I'm tempted to go into one of my strident Thorstein Veblen inspired anti-capitalist rants, but, well... Never mind.

Anyway, this took a lot of courage, and for that many, many thanks. It doesn't take much in America to fall through the cracks. Even if you had a good job and such, a serious medical problem could cause you to go into a downward spiral - I've heard and read too many accounts of that to make my brain swim.

I just want to highlight one thing you wrote about the insidious affect of hopelessness, and why so many poor and disenfranchised don't vote...

...So Dang! Get out there and VOTE!! No matter how ghastly the choice given to me in candidates, I just hold my nose and vote for the lesser of the two evils, period. And of course, another thing to remember: whenever you don't vote, you're actually voting anyway! By not voting you're giving all, or a portion of your vote away to the candidate who may not have your best interests at heart.

Personally, the only reason I'm a Democrat is because I'm not a Republican. And frankly, I'm not particularly in love with Obama. But come November he's getting my vote because I am casting my vote AGAINST McCain.

So... Vote! Vote! Vote!

OK, rant over.

The real evil empire. *Mu-hoo-hoo-ha-ha-ha!!*

McCain is telling them exactly what they want to hear; same with Bush. Appealing to anything close to reason or logic just simply doesn't cut it when it comes to this country's citizenry. One can see clearly (well, at least I can) by America's love-affair with SUVs and subprime mortgages, and sooooo many other things, how highly developed our ability to delude ourselves is. And now by golly jolly, the American people have done something so extraordinary as to...*sigh*: we've successfully exported our brand of excess and venality to "communist" China.

We're doomed.

The psychological term is vacuum thinking.

Poor ole' Thorstein Veblen wouldn't have had anything to write about.

Neroism YEEEEHAW!!!

We have built the entire edifice of our modern culture on access to cheap and plentiful oil, and now look what a fine little mess we're in. Bicycles are great, but sadly - as you point out so well - they aren't so great if you have to commute to New York City from someplace like Connecticut. Adds new meaning (please don't cringe) to the work karma.

Karma ran over my dogma.

So the candidate can't count how many residents he owns? The average American admires that. Why is someone like Paris Hilton so popular? Americans absolutely love people like her. Hey, it's not just Americans... IT'S EVERYBODY!!

Sadly, the only way Obama is going to win this election is if the economy really tanks. Short of that, I've decided, it's going to McCain. God, I wish I were wrong.

P.S. Someone who's good at photo-shop should take the "McCain for president" sign and bumper-sticker and alter it to say "Migraine on presently", or something to that effect... 'Cause that's the way I feel.

That's Spanish for the pot calling the kettle black: a concept that simply does not compute in Republican brain material.

That's OK Mr. Conasan. That's one very smelly dead horse you have my complete permission to continue beating.

Elevating trivia? There is nothing trivial about what Charles Keating did to a lot of people; many of whom were somebody's grandparents.

One of the most tragic things I've discovered in life: nice guys really do finish last. This doesn't mean the Dems need resort to ugly falsehoods, lies and character assassination - something the more Darwinian loving conservative mindset has no problem with - but, the Democrats are simply going to have to learn to hit fast and hard; every mendacity will need to be answered, every inconsistency must be brought to light.

And as far as polls showing the public doesn't like mud and negative campaigning: BALONEY!!! People wouldn't buy tabloids like the National Enquirer if they didn't like scarfing up dreck.

Schadenfreude is THE American pastime. Get real.

I like your optimism. (heh,heh)...But, dream on!

I mean, like, how could The Shrub garner nearly half the popular vote? Just one look at him and any reasonable person can discern there is something seriously wrong with that picture - it screams PSYCHO!! That whole family are made up of congenital sociopaths and scoundrels; it runs in them like diarrhea... And then look at the current polls.

I don't think sooooo. Sadly, there is a better than good chance we're going to end with McCain.

America is entering a period of extreme devolution. We're doomed.

Really touching. It's reading articles like this that make me wish I still owned a television set. (heh,heh...But, one great speech is not enough of a rationalization for that crappy cable bill.)

Maybe it should be Michelle Obama for president?

Oh, the stain hasn't dried yet.

This is certainly turning out to be pretty darned surreal. And sadly, this gambit is probably going to work. I mean, like, if you can sell icky tasting brown colored sugar water, called Coca Cola, to the American people you can sell them anything. *sigh*

May the Great Goddess in the sky not strike me down for saying this, but one measure of how successful the 60's counter culture and the leftist agenda has been, is seeing someone like Condoleeza Rice - an Afro-American woman - become Secretary of State.

There is a guy who lives in my building, who smokes pot and does other illegal substances, looks like a heavy metal grunge rocker, and has a McCain for president sign in his window - go figure.