OT political discussions in this NG

[Randy N.]

Yep, based on today's poll numbers, and the trends since June, by the 2004 elections not only will
DeLay, Brownback, and Santorum be in the toilet with Bush, no one who has ever fed an elephant a
peanut at the circus will be electable to a national office. Rove rogered the pooch in a stupendous
way. As I said before, Bushs coat-tails are tied to cement overshoes.

The right has overreached by an entire quanta what is plausible, seemly, or decent to the battered
working and middle classes. The uber rich laugh at us from their gated communities. At night before
they go to sleep, they leave a 20 on the night table for Fox News. The bad news for them is that
America is rapidly becoming far more ****** off than afraid. I hear neocon's I know talk about
jettisoning Bush for DeLay in
04... way too little too late. Buckle up boys, becuase the fun's just starting.

Look for the mother of all progressive taxes from a Democrat in 2004 Look for another burst of
economic growth as the whacko insane destribution of wealth gets reversed again for the next 8 years
at least. Look for new industrial growth as we re-fit for Kyoto and rebuild the energy
infrastructure of the nation. Hello Inheritance tax, hello capital gains, hello 68% top rate.
Goodbye Mr. Golden Parachute, hello Federal Pen.

The electorate will nullify the entire Tax and Borrow your way to third world status crew. The
patron/peon system proposed by the cheap labor republicans is toast. It will happen in a big and
ugly way. As Ralph Reed said today "We are in danger of losing a decade of progress." Of course, he
only meant progress for the top 4 percent, his masters.

We are going to take America away from the Cheney's and the Lay's and give it back to the real
engine of wealth in the nation, the working stiff. Sorry Biff, sorry Buffy, if you don't like it,
move to Mexico or Indonesia. Newt started the class war with the contract on America. We are going
to end it with a November Massacre.

If the wealthy are the supposed engine of the economy, then taxation is the flywheel that makes them
keep squirting gas into carbs...remove it, and the profit motive turns into reved up ponzi scheme,
much like the current economy (see Arthur Anderson/Enron). Plenty of manipulation, no jobs. Pretty
soon, whooosh, down the toilet as money rushes offshore to where the jobs are, because that is where
the people who can afford to buy things are...

The cost of private medical care and insurance force employers to cut bene's across the board. Some
of the brightest people I know are looking up to move somewhere where they can afford to be healthy
and educate their children. The new American century is a race to serfdom. Don't believe me, go
looking for a job.

To see how things are going for the thugs in my state, Google Weststar energy. Note that Evolution
is again being taught in Kansas schools. Note that Fred Phelps (the very face of compassionate
conservatism) is a laughing stock even in Topeka, his own home town. The narrow mindedness and hate
of the radical lying right is their undoing. This attempt at a second gilded age is rapidly becoming
a gold leafed turd for the Crusading Greedheads. Note the daily meltdown of Iraq. Note the
re-emergence of the Taliban. Note Afghanistan is again an endless fountain of Opium. The President's
answer? Another month long bender in Crawford.

Are you better off today than you were 3 years ago? Of one hundred people who answer that question
truthfully, fewer than five can say yes.

In short, our cowboy appears to have ****** on the electic fence. Being Republicans, the rest of the
right has dutifully Goldwatered in their pants.

Since we are quoting authorities, anyone here read Kevin Phillips? There's a wild eyed radical for
you...Nixon's former economist. He wrote this little ditty called 'the politics of rich and poor'.

Actually Skip,I agree with your last statement, Bush is going to be a big boon for anyone making
bicycles of any sort. Anything that burns lots of gas, like the SUV is screwed, however. Some will
still be kicking around as improvised housing for former IT workers, though.

