Trump - Let Me Ask America a Question

[jimnyc]

Don't shoot the messenger. This is from Donald Trump, in the Wall Street Journal.

--------

Let Me Ask America a Question
How has the ‘system’ been working out for you and your family? No wonder voters demand change.

By Donald J. Trump
April 14, 2016 7:18 p.m. ET

On Saturday, April 9, Colorado had an “election” without voters. Delegates were chosen on behalf of a presidential nominee, yet the people of Colorado were not able to cast their ballots to say which nominee they preferred.

A planned vote had been canceled. And one million Republicans in Colorado were sidelined.

In recent days, something all too predictable has happened: Politicians furiously defended the system. “These are the rules,” we were told over and over again. If the “rules” can be used to block Coloradans from voting on whether they want better trade deals, or stronger borders, or an end to special-interest vote-buying in Congress—well, that’s just the system and we should embrace it.

Let me ask America a question: How has the “system” been working out for you and your family?

I, for one, am not interested in defending a system that for decades has served the interest of political parties at the expense of the people. Members of the club—the consultants, the pollsters, the politicians, the pundits and the special interests—grow rich and powerful while the American people grow poorer and more isolated.

No one forced anyone to cancel the vote in Colorado. Political insiders made a choice to cancel it. And it was the wrong choice.

Responsible leaders should be shocked by the idea that party officials can simply cancel elections in America if they don’t like what the voters may decide.

The only antidote to decades of ruinous rule by a small handful of elites is a bold infusion of popular will. On every major issue affecting this country, the people are right and the governing elite are wrong. The elites are wrong on taxes, on the size of government, on trade, on immigration, on foreign policy.

Why should we trust the people who have made every wrong decision to substitute their will for America’s will in this presidential election?

Here, I part ways with Sen. Ted Cruz.

Mr. Cruz has toured the country bragging about his voterless victory in Colorado. For a man who styles himself as a warrior against the establishment (you wouldn’t know it from his list of donors and endorsers), you’d think he would be demanding a vote for Coloradans. Instead, Mr. Cruz is celebrating their disenfranchisement.

Likewise, Mr. Cruz loudly boasts every time party insiders disenfranchise voters in a congressional district by appointing delegates who will vote the opposite of the expressed will of the people who live in that district.

That’s because Mr. Cruz has no democratic path to the nomination. He has been mathematically eliminated by the voters.

While I am self-funding, Mr. Cruz rakes in millions from special interests. Yet despite his financial advantage, Mr. Cruz has won only three primaries outside his home state and trails me by two million votes—a gap that will soon explode even wider. Mr. Cruz loses when people actually get to cast ballots. Voter disenfranchisement is not merely part of the Cruz strategy—it is the Cruz strategy.

The great irony of this campaign is that the “Washington cartel” that Mr. Cruz rails against is the very group he is relying upon in his voter-nullification scheme.

My campaign strategy is to win with the voters. Ted Cruz’s campaign strategy is to win despite them.

What we are seeing now is not a proper use of the rules, but a flagrant abuse of the rules. Delegates are supposed to reflect the decisions of voters, but the system is being rigged by party operatives with “double-agent” delegates who reject the decision of voters.

The American people can have no faith in such a system. It must be reformed.

Just as I have said that I will reform our unfair trade, immigration and economic policies that have also been rigged against Americans, so too will I work closely with the chairman of the Republican National Committee and top GOP officials to reform our election policies. Together, we will restore the faith—and the franchise—of the American people.

We must leave no doubt that voters, not donors, choose the nominee.

How have we gotten to the point where politicians defend a rigged delegate-selection process with more passion than they have ever defended America’s borders?

Perhaps it is because politicians care more about securing their private club than about securing their country.

My campaign will, of course, battle for every last delegate. We will work within the system that exists now, while fighting to have it reformed in the future. But we will do it the right way. My campaign will seek maximum transparency, maximum representation and maximum voter participation.

