• =?UTF-8?Q?Re=3A_=E2=80=9CIt_Is_Going_to_Be_a_Very_Difficult_Winter_?= =?UTF-8?Q?if_the_Global_Energy_Crisis_Is_Not_Resolved_Soon=E2=80=9D?=

    From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Sat Aug 1 13:55:06 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it.
    We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over to Louisiana and burn the dirt. Not very cheap, in fact quite expensive. Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas furnaces or electric heating strips in the central air conditioning blowers. I had the
    electric heating strips in both of the air conditioners of my office
    building. But the north side unit failed in 2024 and I replaced it with
    a heat pump. And backup heating strips.

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to rec.arts.sf.written on Sat Aug 1 21:39:03 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it.
    We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over to >Louisiana and burn the dirt. Not very cheap, in fact quite expensive. >Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas furnaces or electric >heating strips in the central air conditioning blowers. I had the
    electric heating strips in both of the air conditioners of my office >building. But the north side unit failed in 2024 and I replaced it with
    a heat pump. And backup heating strips.

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    Good thing there aren't any on the ballot anywhere in the USA, then.

    Texans are willing to vote for democrats, however. (42.5% in the
    2024 presidental erection).

    It is sad that the winner by such a small margin[*] shits on the other
    side every chance he gets.

    [*] His fingers are pretty short.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Sat Aug 1 19:43:09 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/1/2026 2:55 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it.
    We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over to Louisiana and burn the dirt.-a Not very cheap, in fact quite expensive. Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas furnaces or electric heating strips in the central air conditioning blowers.-a I had the
    electric heating strips in both of the air conditioners of my office building.-a But the north side unit failed in 2024 and I replaced it with
    a heat pump.-a And backup heating strips.

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    But they'll vote for a impeached, corrupt, adulterer instead?

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Sat Aug 1 20:42:46 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    Good thing there aren't any on the ballot anywhere in the USA, then.

    I kind of miss Gus Hall. I disagreed with him on just about everything,
    but he was an honest and sincere man. The only presidential candidate
    at the time that drove himself in his own car cross-country for debates. --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From BobbieSellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Sat Aug 1 19:00:30 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/1/26 11:55, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it.
    We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over to Louisiana and burn the dirt.-a Not very cheap, in fact quite expensive. Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas furnaces or electric heating strips in the central air conditioning blowers.-a I had the
    electric heating strips in both of the air conditioners of my office building.-a But the north side unit failed in 2024 and I replaced it with
    a heat pump.-a And backup heating strips.

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    Lynn


    `Then it is great that they can chose Democratic Socialist Party members rather than those nasty Fascistic Communistic Oligarchs like
    President Trump. Now you may say he is not a communist but he promotes
    welfare not of the People but of the Oligarchs such as Musk and the guys
    behind Amazon and Meta. His Fascism is expressed through his ICE agents
    who kill people for no good reason at all.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From BobbieSellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Sat Aug 1 19:05:00 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/1/26 16:43, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 8/1/2026 2:55 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it.
    We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over
    to Louisiana and burn the dirt.-a Not very cheap, in fact quite
    expensive. Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas
    furnaces or electric heating strips in the central air conditioning
    blowers.-a I had the electric heating strips in both of the air
    conditioners of my office building.-a But the north side unit failed in
    2024 and I replaced it with a heat pump.-a And backup heating strips.

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    But they'll vote for a impeached, corrupt, adulterer instead?

    pt

    He is not running this time around so they will have to do the
    best they can with His lackeys and minions aka the Pedophile Protectors
    from all the states were they haven't yet been convicted of crimes
    against the young who remain remarkably foolish.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Sat Aug 1 22:46:36 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/1/2026 10:05 PM, BobbieSellers wrote:
    On 8/1/26 16:43, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 8/1/2026 2:55 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it. >>>> We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over
    to Louisiana and burn the dirt.-a Not very cheap, in fact quite
    expensive. Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas
    furnaces or electric heating strips in the central air conditioning
    blowers.-a I had the electric heating strips in both of the air
    conditioners of my office building.-a But the north side unit failed
    in 2024 and I replaced it with a heat pump.-a And backup heating strips. >>>
    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    But they'll vote for a impeached, corrupt, adulterer instead?

    pt

    -a-a-a-aHe is not running this time around so they will have to do the
    best they can with His lackeys and minions aka the Pedophile Protectors
    from all the states were they haven't yet been convicted of crimes
    against the young who remain remarkably foolish.

    I was referring to Paxton. The accusation of drunkeness I can't source,
    but the rest...

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Aug 2 09:38:23 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Sat, 1 Aug 2026 13:55:06 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it.
    We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over to >Louisiana and burn the dirt. Not very cheap, in fact quite expensive. >Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas furnaces or electric >heating strips in the central air conditioning blowers. I had the
    electric heating strips in both of the air conditioners of my office >building. But the north side unit failed in 2024 and I replaced it with
    a heat pump. And backup heating strips.

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.
    Of course they aren't.
    But will they still be willing to vote for MAGA Republicans?
    Or will they just sit this one out?
    How might the Republican Party react if half of its traditional voters
    just ... don't vote. Think they might treat it as a Message?
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Aug 2 09:41:51 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Sat, 01 Aug 2026 21:39:03 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
    wrote:
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it.
    We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over to >>Louisiana and burn the dirt. Not very cheap, in fact quite expensive. >>Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas furnaces or electric >>heating strips in the central air conditioning blowers. I had the >>electric heating strips in both of the air conditioners of my office >>building. But the north side unit failed in 2024 and I replaced it with
    a heat pump. And backup heating strips.

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    Good thing there aren't any on the ballot anywhere in the USA, then.
    Our Primary isn't over yet. Granted, there are no "prefers Communist
    Party" candidates on it, but who can say what some of the wierder ones
    might turn out to be.
    Of course, Seattle/King County/Washington State is a /far cry/ from
    deep-Red Texas.
    Then again, since Red is the color of Communism ... how /did/ the
    Republicans get stuck with that color anyway?
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Aug 2 09:44:18 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Sat, 1 Aug 2026 22:46:36 -0400, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 8/1/2026 10:05 PM, BobbieSellers wrote:
    On 8/1/26 16:43, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 8/1/2026 2:55 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I >>>>> can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it. >>>>> We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over
    to Louisiana and burn the dirt.a Not very cheap, in fact quite
    expensive. Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas
    furnaces or electric heating strips in the central air conditioning
    blowers.a I had the electric heating strips in both of the air
    conditioners of my office building.a But the north side unit failed
    in 2024 and I replaced it with a heat pump.a And backup heating strips. >>>>
    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    But they'll vote for a impeached, corrupt, adulterer instead?

    pt

    aaaaHe is not running this time around so they will have to do the
    best they can with His lackeys and minions aka the Pedophile Protectors
    from all the states were they haven't yet been convicted of crimes
    against the young who remain remarkably foolish.

    I was referring to Paxton. The accusation of drunkeness I can't source,
    but the rest...
    Why not? He looks to me like someone who is the epitome of current Republicanism.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Aug 2 09:49:36 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Sat, 1 Aug 2026 19:00:30 -0700, BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:
    On 8/1/26 11:55, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it.
    We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over to
    Louisiana and burn the dirt.a Not very cheap, in fact quite expensive.
    Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas furnaces or electric
    heating strips in the central air conditioning blowers.a I had the
    electric heating strips in both of the air conditioners of my office
    building.a But the north side unit failed in 2024 and I replaced it with
    a heat pump.a And backup heating strips.

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    Lynn


    `Then it is great that they can chose Democratic Socialist Party
    members rather than those nasty Fascistic Communistic Oligarchs like >President Trump. Now you may say he is not a communist but he promotes >welfare not of the People but of the Oligarchs such as Musk and the guys >behind Amazon and Meta. His Fascism is expressed through his ICE agents
    who kill people for no good reason at all.
    You are getting a bit over-wrought. If you can, watch "Six Minutes to
    Midnight" and consider how Nazis solve the problem of having to leave
    potential hostages (teen-aged daughters of high-level Nazis and
    high-ranking military officers) in Britain at the start of WWII.
    Actual Nazis were a /lot/ worse than Trump. Indeed, calling Trump (a
    decadent decayed petty businessman in their eyes) a "Nazi" is an
    insult to real Nazis everywhere.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Robert Woodward@robertaw@drizzle.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Aug 2 10:18:58 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    In article <vvsu6l1ke2brnnnbb0foto8ut6323t269i@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    On Sat, 1 Aug 2026 19:00:30 -0700, BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:

    On 8/1/26 11:55, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    (SNIP)


    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    Lynn


    `Then it is great that they can chose Democratic Socialist Party
    members rather than those nasty Fascistic Communistic Oligarchs like >President Trump. Now you may say he is not a communist but he promotes >welfare not of the People but of the Oligarchs such as Musk and the guys >behind Amazon and Meta. His Fascism is expressed through his ICE agents >who kill people for no good reason at all.

    You are getting a bit over-wrought. If you can, watch "Six Minutes to Midnight" and consider how Nazis solve the problem of having to leave potential hostages (teen-aged daughters of high-level Nazis and
    high-ranking military officers) in Britain at the start of WWII.


    Trump was not compared to Nazis; he was compared to Fascists.

    Actual Nazis were a /lot/ worse than Trump. Indeed, calling Trump (a
    decadent decayed petty businessman in their eyes) a "Nazi" is an
    insult to real Nazis everywhere.

    Personally, I view Trump as a Mussolini wanna-be.
    --
    "We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
    Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_. i-----------------------------------------------------
    Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From WolfFan@akwolffan@zoho.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Aug 2 16:17:22 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Aug 1, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
    (in article <114lfea$3ro11$1@dont-email.me>):

    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it.
    We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over to Louisiana and burn the dirt. Not very cheap, in fact quite expensive. Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas furnaces or electric heating strips in the central air conditioning blowers. I had the
    electric heating strips in both of the air conditioners of my office building. But the north side unit failed in 2024 and I replaced it with
    a heat pump. And backup heating strips.

