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[Akka Homestead <akkabhomestead AT yahoo.com>]

Gene GeRue wrote:

> I lean Libertarian, although far less radical than what I have 
> observed of that party for the last ten or fifteen years. If I were 
> forced to reduce my political positions to labels, I would say that I
> am a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, but my values and 
> self- view would be at odds with those of the correlative 
> parties--for instance, I do not support social welfare but I am in 
> favor of a national health care system; it makes sense to me that a 
> healthy populace is a more productive populace.

Wow, Gene, I could have written the above!


>From time to time I am brought up short when viewing
> tables on various conditions where we Americans compare unfavorably: 
> infant mortality (more than 25 countries are better than the USA), 
> longevity (29 countries have longer-lived citizens than we), 
> healthcare (we spend more than 8 other first-level countries but have
>  worse health care).

Well, realize that these conditions are picked and chosen.  I know we
have a long way to go on things like what you cited above, but in some
categories, like generosity, we are at the top of the lists.

> 
> How has this happened? The direction our country has moved is partly 
> the result of worldwide conditions but it is also and largely the 
> result of what has happened in our political arena, the area where we
>  voters are in charge, right?

Right.



The general themes or values of our two
> political parties have been that the Republicans represent the 
> principles of free-market enterprise and financial and social 
> conservatism, which latter has often meant aligning with the 
> religious right. Democrats have historically been aligned with the 
> working class, the middle part of America, and have been seen as the 
> party of the poor (which I have always and erroneously thought of as 
> the natural constituents of the religious right).

While I agree with you on the Republican description, I think for the
Democrats you should add the 'undereducated' working class(and poor),
and by that I mean those with only a high school diploma-the sheeple.  I
don't mean that to be the insult that it sounds like.  Sorry if it seems
that way--I'm just not that gifted with words.  But let me try to
explain without making this worse.  Many times, Dems push social
programs that seem great, but those programs have hidden costs that
aren't always obvious.  Those with more education tend to look at more
than face value on these programs and realize that that great idea costs
money somewhere, if not billed to me directly, then billed to my kids or
charged to the national debt or whatever.  This happens in both parties,
not just Democrats.  The most recent example I can think of is the
stimulus checks.  Most folks thought it was great..not realizing that we
borrowed money from China and now we are in even worse shape.  The same
folks that thought it was a great idea are now complaining about the
national debt. I put this under Dems though because usually the
overspending projects are Democratic ideas, like, for example, No Child
Left Behind.



While political
> campaigns have manipulated disparate American voters, the overriding 
> theme I have seen is that Republicans represent the rich and 
> Democrats represent the poor. Early on, my young and ignorant brain 
> figured that if I wanted to be rich I should be a Republican.

I have always heard that but never understood why people think that.
Some of the richest people are Democrats...think Kennedy, Kerry,
Clinton, Pelosi...  They say that the rich voters vote Republican, so if
that is true then why are the richest states Democratic?  Look at
Mississippi-maybe the poorest state out there, but it's Republican
through and through.  It's seemingly a paradox.  Why would poor working
class folks in MS feel better represented by a Rep than a Dem?  The
answer is not that they aspire to be rich, but that they trust the right
wing conservatives/religious right/whatever you want to call them




  Paradoxically and
> ever increasingly, the affluent and educated are aligning themselves 
> with the Democratic party.

I think this might be true only in certain regions, like the Northeast.
I certainly don't see this happening in the South.


> But the Republicans no longer represent enough of America to be a 
> viable political party. If by some aberration of logic and common 
> sense, John McCain is elected our next president, it will be the 
> result of the no-ethics but very effective Rovian campaign tactical 
> plan.

More so than ever before, there is little difference between the
parties.  I really don't see how you can say that the Reps don't
represent enough of America to be a viable party.  Last I heard, this
horse race wasn't over and it is looking to be a photo finish.  What
does that say about the equity of both major parties and who they represent?



 If that happens, then once again American voters will show that
> they are emotionally susceptible, that they can be politically 
> manipulated by those of no ethics save the drive to win, whatever it 
> takes.

Funny, I feel the same way about Obama, that he plays to emotion and
idealism.  The whole election, both sides, is manipulated by those with
no ethics..they play both ends against the middle.



> 
> My prediction today is that this is the last presidential campaign in
>  which the old Republican guard has a chance of representing America 
> to Americans and to the world.


Wake up.  IF Obama is elected, I doubt he will be re-elected.  After a
few years of his lack of focus when he is working on his third or fourth
book instead of working on health care solutions, getting the troops out
of whatever quagmire they are in at the time, or working on developing
windmills in Lake Michigan, I hope that America will wake up and realize
what a mistake they made.  When that happens, Republicans will take the reins 
again.

Hey Gene, take a look at this map...lots of red on that map...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/2485731/Interactive-map-How-will-Americans-vote.html


I don't know if anyone listens to late night radio, but I happened to catch 
Coast to Coast last night and among other things, George Noory seemed to 
think that Biden is about to step down and suggest that Hillary take his 
place on the ticket.  Apparently yesterday Biden said that Hillary might have 
been a better pick for the job.  What????  Do you Obama supporters really 
think Biden will jump ship and be replaced by Hillary?  That sure would take 
the spotlight off Palin, wouldn't it?  It would seem to me that THAT would be 
a Democratic slam dunk.  What say ye, and what do you think Biden was 
thinking?/smoking?<g>
Obama's aides must also have been listening.  The guest was a numerologist 
and said that Obama would win IF he stopped attacking Palin and went after 
McCain on issues.   Today in the news, he is doing just that, ignoring 
Palin.. Good job Barack.  I will say this, while his hands are not totally 
clean of mud, he is doing far better than most candidates.  He's told the 
media to back off more than once, and I was impressed when he reminded a 
reporter than his mother was a teenager when he was born, too.  
Momma always said that if you can't say something nice about someone, don't 
say anything at all.  I figure I owe Obama a few more compliments to even 
things out.

Akka





>From Bunjov AT aol.com  Sat Sep 13 00:17:19 2008
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Shame on you, Rob, if you meant that. You never mentioned that they annoyed
you, only that they were 'there'.
If they're 'there', it's because they belong there. We are the interlopers.
If someone larger came along and cut down your house, I'm sure you would
complain, too.
I am uplifted by every natural sound around me, whether it be chirping,
barking, meowing, tweeting, or cawing. It tells me the Earth is alive, and I'm
part of it.
Yup. They're there. And they'll be there long after the oh-so-superior  human
race has erased itself from the face of the planet. If any of us do  survive,
it will be those who have learned to live in harmony with our fellow
creatures.
Sandy
Mid-Mojave


In a message dated 9/12/2008 8:44:39 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
waltonrp AT gmail.com writes:

As in  "Die Lorelei"? They're going to hate it when I burn their A##es.

Rob -  Va

On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 11:15 PM, bob ford  <bobford79 AT yahoo.com> wrote:
>  if the sounds are  singing,  at first,' "each to each" ', then it would be
the sound of  mermaids ...bobford
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message  ----
> From: Robert Walton waltonrp AT gmail.com
>
>
> I  have a nice stack of that cord of wood. It is however, singing to
> me.  I hear something, not crickets chirping in it at night. Not a fast
>  chirp, a slow one. Creek, Creek Creek. What could that be? I can't
>  spot anything, even at night with a flashlight.
>
> Rob -  Va
>
>
>
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