OT Political (Fair Elections)

[Nichols]

Jim,


At 11:02 AM 10/30/2004 -0400, you wrote:
>Please don't misinterpret this next thought, just an observation . . .
>
>For decades, the US,  ( and UN, & Canada )  have provided 'neutral
>observers' to many foreign lands in the interests of 'fair' elections, but
>when those offers were made to the US in the aftermath of the Florida voting
>controversy, I believe the answer was a resounding 'no thank you'.
>
>This strikes me as curious, since allowing what the US expects others to
>accept,  would prove to the world ( and your friendly neighbours up north )
>that the US is an open and democratic society.

Former President Carter is involved with the organization that observes 
elections in other countries. In a recent interview, Mr. Carter pointed out 
that the U.S. does NOT qualify for observation. Several factors, including 
the partisan election officials, the ability of the courts to usurp the 
vote, and the wide variety of election methods disqualify the U.S. as a 
"fair election" democracy. Venezuela, amongst other "third world" 
countries, has a more fair election process than the U.S. Go figure.


>Sorry for the ramble . . .

I don't see a need to apologize. The thread is marked OT, after all. With 
all respect to Bob's post, if list members choose filters as opposed to 
manual deletion, the OT threads shouldn't be too annoying. There are many 
other venues for political discussions, but most people prefer to discus 
topics like this with colleagues and other people that they respect. Also, 
when you respect a person, or friend, it inspires you to try to help them 
understand your point of view, or even correct a mistaken assumption. So 
many people are victims of the propaganda machines, when facts are readily 
available, it's reasonable to "share".

>ON TOPIC
>
>How is the used piano market in your areas . . . it is DEAD in this area . .
>. I can hardly give them away ????
>What's up ???

October. Election anxiety. Historically this is not a great time for 
big-ticket items. Never fear, November will pick up.

>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Jim Kinnear
>www.kinnearpiano.com
>Collingwood, ON, Canada

Respectfully,
Guy Nichols, RPT
Ft. Stinkin' Desert, NM (AKA Battleground State)