tkhayes

Oh yeah, am I am not against Jews or anyone else in particular - I despise most religions at their face value equally. TK

Why do we support Israel? Fundamentalist Christians invading politics at every level. - Billy Graham since the 50's for example. No Israel and no homeland for the Jews, then no second coming of Christ. Of course Armageddon must happen as well, and the funny thing is that all the Jews must first convert to Christianity or die in the 'end' for all this to happen. Fucked up, but the more I read and the older I get, the more I believe it to be true.

Mouton Cadet - Bordeaux - all good years Rabbit Ridge - blue label with a bunny on it, also very good cab/merlot, although seems ot be scarce lately. And of course any of my homemade stuff if you can get that....rare indeed

there were also 10 questions of Carter in the latest Time magazine - probably came from the same interview. I always liked hearing what he had to say. Very good guy, intelligent. Definitely not hard-core-radical right-wing enough to be President of this place.... He has far too much common sense. TK [edit] http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1666258,00.html just found the link....

http://www.webtvhub.com/bush-mandela-is-dead-gaffe-video-american-president-declares-nelson-mandela-dead/ better link to the video - Bush is an idiot, the world knew he was an idiot well before the last election. Some of us knew he was an idiot, but he still got elected, and now MOST of America knows he is truly an idiot. He should stop talking and stop thinking - it hurts too much to watch and listen and the country will be better off.

some strange slimy worm thing crawling up my wall last night. Had a head like a hammerhead shark. About 2-3" long TK

the white crazies have been at this for years. I do not worry too much about it. they are quite small. And they are being watched by better people than you and I. If something is going to happen, some level of authority will likely intercept it before we need to worry about it. I look at them as our own 'home grown terrorists'. When they move, we will know, long before they become a real threat. And anything they might do will only HARM their cause, not help it.

hmm, sounds like you are a flailing geek like me. I got stuck at several levels during training, hit many walls. 1st reserve ride, #36, 2nd one 10 jumps later. had so many since then I lost count. 100 jumps and I did an 8 way - never touched anyone the whole dive. the sport takes some time, and shit does happen. Feel good that you appear to be dealing with the small stuff before it becomes big stuff.

it's happening already in other countries. Some people abuse the system, some do not use it at all, most use it 'normally' The system we have in the USA today: Some people abuse the system, some do not use it at all, most use it 'normally' I would suggest that the way the system is used and abused would not change that significantly. Warren Zevon did not go to the doctor for 23 years even though he could obviously afford it. I do not like doctors that much, so I only go when I need to - even though I have health insurance to cover it. Some people sneeze and then demand a prescription from their doctor. It was the same in Canada when I lived there. My patterns of visiting a doctor have not really changed. I actually had, and consciously think about "individual responsibility' in both systems. i.e. here I am afraid if I use it, my rates will go up, which they do anyway, but I still try to reduce my expenditures in the system. In Canada, i did not go to the doctor unless I really needed to - i.e. a broken finger and I went - but a cold? No way. so yes, it is totally realistic to think that people have individual responsibility, because I am the living example of it. And I doubt that I am the only person in the world (or the USA) with that perspective.

That's NOT what I said - I said "every man for himself" is anarchy - which it is. Promoting individual responsibility still applies when socialized medicine is in place - i.e. people understands that if they abuse the system, and go to the doctor every time they sneeze, then it will drive up costs and increase taxes. That would appear to promote individual responsibility would it not? so again, try a realistic argument.

It is true that if you owe the bank $1000, then you are in trouble, but if you owe them $10,000,000, they THEY are the ones that are in trouble. While that may be true of the USA, I think it is still a poor financial strategy. The goods news is that the dolar is in the toilet, so USA made goods should sell pretty well. - But too bad we shipped most of the manufacturing jobs to China - so much for that idea.....

I never suggested we stay 'helpless' nor did I suggest we completely disarm. What I said is what I said - we cannot expect others to disarm, call them 'bad' when we are doing the same things that they are. Everyone judges themselves by their intentions - others with judge you by your actions. When Iran becomes a 'terrorist nation', then we will see. Right now, I see a country threatened by the USA since we just invaded their neighbor based on a lie, and now are threatening to do the same to them. If I was Iran, I would be arming up too. The difference is that they are willing to die for their cause. Scary and real. Maybe backing down might reduce the threat. Afterall, attacking Iraq apparently has not reduced our threat any. There are more terrorists than ever before. I expect Iran just want to be left alone - and I also expect that will not happen since we want their oil. "Disarm or else" - where have we heard THAT before.....? As far as going back to Canada, the nice thing is, I actually have the choice - you do not, And I will at least be able to negate YOUR vote(s) in the next election. TK

.... I think that IS the real issue. And we already have a system in place for those who cannot afford the coverage. You pretty much have to bankrupt yourself to qualify. And they already DO analyze your life and see what you can afford. And you might lose your house or car or whatever. Do you honestly believe that someone who breaks an ankle in an accident, cannot afford $600/month for insurance, therefore has no coverage, deserves to be sent to the poorhouse potentially for years because they cannot come up with $25,000 for the hospital bills? The real issue is universal healthcare for ALL, not some - and that includes those who cannot afford.