Randy

skip wrote:

> "Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
>
> President Bush's efforts to save small family businesses and farms are much appreciated. This
> would include most of the recumbent manufacturers businesses I would think (on topic content for
> those taking notice).
>
> skip

 

[Edward Dolan]

"DH" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> Ed, since you've verbally attacked the Netherlands (the typical approach for dittoheads, attack
> when you know nothing about a subject), I should point out that all European countries (check out
> the CIA World Fact Book http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ ) have higher life
> expectancy rates and lower infant mortality rates than the US. That surprised me. The standard of
> living (using only those stats) is obviously higher. We pay more in taxes (yes, I pay US and Dutch
> taxes), but we get more back from the gov't in services. That is changing because we have a right
> leaning gov't at the moment which no doubt should make you happy.

Of course many Europeans have a higher standard of living than do we here in the US. We have a very
heterogeneous population whereas most European nations have a very homogeneous population (although
that is changing and when it has changed sufficiently their standard of living will go down too).
But even more importantly are the burdens we Americans have had to bear because of our world
responsibilities. The Europeans have been getting pretty much a free ride ever since the conclusion
of WW II. We have been undertaking their defense at great cost and sacrifice. And then France stabs
us in the back when we call on her to stand by us in our efforts in Iraq. But it is not just France.
Most Europeans are ungrateful and unwilling to assume world responsibilities.

> I don't vote here, but the voting machines are on a higher lever than the US ... electronic ...
> what a surprise. The US should upgrade and use third world 'machines' .... wooden boxes with piece
> of paper instead of the advanced technology we used in Florida.
>
> Oh, another measure of the standard of living ... the average height of the average Dutch citizen.
> They are 4 cm taller than the average US citizen. The Dutch are the tallest people on the planet.
> This is not due to genetics, but better health care and better living. (I tried to provide a link
> to an article in Time magazine, Oct 14, 1996, but the link was invalid.)

The Dutch are a homogeneous population; we are not. We have people from every corner of the world
living here and more pouring in every day. We are eventually going to have to make health care more
affordable and undertake other social reforms too, but that is all doable as long as we retain our
democracy.

> Other interesting things re Holland - the first country to legalize

> can be prescribed for pain relief. We have bike paths throughout the _entire_ country. When a new
> living area is built, a bike path is included as part of the plan, that goes without saying. It's
> a well organized country ... and the US could learn something from Holland and other European
> countries. Most Dutch speak two or more languages. The standard of education is higher here than
> in the US. The summer vacation is measured in weeks, not months. Everyone is entitled to a college
> education, period. (I don't know the specifics re the costs, but money is not an issue re
> education.)

I am not much in favor of many of the social reforms that the Dutch are notorious for, but I do like
the idea of bike paths all over the place. But the Netherlands is a very small country in land area
and a very crowded country. Those facts alone make certain things possible that are not possible in
a continent size country like the US. Of course the Dutch speak more than one language. They
couldn't go very far if they didn't. America is a continent size country; Holland is a county size
country. It is all apples and oranges. It is like comparing Goliath to David.

My critique of the Netherlands was unjust. I really do not expect much if anything from the Dutch
any more than I do from the Belgians or the Luxembourgers or the Danish. My anger has to do mainly
with the French. I will remember for the rest of my life how they betrayed the West.

> The average person here loves America and Americans, but thinks Bush is an idiot and his policies
> failed. I never have to defend Bush because, well, he is an idiot ... he rarely speaks unscripted
> these days, ever notice that? ... (to the detriment of all those guys making money simply selling
> quotations of our semi-literate leader).

American presidents are often not too articulate. Even Reagan, the great communicator, had to read
from a script. So what? I think it is very unbecoming of you, an American living abroad who formerly
served in the armed forces of the US, not to defend your country, it's leaders and it's foreign
policy against those ignorant Europeans. If you can't say anything good about Bush, you should at
least shut up. Save your criticism for when you are back in the homeland. I have known Americans who
have lived most of their lives in Germany, and the locals always regard them as those foreign
Americans. I am sure the Dutch are no different. Never forget, you are an American living abroad and
you should act accordingly. You will never be Dutch. Trust me on this.

> Also, most Europeans know much more about American politics than the other way around. Europeans
> think of Americans (in general) as being provincial. I don't consider myself worldly, but I am
> constantly confronted with different cultures and different view points. It broadens one's view of
> the world.

