Really now, I'm appaulled at the way a lot of people think, not just the young, but the old as well.

Of anyone on this board, pgardn makes the most sense in these matters. I will listen to him.

Then continue to be close minded. I like to take in EVERYTHING and then make my own decision based upon the information I've come across. Some of the points you've brought up are valid, and some of them are not. Not everyone agrees with your opinions, but it doesn't make those people bad people. My point is this... don't hate something because you've been told to hate it. Hate something because you've researched it yourself and looked at all of the bases.

well this whole thread has gone to waste.....

i think pgardn makes a lot of sense. but i'm not going to only go by what he says--that's not being open-minded. nor is it being open-minded if you read a lot of material, but it's all the same theme. read every point of view, every side, especially if it is opposite of what you viewed as truth. that's how you learn. you already know what YOU know. always more than one side to any issue.

That is exactly the point I was trying to get across too, but you put it into better words. Thanks.

i think from now on tho i will type things as they sound, rather than correct spelling. monipenny has shown me the light.

or iz it lyte? lyt....lit....liit?? lyyt??? hehhehhe

Man... I hop on for two minutes to the final page in this thread and realize it must have gotten VERY interesting. :) I'll have to go back and read the six or so pages I missed later this weekend... happy Friday; I'm off to see "Black Dahlia."

enjoy, eat some whoppers for me. and popcorn.

Okay-- two more minutes and then I'm out of here. Really.

Mmmm... whoppers. Though I must admit, I did not appreciate malted milk until recently. As a kid, I thought malted milk balls tasted like evil. I like them now, which means either I was wrong as a kid or I have changed my position about evil as a grownup.

i love them, but have't eaten them in forever--not exactly a health food!

and yes, tastes do change. altho i still refuse to eat liver or brussell sprouts.

Well, that is how you and I differ Cajun. I don't hate anything in this world. Problems don't get solved by hating; they get solved by loving. That is one of the major problems with today's society. Everybody thinks that they have to hate someone because they differ from them in opinion. It is why this country is torn in half right now just as it was during Vietnam. I also think that it is ironic that you brought this up...

"Not everyone agrees with your opinions, but it doesn't make those people bad people."

You haven't contributed anything to this tread other than personally criticizing me. I haven't personally attacked anyone on this thread although others have called me hopeless and close-minded and a "liberalist" in very derogatory ways. Well, it isn't your fault that you called me close-minded. American society has taught us to personally attack and criticize those who have opposing views. The capitalist econonmy also contributes to this because it makes us very competitive in which the more competitive succeed, and often succeed by criticizing the others and calling them stupid...kind of like the Democrats and the Republicans do.

While others have made valid points, some are extremely biased, and pgardn presented the facts in a very unbiased way. You are way off based if you think that I am close minded because that is very far from the truth, and just your opinion. Just for the record, I am neither a liberal, conserv., Dem., or Repub.

The fact is that I have researched these topics extensively and this is where I stand. I have even got expert facts, not from the news, but from an astute political scientist.

Whoever thought that I didn't know that the gas prices were going down because the price of barrels of oil were going down...well, let's just say I know a lot more than you think that I do. We get most of our oil from OPEC, which is basically Saudi Arabia. A good argument can be made that the leaders of Saudi Arabia have been doing the same thing that the leaders of Iraq are doing, yet we went to war with one and are allies with another. It is also an important fact, that two leaders in the White House, Bush and Cheney, are oilmen. This is quite a dilemma especially because Cheney was put in charge of this country's energy programs. When Cheney went to Saudi Arabia, he received wild applause. Dalankani was right when he said that the US government didn't/couldn't affect oil prices directly, but did/could indirectly. Also, Bush said that gas prices would go down in the fall of this year anyway because he was going to wait and get through the summer before he turned to our oil reserves. There is little doubt that there was a political agenda behind this. However, instead of using our oil reserves, OPEC is now saying that they miscalculated the amount of oil that Americans were going to consume this year, and that is why the prices of barrels of oil have come down. They also said that they now have competitors. However, earlier in the year, experts said that we wouldn't be seeing a long-term decrease in gas prices for two or three years. With all of this information presented, I will guarantee that both the oil prices and consequently the gas prices will rise again after the elections. Now this may/may not be a cause of the Bush administration. I was just pointing out the facts of the situation and my opinion that gas prices would most likely rise. It is a sensible prediction whether I am right or wrong. I'll leave on this note, money and the power of a limited number of individuals rule the world.

Have fun Genuine Risk!!! I'm getting ready to go out to eat myself.

Now that's what I call a really loving approach.

I've known thousands of people in my lifetime ...

... but I've never known a single one ... friend or foe ... who believed they have to hate someone because they differ from them in opinion.

What type of people do you associate with?

And also, if you can't eat yourself, who will?

Reminds me of my dog...
Q: Why do dogs lick their balls?
A: Because they can.

I've had the good ... nay, blessed ... fortune to abide in America for 63 years now ... and no one has ever tried to teach me to personally attack and criticize those who have opposing views.

In fact ... I've always been taught just the opposite.

Again I ask ... who has taught you to personally attack and criticize those who have opposing views?

ah, how profound. and right on!

Oh ... so that's how all those entrepreneurs whose ideas and productivity have helped improve all our lives got ahead ...

... they criticized others and called them stupid.

How did you find that out ... since all those "How To Succeed" books say just the opposite?

Do you fail to see the irony in that statement?

Ummm ... you don't know quite as much as you think you do.

Most of our oil comes from domestic production ... or is imported from Mexico and other western hemisphere countries.

There are more internal contradictions here than in Rubik's Cube.

This paragraph can become a challenge similar to the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone. I call on all etymologists and linguists to take up the cudgel.