In article , Ed Huntress wrote:
"jim rozen" wrote in message
...
In article , Ed
Huntress
says... Oh, and Bill Clinton.

There it is, proof that this stuff cuts across
party lines. All those folks are whores, pure and
simple. Just wave a million bucks under their
nose, and they'll jump through *any* hoop.

Well, I think you're being a little rough on them here, Jim. As for the
[....]
But the problem really is a dogmatic and ideological strain of economic
thought. Economists call it Neoliberal Economics and pundits call it the
[....]
You don't have to be crooked to be an ideologue. I don't think Bush II is
crooked about it, either. They're just ideologues who see everything through
their belief filter, twisting the facts to fit their beliefs, rather than
seeing things as they are and then checking to see if their beliefs fit the
reality. There's no reality check on it because the True Believers can
select the reality they want to see, and thus make it fit their theories,
every time.

Ed sums up the "human condition" with this last paragraph, imho. taken
as a whole, the filter analogy (widely discussed in various forms over
the centuries) accounts for 95% of human behaviour. it probably explains
why we stand to lose our 'fredoom-loving' asses in Irag/Mid-East.

not our filter alone, but the collective filters of all combatants
(including Gentiles, Jews, atheists, secular interests and all Muslim
sects, and in all social strata). throw in, "search for agreement" and
you have 90% of the knowledge needed to write a doctoral thesis in
Philosophy or Theology. grin

this has been a great thread to read, thanks to all participants. --Loren