Full Disclosure: After 35 years of voting almost straight Democratic, the cumulative effects of the Clintons plus Pelosi's "off the table" remark sent me over to register as a Republican to support the most consistently anti-neocon in Congress, Ron Paul.

That said, any examination of the Republican Party's claim to conservative ideology and the actual performance of elected Republican politicians over the last 3 decades reveals enormous inconsistencies, which we could call paradoxes if we were to be polite or just plain hypocrisy if we are not.

The party that has made more noise than any in history about balancing the budget and exercising fiscal responsibility has tripled the national debt.

The party that has made more noise about ending illegal immigration has facilitated the arrival of record numbers of illegal immigrants, with only token efforts to restrict the flow.

The party that made a big production about not getting involved in nation-building will be known to history as the one that conducted the biggest nation-building fiasco in history.

The party that made claim to the concept of a small federal government with limited powers is now headed by a "Decider" whose administration has expanded the size and powers of federal officers beyond what anyone previously would have imagined possible.

The party that made honor, duty, and public service its watchwords had consistently practiced deceit, corruption, and betrayal for the benefit of already wealthy "clients".

The list of transgressions could doubtless be continued ad nauseum by most readers of Salon.

The most remarkable thing about this whole episode is the huge number of "staunch Republicans" who have been snookered into supporting people who acted exactly contrary to the ideological values they supposedly embrace and continue to be taken, hook, line, and sinker, by the puppet-masters that control the Party.

Chapter 10

"You can always hear the people who are willing to sacrifice somebody else's life. They're plenty loud and they talk all the time. You can find them in churches and schools and newspapers and legislatures and congress. That's their business. They sound wonderful. Death before dishonor. This ground sanctified by blood. These men who died so gloriously. They shall not have died in vain. Our noble dead.

Hmmmm.

But what do the dead say?"

"Nobody but the dead know whether all the things people talk about are worth dying for or not. And the dead can't talk. So the words about noble deaths and sacred blood and honor and such are all put into dead lips by grave robbers and fakes who have no right to speak for the dead. If a man says death before dishonor he is either a fool or a liar because he doesn't know what death is."

William Kristol is a dangerous liar and a fake. He has risked nothing and benefited much from the pain, suffering, and deaths of thousands upon thousands of people, mostly innocents. William Kristol, John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and their ilk are in no way heroes, but indeed are bloodthirsty monsters and need to be called out as such.

The Supreme Court's ruling on stopping the Florida vote recount swindled me and most American voters from getting the president we wanted.

9/11 was used as a pretext to launch a whole series of laws and practices (snooping on internet traffic and phone calls, etc.) that are in direct contradiction to the provisions of the Constitution and our heritage of liberty.

Tax cuts for the wealthy have resulted in a burdensome national debt the people may never be able to pay off.

Political interference with government scientists caused a major setback in recognizing and dealing with global warming.

Misinformation and lies were used to launch an invasion and occupation of a country on the other side of the planet. I've been speaking, writing, and petitioning against it since before it began.

The 2004 election was stolen again by massive voting fraud in Ohio.

I voted for a Democratic Congress in 2006, expecting it to take decisive action to bring the country back from the brink to which the neocons have pushed it. Instead of standing up for right against evil, the Democratic leader took the most effective tool "off the table", setting a precedent that the Congress will let the Executive Branch run wild, murdering, torturing, lying, and bankrupting the country.

Why should I be bitter, after only 7 years of being bilked, swindled, and fleeced?

We're all used to the idea that every 6 or 10 years there is a downturn in the stock market as values are "corrected". Other kinds of business enterprises may go sour, but we are confident that it is just part of the "business cycle" and in a couple of years, if not months, the whole thing will turn around and happy days will be here again.

This time, the downturn is not so much about money, although the way we have let the banks and government abuse the value of our currency is incredible. The main component of the downturn, only starting to be recognized, is the end of cheap energy. Cheap energy in the form of petroleum and natural gas is what makes our economy go. It fuels the machines that supply us with food, clothing, and housing. Without it, we're really in a bind.

The those in the petroleum industry have known about this problem for over 50 years, even to the extent of knowing the decade in which it would occur. The fact that our national leadership has been so dishonest with the American people and offered so little assistance in preparing for this catastrophe is unconscionable.

Oh, enjoy your beans. In just a few short years you will be feeling lucky to find them in the stores.