FWIW, put through a PayPal order and had no difficulty. Whether or not you do on your end though .......... :)

Ca'mon. That wasn't hard. Ba-da-bing and the book is on the way...unless I just ordered the blow-up doll on the other part of your site by mistake?

Me too. No problems (but thatnks for the tip about the quantity, it was set to at first)

Bill.....

I stumbled across your site in December 2002 and was awestruck by the emotional power of your first essay that I read that night.

I've read every single one since that time and passed on this link to probably over 1,000 times in the hope that people who read your words become emboldened by the comments therein.....

The comments I received from these people were basically along the lines of...."boy can that guy write...etc...etc !!"

I hope this book of your essays is a great success for you financially and for the heart and souls of America spritiually.

Good luck from one of your Canadian friends up north.

Thanks for the book. Will make good Christmas gifts (for some people anyway). I have enjoyed reading your essays for sometime now and have enjoyed that quite a bit.

Thanks again,
Matt

Done! Thank you, Bill.

Yay! How do I get an autographed copy? I wont be able to attend a book signing since yer always in either California or Florida. Can I get one?! Do you have writer's cramp and not want to sign anymore?! If I go through Paypal will that ruin any chance I have of getting one (unless I buy another)?!

Crikey, I want the autograph of a guy who used to be just another commenter over at Rachel's. Maybe I'll just get the book as is.

BTW, are there special ne'er-before-read essays included -- like you originally planned? All of the titles are familiar. Whatever. I'll be great to hold a real copy of the essays in my hands and to finally get to read them by good ol' fashioned reflected light!

Arrgh, I have no money because I am a poor college student. I will have to scrimp and save and buy one less burrito before I can have this prize.

But I can't wait....

The bottom-left of the book cover appears to say "Adrina Aerospace." What, sir, is Adrina Aerospace, and why are they on you book?

Just wondering.

It's "Aurora Aerospace" - which is the multinational military/industrial conglomerate that Bill owns controlling interest in. Aurora will soon be taking over the world and remaking civilization in Bill's image.

Not that that's a bad thing.

Pleased to see the news and the redesigned site.

Can we celebrate with Richard R & Co. at The Olde Ship?

Possibly, RL, possibly. Though I have to be careful of that place - one bite of sticky toffee I'll have to buy an entire new wardrobe, one size larger.

Bwa-ha-ha! So you did like the sticky toffee pudding! Mayhap it's time to introduce the little one to it, too ;^)

That could be a high risk activity. This morning she managed to smear a half a pint of cottage cheese over everything within reach. It was a sight to behold. The thought of what she'd do with ST makes me shudder.

Woot!

You were right,PayPal is tempermental. I kept clicking and I couldn't get it to open. So, I guess I'll have to wait until the book goes to an on-line book seller. Good luck with the book!

Count yourself 50 bucks or so richer, Bill. Two copies guaranteed, one for my folks and one for myself. Best of luck on your second opus. I'm sure I'm not the only one waiting with bated breath. Hopefully Silent America will get the press it deserves now; there are people on both sides of the aisle who would benefit.

I can guarantee you, Bill, that the second this book is available for Ingram, it will be hitting the shelves at my store in Orlando.

I will personally hand-sell as many copies of your book as is humanly possible by Christmas.

And there are plenty of customers here who will buy it, I assure you. I'm definitely one of them. Heck, I can probably count for three or four.

Let's see if we can make you a best seller, hm? It's not so hard.

I could always tell people you were on Oprah.

JK

is it true that the auther only gets about 10% of the sales money?

If even. Ten percent is actually a fairly large percentage for royalties. The real money is in the advance.

Of which, I doubt, Bill has seen too much. This is a first book, after all.

However, I don't know how Bill is publishing this book, and going through a smaller publisher (and "independent" publisher, to steal a music industry term) could result in a higher percentage. But chances are, Bill won't be retiring off of this book.

Unless we all buy quite a few.

JK

Yeah, smart words aside, he'll just hafta keep on keepin' on like the rest of us!

I've got my 3 copies on order!

And thanks again, Bill, for the grace you extended me when I jumped the gun this morning (RL name "Kathryn"). But, boy, am I excited!!! (jumping up and down)

As I said, I hope you make LOTs of folding green money!

Pikers! Pikers, all of you!

