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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by fayeroe on January 1, 2009, at 11:11:22
I said this to my offenders, while working at the prison.."you think that being in prison is hard?" "nah, the hard part is when you get out."
This is exactly how I see Obama's presidency and our next four/eight years. I feel that we've been incarcerated and trying to regain our standing in the world community is going to be as hard as if we were felons, standing at the door of a company trying to get a job.
Posted by Sigismund on January 1, 2009, at 17:29:25
In reply to Now comes the hard part!, posted by fayeroe on January 1, 2009, at 11:11:22
The favourable image of the US has come from its openness, the quality of its educational institutions, the generosity of the scholarships offered to people from the third world, and its culture, particularly popular music.
The unfavourable image of the US, since WWII at any rate, has come from its foreign policy in the third world which reflects another concern apparent more recently, a certain bellicosity.
Since Vietnam cultural changes have led to an identification with the armed forces, for reasons of which I am unclear. However that may be, Americans must know that their influence in the world never came from their armed forces.
I suppose once China was lost the McCarthyite pressures on the Democrats led to Vietnam? Or maybe those pressures were not even needed for the commitment to contain communism? Anyway the US is in the (IMO) ridiculous position of having troops in most (123?) of the countries of the world.
Being too clever by half.....proxy wars, for example Afghanistan (the mujaheddin one), and coups (take your pick).
(When Brzezinski said that the US would give the USSR its Vietnam, one can't help but wonder about how his Polish background influenced his judgment.)Wasn't Nixon (for heavens sake!) doing things to conserve energy? And of course Carter.
What a waste of time.
Posted by fayeroe on January 3, 2009, at 20:49:29
In reply to The view from outside, posted by Sigismund on January 1, 2009, at 17:29:25
It saddens me that we've had a President who said "I'm the war President".
Posted by Sigismund on January 4, 2009, at 0:08:33
In reply to Re: The view from outside, posted by fayeroe on January 3, 2009, at 20:49:29
>"I'm the war President".
But then he encouraged the American people to go shopping.
So it is a certain understanding of being a war president.
My guess is that the certainty he felt was bound up with his religious faith and that he felt he was smiting the ungodly.
The ungodly it is of course uncivil to describe, because they proceed from the sump of our unconscious, but I will take a stab at it by describing them as the turbanned riffraff, which explains at least as much about us as them and might explain why the Middle East is in the state it is.
Posted by fayeroe on January 4, 2009, at 10:09:15
In reply to Re: The view from outside, posted by Sigismund on January 4, 2009, at 0:08:33
Makes me wonder what he thinks about "durags"?
Posted by Sigismund on January 5, 2009, at 1:49:32
In reply to Re: The view from outside, posted by fayeroe on January 4, 2009, at 10:09:15
It's only the ungodly who produce durags.
We, on the other hand, produce medicines.
Australia is the largest producer in the world of legal opiates, and we are a clean country.
We have curbing and lawns.
Our way of life is not negotiable.
We are good people; they are not.
Posted by fayeroe on January 5, 2009, at 10:50:22
In reply to Re: The view from outside » fayeroe, posted by Sigismund on January 5, 2009, at 1:49:32
> It's only the ungodly who produce durags.
I knew Michael Vick was up to something the moment I saw him take his helmet off!
>
> We, on the other hand, produce medicines.
>
> Australia is the largest producer in the world of legal opiates, and we are a clean country.Are you saying that you have no addictions or you have those big scary street cleaners?
>
> We have curbing and lawns.Such a drag when there is no curbing to hit when you're driving your Hummer. And no lawns to tear up when you are drunk and miss that turn.
>
> Our way of life is not negotiable.If you are the "decider", negotiating isn't required.
>> We are good people; they are not.
You Betcha! I hear that! Have a good'un!
Posted by Sigismund on January 6, 2009, at 0:32:06
In reply to Re: The view from outside, posted by fayeroe on January 5, 2009, at 10:50:22
Just seen "Frost Nixon", as yet unlinked to Amazon I see.....the Ron Howard movie.
My friend disagreed with me, but I felt that Nixon possessed a depth and complexity of character that marked the deterioration in at least elements of the public space between then and now.
It was very good. Frank Langella (as Nixon) was wonderful.
Posted by Sigismund on January 6, 2009, at 0:37:11
In reply to I never thought I'd miss Nixon, posted by Sigismund on January 6, 2009, at 0:32:06
Posted by fayeroe on January 7, 2009, at 21:02:13
In reply to Re: I never thought I'd miss Nixon, posted by Sigismund on January 6, 2009, at 0:37:11
This could be complicated. :-) As a young bride, I worked to help elect a Republican ??? to the Senate. We lived in Oklahoma then. He arranged a visit with President Nixon and Juan
Carlos of Spain. There were about 20 people from Oklahoma.I don't remember 10 minutes of it because Juan Carlos was very handsome ( I stared..his uniform was fantastic..) and I was also weirded out by Nixon. The ex and I were struck by how much mumbling that Nixon did when he looked at you. Mrs. Nixon was very, very quiet and pale. (The "house" was beautiful.)
The best part of the entire trip was the French pastries at the Watergate.
p.s. I just looked up a photo of King Carlos and he's aged and I haven't. :-)
Posted by Sigismund on January 7, 2009, at 22:57:18
In reply to Re: I never thought I'd miss Nixon » Sigismund, posted by fayeroe on January 7, 2009, at 21:02:13
Only eight years to President Jeb?
Posted by Sigismund on January 7, 2009, at 23:01:15
In reply to Re: I never thought I'd miss Nixon » fayeroe, posted by Sigismund on January 7, 2009, at 22:57:18
I'm a royalist myself :) [Jeb!]
Not terribly familiar with Juan Carlos, but I did see the Spanish tennis team play against the Australians in 1965 or so.
Everyone was quite dreamy at the sight of those beautiful Spaniards.
Posted by fayeroe on January 8, 2009, at 8:52:53
In reply to Re: I never thought I'd miss Nixon, posted by Sigismund on January 7, 2009, at 23:01:15
> I'm a royalist myself :) [Jeb!]
>
> Not terribly familiar with Juan Carlos, but I did see the Spanish tennis team play against the Australians in 1965 or so.
>
> Everyone was quite dreamy at the sight of those beautiful Spaniards.Juan Carlos was so down to earth (what I could understand of his conversation) and very nice to Mrs. Nixon. He was very dreamy!!!:-) I don't think that his wife, Sofia (sp) was there. I bet her clothes would have been very fashionable. :-)
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