We will run a campaign based on empowering voters, not sidelining them.

Let us take inspiration from patriotic Colorado citizens who have banded together in protest. Let us make Colorado a rallying cry on behalf of all the forgotten people whose desperate pleas have for decades fallen on the deaf ears and closed eyes of our rulers in Washington, D.C.

The political insiders have had their way for a long time. Let 2016 be remembered as the year the American people finally got theirs.

Mr. Trump is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/let-me-ask-america-a-question-1460675882

[tailfins]

Were Arizona and Florida "fair and democratic", or is it only unfair when it's not to Trump's advantage?

[jimnyc]

Trump won by over 400,000 votes in Florida. By over 115,000 in Arizona. I would say that the people in those states at least played a part and had their say.

[tailfins]

Trump won by over 400,000 votes in Florida. By over 115,000 in Arizona. I would say that the people in those states at least played a part and had their say.

Trump got a minority of the votes, but 100% of the delegates .

[jimnyc]

Trump got a minority of the votes, but 100% of the delegates .

I don't have the answers. What I do know, is that the one with less votes shouldn't be getting more delegates than someone who garnered more votes. I understand that it's just my opinion though.

[Kathianne]

I just want the farce over. If we lose the republic, we lose it. What follows, follows. I think there may be a few regrets at what is being left for the future.

Basically what Trump's own answers to his questions posed is popular revolt against 'the system.' I do hope he and others have looked beyond the winning and losing of this.

Put this thread together with the FOX poll results of Trump closing in on the 50% mark and I for one will not be surprised to see the GOP say, "What the hell, let's just do what he wants, and see what happens." They too won't be looking beyond their winning and losing.

[tailfins]

I just want the farce over. If we lose the republic, we lose it. What follows, follows. I think there may be a few regrets at what is being left for the future.

Basically what Trump's own answers to his questions posed is popular revolt against 'the system.' I do hope he and others have looked beyond the winning and losing of this.

Put this thread together with the FOX poll results of Trump closing in on the 50% mark and I for one will not be surprised to see the GOP say, "What the hell, let's just do what he wants, and see what happens." They too won't be looking beyond their winning and losing.

In 1958-9 Cubans revolted against the system . We see the results.

My advice is to raise polyglot children. My oldest is currently learning Japanese with high motivation. Jim, how is your son doing with his Russian?

[Gunny]

I just want the farce over. If we lose the republic, we lose it. What follows, follows. I think there may be a few regrets at what is being left for the future.

Basically what Trump's own answers to his questions posed is popular revolt against 'the system.' I do hope he and others have looked beyond the winning and losing of this.

Put this thread together with the FOX poll results of Trump closing in on the 50% mark and I for one will not be surprised to see the GOP say, "What the hell, let's just do what he wants, and see what happens." They too won't be looking beyond their winning and losing.

Nail on the head. The problem is, they aren't. I have a lot of blood, sweat and tears invested in this country. It's absolutely horrible to me watching it swirl around in a toilet bowel. I completely agree with your assessment though. Maybe you and I should run if they actually have a fractured convention. :laugh: We can argue about who gets to be in charge after we win. :)

[jimnyc]

In 1958-9 Cubans revolted against the system . We see the results.

My advice is to raise polyglot children. My oldest is currently learning Japanese with high motivation. Jim, how is your son doing with his Russian?

It's Mandarin actually, and he loves it for whatever reason, and gets nothing but A's and I think one B since he has been in his new school. That's also his favorite class. Not sure why really, but so long as he's happy and enjoying it, and learning, and getting good grades, all cool with me!

[Kathianne]

Nail on the head. The problem is, they aren't. I have a lot of blood, sweat and tears invested in this country. It's absolutely horrible to me watching it swirl around in a toilet bowel. I completely agree with your assessment though. Maybe you and I should run if they actually have a fractured convention. :laugh: We can argue about who gets to be in charge after we win. :)

Most people are it seems are either in revolt mode or apathetic mode. The way things are shaping up it could be Trump v. Bernie. There are a few that are concerned about what the country is losing, but the numbers too small to impact. It will play out.