We're not talking about the 'survival' of the country - we are talking about improving the one we live in for everyone involved. We also survived 100+ years without water and sewer - should we take that away because taxes pay for it? try a realistic argument. "We have always done it that way" is not a valid reason to do or NOT do anything.

right you are, as I stated in my first post - 'every man for himself' is not a way to run a country, it's a way to run an anarchy

The leader of our country is a lunatic who lied so he could invade Iraq. He threatened that he would invade if they did not disarm. Apparently they did, or they never had the weapons int he first place. 'nuff said The INTENT TO USE as you call is is well versed in American History. Cluster bombs, land mines, the nukes in Japan. We have a detailed history of using the weapons that we build. If you want to convince the rest of the world to disarm, then LEAD THE WAY.

that is simply a silly way to look at it. my 'neighbors' would be paying for my health care - and they would be paying for theirs too, and I would be paying for theirs as well, everyone would be paying through the taxation system to cover everyone. I already PAY dearly for my health insurance, which by the way just went up by 21% for no apparent reason other than a price increase. I HAVE health insurance. I am arguing for all those that do not. Since we already spend pretty much twice as much per capita on a health system that ranks us at 30+ something int he world, OBVIOUSLY some other countries have figured out how to do it well at a lower price. So maybe we should just copy some other system, provide coverage for EVERYONE and at the same time lower the costs per capita. sounds sensible to me - but no- we would have to do it the "Proper American Way"

half full half empty. Is the government 'taking over you life' if they provide health care? Or are they offering a service that appears to be in demand by the people? (govt BY the people FOR the people) The libertarians seem to believe every man for himself. Not the country I want to live in. At the very least, AND for the benefit of the country and society as a whole, the government should: - Feed the people (ensure that they are fed) - Educate the people (ensure that they are educated) - take care of the people (i.e. health care) after all the government is supposed to be a representation of what the people want and provide that for the people. Health Care si coming in this country eventually - it is just a matter of time. Almost every civilized country in the world has it already, and none of them are complaining about it. (other than perhaps the cost), but no one complains when they are sick and have to go to the doctor or hospital. Even in Canada, people complain about it, but offer to take it away? Not a chance.

whoop-itty-doo The good ol USA still has huge stockpiles of Chemical weapons, promised to be rid of them all by earlier this year, and the Pentagon recently decided that it will have to wait until 2023 before they are all gone. Does it really surprise anyone that other countries have chemical weapons too?

don't worry - the definitive word came on the news this morning (from CNN) I did not get the guys name but he says "A contract with the US military in a time of war 'trumps' the Iraqi parliament and its decisions" Nice to know that we are supporting democracy. Actually it sounds just like the way a lot of things are run in the US. big corporations with government contracts seem to run everything.....

that's pretty funny - so I wonder how the US will deal with the Iraq govt if they have revoked BlackWaterr's license to operate given that the US govt has millions and millions tied up in BlackWater contracts over there? I bet it all goes away quietly

then fine - make it WHATEVER number of civilians dead that you want - it is still tens of thousands, and all the arguments I make regarding that are still valid. Geez - it's somehow 'OK' that we caused the deaths of 'only' 75000 people? At what point does it become a war crime or genocide?

the 'up to 1000000' came from a recent independant report. The 100,000 number comes from the US government and many other sources confirm it. google Iraq death toll to find out. While the 1M number may be exxagerated, it does demonstrate that QUITE PROBABLY the government reported numbers are low. The study may be flawed, but it is not COMPLETELY flawed. Therefore I am certain that the civilian death toll is somewhere between 100K and 1M. now if MOST people/Org's think and demonstrate through various studies that 100K+ people are dead, I find it incredulous that people in this forum say bullshit. Does it really matter that we caused the deaths of 10,000, 100,000 or 1,000,000? That fact is that we are the DIRECT CAUSE of civilian deaths in a foreign country and no one (in America) gives a shit about it. Again, this is not good for America or Americans.

the 'perfect day' is a work of fiction, a dream if you will - much like the 'dream' of our government, and sadly, many other Americanstoo - that we are doing something good over there. kill them there, sure - but who exactly? So far we have killed up to 1,000,000 civilians - at least more than 100,000. none of those were or are terrorists most were just ordinary people, and I take serious offense that this is 'good for America' If we had a target (i.e as we did in Afghanistan), then by all means go for it. right now we are creating more terrorists than we are destroying. kill them there, by all means, but I argue, as I did before, that we could do the same here, within our borders, at lesser costs, by enforcing the laws that we already have in place, and taking care of OURSELVES, not pouring money into some foreign war. alas, the mistakes of the past will be recreated over and over again, with no resolve.

as I said earlier, - what a load of POLITICAL BULLSHIT from both sides. I did not pick political parties in my statements. You seem to assume that I am a Democrat, incorrect. The fact that Clinton and/or Giuliani are talking about this proves that the issue is political, and I expect will serve no purpose except fodder for folks who hope to get elected (on both sides). The report will not solve any issues nor make any really good recommendations (because there are none at this point) I said it is not winnable, not definable, therefore we should leave. More dead US soldiers and no victory is what awaits our future if we do not - 'stay the course' means just what we have been doing for 4 years now. and you and I will always differ on what 'progress' or 'success' or 'victory' means, therefore, as I said, it is undefinable. therefore we should leave. TK