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    Intriguing. Perhaps you could give a pointer towards where I could find out about communists, as in actual commies, not socialists or dems, who are currently standing for election in Texas? How about in the entire US? Please be very clear about this. And please note that the rCyfar-leftrCO members of the Democratic Party would be considered center-right in most places other than the US. The late Maggie Thatcher, beloved of Ronnie Raygun, was considered a dangerous rightist in the UK; her policies were notably to the left of Bill Clinton, Barrack Obama, and Joe Biden. For one thing, Buenos Aries was not subjected to a bombing campaign; if Argentina had grabbed some American islands while Clinton, Obama, or Biden were prez, there would have been a sustained cruise missile assault, probably followed by Marines and the 82nd and 101st.



    Lynn


    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Aug 2 17:52:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
    You are getting a bit over-wrought. If you can, watch "Six Minutes to >Midnight" and consider how Nazis solve the problem of having to leave >potential hostages (teen-aged daughters of high-level Nazis and
    high-ranking military officers) in Britain at the start of WWII.

    Actual Nazis were a /lot/ worse than Trump. Indeed, calling Trump (a
    decadent decayed petty businessman in their eyes) a "Nazi" is an
    insult to real Nazis everywhere.

    I highly recommend reading "In the Garden of Beasts" by Erik Larson,
    which is the story of the American diplomatic mission to Germany in
    the 1930s. You'll see an awful lot of parallels to what is going on
    in the US today, although thankfully you will see differences too.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Aug 2 22:00:31 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) writes:
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
    You are getting a bit over-wrought. If you can, watch "Six Minutes to >>Midnight" and consider how Nazis solve the problem of having to leave >>potential hostages (teen-aged daughters of high-level Nazis and >>high-ranking military officers) in Britain at the start of WWII.

    Actual Nazis were a /lot/ worse than Trump. Indeed, calling Trump (a >>decadent decayed petty businessman in their eyes) a "Nazi" is an
    insult to real Nazis everywhere.

    I highly recommend reading "In the Garden of Beasts" by Erik Larson,
    which is the story of the American diplomatic mission to Germany in
    the 1930s. You'll see an awful lot of parallels to what is going on
    in the US today, although thankfully you will see differences too.

    "The Diplomacy of the Great War" by Arthur Bullard reads
    almost like a contemporaneous report rather than
    something written about events 120+ years ago.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jay Morris@morrisj@epsilon3.me to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Aug 2 19:42:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/2/2026 11:41 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sat, 01 Aug 2026 21:39:03 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
    wrote:

    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it. >>>> We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over to
    Louisiana and burn the dirt. Not very cheap, in fact quite expensive.
    Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas furnaces or electric >>> heating strips in the central air conditioning blowers. I had the
    electric heating strips in both of the air conditioners of my office
    building. But the north side unit failed in 2024 and I replaced it with >>> a heat pump. And backup heating strips.

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    Good thing there aren't any on the ballot anywhere in the USA, then.

    Our Primary isn't over yet. Granted, there are no "prefers Communist
    Party" candidates on it, but who can say what some of the wierder ones
    might turn out to be.

    Of course, Seattle/King County/Washington State is a /far cry/ from
    deep-Red Texas.

    Then again, since Red is the color of Communism ... how /did/ the
    Republicans get stuck with that color anyway?

    "The color scheme was a simple choice, according Archie Tse, senior
    graphics editor at The New York Times. As he told The Verge in 2012,
    "red begins with r, Republican begins with r, it was a more natural association.""

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/03/heres-why-republicans-red-and-democrats-blue/6144842002/
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Aug 2 20:53:47 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/2/2026 12:44 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sat, 1 Aug 2026 22:46:36 -0400, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 8/1/2026 10:05 PM, BobbieSellers wrote:
    On 8/1/26 16:43, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 8/1/2026 2:55 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I >>>>>> can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a >>>>>> few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it. >>>>>> We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the >>>>>> final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over >>>>> to Louisiana and burn the dirt.-a Not very cheap, in fact quite
    expensive. Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas
    furnaces or electric heating strips in the central air conditioning
    blowers.-a I had the electric heating strips in both of the air
    conditioners of my office building.-a But the north side unit failed >>>>> in 2024 and I replaced it with a heat pump.-a And backup heating strips. >>>>>
    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    But they'll vote for a impeached, corrupt, adulterer instead?

    pt

    -a-a-a-aHe is not running this time around so they will have to do the >>> best they can with His lackeys and minions aka the Pedophile Protectors
    from all the states were they haven't yet been convicted of crimes
    against the young who remain remarkably foolish.

    I was referring to Paxton. The accusation of drunkeness I can't source,
    but the rest...

    Why not? He looks to me like someone who is the epitome of current Republicanism.

    I'm not going to accuse Paxton of something I can't source. Even a
    slimeball should be judged on what they can be shown to have done,
    not made up sins.

    He may be a drunk, he may not. But until I see evidence, I won't
    accuse him of it.

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Gary R. Schmidt@grschmidt@acm.org to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 20:52:11 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 03/08/2026 02:49, Paul S Person wrote:
    [SNIP]

    You are getting a bit over-wrought. If you can, watch "Six Minutes to Midnight" and consider how Nazis solve the problem of having to leave potential hostages (teen-aged daughters of high-level Nazis and
    high-ranking military officers) in Britain at the start of WWII.

    Actual Nazis were a /lot/ worse than Trump. Indeed, calling Trump (a
    decadent decayed petty businessman in their eyes) a "Nazi" is an
    insult to real Nazis everywhere.

    And that's a bad thing how????

    Cheers,
    Gary B-)
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 08:20:00 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com> wrote:
    Intriguing. Perhaps you could give a pointer towards where I could find out >about communists, as in actual commies, not socialists or dems, who are >currently standing for election in Texas? How about in the entire US? Please >be very clear about this.

    We actually have two vaguely-active communist parties in the US which run candidates for major office. The CPUSA was established with help from the Comintern and for many years basically followed the Soviet line no matter
    what it was. They were more of a "pro-Russian" party than real communists
    and HUAC pretty much destroyed them, but there is a little bit left. With
    the fall of the Soviet Union and the death of Gus Hall and the loss of their newspapers there isn't really much left of them. They do occasionally run candidates for office but I don't think they have run anyone for president
    in over a decade.

    The RCP (Revolutionary Communist Party) is an independent and sort of Maoist party that came out of California in the 1970s, run by Bob Avakian and they
    do run Avakian for president every time. They promote Avakian more than they actually promote communism.

    Both of these parties (as well as the Socialists) tend to run candidates for president without going for local offices. It could be argued that they are not serious about getting elected (as one would expect revolutionaries to be). Very distinct philosophy compared with some of the other small parties like
    the Greens which run people for local elections with the intention of working upward.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From BobbieSellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 08:32:20 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/3/26 03:52, Gary R. Schmidt wrote:
    On 03/08/2026 02:49, Paul S Person wrote:
    [SNIP]

    You are getting a bit over-wrought. If you can, watch "Six Minutes to
    Midnight" and consider how Nazis solve the problem of having to leave
    potential hostages (teen-aged daughters of high-level Nazis and
    high-ranking military officers) in Britain at the start of WWII.

    Actual Nazis were a /lot/ worse than Trump. Indeed, calling Trump (a
    decadent decayed petty businessman in their eyes) a "Nazi" is an
    insult to real Nazis everywhere.

    And that's a bad thing how????

    -a-a-a-aCheers,
    -a-a-a-a-a-a-a Gary-a-a-a B-)


    Even Hitler was not as stupid as Trump. He wrote his own
    book, despicable bigot that he was, while Trump has to have
    ghostwriters to write anything besides his disgusting signature.

    But ICE is his Gestapo equivalent and he probably envies
    their capacity for murder. Like the Gestapo though the idiot has
    aimed them at functional parts of the vast American economy.

    bliss
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 08:58:22 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Sun, 02 Aug 2026 10:18:58 -0700, Robert Woodward
    <robertaw@drizzle.com> wrote:
    In article <vvsu6l1ke2brnnnbb0foto8ut6323t269i@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    On Sat, 1 Aug 2026 19:00:30 -0700, BobbieSellers
    <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:

    On 8/1/26 11:55, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    (SNIP)


    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    Lynn


    `Then it is great that they can chose Democratic Socialist Party
    members rather than those nasty Fascistic Communistic Oligarchs like
    President Trump. Now you may say he is not a communist but he promotes
    welfare not of the People but of the Oligarchs such as Musk and the guys
    behind Amazon and Meta. His Fascism is expressed through his ICE agents
    who kill people for no good reason at all.

    You are getting a bit over-wrought. If you can, watch "Six Minutes to
    Midnight" and consider how Nazis solve the problem of having to leave
    potential hostages (teen-aged daughters of high-level Nazis and
    high-ranking military officers) in Britain at the start of WWII.


    Trump was not compared to Nazis; he was compared to Fascists.
    You are, of course, correct.
    Calling Trump a Fascist is an insult to real Fascists everywhere.
    Note: the same could be said of many derogatory terms. And many other
    terms, such as "clown" (see /Shakes the Clown/ or "bozo" (which would
    be an insult to Bozo the Clown as well).
    Trump is simply so far down the ladder that pretty much everyone else
    would be insulted if he were compared to them. Possibly even MAGA.
    Actual Nazis were a /lot/ worse than Trump. Indeed, calling Trump (a
    decadent decayed petty businessman in their eyes) a "Nazi" is an
    insult to real Nazis everywhere.

    Personally, I view Trump as a Mussolini wanna-be.
    That would be DeSantis, a pocket Mussolini. (for this use of "pocket",
    see "pocket battleship"). Trump does not rise to this level. "DeSantis wanna-be", OTOH ... maybe.)
    100 years from now, history will record:
    US President elected 2016 -- V Putin *
    US President elected 2024 -- B Netanyahu *
    with this note:
    * elected as and held office by a proxy, D Trump of "Make America
    Grovel Again" fame
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 09:10:54 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:17:22 -0400, WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com>
    wrote:
    On Aug 1, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
    (in article <114lfea$3ro11$1@dont-email.me>):

    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it.
    We shall see.

