From the “not paying close attention” department
America is not ruled by executive whim, instinct, or fiat.
I would have thought that the blatant theft of the 2000 election, conveniently going to war just in time for the 2002 election, and the 10,000 lucky coincidences that happened in the 2004 election would have been pretty good signs that the traditional way the United States was governed was no longer operative.
Those people were willing to let New Orleans die because it was a Democratic stronghold in a Evil Party dominated state, and who regularly torture people to death just because they think that's the sort of thing the United States should be able to do. Get used to secret wiretaps, at the very least; if the B*sh junta is going to illegally spy on PETA, they're not going to spend any time paying attention to people who believe that the US Constitution actually means anything.
(quote from The American Prospect)
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The Republicans are testing to see how much they can get away with, how far the American people will let them go. With each new criminal act the Republicans discover that most Americans have lost their sense of outrage. Those who support Bush's criminality don't seem to comprehend that a government willing to violate the human rights of alleged foreign "enemies" will eventually justify violating the human rights of its own citizens.
If Osama wanted to find a way to destroy the US economically, to undermine US credibility in the world and to attack American constitutional freedoms he could not have devised a better plan or hoped for a more perfect adversary. For George W. Bush has taken the bait and is bankrupting the country, destroying US credibility in the world and is undermining the freedoms that he claims to defend.
Mike,
Wyoming
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I call the Bible mutants: Fundanazis. Glad to see that not all model railroaders are members of the fourth reich. I live in Laramie, Wyoming.
Here's a slightly out of date description of my basement model railroad:
John Hanks Portage Lake Railway and Navigation Company (Milwaukee Inspires a Model Railroad)
The railroad centers around a double track oval, which serves steel mills, light industries, and a ships basin. The inside track is an industrial lead, which connects to steel mills. The outside track is a loop track, which allows for easy movements around the busy mills to the rest of the industrial district.
The Portage Lake is prosperous because of the wide variety of industries it serves. Central Casting, Superior Steels/Republic Can, Kola Coke and Coal, and Heritage Boiler Plate provide half of the railroad's revenue. The other half is provided by Octopus Publishing, Right-Wing Snake Oils, Powder Milk Biscuits and several breweries. Light industries include a cannery, sawmill, warehouses, and scrap yards. If one source of revenue falls on hard times, others pick up the slack.
The P.L. Ry. & Nav. Co. is an HO gauge system which occupies a 12' x 30' basement room. It has been under construction (and reconstruction) for over 15 years incorporating many structures and rolling stock from previous layouts. The builder, John Hanks, has been in the hobby for over 50 years. His industrial layout provides a hands-on urban escape for a resident of Laramie, Wyoming - a backwater university town.
Track is code 100. The mainline radius is 30". The era is steam to diesel. There are over 300 pieces of rolling stock and over 25 locomotives. Most of the buildings come from kits, while some are supplemented by scratch built projects. Tether control and hand thrown turnouts are used throughout.
An unusual feature of the Portage Lake layout is that many businesses and commercial signs express some form of political satire. There is the Water Snake Plumbing Company with R.M. Nixon as proprietor. There is a Bible thumping Sermon First Mission, and the Gayety strip joint, run by Kenneth Starr. Heritage Boiler Plate pokes fun at Hollywood. According to Hanks, "My hobby provides a good avenue for self-expression including a way for me to express my feelings about right wing America. I can poke fun at it on my layout. I even have a billboard with real advertising from the Ku Klux Klan!"
There are four harbor scenes on John's layout. Two basins serve a grain elevator and a car float in the Port of Milwaukee. The other two represent Southside basins connecting with the Menomenee River. There are many nautical features, including swing bridges, lift bridges, car float facilities, derricks and cranes. Water craft including barges, coastal freighters, tugs, utility vessels and tourist boats. Seven barges hold a collection of 1/72 military equipment waiting to be scrapped.