Hello Frank,   
      
   >->Slavery was an issue the Framers of the Constitution deliberately   
   >->put off, as it was too divisive.  Unfortunately, no peaceful solution   
   >->was able to be found, with the result being a war pitting fathers   
   >->against sons, and brothers against brothers.  A tragedy for us all.   
      
   FS>The Founding Fathers ('scuse the non-politically-correct term) did not   
   FS>mention slavery in the constitution since they assumed it would vanish of   
   FS>its own accord.  And it probably would have.  After all, Political   
   FS>Correctness did not arise because of the Emancipation Proclamation -- it   
   FS>was a natural outgrowth of the mess Lyndon Johnson made of his presidency.   
      
   Slavery would have ceased to exist, no doubt about that.   
   Economically it would have made no sense to continue, even   
   in the South, as the industrialization of this country progressed.   
   However, the woman in drag (Abraham Lincoln) had other ideas, as   
   noted in her Emancipation Proclamation.  What she had in mind was   
   to allow Northern slaveowners to sell their slaves to Southern   
   slaveowners, then get every state in the USA (except for Louisiana)   
   to outlaw slavery.  Then, all them slaves in Louisiana would have   
   been put to work peeling crawfish, thus feeding an entire nation.   
      
   I am not making this up.  Read Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.   
   The woman had absolutely no intention of doing away with slavery.   
      
   Here are some other choice words by The Great Emancipator -   
      
   "If I could free all of the slaves and save the Union, I would,   
   and if I could free some of the slaves and save the Union, I would   
   also do that, and if I could free none of the slaves and save the   
   Union I would do that, too." - Abraham Lincoln   
      
   Right now is crawfish season.  Crawfish are caught, gathered, and   
   sold live in 50-pound onion sacks.  Then they are boiled alive, in   
   a giant pot, and when done are served piping hot to a famished crowd.   
      
   As a youngster, Lincoln travelled by raft to Louisiana and spent   
   some quality time enjoying the sights.  It was there that Mary Todd   
   taught Lincoln about the wonders of crawfish.   
      
   The first thing one should know about crawfish is that crawfish   
   are captured live, put in 50-pound onion sacks, and kept alive by   
   continually pouring water over them until they are put into a pot   
   of boiling water.   Once they have been boiled, they can be peeled   
   and eaten.  Or peeled and saved for later.   
      
   In any event, crawfish are very nutritious, low in cholesterol,   
   and are much tastier than lobster.  As you know, Lincoln was a health   
   nut who kept himself/herself thin, played basketball much better than   
   Obama, and not only could dunk but could also hit from anywhere on   
   the court, and had a much better fake beard than Karl Marx.   
      
   --Lee   
      
      
    * SLMR 2.1a * "Who stole the banana guacamole?" - George Carlin   
      
   --- Maximus 3.01   
    * Origin: Xaragmata / Adelaide SA telnet://xaragmata.mooo.com (3:800/432)