LOL, I thought you and me should stick together...

I haven't responded because my cable modem was on the fritz. Rahnid, don't call me the A-word again!

Many have fought for the right to speak out about this country. And in case you didn't notice, my beef is with the people who run it. In time, they will pass. This country is not "just" about money. This country is the land it sits on and the people who live here.

Many have fought for the freedom we cherish. I respect those men and women, please don't cause me to disrespect you.

I have a right to live here, I never said I did not like it or want to be here.

And anyone who thinks that what I wrote:

"The current people in power in America "do" believe that big business and the economy is more important than the individual. They would rather have a booming economy than a safe environment at work and at home. The welfare of the strong seems more important than that of the weak."

is not known outside the USA, well, they are deluding themselves. It's been this way for along time. Get a grip!

Mark


[This message has been edited by skywalker (edited 09-07-2001).]

Oof. I must say that I do not agree AT ALL with some of the opinions expressed here. I think that withholding your contry's problems from other countries si exactly the wrong way to go about this. Pretending that everything's fine even though its not will not win you any points with other countries. We have a right to know what's going on in the world. Also, we have got to learn to TRUST each other. We're living on the same world, we have got to learn to get along with each other in order to stop people having to die for their country. Where will we get if we withhold information that could make us look bad? I really don't want to know. The huge scandal about our former Bundeskanzler Kohl wasn't kept quiet, either, I'm not sure how much you know about this but I know I saw an article about it in Time Europe. Just my 2 Euro-cents.

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Skywalker, you wax eloquent when telling us what the current administration is supposedly about...I just wanted to put this in perspecticve a bit. The "LAST" administration was all about Big Government, Big Business (as in big unions which are not about individuals at all) corruption, greed, selfishness, subversion, treason, murder, rape, and the destruction of individual freedoms.

Personally I think it is time for it to swing around a bit. As for big corporations ....whats wrong with them?? They are the ones who make modern life possible and provide jobs. As for rich people..whats wrong with them??? They start business which give people jobs. The US constitution specificly outlines the LIMITATIONS of what the government should be doing. I think it is a serious mistake to try to make the federal government the nations daycare provider. I prefer to be an adult that is responsible for my self, not have some federal agency tell me how to conduct my life and how to live.

And before you ask again, no Im not a republican, but I like their fiscal beliefs better than the Dems. I am a ..well mostly Im a libertarian...altho Im not so sure about the Libertarian stance on legalization of drugs at this point.


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I agree with some of your points MagiK, but must disagree on the fiscal beliefs of the Republicans and Democrats. It is the Republicans that gave us a $1 Trillion debt...it was the Democrats that started to pay that down.

Republicans tend to feel the need to 'step-in' and fix the economy, instead of allowing the Federal Reserve to do their job, the Democrats tend to be a more hands off type when the actual management of the economy is concerned, but more hands on when managing citizens.

I guess I am in one regard a Republican, let the citizens be more self-reliant, but a Democrat in regards to allowing the economy to run it's course.



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Moradin http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif I can see what you are saying but the fact is, that trillion dollar debt was actually built up through the 70's and 80's and while there was in fact a republican president in office durring the 80's, The HOUSE and SENATE were both dominated by the democrats for nearly 40 years and THEY are the ones responsible for the out of control growth and spending that took place. RR did spend on the Military BUT he implemented Massive tax cuts which actually generated MORE income in taxes because of the boom it caused in the economy. The government raked in more oney than ever during the 80's under Reagan, the problem is..the democrats spent it at an even larger record pace. We needed the build up in the military in the 80's we absolutley had to have it, and it was that build up which caused the colapse of the Soviet Empire and the end of the cold war, I think that was a major major good thing. (course Im biased since I was serving in the military during the cold war)

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[This message has been edited by MagiK (edited 09-07-2001).]

Does anyone here remember what the US economy was like under the Democrat Jimmy Carter and the democrat controlled house and senate? Do you remember what the US reputation was overseas at the time? It was NOT a pretty sight let me tell you. I don't see the Dems as evil or even always wrong, I do like some of the ideas they have, and you do need a balance of power so that extremists on either side don't gain control.

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<font color="white">In my International Business class I am taking, I have been reading about stuff like this, and our debt.
We as a nation, import more goods from other countries than we export. Therefore, we are not making money as fast as we are spending it.
An example is with the Microwave. It was invented in the US. The people in Tiawan began to study the microwave, intensly, so that within 50 yrs. time...we were buying the microwaves from them! No microwaves are made in the US because Tiawan makes them cheaper and better. If they were made in the US, we could not produce them as cost efficiently. The thing is that we have all these ideas, then we sell them to other countries, then the country produces them cheaper than we can, and then our American people buy the cheaper brand, instead of the US brand, which causes the US firms to go outta business.

Now there is a big problem with other countries' labor policies. I will use the worst one that I have heard of, Pakistan. A Pakistanian family can sell their children into forced labor to a company, beginning at age 10, I believe. These kids must work in assembly of a product 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. If they do anything wrong, the punishment room is where they are sent, which is a torture chamber. Hot coals heat the room, and no food is given to the poor kid. Now, when the product is shipped to the US, we readily buy it, because it was the cheapest on the market, and of good quality. The reason for the cheapness of it is because the US minimum wage/hour is more than most countries pay their employees in one day. </font>



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<font color="white">
Oh...I forgot to mention that one of the reasons that other countries do not buy our products as readily is because they either do not have the money, or their culture will not accept outsiders(Japan) very readily, or they do not see a need for a product. We, having many cultures and nationalities mingled in the US buy and aquire more. When a countrie's per capita income (broken down into individual families)increases, and Family "x" make more money, the standard of living rises, and the need for expansion comes into play. </font>

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I agree with you Larry. It is horrible how some countries treat their people.
However....its a no win situation for the US to try and do anything about it. If we put too much pressure on a country to change their ways, the international community (which is important to us) condemns us as being bullys and sticking our nose into things that are none of our business. If we don't try to change them, we are guilty of encouraging such abhorant acts....so in the end the people in charge of such things try to balance it out, and try to encourage better treatment of people through more subtle methods than some people would like to see. By international law we as a nation are also limited as to how hard we can lean on a misbehaving country...and then there is the whole argument of ...who died and made us queen of the world that we should tell other countries how to behave. International politics is every bit as icky as regular politics..only on a much grander scale http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif

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