At 02:23 PM 9/25/2004, you wrote: engagement is fair trade. Lessaiz Faire economics was tried about 100 years ago. It resulted in the Great Depression and children dying of tuberculosis in the factories. Why does anyone think it'll work today? Curtis, I tried to stay out of this since it isn't really on topic at all, but your statement above is so completely wrong that I can't let it pass without correcting it. Actually, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff which was intended to be "fair trade" in your parlance CAUSED the Great Depression, NOT free trade. Some economists particularly those of the Keynesian school wrongly (imho) see the S-H Tariff as a result of the Great Depression rather than a cause. However, all parties agree that it did nothing but prolong the depression. Properly analyzing the facts and knowing the time which is involved in passing legislation and Hoover's promises to enact the tariff if he was elected caused the capital markets to dry up when it became evident that he would win and that the tariff would be enacted. The anticipation of the act was enough to scare away the smart money from the market which caused the stock market crash of '29. The depression lasted as a result of the tariff essentially killing trade between the US and the rest of the world. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it! Here are a few references for you: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/id/17606.htm http://www.buyandhold.com/bh/en/education/history/2002/smoot_hawley.html http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/H/HawleyS1m.asp -Robert btw- The good news is that Bush or Kerry will loose. The bad news is that the other one of them will win. :( Tellurian Networks - The Ultimate Internet Connection http://www.tellurian.com | 888-TELLURIAN | 973-300-9211 "Good will, like a good name, is got by many actions, and lost by one." - Francis Jeffrey