The point of my previous message was obviously misconstrued, and I apologize for my lack of clarity. What I was trying to say is that if you oppose the war in Iraq, then voting for John Kerry will not solve your problems. Even so, I will attempt to address the three responses to my previous post.
Keith, this list is an excellent source of information, both political, and biofuel related, however most of it is "news." This happened, that didn't happen, the administration did this, a representative said that, so-and-so paid so-and-so, etc. Oftentimes political articles and posts stimulate a discussion that devolves into "get Bush out." While that may be a legitimate solution to many problems, it won't solve America's current foreign policy crisis. And that was my point. I don't believe that every non-American on this list (or in the world) hates America, nor do I believe that posts providing negative information about goings-on are necessarily criticism. As you said the problem of the polarization of American politics is very complex, the origins of which predate the republic (federalists vs. anti-federalists). I still contend that the duocracy "debate" is merely a red herring, but since so many people believe the lie of the two-party system, it is a problem nonetheless. Aside from taking up arms the only thing we can really do is educate ourselves and others about what's going on, and maybe enough people will figure out that they're getting screwed and say "enough!" Unfortunately this process is maddeningly arduous (and frustrating). MH, the basis of the American Republic is rooted in John Locke's Treatises of Liberty (i.e. life liberty and property, which the founders changed to "pursuit of happiness" in the interest of enlisting the support of un-landed citizens). What this really means is that our government was designed to protect property rights and maintain status quo. The situation that we have in this country is that less than 20 percent of the people control more than 80 percent of the wealth and less than one half of one percent controls over half of the wealth. The myth of "government by the people for the people" is a fiction that they teach us in public school to keep us complacent. It is logical and reasonable to conclude then that those who have more property (money) have more access to the government and more influence over government policy, and that those with less property (money) will have less access and influence. "Our" government is therefore more accurately a government "by the rich for the rich." It doesn't matter which party you support because in the end it will bow to the needs of the patrons who support it. To try and say that Kerry is less in the pocket of BIG money than Shrub is silly. He may be more sophisticated, but he's married to Teresa Heinz for crying out loud. Likewise does being a Democrat make Senator Jay Rockefeller any less a Rockefeller? No it doesn't. So while these obscenely rich people parade around wearing a blue jacket or a red jacket, it doesn't make them any less rich, and it certainly doesn't stop them from protecting what's theirs. Todd, Todd, Todd. I thought we were over all this. As I've stated REPEATEDLY, the only way that we can hope to gain even a modicum of control over our government is to participate. And that doesn't mean just showing up on Tuesday to flip a switch or punch a chad. It means following every city council meeting, attending public hearings, voting in school board elections, writing your state representatives, paying attention to how your federal representatives are voting and letting them know how you feel, and generally being involved as much as possible. This is our DUTY as citizens, and it can make a difference, but unfortunately not on the Federal executive level. If anything the 2000 election should show you that it doesn't matter which candidate you vote for, because someone else chooses the President. As far as my call for recommendations is concerned, you personal attack didn't offer a solution to our pickle. Namely, we have a pro-war jackass in office, and another pro-war jackass attempting to unseat him. In the end we'll still end up with a pro-war jackass as president. So "bright boy," instead of attacking me why don't you shut your stinking cake hole before I shut it for you? -BRAH [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/