[jimnyc]

Basically what Trump's own answers to his questions posed is popular revolt against 'the system.' I do hope he and others have looked beyond the winning and losing of this.


Kind of what I was hinting at with Tailfins yesterday. While everyone is so torn over winning the primaries, and perhaps Cruz outsmarting Trump and preventing him from getting delegates, or Trump getting them and outright winning - I think the ultimate goal which comes in November is lost - and likely because of what you say - there is blindness towards the ultimate goal.

[Gunny]

It's Mandarin actually, and he loves it for whatever reason, and gets nothing but A's and I think one B since he has been in his new school. That's also his favorite class. Not sure why really, but so long as he's happy and enjoying it, and learning, and getting good grades, all cool with me!

Don't ask why. A Crosby, Stills and Nash song. My father's a linguist and I can speak a couple myself. My daughter can speak 3 languages. I have no idea if the ability is inherent, but it appears so. If he's good at it, let him go. I hate Chinese though, btw. It's harder to learn than American English. They have more crap than we do and every symbol has two meanings depending on where you define them from.

[Kathianne]

Kind of what I was hinting at with Tailfins yesterday. While everyone is so torn over winning the primaries, and perhaps Cruz outsmarting Trump and preventing him from getting delegates, or Trump getting them and outright winning - I think the ultimate goal which comes in November is lost - and likely because of what you say - there is blindness towards the ultimate goal.

They're 'all rotten' so to hell with it all. Moral equivalency makes rules obsolete, no?

I'm not trying to be snarky, it really is a case of getting rid of the republic and going with full on democracy. What could go wrong?

[jimnyc]

Don't ask why. A Crosby, Stills and Nash song. My father's a linguist and I can speak a couple myself. My daughter can speak 3 languages. I have no idea if the ability is inherent, but it appears so. If he's good at it, let him go. I hate Chinese though, btw. It's harder to learn than American English. They have more crap than we do and every symbol has two meanings depending on where you define them from.

His last report card was like 3 weeks ago or so. Straight A's across the board. Must be getting it from the woman. :dunno:

And no way in the world I would ever choose a Chinese language, that looks insane to me.

[Kathianne]

His last report card was like 3 weeks ago or so. Straight A's across the board. Must be getting it from the woman. :dunno:

And no way in the world I would ever choose a Chinese language, that looks insane to me.

That change in schools regardless of cost, seems to have been worth it.

[jimnyc]

They're 'all rotten' so to hell with it all. Moral equivalency makes rules obsolete, no?

I'm not trying to be snarky, it really is a case of getting rid of the republic and going with full on democracy. What could go wrong?

I hope the party implodes. Changes need to be made. Trump may not be the answer. Cruz may not be the answer. Apparently neither was Bush, Obama or Clinton. Then the want to screw us in the house and senate as well. Many promises and very little to show for it.

My big problem is still this - we elect people to represent us. I'm not sure I can really think of a single politician that does that anymore. They meet/greet when running for their positions and then give a big FU to the people once in office.

What we truly need is term limits, and a better/easier way to recall nitwits if they go into office and then ignore the people who voted them in.

[jimnyc]

That change in schools regardless of cost, seems to have been worth it.

I think I agree. It'll be a small fortune all added up. But I think since being there he has gotten all A's and B's. He has slowly went from being so quiet, to being a little outgoing and actually having friends now! And a girlfriend of like 3 or 4 months now? Still moody bastard at times, and we still have to :poke:him at times to get things done - but he IS still a teenager.

[Kathianne]

I hope the party implodes. Changes need to be made. Trump may not be the answer. Cruz may not be the answer. Apparently neither was Bush, Obama or Clinton. Then the want to screw us in the house and senate as well. Many promises and very little to show for it.

