My response to her: Your statement:
These are but a few of the 'benefits' given us by government that we could have surely lived without. The only intelligent quality-of-life decision to come out of Washington in years was when they decided against foisting the dreary metric system upon us. There are some things the American public, diverse though we may be, just won't stand for. My response: I agree! Why should the government and industry waste money and time to metricate the US when it is much easier to close the factories down here and export the jobs to metric China and metric India? If Americans really doesn't want it, then what would be gained if factories would convert and the people who hate the metric system would have to use it to produce products? Could they guarantee quality using a system that is so hated? Computers and electronic components were once designed and built in the US using good old fashioned inches. Now they are 100 % metric, produced in Asia. Can you imagine the horror if that industry stayed here and tried to force Americans to build electronic products in metric? My God, there would be a revolution. Of course, the people whose jobs go are made to suffer economic hardship, but isn't that an acceptable price to pay for keeping metric out of our lives? Even if we do buy billions of dollars of metric products from the whole world, and we have to have a set of metric tools to service the products, but at least we don't have to measure the products in metric. I'm so glad we have you on our side to set the record straight. Keep up the good work, even if might be made in a metric country by metric loving workers. I tried to take the sarcasm approach. I'll see if I get a response. Euric ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Potts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, 2004-09-01 17:47 Subject: [USMA:30960] RE: Nanny State article > Good message, Paul. > > Of course, I would have said "hodge podge," rather than "omnium gatherum." > That one might be lost on her. > > Bill Potts, CMS > Roseville, CA > http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] > > > >-----Original Message----- > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Behalf Of Paul Trusten, R.Ph. > >Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 07:59 > >To: U.S. Metric Association > >Cc: USMA Listserver > >Subject: [USMA:30950] Nanny State article > > > > > >Dear Ms. Fabrizio, > > > >I enjoyed reading your article, "How Did We Survive Without The Nanny > >State?" (at http://www.americandaily.com/article/3258). However, I wish to > >suggest that the United States is long overdue in changing over to the > >metric system of measurement, and completion this change would be a step > >forward for our country. > > > >The metric system is a simple, decimal measurement system which Thomas > >Jefferson supported in principle in the 1790s, although it was not > >perfected > >until the 19th century. Short of that, the U.S. did become the > >world's first > >nation to adopt decimal currency, and the whole world has copied us in that > >regard. Since 1988, the metric system has been the "preferred system of > >measurement for trade and commerce" in the United States, and if you like > >orange juice, you will notice that the juice industry seems to be about to > >join the soft drink industry in adopting round metric sizes of their > >products. In 2009, the European Union will no longer allow the importation > >of anything but metrically labeled products into its member countries, > >raising the stakes that our country would remain outside of what is now a > >wholly metric world. > > > >Far from our being "foisted" with something "dreary", our country has the > >opportunity to complete the process it started unilaterally in 1975: to > >establish a true standard of measurement for itself, and one that is a lot > >easier to use (please see > >http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/misc/usmetric/metric-allyouneed.htm) > >than our current, so-called "standard" omnium-gatherum of units. In my > >view, such a move on the part of our government would be highly patriotic. > > > > > >Sincerely, > > > >Paul Trusten, R.Ph. > >3609 Caldera Boulevard Apartment 122 > >Midland TX 79707-2872 USA > >home 432-694-6208 > >work 432-685-1549 > >cell 432-349-4688 > >fax 501-665-5366 > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >"There are two cardinal sins, from which > >all the others spring: impatience and laziness." > > > > ---Franz Kafka > > >
