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Missile Defense

Technology has always found its greatest consumer in a nation's war and defense efforts. Since the last attempts at a "Star Wars" defense system, has technology changed considerably enough to make the latest Missile Defense initiatives more successful? Can such an application of science be successful? Is a militarized space inevitable, necessary or impossible?

Read Debates, a new Web-only feature culled from Readers' Opinions, published every Thursday.

gisterme - 12:01am Jul 24, 2003 EST (# 13122 of 13267)

Fred...

"No way Jose!...

Good point. I suppose whatever it is that we're doing is okay. I wonder if Showalter has somehow got somebody at the NYT convinced that I really am the President? Wouldn't that be a gas!?

More seriously, you might be right about your idea that this forum might be used as an editorial sounding board. I'm not sure just what they'd expect to hear. Robert hasn't said anything really new for some time and most of what the rest of us say is more or less reaction to his wierd stuff. One thing I have to admit though is that despite all his weirdness Robert does somehow manage to provoke my intrest enough to get me to participate and that's probably true for the few others who post regularly here except for lchic (of course). Even though we might sometimes wonder about his sanity, he does manage to maintain some interest even if the interest is only in trying to figure out how he could possibly be serious about the things he says.

I notice that very few newcomers stick around for long. I suppose that's because they don't have the patience to bore through so many words. I'll plead guilty on that account too...both for contributing to too many words and for never looking at any of Robert's links (to links to links...). Instant gratification is certainly not something to be found on this forum. :-)

I'm sincerely glad that you and Lou and occasionally bbbuck somehow manage it. You all add a bit of extra dimension to what would otherwise be pretty much unsweetened gray oatmeal. I hope that wrcooper will also occasionally add his two cents. We could use a bit more perspective.

I really do appreciate your sense of humor, Fred.

Hmmm. Haven't heard from lchic for a couple of days. I hope she's not experienceing the agony of MD forum withdrawal...

bbbuck - 01:37am Jul 24, 2003 EST (# 13123 of 13267)

In a land of clicks and buttons, on a lonely obscure piece of land, windblown and lacking of vegetation lived a man of dream and vision. His name was Don Quixote[rshowalter].

The landlords[nytimes] tried to squelch this vagabond of humanity, but he would deluge the landlord with emails, 100's per day, and he just wouldn't go away. So they talked amongst themselves and said fine, tilt and tilt, but go not forth from this lonely stretch of land, or we will enforce, on you, our ban.

And so Quixote waxed and basked on his lonely strip of land. Dulcinea[lchic] would come and sprinkle water on the lonely obscure man.

And sancho[alarmist200x] would come and sing his one tune song.

And what of the president of the usa, and of Condoleeza Rice, and the other mice, just more things to be weaved into the obscure story in the obscure land, being free in a grand land. Of course they post here in our fair strand.

And they lived happily in their obscure wind blown land,

connecting dots, symmetrically, with a free outstretched hand.

And if any new windmills begin to twirl and spit?

He'll post 10 more posts and 1000 links of same old ____.

[You owe me 2 cents]

jorian319 - 08:39am Jul 24, 2003 EST (# 13124 of 13267)

What a breath of fresh air... straight talk, no links-to-links-to-links and a viable theory (sterile fly) to explain NYT's treatment. Cap it off with an excellent vignette by bbbuck, and it's the best series of posts I've ever seen on this thread. If I wasn't so busy being President, I'd take the time to thank each poster personally.

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