Well, I suppose I’m impressed by how he’s handling the whole thing, though he doesn’t have to do much to impress, but I’m still embarrassed to have him as a president. It’s not just that I don’t agree with his politics. I didn’t agree with Reagan’s politics either, but at least he didn’t embarrass me. (Hey, I know plenty of Republicans who are embarrassed by him too.) My friends from Paris were visiting a month ago and they told me that the Europeans can’t stand him (because of the Kyoto treaty). She said there was a half hour puppet show on every day before the local news that made fun of Bush (among others.) I don’t even truly think he’s dumb; he just sounds that way. I’m just glad that the powers that be are thinking things through, instead of just rushing over there and dropping bombs.
Betsy in MD 
They are teasing you about your name. Time to post a picture of that adorable terrier!
BEQS clique. With elbows in!
horsluvr, I totally agree on the bad rap that Ritalin and Adderal have received. I also agree that their use has probably been abused. But, for the children who medically need these prescriptions, the results are amazing. In the cases I’m familiar with, it’s the difference between allowing a child’s brain to learn and/or retain anything, whether it be facts, figures, direction, etc., and not being able to - simple as that. I believe in giving a child a chance. It has nothing to do with a bad actor or hyper child.
This does not mean that I support the abuse of said prescriptions. Nor, am I against other forms of teaching these children. Nor, am I against the learning of coping mechanisms and techniques so that these children do not have to remain on these prescribed medications. Nor, am I against LOTS of needed research into these brain disorders (“ADD” or “ADHD”) so that other alternatives can be used besides medications.
I saw an interview with Walter just a day or two after the attacks, and he mentioned then how important he thinks war correspondents are. But he did stress that any stories from the front lines should be censored for wartime – I assume he was talking about troop locations, movements, and that sort of thing.
I think most media have good intentions. They certainly don’t want to do anything to hurt U.S. efforts.
Did I miss a discussion!
All I have to say is that if anyone thinks dropping bombs over territory that already looks like it’s been hit by an atom bomb is useful…well, I have some land for sale, it’s in a nice country called Afghanistan. 
Now, having all of the troops from all of the countries surround where he is, link hands (no, sorry, not to sing Kumbaya) and walk forward trapping him, giving him a sex change, reprogramming his mind so that he believes he is a TV evangalist (Christian) and a frustrated stock broker, and THEN sending him back to his playmates is a MUCH better idea!
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>As for the man’s voice, I confess I had the same problem with George Morris for years when he was schooling someone within earshot - I had to leave the immediate area. I’m over it now, but people humming and snapping gum will still drive me over the edge.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
LOL DMK! Is this sort of like the guy a few years back who couldn’t listen to Mary Hart of Entertainment Tonight without having an epileptic seizure? 
On a serious note, I was truly impressed by the speech and found the following section particularly powerful:
“We have seen their kind before. They’re the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions, by abandoning every value except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way to where it ends in history’s unmarked grave of discarded lies.”
I, for one, certainly hope so… 
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hobson:
Oh, if only we could turn back the clock to that grand generation! White kids wouldn’t have to attend school with black kids, we could still use DDT, we wouldn’t have those pesky labor laws that make us have weekends off, and we’d be allowed to put people in jail for disagreeing with conservatives. wistful sigh<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Whoops. Just remembered that it was the same generation who changed those things. Darn it, it’s so complex, being alive.
Kellybird, the ideas you have. You probably have pierced ears, too. 
Kryswyn - you’re right–we haven’t really heard anything at all from the rest of the Bush family. Mrs Bush tends to steer clear of letting her opinions be known anyway, so I’d guess she’d want to be even more reticent now.
pssst! How did such a fine, honest, moral president manage to raise a daughter who gets arrested for using a fake id to drink illegally in a bar?
It would be nice to read how things are going over there.
Could you shed some light on the situation since you are over there?
What do the people of your region think should be done? How’s your country handling this?
She said that the kamikaze pilots flying the planes that hit the World Trade Center and Pentagon, for example, would be called “alleged hijackers,” not “terrorists,” because, she said, “CNN cannot convict anybody; nothing has been judged by a court of law.”
