Greetings to you!

You have bitterly disappointed me.

As I read your letter, I was astonished at your mild tone, and almost apologetic admission of your conservatism, but most of all by your apparent intellect.

Then you signed your letter, from the UK! Doh!!

You really had me on the ropes there, mate. Here I was hoping that FINALLY, a thoughtful American conservative with brains and manners joins the Salon forum, but alas, it was not to be.

I'm sure that a big part of that has to do that your apparent orientation would be labelled significantly to the left of what passes for conservatism in this country.

While we're at it, I'd like to sincerely solicit your thoughts and commentary regarding outsourcing.

I am an engineer, and my work brings me into regular contact with skilled tradesmen who work in various industry. I have seen a great deal of industry close-up. I am also a late "Boomer" with clear memories of the importance and scale of the industrial mobilization that happened in this country during World War II. That mobilization was absolutely essential to Allied victory.

Getting back to the tradesmen... These are folks that need to put a good 10 years or more into their career as journeymen before they know what they're doing. In many (unfortunately formerly) industrialized areas of the USA, there was a proud tradition of skilled labor, where one could follow in their parents footsteps and get a good job as a mechanic, pipefitter, machinist, etc. Two generations ago, a man could own a home and raise a family on one tradesman salaray. (We must not overlook the need for the US to one-up the Soviets in the "who has it better under capitalism" propaganda war.)

But anyway- the fact is, as our nation becomes de-industrialized, young people are not flocking to the trades. There is far less opportunity, and with the amount of effort required to establish oneself, there are easier ways to make a living, so I can hardly blame them.

There is, nonetheless, a serious crisis in labor in this country- exacerbated, in my opinion, by outsourcing. Manufacturing Big Things requires a gigantic network of first, second, and third-tier suppliers- From a Big-3 auto manufacturer all the way down to a "two guys in a garage" machine shop. Once the big companies fail, there is a terrible domino effect which destroys entire industrial networks. Once this infrastructure collapses, the jobs are gone for good.

I view a strong industrial network as a critical National Security issue. What if we needed to mobilize like we did for WWII? There is nothing left to mobilize! War aside, look at things now- with the petroleum price shock, and it's impact on shipping goods from overseas. Oops! Cost too much now to do that. Gotta make stuff in the USA again. Hunh? Factories? Workers? You just can't snap your fingers and expect a shattered industrial infrastructure to suddenly renew itself overnite and be pressed back into service.

I would like to see American manufacturing come back, but alas, it looks like it met the same fate as Iraq - broken beyond repair.

Please let me know your thoughts on this. I am genuinly interested.

From Across the Big Pond, do be well.

Mon dieu!

Nous sommes maintenant la France occidentale?!

Est-ce vrai? Votre mere etait un hamster, et votre père a eu l'odeur des baies de sureau?

I agree whole-heartedly. Two Strong, intellectually honest political parties would be really good for this country. We're almost half-way there. When the others earn the right to sit at the grown-up table, I will welcome them.

Still, however, we have an honest-to-goodness Progressive Mandate, here, so any Republican that wants to join the party would do well to come hat-in-hand, asking "what can I do to help."

I think it would be perfectly just and reasonable to aggressively marginalize anyone who doesn't.

Evidently, Red State has just hired Anthony Fremont to join their staff.

Mr. Fremont, of Peaksville, Ohio has been retained as the coordination strategist for "Operation Leper."

"It is not enough for us to simply marginalize," said Mr. Freemont, in a recent interview with Matt Drudge, of the Drudge Report, "Instead, we vow to wish all anti-Palin Nay-sayers into the Cornfield, where they belong!"