I ordered SIX (6) copies. And probably more to follow. Christmas is just around the corner, you know.

You can place your order for that Gulfstream V with confidence now, Bill.

I just love you people. I just want to take every single one of you out to dinner -- even alpha.

The election is over. All is forgiven. Let's get rid of the D's and R's and L's and C's and just be A's again.

Plus we just beat Florida State at home for the first time in 18 years. Drinks for the entire country! On me! Woo-hoo!

holy s***!

now that ive gathered my composure, i think we would have a most interesting dinner bill. if im in your neck of the woods one day i'll let you know. and i'll pay! i have in the past feared sinister repercussions from posting here being that i have regarded much written - particularly by posters - as just that - sinister. but i am encouraged by your warmth in such a cold sea.

across the table would be subjects including barnes and noble, the bookstore that kills bookstores and the economic principles that underly it. and yet there is no better outlet for an auther. aint that just the shame of it? catch 22. now theres a book.

the cover is superb btw bill.

I want autographed copies! Although I'll *live* if I don't get them. Ordered 2 today. Thanks Bill!

What an excellent day! My "W2- 4 more years of tax cuts and dead terrorists" T-shirt arrives from IMAO, I order 4 copies of Silent America, and as Bill said, the Gators finally got the monkey off their back against the 'Noles!

Life is good!

Is that a French flag motif on the cover?!?

Wow. You are subversive.

Gotta go buy me a book now...

Congratulations! I can't wait to re-read all those essays I've read over and over online, this time from a real, physical, commercially printed book! Your publisher better line up some secondary suppliers.

Next blogosphere campaign: getting a planeload of books distributed to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan by Christmas. Which blogger wants to lead the charge?

Done. Easy with PayPal. Anxiously await this gift of wise words and thoughts. You have the ability to express my beliefs better than I do.

Chap, you scared the living hell out of me until I realized that:

1) The red on the left is actually the spine, not part of the cover.

2. The French flag is blue white and red, while this is red, white and blue.

Would have been a terrible inconvenience to have to refund all those orders, tear up the covers, and start again.

Thank goodness.

Ordered my books last night (two of them), as soon as I saw the PayPal link. No problems with PayPal, either - the purchase went through like clockwork for me.

Looking forward to reading mine as soon as I get it - my son will have to wait for Christmas to get his!

Tried the PayPal link and got
"The recipient of this shopping cart link is not an approved shopping cart user. Please review your selection and try again." when I clicked the "Checkout" button.

Got the same result with Mozilla and IE.

Anybody have any ideas about what is causing this?

Bob

PAYPAL CAN GO STRAIGHT TO THE DEEPEST DEPTHS OF HELL!!!

I knew I did right when I let me account lapse a few years ago.

Bill, I did my best. I'm an Electronics Engineer, do programming on the side, and can sometimes fix a computer just by looking at it the wrong way.
But that POS that PayPal calls a database is more than I can handle.
I tried to order 4 books. Everything went well until I got to the shipping address. I have all my shipping data in a popup file on the computer. No need to type in anything. Just hit Ctrl-Alt-V and a list pops up and I select what to enter. Thus, no chance of mistyping.
PayPal says that my City, Address, and Zip code don't match.
OH YEAH??
We have 10 zipcodes in the city proper. I tried all 10, no luck.
Changed to three different address, tried all ten zips each, no luck.
Hey, just because I live in the Panhandle of Florida and I'm a Gator Fan, does that mean that I can't use PayPal??

Please get your folks in touch with Amazon. I went there and tried to preorder some copies, but they don't have a listing yet.
I'm going to drop them a line telling them to get on the ball.

Heck, I even clicked on that weird blue swirly thing on my desktop and endured all the popups to try to see if PayPal just didn't like Mozilla, No luck.
Thanks

Jay

Just bought it, and I'm encouraging (ordering) my readers to do so as well!

(Had no problems with Paypal, either, using IE.)

Clyde mentioned the possibility of sending copies to the troops overseas. I'll send 5 to the fellows at www.adoptasniper.org; anyone have other recommendations?

It's NOT GOOD to give somebody you admire A HEART ATTACK!!!

Umm, sorry 'bout that.

I just figured an "upside down French flag" was pretty, um, appropriate and IMAO-level snark on your part.

Whoops.

I guess this is the wrong time to ask if Rachel Lucas plans to write a book review...

