[Vision2020] Professor, educate thyself....

[keely emerinemix]

Both Chas and Joan hit the nail on the head.  While I haven't traveled the 
world -- only Canada and Mexico have had the dubious benefit of my presence 
-- I think I have a fairly grounded perspective on politics and morality.

(Waiting for ToeKnee, Courtney and the like to amass their comebacks . . . )

Clinton embarrassed himself.  Ken Starr embarrassed himself in elevating 
adultery to a matter of national, albeit partisan, obsession.  W embarrasses 
all of us -- and embarrassment is the least of our worries.  For the record, 
I'm glad our president doesn't appear to be entertaining young ladies in the 
Oval Office, but in a very real sense, he'll have all of us down on our 
knees by the end of his disastrous two terms in office.

keely

From: Joan Opyr <joanopyr at moscow.com>
To: Chasuk <chasuk at gmail.com>
CC: Vision2020 Moscow <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Professor, educate thyself....
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 00:02:25 -0800


On 21 Mar 2006, at 19:54, Chasuk wrote:

>On 3/21/06, ToeKneeTime at aol.com <ToeKneeTime at aol.com> wrote:
>
>>You say Bush has done more to destroy America's reputation than ANY 
>>AMERICAN
>>you know.  We are still recovering from eight years as the laughingstock 
>>of
>>the world thanks to Bill Clinton.  He confirmed the impression many
>>foreigners have of Americans as vulgar hedonists.
>
>I have tried to stay out of this, but this statement is too absurd to
>ignore.  I had the experience of living for half of my lifetime
>overseas, and can report that Reagan was largely considered a charming
>buffoon.  He actively made made foreigners laugh at us, and in droves.
>  Clinton was, and is, greatly admired.  Most of the world laughed
>themselves sick that Americans wasted so much time chasing our
>voyeuristic blowjob obsessions while ignoring real issues.  You are
>WAY off the mark, here.  If you don't trust my experiences, look at
>any polls.  Reagan was considered an unclever chimp, and Bush is
>considered his less intelligent successor.

I spent 1985-1986 living in Glasgow, Scotland.  Ronald Reagan was an enigma 
to the Scots, the English, the Norwegians -- in short, to every non 
US-citizen I ment.  No one could imagine how (or why) Americans had elected 
a man who seemed to them such an obvious corn-pone phony.  I frequently 
found myself in the awkward position of being called upon to answer for 
something Reagan had said or done -- like his insistence on calling the 
Soviet Union the "Evil Empire," or his bizarre remarks to a group of German 
schoolchildren about how "we" should have invited the Native Americans to 
become a part of the United States and not let them go about doing their own 
thing on reservations.  (No, I am not making this up.)  I soon grew tired of 
answering for Reagan, and tired of defending myself -- I didn't vote for 
him.  Eventually, I'd just snap that he was my President, not my father.  I 
was no more responsible for his actions than the British were for Margaret 
Thatcher's.  If they were willing to take the blame for the Falklands, then 
I'd be happy to answer for Grenada, but otherwise, how about some 
commiseration and a friendly pint?

Chasuk is quite right about Bill Clinton's reputation in Europe (and 
Toe-Knee, quelle surprise, is quite wrong).  Clinton remains a political 
hero in Ireland for his part in bringing about the Good Friday peace 
accords.  There's an enormous bronze statue of him in Northern Ireland and 
countless plaques honoring him throughout the Republic.  Anyone who has 
traveled or, better yet, lived abroad knows that Clinton was always quite 
popular outside the United States; the only British newspaper I remember 
calling for his head over the Monica Lewinsky affair was The Economist.

Who's the most popular U. S. President out there in the wider world?  Jimmy 
Carter, of course.  A tireless peace activist, an international elections 
observer, a respected mediator -- Ford, Reagan, Bush the Elder, Clinton, and 
Bush the Younger didn't/don't hold a candle to Carter in terms of 
international stature.  I'm sure Toe-Knee will have something half-assed and 
snotty to say about Jimmy Carter, but actions speak louder than words.  
Who's out building houses for Habitat for Humanity and who's raking in war 
bucks from the Carlyle Group?

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
www.joanopyr.com


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