[MD] Rhetoric

[Dan Glover]

Adrie, all,

On Fri, Nov 25, 2016 at 10:13 AM, Adrie Kintziger <parser666 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dmb, David J, Dan, Horse,Tuukka,John etc...
>
> Sorry for the delayed response.The last two years i'v developed a heart
> condition.Sometimes my motor scales down to about 30 beats/min.
> If so, i'm to tired to type or function well.The medics here do not call
> that an
> urgent condition.I did all tests.The diagnostics are not conclusive, so i
> will
> have new tests halfway December. I also developed something they call
> extra systoles.Apparently innocent extra heartbeats inbetween the normal
> rithm.About 40.000 per day. Very annoying.
> But enough of that.

Dan:
Take care of yourself, my friend.

>
> I believe that i have read somewhere that Pirsig is a Democrat?..probably
> in the observer interview.People here in Europe do not understand a country
> with only Democrates and Republicans, a kandidate-president who wins the
> populair vote, and loses the presidency.
> Europeans do not understand why the American president is called the
> President of the free world, and has the power to rule the country on his
> own
> agenda with the help of an administration appointed by him.
> Bush simply ordered the war on Irak.
> Why does America need the house of representatives, the parliament,the
> senate,the still existing houses of representatives in the apart states?...
> People wonder here if they are only there for local laws,traffic
> rules,pollution
> rules..........what if Trump can rule the country And the free world as an
> emperor?,...strange really, because when his time is done,he can walk from
> the scene,leaving all responsibilities behind him.

Dan:
Our US government is obstinately a system of checks and balances. The
legislative branch, representatives and senators, create laws. The
executive branch, the president, his cabinet, etc., approve and carry
out the laws. The judicial branch, the surpreme court, explains and
interprets the laws. In theory, each body of government balances the
others. For instance, the president does not have unlimited power.
While Bush did order the war, he had to go to congress for funding.
Things being what they were at the time, what with the social mania re
terrorism and the fear that more attacks were imminent, funding was
indeed provided. Support our troops was the name of the game. That is
how the administration spun the (in hindsight needless) war(s).

So far as local laws vs federal, we have another war going on now here
in the US. The drug war. Numerous states have legalized marijuana or
are in the process, while federal law still prohibits it. This is what
is referred to as grassroots legislation. Rather than congress passing
laws and the president approving them and the supreme court
interpreting them, the will of the people takes precedence. This is
the cornerstone of the United States. It doesn't matter who is
president or whether democrats or republicans control congress. The
Constitution is an intellectually-based document that guarantees
certain rights to individuals, for better or worse. You can't have the
good without the bad. Yes, we Americans shoot and kill a disportionate
number of fellow citizens compared to the rest of the civilized world.
But we have a constitutional right to bear arms and we will fight for
that right.

This confluence of good and bad is what gives such power, such Dynamic
force to the US and its people. Trump is not an emperor by any
stretch. He serves the will of the people. Whether he understands that
yet, I don't know. He will, though.

>
> These are some considerations.

Thanks, Adrie. Please let me know if anything I say is unclear.

Dan

http://www.danglover.com