This column is from the Sunday Times? Just wondering--considering the pinkish background it looks more like the Financial Times. Either way, it sounds more like the "Archie BunkerGazette" The author seems to be an equal opportunity bigot casting aspersions on the rich (vulgar), Arab women (dressed "gaily" like Darth Vader) and the non-costumed Welsh (keep an eye on them).
Jeffrey, from where I live (in Missouri) it's only a $100.00 more to fly directly into Cardiff via Amsterdam. London, of course, is a great destination in itself.
Please post often. I am evangelical and wasn't offended by your comments. My Welsh forebears were Chapel not Church (C of E). My grandfather belonged to Baptist Chapels and my grandmother belonged to Welsh Independent (Wesleyan). My boyhood pastor was the Rev. Guy Jones--who remains, to this day, one of the greatest orators in my memory.
I have always supposed that my Welsh upbringing was shared by all Welsh people. I was orphaned at age 4, so, I was reared at the same table as my father before me--sitting in his chair. My grandfather would often initiate discussion at the dinner table based on current events. He would assign a "side" for each participant. We were expected to defend our assigned topic to the very best of our ability. And, no, it did not descend into the type of debate one hears in the House of Commons or on MSNBC. It was never allowed to turn into a raucous food fight. The only way to lose this contest was to fail to give it our best. My grandfather believed that the only way to reach an objective conclusion on any given subject is to know and try to understand the arguments of both sides. He did not believe that truth lies in the middle betwixt the two--except on some occasions. But he firmly believed it is possible to be 100% correct while being a bigot at the same time. He thought it was more important to knowwhy we believe than to know what we believe. I passed this philosophy along to my daughter and I cannot tell you how many times I have watched her flawlessly, effortlessly lead an unsuspecting foe to the horns of dilemma.
I think several domestic agencies are doing themselves and their government no favors in the fight against paranoia amongst fringe groups.
Social Security Adminstration (SSA) orders 174,000 rounds ofammunition:
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=6c39a2a9f00a10187a1432388a3301e5&tab=core&_cview=0&fb_source=message
Scroll down to first .pdf file and read the actual RFQ (Request for Quote).
I didn't even know the Social Security Administration had an armed wing (raising eyebrow like Mister Spock)? Why do they? Are retired senior citizens really that dangerous? I suppose a cane or aluminum walker could be hurled like a missile at SSA employees?
Department of Home Land Security (DHS, ICE) orders 450 millions rounds ofammunitionfrom just one manufacturer.
See the company's own press release (they are rightfully proud, I suppose, of this contract):
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/atk-secures-40-caliber-ammunition-contract-with-department-of-homeland-security-us-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-dhs-ice-142304055.html
When combined with other recent contracts issued by DHS, the total number of rounds ordered by that agency are 1.6 billion rounds. Again I ask why (ringing hands like Dr. McCoy)? Perhaps there are rational reasons for this enormous stockpiling of ammo by domestic agencies. Maybe they're expecting a massive migration of hungry, rabid gophers. Think of the havoc these burrowing, hellish digging machines could reek on the richest golf courses and country clubs of the nation. I hope there's a rational reason (such as invading gophers) because, otherwise, it might needlessly fan the flames of paranoia already flickering among fringe groups.
Ooops! Nevermind (like Gilda Radner)... I see my problem. I forgot to put on my foil hat this morning.
We used to have the perfect island for that in San Francisco called Alcatraz. But in times of economic downturn its imperative, I guess, to seek out every penny for the public purse by selling tours to that infamous real estate.
Todd, I apologize if I have said anything offensive. I agree that most journalism today is nothing more than "caricature" assassination. Admittedly, many times it isn't the journalist himself, but his editor whoarbitrarilydeletes a paragraph or two before writing a headline befitting his personal political agenda. The first rule of warfare is to dehumanize the opponent. The same is true in political warfare.Instinctively, we all know that is wrong, In private letters between Adams and Jefferson the two agreed that the biggest threat to any form of government is partisan politics. They sought to create a government where political parties would be relegated to the past. They failed. And in subsequent letters it remained their greatest regret.
Nevertheless, you'll find that political talk occupies only a tiny fraction of discussion on AmeriCymru.
My sister has really adapted to Texas. When I telephone her I am always shocked, at least for the first few minutes, because she sounds as if she were born and reared in Texas. Funny thing, that. As we speak on the phone her normal, childhood accent returns to her. A friend of mine said women pick up accents more easily than men. He may be right, or a simpleton, or a chauvinist or just making it up.
I think every state (and every country for that matter) has its share of loonies. We do. We had one dock a canoe under the Missouri River bridge and hang about town for three weeks or so while handing out literature. He was living in a canoe down by the river. Anyway he stayed until after the first Council meeting where he was allowed to speak in its bi-monthly televised session. His beef was "flush toilets" and urged the city "to pass" environmental laws mandating an outhouse or ty bach behind every home."Flush toilets," he said, "...are destroying America." The next day he got back into his canoe and paddled down the river on the next leg of his across the nation quest.
My sister lives in Dallas and I can guarantee that this little group is nothing more than a fringe, fringe group. The political left has those too; groups like Jim Jones and the People's Temple who had a propensity to stockpile assault weapons and Kool-Aid. The fact that the Southern Poverty Law Center did notforesee problems with the People's Temple shows that they, themselves, are not exactly mainstream. Other left-wing groups urging violence have included the Weather Underground, the New Black Panthers, and the Nation of Islam. But I doubt one in 100,000 self-described left-leaning US citizens agrees or have ever agreed with any of those groups. The same is true for the opposite end of the spectrum.
I think The Times reporter may be confused by American English versus British English. When Americans use the word "government" they mean thepoliciesand administration of the current government. When Americans say they'reanti-governmentthey're not talking about changing their system of government, they're talking about replacing the current policies and the way those policies are being administered.
Unlike the UK, there can be no real talk of secession in the U.S. The civil war settled that question with the loss of over 1/2 million lives, and when taken as a percentage of the total population during that time, represents about the same level of fatalities suffered by Germany in WW II. The losses on both sides were atrocious. The Supreme Court back then ruled that no state could leave the Union unless it received permission from the other states. This was the legal basis for prosecuting the war against Southern states.
For starters: A handicapped parking place for motorcycles?