    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over to
    Louisiana and burn the dirt. Not very cheap, in fact quite expensive.
    Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas furnaces or electric
    heating strips in the central air conditioning blowers. I had the
    electric heating strips in both of the air conditioners of my office
    building. But the north side unit failed in 2024 and I replaced it with
    a heat pump. And backup heating strips.

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    Intriguing. Perhaps you could give a pointer towards where I could find out >about communists, as in actual commies, not socialists or dems, who are >currently standing for election in Texas? How about in the entire US? Please >be very clear about this. And please note that the afar-leftA members of
    the Democratic Party would be considered center-right in most places other >than the US. The late Maggie Thatcher, beloved of Ronnie Raygun, was >considered a dangerous rightist in the UK; her policies were notably to the >left of Bill Clinton, Barrack Obama, and Joe Biden. For one thing, Buenos >Aries was not subjected to a bombing campaign; if Argentina had grabbed some >American islands while Clinton, Obama, or Biden were prez, there would have >been a sustained cruise missile assault, probably followed by Marines and the >82nd and 101st.
    I'm not sure of your point here, as Ronnie Raygun was /not/ a Democrat
    (never mind a communist, in any sense) and Thatcher was thought (when
    she was thought of at all -- she was, after, not part of the USA
    government) as rather conservative as well.
    The assertion is based on Republican campaign propaganda. Well, at
    least sometimes, there is Democrat campaign propaganda just as
    well-attached to reality as Republican compain propaganda (which is to
    say, not at all), and they do have Bernie, Hillary, and the Friends of
    Bernie, who apparently still think they can sneak gummint healthcare
    over on us by calling it "Medicare for all" when it really isn't
    Medicare at all. So it isn't as if this nonsense were one-sided.
    The Dems would be well-advised to muzzle these people, as every time
    they speak votes slide away. Sadly, the Republicans show no desire,
    never mind ability, to silence Trump. As I have noted before,
    Democrats don't win elections, Republicans lose them (leaving the Dems
    as victors).
    And, of course, the only poll that counts is coming up in 3 months.
    It should be about time for the Courts to put a lid on all attempts to
    change how the election is to be conducted until after it is over, to
    avoid confusing the voters.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From BCFD 36@bcfd36@cruzio.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 10:49:15 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/3/26 09:10, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:17:22 -0400, WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com>
    wrote:


    [stuff deleted]

    And, of course, the only poll that counts is coming up in 3 months.

    It should be about time for the Courts to put a lid on all attempts to
    change how the election is to be conducted until after it is over, to
    avoid confusing the voters.

    I am concerned that the scum bucket in charge and/or his handlers are
    going to try their very, very best to make sure the next election
    doesn't happen or is so deeply "questioned" that the results will be
    ignored. In other words, either cancel or discredit the results.
    --
    ----------------

    Dave Scruggs
    Senior Software Engineer - Lockheed Martin, et. al (mostly Retired)
    Captain - Boulder Creek Fire (Retired)
    Board of Directors - Boulder Creek Fire Protection District (What was I thinking?)
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From oldernow@oldernow@dev.null to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 20:50:08 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    In article <vvsu6l1ke2brnnnbb0foto8ut6323t269i@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    Actual Nazis were a /lot/ worse than
    Trump. Indeed, calling Trump (a decadent
    decayed petty businessman in their eyes) a
    "Nazi" is an insult to real Nazis everywhere.

    Yes, doth hatred derangement lead to N-ht
    degree crying - yea, shrieking - of wolf. I
    appreciate such morons identifying themselves
    so unambiguously.
    --
    v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
    | usenet verdict on adam h kerman |
    | fuckchop+idiot+kook+scumbag+troll |
    ^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From BobbieSellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 14:25:51 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/3/26 09:10, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:17:22 -0400, WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com>
    wrote:

    On Aug 1, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
    (in article <114lfea$3ro11$1@dont-email.me>):

    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I
    can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Get that heat pump in along with a solar/battery system to keep it working when your fuel burning generation plants break down again.


    Oh, well, it's only a matter of time -- the fire code is being
    adjusted to make 60-70 year old oil tank replacement mandatory in a
    few years. This is to try an get ahead of all the tanks finally
    rusting out, IIRC, and polluting a lot of land which has houses on it. >>>> We shall see.

    This is ongoing in San Francisco. For this building it was done long ago but while I have lived here. My apartment is over the old
    oil-fired furnace room which is now a gas fired water system and
    coin laundry room.


    If this actually happens and hits early enough, it may provide the
    final push in November's election.

    Around here, we dig out the the leaking tanks and take the dirt over to
    Louisiana and burn the dirt. Not very cheap, in fact quite expensive.
    Luckily, most of our heating comes from natural gas furnaces or electric >>> heating strips in the central air conditioning blowers. I had the
    electric heating strips in both of the air conditioners of my office
    building. But the north side unit failed in 2024 and I replaced it with
    a heat pump. And backup heating strips.

    And as far as the November election, not many people around here in
    Texas are willing to vote for communists.

    Intriguing. Perhaps you could give a pointer towards where I could find out >> about communists, as in actual commies, not socialists or dems, who are
    currently standing for election in Texas? How about in the entire US? Please >> be very clear about this. And please note that the rCyfar-leftrCO members of >> the Democratic Party would be considered center-right in most places other >> than the US. The late Maggie Thatcher, beloved of Ronnie Raygun, was
    considered a dangerous rightist in the UK; her policies were notably to the >> left of Bill Clinton, Barrack Obama, and Joe Biden. For one thing, Buenos
    Aries was not subjected to a bombing campaign; if Argentina had grabbed some >> American islands while Clinton, Obama, or Biden were prez, there would have >> been a sustained cruise missile assault, probably followed by Marines and the
    82nd and 101st.

    Indeed the farthest left members of the Democratic Party are moderates anywhere but in the USA where a campaign to wage war on the
    poor has been run for over 50 years by the Republicans and their
    supporting media. There is no widely known or experienced left wing
    media as has been so frequently claimed by people who hate the
    publication of truth.


    I'm not sure of your point here, as Ronnie Raygun was /not/ a Democrat
    (never mind a communist, in any sense) and Thatcher was thought (when
    she was thought of at all -- she was, after, not part of the USA
    government) as rather conservative as well.

    Ronald Reagan was a Democrat originally but was advised by his Father-in-law that he could get no power that way so he switched
    parties to become a Republican. He got the backing and his backers got
    the man they wanted to put in place the policies they profited from.




    The assertion is based on Republican campaign propaganda. Well, at
    least sometimes, there is Democrat campaign propaganda just as
    well-attached to reality as Republican compain propaganda (which is to
    say, not at all), and they do have Bernie, Hillary, and the Friends of Bernie, who apparently still think they can sneak gummint healthcare
    over on us by calling it "Medicare for all" when it really isn't
    Medicare at all. So it isn't as if this nonsense were one-sided.


    Why would it not be a single payer system of healthcare.
    Of course it would be unpopular with the well off who can pay
    for healthcare with or without insurance. For the people without
    resources beyond very low wages or other income not like it.
    Businessmen who have to contribute to healthcare in any event would
    be happier to have its as well.


    The Dems would be well-advised to muzzle these people, as every time
    they speak votes slide away. Sadly, the Republicans show no desire,
    never mind ability, to silence Trump. As I have noted before,
    Democrats don't win elections, Republicans lose them (leaving the Dems
    as victors).

    Actually they have won numerous elections and instituted policies that lead to renewed prosperity for the American people
    and for business. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John
    F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack
    Obama, and Biden.
    The Republicans lost the election in 2026 and 2028 by
    the re-election of Donald Trump with his imbecilic Tariffs
    and his present revival of same under the Authority of the
    Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930 which contributed to the Great
    Depression, and the do nothing Republican/MAGA coalition
    in both houses of Congress.



    And, of course, the only poll that counts is coming up in 3 months.

    It should be about time for the Courts to put a lid on all attempts to
    change how the election is to be conducted until after it is over, to
    avoid confusing the voters.

    I wish you confused Conservatives would quit with the electoral politics as reminding you of history takes me away from either
    recreational reading or more enjoyable TV-such as the PBS News Hour.

    bliss

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 17:30:54 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/3/2026 4:25 PM, BobbieSellers wrote:
    ...
    The assertion is based on Republican campaign propaganda. Well, at
    least sometimes, there is Democrat campaign propaganda just as
    well-attached to reality as Republican compain propaganda (which is to
    say, not at all), and they do have Bernie, Hillary, and the Friends of
    Bernie, who apparently still think they can sneak gummint healthcare
    over on us by calling it "Medicare for all" when it really isn't
    Medicare at all. So it isn't as if this nonsense were one-sided.


    -a-a-a-aWhy would it not be a single payer system of healthcare.
    Of course it would be unpopular with the well off who can pay
    for healthcare with or without insurance.-a For the people without
    resources beyond very low wages or other income not like it.
    Businessmen who have to contribute to healthcare in any event would
    be happier to have its as well....

    Medicare for All (tm) would require a 12% employee tax and a 12%
    employer tax. The populace would freak out. That is in addition to the
    $400 per month that my wife and I each pay for our Medicare part B, D,
    and G supplemental insurances. My 85 year old mother is paying $600 per
    month due to her age. Do the math, the cost of health care in the USA
    is simply amazing, IIRC it is now 19% of the USA GDP. I have no idea
    how to fix the cost.

    https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data/historical

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 18:36:45 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Ronald Reagan was a Democrat originally but was advised by his
    Father-in-law that he could get no power that way so he switched
    parties to become a Republican. He got the backing and his backers got
    the man they wanted to put in place the policies they profited from.