Waiting for the signed hardcopies. Let me know when they're out!

Paypal really is a pain. I've got an account but wanted to put this on the credit card instead of a bank withdrawal and the twits won't let me (they know my cc number and that it is associated with an account, but won't use it as a charge source if there's money in the attached bank account).

Sorry, will try later with my wife's credit card...

I bought two so far - they'll make great gifts.

Richard: "Olde Ship" in Fullerton? Haven't been there in a while. McEwans and a ploughman's lunch for me, please.

Bill, looking forward to having the dead tree version in my hands. I'd love them to be signed as well, and would of course pay extra. Will order today (and would have last week, but that pesky eye surgery kept me off the blogosphere), and the cover is indeed marvelous.

Hind -

Close. I live down the block from the Olde Ship in Santa Ana. I'll try the ploughman's next time I'm there.

There, I ordered my book. I expect my book soon, or its a punching! Then there will be no more essays from you... which is only slightly different than the status quo.

The Author's photo on the back cover of the book is the same as the new one I put in the uper right. I like the picture, obviously, but that damn shirt I'm wearing really kind of kills any "cool" buzz...

Definitely kills any "cool" buzz ;^)

Jay Vickery - don't take it too hard. I'm in a newly-separated piece of land, and some places don't even recognize my address as being legitimate yet, so they won't take online orders. They check against a database they get from the Post Office, but don't update very often, and like I said, they won't take online orders if it's not in their database.

Another address to which to send copies for troops: www.iraqwarveterans.org/landstuhl_needs.htm

Ordered with no problemo Bill. If you can sign it to Mahatma I shall weep with joy...my Christmas fulfilled!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! You just made mine sweet!

WOW! The BOOK is ready!

I just ordered my copy. I hope it gets here quick since I leave for SWA next Tuesday. I can't wait to read it all and pass it around to my squadron buds. I'm sure you'll have a lot of new fans after 4 months in Kuwait and Iraq.

Best of luck, Bill!

Beav

Congrats on the book. I am glad you made it out for Christmas. Not I have to put up that dang tree so someone can put SA under it.

I like the new look to your page, too!

soooooooooo happy.

Very nice of you to write a book, one that I will make sure to use as a Christmas present.

I caught this comment regarding your line-up on the runway centerline during an instrument approach: "I never thought I’d feel that good again ever in my life. Then came the election."

Yessir and attaboy!

I look forward to the book.

Dan

I'm getting one for my father-in-law. I just hope you're not too left-wing for his tastes.... :)

Aw, heck. One for me too. Or should I wait for the signed ones? Hmm.....

Beav -

There's no way it's going to get to you before you ship out. But if you listed your FPO address in your order I think it will follow you there.

If not, email me at richard riley {dot} net and one way or another I'll make sure you get a copy somehow.

One for me, one for my dad. Looking forward to it!

Beav, I don't know why it mangled my address, lets try it again.

Richard {at} Riley {dot} net.

Like I said, one way or another we'll get you a copy.

Richard,

Many thanks for the offer but my lovely bride promises to send it over when it arrives.

She's the best! An understanding redhead that loves me despite the fact I'm leaving on our 4th anniversary!

Cheers! Beav

Bill,

Love the new look Eject³!
I think I will, with respect, wait for the commemorative hardback with bio.
I'm hoping the Amazon thing works so those of us not in the US of A can purchase your works more easily!
Now let me see... US$30 = roughly A$50-60

hellsfarne, i cant find our thread anywhere so i'll post my reply in here shortly :)

i have replied to hellesfarne and bruce under silent america speaks. as i point out, it seems its easier to buy a book on paypal than get a post through here sometimes! still, there are two versions of the same post now, but i am resolved to spareing you that in the future by saving my posts just in case!

chah... CHINGGGGG

Ordered. Done. Can not wait. Much excitement here.

Perhaps I am an idiot, perhaps I missed something written by Bill, but I do believe Bill has always loved and complimented Americans. Right, Left, Dem, Rep, Con, Lib, he addresses all with equal respect, as far as I have noticed. Our great allies that stuck with us and stand by us, God love you, you will never be forgotten, or alone. The moment Kerry put down this cooperation with our friends, and called it collusion of the bribed (in essense), he lost. I can have no better friend than one that will support me through trials, an acquaintance tests popularity. I care not for the aquaintance, he has his own agenda to pursue. Every American should read Bill's book, but even Twain was not that popular at the time, so we who support him, must. Signed hard copies for $200 seems cheap.

