[Grovenet] A heckuva job! ! ! ! ! !

Fri Apr 13 13:55:48 PDT 2007

Surely you aren't suggesting that I think corruption is only 30 years old! 

In the 1940's and 50's there was a very high level of trust in our
government. Many Americans had just risked their lives to protect it. Many
families had lost members protecting it. Our economy was good (that always
makes for happy citizens, no matter the country). We were the technological,
economic and moral leaders of the western world. They were heady times for
America in spite of the perceived threat from the Soviet Union.

I'm not going to bore you with an essay in recent American history. If
you're interested it's readily available for you to read, see and hear. 

The key points are that Vietnam called into question the role of the USA in
the modern world. Were we really responsible for spilling our blood and
spending our money to stop communism at all costs? The answer was very
clear. 

Then President Nixon called into question the integrity of the US
government. Is the President really "above the law"? The answer to that
question was just the opposite of what happened over Vietnam. About Vietnam
the American people demanded change. About President Nixon, the American
people accepted the idea that we could ignore the problem. 

So we did, and that problem has festered in our government ever since. Right
up until today. 

Ron D'Eau Claire 

-----Original Message-----
From: grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com [mailto:grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com] On
Behalf Of Allen Warren
Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 12:59 PM
To: Forest Grove local interests list
Subject: Re: [Grovenet] A heckuva job! ! ! ! ! !

Steven, you're absolutely correct . . . "that is just what we remember".
I'm not a Presidential history buff but I've read enough to know that
corruption in our White House and Halls of Congress didn't suddenly start
occurring in the last 50 years.  In fact, Ulysses S. Grant, the Union
General who finally was able to bring an end to the "War Between the States"
is considered by some historians to be the most corrupt President in
history: http://www.course-notes.org/biographies/ulyssessimpsongrant.htm.
Only time will tell where GW Bush ranks in the corruption list for all
Presidents.

Allen Warren

----- Original Message ----
From: Steven <NoSpam03 at comcast.net>
To: Forest Grove local interests list <grovenet at rdrop.com>
Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 11:12:45 AM
Subject: Re: [Grovenet] A heckuva job! ! ! ! ! !

that is just what we remember. Previous presidents had their graft too. 
Politician jokes go back ... to Washington I guess.
Demanding honest politicians will get you better liars. Look at the crap 
in our state house.

Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
> I'm still convinced we did it to ourselves when President Nixon 
> resigned.
>  
> We collectively allowed President Ford to say, effectively, "No matter 
> what he may have done, let's put this behind us and get on to more 
> important things..."
>  
> In other words, corruption, greed and dishonesty is to be expected in 
> government.
>  
> Who, in their right mind, can wonder for an instant why many - 
> probably most
> - people today think government cannot be trusted? 
>  
> We Americans sowed the wind, back in 1974, and today we reap the 
> whirlwind. Our efforts yield little value. And what value there is 
> foreigners take. Hosea 8:7 might have more truth to it than we'd like.
>  
> That's why I hope we do not walk away from GW Bush and his staff, no 
> matter how much we might like to put that "national nightmare" behind 
> us once they have been expelled from the executive offices. If we do 
> we'll sow the wind once again.
>  
> Getting honest government that we can trust is simple. All we have to 
> do is demand it. The problem is that's not easy. We have to be 
> involved, pay attention, and put our priorities on honesty and 
> accountability instead of convenience. It's easier to ignore 
> dishonesty and hope that whatever it does in it's self-effacing greed
somehow works in our favor.
>  
> We have, for these last 7 years, lived with the results of that sort 
> of thinking.
>  
> Ron D'Eau Claire
>   
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