International Terrorism

martino · Post by **martino** » Wed Feb 26, 2003 3:53 pm

to concur with mark: please give of more of this fascinating undercover stuff, mccutcheon.

i myself am following the smart money closely, and i think it is voting no confidence in the bush economy. if anybody is interested in my anecdotes, please say so.

Post by **mccutcheon** » Wed Feb 26, 2003 4:07 pm

Yeah I'm interested in that. smart money. I know that consumer confidence in the US economy is at a 3 decade low.

Post by **Sloth** » Wed Feb 26, 2003 5:01 pm

Yeah Myke that is the question. I hope we Americans would have the wherewithal to decapitate our government leaders if they ever got half as bad as Saddam.

Bush may suck but he's not as bad as Saddam (unless maybe you're Arab American).

I met a few Iraqis in Paris during the first Gulf War and they showed me nothing but contempt. The men were cocky and the women wore veils and I couldn't help feeling sorry for them and for humanity. It was about that time my ridicule for religion started.

However I bet there are cool Iraqis who know Allah is a scam to keep them under control and they know Saddam is a monster and that America has a few good intentions left in her.

But once the bombs start dropping I wonder whose side they will be on. Most people root for the home team.

marky · Post by **marky** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 2:17 am

Yeah, and I do want to mention (incase anyone hasn't heard about it) how absolutely insane it is that the Bush administration is dicking the cash strapped states around, even when they have asked for reimbursement for homeland security costs. All over the nation, states are in the worst financial shape they've been in for decades and all Bush says is 'well if Congress would hurry up and approve my zillion dollar tax-cut-for-the-rich budget...' Blackmail anyone?

More than a year ago, President Bush promised $3.5 billion in federal anti-terrorism aid to state and local police, fire depts, hospitals and other key emergency responders. The money has yet to materialize, and that doesn't even count money for the rising costs of medicaid and education! This kind of shit can't go on. No way can he keep this up and get reelected. The economy is bad enough as it is, with 40% more people out of work since he took office.

Bring it on, Martino. I'm all ears.

Myke115 · Post by **Myke115** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 2:23 am

Where's there's something we can agree on. Definitely seeing state governments get dicked by the Bush admin while tax cuts are passed that won't help us at all. I am a social worker (see, that's a liberal sorta job!) and am under state government. We are so strapped the only recourse is to cut services ... which are provided to the most needy ... in my case to the developmentally disabled ..

myke (the liberal southern pinko communist)

martino · Post by **martino** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 4:16 pm

myke, it's become easier for me to understand your position ever since you've been getting long on clarity and short on volume.

i understand your situation, sure it isn't easy to be a lone voice in the wilderness. i heard that fast food parlors in SC are renaming their french fries to "freedom fries", so i can imagine what it's like.

on liberating iraq, i agree that an invasion might probably be, in the sum of it all, beneficial in terms of human hardship. the iraqi people would surely be glad to get rid of saddam. however, there are lots of places where an invasion might be beneficial but there has to be a very high threshold to invading sovereign countries. i think we were above the threshold in yugoslavia and rwanda but we are mighty below it in iraq, cuba, and most all other countries.

on the more interesting topic of what the smart money is doing: i'll start a new thread tomorrow. bye now...

Post by **Sloth** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 4:43 pm

Martino, I hate it when I think something is impossible and then I do some research and it turns out to be true.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/02/19/offbeat.freedom.fries.ap/

Vive les frites Francaises!

marky · Post by **marky** » Sat Mar 01, 2003 4:11 am

Myke! You're kidding! The developmentally disabled? That's what I've done with MY time the past four years! (although some of that has been with people who are dually diagnosed i.e. DD with mental illness) It wasn't too long ago I was pretty sure that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. My dad worked with DD folks before moving up to a higher position in the state govt where he was in charge of making sure nursing homes and group homes were doing the job they should be doing.

I still feel passionately about the whole thing and still retain a part time position along those lines, but I've decided I need to do something else, which is why I'm in school. In the end, though I hope to contribute something to these people's lives, just from a different angle.

How long have you done that type of work? Are you a caseworker? How many clients are you in charge of?

Myke115 · Post by **Myke115** » Sun Mar 02, 2003 6:07 pm

Yep, I'm a case manager. I have a specialized caseload of Autistic individuals from as young as about 6 years old to upper 40s. Very challenging. The burn out rate in social services is quite high. I've been in the field for about 4 years now and have bee questioning lately how long I'll stay.

Right now though all I'm thinking about is this nasty sinus infection!

myke

Post by **mccutcheon** » Wed Mar 05, 2003 4:25 pm

Okay, so I was trumped by Martino and Sloth. I wrote that about the Freedom fries under the South thread thinking no one would believe me, since I always lie anyway, but it's fucking true. Man, Freedom fries, just what we need, more obese people now having a reason to get fatter, patriotism.

Myke115 · Post by **Myke115** » Wed Mar 05, 2003 9:57 pm

Freedom fries ... who really cares? The likelyhood of that ever catching on is nil.

Personally, I love French Fries and French wines. I'm not one to always agree with French politics but I'm not going to blame the whole of France.

Where did the term "French Fries" come from anyway? Did they actually come up with that in France? Might have, might not. I don't know. Food history can be confusing. After all, spaghetti was invented by the Chinese ...

myke