Yes, I know what you are saying. I have been to Europe many times. The different countries and
cultures are exciting and fascinating. I only wish they would step up to the plate and take on their
rightful responsibilities. I think all peoples are actually quite provincial but their governments
should not be. Unfortunately, the European governments consistently act provincial by opting out of
the War on Terrorism, of which Iraq was a major component.

> So Ed, are you going to join the fight, sorry, are you going to join the peace in Iraq or are you
> going to remain an arm chair warrior?

We need to get our heads screwed on straight. We are now in Iraq. We must see it through to a
successful conclusion. Any other course and the entire Western World will pay heavily. Not to
prevail is unthinkable.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Edward Dolan]

"DH" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> Who initiated the Re: funny post? That was my introduction to the rabid right.

You are conversing with conservatives, not the rabid right. The rabid right is holed up in the
mountains of Idaho and mean to kill all of us if we let them. What has changed is that the liberal
extremists no longer dominate this news group like they did before I showed up. You now have an
opportunity to get an opposing point of view which is reasonable and in the mainstream. But I do
agree with you about one thing: whoever labeled the subject thread "funny" had a cruel sense of
humor. I sure as hell am not having any fun and the posts so far have not seemed funny to me.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Skip]

Ed Dolan predicted the 2004 elections would make us all mad as hatters. How prophetic.

 

[Dh]

I have heard the homogeneous argument and the your country is so small, it's easier to do things one
way argument.

Couldn't one look at the US as a collection of 50 semi-independent states, each with their own sale
tax, each with their own welfare rules, each with their own real estate tax ... wait a minute, there
are differences between

... what's the difference between comparing the Netherlands with any particular state?

 

[Dh]

<<My anger has to do mainly with the
> French. I will remember for the rest of my life how they betrayed the West.>>

You know, we can disagree on many things. I have to honestly say, when Bush started pushing going
with war with Iraq, my first thoughts were, why now, why at this particular time? I was not alone in
that as only the UK took our side in that 'going it alone' mentality. (I am not a big fan of the
French, but they have an arrogance about them which the US now seems to also have. I'm not saying
this lightly.) When we went there in 1991, I had no major problems about that. I suppose it's a
minor point that we spent billions to protect a monarchy and not a democracy, but we have to protect
the oil and keep things relatively stable in the ME.)

We had Saddam in a box. We had the UN on and off doing its job re inspections. It really seemed that
the US was being the aggressor in this. The arguments just didn't seem that persuasive, at least, to
me and many others. When I look at the loss of life (on all sides) and the tremendous cost to tax
payers, I still think we made an error in policy. We can disagree on that. The reason we went to war
still has yet to be proven, that's not a minor detail. Now Bush is appealing to the members of the
UN for support. That's going be a tough nut to swallow for the Europeans.

You also seem to think that I should support Bush just because I was in the military for 20 years
and now live abroad. For me, and my own family, blood is not thicker than water, why should it be
any different for my country? I will not blindly pledge allegiance to a President just because
he's my President. I find that kind of thinking childish. If we had lived in Germany during the
rise of ******, how many of us would have been patriotic and followed our leader blindly? Millions
did and they didn't think they were wrong. Some still don't. Nationalism is inherently evil ...
and we disagree on that. No, I am not comparing Bush to ****** ... just the concept of blind
patriotism. Nationalism and extreme religious views are the cause of much suffering. (Make note to
self - start shifting portfolio to defense related stocks. I might as well make some money on the
current mindset.)

I could say more but it time for a glass of wine. It might be French wine or South African, it's not
a nationalistic thing, just what's on sale and what tastes good.

I'll pass on one thing that made me turn my head. I was watching a Dutch news program a few years
ago (a national program) and there was a film clip of Bush departing Air Force One. The music is the
background was the theme from Get Smart. My wife had never seen that show here in Holland, but I
fell off the sofa when I realized the joke. It was a pretty inside joke. Bush is an embarrassment
and I will not indulge him just because he's my president.

