Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : The Boxing Ring Revived -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gao seng who wrote (2438)	2/19/2002 11:16:43 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7720

I admit, saying we have more to fear from the Episcopalians than we do from the Communists, distorts my reading comprehension aplenty. You could say, I see red. So that's the explanation! I have been trying to figure it out and the only two possibilities I could come up with were that you either didn't read carefully or that you lacked the ability to comprehend what you read. But I can see how reading with your gut rather than your brain could also explain the wild inferences and conclusions that you draw. I appreciate the insight. You might want to go back and see if you can find where I said we had more to fear from Episcopalians than Communists. You won't find it. What you will find is my making a distinction in the essential nature of a terrorist risk, independent of the particular philosophy or agenda of the terrorists, and a risk to our form of government. While we're at it, let's review the basics of risk assessment. There are two basic elements. No, an hysterical reaction is not one of them. The first is the extent of damage to be expected. The second is the probability of the event taking place. With regards to communism, the damage to our country of replacing our form of government with a communist regime would be massive. It would be right up there with nuclear war or a plague, IMO. I do not disagree with you at all that communism is a horrible thing. However horrible it might be, though, communism is far from our greatest threat because the probability of it occurring in right down there between slim and none. I can think of only two ways it could happen. One would be a military takeover of the US by a Communist power. I think it's safe to say that there is no such power extant today or in the near future. The other way would be for us, the people, to abandon our way of life in favor of Communism. Somehow I just can't see Microsoft or the citizenry lobbying Congress to make that change. Nor do I see a fifth column in a position to pull the wool over all our eyes. From this I conclude that it's silly to fret over the US falling to Communism. You can argue with my assessment of the probability aspect of this, but there's no way to conclude from anything I've said that Episcopalians, Oregonians, dentists, or skateboarders are a threat worth a single fret, either. If you'll take the time to read and react to what I actually said rather than to some monster strawman that you've constructed from your gut reaction to what I said... Karen