OT Rant

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"So far" as you label it has been a relatively short time. Considering the mountain of grief that the US financial industry is in, it always surprises me when people still expect instant results and instant gratification. A whole lot of people are going to get a sudden education course in reality and eye opening as time marches on. There's just too many people who are 'have nots' to allow the money mongerers to continue as they have. Your most hated term 'socialism' is going to come home to roost in one form or another.

Consider what's about to come as the US equivalent of the French Revolution.

[Mark & Juanita]

Yeah, he offers hope if we will only surrender our remaining liberties to him. He will then take care of all of us. His version of "hope" has never turned out well for those who have taken that path. His version of solutions is to offer more of the same government intervention and interference and meddling that got our country into the financial mess it now faces.

No thanks, that's not hope, that's a velvet glove encasing an iron fist. The glove will wear thin shortly after enough power has been assumed by the government, then we will get to see the real re-distributionist policies pushed in earnest. We're already seeing that with Pelosi-care -- $250k fine and 5 years in jail for not purchasing the government mandated health insurance or paying the 2.5% of income fine.

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Hmmmm? Nice attempt to blow smoke but it just doesn't fly when you consider all the other countries around the world that *have* taken that path and done quite well. Take Canada for example. Despite it's problems, (all countries have them you know) we have a distinctly more stable banking system than you do. It's better now and history has proven it more efficient in the past.

How do you explain this? Next you'll be telling me that our success is a direct result of the great and wonderful US of A coddling it's largest trading partner and next door neighbour.

Go ahead, I know you're itching to say it so you might as well get it off your chest before you explode. And then of course, I'll respond with the fact that the citizens of the USA are the most arrogant in the world and then we'll see the sparks fly. :)

[LDosser]

It'll go the other way if it comes to socialism and revolution.

[LDosser]

We just might ...

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What's that? The government using US military might to quell all local uprising? Terrifying thought if that's what you mean.

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Yup, but it would have to happen very subtly. All Canadian born citizens have considered that possibility at one time or another and I'm sure there are a number of catalysts (water, oil, etc) to cause exactly that to happen. However, despite the US being the world's only existing superpower, I wonder how well it would eventually fare if the rest of the world was arrayed against it.

[Morris Dovey]

(Why did the line "Bring me a shrubbery" come to mind?)

If we took Greenland first, we'd have 'em surrounded...

...sorta. :-))

[Mark & Juanita]

So your country has regulations that dictate banks must make home loans to people with no chance of paying them back and providing a federal backing for those loans? You have already adopted policies to destroy any industry you have through cap and trade policies?

You sir, are an ass. The above is not even worthy of comment. ... and you say *we* are arrogant.

[Ed Pawlowski]

He's done nothing different so far. Secret meeting with coal execs, cronies in the White House, and on and on. Wait, he did something different. He planted a vegetable garden.

[Robatoy]

If you had one.

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Yeah, but if you took Greenland we'd know right away because importation of those reindeer steaks would stop. And, once we knew, we'd stop shipping you back bacon and the rest of your population would rebel at being cut off and the invasion would stop dead in its tracks.

:)

[Larry Jaques]

On Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:25:42 -0500, the infamous [e-mail] scrawled the following:

I'd likely say "It probably wasn't him who did it." We cannot spend our way out of a bloody economic hole, foo.

Um, how are your "hope and change" working for you, Uppy?

-- The Smart Person learns from his mistakes. The Wise Person learns from the mistakes of others. And then there are all the rest of us...

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On Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:05:55 -0700, Mark & Juanita

Well! I'm insulted! Thought we were having a slightly serious, comedic discussion and you had to go and ruin it by throwing down some serious insults.

The truth hurts doesn't it? Either that or you're belying your reputation for arrogance with a bout of seriously fragile ego. If the ego part is your problem, then your arrogance reputation isn't going to do you much good.

I can call my best friend an asshole on occasion and he'll respond by punishing me properly. I call some vaguely nameless online person like you as being arrogant and you have a hissy fit. Guess we'll never reach the friendly stage.

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Ok, but you've got to admit, in the political spectrum, especially as president, those things are a mandatory job requirement for survival. Even in our penny ante Canadian political environment, things like that are part and parcel of the job. Not saying it's right, just that it's the way it is.

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Ok, since you insist. Fact is that I have backed up my comments with just as many valid and provable facts as you have. Obviously my tongue in cheek comments have worn you down to the point that you can't continue. Not at all surprising considering how weak your discussion ability is when you are directly challenged by someone not afraid of your bravado and bullshit.

You have a good night now. Sometime in the future I'll be sure to irritate you this much again. It's sad though, that I'm having some fun with all of this and you're ending it with a temper tantrum. C'est la vie.

[Robatoy]

We are 20 times the size of Iraq. You'll never find any of us...LOL Besides, you'll ruin yourselves from within long before that happens.

Also... The Meek shall inherit the earth...the meek.. that's us.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Sadly, that may be so, but don't hammer the opposing party for doing exactly what you do. Our political system is in serious need of overhaul, but it will never happen.

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On Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:31:26 -0800, Larry Jaques >

Probably true, but only up to a point. I say the spending lessens the sudden pain to a point where it might be considered tolerable. The downside that I see is that it lengthen the climb out the hole, but I believe it leaves a number of important things intact to be rebuilt at the end of the process. Things that might not exist if a sudden termination of government support actually did happen.

Hope is working reasonably well for me thank you. It does what it's supposed to do and allows one to survive another day with mind intact And please take my word for it, my hope as been challenged very severely on occasion. Maybe it's my imagination instead that allows me to survive, but hope and imagination are pretty interchangeable as far as thinking about my challenges goes. And yes, I'm arrogant enough to say that I've been challenge more than most.

As for change, it never comes fast enough in those areas that it's really needed.

[J. Clarke]

It will eventually. It happened in Rome courtesy of the Visigoths. Happened in Byzantium courtesy of the Turks.