The wine is waiting.

 

[Tom Sherman]

"Randy N." wrote:
>
> Yep, based on today's poll numbers, and the trends since June, by the 2004 elections not only will
> DeLay, Brownback, and Santorum be in the toilet with Bush, no one who has ever fed an elephant a
> peanut at the circus will be electable to a national office. Rove rogered the pooch in a
> stupendous way. As I said before, Bushs coat-tails are tied to cement overshoes.
>
> The right has overreached by an entire quanta what is plausible, seemly, or decent to the battered
> working and middle classes. The uber rich laugh at us from their gated communities. At night
> before they go to sleep, they leave a 20 on the night table for Fox News. The bad news for them is
> that America is rapidly becoming far more ****** off than afraid. I hear neocon's I know talk
> about jettisoning Bush for DeLay in
> 04... way too little too late. Buckle up boys, becuase the fun's just starting....

An optimistic prediction, but it does not take into account that the neocons in the Bush II
administration and their backers will do anything to stay in power, whether it be war, a "Reichstag
Fire", or a repeat of "Florida 2000".

Tom Sherman

"Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." -
Joseph Stalin

 

[Mark Leuck]

"Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> An optimistic prediction, but it does not take into account that the neocons in the Bush II
> administration and their backers will do anything to stay in power, whether it be war, a
> "Reichstag Fire", or a repeat of "Florida 2000".
>
> Tom Sherman

Me thinks you are a bit too paranoid

 

[Edward Dolan]

Tom Sherman <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>..

> Edward Dolan wrote:
> >
> > Hey Skip, someone will always be trolling for me because I add a little excitement to their dull
> > lives and to what would otherwise be a very dull newsgroup. We have an election coming up in
> > 2004....
>
> I believe that some contributors to this NG are not from the US.
>
> Tom Sherman - Vive la France

You write how you want to write Mr. Sherman and I will write how I want to write. Sometimes I am
addressing the specific person in my message, at other times I am addressing a wider audience,
including the international set. We do not need you to tell us how to write or how to read what
is written.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Edward Dolan]

"Randy N." <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

.........

Yada, Yada, Yada!!! .........

> Actually Skip,I agree with your last statement, Bush is going to be a big boon for anyone making
> bicycles of any sort. Anything that burns lots of gas, like the SUV is screwed, however. Some will
> still be kicking around as improvised housing for former IT workers, though.
>
> Randy
>
> skip wrote:
>
> > "Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> >
> >
> > President Bush's efforts to save small family businesses and farms are much appreciated. This
> > would include most of the recumbent manufacturers businesses I would think (on topic content for
> > those taking notice).
> >
> > skip
> >
> >

Hey, Randy, congratulations on one of the best and most outrageous rants and raves I have read in a
long time. Makes me realize what a piker I am. And Skip's little note about being against death
taxes brought all that on? I could say a few things that would really get you riled. But I am only
concerned with Bush as a war president and how he does in that sphere. One suggestion though, do not
inflict your views on the electorate at large as that is a prescription for certain disaster. I do
not want to see the Democratic party go the way of the dodo bird just yet, at least not until we can
find a replacement for
it.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Edward Dolan]

"DH" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> I have heard the homogeneous argument and the your country is so small, it's easier to do things
> one way argument.
>
> Couldn't one look at the US as a collection of 50 semi-independent states, each with their own
> sale tax, each with their own welfare rules, each with their own real estate tax ... wait a
> minute, there are differences between

> ... what's the difference between comparing the Netherlands with any particular state?

