Fw: [ILUG] [Fwd: I fought the scammer... and I won.]

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Gerald (geraldl at cybertek.co.za):

> Would you regard this attachment as illegal spam  - - - - - - - - ? 

You know, Gerald, decaffeinated varieties are sometimes every bit as
tasty. 

> If I were an American I would definitely NOT vote for a person who
> have followers using this this kind of tactic.

Well, some of us over in the red, white, and blue gulag do appreciate
Kevin's brief, low-key mention of what he's been doing in that area.

There's a rule of thumb that offtopic digressions tend to be (and should
be) tolerated to the extent that they're some combination of infrequent,
brief, and light-toned.  Kevin's brief foray seems to qualify.


In (something of) the same spirit, while I'm on the subject, I'll regale
the group with a story about my own awful luck with politicians -- a
horror story in three acts.

Act One:  When I was a [hmm-hmm]-year-old boy, I was an enthusiastic
Bobby Kennedy supporter and campaigner all through 1968.  My wishes were
vetoed by a Palestinian gentleman with a gun, on New Year's eve.

Act Two:  Some years later, before going off to college, I spent most of
my summer (1976) working as a volunteer campaigner for the re-election
of my congressman, Leo J. Ryan.  Like Bobby Kennedy, he had my
enthusiastic support as someone who really worked doggedly for his
constituents.

You may have heard of him:  He was so diligent in performance of his job
for the public that he went on an investigative trip to look into
disturbing stories about how some of his constituents were being abused
at the People's Temple compound in Jonestown, Guyana.  On his way back
to the airstrip, People's Temple security people shot him dead, with
rifles (and wounded his aide, Jackie Speier, who is now my state
senator).

Act Three:  Upon leaving college, I moved to San Francisco and had the
same good feelings about my mayor, George Moscone, who was similarly
up for re-election -- so once again, I worked as a volunteer campaign
worker for him.  A couple of days after the election, a disgruntled
political opponent broke into City Hall through a basement window with a
pistol and killed him.


My wife Deirdre says none of the major candidates she votes for have
ever won, so we're speculating that there's one sure-fire way to ensure
Kerry's victory:  She'll vote for Bush, and I'll be a Bush campaign 
workers.