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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.

wrcooper - 11:20am Jan 29, 2003 EST (# 8312 of 8326)

In re: [rshow55] <a href="/webin/WebX?14@93.6XQlasTn1rC.9166@.f28e622/9822">rshow55 1/29/03 9:43am</a>

Meeting in a museum would be fine. I will provide you my phone number in a private email on condition that you promise not to post it in the forums. If you agree to that, I'd be willing to give it to you.

You've had no basis for thinking that I'm George Johnson. That's a paranoid load of crap. Furthermore, since I've repeatedly denied that I am George Johnson, and you persist in ignoring or disbelieving my protestations, that must mean you think I'm a liar, part of some broad conspiracy to frustrate and befuddle the life of Robert Showalter.

Paranoid people think they see all sorts of connections and designs in the world that do not in fact exist. Of course, the world of men does include dark designs and machinations, and so paranoiacs can sometimes be right. But mostly they're wrong. You're completely wrong about me, and I'd wager my entire personal fortune that you're wrong about gisterme and everything else you've blathered on about ad nauseam in this forum. Do you really think that the President's national security adviser or the president himself would actually be taking time away from the important work they do to trade posts with a lowly ex-grad student from Madison, WI? That's so utterly outrageously pathetically nutty that it's downright, well, sad. I feel sad for y ou and for your family. That's why I'm offering you a chance to clarify in your mind at least one point of delusional error, that involving my identity. Maybe once you discover conclusively that you've been wrong about me, a fairly prominent piece of the paranoid puzzle you've assembled, then maybe that will cause you to look again at the other pieces, gisterme , etc. Maybe.

Anyway, email me, and if you give me assurance that you won't make public my private phone number, I will give it to you.

You asked about my motives in offering this. Simple: to help you. I don't like being called a liar, even when it's by an obviously disturbed and deluded individual such as yourself. For awhile, I just ignored it. I mean, what sane person wouldn't, right? Then I decided to address you about it again. So have I gone a little nutty? (Probably a lot of you people who might lurking in this forum think so. You're asking " Why is he effing doing this? Why bother? Why take whatever small risk is involved?" Okay, okay, you're absolutely right. I am probably off my rocker in suggesting this to Showalter. So, send for the little men in white coats.)

Anyway, I'm doing it. I'm sincere. I hope you'll somehow get a better grip on your perceptions of reality. I hate to break it to you, Bob, but you're not saving the lives of a thousand people a day. Not even Superman kept that busy. You're just a guy like me who spends way too much time on a message board. You take it more seriously than I do, and I think you've invested a large part of your ego in it. You see it as your job, saving the world, I guess, by droning on methodically about testing and careful fact-checking and whatnot. But, sorry, pal, you're basically a nobody, just like the rest of us. The high and might aren't listening, despite whatever fanciful "patterns" and "consistent clues" you've conjured up out of the verbal detritus and wasted human effort that fills the forum memory banks at the New York Times.

Write me and come to Chicago. We can meet at the Art Institute, if you like. It's just a few blocks from where I live. They've got a nice cafe in the basement. Lots of people, lights, guards, plus glorious artwork.

Write me.

wrcooper - 11:24am Jan 29, 2003 EST (# 8313 of 8326)

Oops.

Bob, the link to your post is

[rshow55] http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@93.6XQlasTn1rC.9166@.f28e622/9822

Here's how the link works.

Copy the link address as usual. Paste in into the editor window. Note the section of the string that reads /WebX14@. Change the 14 to 8. That's it. When you post the note, you'll find an active link to the desired post.

rshow55 - 12:05pm Jan 29, 2003 EST (# 8314 of 8326)
Can we do a better job of finding truth? YES. Click "rshow55" for some things Lchic and I have done and worked for on this thread.

Interesting. How on earth did you get the inspiration to make that substitution?

wrcooper - 12:14pm Jan 29, 2003 EST (# 8315 of 8326)

The idea got passed around on another forum. I first learned about it on Space Exploration. Then others started using it on Creation v Evolution.

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