"George W. Cherry" <GWCherryHatesGreenEggsAndSpam@alum.mit.edu> wrote in
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"Evelyn Ruut" <mama-lionsox@hvc.rr.com> wrote in message
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"George W. Cherry" <GWCherryHatesGreenEggsAndSpam@alum.mit.edu> wrote

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Lee Dillion said:

If Bush wins I'm going to have to summon all the
equanimity that Buddhism offers.

If he wins, there is no sanity whatsoever in this world.

We're sane. We're sane. We're sane.

Voices in the wilderness.
Would that there were more of us.

Maybe there's enough. Kerry's news conference
was very good today: it upstaged Bush. I think
that the Kerry campaign is reinvigorated. I have
hope.

He's also making the circuit of all the talk shows.... Leno, the morning
shows etc. Presenting his personality so people feel they know more

him. That has been a weakness, he is somewhat of an unknown quantity to
many people. But it isn't only all about Kerry or Bush and who they
really are, it is about the general stupidity of the voting public.

are still enormous numbers of people who really believe that Saddam bombed
the WTC, and that if they don't put Bush in office again that Kerry will

the terrorists overrun us. Of course all that is nonsense, but in

of the general voting public, how many do you think there are who know

The polls scare me.

As an example, did you see this bit?

Subject: The Rapture Index and the US Elections


Bill Moyers at a Society of Professional Journalists conference on Sept.
11, 2004:
-----------

"How do we explain the possibility that a close election in November

turn on several million good and decent citizens who believe in the
Rapture Index? That's what I said-the Rapture Index; Google it and you
will understand why the best-selling books in America today are the 12
volumes of the "Left Behind" series that have earned multi-millions of
dollars for their co-authors, who, earlier this year, completed a
triumphant tour of the Bible Belt whose buckle holds in place George W.
Bush's armor of the Lord. These true believers subscribe to a

theology concocted in the l9th century by a couple of immigrant preachers
who took disparate passages from the Bible and wove them into a narrative
millions of people believe to be literally true."

"According to this narrative, Jesus will return to earth only when

conditions are met: when Israel has been established as a state; when
Israel then occupies the rest of its "biblical lands;" when the third
temple has been rebuilt on the site now occupied by the Dome of the Rock
and Al Aqsa mosques; and, then, when legions of the Antichrist attack
Israel. This will trigger a final showdown in the valley of Armageddon
during which all the Jews who have not converted will be burned. Then

Messiah returns to earth. The Rapture occurs once the big battle begins.
True believers "will be lifted out of their clothes and transported to
heaven where, seated next to the right hand of God, they will watch their
political and religious opponents suffer plagues of boils, sores, locusts
and frogs during the several years of tribulation which follow.""

"One estimate puts these people at about 15 percent of the electorate.
Most are likely to vote Republican; they are part of the core of George

Bush's base support. He knows who they are and what they want. When the
president asked Ariel Sharon to pull his tanks out of Jenin in 2002, more
than one hundred thousand angry Christian fundamentalists barraged the
White House with e-mails, and Mr. Bush never mentioned the matter again.
Not coincidentally, the administration recently put itself solidly behind
Ariel Sharon's expansions of settlements on the West Banks. In George
Monbiot's analysis, the president stands to lose fewer votes by
encouraging Israeli expansion into the West Bank than he stands to lose

restraining it. "He would be mad to listen to these people, but he would
also be mad not to." No wonder Karl Rove walks around the West Wing
whistling "Onward Christian Soldiers." He knows how many votes he is
likely to get from these pious folk who believe that the Rapture Index

stands at 144-just one point below the critical threshold at which point
the prophecy is fulfilled, the whole thing blows, the sky is filled with
floating naked bodies, and the true believers wind up at the right hand

God. With no regret for those left behind."

How about that?

Speaking of rapture, my daughter saw a car with the bumper sticker that

"In case of rapture, this vehicle will be unmanned" ...... she commented
wryly "if you believe in rapture, your vehicle is ALREADY unmanned"

LOL!

George W. Cherry wrote:

"Evelyn Ruut" <mama-lionsox@hvc.rr.com> wrote in message
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"Lee Dillion" <leedillion@yahoo.net> wrote in message
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Ludwig wrote:

"Lee Dillion" <leedillion@yahoo.net> wrote in message
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possum wrote:

The Foreign SEcretary, david blunkett is talking about the

election

going

ahead, in the 'safe' parts of iraq, as if it wouldn't cause sheer

murder.

btw, i read some time ago that Rumsfeld, i think, or was it

*****?

had

asked for legal advice on the postponement of the election on

security

issues. any news there?