    Note that this was in an era when both parties were far more diverse politically than they are today. There was an era when you could not
    tell what a person's politics were by what party they were a member of.
    This was changed in great part by people like Uncle Ron.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 18:48:27 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Medicare for All (tm) would require a 12% employee tax and a 12%
    employer tax. The populace would freak out. That is in addition to the >$400 per month that my wife and I each pay for our Medicare part B, D,
    and G supplemental insurances. My 85 year old mother is paying $600 per >month due to her age. Do the math, the cost of health care in the USA
    is simply amazing, IIRC it is now 19% of the USA GDP. I have no idea
    how to fix the cost.

    Part one of fixing the cost is in the Medicare For All proposal, which is
    to decouple health care from employment. This doesn't cut costs at all,
    but it does cut out private insurance for basic care, which is the first
    step toward evening costs out.

    I sure wish I paid only $600/month for health care!
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From BobbieSellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 17:47:40 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/3/26 15:30, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 8/3/2026 4:25 PM, BobbieSellers wrote:
    ...
    The assertion is based on Republican campaign propaganda. Well, at
    least sometimes, there is Democrat campaign propaganda just as
    well-attached to reality as Republican compain propaganda (which is to
    say, not at all), and they do have Bernie, Hillary, and the Friends of
    Bernie, who apparently still think they can sneak gummint healthcare
    over on us by calling it "Medicare for all" when it really isn't
    Medicare at all. So it isn't as if this nonsense were one-sided.


    -a-a-a-a-aWhy would it not be a single payer system of healthcare.
    Of course it would be unpopular with the well off who can pay
    for healthcare with or without insurance.-a For the people without
    resources beyond very low wages or other income not like it.
    Businessmen who have to contribute to healthcare in any event would
    be happier to have its as well....

    Medicare for All (tm) would require a 12% employee tax and a 12%
    employer tax.-a The populace would freak out.-a That is in addition to the $400 per month that my wife and I each pay for our Medicare part B, D,
    and G supplemental insurances.-a My 85 year old mother is paying $600 per month due to her age.-a Do the math, the cost of health care in the USA
    is simply amazing, IIRC it is now 19% of the USA GDP.-a I have no idea
    how to fix the cost.

    https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/ national-health-expenditure-data/historical

    Lynn

    Why do you think your Medicare would go up in price?
    Parts D and other supplemental insurances would go away.
    Those were only put in place to offer subsidies to the
    Insurance companies.

    The cost of Health Care in the USA is largely due
    to the Insurance companies and their inefficiencies. Those
    include the frequent denial of coverage to individuals,
    and very high salaries to the executives of the companies.
    Remember I spent a bit over 2 months in a Rehab facility
    in 2025 and from the first week I was there the Insurance
    was trying to end the payments nearly every week.
    I had broken my right ankle at 85 YOA and had it
    surgically corrected and just recovering from the surgery
    was not that fast. The bout of influenza I suffered did
    not speed my healing and the last month I was there I was
    on Medicare part B which apparently was available.
    In California there are strict limits on Physical
    Therapy so that as soon as I could I started exercising
    with a walker on my own. The terrible food was not so
    intended but after I hit 154 lbs I wanted out ASAP.

    bliss -




    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 20:00:41 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/3/2026 5:48 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Medicare for All (tm) would require a 12% employee tax and a 12%
    employer tax. The populace would freak out. That is in addition to the
    $400 per month that my wife and I each pay for our Medicare part B, D,
    and G supplemental insurances. My 85 year old mother is paying $600 per
    month due to her age. Do the math, the cost of health care in the USA
    is simply amazing, IIRC it is now 19% of the USA GDP. I have no idea
    how to fix the cost.

    Part one of fixing the cost is in the Medicare For All proposal, which is
    to decouple health care from employment. This doesn't cut costs at all,
    but it does cut out private insurance for basic care, which is the first
    step toward evening costs out.

    I sure wish I paid only $600/month for health care!
    --scott

    Yeah, I know, I was paying $1,300 per month for that crappy Obamacare
    HMA insurance a couple of years ago. It was almost worthless as it
    blocked me from my favorite doctors and my favorite hospitals. I have
    had two heart attacks and two heart surgeries due to my congenital heart condition, I really like my cardiologist. Especially since he is a
    Cajun named Earl and is fatter than me. And we are watching five small growths in the bottom of my lungs, I really like my cancer hospital.
    All blocked by Obamacare.

    I earned that "free" Medicare Part A by putting money into the Medicare
    system for 51 years, so far. I am still putting money into Medicare for
    me and my four employees. The IRS takes it from my corporate checking
    account twice a month. If the money is not there then they will raid my personal checking accounts as I am financially responsible to the IRS
    for anything my main business owes.

    The health care system in the USA costs $6 trillion to $7 trillion per
    year. "U.S. health care spending grew 7.2 percent in 2024, reaching
    $5.3 trillion or $15,474 per person. As a share of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, health spending accounted for 18.0 percent."

    https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data/historical

    That health care money has to come from somewhere, just wishing upon a
    star is not going to make it happen. Nor is the USA's fairy godmother
    going to pay for it, she out of star dust too. And just stealing all of
    the resources of the billionaires is not going work, they will move
    their resources out of the USA, many of them are already doing this. So
    the tax on employees and the tax on employers will continue IMHO.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 20:11:02 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/3/2026 7:47 PM, BobbieSellers wrote:
    On 8/3/26 15:30, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 8/3/2026 4:25 PM, BobbieSellers wrote:
    ...
    The assertion is based on Republican campaign propaganda. Well, at
    least sometimes, there is Democrat campaign propaganda just as
    well-attached to reality as Republican compain propaganda (which is to >>>> say, not at all), and they do have Bernie, Hillary, and the Friends of >>>> Bernie, who apparently still think they can sneak gummint healthcare
    over on us by calling it "Medicare for all" when it really isn't
    Medicare at all. So it isn't as if this nonsense were one-sided.


    -a-a-a-a-aWhy would it not be a single payer system of healthcare.
    Of course it would be unpopular with the well off who can pay
    for healthcare with or without insurance.-a For the people without
    resources beyond very low wages or other income not like it.
    Businessmen who have to contribute to healthcare in any event would
    be happier to have its as well....

    Medicare for All (tm) would require a 12% employee tax and a 12%
    employer tax.-a The populace would freak out.-a That is in addition to
    the $400 per month that my wife and I each pay for our Medicare part
    B, D, and G supplemental insurances.-a My 85 year old mother is paying
    $600 per month due to her age.-a Do the math, the cost of health care
    in the USA is simply amazing, IIRC it is now 19% of the USA GDP.-a I
    have no idea how to fix the cost.

    https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/
    national-health-expenditure-data/historical

    Lynn

    -a-a-a-aWhy do you think your Medicare would go up in price?
    Parts D and other supplemental insurances would go away.
    Those were only put in place to offer subsidies to the
    Insurance companies.

    -a-a-a-aThe cost of Health Care in the USA is largely due
    to the Insurance companies and their inefficiencies. Those
    include the frequent denial of coverage to individuals,
    and very high salaries to the executives of the companies.
    Remember I spent a bit over 2 months in a Rehab facility
    in 2025 and from the first week I was there the Insurance
    was trying to end the payments nearly every week.
    -a-a-a-aI had broken my right ankle at 85 YOA and had it
    surgically corrected and just recovering from the surgery
    was not that fast. The bout of influenza I suffered did
    not speed my healing and the last month I was there I was
    on Medicare part B which apparently was available.
    -a-a-a-aIn California there are strict limits on Physical
    Therapy so that as soon as I could I started exercising
    with a walker on my own. The terrible food was not so
    intended but after I hit 154 lbs I wanted out ASAP.

    -a-a-a-abliss -

    Don't ask me to defend the insurance companies. I call them wild beasts demanding more and more of the meat pie as the rest of us don't get any
    meat pie at all.

    I was incensed when Blue Cross changed from a mutual to a for profit
    company with private stockholders and the CEO gave himself a $10 million
    bonus that year. That was around 20 years ago and things have gotten
    much, much worse.

    See my diatribe about Obamacare to Scott in another posting. "Yeah, I
    know, I was paying $1,300 per month for that crappy Obamacare HMO
    insurance a couple of years ago. It was almost worthless as it blocked
    me from my favorite doctors and my favorite hospitals. I have had two
    heart attacks and two heart surgeries due to my congenital heart
    condition, I really like my cardiologist. Especially since he is a
    Cajun named Earl and is fatter than me. And we are watching five small growths in the bottom of my lungs, I really like my cancer hospital. All blocked by Obamacare."

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Robert Woodward@robertaw@drizzle.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 21:54:53 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    In article <114rcre$1p1hp$1@dont-email.me>,
    BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:

    On 8/3/26 15:30, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 8/3/2026 4:25 PM, BobbieSellers wrote:
    ...
    The assertion is based on Republican campaign propaganda. Well, at
    least sometimes, there is Democrat campaign propaganda just as
    well-attached to reality as Republican compain propaganda (which is to >>> say, not at all), and they do have Bernie, Hillary, and the Friends of >>> Bernie, who apparently still think they can sneak gummint healthcare
    over on us by calling it "Medicare for all" when it really isn't
    Medicare at all. So it isn't as if this nonsense were one-sided.


    -a-a-a-a-aWhy would it not be a single payer system of healthcare.
    Of course it would be unpopular with the well off who can pay
    for healthcare with or without insurance.-a For the people without
    resources beyond very low wages or other income not like it.
    Businessmen who have to contribute to healthcare in any event would
    be happier to have its as well....

    Medicare for All (tm) would require a 12% employee tax and a 12%
    employer tax.-a The populace would freak out.-a That is in addition to the $400 per month that my wife and I each pay for our Medicare part B, D,
    and G supplemental insurances.-a My 85 year old mother is paying $600 per month due to her age.-a Do the math, the cost of health care in the USA
    is simply amazing, IIRC it is now 19% of the USA GDP.-a I have no idea
    how to fix the cost.

    https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/ national-health-expenditure-data/historical

    Lynn

    Why do you think your Medicare would go up in price?
    Parts D and other supplemental insurances would go away.
    Those were only put in place to offer subsidies to the
    Insurance companies.

