and start voting for referenda, most of your problems would disappear.

this would require an active citizenry, pressing for a citizen initiative amendment to the constitution. it appears americans are not at that level of political evolution, so:

"you get the government you deserve".

first, you would have to own your government. that's not gonna happen, they own you. the bankers will fund the pollies, the pollies will guard the bankers, and mussolini called it "fascism".

i don't know why so many americans are afraid of democracy, but i suspect a large number fear any change, as ignorant people do, and others imagine their neighbors are dangerous if they had power. for whatever reason, there is no shortage of americans who will submit to authority always and without question. soon it will be dangerous to do otherwise. nsa has america wired up like e. germany was in it's last days, courts are submissive, politicians willing to say rights are conditional. the next 'dubya', and there will be a next, and he might be a democrat, will build on the submission fostered by this dubya.

there will either be a revolution toward democracy, or a slide into fascism. fascism is the unbackable favorite.

america has examples of democracy, in some of the states- notably california. national literacy rates mean that all can learn what democracy is, and how to get it, through constitutional amendment. mike gravel has a plan to do so at his 'initiative for democracy' site.

there is nothing lacking, save will. the vast majority of americans are content to be herded, like cows. or they yearn to be protected by paternal politicians. many are actively contemptuous of democracy, preferring to be members of fascism. so i reluctantly choose 'character' as the weakness of the nation. it is not an accident that america has become a class-ridden society: it was modeled after georgian britain, and democracy was actively designed out of the constitution.

the possibility of amendment was left in though, and democracy is achievable through legal means. but character is lacking.

start voting on referenda. it's called 'democracy', you'll love it.

the country is in the toilet, it got there by the 'normal' processes of government, no one is suggesting any change beyond a change of faces.

if the republicans are thugs, stupid, or psychopaths, haven't they nonetheless been running the country for 8 years? and no one can see the use of systemic change...

it's time for democracy, folks, if it's not too late already.

'devil take the hindmost'.

the trouble with socialism is, the rich don't like it. i guess that's why a nation that says it's christian lets the devil have the losers. but what ever happened to that story about rich and needle-eyes? if you let the rich run the nation, aren't you all going to follow them to hell?

maybe. but the reality will be unchanged.

america is always in the hands of a few, and their aims are selfish. saints don't seek power.

a nation whose history is 'peculiar institution' and 'jim crow', whose foreign policy has been 'manifest destiny' followed by imperial aggression can create an image but not a new reality. america despises foreigners, and has always been willing to kill them, for land or power, or merely to create an image of imperial glory for it's masters.

other nations history books are less kind about the necessity or justice of this killing. only if you confine your education to american histories do you acquire the notion that america's 'image' is worth restoring.

a nation that can swallow bush/cheney for 8 years can tolerate a bush-league (couldn't resist) red-neck candidate, who is at least attractive, and able to finish a sentence if coached.

"you get the government you deserve" is the fundamental law of politics, and liberals who imagine putting a new face in the whitehouse constitutes 'change you can believe in' are even dumber than a republican voter.

the day obama says "we will establish a power of citizen initiative that is accessible and effective" is the day you can believe he wants to do some lasting good. and the mississippi will run into lake michigan and taste like sparkling wine.

then all american casualties are from enemy action. much tidier that way, and doesn't disturb the serfs.

when are you gonna wake up?

but if you want to do some real good, go to mike gravels 'initiative for democracy' site and sign up.

when enough people do, we won't have to be afraid of palins anymore.

it's publicly owned, but that is becoming popular with the elite this season. otherwise, it's just a corporation,and it covers up it's mistakes whenever possible, to protect it's brand. you shouldn't expect them to do anything else.

if you don't like the way they do business, hire blackwater, or join blackwater if they'll have you.

the operations of the army have nothing to do with national defense. no nation on earth can threaten the usa militarily, nor any combination. the purpose of this bloated military is to enrich the 'industrial' end of eisenhower's 'military-industrial complex'. the money would have been better spent on hospitals, schools, roads and pensions, but there's not much profit there.

a professional army is not a national defense force, it is a tool of aggression for governments. it is wrapped in the flag, there is endless sentimental blather about 'the troops'- but the troops are in foreign lands killing the locals if they don't submit to the whitehouse.

join the army if you don't mind killing on orders of some politician that you would not trust to babysit your child, not trust with your retirement fund, who dodged active service when young. but don't complain when working for thugs that you don't get respect from them, or anyone.