n many ways I think the press shapes the story to create the 2nd and 3rd tier, and then decides who will populate those tiers. I think the press DEFINES the tiers, and ASSIGNS the candidates.

I agree.. The playing field is not only not level, it is tilted in different directions by the MSM in order to get the outcome they desire.

Rather like that old game of put the little balls in the holes where you tilt the game to make the balls go where you want.

The MSM may not in fact be a monolith, but for all practical purposes it acts like one.

The MSM, the "pundits," the think tanks, the defense industry, and Wall St. are intertwined with the RNC and DNC. The individuals involved are Directors sitting on each others' boards.

What you are describing sounds an awful lot like a conspiracy..

I thought no "serious" member of the commentariat here believes in conspiracies? (despite the fact that not a single post here has disagreed with my naming two screamingly obvious conspiracies as such)

Do you consider yourself a "serious" commentator?

Or are you one of those "anti-establishment" commentators?

A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. -Mark Twain

The American dollar is worth the paper it's printed on.

The current exchange rate is $1 = .6952 Euros..

Backed by the full faith of the largest debtor (by far) in the world.

Given the cost of the Iraq war I wonder how long before we have to take wheelbarrows of greenbacks to the grocery store for bread?

There are damn few liberals left in the Democratic party.

Quite a few "liberals" do indeed appear to be fascists.

Just look at how they vote on the drug war.

pLeaSE StOp mE BEfoRe i POsT AGaIN

Despite Glenn's continuing Ron Paul boosterism, the idea that Paul enjoys "increasingly extraordinary support" is an outright lie. Paul has not reached even double-digit support anywhere.

Down here in the Bible Belt where I while away my days, the *only* political signs up right now are for Ron Paul.

Given that Kucinich has not a snowflake's chance in the photosphere I'm going to end up voting for Paul.

Paul and Kucinich are the only candidates that are not pledged to move ever closer to a form of fascism in the US.

I'd rather "waste my vote" voting my conscience than vote for fascist wannabees..

My question to you is, who cares? What does it matter?

I care..

It matters because if you do not accurately identify the cause of a problem then you will have a hard time remedying that problem.

A lot of people who do what I do are what I call "parts replacers", they replace one part after another until eventually they get to the right one. At which point the equipment may or may not work again since they may well have installed one or more parts incorrectly.

Efficiently solving problems is primarily a matter of first determining exactly what the problem is.

IMO, conspiracy theorists never - ever - get beyond this stage. That and recruiting more "parts replacers."

Do you disagree with my conclusion that the SCOTUS ruling in the case of Bush v Gore was a form of conspiracy?

Do you disagree with my conclusion that the actions of the White House Iraq Group in selling the Iraq war the American public were a form of conspiracy?

And he's giving back all the money that he raised over the Internet since it was created as a non-commercial entity by the evil government using taxpayer's dollars, right? Right?

You might pull a ligament stretching like that.

If that's the worst you can say about Paul then he doesn't have much to worry about.

I'm sure you don't have a problem with that, but to me, relying upon a physician's understanding of a fringe economic theory not held by any mainstream economists seems, shall we say risky, no?

The current economists don't seem to be doing all that well.

Last time I checked the Canadian dollar and the US dollar were at parity for the first time I can remember.

And the dollar is worth .6952 Euros.

And let us not forget the national debt, which has increased at astronomical rates recently.

Not to mention the trade deficit that we have been running since sometime back in the 70's or even earlier.

And with Hillary saying stuff like this, who cares what Paul says?

said she could envision a day when 'you have to show proof to your employer that you're insured as a part of the job interview -- like when your kid goes to school and has to show proof of vaccination,

http://mediamatters.org/items/200709200005

See? The fact that mainstream candidates accept corporate controlled special interest money doesn't mean they are owned; they're simply trying to sap the financial life out of these evil organizations.

You appear to be claiming that white supremacists have equivalent financial resources to the corporate world.

Is your crowning argument regarding "forms of conspiracy" relevant to undoing the monarchy? Is it relevant to anything at all? I mean, what's the end game?

What end game do you envision?

The US is not a monarchy, but it certainly does seem to be headed rapidly toward a theocratic corporatarchy.

As I pointed out earlier and you ignored, the first and most important step in solving a problem is discovering the exact nature of the problem.

It is my opinion that the solution to the current circumstances (assuming there is a solution) will not be the same if the actions leading up to these circumstances are the result of a conspiracy or conspiracies than if the circumstances are not the result of a conspiracy, in other words, mere happenstance.

Of course, your mileage may vary.