Do you remember Ross Perot?

[toughlife]

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http://perotcharts.com/

 

[cfdavid]

yeah, saw that. it's good that this stuff's getting more and more attention.

it's like the foundation pete peterson started, in which david walker (former head of the GAO) is heading up.

it's a shame we dug ourselves into a hole this deep. now, pain is unavoidable. it didn't have to be that way though.

 

[huktonfonix]

wow, I dont believe that we (speaking for my fellow residents in their early 30s) are getting old enough that we have to wonder if people have heard of Ross Perot. My first thought upon reading the title was " of course, hasnt everybody." sad.....

 

[McSnappy]

wow, I dont believe that we (speaking for my fellow residents in their early 30s) are getting old enough that we have to wonder if people have heard of Ross Perot. My first thought upon reading the title was " of course, hasnt everybody." sad.....

One of the books that started defining my respect for Mr. Perot ( On Wings of Eagles). One of my buddies even went thru his "boot camp" @ EDS (They used to put recent computer science and E-Engineers thru an ~3 mo. boot camp in order for them to be fully hired and capable of working in his company). Mr. Perot demanded respect, loyalty, commitment, innovation and hard work. Sounds good to me.

 

[Apollyon]

Just a few trivia notes about Henry Ross Perot...president of his class at Annapolis, and he owns one of the original copies (I think there are only 2) of this painting, which should be familiar ("The Spirit of '76"):

 

[Bertelman]

Is that Abe Lincoln on the fife?

 

[Apollyon]

Is that Abe Lincoln on the fife?

No, just a generic Revolutionary War fighter.

 

[Lonestar]

yeah, i remember Ross Perot. He needs to put his charts down and smoke a pipe. He definitely left an impression on this country. He made Bill Clinton president of the United States in 1992. Hooorraay for f@#$ing Ross Perot.

 

[cfdavid]

yeah, i remember Ross Perot. He needs to put his charts down and smoke a pipe. He definitely left an impression on this country. He made Bill Clinton president of the United States in 1992. Hooorraay for f@#$ing Ross Perot.

That's one way of looking at it. But, it's clear that this two party system is failing the American people in so many ways. There's hardly any major difference between the two, other than some social rhetoric.

I'm very disgusted with the Republican party. So much for fiscal responsibility and small (meaning local power) government. Also, since when did the Republicans become the party of hawks?? It hasn't always been that way. For most of it's history, the GOP has been much less interventionist. But, these wars are breaking us.

Think about the infrastructure projects, investment in R&D, and education that this 2 TRILLION could have done for our country.

 

[Jeff05]

actually, if you really look at the numbers (watch the whole 34 slide show), the wars are just a drop in the bucket. it is social security, medicare/medicaid - that are ultimately going to drag this country down.

 

[amyl]

yeah, because health care is a "right." americans have the right to eat as many bacon double cheeseburgers and krispy kreme donuts and light as many marlboros as they can as they sit on their lazy-boys...and it is our civil duty to do everything we can for them....for free.

 

[huktonfonix]

not only that but we're apparently required to provide free medical care (I agree with urgent care, but not anything else) to people that are here illegally in this country. We can barely take care of our own citizens as it is. AND we are required to provide full care to those who dont pay taxes or contribute anything to society and can turn around and sue in a heartbreat.

 

[cfdavid]

actually, if you really look at the numbers (watch the whole 34 slide show), the wars are just a drop in the bucket. it is social security, medicare/medicaid - that are ultimately going to drag this country down.

Yep. Those are the big ones. I just want cooler heads to prevail in terms of the U.S. involving itself in another Middle East war that would be highly political versus necessary. There's a LOT of misinformation about Iran, what their president did or didn't REALLY say, and what their capabilities and intentions really are.

I'm 100% behind our men and women in the the armed forces. I personally support their efforts in current conflicts. I just don't want to see an escalation that would FOR SURE put the people in Iraq in huge danger and bilk the American taxpayers out of trillions more that could be much better spent at home.

 

[Lonestar]

well, we have a lot of haters outside of this country. More people in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan hate this country than Iran. All of these muslim countries (b/c they are majority 95+% muslim) are full of themselves. They don't contribute anything positive except for oil which we help find. I say down with saudi arabia and down with pakistan. Iran is also on the list b/c the ruling conservatives in Iran are fanatics.

To all those in this country who are concerned about our image in the wider muslim world, let me give you my two cents. We will never be able to appease these people. They will want more and more. Since they all like to blow themselves up, i say we do it for them.

 

[cfdavid]

well, we have a lot of haters outside of this country. More people in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan hate this country than Iran. All of these muslim countries (b/c they are majority 95+% muslim) are full of themselves. They don't contribute anything positive except for oil which we help find. I say down with saudi arabia and down with pakistan. Iran is also on the list b/c the ruling conservatives in Iran are fanatics.

To all those in this country who are concerned about our image in the wider muslim world, let me give you my two cents. We will never be able to appease these people. They will want more and more. Since they all like to blow themselves up, i say we do it for them.

You know man, that's just ignorant. You've bought into this hook, line, and sinker.

I'm not saying that there aren't fanatical extremists in the Muslim world. There are fanatics everywhere.

But, look at the history of our dealings in the Middle East. We say we are promoting "democracy", yet we support dictators and monarchs. When Iran elected a government the democratic way, we overthrew that government and installed a monarchy. Then, we supported Saddam Hussein in his war against the people that overthrew that monarchy. Then we veto every UN resolution condemning Israel for violating one treaty after another, while Palestinians watch their kids get shot at close range with rubber bullets (which can kill at close range) for throwing rocks at U.S. supplied Stryker armored personnel carriers. When armed Palestinians rise up after more ILEGAL land grabbing by Jewish settlers on non-disputed Palestinian territory, they experience completely disproportionate casualties. And it never helps when those Apache's might as well say Made In The USA in big bright letters.

Let me ask you this; How many generations of YOUR family would you be willing to accept living in refugee camps, with YOUR kids having almost no real future, would it take before YOU strapped a few bombs to youself? Those are acts of despiration as you should know. It's sad actually.

Do you actually think that the way YOU treat people in your personal life has NO effect on the way others perceive you, and subsequently treat you back?? Then again, you've probably bought right into the neo-con sound bite that somehow "we aren't going to change our actions at the bequest of some "fanatics""...... Come on dude. You're smarter than that.

So, is it any wonder why that region of the world views the U.S. with some skeptisism?

We've lost our moral high ground. That's such an important strategic and practical asset to lose. It weakens the U.S. when we allow ourselves to get dragged into these trumped up wars. The stakes are very high for the U.S. right now. We're at a turning point, and we need to start making better decisions as a country. We shouldn't let certain elites run the show here, with virtual impunity. That's not the American way.