My big problem is still this - we elect people to represent us. I'm not sure I can really think of a single politician that does that anymore. They meet/greet when running for their positions and then give a big FU to the people once in office.

What we truly need is term limits, and a better/easier way to recall nitwits if they go into office and then ignore the people who voted them in.

I don't disagree with any of that, but it appears too late to talk about anything other than destruction. Seems the working out the problems wasn't something 'the people' wanted to take the effort for. So, we'll see what is reaped.

[Gunny]

I hope the party implodes. Changes need to be made. Trump may not be the answer. Cruz may not be the answer. Apparently neither was Bush, Obama or Clinton. Then the want to screw us in the house and senate as well. Many promises and very little to show for it.

My big problem is still this - we elect people to represent us. I'm not sure I can really think of a single politician that does that anymore. They meet/greet when running for their positions and then give a big FU to the people once in office.

What we truly need is term limits, and a better/easier way to recall nitwits if they go into office and then ignore the people who voted them in.

I don't. I want the party to get its ass in gear. We've been starting from scratch coming on the 3rd election in a row. Now you can call me redundant or whatever, but I am actually not. I see a problem and I call it. I'm not into frontal assaults using the same failed tactics. I'm going to envelope your ass. You won't see me coming.

What we REALLY need is for people to care and have their voices heard instead of just sitting home saying f*ck it.

[jimnyc]

I don't disagree with any of that, but it appears too late to talk about anything other than destruction. Seems the working out the problems wasn't something 'the people' wanted to take the effort for. So, we'll see what is reaped.

No doubt, I don't think it's something fixed instantly. I don't even think if Trump or Cruz dropped today that it would mend the fences. And honestly, it's more than just a candidate, we have a broken party, or system, but mostly party. Imagine a football/baseball team, where the majority of players disagree on how to win, they all run different plays at the same time & the coaches couldn't care less and are only worried about their own kid getting some playing time. I know, horrible analogy, but works for me. You can't win as a team if you can't figure out how to play like a team.

[Kathianne]

No doubt, I don't think it's something fixed instantly. I don't even think if Trump or Cruz dropped today that it would mend the fences. And honestly, it's more than just a candidate, we have a broken party, or system, but mostly party. Imagine a football/baseball team, where the majority of players disagree on how to win, they all run different plays at the same time & the coaches couldn't care less and are only worried about their own kid getting some playing time. I know, horrible analogy, but works for me. You can't win as a team if you can't figure out how to play like a team.

It's striking me as sad, when the game started I pretty early on said the 'no rules' thing was something I didn't want to play with. I'd leave the team, damn the coaches or the fans. Before going that far, I argued that folks should look at getting involved and work at change, it was said to be 'too late.' They were right. Now we're watching it playing out.

Any consolation for anyone, if the FOX poll is right, Bernie may beat Hillary in NY. It's the system, both parties and the republic that are being 'blown up.' There will be no fix, not immediately and not down the road. There will be something else.

[jimnyc]

I don't. I want the party to get its ass in gear. We've been starting from scratch coming on the 3rd election in a row. Now you can call me redundant or whatever, but I am actually not. I see a problem and I call it. I'm not into frontal assaults using the same failed tactics. I'm going to envelope your ass. You won't see me coming.

What we REALLY need is for people to care and have their voices heard instead of just sitting home saying f*ck it.

In theory I agree with you. But listen to both sides at this point. Trump supporters staying home or following him or going 3rd party if he doesn't get the nod. The majority of Cruz supporters are similar, and also state they would never vote Trump based on his treatment towards Cruz.

Personally, I'm pissed, VERY pissed. But I also know what would happen if Hillary were to get into office, or the guy that never brushes his hair. If today, I feel like I would stay home, vote Trump if he went 3rd, or basically vote with my emotions. But I think when things settle I can probably be convinced to vote with the party. BUT that's truly not cool, but the alternative is even less cool. And while things cooling down, cooler heads coming out... that's asking a LLLLLLOOOOOOTTTT and I don't think you'll get that many more from the Trump side, and likely less from the Cruz side.