What, are they waiting for PROOF? Hmmmm, maybe it was an accident after all; that second plane could have been swooping down to help the first, right?
Poor CNN… word is that many of their foreign correspondents have been working without contracts for months (no doubt so they could pay for the increasingly embarassing Paula Zahn)… Fox News just snapped up their man in Afghanistan, who was no doubt overjoyed that someone was willing to pay him for reporting actual news!
the fastest shifts in 1) topic and 2) mood of any COTH thread so far - not to mention the most allusions to Fabio…
I’m relieved that the government is taking a measured, intelligent, “sit up and wait” approach to the Bin Laden/Taliban problem. I think that Bush is getting a lot of good advice from the experienced members of his cabinet and national security team (apparently Rumsfeld quickly shut down the irresponsible rhetoric that was being tossed to and fro by an undersecretary at the Pentagon).
I’m satisfied, at least, that Bush has enough intelligence to listen to what his advisors are telling him to do. As I sat in a restaurant in Crystal City watching the Pentagon burn, I was initially terrified that this would lead to a “fools rush in” scenario. Thank heaven that cooler heads have prevailed thus far.
I am thoroughly disgusted with myself that I’d return to this neverending thread; but find it next to impossible not to comment when such baffling soliloquies are proffered.
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Maybe the game the next generation will play will be cowboys and terrorists. The only problem I can see is the Indians were a much more worthy opponent. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
You’re right, next time my children want to play the video games that you earlier denounced as the cause of moral decay among the young, I’ll encourage them to go out and shoot some indigenous people. How the hell can you make such an utterly inane statement? 
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Horse people like the horses spook easily at anything new and strange, have great memories but little cognitive ability. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Are you not a horse person, Snowbird? Or are you an exceptional breed of horse person, possessing greater cognitive prowess, resistant to fear, but alas, by your own ‘observation’, lacking a good memory. You may wish to refresh your memory by actually reading through the posts of hobson, Hey You Nags, DMK, Inverness, Erin, etc., etc.
And must say, to plug the virtuous beauty of ‘C’ shows, hmmm, lemme see, like the ones that you run?, seems to smack of greater self-interest than anything yet posted on this thread.
Kellybird, you make me so wonderfully proud. I can only hope that my own children will one day possess your great compassion and intellectual curiosity. You’re not only a credit to your generation, you’re a credit to all.
magnolia and creseida–before we go spreading some false rumor about Bill Clinton’s IQ, which may or may not be close to 200, I was hoping someone could verify that. Does anyone know? Por favor?
Thanks in advance 
I’m editing this again because I just noticed that this is my 999th post… 1,000 here I come!
[This message was edited by Kellybird on Oct. 06, 2001 at 11:20 PM.]
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SLW:
Wars, to name a few, gave us independence from England in 1776, ended slavery in the 1860’s, stopped Hitler in the 1940’s and the take over of Kuwait by thugs just a few years ago. That doesn’t even touch on the Arab world and it’s battles since Mohammad times as the “leader” dating back to 630.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Agreed that war has accomplished many things…some good, some not so good. Interesting that we went to war to prevent thugs from taking over other thugs (Kuwait is not exactly a shining beacon of freedom for all citizens), although one certainly does not want to allow that kind of behavior to go on. The largest democracy in the world was created through a nonviolent revolution.
re the Taliban’s offer to turn OBL to a neutral country?
Regarding the article Kachoo posted… um, am I missing something here, or are the angry letters in response to the fact that the Canadians at this meeting said the US shouldn’t bomb anyone without strong evidence? Uh, now why would that be a BAD thing?
See, this is what’s starting to worry me. Everyone is so gung-ho that we hurry up and bomb someone, and you’re perceived as being unpatriotic or unsupportive if you’re saying, “Hey, wait a second… are we sure this is what we want to do?”
Good Heavens! How depressing it must be to see nothing good in anyone who has a different opinion. How sad that on this BB so much time is wasted arguing and demeaning each other.
In fact there must be a Democratic Party if we are to have a two party system. No one I have ever known in the Republican Party has ever wished for the elimination of the any democrat from any party. Dwight Eisenhower ran as a Republican to save the two party system which is what makes us great. It creates the checks and balances needed to keep this country on a centrous route.