Rik

Right, Left, Dem, Rep, Con, Lib, he addresses all with equal respect

Rik, I beg to differ. Please take another peek at Deterrence and other essays for slights like this:

"It would be nice to live in a world that behaved like a Hollywood party or a university campus, filled with kind, educated people with lots to lose, who cherish art and culture and are incapable of brutal, violent acts. If all the world were filled with decent, compassionate, rational people, life would be a bouquet.

"But it’s not. There are bad people who do bad things, and there are bad countries run by bad people who do bad things who eat the kind and gentle people for breakfast. There is no denying this. Therefore, liberals are insane. I speak from experience here."

When my friends and relatives' eyes hit statements like that, they stop reading. The conversation is over--unfortunately.

Great news Bill, and congratulations! Can't wait to get my hands on it.

The book deal is actually a fiendish Democratic dirty trick to propel Mister Whittle into new tax bracket with a rate so high it will suck the pixels off his website retroactively.

Looks like its working...

Ooops.

Nope. Turns out i just needed to clean my monitor.

Never mind.

Dear Recovering,

If I stopped listening to Liberals every time one of them gratuitously insulted conservatives, I would have to go back several incarnations to have enough time to NOT listen to all those insults.

and i diddnt write any of that :)

"Mental health experts say we face a crisis because one in six returning soldiers from Iraq is suffering from post-traumatic stress"

I won't bother noting that Mental Health experts are a very sick bunch, needing others to be sick to survive. I won't even comment on the rest of the post, but I will share what I have noticed. I love E(cubed) because it gives me a place to vent. Most people now days either 1)do no research at all, but trust everything they hear and agree with, or 2)do so much research as to lose sight of what the point of the research was. I prefer the second type, even if I can't follow the 2 billion links supplied (with sublinks to every sublink) because it is up to ME to follow the train of thought, and reason. I can get off at any stage, and go back to being ignorant and believing what I hear. Many very common "facts", are indeed untrue, but repeated so often as to be believed. I am an idiot, I never went to college, never "studied" at all, I merely learned to live. I can only imagine what that soldier thought when a dead man moved, after seeing so many ambushes. I would have shot and asked no questions, but that might be what kept me alive all these years. For anyone to question this man's motives, or any aspect of his decisions, well, the health industry will. Mental health? are you kidding? We are trying to survive here, not meet YOUR critera for decency, but it is you we will face when we return. I won't ellaborate on the fact that many held grenades, or left booby traps, or shot innocents, or...you get the picture, or you do not. If you choose to not, that is your choice. An Ostrich has never been seen with it's head in the sand, only human's do that...fact. I kinda want to rant on, but David would certainly admonish me severely if I did so. Thanks Bill, and GHS.

Rik

"Therefore, liberals are insane. I speak from experience here."

So Bill got caught in a lie? Or was that tongue in cheek? I got it, but understand what you mean.

Liberals are quite sane, to other Liberals. I am the insane one, to be fighting a war alone. As one great kid said "If I don't fight, who will?" To this I put forth a question, if noone fights, would we not have peace? To which he replied, "If you consider death peace, then yes, they will have peace." Funny how religion tells us death is peace, but life is not. I am slipping into a rant again, suffice it to say I like Bill's sense of humor, and hope we all stick together as one, we need each other. One thing I think we can agree on, this house is not in order, YET. Let's work to end all strife and hate.

Rik

Bill,

4 ordered over here (for mom, bro, grandparents and uncle). Will hold out for my personal copy to be the signed hardback version...

Looks like you'll be having a merry X-mas with all this $$ rolling around!

stract

Well slap my wrist and call me naughty!I posted without congratulating you Bill.CONGRATULATIONS !!!
I will order when funds permit.

Just so's ya' know...

That one line about "therefore Liberals are insane" WAS intended as a comic (albeit shocking) conclusion to the otherwise steady build-up of stable logic that preceded it. I'll admit to having been somewhat concerned at the time, however, that without any obvious humor leading up to it, and no qualifying remark following it, it's abruptness might not allow it to be recognized as the absurdity it was. So it's entirely understandable to me that it might have been misconstrued as a "serious" statement when it was not. While the overall conclusion that "this is where liberals err" WAS the point, the blunt assessment of "insanity" was not.

