't have. I simply used it to show the duality of art and science.

Benjamin Franklin would have been another good example. Or the guy down the street that tinkers with stuff and also paints murals.

Simply put, Polymath means the ability to be able to have a greater understanding of many disciplines, especially on the left and right sides of the brain. But see you then talk about "meaningful academic contributions" when I never said this was a requirement. Meaningful contributions to society is another matter.

A person could be like Douglas Hofstadter which arguably made contributions in his field, but he didn't set out to wake up one say and say "I'm going to make contributions in my field", he simply as himself and let his curiosity and imagination take him wherever it lead. Read Metamagical Themas or Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid Do you think he got his start by someone telling him to "go get a job" or "have marketable skills"? Hardly.

For that matter, I'm a polymath because my multi-disciplinary approach lets me interface and relate to more people. Its not about becoming published. That's actually what's wrong with our university level education.

What you run the risk of with your attitude is becoming a white-collar Joe-The-Plumber. We have a country filled with people who no longer are getting a well rounded education anymore. We have a Balkanization of people into various disciplines, sub-disciplines and ideologies yet have a shortage of people who can relate in a meaningful way to those outside their circle. That's why politics have become so partisan.

We need visionaries to help build the next generation of development and your approach does NOTHING to foster them.

So you may ask "why do we need another art history major" as if that is really the issue here, and I ask "perhaps if we stopped waging so many wars, we wouldn't need as many engineers developing electronics for high-tech weapons systems?" To me, you seem like a Chris Knight who has yet to meet your Laslo Hollyfeld.

The weekend is coming up. Why not put the books down for a few hours and step out into the world and interact with a few people from a different discipline than yourself. The worst that could happen is that you might learn something new.

u/encinitaschaco · 1 pointr/Liberal

I think you're experiencing what a lot of young people are -- even though you may have been raised as a conservative, the Republican party of today has very little in common with the party of their parents. I know lots of Republicans who describe themselves as fiscally conservative and socially moderate, and they feel cast out by the Republican party.

I would highly recommend Robert Reich's movie, Inequality for All as a starting point, along with Stiglitz's The Price of Inequality. On TV, Bill Moyers is about as good as it gets.

Frankly, I would not start with the left leaning pundits. I like listening to them, but I don't necessarily thing they're great for someone like you, who's trying to decide what's right and wrong. Another good book that pretty much demolishes the basis of libertarianism, i.e. the whole "rational market" theory, is The Myth of the Rational Market by Justin Fox.

I wish you well in your journey of discovery.

u/aragorn831 · 1 pointr/Liberal

You are asking good questions. I appreciate your openness and I hope I can add something here. I hope we are not divided as it feels sometimes. Also, you might find it comforting that our country has survived division of similar if not greater magnitude before.

" why can’t you adults do the same "- I hope you will find that some of us can. Can you think of a marketing strategy for us? How many clicks/views would this headline get: "Nobody slams anybody- two dudes who disagree have an amicable conversation and agree to keep the dialog open despite disagreement" Are you familiar with the phrase "If it bleeds, it leads" ?

Also, I will note that nuanced argument takes more time and effort than the sort of shit in the two links below:

​

Here is an anti-Trump post relying on an emotional appeal. How much of the Republican party do you think this picture accurately represents? Does it matter what the opposition looks like?

https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalHumor/comments/ceca5l/a_gentle_reminder/

Here is an anti-liberal post based on a straw man argument. (IE- they are dunking on an imaginary liberal, they didn't find a person- let alone a majority of people- who espouse this view)

https://www.reddit.com/r/Conservative/comments/cbiydd/the_thought_process_of_the_left/

​

For more on the financial incentives involved in sensational headlines I like this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Trust-Me-Lying-Confessions-Manipulator/dp/1591846285

u/MisanthropicScott · 4 pointsr/Liberal

> "all Bernie supporters are young college idiots who know nothing and just want free shit"

Just for the record, not that it will convince your father of anything, I'm 52 (probably older than he is), have read a lot and support Bernie. Though, Bernie is far more centrist than I am. I'm fiscally left of and more socially liberal than any of Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, or the Dalai Lama.

So, not all of us radical left-wingers (and yes I know I'm radical) are young or ignorant of what's going on in the world.

And, I'm retired rather young, not taking government money, not asking for government money, not even asking for lower taxes. I don't mind paying higher taxes than those who earn less than me. I just hate that the uber-wealthy making tons more than me pay less (in percentage) than I do.

I don't know why your father wants his own tax dollars to subsidize the Koch brothers. But, if anyone is ignorant, it is those who are not super-wealthy and support lower taxes for the wealthy. Why on earth would someone vote so strongly against their own self-interest??!!?

Please ask your father nicely to commit to spending just 20 minutes listening to an actual self-proclaimed plutocrat, a genuine billionaire, explaining why he supports liberal policies.

