attn Dave Milne

Duck and cover? I have a copy of that video around here somewhere.

I remember President Kennedy promised we would be safe from Russian A-Bombs if we hid underneath our wooden school desks.

OMG! I remember that too! I AM getting old... dangit!

Join the club.

Actually, they do. And simulated lock-downs too. Since Columbine, its a lot different in schools.

Earle

Hiding under the desk in the Oval Office was a well practiced art in the Kennedy Administration, but it hardly kept Marilyn Monroe safe.

More like "duck and cover"

As in get beneath your desk. Face away from any windows. Squat and bend your head over as far as you can. Fold your arms across the back of your head and pull it down as far as you can. Reach out with your lips as far as you can in this position and kiss your *ss goodbye.

L.W.(ßill) Hughes III proclaimed:

Monica Lewinsky certainly did her part to keep up the tradition.

Well, the lid may have been opened, but not *too* many worms wriggled out :-) Seems to be a broad consensus that everyone is partly to blame.

Dave Milne, Scotland '91 Grand Wagoneer, '99 TJ

We have all seen the Red-Blue state maps but if you want to see the 2004 election results by individual counties take a look at the link below.

I'm sorry, I thought we were discussing the Pledge of Allegiance, written in

Amazing how the Pledge, without the words "under God", served our country just fine through two World Wars.

By the way, it's not the Fifth Amendment that says "that all men are created equal" - that's in the Declaration of Independence. Mayhap you need to do a little more study in History before you start trying to lecture others. Amendment V - No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Tirya

And the flipside is? That it has somehow ILL-served our country with those words?

I agree that this is not GW's fault, but he did take responsibility for it. At least, that is what I saw him say on Spanish TV. My immediate reaction was, that it was not his fault, and that he was trying to cover up for the people who really were to blame. That is, of course, nearly everyone involved, all the way down to the taxpayers.

Dave, worms despise the light, and will try to stay in the can. You have to do some digging, to get them to come out.

I don't know if "blame" is the right word, but decisions were made, or not made, in the past, that led to the fiasco in New Orleans. I don't really think, that "liberals" or "conservatives" made those decisions, as much as elected officials and their constituencies. In this case, it is just people getting, what they had been willing to pay for.

Earle

very true. What I meant was that haven't (and didn't intend to) set everyone on this newsgroup at each other's throats by asking the question.

The words? IMHO no. The "my God is better than your God, you Heathen" attitude that it brings out in some people (witness Bill)? IMHO yes. The Pledge is supposed to be a uniting piece, something that all countrymen can rally behind. And unless and until the US becomes a theocracy, belief in a Higher Power should not be a requirement for pledging allegiance to a country.

Tirya

Dave,

I wouldn't worry. People in this group, especially long timers, are so confident, both of their own wisdom, and of the rightness of their own point of view, that they are not likely to be offended by much.

:o)

Earle