However, this is not to say that there aren't plenty of other references throughout the rest of his writings to "delusional liberal thinking." So, point taken, ARL.

And in case you're wondering what happened to "Bush Drives Troops Crazy," I deleted that. Its irrelevance in this particular comment stream aside, it wasn't even a comment. It was the "CATO Institute" using E3 as its soapbox, and it doesn't get to do that.

Anyhoo, a lot to look forward to in the upcoming essays. A whole new theme. Can't wait.

GHS

Thanks, GHS.

Because I've been here a while, Bill's humor amuses me. The same can't be said for libs who are fresh to the site and read "Deterrence" as an introduction to his writing. We tend to be the thin-skinned whiny lot, si? ;^)

Congratulations, Bill. I can't wait to read it.

Will add my requests to the rest: Autographed copies available, please.

Add 3 more to the total.

Just ordered one for my family and one for my parents (Silent Canada). They're always telling me there's no one worth reading today. They'll love it.

Congrats Bill and yes, the autograph thing is a good idea. I'll take one of those too.

imagine telling someone in 1901 that humans would soon be able to fly or describing a television to someone in 1925 or telling someone in 1984 that we could map the human genome. now imagine telling someone today that a country could be run with no taxes, all public services fully funded, real people power democracy minus politicians, a complete system of fair trade, a stable economy free from inflation and incentives to produce ecological and socially responsible goods and services.

whjo wouldnt want such a thing?

EMERGENCY ALERT!!!!

I seek to purchase four (4) copies of "Silent America," but the Pay Pal logo is refusing connections. No doubt this is due to the stunning volume of traffic flooding this channel. What, however, are my alternatives to submit a timely order for Christmas gifts? Is there a telephone number at which orders can be placed? Some other alternative? HELP!

I will keep trying at the "Click Here" icon (Hope springs eternal....), but any assistance in placing this order would be greatly appreciated.

F. Olmstead, The Curmudgeon

It looks like my order for 8 copies is in the lead so far. Who's going to step up and knock me off this hill?

Neil

A good thought, there Alpha. The only problem is that you're comparing technology with sociology.

If you imagine things that can only be achieved with technologies that don't exist at the moment (like Leonardo Da Vinci dreaming of flying machines using only the cumbersome, fragile, primitive materials and technologies of the times) well, that can at least be justified by the knowledge that mere technological barriers will eventually be overcome with time and the continued application of hard science. However, imagining things that technology canNOT fix, which also fly in the face of "common sense," or defy the laws of physics, stuff like that -- that slips into the realm of wishful thinking.

I think a more accurate comparison, using your example above, would be to suggest to that 1901 citizen just what you suggested that WE of the 21st century should be aspiring to -- that someday their/our country "could be run with no taxes, all public services fully funded, real people power democracy minus politicians, a complete system of fair trade, a stable economy free from inflation and incentives to produce ecological and socially responsible goods and services."

It doesn't work. Not then, and not now. Because advances in technology can't fix any of those things, and the laws of physics (and "common sense") still apply, then and now.

Here it is, almost 2005, and it turns out that in order for a government to do anything at all, it still needs money, and it has to get that money from somewhere. Where else but taxes? (unless you're suggesting allowing the government to just print up whatever currency it needs, as it needs it, or perhaps plundering our enemy's coffers).

And it turns out that "public services" have the same constraints -- unless you're envisioning a totally philanthropic society, in which everyone does or provides anything anybody else needs for free, out of nothing but the goodness of their hearts. The money's still got to come from somewhere.

And it still turns out that, when trying to set national policy, a 270-million-voice argument is infinitely less productive that a couple hundred elected representatives slogging their way through rituals and protocols and endless deal-making sessions, however frustrating and counter-productive even THAT can often be.

And it turns out that a "complete system of fair trade" still depends on equally fair-minded trading partners who share the same definition of "mutually beneficial" when they come to the table.

Notice how in none of these instances do advancing technologies play any role. Vast paradigm shifts in human nature -- all the way across the globe, mind you, not just at home -- would have to occur in order for the more altruistic aspirations to ever come about, and a very different physical reality would have to be in play for money to just start appearing from out of nowhere.