Nope, sorry. Only the nation is sovereign with all that that implies. The states are not like
nations. However, if I wanted to I could most likely find a state that has a higher standard of
living than any European nation, including fabled Switzerland.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Edward Dolan]

"DH" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> <<My anger has to do mainly with the
> > French. I will remember for the rest of my life how they betrayed the West.>>
>
> You know, we can disagree on many things. I have to honestly say, when Bush started pushing going
> with war with Iraq, my first thoughts were, why now, why at this particular time? I was not alone
> in that as only the UK took our side in that 'going it alone' mentality. (I am not a big fan of
> the French, but they have an arrogance about them which the US now seems to also have. I'm not
> saying this lightly.) When we went there in 1991, I had no major problems about that. I suppose
> it's a minor point that we spent billions to protect a monarchy and not a democracy, but we have
> to protect the oil and keep things relatively stable in the ME.)
>
> We had Saddam in a box. We had the UN on and off doing its job re inspections. It really seemed
> that the US was being the aggressor in this. The arguments just didn't seem that persuasive, at
> least, to me and many others. When I look at the loss of life (on all sides) and the tremendous
> cost to tax payers, I still think we made an error in policy. We can disagree on that. The reason
> we went to war still has yet to be proven, that's not a minor detail. Now Bush is appealing to the
> members of the UN for support. That's going be a tough nut to swallow for the Europeans.
>
> You also seem to think that I should support Bush just because I was in the military for 20 years
> and now live abroad. For me, and my own family, blood is not thicker than water, why should it be
> any different for my country? I will not blindly pledge allegiance to a President just because
> he's my President. I find that kind of thinking childish. If we had lived in Germany during the
> rise of ******, how many of us would have been patriotic and followed our leader blindly? Millions
> did and they didn't think they were wrong. Some still don't. Nationalism is inherently evil ...
> and we disagree on that. No, I am not comparing Bush to ****** ... just the concept of blind
> patriotism. Nationalism and extreme religious views are the cause of much suffering. (Make note to
> self - start shifting portfolio to defense related stocks. I might as well make some money on the
> current mindset.)
>
> I could say more but it time for a glass of wine. It might be French wine or South African, it's
> not a nationalistic thing, just what's on sale and what tastes good.
>
> I'll pass on one thing that made me turn my head. I was watching a Dutch news program a few years
> ago (a national program) and there was a film clip of Bush departing Air Force One. The music is
> the background was the theme from Get Smart. My wife had never seen that show here in Holland, but
> I fell off the sofa when I realized the joke. It was a pretty inside joke. Bush is an
> embarrassment and I will not indulge him just because he's my president.
>
> The wine is waiting.

There is really nothing much that I want to take issue with you at the moment with what you say in
your message here (except for imbibing the French wine - I am with O'Reilly on the boycott of French
products). I am all for criticism of our leaders and our foreign policy within bounds, but I do
think when we are at war we need to be a bit circumspect, most especially if we are living abroad. I
would not feel good if I were in your position in the Netherlands and constantly being bombarded
with anti-Americanism, and I could not just sit idle and let it pass, let alone agree with it.

Nationalism and strong religious views are not inherently evil (although they can and do cause a lot
of grief in the world) and you are right, we will always disagree about that. You are not wrong to
be critical of Bush in a foreign land, but it is unbecoming, and those foreigners you are living
among will respect you more if you show some loyalty to your country. No one understands that better
than the Dutch. In fact, they may be thinking quite ill of you for not standing by your country.
There are duties owed to one's country regardless of where you stand in the political spectrum.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Edward Dolan]

Tom Sherman <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...\

> An optimistic prediction, but it does not take into account that the neocons in the Bush II
> administration and their backers will do anything to stay in power, whether it be war, a
> "Reichstag Fire", or a repeat of "Florida 2000".

In other words, Mr. Sherman fears that the Repubs may be smarter than the Dems. I think he is
justified in this fear if his posts to this newsgroup are any example.

> Tom Sherman
>
> "Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." -
> Joseph Stalin

He just can't get over the fact that Bush won the election fair and square!

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Dh]

> ...... No one understands that better than the Dutch. In fact, they may be thinking quite ill of
> you for not standing by your country. There are duties owed to one's country regardless of where
> you stand in the political spectrum.

Why didn't you address the issue of blind patriotism? That's really what you are talking about.

