HI Bob,   
      
   On Wed 2039-Mar-30 20:10, BOB KLAHN (1:123/140) wrote to RICHARD WEBB:   
      
    RW> THey're much easier, dumb down the populace, sell 'em   
    RW> anything.   
      
   BK>  That's always been the rule. It's just easier when they own the    
   BK> media.   
      
   YEah I know, civics, all that good stuff, don't bother with   
   that.   
   Reading an article, yeah I know, NY times, not some folks'   
   favorite rag, but talking about how much more we spend than   
   many other countries on education, and how much less we get   
   for it.  AS they said, put the money in cultural programs,   
   teachers, the real basics, less on hauling kids by bus, and   
   athletics, and ... you know the drill.   
      
   RW>> Doesn't do either for me, angers me.  We don't teach kids   
   RW>> civics anymore, we just keep dumbing it down and dumbing it   
   RW>> own, but the big fascists who really have a lot to gain like a   
   RW>> dumbed down populace.   
      
   BK>  Yep. And they sell it by prattling about how much money they are    
   BK> saving, and how much more the people would have to pay. Yet we    
   BK> don't seem to be paying any less.   
      
   Depends on how you save money whether you're actually   
   robbing from your own future or not though.   
      
   BK>  The parasites on Wall Street are the right targets for the   
   BK>  anger. They don't profit from a better life, they profit whether    
   BK> we win or lose.   
      
   That's my problem with them exactly.  I understand the house has to win the   
   majority of the time to stand in business,   
   but when the house wins no matter what, and you've not got a choice but to   
   play ...   
      
   BK>  Fifty seven? More like a hundred and fifty seven, and still    
   BK> nothing on.   
      
   YEah I know, but that Springsteen song came to mind, so I   
   used Bruce's number .   
      
    RW> What was once the greatest country on earth is no longer a   
    RW> bastion of freedom and a beacon of hope.  Screw hope and   
    RW> freedom, there's not enough money in it.   
      
   BK>  Same for peace and plenty. You can't be king if there isn't    
   BK> someone you can rule over.   
      
   YEah I know, but if you can still everything you need or   
   want who in his right mind would want to be king?  THen you   
   get the responsibility for all of it too.   
      
    RW> But, to make sure that hope and freedom go by the boards we   
    RW> have to discount and marginalize true culture as well.   
    RW> Music and art, screw them too.  WE've caused there to be a   
    RW> fight between the ignorant "we want it all for free" folks   
    RW> and the creators who should expect to get paid for their   
    RW> work.   
      
   BK>  Well, the Wall Street types want it all for free too, just in  much   
   BK> bigger measure.   
      
   OF course they do, and they've set up the creative arts   
   types and the true creators of the intellectual property   
   that is now being fought over to lose no matter how it goes. When as a young   
   man reading sci fi I thought of something   
   like the internet I expected to see it become a true   
   cultural renaissance, but these days I'm not so sure.  But,   
   the creative artists who use it to get their art out there   
   don't have the budget or the expert knowledge to create   
   listenable or viewable product oftentimes.  Acquiring the   
   facilities and the expertise using them costs money, and in   
   today's markets that isn't available.   
      
   RW>> Sometimes I thank god I'm already on the down side of the   
   RW>> slippery slope, at least I won't get to see the worst of   
   RW>> what the fascists and their dumbed down masses will create.   
   RW>> I am truly sorry I left offspring behind to be part of it however.   
      
    RW> I'll stand by that last remark.   
      
   BK>  I just hope I get to stick around long enough to join the   
   BK>  battle.   
      
   tO be honest with you Bob, I'm tired of the battle.  I spent too much of my   
   younger years when not playing music or   
   working a sound board engaged in it.  I did enough volunteer advocacy back in   
   the '80's to mid-nineties that I'm burned   
   out on it.  Trouble is, I know it's needed more now than   
   ever before, and I just can't bring myself to join that   
   world again.  I burned my candle at both ends pretty good   
   back then .   
      
      
      
   Regards,   
              Richard   
   --- timEd 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin:  (1:116/901)