Beware Plutocrats, the Pitchforks are Coming

Then, if he's actually willing to read, point him at a couple of excellent books. This first is just a collection of essays, so doesn't require the same attention span as the second I will recommend.

What's the Matter with Kansas?

This next book is by a former managing director of Goldman Sachs (a rather high title if you've never worked on Wall Street, I have). This one explains how Wall Street privatized profit and socialized risk to bring down the global economy.

It Takes a Pillage

u/FUKcomcast · 1 pointr/Liberal

WOW... I think /r/conservative really might be the actual closest thing to an actual circlejerk as reddit has ever seen. The entire GOP suffers from extreme confirmation bias to the most extreme levels it's absolutely astounding. Since FOX took serious steps to go extremely right wing (I am talking about 2006'ish, to the point of extreme hyperbole) that party has drifted further and further from reality. The so called "Republican base" has shifted off a cliff to the right, so far that right that they refuse to consider people like McCain and Romney true conservatives. They force their candidates to pander to the "conservative base" meaning they have to pick up people like Paul Ryan and Sarah Palin, people with views so far from reality independent voters are scared off. They continue to pigeon hole themselves into smaller and smaller corners with more narrowly defined extreme views while including less and less Americans under their umbrella. They probably didn't stand much of chance of winning in 2008 but given the state of the country right now and the electorate's complete lack of ability to actually follow issues, it shouldn't have been too hard to trot up any candidate against Obama and win. But yet again, republicans are tripping all over themselves to point out all Romney's flaws and say he's not a "true conservative" .......

I'ts looking like another blood bath is headed our way in early November and I am beginning to believe in James Carville's 40 More Years prophecy.

u/ru-kidding-me · -1 pointsr/Liberal

I am not questioning their methodology, I am questioning their motives. Reading the citations at the end sounds like a reading list for young progressives. I am sorry, but it sounds like AGW believers that conservatives are irrational and here, we have the "hockey stick" (i.e. heart rate) to prove it.

Check out the Republican Brain book which basically says conservatives don't have the empathy gene, so they are emotionally inferior to the morally superior liberals.

It really smacks of 1984 to prove a political point more than research designed to show some innate difference.

Sorry if you wrote the study. Did you base your thinking on the book?

u/emmipod · 2 pointsr/Liberal

I read a book about this. Its called "Is College Worth It." It makes the same point about "the higher education bubble". Loans create artificial demand so colleges do not have to worry about providing a good product. Then the job market gets saturated with worthless degrees... The book makes a good point, but it is pretty biased towrd the "right side" at points. Overall a good read though.

http://www.amazon.com/Is-College-Worth-Secretary-Education/dp/1595552790#

u/balanceofpower · 1 pointr/Liberal

I don't want to be rude, but quite frankly - if I were going to base my opinion on all Libertarians by a few anecdotal experiences like you're doing here - I would have to conclude that most of you are dangerously naive, extremely ignorant in American history believing that your strict adherence to the Constitution is some kind of strength (it is not) and that the majority of you are indeed crypto-racists and anti-Semites (I say this because so many Ron Paul supporters I come across all seemingly have a neurotic fixation with Jews, Israel and our monetary system, which you are also dangerously ignorant on ).


So if you don't want me to assume that about you, I would kindly ask that you not base all your opinions on Liberals on your one friend who - well meaning as she might be - does not represent an authoritative voice on our wide-ranging beliefs and how they fit into the broader question of Constitutional muster.


In a nutshell, you have been duped by Ron Paul and his cohorts of Libertarian propaganda masters who have weaved a mythical tapestry of Early America that simply never existed.


The Early Republic was NOT this laissez-faire paradise that Ron Paul et al. would have you believe.


The Founding Fathers were STATISTS through-and-through. I don't give a damn about what you want to believe. I'm telling you cold. hard. facts. You want to believe in the Easter Bunny? Go ahead. I don't care.


But you cannot choose to believe or not believe in facts; they do not require your belief, they are facts that need to be accepted.

Much of the first half of the 19th century, the United States' economy was run under the American System. Which involved active intervention in our economy.

Thomas Jefferson (among others) was a supporter of printing and postal subsidies in order to foster an independent press

John Adams signed the Healthcare law of 1798 mandating that privately employed sailors HAD to buy health insurance/

And early on corporations were only chartered so long as they provided a public interest such as the building of roads or canals.

And this is all just the tip of the iceberg.


The entire narrative that the Early Republic was this mythical land overflowing with milk and honey with the population unburdened by state intervention is simply the same well-worn propaganda that has been thrown around since 19th century in order to lure cheap immigrant labor from overseas.