I get along just fine with the Dutch. We discuss ideas and the worth they might have. If an idea or
a foreign policy is dumb, it does not matter which country initiates it or supports it, dumb is
dumb, period. I think they respect me more for not being blindly patriotic. Anyone can wave a flag.
Waving a flag just because it's your flag has no special meaning for me. If you're going to support
all the ideas of whomever is in power, it would be easier simply to have a dictator and be done with
individual thinking and criticizing.

 

[Skip]

"Mark Leuck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> >
> > An optimistic prediction, but it does not take into account that the neocons in the Bush II
> > administration and their backers will do anything to stay in power, whether it be war, a
> > "Reichstag Fire", or a repeat of "Florida 2000".
> >
> > Tom Sherman
>
> Me thinks you are a bit too paranoid
>
>
Yeah Mark, I'd say just a bit. Well maybe more than a bit.

Having conservatives in power makes some liberals so crazy that they can go right past the rim and
over the edge without even stopping. Kind of a pitiful thing to watch.

skip

 

[Bandjhughes]

"Randy N." <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> <snip> Are you better off today than you were 3 years ago? Of one hundred people who answer that
> question truthfully, fewer than five can say yes.
>
> Randy

I wonder where you came up with that statistic. I don't think I'm all that unusual but my income is
certainly considerably higher than 3 years ago, meanwhile my house payments are much less (I'm still
in the same house, just with a lower mortgage rate). My vehicles payments are complete. I ride my
bike to work everyday now instead of driving,

Funny thing though, I don't believe a political party was the major contributor to much of this at
all. Me thinks even had the country suffered through Al Gore, I myself would be in much the same
economic situation. I believe most others would be too—they just haven't figured out that the party
currently in charge of the White House isn't the primary factor in their life and sole cause of
their economic status.

Brian

 

[Randy N.]

> He just can't get over the fact that Bush won the election fair and square!
>
> Ed Dolan - Minnesota

In an administration widely regarded as the most corrupt in the history of the US (and with some
very serious competition for the title), I say with no joy that the entire rest of the world with
almost the sole exception of Britain has repudiated our policies and are well on their way toward
creating an economic alliance to bury us, as yesterday's news from the G7 suggests. I predicted this
since the whole trumped up nonsense over Iraq began.

If liberation from oppression was Bush's real strategy in Iraq, I can only hope that he is as
willing to now go back to Somalia, invade Burma, the Congo, stay years in Liberia, and every oil
poor state run by an evil dictator. Of course, that will be a lot harder now that the G7 has decided
not to prop up our currency anymore.

With Bush's tax cut for the uber rich deficits growing to estimates as high as 44 TRILLION dollars
by 2030, no one is very enthusiastic about investing in American companies. 44 Trillion is a Big Ass
Number(tm).

A weak dollar could help drive US Exports, if there was something we were making that other people
could buy or didn't make better. It used to be software, until market speculation and an artificial
crisis in California sandbagged the Information Economy. Now the cheap labor wing of the Republican
party is NAFTAing the last bastion of actual wealth generation in America. We will reap the
whirlwind.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,97930,00.html

I even chose a news source that you trust, Ed.

Grover Norquist wanted to weaken the government so he could drown it in his bathtub. Now it appears
that his brilliant plan, coupled with Wolfowitz and Perle's thousand year Republican Party will
cause the US dollar to lose primacy not only in oil markets, but all spheres of industrial trade.
Way to go NeoCons! Since we don't make much of anything anymore, we are going to really have to
struggle hard not to be put in the same situation as Berlin in 1946. Only worse, far, far, worse.

But hey! Why should Grover worry? Thanks to Richard Mellon Scaife, he's got his, and he doesn't have
any kids to worry about.

On to my funny story.

On the day of the election in 2000, I was in Canada working with a multinational group of
programmers for a fortune 100 company, showing them how to convert a massive J++ abortion to a
functional language. The next morning when I came down to the hotel ballroom they rented for our
work group, everybody looked at me with a look of genuine fear.

