These rebates are like taking a bucket of water out of the deep end of the pool and pouring into the shallow end, thinking the level is going to rise.

Have you ever met a billionaire arms manufacturer? Socially, they're very secure.

The problem with reporting that such-and-such government agency has been abusing its powers to, for example, spy on Americans is that people hear it and think, "Well, nothing bad has happened to me or anyone I know because of this; maybe it's not such a great thing but stacked up against my mortgage and my kid's drug habit, it doesn't amount to much."

Hard to warn someone of a crisis at the same time you say it's been this way for a long time.

"Whether dealing with evolution or global warming, why same-sex marriages would ruin the united states or when is torture acceptable; both "sides" must be presented, even if one is completely wrong."

When dealing with a point of view that one deems to be "completely wrong," even when the facts bear you out, it's always constructive to analyze why the other side believes as they do; as misguided as they may seem, from inside their skin what they are saying makes sense, it "works for them." If you don't try to find out why they're sticking to a point of view that is not supported by the facts, you'll never pry them loose from their argument. I'm not talking about Coulter and Limbaugh, who do it for money but their audiences who desperately need to believe what they say is true. Or the reviewers who call Glenn "shrill" instead of "deadly accurate." What's motivating their selective blindness/deafness? I don't think some writers on the left, feeling they are totally supported by empirical fact, take the time to look at why they're not being heard. Not feeling heard, they scream louder, "Can't you see how right I am?? Look at the facts!!!" But it isn't always about facts, with people. We're not all Mr. Spock. When BushCo taps into people's fear, facts go out the window. When people perceive their economic well-being threatened by oh, say, reduced military spending, their brains go out the window. If you want to convince them that an economy that relies on instruments of death to maintain it is ultimately going to destroy the world, you have to take into account their fear of being poor, or all the screaming in the world isn't going to change their minds.

It makes for good debating to remember that the other person, inside his/her skin, subjectively, feels just as correct in what he/she is saying as you or I do. If you want to change his/her mind, you've got to get inside, not just point at facts.

"The fact that [Mark Pryor is] being re-elected with no opposition demonstrates his extremely strong political standing, i.e., that he cast these votes because they reflect what he believes. "

What his political standing really means is that his votes have coincided with the wishes of a large majority of his constituents. Sad, but true.

The MSM's headlines are all about Spitzer's "ties" to the "prostitution ring" ("Prostitution Ring," that is SO Walter Winchell!), about his being "linked" to a prostitution ring. Very little about their headlines reveals that he was simply a customer. Are we "linked" to our local grocery store? Do we have "ties" to the dry cleaner down the block. As usual, the MSM is more interested drawing a crowd than in anything like an accurate depiction of events.

But GOD DAMN IT, I hate some of the things America does!

One can only hope that these Masters of the Universe realize what Henry Ford realized: if the hoi polloi are too downtrodden, they can't afford to buy the products and services that are, at bottom, the source of great wealth.

Dumbya has become -- as incredible as it seems -- and easier target than ever. There is no end to his stupidity, his dishonesty, his incompetence on all levels. So, let's have a moratorium. Let's look to the future. Taking shots at Bush is just too easy, like lifting cotton balls and calling it a workout. You'll lose your muscle.

Now, if you want to talk impeachment, that's another matter. Let's definitely expend some energy there.

McCain casually drops into his comment that we're "listening in" on what Al Qaedans are saying to each other by virtue of "intercepts." I do not believe this. If we're listening, they know we're listening and anything they say is for our consumption -- they have other ways of communicating that we don't "intercept;" if that has to be by smoke signal, then it is.

The warmongers want us to believe that surveillance keeps us safe; they go out of their way not to go near the next logical question: if we know so much about what Al Qaeda is thinking and saying, how come we can't stamp them out, find Osama, etc.?

If we put our asses into gear, we can find, develop and put into use different ways of motating ourselves to and from work, the store, etc. And we will, because the price is rising. The only real shame is that we didn't have a government with enough balls to put a significant tax on oil ten or twenty years ago and use the income to fund this development.

An insufficient number of Americans are sufficiently pissed off, scared and determined to make Bush stop spying on them. They haven't felt any negative effects, no one knows anyone who's been spied on much less carted out of his house in the middle of the night because of something he/she said on the phone. That part comes later, you see, after it's too late, after the checks and balances have been shut down all the way. But right now, I think it's true to say that no one cares.