Worst President ever?
The History News Network at George Mason University has just polled historians informally on the Bush record. Four hundred and fifteen, about a third of those contacted, answered -- maybe they were all crazed liberals -- making the project as unofficial as it was interesting. These were the results: 338 said they believed Bush was failing, while 77 said he was succeeding. Fifty said they thought he was the worst president ever. Worse than Buchanan. This is what those historians said -- and it should be noted that some of the criticism about deficit spending and misuse of the military came from self-identified conservatives -- about the Bush record: He has taken the country into an unwinnable war and alienated friend and foe alike in the process; He is bankrupting the country with a combination of aggressive military spending and reduced taxation of the rich; He has deliberately and dangerously attacked separation of church and state; He has repeatedly misled, to use a kind word, the American people on affairs domestic and foreign; He has proved to be incompetent in affairs domestic (New Orleans) and foreign ( Iraq and the battle against al-Qaida); He has sacrificed American employment (including the toleration of pension and benefit elimination) to increase overall productivity; He is ignorantly hostile to science and technological progress; He has tolerated or ignored one of the republic's oldest problems, corporate cheating in supplying the military in wartime. Still, while the great majority said he was failing as president less than 15% were willing now to say he was the worst president. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucrr/20051203/cm_ucrr/isgeorgebushtheworstpresidentever -- Gary Denton http://www.apollocon.org June 23-25, 2006 The budget should be balanced; the treasury should be refilled; public debt should be reduced; and the arrogance of public officials should be controlled. -Cicero. 106-43 B.C. Easter Lemming Liberal News Digest - http://elemming2.blogspot.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Defeat in Victory
I hate how terrorism and the war in Iraq have come to dominate debate so. I notice that Gautam and JDG rarely post these days, and there is no-one to staunchly dispute the centrist viewpoints we all seem to espouse (Dan excepted). There is no right answer, we surely all know that, but the debate to find one must go on, or we sink into self-absorbed narcissism. Other things are going on too. Is this the victory of Osama, that we are so focused on fear that we forget the future? My Belly Button Fluff Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Defeat in Victory
On Mon, 5 Dec 2005 00:57:22 +1100, Andrew Paul [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I hate how terrorism and the war in Iraq have come to dominate debate so. I notice that Gautam and JDG rarely post these days, and there is no-one to staunchly dispute the centrist viewpoints we all seem to espouse (Dan excepted). There is no right answer, we surely all know that, but the debate to find one must go on, or we sink into self-absorbed narcissism. Other things are going on too. Is this the victory of Osama, that we are so focused on fear that we forget the future? My Belly Button Fluff Maru I think that it is important that we debate Iraq and believe that part of the reason that supporters of the administration contribute to the debate is that their position has become so indefensable. All that being said, I agree that there are many other interesting things to discuss and the list has become far too quiet. Pump it up, people! -- Doug Reading The Algebraist and Olympus, recently finished The Half Blood Prince and The Baroque Cycle (Stephenson trilogy) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: left-right inanities
Robert wrote: Seconded! I follow blogs almost exclusively via RSS/XML/ATOM. Doc, if you have not tried an RSS reader, you owe yourself the pleasure of the experience. RSS readers aggregate all your news into one handy dandy program that updates your news/blogs automatically. Info: http://tinyurl.com/9fxfe Did you mean to send a Google search? Can you (or anyone else) suggest a particular site? -- Doug ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Defeat in Victory
Andrew Paul wrote: I hate how terrorism and the war in Iraq have come to dominate debate so. I notice that Gautam and JDG rarely post these days, and there is no-one to staunchly dispute the centrist viewpoints we all seem to espouse (Dan excepted). There is no right answer, we surely all know that, but the debate to find one must go on, or we sink into self-absorbed narcissism. Are you implying that we are not full-on narcissists? Other things are going on too. Is this the victory of Osama, that we are so focused on fear that we forget the future? At worst there is a detente, at best we are having some difficulties putting Al-Quaeda down. xponent Stormbringer Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Defeat in Victory
