Posted on 09/28/2001 10:08:18 PM PDT by Beep
Edited on 04/22/2004 11:45:33 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
If the U.S. boosts defense spending in its quest to stop Osama bin Laden's alleged terrorist activities, there may be one unexpected beneficiary: Mr. bin Laden's family.
Among its far-flung business interests, the well-heeled Saudi Arabian clan -- which says it is estranged from Osama -- is an investor in a fund established by Carlyle Group, a well-connected Washington merchant bank specializing in buyouts of defense and aerospace companies.
(Excerpt) Read more at interactive.wsj.com ...
Hope you are doing well!
Of course I believe I'm misunderstood when FReepers indulge in the "I'm-a-victim-of-bloodshed-I'm-being-viciously-attacked" jeremiad when I MAKE A JOKE.
But I don't feel "victimized" over it.
I feel the whiners and snotty-remarks-online-but-would-they-say-this-to-your-face specialists are being SILLY and PETTY.
Obviously you don't believe someone should come to her own defense when she's being accused of "attacking" someone.
Sorry, ma'am, but Howlin's Last Word isn't the be-all and end-all, and I WILL defend myself against thoughtless accusations whether you like it or not.
...........priceless.
Addled by the Stoli I offered to share with Mercuria (some 2,000 miles away), I guess I just couldn't keep up.
Okay, Miss Smarty-Pantsuit! (*One for the Gipper!*) Now, I am becoming less and less tolerant of your pretentious superiority act! (How old are you, dear? You never added to the conversation on that subject, and I believe you must be incredibly young. Or incredibly immature! Youth, I can be tolerant of. Not so of immaturity.) No one is capable of making any sense except you and Mercuria in your word-challenged (you heard me!) little mind. That is soooo haughty, and ridiculous, I may hurl. Merc makes more sense than you do, Askel, and I will give her that. At least, she makes her point with a showing of tolerance and maturity. Yours can only be made while attempting to be Queen of the War!
What in the world is this business about your Stoli being 2,000 miles away from Merc? It was very very near and dear to you! (Askel: "**hic** -- I'm superior, and I'm pissed!! **hic**) Pissed, I'll agree with! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!! ("Pissed" means "drunkenly wasted" in GB and a few other European countries, you addle-brained child!) You are, without question, addled with something.
Come to think of it, if you are only going to respond to me with you blind attempt at sarcasm, please go back to ignoring me?! You addressed no facts at all; you just attacked and ran! Gawd! What are you?? Twelve?? Talk to me when you're a grown-up! ;-}
BHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Be who you purport to be, dear Askel. (Or don't purport!) *G* You are tooooooo funny!! Certainly, you did not slip because you were rattled by the ignorant and stupid likes of us?! ROFL!! You've been flushed, Askel. You finally showed your true colors! (I have always admitted to be being a sarcastic sort, while you held yourself to an announced Higher Standard!) The true Askel has appreared, and what a contradiction she is! What a piece of work!!
Did you forget your "/sarcasm?"
I find it exponentially arduous to believe that you would actually proffer a compliment to me. No disrespect or offense to you intended, of course. ;-}
Thanks Billie!! ;-}
Okey-dokey then. . . . About the Guild. Let me tell you what I've observed about the Guild and why I post on those threads. I believe I can also answer the question as to their current purpose.
We'll start with the latter. When I joined, it was in the aftermath of 9/11. The purpose of the Guild, according to what I have read there, has been shifted as a result. Their current purpose is to provide support for our President, his staff, the folks at Ground Zero/Ground Hero, the victims and families of the 9/11 attack, the brave young men and women who serve in our military, and the eradication of terrorism. The Guild is searching to do this on many levels, and is currently investigating the possible ways its members can serve their country. No task is too small or unappreciated. Admirable, IMHO.
As for the tone of the Guild -- it is more tongue-in-cheek than not about being a "ladies' society." Humor is the norm and the rule, rather than the exception. The Guild also is a "safe harbor" (not having a thing to do with whether or not it is "landlocked," Andy Rooney! ;-p), where we know we will not be flamed, ridiculed, mocked, or judged. We can just relax, let loose, and be ourselves.