For most Liberals the Constitution is indispensable - particularly the Bill of Rights - which is the bed rock of modern Liberal values. Though it may not seem this way to the political extremists known as Conservatives and Libertarians, but unfortunately when you only see things in black and white, nuance and shades of gray appear alien and threatening. I'll leave it at that since this comment is much longer than I originally intended.

u/pinkerton_jones · 13 pointsr/Liberal

If folks are really having trouble coping turn to Seneca, private tutor of Nero and one of the great authorities on Stoicism:

https://www.amazon.com/Revenge-Complete-Lucius-Annaeus-Seneca/dp/0226748421

This isn't our first rodeo as a culture with a tyrannical leader and you do not need to burn out. You do need to learn how to handle your emotions so you can continue with your life.

Please try to get a copy of the book from Amazon or your library. It looks like used copies run for about $11 and it's worth it.

u/FormerDittoHead · 1 pointr/Liberal

A couple of quotes. Would today's conservatives agree?

Thomas Jefferson:
>Another means of silently lessening the inequality of property is to exempt all from taxation below a certain point, and to tax the higher portions of property in geometrical progression as they rise. Whenever there is in any country, uncultivated lands and unemployed poor, it is clear that the laws of property have been so far extended as to violate natural right. The earth is given as a common stock for man to labour and live on.

WHAT? No flat tax???

Thomas "Common Sense" Paine: (Agrarian Justice)
>Paine proposed a detailed plan to tax property owners to pay for the needs of the poor, which could be considered as the precursor of the modern idea of citizen's income or basic income. The money would be raised by taxing all direct inheritances at 10%, and "indirect" inheritances - those not going to close relations - at a somewhat higher rate;

Do I remember Glenn Beck writing a book about how GREAT Thomas Paine was?
http://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Becks-Common-Sense-Control/dp/1439168571

u/imsmarterthanyouare · 1 pointr/Liberal

reposted because 2x is blocking this: http://www.amazon.com/Neocutis-Lumiere-Bio-restorative-Cream-Anti-aging/dp/B002LE54P4

Neocutis defended the use of its trademarked ingredient, Processed Skin Cell Proteins, or PSP, arguing that the fetal cell line was harvested in a responsible, ethical manner for use in treating severe dermatological injuries.

The company compared its situation to that of researchers who used fetal kidney cells to develop the polio vaccine.

“Our view - which is shared by most medical professionals and patients - is that the limited, prudent and responsible use of donated fetal skin tissue can continue to ease suffering, speed healing, save lives and improve the well-being of many patients around the globe,” said the statement.

The ingredient was developed at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland from proteins in the skin tissue of a 14-week-old male baby electively aborted at the university’s hospital and donated to the Swiss university. The abortion was deemed medically necessary because the baby could not survive to term, according to Neocutis.

u/FantasticMikey · 1 pointr/Liberal

I highly recommend the book "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion" - it's about this very thing. About how we usually make up our judgements based on feeling, then justify our judgements with reasoning. When we go to talk to someone else about it, we're using reasoning, but they're still on feeling.

u/crypticedge · 5 pointsr/Liberal

The gop party platform hits 8/10 of the warning signs of fascism.

Also there's this. https://benjaminstudebaker.com/2014/02/18/conservatism-leads-to-fascism/

Now, I'm not saying all conservatives are fascists, but it's an ideology in its modern implementations that has an end goal of fascism.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/07/can-it-happen-here-review-trump-republicans-authoritarian-america-fascism

This is far from a new phenomenon as well, as its evident here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0896084183/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_mOaQBb1NTAXPY

In reality, from 1928-now, the gop has been deeply intertwined with both nazism and fascism, starting with the gop rallies starting in 1928 that literally flew the nazi flag and ran joint marches with both the kkk and the nazi party of America, to the bills they introduced in congress in the early 30s for its to join the war on the side of Germany and Italy.

Donald Trump is just the latest of extremist conservatives, he didn't bring fascism to America, he just exploited and capitalized on a near 100 year effort a single party has been trying to push. His slogan of "make America great again" is actually evidence of this, as it was the rallying cry the gop and kkk used during the attempts to make the public support the bill to join Germany in war against the UK during WW2.

Edit : forgot to paste the book link.

u/UtimateAgentM · 2 pointsr/Liberal

http://2012.presidential-candidates.org/Obama/Social-Security.php


Some quick Googling will get you to these answers. Also, I'd highly recommend you read some of Krugman's books, including his newest: "End This Depression Now!" If you're unsure about the Democratic stances on fiscal policy (including PPACA, Medicare, and Social Security) Krugman actually lays out liberal fiscal policy in a very strong, understandable manner.

u/hawkeye_45 · 1 pointr/Liberal

Here you go: https://www.amazon.com/Compact-Pistol-Flash-Light-LUMEN/dp/B005QPBR9W


My premise is that a gunfight is preferable to a massacre.