    The cost of Health Care in the USA is largely due
    to the Insurance companies and their inefficiencies.

    A lot of people say this, but I disagree. Health care costs in the USA
    have been increasing at twice the rate of GNP growth since WWII (at
    least). There are health systems that had very little to do with the
    health insurance industry (for example Group Health of Seattle, perhaps
    the Kaiser system as well) and their costs increased just as much as
    everybody else (otherwise, they would be a less expensive than everybody else). What I believe is a major factor is my impression that capital investment as a perverse affect in the health care system in that
    capital expenditures increase the labor hours/per patient hours ratio.
    --
    "We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
    Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_. rCo-----------------------------------------------------
    Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Titus G@noone@nowhere.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Aug 4 17:16:53 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 03/08/2026 12:42, Jay Morris wrote:
    On 8/2/2026 11:41 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    Then again, since Red is the color of Communism ... how /did/ the
    Republicans get stuck with that color anyway?

    "red begins with r, Republican begins with r, it was a more natural association.""

    And the Bemocrats had already chosen Blue.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Mon Aug 3 22:35:20 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/3/2026 9:10 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    It should be about time for the Courts to put a lid on all attempts to
    change how the election is to be conducted until after it is over, to
    avoid confusing the voters.

    And why would the Orange One's chosen Six suddenly change their minds
    and stop assisting him in rigging the election?
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Aug 4 14:37:58 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
    On 8/3/2026 4:25 PM, BobbieSellers wrote:
    ...
    The assertion is based on Republican campaign propaganda. Well, at
    least sometimes, there is Democrat campaign propaganda just as
    well-attached to reality as Republican compain propaganda (which is to
    say, not at all), and they do have Bernie, Hillary, and the Friends of
    Bernie, who apparently still think they can sneak gummint healthcare
    over on us by calling it "Medicare for all" when it really isn't
    Medicare at all. So it isn't as if this nonsense were one-sided.


    -a-a-a-aWhy would it not be a single payer system of healthcare.
    Of course it would be unpopular with the well off who can pay
    for healthcare with or without insurance.-a For the people without
    resources beyond very low wages or other income not like it.
    Businessmen who have to contribute to healthcare in any event would
    be happier to have its as well....

    Medicare for All (tm) would require a 12% employee tax and a 12%
    employer tax.

    Even assuming that your 12% is even close to correct, the typical cost
    today for private medical insurance is about $10k for an
    individual, and three times that for a family. Call it 20+%
    of median annual earnings.

    The actual costs for
    healthcare in a single-payer system would be signficantly
    less due to far less overhead (medicare overhead is in the
    2-4% range, while private insurance overhead is in the 40%
    range when you include all the billing services, insurance
    company profits, physicians groups, etc et alia).

    So that 12% tax would be a good deal for everyone
    except the investors in medical insurance companies.

    Given the severe national shortage of medical professionals,
    the government should be subsidizing education for
    doctors and nurses so they don't need to go so deeply into
    debt and to enable more of the population with the desire
    and ability to become medical professionals.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Aug 4 08:30:34 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Mon, 3 Aug 2026 10:49:15 -0700, BCFD 36 <bcfd36@cruzio.com> wrote:
    On 8/3/26 09:10, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:17:22 -0400, WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com>
    wrote:


    [stuff deleted]

    And, of course, the only poll that counts is coming up in 3 months.

    It should be about time for the Courts to put a lid on all attempts to
    change how the election is to be conducted until after it is over, to
    avoid confusing the voters.

    I am concerned that the scum bucket in charge and/or his handlers are
    going to try their very, very best to make sure the next election
    doesn't happen or is so deeply "questioned" that the results will be >ignored. In other words, either cancel or discredit the results.
    I have no doubt they will try, that is clearly consistent with past
    recent behavior.
    OTOH, given Congress' general proclivity for doing /nothing
    whatsoever/ regardless of which Party is in control -- would anybody
    notice?
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Aug 4 08:42:10 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Mon, 3 Aug 2026 14:25:51 -0700, BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:
    On 8/3/26 09:10, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:17:22 -0400, WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com>
    wrote:

    On Aug 1, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
    (in article <114lfea$3ro11$1@dont-email.me>):

    On 7/29/2026 11:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:34:13 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Looks like I may need to dig out the long johns and see how quickly I >>>>> can convert to a heat pump while everyone else has the same idea.

    Get that heat pump in along with a solar/battery system to keep it
    working when your fuel burning generation plants break down again. Fortunately, no such plants exist. Perhaps you were thinking of Texas,
    a few years ago.
    Up here, Seattle City Light <https://www.seattle.gov/city-light/energy/power-supply-and-delivery>
    provides mostly hydropower. Some fuel-burning electricity may be
    included in electricity purchased from the market.
    It's been this way for a long long time.
    Infrastructure, guys, infrastructure.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Aug 4 08:57:17 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Mon, 3 Aug 2026 17:47:40 -0700, BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:
    On 8/3/26 15:30, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    <snippo>
    Medicare for All (tm) would require a 12% employee tax and a 12%
    employer tax.a The populace would freak out.a That is in addition to the
    $400 per month that my wife and I each pay for our Medicare part B, D,
    and G supplemental insurances.a My 85 year old mother is paying $600 per
    month due to her age.a Do the math, the cost of health care in the USA
    is simply amazing, IIRC it is now 19% of the USA GDP.a I have no idea
    how to fix the cost.

    https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/
    national-health-expenditure-data/historical

    Why do you think your Medicare would go up in price?
    Parts D and other supplemental insurances would go away.
    Those were only put in place to offer subsidies to the
    Insurance companies.
    Because everything always goes up in price.
    And, BTW, my understanding is that a major driver of increasing
    medical expenses is the cost of equipment. Which apparently goes up
    each and every year, regardless of whether the new one is any
    different (never mind better) than the old one.
    But, yeah, medical insurance is a nightmare. The ACA and related
    changes was intended to help people with no other insurance available
    to them, either because their employer (if any) didn't offer it, or
    they had a pre-existing condition.
    The real story there, though, is that, after six years of telling
    everyone how they were going to end "Obamacare" when they got back in
    charge, the Republicans turned out to have /no plan at all/ to do so.
    I mean, really, after six they should have had a bill ready for the
    House (which they controlled) to pass and send to the Senate, and then
    the Senate (which they controlled) to be passed and sent to Trump on
    his 2017 inaguaration, for him to sign immediately.
    That they did not shows the gap between /what Republicans say they
    will do/ and /what they actually do/. It is quite large. And saying
    the Dems aren't any better (which may well be the case) doesn't help
    because it would just show that /neither/ Party is actually interested
    in doing its job when it is in charge. Indolence and laziness -- that
    is the real problem here.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Aug 4 09:03:22 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Mon, 3 Aug 2026 22:35:20 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
    <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
    On 8/3/2026 9:10 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    It should be about time for the Courts to put a lid on all attempts to
    change how the election is to be conducted until after it is over, to
    avoid confusing the voters.

    And why would the Orange One's chosen Six suddenly change their minds
    and stop assisting him in rigging the election?
    In case you haven't noticed 6-3 splits, while quite common, are not
    the only splits observed. Odd majorities with unexpected memberships
    pop up from time to time.
    Indeed, I have seen analyses suggesting there are three groups: 3 conservatives, 3 liberals, and 3 that vary depending on the case.
    And the Supremes are not elected. What they decide would not affect
    them directly.
    It's also traditional not to change the rules too close to an
    election.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Aug 4 10:41:12 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/4/2026 8:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Mon, 3 Aug 2026 10:49:15 -0700, BCFD 36 <bcfd36@cruzio.com> wrote:

    On 8/3/26 09:10, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:17:22 -0400, WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com>
    wrote:


    [stuff deleted]

    And, of course, the only poll that counts is coming up in 3 months.

    It should be about time for the Courts to put a lid on all attempts to
    change how the election is to be conducted until after it is over, to
    avoid confusing the voters.

    I am concerned that the scum bucket in charge and/or his handlers are
    going to try their very, very best to make sure the next election
    doesn't happen or is so deeply "questioned" that the results will be
    ignored. In other words, either cancel or discredit the results.

    I have no doubt they will try, that is clearly consistent with past
    recent behavior.

    OTOH, given Congress' general proclivity for doing /nothing
    whatsoever/ regardless of which Party is in control -- would anybody
    notice?

    Yes, people would notice there are no more elections being held.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Aug 4 10:43:31 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/4/2026 9:03 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Mon, 3 Aug 2026 22:35:20 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
    <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

    On 8/3/2026 9:10 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    It should be about time for the Courts to put a lid on all attempts to
    change how the election is to be conducted until after it is over, to
    avoid confusing the voters.

    And why would the Orange One's chosen Six suddenly change their minds
    and stop assisting him in rigging the election?

    In case you haven't noticed 6-3 splits, while quite common, are not
    the only splits observed. Odd majorities with unexpected memberships
    pop up from time to time.

    Indeed, I have seen analyses suggesting there are three groups: 3 conservatives, 3 liberals, and 3 that vary depending on the case.

    And the Supremes are not elected. What they decide would not affect
    them directly.

    It's also traditional not to change the rules too close to an
    election.

    Yet they have already done so this year.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From BobbieSellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Aug 4 11:05:50 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/4/26 08:57, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Mon, 3 Aug 2026 17:47:40 -0700, BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:

    On 8/3/26 15:30, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    <snippo>

    Medicare for All (tm) would require a 12% employee tax and a 12%
    employer tax.-a The populace would freak out.-a That is in addition to the >>> $400 per month that my wife and I each pay for our Medicare part B, D,
    and G supplemental insurances.-a My 85 year old mother is paying $600 per >>> month due to her age.-a Do the math, the cost of health care in the USA
    is simply amazing, IIRC it is now 19% of the USA GDP.-a I have no idea
    how to fix the cost.

    https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/
    national-health-expenditure-data/historical

    Why do you think your Medicare would go up in price?
    Parts D and other supplemental insurances would go away.
    Those were only put in place to offer subsidies to the
    Insurance companies.