Doug Pensinger wrote: On Mon, 5 Dec 2005 00:57:22 +1100, Andrew Paul [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I hate how terrorism and the war in Iraq have come to dominate debate so. I notice that Gautam and JDG rarely post these days, and there is no-one to staunchly dispute the centrist viewpoints we all seem to espouse (Dan excepted). There is no right answer, we surely all know that, but the debate to find one must go on, or we sink into self-absorbed narcissism. Other things are going on too. Is this the victory of Osama, that we are so focused on fear that we forget the future? My Belly Button Fluff Maru I think that it is important that we debate Iraq and believe that part of the reason that supporters of the administration contribute to the debate is that their position has become so indefensable. All that being said, I agree that there are many other interesting things to discuss and the list has become far too quiet. Pump it up, people! I *know* JDG has been extremely busy lately. (I was hoping he'd come back to active posting before football season ended, but it's looking like he won't.) I'm not going to jump into the Iraq debate except to ask for clarifications. I have too many other things on my plate at the moment that are more important to me than formulating arguments one way or another for anything having to do with that. (People currently not caring for several small children will probably have a different set of priorities, as they should.) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Defeat in Victory
On Behalf Of Doug Pensinger On Mon, 5 Dec 2005 00:57:22 +1100, Andrew Paul [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I hate how terrorism and the war in Iraq have come to dominate debate so. I notice that Gautam and JDG rarely post these days, and there is no-one to staunchly dispute the centrist viewpoints we all seem to espouse (Dan excepted). There is no right answer, we surely all know that, but the debate to find one must go on, or we sink into self-absorbed narcissism. Other things are going on too. Is this the victory of Osama, that we are so focused on fear that we forget the future? My Belly Button Fluff Maru I think that it is important that we debate Iraq and believe that part of the reason that supporters of the administration contribute to the debate is that their position has become so indefensable. That may be so, but then I thought they had some valid points. And it's a reality. At least we could debate solutions. Paradox Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: left-right inanities
Doug Pensinger wrote: Robert wrote: Seconded! I follow blogs almost exclusively via RSS/XML/ATOM. Doc, if you have not tried an RSS reader, you owe yourself the pleasure of the experience. RSS readers aggregate all your news into one handy dandy program that updates your news/blogs automatically. Info: http://tinyurl.com/9fxfe Did you mean to send a Google search? Yes.I knew Doc is a MacDude so I figured he could decide what was good for himself. I know jack bout Mac.G Can you (or anyone else) suggest a particular site? I use RSSReader 1.0.88.0 and am quite happy with it. http://www.rssreader.com/ But there are plenty of alternatives. (I'm thinking of getting a second reader and using one for blogs and the other for news) Some people use a Yahoo syndication page (I dislike this myself) http://my.yahoo.com/ Otherwise just look through the links on the search page I sent and find something you like. What I do is use the RSS reader as a base and if it shows me something interesting I get it to take me to the webpage,but if it only generates idle curiousity I view it in the reader itself. RSS readers add some flexibility to ones infosurfing habits xponent Surfing Toward The Ur-Singularity Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: left-right inanities
Rob said: Yes.I knew Doc is a MacDude so I figured he could decide what was good for himself. I know jack bout Mac.G I would highly recommend NetNewsWire for OS X: http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/ Rich ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: left-right inanities
RSS readers aggregate all your news into one handy dandy program that updates your news/blogs automatically. There is a page in EARTH (written in 1988) that predicts this), the book's 18th hit ANy of you interested in nature or teachig? drop by: http://www.cabscience.com/index.html ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
My annual Xmas tirade... Was RE: An armed society ...
