[TEXICAN II]

Actually, kind sir, I dislike fairy-tales & most non-fiction. You see, my point is that a vast majority of our wonderful 'voters' see a land of make-believe when they swallow the propaganda from our leaders-yes Mr. Bush does look great, would seem to have the keenest moral conciensce, and the corrupt "Goron" would have been instant death for this nation. I am grateful every waking moment for the wonderful crew of people who have left comfortable, quiet, personal lives to actually put some of themselves at risk & all of themselves on a vicious tread-mill. I ponder what moral fiber there is in the likes of Mr. Cheney, Mr. Rumsfield, et al by the hundreds, by the thousands! Especially those unknown & un-acknowledged.

HOWEVER, the worshipful praise of a politician is what the pave-stones for the road to you-know-where are made from. We have that problem! Our government consumes, perhaps ten times what it did in the mid-20th century, and it does so by virtue of our agreement via our REPRESENTATIVES.

The 'PATRIOT ACT' was already written, long before 9/11-& by some doubtful odd-balls, too ( Gary Hart, Andrew Young, etc were the authors of this monstrous document ). Some folks wondered at the ready tool that was already to use!!

When the good & decent ( Mr. Ashcroft for example ) go away, our very own evil ones may very well return to use the tools we so willingly employ against the seditious, the traitors, the criminal alien. These things are as dangerous as the objects of the tool. Our conservative voters instantly resemble the infamous 42% who would still vote for Bubba, & did vote for the Goron. The Administration has said that 4 million of the 'base' sat out the election. Perhaps they were at least thinking!

I am 'Grumpy' personified-my wife must work so we may make up what the government TAKES by FORCE, for it's ill intended & UN-Constitutional actions!! We are TAX SLAVES for the likes of Citizen Fox, Tyson chicken, et al.

[PJ-Comix]

Actually, kind sir, I dislike fairy-tales & most non-fiction.

Too bad. You can learn a lot by reading fiction. In particular historical novels. Read "From Here To Eternity" and you will have a better feel for the pre-war Army and the general pre-war mood of Hawaii than you will from most non-fiction books. Limiting your reading sources is, well, limiting.

[Doctor Stochastic]

The 'PATRIOT ACT' was already written, long before 9/11-& by some doubtful odd-balls, too ( Gary Hart, Andrew Young, etc were the authors of this monstrous document ).

And it's amusing to see the Conservatives support the Young-Hart spawn and attack Paul, Keyes, and others who don't convert to Tories.

[billhilly]

Our government consumes, perhaps ten times what it did in the mid-20th century,.................................................You are on the right track, but slightly low on your estimate. It is hard to imagine, but true, that the first $100 billion annual federal budget came during the presidency of LBJ. That makes the mid-century figure about twenty times smaller than our current spending. 2000% over half a century.