So dream all you like about nano-technologies and interplanetary travel and genetically engineered extensions of human lifetimes, because the only things holding those back are technologies that are as yet unavailable, along with the willingness to use them when they do appear (like stem cells). But calling for "magical" solutions that are uninhibited by certain universal "realities," well, prepare to be disappointed.

Make the best of THIS day though... and the next one, and the next. That's worked pretty well for millennia.

GHS

Wow, very cool. Congratulations Bill, was a pretty long road and it must be nice to have the hard part done. Wish you all the best in the future, I know I'll be reading for as long as you are writing.

GHS-

Your response to Alpha limited national payment to only two possibilities: taxes or philanthropy. But there are options (theoretically) beyond these.

Alpha wishes for "no taxes, all public services fully funded." I would think that through user fees, this could occur. If so-called public services were payed for on an on-demand basis, we would have no taxes and all necessary public services would be fully funded.

Not that this concept is viable-- it just seemed to me that this was more of what Alpha was talking about.

-Benjamin

Now, I'm confused. Does this book have essays that Bill hasn't published here before? Because I seem to remember him saying that was going to be the case but from the text of his writing it seems like he said all the essays that are on the book are also on the website. In which case as a poor starving grad student I just can't justify spending the money on the book.

But Mike! The essays in the book are the spiffy, cleaned-up versions of the essays on the website! Don't you want to see them after they've been polished up? ;^)

Howdy Benjamin...

Actually, I listed THREE means of national payment -- the two you mentioned, plus "plunder."

But seriously folks, I wasn't looking to conduct an Economics 101 course here. I don't understand enough about the subject to really even hold up my end of a casual conversation on it. "JKS" is your man for that. No, I was just elaborating on my initial point comparing technological advances to sociological ones, grazing each of the issues that Alpha brought up without really getting too deep, particularly on the economic points (a couple of which I'd like to see too, and one which I've often wondered about myself). So I'm not going to dig in and try to defend this stuff too staunchly. Your point is taken.

I will say, though -- again, through my own economically unenlightened filters -- that "user fees" and "on-demand payments" still sound like variations on the same taxation theme. "A tax by any other name is still a tax," so to speak. It may not come in the form of automatic wage deductions, but it still requires the citizenry to pay for their services, one way or another. And if the only real difference lies in how "voluntary" the payments are, then we slip into another whole level of discussion in which we debate what services are essential enough to warrant "mandatory contributions" from the citizenry -- in other words, "taxes" again. Military? Police? Education? Highway maintenance? And hoo-WEE, it wouldn't be long before that conversation drifted out of my league.

Anyhoo, as I said to Alpha at the beginning, it's a good thought. And I dabble in a few of those from time to time myself.

GHS

Well, Mike, think of it this way. It's less than you'd pay for a LaserJet toner cart, or a set of inkjet ink carts.

Buy the book. Books endure. The website may disappear, the link may go down, your computer could crash because of a virus. In the midst of a blizzard or a hurricaine you can read by oil lamp. On a sunny beach or crammed into a chair at an airport, you can lose yourself in the flow of words. Books are good things.

If you can't afford the book for yourself, buy them as Christmas gifts.

My brothers are going to open their gifts, nod casually, and put Silent America aside for reading later. Then, a few days or a week later, they'll call me up and babble nonstop about what a great book this is, how glad they are that they read it, and how do they get copies so they can buy the book for others?

That reminds me, I've got to order two more for my Dad and my father-in-law. Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!

Do you really have you wearing my t-shirt as your author photo for the book?

Anyway, ordered another copy for my parents. They raised me wrong, so I hate sharing.

GHS, Benjamin, thanks for the thoughtful replies. there is a lot in yours GHSwhich i would like to return to , but my first thought is that although your point about technolgy is pertinent, i cant help think that legistlation can play a part. the united states constitution is a much lauded instrument of what makes america what it is today. without it, the country wold be a truly sorry place.

which reminds me of another thought ive been having...are they really going to change th constitution so arnie can run for president? i am incredulous at the thought that such a document, let alone clause or rule, could be changed from the protection of a nation, for the excuse of one man! perhaps its a laughable thought in truth but its worrying that its even discussed as a potential reality. who are these people putting these rubbish forward? i hope its saremongers and not arnies entourage. they may be american born but i cant call them true americans.

