Posts Made By: James Brown

James K. Burke said:

This fellow has been a visitor to the oil facility here in northeast Alberta for three years now; he's gonna be huge this year.

Hi James:

He is going to be a big one! A bachelor group of his younger cousins spent the night behind our place on Monday. I've attached a couple of early morning photos.

Jim

#2

Higher level commentary may be found here:

http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/

The opinion itself may be found here:

http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07-2901.pdf

Only 41 pages including the dissent.

Maurice Clark said:

Hi all,

Here is an interesting piece on the American Dream, that was on the BBC news website today. It is an interesting piece, especially since it just looks at what is happening in the USA today without taking partisan sides. I would be interesting in hearing some comments on the article from Americans. What do you think of it?

I suppose keeping partisan politics out would be asking too much?? 8O

Cheers,

Maurice

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7482019.stm

Hi Maurice:

I think that the BBC article is a reasonable capture of the way a lot of folks feel.

It is critical to note however that the author's reliance upon Detroit to add 1st person substance to his writing is rather misleading. Detroit has been in serious and perhaps unrecoverable decline for maybe 30 years. Many cities are having tough times right now but perhaps none are in as bad a shape as Detroit. Other cities have blossomed over the last decade. To the extent an international reader thinks that Detroit is representative of the nation, they would be making a huge mistake.

I would disagree strongly that the fundamentals of the American Dream are in jeopardy.

Jim

Rod Kaufman said:

As I've predicted all along, McCain will take the critical swing states and here's more evidence:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/22/new-poll-mccain-leading-i_n_114372.html
Time to buy stock in geritol...

Don't sweat it Rod. Rasmussen is a known embarrassment in polling circles. He got one Clinton election right and has missed everything since. The more analytical sources still have Obama winning the electoral college by a mile. (Although there is still plenty of time for an Obama stumble...).

I can't wait to read the "look of disbelief" in your post on the day after the election when Obama wins big.

http://www.hedgehogreport.com/polls2008prezev.php?gop=McCain&dem=Obama

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

Jim

Maurice Clark said:

Hi all,

I am posting this piece of news here because time and time again I have seen certain persons posting on this forum about how the French are cowards, worthless, etc.

I wonder if those persons would be willing to publicly apologize on this forum! :S Somehow I do not think I will hold my breath!

Maurice

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7569942.stm

Maurice:

I'm sure that I am not target of your post, but I do want to add something here. In the US it is popular to joke about the French. Type "French Military Victories" in to your Google search box and hit the "I Feel Lucky" button for an example.

This kind of thing is good natured humor. It is true though, that underneath the jokes there is a bit of genuine partisan resentment that the French did not back us up when we invaded Iraq. Resentment pointed at the French Government. Not the French soldiers or people.

Ignore for a moment the issue of who was right or wrong with respect to Iraq and recognize only that a tradition of good natured joking plus some recent frustration and resentment exists.

That stage being set, I am confident that no rational person in the States actually thinks that French soldiers are cowards. It is terrible that those French soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. I am sure they were very brave men.

This observation is part of a broader theme I see played out every day at work and in the press if you look hard enough. International public sentiment might be low for the US right now, but the people I deal with seem to still like and admire Americans quite a bit. Some are even quite grateful for what we have done historically if not recently.

Let me toss out an anecdote here. A couple of weeks ago I was visiting Yellowstone Nat'l Park with my extended family. An older Korean gentleman came up to my father and accurately guessed he was a Korean war veteran. After they talked for a bit, the old Korean guy graciously and eloquently thanked my dad for all he did in the war, and all America did to keep the Chinese North of modern South Korea. He credits America with giving him the opportunity to live a full and productive life in an open society and world economy. (He had a long international career in oil and gas engineering.) He said that it bothered him a lot that young South Koreans don't appreciate what America and her allies did for Korea. It was pretty moving for my dad and I was glad my boys had a chance to experience it.

I'm not saying that Iraq was the same as Korea or that the Invasion of Iraq was a good idea. What I am saying is that those who think that the American reputation is irretrievably tarnished need to get out and talk to some international citizens. What I see is that the Bush administration might have low international approval but the world's citizens still admire and respect Americans. I talk to lawyers in the UK, Netherlands and Canada all the time. I have Asian contacts, but we never talk politics... Maybe in Australia it's different? I don't know.

It is horrible that the French soldiers died. I am sure they were brave men and strong allies of my country. The world will grieve them. I am aware that it is risky to use news of their deaths to spring board to a broader topic, but the content of your post called these thoughts to my mind.

Jim

Hi Mike:

McCain certainly has some momentum right now. From the lefty leaning electoral-vote.com:

http://electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Pres/ec_graph-2008.html

Paul Kammueller said:

Wow - a lot of threads and typing in ALL CAPS -- the forum is a little shrill -- I mean, more so than usual. I'll come back when things settle down a bit. 8O

Seems to be a one day drive-by thing generated by Jake J. I didn't read much of it. If the man wants to pick fights with Tom R. and other level-headed types I suppose that's his prerogative, but it sure makes for boring reading.

Jim

Wow Tyler. That's pretty spectacular for a "quick effort"

Jim

Spectacular!

Jim