Thanks Gordon.
 
As always, I appreciate and enjoy your comments. Thanks for the  link. I 
found another link therein to global warming facts and figures  that was 
interesting.  
 
To your opening comments, I am always eager to read all points of view on  
the topic of spending of the publics money. As a Vietnam veteran I  have an 
acquired distaste for war but do still I realize the need for defense  because 
there is evil in the world. I just wish that it were not so and I  will never 
stop wishing for that no matter how futile. Life without hope is  pretty bleak.   
 
You make good points about mankind's ability (or lack  thereof) to self 
govern. Churchill observed that democracy was the  worst form of government except 
for all of the other ones. Who can make the  "right" decisions? How do we know 
they are right? What might be right for the  moment might not be right for 
the future. (My crystal ball and tea leaves don't  work that good... ;-) 
 
I don't pretend to have the answers myself. It is a highly complext matter  
as I have stated many times before and I consider myself fortunate to  know 
quite well the puny limits of my knowledge and I am relieved that  the ball is 
not in my court. That said, I have come to see every  distant future event as 
pretty much a 50-50 proposition in that  it either will or won't happen. Yet, 
while I hope for the best, I must  somehow make some preparations for the worst 
as basic prudence seems  to suggest and I do small things.  
 
Not directly on topic, I am working through Ravi Batra's latest  book "The 
New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution against Political Corruption and  Economic 
Chaos " He has some interesting observations on economics that seem to  speak 
to some of the underlying issues that put us where we are. I am looking  
forward to reading his prescriptions when I get to that point in the book
 
Thanks again Gordon. 
 
Very best, 
Joe   



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