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.

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.

.. 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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

gore vidal said something like: "a 'good' president can't fix what's wrong with america". he was right. edwards can put a coat of paint on the ship of state, shrub pretty much stripped it, but the course of the nation, the rules of the game, are fixed.

if you want a new course, you need a new guidance system. i like the idea of democracy, myself: rule "by the people", remember that phrase? mike gravel's 'initiative' idea or something similar is needed, to get the wisdom and will of the entire electorate behind the big decisions that are needed in foreign policy, global warming, and civil rights.

selecting any democrat candidate will get what passes for a good president, but elective monarchy will remain in the hands of the corporations, edwards or not.

why not try democracy? i'm a bit surprised that a nation that preens endlessly about how democratic it is, is not in fact a democracy. mike gravel put this idea before the nation, and was massively ignored. too hard to change? don't actually like democracy? can't tell the difference?

i suppose running an imperial foreign policy would be hard, if it had to be put to referendum. and hard to block progress with global warming, and hard to curtail civil rights,...

maybe not so surprising at that.