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Old August 17th 08, 11:46 PM posted to rec.autos.makers.ford.mustang
Michael Johnson
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Default Idea of the muscle car is dead (Or, why Ford can't sell carsnow)

Joe wrote:
> Michael Johnson > wrote in :
>
>> Joe wrote:
>>> Michael Johnson > wrote in
>>> :
>>>
>>> <major snippage>
>>>
>>>> It is going to take some MAJOR breakdown in our way of life before the
>>>> population gets off its collective ass and makes real change happen.
>>>> By then the Democrats and, to a lesser extent, the Republicans may
>>>> have us screwed so bad there are no alternatives left. Either way we
>>>> are getting EXACTLY what we deserve for being so apathetic for
>>>> decades. I wouldn't blame the younger people if they just told all
>>>> the Baby Boomers that when they retire they will be euthanized since
>>>> they squandered all the money that was to go toward their retirement
>>>> costs.
>>> Saw an interview with Andrew J. Bacevich last night on Bill Moyers'
>>> Journal on PBS. Absolutely riveting, and that's not an exaggeration.
>>>
>>> Bacevich is highly accredited and tells the real story - he is right on
>>> the money IMO.
>>>
>>> Here's a preview of what he's all about:
>>> http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08152008/profile.html

>> It sounds interesting. I agree that our biggest threats come from
>> within our own borders and I'll go even further and say they come from
>> the very politicians we elect to solve our problems. It wouldn't take
>> them more than a year to pass all the legislation needed to right the
>> ship. It will take years to actually make it happen but to set the
>> framework for it would be easy. I think there needs to be a fundamental
>> change in our political structure and it needs to start with term
>> limits. I think career politicians are killing this country.

>
> Bacevich knows what he's talking about. Here's a brief bio on him:
> http://www.bu.edu/ir/faculty/bacevich.html
>
> Here's an interesting article he wrote last month for the Boston Globe:
> http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ed..._hath_wrought/


I don't agree with all his assessments in this article. I'm not a water
carrier for Bush these days but some of the things he bashes Bush on in
that article are yet to be determined. As time passes the real benefit
or folly of the Iraq war will be known. A talking head just can't say
whether it was, or wasn't, worth the expense at this point in time. I
don't know much about this guy but reading that article didn't do must
to impress me with his insight on foreign affairs. He seems a little
too biased. He made too many statements of fact when all the facts
aren't known at this juncture.

Iraq could very well turn out like Vietnam. When one looks at Vietnam
in and of itself it wasn't a war worth fighting. When put into context
with the overall goal of stopping the expansion of communism, opinions
as to its worth change. Had the USSR been allowed to expand their
influence unchecked we might have a very different world. The same can
be applied to the radical Islamics today. If they are allowed to run
unchecked we might be facing a dire situation 25, 50 or 100 years from
now. No one, and I repeat NO ONE, knows whether the decision to invade
and transform Iraq to a more Western political ideology was a worthwhile
endeavor. It is way too early to tell. When I read this guy stating
unequivocally that the Iraq war was a mistake it makes me think he has
too high an opinion of his mental prowess.

> To date, nobody else has professed more sobering ideas than Bacevich
> IMO. Unfortunately, it will take a radical mindset change in America
> before we see real change such as he describes.


The guy has some good ideas from a domestic standpoint but like most
talking heads, he is far from having all the answers to our problems.
Thanks for the heads-up on him though. It never hurts to get all sides
of the argument.
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