Mr. House Of Pain Maru wrote... Wishes may never become fishes, and unfortunate as it may be, people most often are not polite unless there is some overriding reason to be polite. Rob's wisdom is a great segue into my Annual Christmas Rant. For the first time in my work career, I had to work the Friday after Thanksgiving. That in itself wasn't a big deal as I had volunteered to work it so some of my co-workers could go out of town for Thanksgiving. Driving to work, at 5:00 am that morning was a REAL eye-opener. I was astounded at the number of people at the Super Wal-Mart. I made the mistake of stopping there to pick up donuts on the way to work, and I was left speechless at just how rude and inconsiderate people were. I'm not just talking about one or two people, I'm talking about a majority of people. People were impatient and rude in the parking lot. Quick to cut someone off just to save a few steps and get 3 or 4 parking spaces closer. They were quick to honk their horns over and over if you didn't move the microsecond the light turned green, and of course they were quick to scream out the window or give the one finger salute - most had kids in the car. In the store, grown adults, were shoving and being rude in the toy department and especially electronics, because they just had to get that certain, popular toy. Others, amazingly, brought kids with them to shop and were screaming at them, to shut up and no you can't have any toys. What are these people thinking when they bring young children to shop for others and then are mean and nasty to the kids because they naturally want toys that they see? The REALLY popular item around here this year is the Nintendo DS Nintendogs Best Friends edition. It was made it VERY limited quantities and advertised like your would not believe, and I saw two grown adults, arguing and screaming at the unfortunate teenage Wal-Mart employee, about who saw the very last one, first. Naturally, my daughter wants one of the special edition Nintendo DS games, but there was NO WAY that I was going to join the feeding frenzy and act like an idiot. My son's mom (my daughter and son have different moms) , who makes sure her kids always have the latest and greatest, paid almost twice the price by buying the game and cartridge separately. She paid over $100 for the game cartridge on eBay. The game itself was a limited edition color and the cartridge was only available in the Special Limited Edition bundle, and was being sold on eBay by people who bought the game, but didn't want the cartridge. Saying that I am astounded would be an understatement. What's the point, if everyone is going to be rude and nasty? Perhaps I had a sheltered life, but growing up in the 70's, I NEVER remember anyone being rude, like I have seen in the last few years. Even now, when I go to a store now, I see the same things, maybe not as intense as the day after Thanksgiving, but still nasty and rude. So what is the cause? Why the change? Is it because people don't have patience any more? Is it because manufactures create an artificial shortage of popular products to sell other products when the Limited Editions sell out? It seems to be getting worse every year. climbing off my soapbox Gary PS - Quite by accident, one night a few days ago, I ran across one of the rare and coveted Nintendo DS Nintendog Best Friends edition bundle at Meijers The very last one, on sale no less, and I didn't have to act like a rude inconsiderate idiot to get it. :-) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
My annual Xmas tirade... Was RE: An armed society ...
Gary Nunn wrote: Is it because manufactures create an artificial shortage of popular products to sell other products when the Limited Editions sell out? In my opinion, it's because far too many parents feel that they have to purchase their children's love. My understanding is that a full 10% of the XBox 360's sold in the USA have been sold on eBay. For between $600 and $700 apiece, or a 100% markup. Had I known, I'd have ordered two, sold one, and essentially got one for free. I don't know exactly *how* the monster got created, but I do know there doesn't seem to be any way to put it back in its cave. On a related note, I consider myself lucky to live in a working class neighborhood. The pressure on my kids to keep up with the Joneses is nearly non-existent. Jim ___ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Defeat in Victory
At 09:53 AM Sunday 12/4/2005, Doug Pensinger wrote: On Mon, 5 Dec 2005 00:57:22 +1100, Andrew Paul [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I hate how terrorism and the war in Iraq have come to dominate debate so. I notice that Gautam and JDG rarely post these days, and there is no-one to staunchly dispute the centrist viewpoints we all seem to espouse (Dan excepted). There is no right answer, we surely all know that, but the debate to find one must go on, or we sink into self-absorbed narcissism. Other things are going on too. Is this the victory of Osama, that we are so focused on fear that we forget the future? My Belly Button Fluff Maru I think that it is important that we debate Iraq and believe that part of the reason that supporters of the administration contribute to the debate is that their position has become so indefensable. Alternatively, that many people on both sides of the debate have concluded that no one on the other side is even listening to them any more, much less is likely to change his/her mind . . . (I've seen similar things on other lists wrt other topics.) All that being said, I agree that there are many other interesting things to discuss and the list has become far too quiet. Pump it up, people! -- Doug Reading The Algebraist and Olympus, recently finished The Half Blood Prince and The Baroque Cycle (Stephenson trilogy) Does it ever get fixed? When In Doubt, Pun Maru --Ronn! :) Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance... UNDER GOD. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools too? -- Red Skelton ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Defeat in Victory
At 10:10 AM Sunday 12/4/2005, Julia Thompson wrote: Doug Pensinger wrote: On Mon, 5 Dec 2005 00:57:22 +1100, Andrew Paul [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I hate how terrorism and the war in Iraq have come to dominate debate so. I notice that Gautam and JDG rarely post these days, and there is no-one to staunchly dispute the centrist viewpoints we all seem to espouse (Dan excepted). There is no right answer, we surely all know that, but the debate to find one must go on, or we sink into self-absorbed narcissism. Other things are going on too. Is this the victory of Osama, that we are so focused on fear that we forget the future? My Belly Button Fluff Maru I think that it is important that we debate Iraq and believe that part of the reason that supporters of the administration contribute to the debate is that their position has become so indefensable. All that being said, I agree that there are many other interesting things to discuss and the list has become far too quiet. Pump it up, people! I *know* JDG has been extremely busy lately. (I was hoping he'd come back to active posting before football season ended, but it's looking like he won't.) I'm not going to jump into the Iraq debate except to ask for clarifications. I have too many other things Would that number be 3? on my plate at the moment that are more important to me than formulating arguments one way or another for anything having to do with that. (People currently not caring for several small children will probably have a different set of priorities, as they should.) Julia --Ronn! :) Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance... UNDER GOD. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools too? -- Red Skelton ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: My annual Xmas tirade... Was RE: An armed society ...