The questions flew hot and heavy. Would the US suffer a civil war? No, of course not, I said. We are
a nation of laws, not people. I assured them that the votes would be fairly counted, and as soon as
a majority was certified, the electoral college would reflect the correct numbers and a legal
President would be declared.

Despite your assertions, I have never been that wrong in my life (with the possible exception of
dating my second spouse). Nor did I know at the time what chicanery the Jebster and Harris had
purchased from Choicepoint. An election fraud worthy of Tom Pendergast or Boss Tweed at their
more corrupt.

I remember the look in the eyes of this guy from Taiwan (I am blanking on his name), who said that
the only reason his nation existed at all was the support of the US. He said in broken English that
Clinton was all that stood between the Chinese Communist Party and Taiwan. Seth, the Israeli,
wondered if this would effect the efforts to secure a peace agreement with the Palestinians, as he
had been hopeful that he and his family could move back to a peaceful Israel. Pavel wondered
whether Bush would continue supporting the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, where his younger brother
was working for the UN. Uday hated the Bush family with a red passion, I think maybe he had bad
history with them.

I told them that the United States was bigger than that. And that they could depend on a consistent
policy regarding the United States' commitments in the world.

What a freakin sap I was. Because we flipped off the rest of the world, declaring ourselves beyond
international justice, against Kyoto, and very much against peace in Israel, or anywhere had
something we wanted to take.

I will admit, softy that I was, that back in 99' I preferred that Clinton allow Osama to be a
problem of Interpol and the CIA. It turns out that Bill knew better than the rest of us, George
included, how dangerous Bush Sr's little helper in Afghanistan had become. But whether I agreed or
not, Clinton bombed the muktuk out of al qaeda. It is just that he missed. That can be forgiven,
IMO, considering how much ordinance W dropped on Osama AND Saddam without getting them.

So that is the story of how I spent my November 2000 'vacation' 8 months later, I would be lying in
a hospital bed, trying hard not to die. I had only been home from the hospital for a couple of
months, waiting for the next heart attack or stroke, when I saw the attack on 911.

Oh yeah... you asked about tips to avoid stroke.

I don't know what your current state of health is Ed. But if you want to avoid a stroke, I can tell
you what we all think did it to me.

1. minimize the number of 70 hour work weeks where you fly somewhere in a coach class seat for
hours, anticipating the sorts of situations where someone is willing to pay > $2000.00 a day
for your ass in a chair, with all the stress that entails. It is never a happy story when you
get there.

2. do not smoke a pack and a half a day.

3. Do not have the stress of an ugly divorce from a sociopath who wants not just to destroy
everything you will ever own or do, but whose daddy is rich as Crassus.

4. Ride your bike a lot. The cluster of thrombi that hit my brain and heart did not kill me, but
both my neurologist and cardiologist expressed wonderment that it did not. That they did not
might have had something to do with my 28 years teaching full contact martial arts on the side. I
am a tough old asshole.

5. TAKE AN ASPIRIN A DAY! If you are not doing so already, start today. I admit that I am not very
fond of you Ed, but I wouldn't wish this on Donald Rumsfeld.

-- Randy's extended Pity Party --

If it wasn't for someone who loves me a lot, and who wants me to be around long enough to raise
kids with her after she gets out of grad school, I probably would not be here now. I am in fairly
constant pain some days far worse than others, and there are days I wish I had died in my sleep
the night before. I cannot feel most of my right side. There is a large hole in my visual field
that I have to read around. The sole of my right foot usually feels like I have just stepped on a
live wire.

I have a harder time understanding speech than I do reading text. Cat and I will sometimes sit and
Instant Message each other, just because it often works better for me.

I have to work really damn hard to do a lot with what is left of that old 170 IQ brain. So yeah, I
do ramble some, and I certainly do not have the focus I used to have. I apologize for when I seem to
blather. But I live in a mental fog some days. I also live in the horror, that when my intellect was
most needed, this happened to me.

