Representative Republic or Democracy?

[bomelia]

I think my thread has been jacked.

[Wes Tausend]

Originally Posted by bomelia

I think my thread has been jacked.

Mike,

Forgive us our trespasses but you lead us into temptation.

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Originally Posted by Jamo

Wes...why be impressed with my knowlege of labor issues?

I've been "busting" unions in my practice for 30 years, and I teach labor and employment law at the college level. I better damn well know WTF I'm talking about.

It is your knowlege that is impressive, despite you being utterly wrong on the issues being discussed. BTW, we've gone way beyond the tactics described in the Wikpedia article...then again, the unions haven't been asleep either. It's all a modern version of the Great Game played by Russia and Great Britain a few centuries ago.

Bomelia...yeah well, what's your point?

Jamo,

despite you being utterly wrong
Being and having been wrong is where I get all my strength.

practice for 30 years... BTW, we've gone way beyond the tactics...

Come over to the dark side, Jamo. We really need you and your experience. We're trying to save the evil American working middleclass Federation here.

You're right. Whether Monopoly, a chess game, Star Wars or cold war, we all love to play. And many believe the original Great Game frame design continues in Afghanistan and, perhaps, Iraq today.

Found the corporate boat race joke so I posted it in Jokes:
( http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/show...821#post774821 )

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Originally Posted by BeanCounter

Wes,

Ever run one of those big BNSF's through the KC yards hauling all of those Chinese and Korean containers? I'll wave at you next time.

Bernie

Bernie,

I never worked as a railroader per se in KC, Bernie. But funny you should mention it. I did attend several railroad training classes at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park. Always thought KC would be a great place to live.

If you did want to be close enough to wave at an intermodal train in KC you might have to use your passport in the near future:
"A Mexican customs facility planned for Kansas City's inland port may have to be considered the sovereign soil of Mexico as part of an effort to lure officials in that country into cooperating with the Missouri development project."
More info here: ( http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=50918 )

While you're waving, be sure to salute the Mexican Flag flying over the Kansas City facility to generate foreign good will.

You've already helped, perhaps unwillingly, by your KC real estate taxes (unless KC doesn't have any):
"To date, the Kansas City Council has voted a $2.5 million loan to KC SmartPort to build the Mexican customs facility in the West Bottoms near Kemper Arena on city-owned land east of Liberty Street and mostly south of Interstate 670."

NAFTA Super-Corridor... one reason it might get ever harder to guard both our new and old borders from illegal aliens... so why even bother, eh?

Come over to the dark side, Bernie. We need you too. "Sold American" used to be something we only heard on a 60's tobacco TV ad.


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[Ron61]

If they want to give Mexico some of our country why not give them the one part that we definitely do not need. Washington D.C. and make them take the Congress and other politicians with it as Mexican citizens.

Ron

[Wes Tausend]

Originally Posted by Ron61

If they want to give Mexico some of our country why not give them the one part that we definitely do not need. Washington D.C. and make them take the Congress and other politicians with it as Mexican citizens.

Ron

Ron,

That's pretty much the truth. NAFTA popped up* in Bush Sr.'s administration, passed in Clinton's and is forging ahead in this one. So it's not a partisan shellacking that we're taking. So the majority of congress is to blame.

Then on the other hand there are those that would conserve the middleclass. My own state senator, Byron Dorgan, has tried his best according to his voting record. He may be a Democrat... but he's no far left liberal. He has to make sense to win election.

North Dakota has been a firm Republican state ever since the party was still actually conservatives. Dorgan has a book out called "Take This Job and Ship It" that details many of the latest scams by both major political parties. ( http://www.amazon.com/Take-This-Job-...8922658&sr=8-1 )

* The first roots of NAFTA are probably in the Great Game like Jamo says.

Originally Posted by BeanCounter

Wes,

The West Bottoms is already "Little Mexico". They don't have to give anything to them, they already have it. Their gangs own the night, it's sort of like Cu Chi over there.

Luckily I live in another county about 35 miles south of there. I moved from Independence to the farmland as soon as I got home from the Army.

Bernie,
Then it's probably just as well they won't be using US citizens as train crew.
I understand it is scary enough in yards like L.A. etc. that nobody wants to ever stop moving... or, God forbid, check on condition of the train by walking back when it is stopped.

Then again armed KC Federales won't be hampered by US law during resource protection enforcement like they are in LA.

Don't know how safe 35 miles is. All these foreign citizens gotta live someplace with their newfound wages. Why live in a Cu Chi tunnel when there are great neighborhoods for sale above ground? Glad I live in ND sometimes. Forty below helps keep the riff-raff out. Except for coming global warming of course.


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[Ron61]

Wes,

There was a show of 10 one hour segments on over the weekend that went through each state and its history. Very interesting and kind of funny about North and South Dakota. First the fight about which became a state first as the president signed the bill for both of them at the same time, so there was about a 5 second delay between them. Then North Dakota was going to drop the North because it sounds cold and would drive away tourists. Then they decided to keep it as the president had shuffled the bills and wouldn't say which one he signed first so, North Dakota decided that since N comes before S they would keep the North and claim they became a state first. Also one that I would never have guessed is which state is the 3rd largest Gold producing place in the world.

Ron

[Wes Tausend]

Originally Posted by Ron61

Wes,

There was a show of 10 one hour segments on over the weekend that went through each state and its history. Very interesting and kind of funny about North and South Dakota. First the fight about which became a state first as the president signed the bill for both of them at the same time, so there was about a 5 second delay between them. Then North Dakota was going to drop the North because it sounds cold and would drive away tourists. Then they decided to keep it as the president had shuffled the bills and wouldn't say which one he signed first so, North Dakota decided that since N comes before S they would keep the North and claim they became a state first. Also one that I would never have guessed is which state is the 3rd largest Gold producing place in the world.

Ron

Ron,

I know that not so many years ago ND considered the idea of dropping the "north", perhaps for the second time. Again Bernies terminology principle at play, I guess.

ND has an interesting rugged land area in the Badlands where Teddy Roosevelt once ranched. It's a somber haunting landscape with just enough grass to keep a few head of cattle alive unless a horse mounted rider, with more head, keeps 'em moving.

My rail run goes right through the Badlands for 100+ miles, including the historic town of Medora, which sits in the bottom of a saddle (mile post 150) between two immense hills. Although, with good brakes, we hit 40 mph at the bottom through town, we drop to a tedious one hour climb of down to 12 mph to get back out at mp 134. The area is full of deer, antelope and a feeling of inner peace.... peace when you've done it so long, you can momentarily block out the rail squeals and throb of the huge engines.

But SD has beautiful foothills (Black Hills) about the size of eastern mountains. Very rugged. So a large part of them were relegated to Indian Reservation. Until they discovered gold. A lot of it. Towns like Deadwood grew up overnight and eventually fostered the HBO series by the same name. Bill Hickok was shot in Saloon #10 and the structure still looks and smells like it could be original. Everyone should come here in their lifetime. The wild and P.O.ed Indians are nearly under control but don't flash your FBI badge around Pine Ridge.

We've drank 'till the last man left standing and once attended a wedding there, in #10, of a gray ponytailed fellow that I've seen working for Barrett-Jackson, who was invited by of one of our car club members. His wife wasn't gray at all and won't be for quite a while.


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[Ron61]

Wes,

They showed some of the badlands and then in all of the states they tried to cover as much of the historical and great sites they could. It would take more than a lifetime to be able to visit and see all there is to see in this country. Wish I had the time left and money to just start out and spend time going to all of the places and parks.

Ron