Well, you are calling Tsing Tao a cynic...IMO, the problem we have in this country is that people are not cynical ENOUGH. After all, each election cycle the voters line up and think something will change the next time around. Then again, you are also the same guy who continually cheerleads the obviously flawed labor statistics and then goes back into "riddle mode" whenever anybody challenges the integrity of the statistics. And yes there is a difference between cynics and pessimists. I'd argue that there are plenty of people who are cynical towards all things political, but are not pessimistic in other aspects of their personal lives.
The adage 'a cynic knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing' - applies in some cases. Also, 'trust but verify,' which I prefer, applies in virtually every case. Pessimism is more of a concern, imo, than being a bit cynical at times. It's the preconceived ideas that bother me. That, because of the 'who' or the 'what' or even the 'messenger' that groups of people simply take the opposite side. I know I'm dreaming again, but would love to get back to the Eisenhower era, where, at least my childhood memories and education recall, we were able to all be Americans first. Oh well, nice to be positive, at least in our dreams, right? c
I remember those days. Right after WWII the country trusted the government and all was right in the world (at least my world). Until Ike put in the interstate highways the scarriest thing was taking a long trip on those two lane highways. Well, that and the cold war. The bad: Long distance phone calls cost a small fortune Flying was extremely expensive Only the grocery store had air conditioning Cars broke down more and had no air conditioning either Hmmm. Maybe the "good ol' days" weren't as good as I remember.
When I was a kid I fell out of a moving pickup truck that had no seat belts. They weren't required at the time of its manufacture. (and no I didn't land on my head)
sorry, I had to chuckle a bit...just because it's such a startling dichotomy to all the laws about kids being in properly fitted booster seats nowadays, etc, etc...
hey lucrum, I watched an episode of American Greed on CNBS last night (the only worthwhile program on that channel.). They featured some con named Marcus Schenker who conned a group of airline pilots in Atlanta out of some money. The pilots did get it all back though when the company this guy was working for feared all the bad publiciity. I'm sure you've heard the whole story..the con stole a plane from Indiana and crashed it into a swamp in Alabama while parachuting out of it, lol...he was a small time operator in the grand scheme of things.
Actually I hadn't heard that story. But then I don't fly for the airlines and rarely watch the local news.