"catch your chicken."

you have no power to enact legislation, nor does anyone else not in congress. you, and almost every american are a 'subject', in the british sense: political cattle.

you talk about 'what should be done', but it is the meaningless gossip of the powerless. like british subjects, you are called to the battlefield from time to time, to raise a new king. it's done with ballots nowadays, rather than arrows, but a king is raised and he rules with his congressional dukes. not the people.

so america is in the mess it is, and is drifting into a worse one. not enough people see it, and some of those who do think 'i'll be alright, here on top of the trash pile.'

there will be enough health reform to campaign on, and against. but wealth comes from power, and power from wealth, and ordinary americans have neither, so real change can't happen. it doesn't come from the top- the view from there is already acceptable.

learn to spot edible grubs, flowers and tubers, and cook them. 2 meters of denim will make many different articles of clothing. learn to run all day with a spear in hand, and throw it hard and true at the end.

say little, leave the adjectives off. you'll be appreciated in new guinea, especially if you bring a steel pan for a dowry. who cares about those phonies in new york?

about what happens to anyone outside the family.

it does lead to a tendency to say 'why bother,' when these stories come along.

it seems to me that for all it's wealth, the usa is gradually assuming the character of a banana republic, 'north honduras', perhaps. [apologies to costa rica, which is clearly more highly evolved than the usa.] maybe it always was, god knows the marine corps spent more time in central america than at camp le jeune.

the constitution gives the president the right to stop, or delay legislation. but not the right to initiate or demand.

it is a deeply flawed document for 21st century politics, but it was written by people on top of society whose aim was to keep change from happening, lest some other group displace them.

"change you can believe in" can not happen. obama voters are suckers, and not only ignorant of history and politics, not very bright either. on the up-side, from a choice of 2, they got it right, republicans wrong.

the empire will lurch along from economic storm to ecological disaster, with ever increasing losses to military adventures. health care? obama learned from watching slick willy:"it's those congressmen that bungled it, not me." there is no way to suddenly clear away the entitlements of doctors and insurers in the afternoon of empire, their tentacles are too thickly wrapped around congress.

the only possible growth is in the army, not social services.if you want health care, join up.

if you want rule for the people, you must have rule by the people. america needs a new constitution.

first, it needs an amendment to the current one, establishing citizen initiative as the core of democracy, and the tool the people will use to re-model the nation.

the transfer of power to the electorate will slowly transform the character of the nation. the multiple crimes this article outlines will not be covered up by a complicit ruling class, for there will no longer be a ruling class.

my blog bio said simply that i was trying to point out the lack of new clothes, or any, on the emperor's body.

there is a widespread psychosis in america, that anyone with an opinion is a participant in politics. this set of discussions is a perfect example: "i would shut down hedge funds."

it's always in a passive voice, the telltale signal of a passive people. these two, and everyone not in office, are not citizens, they are civilians: resident, but impotent.

i suggest that every 'political' discussion should have a real action component, should end with something like: 'so i propose citizen initiative 2009/42. a bill to arrest financial engineers and try them for treason.' or similar- the important point is that the electorate has the means to compel performance from it's officers of state.

without this action component, political discussion is not really politics, it is gossip or career advancement, neither of which does anything for the people of america.

the constitution of the usa was designed to allow the rich to get richer, and it has been brilliantly successful in that aim.

the solution is not a boycott, it's not every good person holding their breath and thinking "i believe in fairies!"

the solution is fundamental and political, or it is not a solution, merely more change you should not believe in.

get citizen initiative through an organized voting campaign, and use ci to establish democracy.

or go on whining and wringing your hands, wondering aloud why that nice politician feller doesn't keep his promises.

why should politicians be expected to be any different?

they maximize their incomes just like you. it's just that you gave them the keys to the safe, for some reason. you are amazed that they used the keys for themselves?

i'm amazed that you didn't think this would happen. it always has. humans exposed to temptation, give in. the fault lies in letting them do it. but it turns out you can fool enough people often enough to make a good career out of politics. and anyone who votes for politicians has no one else to blame.