GHS, re taxes;

how much would we actually save a year in the differences between the tax policies of any alternative government over the last century? probably as much as you would save if you gave up smoking! ok perhaps not the perfect analogy, but nothing that would get you a hummer by the end of 4 years unless you were already up there in the major income bracket where percentages mean more. im not including tax breaks for the rich in this thesis, im talking about taxation policies lauded on the electorial rostrum. its small change we are being sold on.

we know we have the cash to end world hunger, we just chose to spend it on other things. this is due to our system, not the policy of a transient government.

my point is this:

it is the way we use and perceive our money and not its actual existence which is the cause of our problems.

We? have the cash? to end world hunger?

I would LOVE to see a rational set of statistics to support that statement. You would need to include something like this list:

1) How much would it cost in US Dollars to feed every person in the world for a given period: day, week, month, year, whatever. JUST THE NUTRITION, NOT the cost of getting that food TO each and every person. Possibly you could do a calculation based on something incredibly simple, like “how many quarts of wheat per day are needed to keep one person healthy; how much does that quantity of wheat cost on the world market; multiply that times the number of humans.” Of course, that is an EXTREMELY crude method, that really doesn’t account for the full nutritional needs of most humans, but it does for a start.

2) How much it would cost to distribute the food to each and every person on earth who is currently in danger of starving. Just fuel & shipping costs would satisfy me, but realistically, every country is going to charge all sorts of tariffs and such at its borders, ports, pretty much any time the ships, trucks, airplanes stop, land, refuel, etc. All of those charges are part of the cost of distribution. I don’t know where to begin, but again you could at least get a crude approximation by simplifying the problem to what would be involved in distributing wheat as un-milled whole grain. Doesn’t need refrigeration, can be shipped in bulk, bagged locally from trucks by shovel.

3) There are of course, myriad problems along the way, and most are political--- HOW do you guarantee that each human actually receives and consumes the share of food that this effort sends along? How do you protect the shipments from raids by various corrupt officials at every stage of passage? How do you keep out the rats? How do you make sure the person at the end of the pipeline isn’t bullied into giving up those few quarts of wheat to some bully, or trading them for drugs or sex?

You may be correct in saying that America by itself has enough CASH to feed every person on earth. But that UTTERLY disregards all the problems besides the dollar cost of the food. You would be equally correct in asserting that the entire world HAS and ALWAYS HAS HAD the ability to feed every person. Throughout history people have starved almost always because of HUMAN-caused problems:
1) Misuse of agricultural land--- exhausting the soil by failure to understand crop rotation, nitrogen fixing, etc.
2) Deforestation--- which in combination with item (1) can actually result in desertification within a generation ins some locales,
3) Overdependence on monocultural crops--- this can create sudden devastating population explosions of pests like locusts, weevils, etc.
4) Basic human bloody-mindedness--- greed, envy, selfishness, etc., by which people justify maintaining their guardposts at the frontier, imposing tariffs, taxes, bribes, and other hurdles and roadblocks, delays to distribution.

Forgive me for pouncing and ranting, but I get almighty tired of hearing some pea-wit attribute world problems that have persisted since before the beginnings of history, to AMERICAN mean-spiritedness.

Bill, I've already read this book (on your site, obviously), but I'm going to buy it anyway, because you deserve to be paid for writing it. Best of luck with it.

david march, firstly, dont worry, you would not be my choice of manager for a project to create a global equilibrium; you have no ability to see beyond your nose, as illustrated by your inability to imagine that my pea-witted comments streach far beyond america's shores. i cannot even find a sentence in my comments above to have triggered your outburst of insular paranoia. dont give up the day job.

click on my link to re-apply.

Having no conclusive evidence that David can manage money, I must concur. I will not comment on authority.

Rik

Hey! EVERYONE!

Vote for Eject3 in the Best Essayist category of the 2004 blog awards: http://2004weblogawards.com/archives/poll.php

Go now! ;^)

OT, again!

Congrats to Bill for his third-place ranking for Best Original Content For A Blog in the third annual Warblogger Awards.
www.rightwingnews.com/special/warblogger2.php

Dear Alpha,

Many apologies for my failure to see that you were in fact not just talking about the United States and its government in your comment about having enough cash to provide food for all.

Hey Bill, how about some sales stats so far?

np david march, all in a days trolling.