    Because everything always goes up in price.

    And, BTW, my understanding is that a major driver of increasing
    medical expenses is the cost of equipment. Which apparently goes up
    each and every year, regardless of whether the new one is any
    different (never mind better) than the old one.

    But, yeah, medical insurance is a nightmare. The ACA and related
    changes was intended to help people with no other insurance available
    to them, either because their employer (if any) didn't offer it, or
    they had a pre-existing condition.

    The real story there, though, is that, after six years of telling
    everyone how they were going to end "Obamacare" when they got back in
    charge, the Republicans turned out to have /no plan at all/ to do so.

    I mean, really, after six they should have had a bill ready for the
    House (which they controlled) to pass and send to the Senate, and then
    the Senate (which they controlled) to be passed and sent to Trump on
    his 2017 inaguaration, for him to sign immediately.

    That they did not shows the gap between /what Republicans say they
    will do/ and /what they actually do/. It is quite large. And saying
    the Dems aren't any better (which may well be the case) doesn't help
    because it would just show that /neither/ Party is actually interested
    in doing its job when it is in charge. Indolence and laziness -- that
    is the real problem here.


    That the Democrats do nothing when they are in charge is baseless. Under the last Democrat the Congress passed numerous bills
    intended to help the economy. Of course the present administration
    did all they could to prevent the execution of those programs.

    But generally when the Democratic party is running things
    the economy improves despite the damage the Republican party and
    now MAGA do to the economy.

    Damage = Tariffs, Denial of appropriated funds to the States
    for a wide variety of programs which help support the people of the
    various states currently to the Blue states exclusively and it is
    largely the Blue states such as California, the North-Eastern states
    which are prosperous and pay the taxes which support the Red states.

    Democratic Presidents have never exerted that sort of behavior
    to states which have not supported them in National Elections.

    bliss

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Aug 4 20:20:10 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:
    Given the severe national shortage of medical professionals,
    the government should be subsidizing education for
    doctors and nurses so they don't need to go so deeply into
    debt and to enable more of the population with the desire
    and ability to become medical professionals.

    This is true, but there are also problems with a lot of people graduating
    from medical school with an MD and being unable to find an internship,
    because they are so limited right now.

    But the issue of the doctors who go into narrow specializations that they aren't particular interested in because it's the only way they can afford
    to pay back their student loans is a serious one and it's why we have such
    a shortage of primary care folks today.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Aug 4 23:07:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/4/2026 1:43 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    On 8/4/2026 9:03 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Mon, 3 Aug 2026 22:35:20 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
    <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

    On 8/3/2026 9:10 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    It should be about time for the Courts to put a lid on all attempts to >>>> change how the election is to be conducted until after it is over, to
    avoid confusing the voters.

    And why would the Orange One's chosen Six suddenly change their minds
    and stop assisting him in rigging the election?

    In case you haven't noticed 6-3 splits, while quite common, are not
    the only splits observed. Odd majorities with unexpected memberships
    pop up from time to time.

    Indeed, I have seen analyses suggesting there are three groups: 3
    conservatives, 3 liberals, and 3 that vary depending on the case.

    And the Supremes are not elected. What they decide would not affect
    them directly.

    It's also traditional not to change the rules too close to an
    election.

    Yet they have already done so this year.


    The Orange one is dead set on disenfranchising as many lower
    income people as he can this year. The "SAFE" bill is
    effectively a poll tax, and places many structural barriers
    between poor working people and the ballot box.

    He's trying to get this in in the next 3 months.

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Aug 5 09:25:16 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> wrote:
    The cost of Health Care in the USA is largely due
    to the Insurance companies and their inefficiencies.

    A lot of people say this, but I disagree. Health care costs in the USA
    have been increasing at twice the rate of GNP growth since WWII (at
    least). There are health systems that had very little to do with the
    health insurance industry (for example Group Health of Seattle, perhaps
    the Kaiser system as well) and their costs increased just as much as >everybody else (otherwise, they would be a less expensive than everybody >else).

    This is entirely true, because there are certainly other factors involved.
    But some of those other factors are tied in with insurance overhead. My
    GP's office has one doctor, one nurse, one phlebotomist, and 14 people who
    do nothing but fill out paperwork. Not all of that is insurance paperwork, it's true. But all of those people are getting paid.

    What I believe is a major factor is my impression that capital
    investment as a perverse affect in the health care system in that
    capital expenditures increase the labor hours/per patient hours ratio.

    This is also definitely true. And some of it has to do with litigation worries: better to give a bunch of tests than not just for protection, but then at the end someone has to pay for them.

    And a lot of it has to do with the huge number of people receiving emergency services without paying for them; we all subsidize them through our insurance rather than more centrally. And a lot of it has to do with the fact that Americans have been trained from decades of increasing costs that doctors
    are expensive and to avoid going to the doctor if at all possible... so
    people present with much more advanced diseases when they finally do. (And this goes for rich people as well as poor, I am sorry to say.)

    And some of it has to do with the very high cost of end-life care. We spend millions of dollars keeping dying elderly people alive an extra couple weeks. Sometimes even at the same time they are protesting the care and demanding to be allowed to die (like my grandmother).

    We do so many things wrong.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Aug 5 09:35:24 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    The Orange one is dead set on disenfranchising as many lower
    income people as he can this year. The "SAFE" bill is
    effectively a poll tax, and places many structural barriers
    between poor working people and the ballot box.

    If you mean the Save America Act, it puts barriers between all people and
    the ballot box. It does some things that make it more difficult for the
    poor because it costs money to get a passport or a copy of a birth certificate. But it can also make it more difficult everyone, because it takes time to
    get a passport or a copy of a birth certificate.

    He's trying to get this in in the next 3 months.

    Yes, the closer to the election he can get it in, the more chaos will
    result, and his secondary goal is to stir up chaos to make people skeptical about the election outcome. He isn't the first one to try this sort of
    thing, but he's been the first one in the US in a good while.

    I think if it's passed even the current supreme court will reject it, but
    it'll likely take months of chaos after the election before they do so and
    then where do we wind up?

    The Republican senate primary yesterday here had four candidates, and my plan was to vote for whichever one was sane and not pushing the Trump agenda. Unfortunately looking at their websites, all of them were aggressively promoting the SAVE act. It can be hard to find the lesser of evils when the baseline is so low.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Aug 5 08:50:17 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Tue, 4 Aug 2026 10:41:12 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
    <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
    On 8/4/2026 8:30 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Mon, 3 Aug 2026 10:49:15 -0700, BCFD 36 <bcfd36@cruzio.com> wrote:

    On 8/3/26 09:10, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:17:22 -0400, WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com>
    wrote:


    [stuff deleted]

    And, of course, the only poll that counts is coming up in 3 months.

    It should be about time for the Courts to put a lid on all attempts to >>>> change how the election is to be conducted until after it is over, to
    avoid confusing the voters.

    I am concerned that the scum bucket in charge and/or his handlers are
    going to try their very, very best to make sure the next election
    doesn't happen or is so deeply "questioned" that the results will be
    ignored. In other words, either cancel or discredit the results.

    I have no doubt they will try, that is clearly consistent with past
    recent behavior.

    OTOH, given Congress' general proclivity for doing /nothing
    whatsoever/ regardless of which Party is in control -- would anybody
    notice?

    Yes, people would notice there are no more elections being held.
    Why would you assume this would work? It never has in the past.
    Not in 2016.
    Not in 2020.
    Not in 2024.
    Heck, it didn't even work in Arizona, it just got /really/ weird.
    And, if it doesn't work, then elections will go on as they always
    have. Just with the now-customary Trump/MAGA nonsense in the
    background. And background noise is ... ignorable. And often ignored.
    Still, it /does/ make one wonder if the States might not have been
    well-advised to have a "well-regulated militia" handy to keep the
    polls open and accessible on Election Day. No matter what the Feds
    try.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Aug 5 08:57:21 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Tue, 4 Aug 2026 11:05:50 -0700, BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:
    On 8/4/26 08:57, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Mon, 3 Aug 2026 17:47:40 -0700, BobbieSellers
    <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:

    On 8/3/26 15:30, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    <snippo>

    Medicare for All (tm) would require a 12% employee tax and a 12%
    employer tax.a The populace would freak out.a That is in addition to the >>>> $400 per month that my wife and I each pay for our Medicare part B, D, >>>> and G supplemental insurances.a My 85 year old mother is paying $600 per >>>> month due to her age.a Do the math, the cost of health care in the USA >>>> is simply amazing, IIRC it is now 19% of the USA GDP.a I have no idea
    how to fix the cost.

    https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/
    national-health-expenditure-data/historical

    Why do you think your Medicare would go up in price?
    Parts D and other supplemental insurances would go away.
    Those were only put in place to offer subsidies to the
    Insurance companies.

    Because everything always goes up in price.

    And, BTW, my understanding is that a major driver of increasing
    medical expenses is the cost of equipment. Which apparently goes up
    each and every year, regardless of whether the new one is any
    different (never mind better) than the old one.

    But, yeah, medical insurance is a nightmare. The ACA and related
    changes was intended to help people with no other insurance available
    to them, either because their employer (if any) didn't offer it, or
    they had a pre-existing condition.

    The real story there, though, is that, after six years of telling
    everyone how they were going to end "Obamacare" when they got back in
    charge, the Republicans turned out to have /no plan at all/ to do so.

    I mean, really, after six they should have had a bill ready for the
    House (which they controlled) to pass and send to the Senate, and then
    the Senate (which they controlled) to be passed and sent to Trump on
    his 2017 inaguaration, for him to sign immediately.