At 01:16 PM Sunday 12/4/2005, Gary Nunn wrote: Mr. House Of Pain Maru wrote... Wishes may never become fishes, and unfortunate as it may be, people most often are not polite unless there is some overriding reason to be polite. Rob's wisdom is a great segue into my Annual Christmas Rant. For the first time in my work career, I had to work the Friday after Thanksgiving. That in itself wasn't a big deal as I had volunteered to work it so some of my co-workers could go out of town for Thanksgiving. Driving to work, at 5:00 am that morning was a REAL eye-opener. I was astounded at the number of people at the Super Wal-Mart. I made the mistake of stopping there to pick up donuts on the way to work, and I was left speechless at just how rude and inconsiderate people were. I'm not just talking about one or two people, I'm talking about a majority of people. People were impatient and rude in the parking lot. Quick to cut someone off just to save a few steps and get 3 or 4 parking spaces closer. They were quick to honk their horns over and over if you didn't move the microsecond the light turned green, and of course they were quick to scream out the window or give the one finger salute - most had kids in the car. In the store, grown adults, were shoving and being rude in the toy department and especially electronics, because they just had to get that certain, popular toy. Others, amazingly, brought kids with them to shop and were screaming at them, to shut up and no you can't have any toys. What are these people thinking when they bring young children to shop for others and then are mean and nasty to the kids because they naturally want toys that they see? Maybe they could not find a baby sitter (perhaps 'cuz everyone else they could call also wanted to be at Wal-Mart at 0500) and so had to bring the kids with them. The REALLY popular item around here this year is the Nintendo DS Nintendogs Best Friends edition. It was made it VERY limited quantities and advertised like your would not believe, and I saw two grown adults, arguing and screaming at the unfortunate teenage Wal-Mart employee, about who saw the very last one, first. Think about those poor employees, having to get up in time to have the store open at 0500 (or 0100, as some of the stores around here have done in the past) on what for many is a long holiday weekend. But then for several years now stores like K-Mart and others have been open on Thanksgiving Day and running special sales that were only good that day. (Maybe that is their attempt to get a jump on Wal-Mart, which locally at least is closed on Thanksgiving Day itself.) Naturally, my daughter wants one of the special edition Nintendo DS games, but there was NO WAY that I was going to join the feeding frenzy and act like an idiot. My son's mom (my daughter and son have different moms) , who makes sure her kids always have the latest and greatest, paid almost twice the price by buying the game and cartridge separately. She paid over $100 for the game cartridge on eBay. The game itself was a limited edition color and the cartridge was only available in the Special Limited Edition bundle, and was being sold on eBay by people who bought the game, but didn't want the cartridge. Saying that I am astounded would be an understatement. Several years ago when Tickle Me Elmo was the hot, impossible-to-find item, I responded by getting one of the little 5-inch-or-so-high Elmos, tying a noose around its neck, and hanging it from the post my mailbox is attached to with a sign that said TICKLE THIS! pinned to its chest as part of my holiday decorations . . . (I suppose it may still be in a bag somewhere with other decorations where I put them after taking them down.) (Haven't figured out a way to do anything similar with an Xbox . . . at least not for a financial outlay comparable to that of the miniature Elmo . . .) What's the point, if everyone is going to be rude and nasty? Perhaps I had a sheltered life, but growing up in the 70's, I NEVER remember anyone being rude, like I have seen in the last few years. Even now, when I go to a store now, I see the same things, maybe not as intense as the day after Thanksgiving, but still nasty and rude. So what is the cause? Why the change? Is it because people don't have patience any more? Is it because manufactures create an artificial shortage of popular products to sell other products when the Limited Editions sell out? IMO, that (your last sentence) is a big part of it. Also, notice how much free advertising the national and local news on Thanksgiving and the following days give to those sales and their results. Me, I stay away from all the stores on Black Friday in protest. Of course, I don't have little ones who have been programmed by TV and their peers to demand that hot, impossible-to-find item, either . . . It seems to be getting worse every year. climbing off my soapbox Gary PS
