Run In With Mr. Edwards

The lack of civility you describe certainly exists all over Usenet, but I
don't think it's such a big deal in the real world. Nor have things changed
that much over generations. And I don't think lack of compromise explains
any of what sucks in the U.S Congress. Here are some anecdotal examples to
support these points. Take them for what you will.

o Remember the heat Dan Burton (senator or congressman from Indiana) took for
calling President Clinton a "scumbag"?

o The History Channel ran a program last night about what led to the duel in
which Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton. Lots of hateful, vindictive, and
back-stabbing rhetoric was behind it, and not just between those two.

o Compromise happens in Congress every day. It often takes the form of
"Vote for my pork-barrel project to give other people's money to my
constituents, and I'll vote for yours".

Compromise as an end in itself, especially when it comes to moral values, is
not a good thing.

Jim Rosinski
N3825Q

"Jay Honeck" wrote

Well, that's EXACTLY what compromise is -- and it's been going on in America
for generations.

If fact, it is this almost unique feature of American political life that
has enabled our democracy to survive while so many others have perished.
Our ability to come to terms with our opponents -- as opposed to crushing
them -- is what makes our democracy work.

At the moment, however, I see very little of this sentiment at the national
level. It's "my way, or the highway" on a myriad of issues -- and the
rhetoric is reaching a dangerous volume.

Trouble is, the real "meaty" issues that divide Republicans from Democrats
(i.e.: Abortion; marriage; stem cell research; the purpose of government;
taxes; the right to bear arms; religion; etc.) are "black and white" issues,
with little room for compromise.

I don't think that any of this is new. However, our parents and
grand-parents were able to keep a lid on these kinds of disagreements by
maintaining a higher level of courtesy and decorum that has been all but
lost in America. Today, no one bats an eye at calling someone else "stupid"
or "immoral" because of what they believe -- and this is a radical change
that is harming our political system.

This naturally creates hard feelings, making any compromise MUCH more
difficult to achieve. The end result is political grid-lock, followed by
increasing frustration amongst the electorate, followed by revolution or
civil war, if carried to its ultimate conclusion.

Don,

Please email me a copy of the editorial you mentioned in your RAP response
to
Jay Honeck.

Thanks!

Jon

I recall the saying being that if you remember the 60s, you didn't EXPERIENCE
the 60s.

Jim


"Jay Beckman"
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

-"Michael 182" wrote in message
-news:2FUWc.55248$Fg5.42074@attbi_s53...
-
- "Jay Honeck" wrote in message
- news:nVTWc.54974$Fg5.20899@attbi_s53...
-
- And I guess that anyone who wasn't of age in the '60s, really shouldn't
- say
- ANYTHING about that whole screwed up decade, right?
-
- Hey, I liked the 60's! At least what I remember of them...
-
- Michael
-
-
-
-
-Someone once told me: "If you remember the 60's...then you DON'T remember
-the 60's..."
-
-FWIW...
-
-Jay
-

Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

"Jim Weir" wrote in message
...
I recall the saying being that if you remember the 60s, you didn't
EXPERIENCE
the 60s.

Jim

And, of course, you remember the saying from the 70's.

Michael

Actually, the original was more succinct: "If you remember the 60s, you
weren't there".




"Jim Weir" wrote in message
...
I recall the saying being that if you remember the 60s, you didn't
EXPERIENCE
the 60s.

Jim


"Jay Beckman"
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

-"Michael 182" wrote in message
-news:2FUWc.55248$Fg5.42074@attbi_s53...
-
- "Jay Honeck" wrote in message
- news:nVTWc.54974$Fg5.20899@attbi_s53...
-
- And I guess that anyone who wasn't of age in the '60s, really
shouldn't
- say
- ANYTHING about that whole screwed up decade, right?
-
- Hey, I liked the 60's! At least what I remember of them...
-
- Michael
-
-
-
-
-Someone once told me: "If you remember the 60's...then you DON'T
remember
-the 60's..."
-
-FWIW...
-
-Jay
-

Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

"Wdtabor" wrote in message

I will email a copy of an editorial I
wrote

I'd like a copy too, please, Doc. Thanks.

John Gaquin

I will email a copy of an editorial I
wrote for a local liberal paper explaining the paradox. It is too long to
post
here, but I will email a copy to anyone who wants it.

It's an interesting theory, and there is a lot of truth in it.

However, the part about the "rich getting richer, and the poor getting
poorer, despite the progressive income tax" is wrong.

As a friend of mine at the University of Iowa demonstrated to me today, the
basic premise that the "gap between rich and poor is growing" is easily
disproved with actual government tax data. In fact, the gap has narrowed
substantially.

Which, of course, means that Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John
Edwards, Tom Vilsack, and all the rest of the Democrats are either sorely
misinformed, or simply lying to get elected.

Shocking, I know....

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote:

[...] As a friend of mine at the University of Iowa demonstrated to
me today, the basic premise that the "gap between rich and poor is
growing" is easily disproved with actual government tax data. In
fact, the gap has narrowed substantially. [...]

Plus the "gap" is not in itself an interesting quantity, if the "poor"
and "rich" standards of living are both increasing, as appears to be
the case.

- FChE

At least they didn't threaten you with grievious bodily harm. During
the 1992 election, I was preflighting my plane at SMO. George I rolled
up by limo to the FBO across the field unnanounced and was preparing
to ---eventually--- leave by helicopter. The Secret Service came along
the ramp and informed each person to get in his or her airplane, close
the windows and not open them. The penalty for opening the airplane's
window was to be shot by the snipers around the field - at least
according to the agent (who was openly armed). So, for 20 minutes on
the 80+ degree afternoon, my family and I were forced to sit in a
Cessna 182 with the windows closed while King George did whatever he
was doing out of sight in a building that was across 2 wide ramps, two
taxi ways, and a 150 foot wide runway from where we were sitting --
all under penalty of summary execution.

On Sun, 22 Aug 2004 13:25:41 UTC, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

After living in Iowa for the last 7 years, it seemed that we were the only
ones left who had NOT been to the "Great Iowa State Fair." This year is
the 150th anniversary of this grand old tradition, so last weekend we
decided to check it out.

"Charlie Schwartz" wrote in message
...
At least they didn't threaten you with grievious bodily harm. During
the 1992 election, I was preflighting my plane at SMO. George I rolled
up by limo to the FBO across the field unnanounced and was preparing
to ---eventually--- leave by helicopter. The Secret Service came along
the ramp and informed each person to get in his or her airplane, close
the windows and not open them. The penalty for opening the airplane's
window was to be shot by the snipers around the field - at least
according to the agent (who was openly armed). So, for 20 minutes on
the 80+ degree afternoon, my family and I were forced to sit in a
Cessna 182 with the windows closed while King George did whatever he
was doing out of sight in a building that was across 2 wide ramps, two
taxi ways, and a 150 foot wide runway from where we were sitting --
all under penalty of summary execution.

Yeah, sure!