Revenge is a poison, meant for others, that we end up swallowing ourselves.

Vengeance is a dark light that blinds all who seek it.

The untroubled soul knows there is no justice in revenge.

The untroubled soul knows that to seek vengeance is to seek destruction.

I agree 100% with Sirota. I freely acknowledge that I have only the most rudimentary education in economics and political science. I point to the massive failures on these two fronts, in addition to other failures.

That is, the people in charge don't seem to know how to address, let alone resolve the problems we face, any better than I do. Or perhaps they only know how to serve their own interests, which seem to be diametrically opposed to mine.

I think that a lot needs to change. I speak of fundamental change, e.g., transformation. Simple change is merely a masking or partial disabling, leaving the basic problem intact. Some of these changes are a long time in coming. For example, the lobbying industry is a cancer on our nation. In the same way that a tumor convinces the body to nourish it, lobbyists have fooled us into believing that they are a legitimate part of our democracy. Lobbyists consume the most valuable resources that our legislature has: Time and money. Cancers also metastasize. Notice how lobbyists use globalization to promote their clients' interests in other nations.

That's just one of the things that must be reckoned with, quickly and decisively--else We the People will eventually have no say at all in the government that we are paying for, the one that belongs to us. The centuries-old fiction that corporations are people and deserve representation has to go. Their representation is in their markets.

Quoting from "I Was There":

Ayers still brags that he is an anarchist/marxist and says openly that he feels he and his compatriots did not do enough. Just because he speaks in measured tones does not mean that he is not the same morally arrogant, despicable man he was back then. Any progressives/liberals that excuse his behavior are being conned. Again. The last thing we need is to align ourselved [sic] with these radicals.

While I agree with your premise--that the Weather Underground may well have undermined what might have been a successful and peaceful peace movement--your final paragraph undermines your argument. Clearly, you did not read the interview.

That is, it seems that you don't need any new facts because you've already made up your mind.

I don't believe Ayers says or ever has said--openly or otherwise--that he feels that "they" didn't do enough. If you have evidence that shows this to be anything more than an oft-repeated misquote, originally published on 9/11/2001 for sensationalist reasons, please provide the evidence.

BTW, I was there, too. I don't agree with the radical movements of the time, including the WU. I do recall clearly that it was a time of incomprehensible social upheaval. It is my opinion that the same thing is going on now, and has been going on since before 9/11/2001. The difference is that the media outlets are owned by those who have the power to suppress and to polarize.

For evidence I submit the identities of the same players in the Bush administration, e.g., Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney, who has often repeated that he believes that he and his group should have done more during that time, in Viet Nam, and here in these United States.

I may not have made it a point to tune into Pushing Daisies--then again, I consistently missed "prime time TV" before I got a TiVo.

So I've seen, and occasionally re-viewed each and every episode after it was recorded for me. The show is truly fantastic: Writing, casting, acting, production, even the narration is wonderful.

But I won't shed a tear, or even protest to network executives. I'm old enough to know that the quality of television shows has absolutely nothing to do with longevity. It's sponsorship. The ads pay the bills, period. Before you dismiss my predictable ad-skipping DVR, consider that I do go back to look at anything that piques my interest. Compare and contrast to those who leave the room during ads.

Some say that corporations are too obvious, with their names on sports stadiums, entertainment venues, parades, and wherever else they can dream up to paste their logos. I say let us all become more aware of who's in control of these things we take for granted. There is, indeed, television without representation. You don't get a vote, even though some say that you vote with your pocketbook. Ultimately, it's the decisions of corporate executives--smart or foolish--which dictate what you see on television, on the sports field, and on tour at the concert hall.

There is an exception to this rule: We can band together to quash almost anything by writing letters and making phone calls. Corporations fear only one thing: Angry customers. I don't refer to the people who complain. We are not the customers; we are the consumers. The advertisers are the customers. If you want to kill a TV show, complain to the sponsors.

Once in a while we get a beautiful gem, and like Nature herself, it's simply a happy accident that we are free to enjoy for as long as it lasts.