as she goes to scchool over how short her skirt was.

I think about it now-and I think-OH GOD- I've become me mother!

So I concede-if she gets sent home-her lesson to learn-not mine.

Then I think about myself, and my battles over "hotpants"-which my grandmother would buy me, or make for me-much to my mothers' chagrin.

So I always had her there, playing devils' advocate to mom---who would always trump her.

I touched on it earlier, about how something then was started in the 60's, which really got hijacked to far to the left got stopped. But 40 years later, after that movement got taken by the right-it's gotten hijacked as well--by a far right view.

The mass consumerism that the hippy crowd got sold out to, has become it's most extreme polarized view also. The premise that GW took this country to war-for a thing-a THING(like oil)-shows the worst version of ourselves like holding a mirror up--of that.Not only that, we've behaved like a greedy, fat, spoiled child in how we did that-employing unethical tactics like wiretapping,torture to do so.The word glutton comes to mind.

I suspect the popularity of someone like O. appeals in that he is in the middle-and is applying the logic to the people who know we've gone to far-to far right--and want to come back to the middle. It's the reason the GOP is faltering as they play to thierr small divided factions. So what all of the people who go to his rallies know-the msm acts as though he just appeared "poof" overnight.

But watching the news as a result of his popularity now-the msm is reacting as "syrupy". The msm also wants to polarize the candidates by making them such extreme versions of themselves. Hil laughs--she must be maniacal, Guiliani-tough leader, 911(but what else to him?)....The public wants to claim the center now-you saw that in the Iowa vote. I hope myself, and others can hold center---and not let our country get taken a certain way-like in the 60s(and take it back center from the right. The msm also has been complicit in our becoming the 'gluttons" we are now-the public knowing the same msm were willing dupes for GW in both wars and 911, (and tied to the defense industry ie---without bias).

So from what I see, the unwillingness to buy into polls, the unwillingness of the public to buy extreme versions of candidates-are more of a deeply held belief that in moderate candidates (like me with my grandma);they've got a voice who listens, who represents those views.

I have faith the msm won't be able to use "shiny" arguments to dangle in front of a much more fed-up public.

You are probably right. I don't want to give anyone the impression my parents were bad or abusive. I went to private Cath. school and had an u. middle class upbringing. A really good childhood. But what I came to realize (in my own self-imposed exile to figure out life!)that they were just doing what all other boomer parents were doing.It was also when mass consumerism came in-when I think, we(the US) sold her soul for "things" with the massive media selling it as equating to happiness. Guys, I do think had it worse-even w/o abuse-just always thinking "peewee" sports and football teams were more important than family/connecting and instilled competion to fuel that & consumerism as ego-what you drove,competed in=self.

I don't know if it's worse-just a different perspective from women-so it's a perspective I'll never fully get(men).Just my observation.So people weren't entirely to blame on the choices-they were being manipulated by media/politics/oil-even then.

I've said it before, that rebellion in the 60s for an alternate way of life-drugs,sex,....wasn't entirely wrong in what it wanted to achieve. The extremists in that group hijacked the era,(my opinion)to make it unpalatable for any moderate voices to join. I hope now we could possibly ask ourselves collectively as a nation-to possibly go back and revisit the "enlightenment" time(60) that never fully took off

to find a compromise.

D-great song, love Bruce.

LWM I think you may be right about McCain. I keep thinking he's the more less-frightening of all of them. Then he goes and sings "Bomb Iran" or has this just creepy-maniacal like evil laugh-and I just see something in him that does seem evil.

So glad I'm not a Republican...reap what ya sow.

I agree with ya. I think it was real too.

It was actually refreshing to see her as human and not so micromanaged.

But I did watch MSNBC & CNN report on it-they weren't that callous like Limbaugh.,Hannity...

That doesn't surprise me though---I can't figure out if some people just have no soul or the soul goes dead-suffocates-after being smothered so much disconnect from actual feelings. I imagine being a chronic drug user like Limbaugh makes it just easier to live with himself.(not so for the rest of us)

Sorry meta-jacked here.

But it's just one of the things about this day and age that is so disgusting to me in what they exhibit--

How did that mind close up so much?

How did they become the worst version of themselves that they could possibly be-and take pleasure in it?

Do they even know what or why they stand for things-or do they have to be told?

How did they become so insecure and scared of everything-

that any display of emotion by anyone is foreign to them?