[Gunny]

No doubt, I don't think it's something fixed instantly. I don't even think if Trump or Cruz dropped today that it would mend the fences. And honestly, it's more than just a candidate, we have a broken party, or system, but mostly party. Imagine a football/baseball team, where the majority of players disagree on how to win, they all run different plays at the same time & the coaches couldn't care less and are only worried about their own kid getting some playing time. I know, horrible analogy, but works for me. You can't win as a team if you can't figure out how to play like a team.

Therein lies the problem. It is NOT going to be fixed instantly. It's taken 30 years to destroy it. The whole mentality is wrong. I agree with THAT as well. I just don't see a selfish, self-serving, whiny little bitch as the answer. If we're going to fix it, break out the tools and let's do it right.

And I TOTALLY get the team thing. Used to have 150 people on mine.

So, you're saying the same thing I am except you like Trump and I don't.

[tailfins]

In theory I agree with you. But listen to both sides at this point. Trump supporters staying home or following him or going 3rd party if he doesn't get the nod. The majority of Cruz supporters are similar, and also state they would never vote Trump based on his treatment towards Cruz.

Personally, I'm pissed, VERY pissed. But I also know what would happen if Hillary were to get into office, or the guy that never brushes his hair. If today, I feel like I would stay home, vote Trump if he went 3rd, or basically vote with my emotions. But I think when things settle I can probably be convinced to vote with the party. BUT that's truly not cool, but the alternative is even less cool. And while things cooling down, cooler heads coming out... that's asking a LLLLLLOOOOOOTTTT and I don't think you'll get that many more from the Trump side, and likely less from the Cruz side.

It has nothing to do with how Trump has treated Cruz. It's all about how Trump would govern. No more Harriet Miers Supreme Court nominations.

[Kathianne]

I for one have never been a Cruz fan. I'm mostly a 'Constitution' fan and could pull the lever for Cruz as the only choice I could make v Hillary or Bernie.

At this point, I'm voting one way or the other. I do think though this is the last election that will be as 'we've known it.'

[jimnyc]

It's striking me as sad, when the game started I pretty early on said the 'no rules' thing was something I didn't want to play with. I'd leave the team, damn the coaches or the fans. Before going that far, I argued that folks should look at getting involved and work at change, it was said to be 'too late.' They were right. Now we're watching it playing out.

Any consolation for anyone, if the FOX poll is right, Bernie may beat Hillary in NY. It's the system, both parties and the republic that are being 'blown up.' There will be no fix, not immediately and not down the road. There will be something else.

I definitely believe he's going to do well in NY, much better than anticipated a month or 2 ago, that's for sure. And even funnier, the national polls leave her with only a 1-5 point lead now, and Sanders with the lead in a few of them. I laugh, because it's Hillary losing, but it's not like I'd want to see him in the WH either.

Polling Data
<tbody>
Poll
Date
Sample
MoE
Clinton

Sanders

Spread


RCP Average
3/28 - 4/13
--
--
47.2
46.0
Clinton +1.2


FOX News (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/04/14/fox-news-poll-trump-widens-lead-in-gop-race-clinton-sanders-tightens.html?intcmp=hpbt1)
4/11 - 4/13
450 RV
4.5
48
46
Clinton +2


CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-poll-hillary-clinton-seen-as-more-effective-uniter-than-bernie-sanders/)
4/8 - 4/12
359 LV
6.0
50
44
Clinton +6


The Atlantic/PRRI (http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/a-sanders-surge-in-polling-if-not-delegates/477198/)
3/30 - 4/3
788 RV
--
46
47
Sanders +1


IBD/TIPP (http://www.investors.com/politics/trump-support-fades-as-mistakes-grow-sanders-clinton-tied-ibdtipp-poll/)
3/28 - 4/2
388 RV
5.1
45
44
Clinton +1


McClatchy/Marist (http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article70202867.html)
3/29 - 3/31
497 RV
4.4
47
49
Sanders +2

</tbody>

[jimnyc]

It has nothing to do with how Trump has treated Cruz. It's all about how Trump would govern. No more Harriet Miers Supreme Court nominations.

