If you were a bookie... Polls and bets on the 2004 elections

Street News is a good idea. They sell TO street people? This is of no interest to employed people? (Thinking of trying to co-opt the idea.)

Whole new topic, perhaps?

This is a good discussion.

Cycloptichorn

Your situ looks very much like ours, except you have the added assist for the addicted (and places to get them off the street). Most of our shelters are for night only--

Yeah, I'm with you there ... it is a good discussion, and it seems already to have progressed from a sidebar digression to an entirely new topic already occupying 4 or 5 consecutive pages on its own. Maybe it oughtta be split off by itself. Any body else think so, too - or does anybody object to the idea of a spn-off? Anybody wanna volunteer a title for the spin-off topic if thats what it comes to?

Cyclop--Actually, unless I find new information, I do give Reagan a large share of the blame for that. But, one man can't have that much of an impact ALONE. Glad you brought it up, though. I do want to look a little deeper.

It was one of those cases where good intentions had very bad unintended consequences.

DontTreadOnMe wrote:

nimh wrote:

Of the four states, Bush's approval rating is lowest in Ohio, where factory closings and unemployment hang like a cloud over the president's re-election hopes. [..]

hey, nimh. gross gott.

a lot of people, i think, are starting to figure out that there isn't much point in keeping america safe if there is no america left to keep safe.

might as well get hit by a dirty bomb if ya can't afford to put food on the family.

Are you aware of anywhere in the U.S. anyone has to go to bed hungry, other than cases of parental abuse of children?

hey folks. hope all are well today.

the intent of my comment was really aimed more at the people in the country that have lost their standard of living in tha last 4 years and even more, there are still people in the appalachians (and other parts of the country) that still live in unbelievable poverty.

dirt floors, shambling fall down houses, no shoes, sparse, if any, health care, etc. all in all, not the american dream.

but, most of these folks would rather die than go live in a shelter. their pride simply does not allow for that option.

a similar state of mind is present for most of those that have lost their job to outsourcing, downsizing and technical advances.

they are told that they can retrain for a new job. but that was said to them a decade ago. "learn how to work on a computer. you'll be alright."
and now those jobs are being outsourced as well.

there are some companies that have realized that there are pitfalls to outsourcing, and they send percieved profits into the red. a few have elected to relocate call centers and such to smaller towns and report for the most part that they are beginning to see a benefit.

of course, i do not want further harm to come to our country. however, i think it's important to remember that the fall of the soviet union had more to do with their allocation of something like 50+% of their budget to the military. we simply sent them into bankruptcy. that said, i believe we are in danger of a similar mindset taking center stage. in other words, there's more to life than the "terrorist threat".

and to answer larry's question. yeah i have seen people's kids go to bed hungry under some of these conditions.

but rather than enlarge the wellfare state, i'd rather see american business and government work towards regaining the manufacturing base that we used to have. it does not seem logical to me that a country with ambitions of world leadership doesn't make anything anymore.

hopefully, i've explained my meaning here, although in a hurry.

... it was the initiative of such groups as the ACLU and their sympathizers who demanded that those who were no danger to themselves or others be allowed to leave involuntary confinement.

the intent of my comment was really aimed more at the people in the country that have lost their standard of living in tha last 4 years and even more, there are still people in the appalachians (and other parts of the country) that still live in unbelievable poverty.

"and to answer larry's question. yeah i have seen people's kids go to bed hungry under some of these conditions"

If I saw a kid about to go to bed hungry, I would feed him.

Larry434 wrote:

"and to answer larry's question. yeah i have seen people's kids go to bed hungry under some of these conditions"

If I saw a kid about to go to bed hungry, I would feed him.

and sometimes i have larry. but there are people who see that as charity, a thing that offends them. i don't think it's right, but you can only go so far with people on that score.

Kerry has less than 3 weeks left in which to sieze the initiative and shift the momentum. Running right up there with the leader matters little at race end unless a pass can be made, then held to the finish line.