if you use the same input, and the same system, and expect a different output, you'll be disappointed.(i'm feeling polite)

it's time for the second american revolution, the one in which rule "by the people" becomes a reality.

mike gravel's 'initiative' is one path to democracy. a nation ruled by the people has some hope to be ruled for the people. an elective monarchy has failed that test, although shareholders in halliburton and the carlyle group are well pleased.

the democrats aren't going to fix things. they're part of the imperial culture.

but until the structure of the federal system is changed, policy remains the captive of the corporations, civil rights the step-child of abusive parents.

enjoy the sweet words while you may, the substance is not likely to be nourishing.

how many people thought voting for dubya would get this result.

so you vote for character and personality, with crossed fingers. helluva way to run a nation, but better ways need better people. working with current americans needs cow-herds with deep pockets, character optional, spin meisters necessary.

because that needs systemic changes which americans show no taste for. the disappearance of kucinich and gravel shows that, they were the only two candidates who knew what needed to be done for substantive change.

but some edwards/obama ticket could put a new coat of paint on the decrepit georgian (elective) monarchy americans are saddled with. on the way down, even a pause in the journey is valuable.

of every lobbyist on k street. facility with beltway banditry is hillary's long suit, and it doesn't impress mainstreet.

obama can mobilize the numbers of voters needed to make the party hacks listen to them, rather than the lobbyists. it's too early to see if he knows where he is going, but he has the tools to get there. i hope he teams up with edwards, who'd make a good vp, or a better secretary of commerce.

and don't blame the pollies. they are doing what is necessary to succeed in this society. "they're feeding the chooks", as they say in oz. you're the chooks- dim witted children with short attention span.

you want a better result, you need a better system. but that would require effort, so go back to watching "american idol for pollies".

.. a sphere, not flat. then it would follow that air, water and land would be finite in quantity. if it were flat, on other hand, everything goes on forever, we can keep on multiplying like the book said. now, which is it?

yep, i thought so, in the u. s. of a., the earth is flat.

because you don't need taxation anymore: make sure every transaction is electronic. then clip of x percent of each transaction and send it to the national treasury. half the accountants and lawyers would have to retrain, but is that a draw-back? small business would flourish. the nation would know just what is happening with money, no 'sub-prime' surprises.

this isn't a tax, it's a 'citizen subscription'. taxes are taken from some by others(it began as looting), while the subscription is paid by everyone at the same rate.

regressive? no. rich and poor would contribute to society just in proportion as they enjoy the material benefits of society.

of course, everyone who is getting a 'special deal' will howl, harden your ears, they don't deserve it, and probably got it by bribing someone anyway.

incidentally, taking the power to reward bribes with tax perks away from pollies will force them to offer good planning and management to keep their jobs, surely a good thing.

but you've already shown the nation can elect dubya. you can elect carter and clinton, but you've already elected johnson and nixon. electing a 'good' president doesn't cure anything, it just 'pauses' the nation's history between the bad ones..

when the usa evolves past elective monarchy to democracy, you can start voting for policies rather than people. that's what gravel was talking about, and why he was ignored. he was too far out in front of the american electorate, or too difficult for the commentariat to understand.

at best the next democrat president will provide a respite on the empire's grasp at power over oil, and control over the electorate through dis-information. there will be another monster along soon enough. it's not like dubya was outstanding in any way.

the connection between voting for politicians, and being ruled by politicians.

after all the talking, america will have elected another 4 or 8 year king or queen. a politician will be 'running things', which means deal-making with other pollies who are there after presidents come and go. there won't be any big changes, because the system is calcified around the principles of protecting the rich from the poor, as the founding fathers intended when they morphed the british monarchy onto the american colonies.

still, any democrat will be an improvement on bush2. it will give america a chance to catch it's breath before they install the next fool, psychopath, or dim witted rich kid as commander in chief. and that means that maybe the rest of the world can draw a breath until it's their turn to be visited by the u s marine corps.

maybe this is the time when macho behavior is no longer the standard of 'human' behavior. there's a lot of female voters in the usa, with a high standard of education, most work, many are well paid professionals, and just maybe it's time for 'female' standards of behavior to become the norm. this has to be an improvement, from such a low base, anyway is up.