you've got to expect personality politics. or, you could try democracy.

btw, on the question of whether america is a 'bad' country, how many people were hanged for mylai?

in the end, it's "elect me, and i'll give you a fish every week."

i'm waiting for some politician to offer the fishing pole. actually, one did: mike gravel is running, not to glorify himself, but to publicize his plan to put the pole in the hands of the people. google 'initiative for democracy', and get behind the only way america can protect itself from 'dubyas'.

to let yourself, and your nation, to be ruled by people of this quality? or any quality, for this is as good as it gets in an oligarchy.

you can rule yourselves, the process is called 'democracy', but it requires that you get off your bum and participate. if you do, you're a citizen, if not, merely a civilian.

neither is the salvation army, although that's less certain in america. co-operative communal life is gone from america, perhaps there was never much outside of amish communities.

for all the talk of religion in the usa, american christianity has little resemblance to "give all you have to the poor, and follow me."

the boil on the nose of american foreign policy for 50 years, and no end in sight.

if ever there was an example of the need for citizen initiative in the federal constitution, this is it. those 1+ million cuban refugees have distorted the nations policy and trade, and made life worse for cubanos that couldn't leave, and for what result?

none, except to impoverish the island with trade sanctions, and make a hero of fidel among those who despise the usa. it's a toss-up, really: 'major stupid', or 'mass insanity'.

is no solution. it just shifts the problem into the future.

we are certainly going to exhaust all fossil fuels. we are certainly going to rely on re-newables. let's start now, while the process will be relatively painless.

the utility of solar panels on rooftops is nearly economical now. it is possible to run an electric car, and your home, off the roof, right now. the 'nearly' will transform to 'very' in the near future with improved cell and battery technology.

this diffused power production has social benefits as well: no/little line loss, and damage limitation.

anyone who says solar cells on home tops is valueless must initially be assumed to have an income from coal miners.

if yer screwing an office intern, it's personal. if yer screwing the public, it's political. but if yer screwing a lobbyist, that's both, and a danger to the nation.

that's another reason politicians and lobbyists should both wear tracker anklets and be forbidden to be closer than 100 yards.

do you imagine these two animals get together for any other reason than to screw the mugs on a wage? why not do something about it?

with the power of federal citizen initiative.

for starters, you wouldn't have to wait for some politician to make promises he can't keep.

in fact, engaged citizenry and citizen initiative are the same thing. standing on the sidelines watching pollies prance ain't engaged, unless you think throwing a beer can from the stands is playing baseball.

the world has changed a lot since elective monarchy seemed a big advance on the hereditary sort.

the entrenched political parties have negated the separation of powers provisions, americans have come to enjoy calling their society 'democratic' even though it isn't and wasn't meant to be, and the creation of a professional political elite has destroyed any sense of personal identification with the fortunes of the nation.

the creation of a 'citizen initiative' at the federal level seems overdue. the invigoration of citizenship would dissolve the grip of the parties and make superdelegates obsolete. think big!

young people should do it whenever they want.

but every girl should have "wear a condom!" tattooed on her forehead, every boy should have "i'm a liar!" tattooed on his.

but which language can you use?

"you kill babies!" (3 month fetus, iq 2.)

"but you drop bombs on wedding parties in afghanistan, killing 150 grown people who never did you any harm, because maybe some alqaeda jihadist is there. maybe."

the thing is, these evangelicals aren't any kind of christian at all. you can talk all you want to hypocrites, but listening is a waste of time.

women want to 'advertise', yet hate to attract attention from the 'wrong' person. a burqa with programmable advertising handles both. plus, hair and cosmetics need not be a constant concern.

there's a winning campaign theme. and we learn that corporations take their jobs off shore to help the poor. yeeup.

myself, i'd aim to organize america so that every one had a decent life, and when all felt secure, not rich but secure, then reach out to africa and help with targeted people-to people programs.

leaving foreign affairs to governments and corporations is non-survival oriented.

human society isn't going to change. if we want to live, maybe it would be best to stop pretending we can change.

instead, let's start polluting the atmosphere with something that reflects sunlight. even if it just buys us some time, that may be the best we can hope for.

clearly, most americans are dimwits. most are aggressive thugs. clearly, the republican leadership regard running the nation as a tool in inflating their personal wealth, through oil and munitions. clearly, democrat leadership is not much better, nor are their followers much smarter.

and that's how dubya got elected, twice. i blame the school teachers of america. clearly,they failed in inculcating any skills in their charges beyond, possibly, making change and reading an ad for a new skin-care product.