On Tue, 03 Feb 2004 14:58:07 -0500, DSK wrote:

John H wrote:
Let's see...things I disagree with...

Not allowing the government to price bargain with pharmaceutical
companies.

Agreed... and funneling pharmaceutical lobbyists money into ???

How? I keep hearing Kerry, et al, saying that Bush is giving all the
money to the HMO's and pharmaceutical companies, but haven't seen how
that's being done. If someone receives medical care or drugs, then the
payments go to the companies. But the payment was for services
rendered. I must have missed something along the way. Enlighten me.


Granting amnesty to illegal aliens, Mexican, Irish, or otherwise.

Actually, I don't think that was such a bad move. It is meaningless
really, since INS is so far behind; and it's a pretty blatant attempt to
drive low wage workers even lower. But letting people who want to come
here to work, do so, is IMHO a good idea.

I disagree. I think the idea that "only Mexicans will do the work" is
garbage. If the pay is so low, then removing the cheap labor will
cause the wages to increase. If farmers are forced to choose between
paying higher wages to get the cabbage picked or watching the cabbage
rot, they'll pay a better wage. Then normal folks can work. Here in DC
are thousands of people sitting on their porch steps, doing nothing,
and getting paid for it.

Now, giving drivers license tests in foreign languages, THAT sucks...


Not having more substantial rationale for attacking Iraq.

Funny, you've defended Bushes Iraq policy here all along.

Before the attack, I had strong reservations. After the attack I spent
much time arguing against the lies and bull**** posted by lots of
folks here. No one ever asked me if I thought there was sufficient
justification for the attack initially. Now, I am glad we did it. It
would have been nice if the French, Germans, and Russians had bought
into it, but enough countries did that I consider it a multinational
effort.


Announcing the countries that would be precluded from receiving
contracts in Iraq. (Yeah, Wolfowitz did it, but Bush owns it.)

They pretty much let the cat out of the bag there, didn't they? Subtext:
"Yes, we blew the crap out of Iraq and now Halliburton and it's
subsidiaries are the only ones who are going to profit by rebuilding it."

No, I disagree with the Haliburton argument. There will be a lot of
countries participating, and I don't think the French should benefit
in any way. I think we should have just let them put in their bids and
not won any contracts -- lost bids, underbids, whatever. Announcing
the policy was childish.


Allowing the horrendous expenditure of money and the federalizing of
the airport security folks.

I think this has PO'd a lot of real conservatives out there. I hope some
of them will vote with their feet.

No, I won't vote with my feet on this one, because the Dems were the
ones who pushed it. I think the administration should have shown the
stupidity of the idea and stuck to their guns.

Sending men to Mars, when we can't miss the potholes on our
interstates and the bridges are falling apart.

Don't worry, that was all a publicity gimmick. The plan was to loot all
of NASA's other programs to pay for it. The polls showed it would be a
big yawn at the voting booth, so it has been quietly dropped.

If any President, including G. Bush Jr, wanted to invest in the space
program, I'd be for it. Space is the future. Up there it's raining soup,
and we haven't even invented buckets yet. But Halliburton is not a
aerospace contractor

It may have been a publicity gimmick, but I think it backfired.

Not addressing, in some manner, the outsourcing of jobs by US
corporations.

Look at who pays Bush's freight... the corporate kleptocracy that is
moving offshore as fast as it can.

Yup. This one is a stinker.

Actually Bush is addressing the issue, somewhat, by completely
collapsing all environmental regulation.

Some of the provisions of the "No Child Left Behind" act dealing with
the testing of non-English speaking students.

How about the provisions that encourage schools to drop below average
students out of the test metric, and out of further education?

Didn't know about this. Enlighten me, or point me in the direction for
more info. Please, not some left wing rag (or right wing, for that
matter).


Income tax reductions to anyone earning more than a couple million
dollars a year.

Agreed. "Hey buddy, can you spare some stock options?"


That's enough to start with.

Wait, what about the balance of foreign payments? The unfunded mandates
of federal regulations, which was already ballooning before the Patriot
Act?

I could go on, but I don't want to get you kicked out of any clubs. I've
made it pretty plain that I consider Bush & Co to be blazing hypocrits
and money grubbing fascist whackos... maybe that's part of their charm?

My hopes are that a lot of the middle-of-the-roaders who voted for Bush
last time (and I know dozens myself, seems to be a common phenomenon)
out of hopes he'd be somehow 'more moral' than Clinton, are appalled
enough to vote the other way next time. It's a matter of importance for
the future of the country.

Regards
Doug King

As to the rest, can't comment knowledgeably. Don't know about all the
unfunded mandates in the Patriot Act. Show me.

We are still far apart on the spectrum. I have seen nothing in Kerry
that would have me voting for him. I may have considered Lieberman,
but he seems to rational for the *real* Bush haters out there.

John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!