I like reading these kind of comments and opinions.  They sure are
better than the perpetual questions about "which tires to purchase"
or "why is my oil light on."

- Laurence

At 02:00 PM 7/22/05, Jeffrey Schwaia wrote:
>Politics aside, don't you just love it when people rant on the list then
>follow it up with "you can comment off-list"?  It's basically the equivalent
>of those a-hole radio talk show hosts who hang up on a caller so they can
>spout off without rebuttal.
>
>Happee Fryeday.  Feel free to respond ON-LIST.... ;-)
>
>Jeff
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
>Of turbodieseltrooper
>Sent: Friday, July 22, 2005 10:25 AM
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Re: LVC/ Re: Why Americans Are the Jerks of the World!
>
>
>Sorry - But I don't feel guilty at all for being an American.
>
>  I can't help it if Liberals like yourself, are so willing to have the
>United States fail. Capitalism is not perfect, but, up to this point, ALL of
>the alternatives have FAILED. Communism failed in the Soviet Union, is
>failing in Cuba and the ChiComs are moving away from it. Double Digit
>unemployment in the EU,the inability to produce products that can complete
>in the open market,the rise of hate groups in France, Immgration problems in
>the Netherlands prove that Socialism doesn't work. Need I mention the utter
>failure of the Wefare State, here in America???
>
>Why is it that Liberals do nothing but whine? You press them to come up with
>a solution and they whine more.They act like they are smarter that everybody
>else.Only they can solve the problems of the World. Just give up you
>freedom, tax money and stem cells and Utopia will be just around the corner.
>
>My solution for them is simple - put down the crack pipe and take off rose
>collored glasses.
>
>You can conment on my rant off-list
>
>
>
>  ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Jim Felder" <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
>To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>Sent: Friday, July 22, 2005 7:56 AM
>Subject: Re: LVC/ Re: Why Americans Are the Jerks of the World!
>
>
> >>  I mean what is the  actual
> >> cost.
> >
> >
> > This is the question we should all be asking ourselves, and demanding
> > from our so-called leaders.
> >
> > What is the cost of a chicken-growing plant that passes along all of
> > its  environmental impact to its neighbors, and not the consumers who
> > buy the product?
> >
> > What's the real cost of land destroyed forever in order to put
> > nice-looking landscaping rocks in Home Depot for cheap?
> >
> > What's the real cost of a gallon of gas when the result of keeping a
> > steady supply of it is that people fly airplanes into our buildings and
> > blow up our subways?
> >
> > What's the real cost of a gallon of gas when you factor in how much of
> > your income tax goes to support the huge armed forces that keep the
> > shipping lanes open?
> >
> > What's the real cost of that thing you bought at walmart what came in
> > the huge cardboard box that you paid more in your garbage fee to have
> > hauled to the landfill than you paid in the sales tax you complain
> > about?
> >
> > What we Americans have become good at is not creating wealth based on
> > any kind of real value, but creating wealth based on moving costs
> > around and passing them along to someone else.
> >
> > In the last 25 or 30 years, your purchasing power has increased about
> > 5%. For the wealthiest Americans, it has increased several hundred
> > percent, 1100% I seem to recall for the top 3% of the country, but I'm
> > not certain. Anyway it's a lot. Adjusting for inflation, most of us are
> > going backwards economically. So that we will feel that we are moving
> > forward and becoming prosperous, we're flooded with cheap junk from all
> > over the world, not just China. If we had to buy American goods, the
> > gap that's been created would be exposed, and the economic failure that
> > we've participated in over the last 30 years would be exposed.
> >
> > As long as the cheap stuff keeps coming in, we're happy. When Bubba
> > walks out of Walmart with a $200 television, he's too stupid to realize
> > that it cost him his job. And it doesn't help that in many cases, the
> > quality of the import is higher (toyota vs GM) than the US version it
> > competes with.
> >
> > Nor does it help that we have a tremendous industry in technology,
> > which always drives cost downward. Fifteen years back I had a major
> > modem manufacturer as a client. Modems were $700 apiece. There was a
> > lot of money in each modem for marketing materials and tradeshows and
> > therefore there was money for me. Today, modems are free in that you
> > can't buy a computer without one. The client is gone, the building is
> > empty, the engineers and designers were laid off, the trade shows
> > aren't held anymore and the printer who printed all the marketing
> > materials is out of business.
> >
> > Technology is crack. We who control and use it aren't even as smart as
> > a virus, which knows that if you don't control your ability to kill
> > your host, you run out of hosts to kill. We have allowed our technology
> > to create wealth for a few who, backed by a system of economics and
> > laws that promote hiding the real costs of what we are doing while
> > driving down the cost of our own livelihoods to the point of economic
> > extinction.
> >
> > It's not the Chinese. It's not the Indians. It's us.
> >
> > Jim

  Laurence Smith
  Alan A. Smith Inc.
  17 Lynndale Dr.
  Dundas, Ontario, Canada L9H 3L4
  T: +1 905 628 4682
  F: +1 905 628 1364
  E: laurence@alanasmith.com
  W: www.miduss.com
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