Though I'm in theory "on reflective vacation" from the list,
I thought this piece of information would be useful.
There is tonight a "town meeting" television production
occurring in Seattle (or perhaps a previously recorded show being
rebroadcast) including significant individuals such as the
Governor of Washington, the Mayor, police & fire chiefs of
Seattle, etc.
In the audience of this meeting is Representative Jim McDermott (D),
of Seattle, one of the few MDs (i.e. highly educated) in the House of
Representatives of the Congress. Now, I'm not a "huge" fan of McDermott,
since I view his positions as tending to be somewhat equivocal -- but I
am always willing to have my opinions revised given reasons for doing so.
It was *very* interesting to note that during the discussion
he did specifically draw attention to the use of President Bush's
use of the term "crusade" and the fact that this was precisely
the terms used by bin Laden to justify and promote opposition
against the West.
So, all of our politicians are not completely ill-informed with regard
to the details of the discussions, nor do they seem to be ill-equipped
to appreciate the significance of such subtle details.
Whether their voices will be heard above the noise of the drumbeat
remains to be seen.
Robert
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:40:51 MDT