Re: Brin: left-right inanities
Doug Pensinger wrote: Did you mean to send a Google search? Can you (or anyone else) suggest a particular site? There are as many ways to read RSS as there are people. My email client (Thunderbird) supports it out of the box and makes RSS reading like email reading, that's my preferred way. Other people like the way their browser (Firefox) handles RSS (live bookmarks). On the opposite end of things is something like Bloglines or Reader.Google.com. There are a veritable ton of RSS readers out there. -- --Max Battcher-- http://www.worldmaker.net/ History bleeds for tomorrow / for us to realize and never more follow blind --Machinae Supremacy, Deus Ex Machinae, Title Track ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Defeat in Victory
Ronn!Blankenship wrote: At 10:10 AM Sunday 12/4/2005, Julia Thompson wrote: I'm not going to jump into the Iraq debate except to ask for clarifications. I have too many other things Would that number be 3? Well, after Dan's outpatient procedure on Tuesday, it was more like 4 for a few days there. :P Plus there's a room that needs to be cleaned out, half a garage that needs to be cleaned out, and as much of this as possible done by noon on Saturday. Suffice to say, my RL is going to be just a letle hectic for the next few days. (Probably not going to let up until a day or two after Christmas, actually. I think I want to declare the 27th reading day and just encourage everyone to spend as much time as possible with books. Tommy will love that as long as he gets read aloud to often enough.) on my plate at the moment that are more important to me than formulating arguments one way or another for anything having to do with that. (People currently not caring for several small children will probably have a different set of priorities, as they should.) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: My annual Xmas tirade... Was RE: An armed society ...
Ronn!Blankenship wrote: At 01:16 PM Sunday 12/4/2005, Gary Nunn wrote: What are these people thinking when they bring young children to shop for others and then are mean and nasty to the kids because they naturally want toys that they see? Maybe they could not find a baby sitter (perhaps 'cuz everyone else they could call also wanted to be at Wal-Mart at 0500) and so had to bring the kids with them. Hm. My kids' daddy doesn't WANT to be at Wal-Mart on that day. (Neither do I, come to think of it.) So if I really want to be at Wal-Mart the minute it opens, gee, I can leave the kids at home with him. Are some of these parents divorced? (Also, who gets a kid up that early anyway? You don't want to ENCOURAGE them to be up at 4AM!) Naturally, my daughter wants one of the special edition Nintendo DS games, but there was NO WAY that I was going to join the feeding frenzy and act like an idiot. My son's mom (my daughter and son have different moms) , who makes sure her kids always have the latest and greatest, paid almost twice the price by buying the game and cartridge separately. She paid over $100 for the game cartridge on eBay. The game itself was a limited edition color and the cartridge was only available in the Special Limited Edition bundle, and was being sold on eBay by people who bought the game, but didn't want the cartridge. Saying that I am astounded would be an understatement. Several years ago when Tickle Me Elmo was the hot, impossible-to-find item, I responded by getting one of the little 5-inch-or-so-high Elmos, tying a noose around its neck, and hanging it from the post my mailbox is attached to with a sign that said TICKLE THIS! pinned to its chest as part of my holiday decorations . . . (I suppose it may still be in a bag somewhere with other decorations where I put them after taking them down.) Heh. I sold a used one for $5 a couple of months ago. (Elmo gets annoying after awhile. They've managed to break the Hokey Pokey Elmo. Unfortunately, what broke wasn't the part that controls the singing.) (Haven't figured out a way to do anything similar with an Xbox . . . at least not for a financial outlay comparable to that of the miniature Elmo . . .) If you had the use of one for an afternoon, to take measurements, you could probably make a decent mock-up out of cardboard, masking tape and paint, couldn't you? Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: My annual Xmas tirade... Was RE: An armed society ...
