New Member

victoriatangoman wrote:
>
> ... lots of stuff ...
>
> failing at it will be convincing. Or will you then offer us the
> socialist excuse, "well, we just didn't do it the right way, so we
> should try to do it again but the right way this time . ." ad
> infinitum until the end of time.
>

As I pointed out before, that was Edison's approach to inventing the
light bulb. Seemed to work for him ...

> ... more stuff ...

>
> Mars is a religion for a lot of these folks, and nothing will shake
> their faith.
>

I respectfully submit this question to the group: In the most-recent
series of exchanges, which responder seems most religiously fervent
about their beliefs?

> ... more stuff ...

>
> Absolutely not. The time is ripe to squish the Mars meme before it
> ruins us all.
>

And here we see the biggest problem in America, most recently
reflected in the political campaign of 2004. There is no middle
ground. "My side is right and no one else has anything to contribute,
so we must crush the unbelievers because they waste our time."
There's no moderation or compromise any more. There's only zealotry,
mania, and labeling, which saves the necessity of thought. If you
disagree, I'll call you a (fill in the blank). Thus I weaken your
support among people who fear this label.

You members who live outside the US, try not to let your countries get
to this point. We have become infected with a football approach to
social interaction. Here, moderation and reasoned discourse are for
wimps. Life at the extremes of the opinionated bell curve is where
it's at, and an expression of a dissenting fact, even an "Are you
sure?", is grounds for the eruption of war.

Steve