Perhaps some feel that way, but others have commented, here and elsewhere, that they couldn't reconcile the attacks on Cruz and therefore would never vote Trump. Regardless, if Cruz supporters were to not vote if he loses, the reasoning won't matter. Same thing if Trump supporters took their voting elsewhere.

[Kathianne]

As I said, I just feel 'sad.' The problems with the system didn't start this cycle, the last or the one before. This time though everything is different.

When Obama won, I was very disappointed, though had no problem with figuring that the country was strong enough to weather it. Felt even worse when he was elected for 4 more years. Wondered if the country would 'survive.' Now we have the answer.

[jimnyc]

I for one have never been a Cruz fan. I'm mostly a 'Constitution' fan and could pull the lever for Cruz as the only choice I could make v Hillary or Bernie.

At this point, I'm voting one way or the other. I do think though this is the last election that will be as 'we've known it.'

I don't have much of an issue with him, especially in comparison to the other side. I'm pretty confident in my original statements from months back - that I likely would have voted for any of the 17 over either of the 2 dummies on the other side. But right now I am very angry in how the entire thing has been played out, and there have been far too many involved for me to even point a finger - but if so it should be pointed mainly at the party itself, IMO.

[fj1200]

Don't shoot the messenger. This is from Donald Trump, in the Wall Street Journal.

--------

Let Me Ask America a Question
How has the ‘system’ been working out for you and your family? No wonder voters demand change.

By Donald J. Trump
April 14, 2016 7:18 p.m. ET

On Saturday, April 9, Colorado had an “election” without voters. Delegates were chosen on behalf of a presidential nominee, yet the people of Colorado were not able to cast their ballots to say which nominee they preferred.

A planned vote had been canceled. And one million Republicans in Colorado were sidelined.

In recent days, something all too predictable has happened: Politicians furiously defended the system. “These are the rules,” we were told over and over again. If the “rules” can be used to block Coloradans from voting on whether they want better trade deals, or stronger borders, or an end to special-interest vote-buying in Congress—well, that’s just the system and we should embrace it.

Let me ask America a question: How has the “system” been working out for you and your family?

I, for one, am not interested in defending a system that for decades has served the interest of political parties at the expense of the people. Members of the club—the consultants, the pollsters, the politicians, the pundits and the special interests—grow rich and powerful while the American people grow poorer and more isolated.

No one forced anyone to cancel the vote in Colorado. Political insiders made a choice to cancel it. And it was the wrong choice.

Responsible leaders should be shocked by the idea that party officials can simply cancel elections in America if they don’t like what the voters may decide.

The only antidote to decades of ruinous rule by a small handful of elites is a bold infusion of popular will. On every major issue affecting this country, the people are right and the governing elite are wrong. The elites are wrong on taxes, on the size of government, on trade, on immigration, on foreign policy.

Why should we trust the people who have made every wrong decision to substitute their will for America’s will in this presidential election?

Here, I part ways with Sen. Ted Cruz.

Mr. Cruz has toured the country bragging about his voterless victory in Colorado. For a man who styles himself as a warrior against the establishment (you wouldn’t know it from his list of donors and endorsers), you’d think he would be demanding a vote for Coloradans. Instead, Mr. Cruz is celebrating their disenfranchisement.

Likewise, Mr. Cruz loudly boasts every time party insiders disenfranchise voters in a congressional district by appointing delegates who will vote the opposite of the expressed will of the people who live in that district.

That’s because Mr. Cruz has no democratic path to the nomination. He has been mathematically eliminated by the voters.