    That they did not shows the gap between /what Republicans say they
    will do/ and /what they actually do/. It is quite large. And saying
    the Dems aren't any better (which may well be the case) doesn't help
    because it would just show that /neither/ Party is actually interested
    in doing its job when it is in charge. Indolence and laziness -- that
    is the real problem here.


    That the Democrats do nothing when they are in charge is baseless.
    Under the last Democrat the Congress passed numerous bills
    intended to help the economy. Of course the present administration
    did all they could to prevent the execution of those programs.

    But generally when the Democratic party is running things
    the economy improves despite the damage the Republican party and
    now MAGA do to the economy.

    Damage = Tariffs, Denial of appropriated funds to the States
    for a wide variety of programs which help support the people of the
    various states currently to the Blue states exclusively and it is
    largely the Blue states such as California, the North-Eastern states
    which are prosperous and pay the taxes which support the Red states.

    Democratic Presidents have never exerted that sort of behavior
    to states which have not supported them in National Elections.
    The primary job of Congress, and the House in particular, is to
    /prepare the budget/ and /fund the government/.
    Every time the feds are shut down, it is because Congress did not do
    its job.
    And the Dems are no better than the Republicans; it has been years
    since a budget has been in place at the start of the fiscal year. And
    the default "funding" mechanism being used at present is the National
    Credit Card, aka the National Debt. Congress has until 9/30/26 to get
    a Budget in place for the 2026-2027 Fiscal Year. Anybody here think
    they'll manage it? Or even consider trying?
    The Senate also has the responsibility of Advising and Consenting (or
    not consenting) to high-level appointments. That it has been doing,
    although some of the people is approved of ... well, let's just say
    that calling them "trailer trash" would be an insult the actual
    "trailer trash" everywhere.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Aug 5 09:13:03 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Tue, 4 Aug 2026 23:07:26 -0400, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 8/4/2026 1:43 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    On 8/4/2026 9:03 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Mon, 3 Aug 2026 22:35:20 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
    <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

    On 8/3/2026 9:10 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

    It should be about time for the Courts to put a lid on all attempts to >>>>> change how the election is to be conducted until after it is over, to >>>>> avoid confusing the voters.

    And why would the Orange One's chosen Six suddenly change their minds
    and stop assisting him in rigging the election?

    In case you haven't noticed 6-3 splits, while quite common, are not
    the only splits observed. Odd majorities with unexpected memberships
    pop up from time to time.

    Indeed, I have seen analyses suggesting there are three groups: 3
    conservatives, 3 liberals, and 3 that vary depending on the case.

    And the Supremes are not elected. What they decide would not affect
    them directly.

    It's also traditional not to change the rules too close to an
    election.

    Yet they have already done so this year.


    The Orange one is dead set on disenfranchising as many lower
    income people as he can this year. The "SAFE" bill is
    effectively a poll tax, and places many structural barriers
    between poor working people and the ballot box.
    My understanding is that the SAFE bill is mostly safe from -- passage.
    No matter how many tricks the House plays.
    Keep in mind that Congress /must/ go into recess soon so those members
    who are running for re-election (or for other office) can do so
    without the minor distraction of actually doing their job.
    That is because he, like Republicans generally, still hasn't caught on
    to the fact that the problems are much closer to home. He can exclude
    as many of "them" as he likes, but solid traditional Republican voters
    ticked off by an unnecessary war and higher prices may well put the
    Democrats back in charge of the House, and perhaps the Senate as well.
    The "enemy", IOW, is /already inside the gates/. It is pointless to
    strengthen the walls.
    He's trying to get this in in the next 3 months.
    And closeness to the election -- whether the changes could be
    implemented -- was a factor, at least in the articles I read. Also, at
    least one State had a lot of problems implementing the changes as many
    of their counties were unprepared for such an event (it would be easy
    to point out that the State was run by Republicans, but I would
    suspect that even Washington, with mail-in ballots as the default way
    of voting and Democratic control, has counties that might have
    problems adapting quickly to changes. This has more to do with the
    complexity of running elections than anything else).
    From our perspective, of course, the primary threat is the removal of
    USPS support for mailing out ballots.
    As to that: I don't know what he thinks our State would come up with
    if we were required to do so. Would the most likely "registered voter
    list" provided to USPS be /precisely/ the list used to print the
    ballots? What other list could possibly be used? Does he really think
    they would differ?
    I suspect that what he is likely to get "the court orders halting this
    will remain in effect for the 2026 election, but if the actual issues
    are decided in time, the parts that survive may apply to 2028 if there
    is enough time to implement them". But, of course, I cannot possibly
    know what will actually happen.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Aug 5 09:22:01 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 09:35:24 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
    Dorsey) wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    The Orange one is dead set on disenfranchising as many lower
    income people as he can this year. The "SAFE" bill is
    effectively a poll tax, and places many structural barriers
    between poor working people and the ballot box.

    If you mean the Save America Act, it puts barriers between all people and
    the ballot box. It does some things that make it more difficult for the >poor because it costs money to get a passport or a copy of a birth certificate.
    But it can also make it more difficult everyone, because it takes time to >get a passport or a copy of a birth certificate.

    He's trying to get this in in the next 3 months.

    Yes, the closer to the election he can get it in, the more chaos will
    result, and his secondary goal is to stir up chaos to make people skeptical >about the election outcome. He isn't the first one to try this sort of >thing, but he's been the first one in the US in a good while.

    I think if it's passed even the current supreme court will reject it, but >it'll likely take months of chaos after the election before they do so and >then where do we wind up?
    I expect the Supremes will kick the can down the road: suspend it for
    the 2026 election, ordered it litigated after the election, and then
    either kick the can again for 2028 if the timing is too close.
    Whatever parts of it survive might be applied in 2030.
    The Republican senate primary yesterday here had four candidates, and my plan >was to vote for whichever one was sane and not pushing the Trump agenda. >Unfortunately looking at their websites, all of them were aggressively >promoting the SAVE act. It can be hard to find the lesser of evils when the >baseline is so low.
    There's a baseline? Are we quite certain we are not in one of those
    situations where there is no bottom?
    I hate to discourage voting, but a lot of lifelong Republicans clearly
    /not/ voting might send the Party a wake-up call and start a recovery.
    I suspect they are going to /need/ a recovery real soon now.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Robert Woodward@robertaw@drizzle.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Aug 5 10:23:16 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    In article <114vdjs$mbs$1@panix2.panix.com>,
    kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

    Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> wrote:
    The cost of Health Care in the USA is largely due
    to the Insurance companies and their inefficiencies.

    A lot of people say this, but I disagree. Health care costs in the USA >have been increasing at twice the rate of GNP growth since WWII (at >least). There are health systems that had very little to do with the >health insurance industry (for example Group Health of Seattle, perhaps >the Kaiser system as well) and their costs increased just as much as >everybody else (otherwise, they would be a less expensive than everybody >else).

    This is entirely true, because there are certainly other factors involved. But some of those other factors are tied in with insurance overhead. My
    GP's office has one doctor, one nurse, one phlebotomist, and 14 people who
    do nothing but fill out paperwork. Not all of that is insurance paperwork, it's true. But all of those people are getting paid.

    If 14 people are generating paperwork, wouldn't there be people looking
    at that paperwork? The health insurance industry employment is less than
    10% of that of the health care industry. Perhaps much of that paper goes elsewhere, e.g. government bureaus that collect healthcare statistics.
    --
    "We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
    Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_. i-----------------------------------------------------
    Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Aug 12 08:36:18 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:

    "The Diplomacy of the Great War" by Arthur Bullard reads
    almost like a contemporaneous report rather than
    something written about events 120+ years ago.

    I bought this book on your recommendation and I highly recommend it. I have
    in the past said that our current president's concept of diplomacy was that
    of relationships between people rather than countries and that this went out with WWI, but now I see that it really started to go out after the Congress
    of Berlin.

    I will say that the copy I bought for $3 on Amazon is one of the worst PoD layout jobs I have ever seen and the font is not very readable while the columns are far too wide for good readability. Buy a better edition.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Aug 12 14:16:36 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) writes:
    Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:

    "The Diplomacy of the Great War" by Arthur Bullard reads
    almost like a contemporaneous report rather than
    something written about events 120+ years ago.

    I bought this book on your recommendation and I highly recommend it. I have >in the past said that our current president's concept of diplomacy was that >of relationships between people rather than countries and that this went out >with WWI, but now I see that it really started to go out after the Congress >of Berlin.

    I will say that the copy I bought for $3 on Amazon is one of the worst PoD >layout jobs I have ever seen and the font is not very readable while the >columns are far too wide for good readability. Buy a better edition.

    I picked up a copy at an antique store - the
    1917 printing. To channel Lynn, it's bound well and well printed.

    There are several printed copies listed on abebooks.com.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Aug 12 12:06:24 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:
    I picked up a copy at an antique store - the
    1917 printing. To channel Lynn, it's bound well and well printed.

    The problem is that NOW I want to read Bismarck's _Memories_.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From BobbieSellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Aug 12 09:33:46 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/3/26 05:20, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com> wrote:
    Intriguing. Perhaps you could give a pointer towards where I could find out >> about communists, as in actual commies, not socialists or dems, who are
    currently standing for election in Texas? How about in the entire US? Please >> be very clear about this.

    We actually have two vaguely-active communist parties in the US which run candidates for major office. The CPUSA was established with help from the Comintern and for many years basically followed the Soviet line no matter what it was. They were more of a "pro-Russian" party than real communists and HUAC pretty much destroyed them, but there is a little bit left. With the fall of the Soviet Union and the death of Gus Hall and the loss of their newspapers there isn't really much left of them. They do occasionally run candidates for office but I don't think they have run anyone for president
    in over a decade.

    The RCP (Revolutionary Communist Party) is an independent and sort of Maoist party that came out of California in the 1970s, run by Bob Avakian and they do run Avakian for president every time. They promote Avakian more than they actually promote communism.

