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Re: The Fight for Truth, Justice, & the American Way, in Monahans

Well put Steve !

Jim

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From: Steven Excell 
To: Meteorite List 
Subject: Re: The Fight for Truth, Justice, & the American Way, in Monahans
Date: Sunday, May 31, 1998 1:20 PM

Hello Julia, Steve and List,

The American Way in this instance means...

(1) We are self-absorbed in the USA with legalisms and have more attorneys
per capita and any country in the world.  This poor meteorite needs more
scientific scrutiny and less legal scrutiny. If any our international
friends want to try the American Way, we can ship you some of our surplus
attorneys who will argue either side of any issue, from meteorites to
cigarettes, whether or not they understand the science involved.  We'll
gladly trade five of our attorneys for one of your scientists.

(2) When given the choice between salt or no salt, Americans will always
choose salt whether it is in their potato chips or in their meteorites --
whether it is white or blue salt crystals does not matter.  And, we'll even
pay more for salt...

(3) In a free market, not everyone values the same commodity at the same
price, which is why we have "willing sellers" and "willing buyers."  The
debate over pricing the Monahan among this List proves that point.

(4) Someone ought to ask the City of Monahons what they intend to do with
the meteorite if they keep it.  The Beaver County L5 was used as a
door-stop in the county jail for 40 years before anything more useful was
done with it.  Local governments are not interested in the science of
meteoritics nor do they collect meteorites.  If they do not release it to
the kids -- or place in a museum with a meteorite collection -- odds are it
will be stuck in a backroom or drawer and soon forgotten (or even stolen)
within a few years.  They have a stewardship role to fulfill if they
succeed in claiming ownership.  In America, we don't have any legalisms
that cover this.

Steve
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Steven Excell
Seattle, Washington USA
E-Mail: excell@concentric.net
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