While I am self-funding, Mr. Cruz rakes in millions from special interests. Yet despite his financial advantage, Mr. Cruz has won only three primaries outside his home state and trails me by two million votes—a gap that will soon explode even wider. Mr. Cruz loses when people actually get to cast ballots. Voter disenfranchisement is not merely part of the Cruz strategy—it is the Cruz strategy.

The great irony of this campaign is that the “Washington cartel” that Mr. Cruz rails against is the very group he is relying upon in his voter-nullification scheme.

My campaign strategy is to win with the voters. Ted Cruz’s campaign strategy is to win despite them.

What we are seeing now is not a proper use of the rules, but a flagrant abuse of the rules. Delegates are supposed to reflect the decisions of voters, but the system is being rigged by party operatives with “double-agent” delegates who reject the decision of voters.

The American people can have no faith in such a system. It must be reformed.

Just as I have said that I will reform our unfair trade, immigration and economic policies that have also been rigged against Americans, so too will I work closely with the chairman of the Republican National Committee and top GOP officials to reform our election policies. Together, we will restore the faith—and the franchise—of the American people.

We must leave no doubt that voters, not donors, choose the nominee.

How have we gotten to the point where politicians defend a rigged delegate-selection process with more passion than they have ever defended America’s borders?

Perhaps it is because politicians care more about securing their private club than about securing their country.

My campaign will, of course, battle for every last delegate. We will work within the system that exists now, while fighting to have it reformed in the future. But we will do it the right way. My campaign will seek maximum transparency, maximum representation and maximum voter participation.

We will run a campaign based on empowering voters, not sidelining them.

Let us take inspiration from patriotic Colorado citizens who have banded together in protest. Let us make Colorado a rallying cry on behalf of all the forgotten people whose desperate pleas have for decades fallen on the deaf ears and closed eyes of our rulers in Washington, D.C.

The political insiders have had their way for a long time. Let 2016 be remembered as the year the American people finally got theirs.

Mr. Trump is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/let-me-ask-america-a-question-1460675882

He asks about how the system has worked for my family and then he whines about his failure in Colorado? Interesting.

[tailfins]

It's Mandarin actually, and he loves it for whatever reason, and gets nothing but A's and I think one B since he has been in his new school. That's also his favorite class. Not sure why really, but so long as he's happy and enjoying it, and learning, and getting good grades, all cool with me!

That's even better. I think the concept of kids getting "at least as far as their old man got" is still alive, but freedom is becoming a quaint concept. Your family should take a vacation to China and try to make some contacts. We're not too far from the point where living in China presents no loss of freedom. Corporate America has definitely changed. I recently received high praise for asking permission to install a certain piece of open source software. Obedience is at a premium. The mentality used to be "try different approaches, it's not like you're going to set the computer on fire".

Do you know what the key to doing well is today in corporate America? Don't have an opinion without authorization.

[jimnyc]

That's even better. I think the concept of kids getting "at least as far as their old man got" is still alive, but freedom is becoming a quaint concept. Your family should take a vacation to China and try to make some contacts. We're not too far from the point where living in China presents no loss of freedom. Corporate America has definitely changed. I recently received high praise for asking permission to install a certain piece of open source software. Obedience is at a premium. The mentality used to be "try different approaches, it's not like you're going to set the computer on fire".

Do you know what the key to doing well is today in corporate America? Don't have an opinion without authorization.

He wants to visit China but ain't no way in hell I'm going!! I can very easily see myself ending up in a Chinese prison breaking stones, year after year. :laugh:

[tailfins]

He wants to visit China but ain't no way in hell I'm going!! I can very easily see myself ending up in a Chinese prison breaking stones, year after year. :laugh:

Unless you do something blatantly stupid, the worst that would happen is you get deported and banned from the country. I went to Cuba to test what I could get away with and all I got was yelled at by some Sergeant.