This is a truly exceptional post, Constance. I could not find a snippet to quote that was any less relevant or important than any other, so I am doing something I never do: quoting the whole thing. Well done.
> -----Original Message----- > From: Computer Guys Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] > On Behalf Of Constance > Warner > Sent: Monday, August 03, 2009 1:55 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [CGUYS] Gubmint computer grab > > Oh, do get real. In the 1930's, there was 25% unemployment [much > higher in some places], starvation, ecological collapse, foreign wars > on the horizon, large numbers of internally displaced people, native > fascism, a growing U.S. communist party [partly supported by the > Soviet Union], and an incipient class war. Working conditions in > some places in this country [like my home state] were basically Early > Industrial Revolution--and, if you examine the history, it really was > as bad as you think. Things were going to hell very, very fast, and > it took drastic action to drag the country back from the brink. > Complete recovery took awhile, but the early measures did help. > > The New Deal saved the country from a lot worse situation than we > have at present. In fact, FDR's most notable achievement may have > been saving capitalism; to a lot of people at the time, communism and > similar systems were looking pretty good, compared to the mess that > they blamed, rightly or wrongly, on laissez-faire capitalism and Wall > Street speculators. (And no cracks about "communism is what we have > now," please. As an amateur Kremlinologist with a special interest > in the satellite countries--remember them?--I know the difference, > and so do you.) > > I'm a little chagrined that I let myself get baited into joining the > fray. I just have to believe that the statements about FDR ruining > the economy are something in the matter of a joke, or at least an > exaggeration. But in my home state, the scars of the Great > Depression are still visible, so I don't think it's particularly funny. > > And as for worship: I don't care who worships what, really. I'm > actually more concerned about exaggerations and outright lies about > programs like the cash for clunkers program and other proposals of > this administration. I won't even speculate about the motives of > people who lie and exaggerate, because they're sufficiently evident > not to need further exposition here. The economy may be in better > shape than it was last fall, and some of the current programs seem to > be having some effect. But the chances are NOT ZERO that we could > still have another Great Depression; and certain news [sic] > reporters, by trying to tear down any Democratic program they see, > and in particular by lying about those programs, seem to be pushing > us toward the edge of the cliff. ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