At 11:54 PM Sunday 12/4/2005, Julia Thompson wrote: Ronn!Blankenship wrote: At 01:16 PM Sunday 12/4/2005, Gary Nunn wrote: What are these people thinking when they bring young children to shop for others and then are mean and nasty to the kids because they naturally want toys that they see? Maybe they could not find a baby sitter (perhaps 'cuz everyone else they could call also wanted to be at Wal-Mart at 0500) and so had to bring the kids with them. Hm. My kids' daddy doesn't WANT to be at Wal-Mart on that day. (Neither do I, come to think of it.) So if I really want to be at Wal-Mart the minute it opens, gee, I can leave the kids at home with him. Are some of these parents divorced? Or possibly never married in the first place. (Also, who gets a kid up that early anyway? You don't want to ENCOURAGE them to be up at 4AM!) Naturally, my daughter wants one of the special edition Nintendo DS games, but there was NO WAY that I was going to join the feeding frenzy and act like an idiot. My son's mom (my daughter and son have different moms) , who makes sure her kids always have the latest and greatest, paid almost twice the price by buying the game and cartridge separately. She paid over $100 for the game cartridge on eBay. The game itself was a limited edition color and the cartridge was only available in the Special Limited Edition bundle, and was being sold on eBay by people who bought the game, but didn't want the cartridge. Saying that I am astounded would be an understatement. Several years ago when Tickle Me Elmo was the hot, impossible-to-find item, I responded by getting one of the little 5-inch-or-so-high Elmos, tying a noose around its neck, and hanging it from the post my mailbox is attached to with a sign that said TICKLE THIS! pinned to its chest as part of my holiday decorations . . . (I suppose it may still be in a bag somewhere with other decorations where I put them after taking them down.) Heh. I sold a used one for $5 a couple of months ago. (Elmo gets annoying after awhile. About .001 seconds, if it makes noise and you are over a certain age . . . They've managed to break the Hokey Pokey Elmo. Unfortunately, what broke wasn't the part that controls the singing.) I dated a girl who wanted me to pick anything I wanted for our song. For some reason, she seemed disappointed when I chose the hokey Pokey . . . (Haven't figured out a way to do anything similar with an Xbox . . . at least not for a financial outlay comparable to that of the miniature Elmo . . .) If you had the use of one for an afternoon, to take measurements, you could probably make a decent mock-up out of cardboard, masking tape and paint, couldn't you? Assuming I had nothing else to do . . . --Ronn! :) Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance... UNDER GOD. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools too? -- Red Skelton ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RepubliKlan Amerika:Valtrex
http://www.livejournal.com/users/triggur/104525.html I know a young woman who has the misfortune to have contracted genital herpes. She is on a daily regimen of Valtrex to prevent symptoms from manifesting themselves. Recently she took her prescription to a pharmacist who was apparently a fundamentalist Christian. Not only did he refuse to fill the prescription, but he tore it up and handed it back to her, saying, God is punishing you for your sin. -- Morality is not the basis of the governance of the state. Machiaveli noted that. Those who attempt to govern the state for moral ends, find themselves committing immoral acts and rarely achieve moral ends. The basis of government is the monopoly of organized violence and the supremacy of force. This is inherently immoral or amoral at the best. The virtues of the state are the virtues of ethics and not of morality. We seek to have an ethical state and not a moral one. This is supremely difficult for most men to grasp, for morality is sentimental and parochial and ethics is dispassionate and relative. People always ask that the state should be moral. But then the question arises, whose morality? And it turns out that there are many different moralities and they all end up squabbling over whose shall dominate. And then madmen and scoundrels promise each side that theirs shall triumph in order to gain power and distribute favor and use the state for their own gain. The definition of the ethical state is that it should treat all equally unfairly, high or low, rich or poor, regardless of color or gender, living or dead. Because it is impossible to make everyone happy all the time, but it is possible to treat everyone unfairly all the time. That is the function of the state, which is to create unhappiness, and it succeeds when it gives everyone an equal measure. Morality therefore is far removed from any such discussion. --Oldman (RIP) BopNews ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: RepubliKlan Amerika:Valtrex
At 12:36 AM Monday 12/5/2005, The Fool wrote: http://www.livejournal.com/users/triggur/104525.html I know a young woman who has the misfortune to have contracted genital herpes. She is on a daily regimen of Valtrex to prevent symptoms from manifesting themselves. Recently she took her prescription to a pharmacist who was apparently a fundamentalist Christian. Not only did he refuse to fill the prescription, but he tore it up and handed it back to her, saying, God is punishing you for your sin. Some *ahem* creative suggestions as to what the patient could have done in retaliation, to be sure, but I didn't see the political affiliation (if indeed any) of the pharmacist was indicated anywhere. --Ronn! :) Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance... UNDER GOD. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools too? -- Red Skelton ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