The race for president appears close, despite Bush having failed
miserably in everything he touches. The problem is that kerry is

under

the delusion that you reach the US public with reason and calm
discussion, when its macho stories and fairy tales we wish to

hear.

Hi Lee

We get the same - or similar - fairy tales over here (in the UK)
but
everyone is getting very bored with them. Our democratic 'choice'

is

to

vote

for a right wing party ( the Conservatives) which would most

likely

be

even

happier to go war again again than the present government.

We are getting word here that Blair was warned of the post-war
troubles
- that he was warned that "no one has satisfactorily answered how
there
can be any certainty that the replacement regime will be any

better."

The Daily Telegraph said the documents showed Mr Blair had signed up
to
the US policy of regime change in March 2002, a year before the

conflict

started.

"This underlines very starkly not only the reservations that existed
in
the (Foreign Office) about our ability to handle post-conflict Iraq,

but

also the lack of a comprehensive plan for the stabilisation and
reconstruction of Iraq, which we consistently called for before the
war," said Michael Ancram, shadow foreign secretary for the

opposition

Conservative Party."

"The assurances given to us by both the Prime Minister and Jack

Straw

that such a plan was in hand were clearly misleading, and yet again

cast

grave doubts on the conduct of ministers in the run up to the war."

Re the election: I'm glad to hear that at least it's close - the
last
we
heard over here was that Bush had an unassailable lead in the

polls.

It's very odd, the US elections have become a global issue.

Broadly

speaking

everyone is ***** scared about what's going to happen if Bush gets

in

again.

***** scared is a good description of the feeling that arises in me
when
I ponder the possibility. So - what do you do about it? How do you
move forward, letting go of unskillful thoughts?

If Bush wins I'm going to have to summon all the
equanimity that Buddhism offers.

If he wins, there is no sanity whatsoever in this world.

We're sane. We're sane. We're sane.

Voices in the wilderness.
Would that there were more of us.

Maybe there's enough. Kerry's news conference
was very good today: it upstaged Bush. I think
that the Kerry campaign is reinvigorated. I have
hope.

I think we also have to put part of the blame for our current situation on
the failures of our political system. That the Democratic Party puts up
Kerry, the least interesting of all the candidates who ran, is one
problem. That there is no possibility of third option outside of the Dems
and Reps being considered a realistic option is another problem. And that
large numbers of the population vote as if it were a horse race, choosing
who they think will win, not who they most agree with, is yet another.

That there is no possibility of third option outside of the
Dems and Reps being considered a realistic option is another problem.

"cupcake" <t@r.slrup> wrote in message
[9]news:P022d.283$i_4.3485@news.more.net...

from: RasmussenReports.com

September 14, 2004--Twenty-seven percent (27%) of voters believe that
the CBS Memos concerning President Bush's National Guard service are
authentic. However a Rasmussen Reports survey also found that 38%
believe the memos are forgeries.

Nice to see you develop the thread as usual, Cuppie.

BTW what's the story with all these TV ads trying to discredit Kerry - is it
true that Bush is now getting away with
having avoided military service like the plague? Then again, who can blame
him: who would want to find himself in Vietnam being shot at?
I'd rather have stayed at home too.

Among voters who are following the story very closely, 56% believe the
memos are forgeries and 27% believe they are authentic. Overall, 38%
of voters say they are following the story "very" closely and 34% say
they are following it "somewhat" closely.

Only 16% of voters think questions about President Bush's National
Guard service are "very" important. That view is held by 27% of
Democrats, 13% of unaffiliated voters, and 6% of Republicans.

Forty-two percent (42%) of voters have a favorable opinion of Dan
Rather, the anchor who reported the story and continues to defend the
memos. Thirty-three percent (33%) have an unfavorable opinion of him.

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of voters believe Rather presents the news
in an unbiased manner. An identical 38% say that Rather is using his
broadcasts to try and help elect John Kerry.

All of the data has a strong partisan edge to it. Among Kerry voters,
46% believe the memos are authentic while 16% say they are forgeries.
As for Bush voters, 61% say they are forgeries while 10% say they are
authentic.

This data suggests changing perceptions of the traditional media
outlets. An earlier Rasmussen Reports survey found that [5]viewers now
select their news sources along partisan lines.