A little levity and the ability to laugh at ourselves has always been one of the best characteristics of America. These extremist views of all or nothing are simple examples of the far right and the far left which of course are never going to agree as to economics or perspective. But, certainly, as Americans we can agree that our children were murdered in our home by sociopaths who must be removed from the society of the world.
I find the only real reason for sadness is that people who are charismatic and glib make use of the weakness and fears of the people who they attempt to lead. This country has always be able to rise above that and find the very best that people can offer. Our Presidents whenever we were in a time of need were able with the strength they get from people to rise to whatever crisis was required. Not all were “Great” and none had impeccable reputations except where it counted.
It is fine to propose a hypothesis for any point of view but to properly defend that hypothesis you have to take it to it’s full conclusion.
Yes! there are innocent Afghans who were not able to defend themselves against the Taliban and are abused. So, then do we not do anything to dispossess the Taliban because innocent people might be hurt and die?
There are thousands who have escaped and are no longer willing to defend themselves against the Taliban, many are Americans.
So then who and how will we defend those innocent and defenseless people?
America is the donor of the most money in welfare aid to the Afghans with the premise that it would trickle down. How can we make sure that the “right” people get that money? How should we manage the affairs of Afghanistan so that the “wrong” people don’t take that money and send it to Switzerland.
Solutions, alternate proposals and constructive plans are more valuable than this devisive attacking of each other.
What the **** does it matter whether Hillary looked as if she was in approval of anything? What difference does it make if Laura Bush did or didn’t live up to your personal ideas of what a wife should do? You might as well be arguing about the fact that you didn’t think any one in the Congress should be wearing anything but all black, or obviously our President did not have on a red/white and blue necktie. He has a corrupted speach pattern because he has dual heritage from New England and Texas.
What does that matter in the big scheme of things? Is the fact that he is not a polished performer going to discredit the fact he is surrounded by some of the most experienced and capable people we have available.
We are our government, we have made decisions and picked our leaders and we have a big problem that is world-wide. The fact that the world has realized that the chains and links of these “cells” are in every country and each will clean their own house is to me a sign that the right choices have been made to save humanity.
If a sociopath breaks into your house to kill your family and the babies will you sit down and have an esoteric discussion with him and explain to him in between his murders of your family that he is suffering from some psychosis or are you going to try and stop him him first and then talk later? Will you cook him a lovely dinner because hunger drove him to your house to kill you because you had food and he didn’t? And, will you do that after he has murderd you mother or your wife or only before he has murdered.
Will you say to that murderer who really believes that he is entitled to murder you because you have so much and he has so little, you’re right! and you are entitled to kill us because we have been too fortunate and here is the combination to the safe and the keys to my car so you now can have money and a new car?
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Let’s absolutely rid the world of the terrorists responsible - let’s not take out a continent in the process under the mistaken conceit that we in the west are right and everyone else wrong.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thank you Heidi, well said. We in the west do have a conceit and it is often times very wrong. In all honesty, the terrorists are probably acting out not so much in an attempt to “save Islam from infidels”, but to save their culture from slowly being Americanized (I believe americanization brings both good and bad to societies). Which, this still does not make the killing of 6000 people acceptable, but it is almost like a desperate attempt in the last hours to save their culture from becoming like the America that they find morally deplorable. I can honestly understand why these people did what they did. However, they should have brought their concerns to the table in a less violent way, but then again, would we have even listened?
Ride it Like You Stole It…
There are several attacks on Snowbird vilifying her for stating her beliefs.
Cheap shots.
'cuz most of the vilifiers have not stated their beliefs with anything approaching Snowbird’s clarity - other than a wish we all share, that the world not blow itself up any time soon.
So, what do DMK, HYN, Hobson, et al. actually believe?
C’mon - who wants to state their beliefs first? Without resorting to rhetorical devices such as calling perceived opponents names, saying “not what you (we think) believe” etc. - just a brief precis of beliefs here, so we all know what we’re arguing about.
Fair enough?
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by DMK:
You know… this thread had an early reference to peeps… Any ideas how to best combine Fabio and Peeps?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Most women on the board don’t mind having their Peeps at Fabio.