Next month I will be 48. I don't really expect to make 60. But I agree with my primary doc, who says
I have already beaten the odds 3 times. Her exact words when I told her that Cat and I want to have
kids after she gets her Ph.D.. -- "Keep riding that bike."

I spent a year on a terra trike, because I didn't have a sense of balance. It has returned enough to
ride a recumbent bike and I ride it like my life depends on it, rain, shine, heat, or cold. I have
become a fairly strong rider for my condition... and I walk with a cane. On a good day though, I can
hit 20 mph on the flat for short distances. As a kid on my old Follis road bike, I could hit 35. But
I enjoy the slow lane a lot more, really. I take my 'funny bike' to local bike rodeos to show the
kids you don't have to be Lance Armstrong to enjoy a bike.

I have a brilliant, adoring lover, 20 years my junior, who has stuck with me despite seeing me
nearly die 3 times. I take it a sign from the Gods that I found the woman who loves me for myself
in time for the worst crisis of a crisis filled life. It's hard to say I can die happy, but at
least I won't die unloved. I have a whole new perspective on Lee Attwater these days. What a horror
it would be to die like that, apologizing to the people you hurt up til the end. I sincerely hope
he found peace.

Randy http://65.64.114.185/index.htm

BTW.. You really need to ride the KATY in good weather. In May it is just about the prettiest thing
I have ever seen.

 

[Tom Sherman]

bandjhughes wrote:
>
> I wonder where you came up with that statistic. I don't think I'm all that unusual but my income
> is certainly considerably higher than 3 years ago, meanwhile my house payments are much less (I'm
> still in the same house, just with a lower mortgage rate). My vehicles payments are complete. I
> ride my bike to work everyday now instead of driving,

>
> Funny thing though, I don't believe a political party was the major contributor to much of this at
> all. Me thinks even had the country suffered through Al Gore, I myself would be in much the same
> economic situation. I believe most others would be too—they just haven't figured out that the
> party currently in charge of the White House isn't the primary factor in their life and sole cause
> of their economic status.

If Bush & Co. get their way in revising the Fair Labor Standards Act, at least 8 million people in
the US will lose their overtime pay. That will put quite a dent into their standard of living. In
addition, once their employers are no longer required to pay them overtime, their work hours will
increase significantly, decreasing their quality of life.

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is,
the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. - John Kenneth Galbraith

 

[Tom Sherman]

"Randy N." wrote:
> ...
> 1. minimize the number of 70 hour work weeks where you fly somewhere in a coach class seat for
> hours, anticipating the sorts of situations where someone is willing to pay > $2000.00 a day
> for your ass in a chair, with all the stress that entails. It is never a happy story when you
> get there....

That is pretty funny. I have worked a lot of 70+ hour weeks for less than $150/day. Of course, that
is an improvement of the 80+ hour weeks I used to work for about $80/day (adjusted for inflation).

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

"We probably need to have tax cuts directed at lower-income Americans, such as payroll-tax
reductions. Low-income Americans in totality bear a much higher tax burden than wealthy Americans
do; therefore, there is a growing gap between the wealthiest and poorest Americans." - Republican
Senator John McCain

 

[Tom Sherman]

Edward Dolan wrote:
> ... Nationalism and strong religious views are not inherently evil (although they can and do cause
> a lot of grief in the world) and you are right, we will always disagree about that. You are not
> wrong to be critical of Bush in a foreign land, but it is unbecoming, and those foreigners you are
> living among will respect you more if you show some loyalty to your country. No one understands
> that better than the Dutch. In fact, they may be thinking quite ill of you for not standing by
> your country. There are duties owed to one's country regardless of where you stand in the
> political spectrum.

Being critical of Bush II is not at all the same thing as being critical of the US as a nation.

If I wanted to do something that was anti-US, I would vote for Bush II in the next election,
since his administration is systematically promoting the worst aspects of the country while
destroying the best.

Tom Sherman - Vive la France

I criticize America because I love her. I want her to stand as a moral example to the world. -
Martin Luther King Jr.