    Both of these parties (as well as the Socialists) tend to run candidates for president without going for local offices. It could be argued that they are not serious about getting elected (as one would expect revolutionaries to be).
    Very distinct philosophy compared with some of the other small parties like the Greens which run people for local elections with the intention of working upward.
    --scott

    When I was younger and was able to keep up with the
    publications we had a distinctly communist group in California
    which beat the drums against the landlords, police and the bankers.
    Each issue of the rag that they published was full of hatred for
    all who had power. That is the wrong tack to take with most of
    the youth/hippies of the time.

    Meanwhile in the USSR of my youth while Stalin and his Communist successors ran the Government in a distinctly fascist way much like
    Putin and his crew does today. Stalin murdered a lot of people to
    stay in power, but he probably killed more who were no threat at
    all to his position.

    The disease of Power is unlimited paranoia.

    Back in Japanese medieval times the Minamoto clan overthrew
    their rivals, the Taira clan but the winner was so paranoid that he
    murdered all of his close relatives. His wife was of the Hojo clan
    and they took over after his death. The Kamakura shogunate then
    the Ashikaga shogunate then Civil Wars took up a lot of the time
    after them resolved by Oda Nobunaga who was murdered.

    When Toyotomi Hideyoshi took over from Oda in the late
    1500s he feared the rebellion of his own class, "farming samurai",
    so did the first weapons take, and forced suicide on former advisors.
    He had to be styled "Councilor" because being of low birth the
    title of "Shogun" was withheld. He sent the Samurai who were
    unemployed by peace to conquer Korea and China and fortunately
    died.

    With somewhat better reasons his true successor, Ieyasu
    Tokugawa murdered all of the Toyotomi family, then fully
    suppressed Christianity in and his Shogunate filled with his
    relatives lasted about 260 years. The worst thing he did was to
    kill the Tea Master who advocated for peace between the warring
    parties. The Tea Master was a bit stupid as to how he went about
    this though he was clever in many matters. The historical manga
    Hyougemono aka a Jocular Fellow is biographical with little
    invention and covers the rise of Oda, his murder, the rise of
    Hideyoshi and then of Ieyasu. It is adult reading.

    bliss
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Wed Aug 12 13:58:40 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:
    When I was younger and was able to keep up with the
    publications we had a distinctly communist group in California
    which beat the drums against the landlords, police and the bankers.
    Each issue of the rag that they published was full of hatred for
    all who had power. That is the wrong tack to take with most of
    the youth/hippies of the time.

    That sounds like the RCP. If they put up posters everywhere saying
    "Bite the Hand That Feeds You Shit," that would have been the Avakian
    crew.

    Meanwhile in the USSR of my youth while Stalin and his Communist
    successors ran the Government in a distinctly fascist way much like
    Putin and his crew does today. Stalin murdered a lot of people to
    stay in power, but he probably killed more who were no threat at
    all to his position.

    The Soviets tried communism for a couple years but then brought in the
    NEP when they couldn't make it work. Then "All Power to the Soviets"
    turned into "All Power to Comrade Stalin" and it didn't turn back.

    The soviets were still effective locally, though, even until the end of
    the USSR.

    So they went from a czar running an agrarian land to a new kind of czar
    running a planned economy. This was a step sideways. Putin just wants
    to be like Czar Nicholas. He hates Lenin for what Lenin tried to do in
    terms of empowering people and not unifying the republics.

    The disease of Power is unlimited paranoia.

    This is why a republic is a good idea; the power is distributed rather
    than centrallized. This makes it a lot harder to get anything done, and
    this is a good thing because it makes it harder to get bad things done as
    well as good ones. I hope I continue to live in one.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Aug 13 09:01:22 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:58:40 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
    Dorsey) wrote:
    BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:
    When I was younger and was able to keep up with the
    publications we had a distinctly communist group in California
    which beat the drums against the landlords, police and the bankers.
    Each issue of the rag that they published was full of hatred for
    all who had power. That is the wrong tack to take with most of
    the youth/hippies of the time.

    That sounds like the RCP. If they put up posters everywhere saying
    "Bite the Hand That Feeds You Shit," that would have been the Avakian
    crew.

    Meanwhile in the USSR of my youth while Stalin and his Communist >>successors ran the Government in a distinctly fascist way much like
    Putin and his crew does today. Stalin murdered a lot of people to
    stay in power, but he probably killed more who were no threat at
    all to his position.

    The Soviets tried communism for a couple years but then brought in the
    NEP when they couldn't make it work. Then "All Power to the Soviets"
    turned into "All Power to Comrade Stalin" and it didn't turn back.

    The soviets were still effective locally, though, even until the end of
    the USSR.

    So they went from a czar running an agrarian land to a new kind of czar >running a planned economy. This was a step sideways. Putin just wants
    to be like Czar Nicholas. He hates Lenin for what Lenin tried to do in
    terms of empowering people and not unifying the republics.

    The disease of Power is unlimited paranoia.

    This is why a republic is a good idea; the power is distributed rather
    than centrallized. This makes it a lot harder to get anything done, and
    this is a good thing because it makes it harder to get bad things done as >well as good ones. I hope I continue to live in one.
    My preference is to have no Party in control of more than two of the
    White House, the Senate and the House. I am reluctant to add the
    Supreme Court to this list for some reason.
    When this works, it forces them to talk to each other, which is a
    whole lot more likely then allowing them to talk only to themselves.
    When it fails, the government fails. Creating /real/ problems for
    everybody.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Aug 13 13:20:24 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
    My preference is to have no Party in control of more than two of the
    White House, the Senate and the House. I am reluctant to add the
    Supreme Court to this list for some reason.

    The Supreme Court should not be controlled by any party, that's part of
    the point of it. It doesn't always work that way unfortunately.

    When this works, it forces them to talk to each other, which is a
    whole lot more likely then allowing them to talk only to themselves.

    Agreed. The problem is more fundamental than that, though: their
    constituents won't talk to one another.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Aug 13 17:37:45 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) writes:
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
    My preference is to have no Party in control of more than two of the
    White House, the Senate and the House. I am reluctant to add the
    Supreme Court to this list for some reason.

    The Supreme Court should not be controlled by any party, that's part of
    the point of it. It doesn't always work that way unfortunately.

    Thanks to fools like kaintucky mitch.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Aug 13 14:49:18 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/13/2026 1:37 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) writes:
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
    My preference is to have no Party in control of more than two of the
    White House, the Senate and the House. I am reluctant to add the
    Supreme Court to this list for some reason.

    The Supreme Court should not be controlled by any party, that's part of
    the point of it. It doesn't always work that way unfortunately.

    Thanks to fools like kaintucky mitch.

    Haven't heard much about Mitch lately.

    My suspicion is that he's living, but brain damaged. There's
    been no strong evidence that he's lucid for two months now.

    From the GOP's POV, its advantageous to keep this condition
    under wraps - if he was known to be incapable, Beshear, the
    governor, would appoint a Democrat in his place.

    Losing one vote for their side in the Senate is better than
    having a Democrat in place who would vote against them.

    pt


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  • From BobbieSellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Thu Aug 13 11:55:06 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 8/13/26 09:01, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:58:40 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
    Dorsey) wrote:

    BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:
    When I was younger and was able to keep up with the
    publications we had a distinctly communist group in California
    which beat the drums against the landlords, police and the bankers.
    Each issue of the rag that they published was full of hatred for
    all who had power. That is the wrong tack to take with most of
    the youth/hippies of the time.

    That sounds like the RCP. If they put up posters everywhere saying
    "Bite the Hand That Feeds You Shit," that would have been the Avakian
    crew.

    Meanwhile in the USSR of my youth while Stalin and his Communist
    successors ran the Government in a distinctly fascist way much like
    Putin and his crew does today. Stalin murdered a lot of people to
    stay in power, but he probably killed more who were no threat at
    all to his position.

    The Soviets tried communism for a couple years but then brought in the
    NEP when they couldn't make it work. Then "All Power to the Soviets"
    turned into "All Power to Comrade Stalin" and it didn't turn back.

    The soviets were still effective locally, though, even until the end of
    the USSR.

    So they went from a czar running an agrarian land to a new kind of czar
    running a planned economy. This was a step sideways. Putin just wants
    to be like Czar Nicholas. He hates Lenin for what Lenin tried to do in
    terms of empowering people and not unifying the republics.

    The disease of Power is unlimited paranoia.

    This is why a republic is a good idea; the power is distributed rather
    than centrallized. This makes it a lot harder to get anything done, and
    this is a good thing because it makes it harder to get bad things done as
    well as good ones. I hope I continue to live in one.

    My preference is to have no Party in control of more than two of the
    White House, the Senate and the House. I am reluctant to add the
    Supreme Court to this list for some reason.

    When this works, it forces them to talk to each other, which is a
    whole lot more likely then allowing them to talk only to themselves.

    When it fails, the government fails. Creating /real/ problems for
    everybody.

    Well if the people of the USA are in power and ultimately they
    are supposed to be, maybe the division arises from paranoia over the possibility that someone of a different ethnic sensibility is a threat
    to that power. MAGA wants that to be a Tyrant named Trump and we can
    only hope that a more sensible person gets the nod in another election.

    I hope a Constitutional Republican party arises from the current
    mess.
    As for the SCOTUS the present arrangement which is detrimental
    to the stability of the USA was engineered by the anti-Abortionist
    wing of the current and past Republican party with the connivance
    of Moscow Mitch McConnell who may be living or dead. He subverted
    the will of the people from the beginning to the end of the Obama
    presidency and one of his vilest acts was denying a sitting president
    the appointment of a Supreme Court Judge. Then we got a couple of
    more appointments of anti-abortion judges who seem to be otherwise
    more enamored of Roman Catholic heretics and 17th Century British
    jurisprudence than the Constitution of the United States.

    The said Constitution is far from perfect but the founders
    knew that perfectly well and provided for a process of Amendment.

    bliss- study, practice, experience



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