Las Vegas Sun

Jim:
Where have YOU heard that Republicans are "Warmongers? Do you mean ALL Republicans? Do you mean ALL Republicans throughout history? Some Republicans throughout history? or what? I wasn't around during WW1, so I can't say much about it. I was 7 when WW2 started but I do remember quite clearly that everyone I knew took active part in fighting the "Nazis and the Japs". And history records that it wasn't just everyone I knew, but damn nears every individual in the country took an active part, and were individually and personally affected by that war. So I feel certain that we all were "warmongers" then.

Perhaps you mean our current flock of goosestepping Republicans? In that case, I'd have to say "yes", since you all have bought into your Great Leader's lies about the threat that Iraq poses, and seem willing, nay anxious, to grant him a third term in which to continue the debacle, maim our chidren (the one's being recruited now were 10 years old when he started this) and drain our economy.

Actually, we have no way of knowing what Obama's vote would have been. He had no vote at the time. We know what he says he would have done, but that ain't the same thing. For all you know, he might have taken his favorite cop out ... "Present", if only from force of habit.

Absolutely nothing you said in your letter refutes in any way, the contention that there are already too many people in the world. Providing food and the basics of life, never mind luxuries, has become unsustainable. In fact, prosperity merely compounds the problem. With prosperity come increased consumption of resources and increased polution of all kind.

But if we really expect teachers to behave as professionals, we should pay them at least as well as we do our automobile mechanics and our plumbers. Look, not only aren't teachers paid as professionals, they get no respect from damn near anyyone. The worst offenders are Republican politicians and the RJ editorial staff.
I think I understand their motive for denigrating the profession. They prefer that money for education be given to schools that allow prayer and the "teaching" of Creation pseudo science now known as Intelligent Design. They figure that if they can convince us that public schools are broken, we'll be willing to approve transferring funds to private schools, and once that gets going, the public school system is doomed, so all the money will go to support religious education. The bright side is that the cost of textbooks will plummet. Kids will only need one ... the Bible. History, geography, sociology and morality, as well as law is all in there.

Yet Bush refuses to discuss family planning in the US and punishes any country that even mentions condoms or abortion. The Pope is waiting for a word from God to rescind his command to "go forth and multiply ...".
Nature has an interesting rule we learned in biology class. It's that no creature can live in its own waste.
Nature is a bit like the unseen hand of the market, it acts to even things out.
It's acting now.

"It needs a kinder, gentler negotiation ..."!!! With Hamas??

Chamberlin tried that with Hitler. Carter's old enough to remember that Hitler appreciated the friendship offer and later responded with Buzz bombs all over England.

Would you recommend the President of the U.S. invite Osama bin Laden for tea to politely discuss the war on terror?

But maybe we get what we pay for. Our teachers may be well intentioned, but they are essentially volunteers. Why they show up to work every day and take abuse from their students and parents, I have no idea. It sure as Heck ain't the money. It's not the respect and thanks they get from the general public. I have always wondered too, how they can teach anything at all, when the subject matter and methodology are controlled by laymen. Perhaps we need to hire professionals, let them do the job they were trained to do without outside interference by folks with a personal, political or religious agenda, and pay them as we do other pros. Well, certainly not as much as we pay professional athletes to kick, bounce or throw a ball, but perhaps half of what we pay our plumber or auto mechanic.
But there's another solution, another model ... limit their studies to a single book. The one text that contains all the wisdom of the ages and is all anyone really needs to know. After 8 years of intensive study, each pupil will have memorized every word on every page of every chapter. History, morality, social studies, law, you name it, it's all there. Science? Piece of cake. Why is the sky blue? God likes blue. How does a rose bud become a rose? God packaged it for you to appreciate. How better to compete with Islam?

NEW RULE:
If you voted for the Bush/Cheney ticket twice, you may not vote in the next election.

Dear Foxy:
Sometimes my sarcasm is misunderstood. I was trying to ridicule the "I've got mine, the rest of you can take a flying leap" attitude so prevalent in our oh so patriotic and devoutly religious "compassionate Conservatives".

Excellent. I'd like to hear what the medical profession thinks of this. Will it just be a waste of time, or will doctors and hospitals respect them? Will they have access? I recommend that the person involved be required to update or reauthorize his posting yearly.