If we so choose, we can also feel free to engage in intelligent discourse concerning current events, history, and everything in between. As an added bonus, the Guild members also truly care about each other, and provide support to each other when needed. The Guild is comprised of members who are also conscientiously aware of their spirituality. The bulk of its members, if not all, are Christians. We pray for each other as needed, and share uplifting Biblical scriptures and concepts. Again, admirable.
I do agree with you here. You said it well.
The Guild started off by investigating the theft of White House property by the Clintons. It then evolved to investigating the Clinton Pardons. It is now an activist group. We have several projects and letter writing campaigns. We try to make a difference. A POSITIVE difference.
We will be supporting our troops when we go to war. That's what we do. We try to help. We support our President. We support America.
I know that The Guild is not your cup of tea, and that's fine, we are all different people with different views. I am sorry if you have the wrong impression of us, but as a long time and orginal member I would like to extend an olive branch and call a truce. Please do not judge us by some posters who feel that they represent The Guild, who honestly know nothing about us.
Whatever. I think maybe less than 5% of my posting on this thread dealt with the issue.
The Guild also is a "safe harbor" (not having a thing to do with whether or not it is "landlocked," Andy Rooney! ;-p), where we know we will not be flamed, ridiculed, mocked, or judged. We can just relax, let loose, and be ourselves.
You don't seem to be having much of a problem "relaxing" and "letting loose" here.
It might be an "extended news" thread, but that gives nobody there license to incite gang-flame wars against non-Guild members on other threads. I think most of them understand that and respect it, but several of them don't.
Please bear in mind that the freedom to "be yourselves" on The Guild thread doesn't give anyone there license to go outside that thread to flame, ridicule, mock, or judge others who do not belong to the club. No-one, according to the rules of Free Republic, has a green light to personally attack another member, or to try to get reinforcements for the express purpose of putting dissenters down. Not me, not Guild members, no-one.
Just friendly advice to a newbie.
I'm supporting our troops as well. I wish more answers and details were forthcoming about what all happened before those troops were committed (now WHY do I get the feeling we're not being told everything?), but I pray every day for the truth to come forward, for a quick resolution to all this, and for our troops to be home just as quickly as possible.
Thanks for answering my question. It was asked with good intent, I assure you.
Now -- obviously, I am a numbskull and have no clue as to what I'm talking about when it comes to the LG. I did preface my post about their threads with noting that they were "my observations." I never claimed to speak for the LG. In fact, I pinged them because I felt it was the right thing to do, lest I misrepresent and not realize it.
Also, as I wrote in a previous post, I do use sarcasm a lot. If this were actually a mud-slinging, artery-slicing, FReeper-bashing free-for-all, it would read a good deal differently. I, myself, punctuate my posts with grins and smilies, so those reading them know that this is off-the-cuff discussion, sprinkled with good-natured teasing on my part. I do make certain points that I feel should be brought up, but I don't actually take to hurting anybody's feelings. If I have done so, I am truly sorry. It was all meant in the spirit of harmless fun. A bit of light verbal volleying, as it were. Merc, you and Askel both do the same thing. I figured you'd catch on to that?! Since you don't know me, you may not understand my style as yet. Any suggestions on a pre-post warning I can tack onto my posts on the forum in the future, so everyone will know?? *G*
At any rate, since I was so ignorant and off-base about the LG, I have tendered my resignation, effective immediately. I was told I was wrong, I received heated punitive FReepmail, and I finally discovered what the LG (or some of them) truly think of me. Therefore, I must retract my personal observations in that explanatory post. Most of it is not true, especially the last paragraph or so. I learned that the hard way.
Yesterday, their saying for the day was, "If men knew what others truly were saying about each other behind their backs, there would not be four friends in the world." Self-fulfilling prophecy. I should have been prepared. I wasn't. I don't say anything nasty behind people's backs that I haven't said to their face. I don't operate that way.
This has been a most lightening thread. Thank you, LG! ;-}
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