What is it about being in the middle of history that makes people unable to see the inevitable end? Because this particular drama has played out many times before, and always with the same overarching structure.

We have committed the sins of empire. We are credulous, apathetic, and sybaritic amongst ourselves, and callous, exploitative, and oppresive to those outside us. We view the planet as our property, to be used for our comfort, and we treat other nations as tenants or sharecroppers on our rightful lands.

This corrupting stew of manifest destiny, pleasure principle, and divine right has been seen before in history, and the tale always follows the same trajectory. The agents of our downfall are those we so eagerly prop up, and the ones who would oppose them are either ineffectual or colluding. There will be no revolt from within, because every empire in twilight is at least effective in directing dissent without, when it isn't otherwise maintaining dissent between the people within.

This is the last act of the Gotterdammerung, and we are to close to the spectacle to realise it is also the finale.

I'm probably not the best person to weigh in on this, as I'm a wine dilletante. My palate discrimination stops at around $80, the average going rate for a bottle of Kistler Chardonnay. I haven't tasted any wine better than that at any price point. Likewise for reds, the Viriginian winery Barboursville makes a varietal blend called Octagon that's largely unbeatable, and though limited each year it can still be had for about $45. Same deal with Australian reds - they trump just about any other red except the best French ones, and are only matched by some of the upstart Virginian labels.

If there are people out there who can discriminate between a $200 wine and a $5000 wine, good for them. But by and large I suspect most of us can shop in the $20-$80 range and be quite content with the pleasant experiences we find there.

My only regret is that we don't have a tradition of literal seppuku in this country, as opposed to the metaphorical one here.

Still, great to know that he won't be presiding over any more American deaths. Unless he takes old job back, the one with the hooded robe and the scythe.

There's a very simple equation under it all and Rumball just doesn't think you have the algebra smarts to grasp it. I think you do, so here it is.

Let X represent the number of soldiers who will die in the war, while P represents the amount of political power that is generated by the war (as an exponent of a compliant populace). This results in the first-order equation:

P > X

Now factor in the amount of devastation and ill-will generated in the warred-upon as Z, and also add the commensurate profits to be made off that exploitation as $. Our equation is now:

(P + $) > (X + Z)

That's it. You could try to make it a little more accurate by dividing the left side of the equation by the percentage chance that the people who caused these problems will also have to clean the mess up, but algebra doesn't allow division by zero.

I can so see McCain stepping in as VP after a another round of judicious Rose Garden pruning. The man is totally channelling that whole Gerald Ford vibe these days.

Please look into getting some help and advice from domestic violence experts and womens shelters. Leaving someone like this is unlikely to be the end of things, and you'll need to take steps to protect yourself. Abusers like him, those whose whole ego is predicated on the power dynamics of their relationship, are the highest risk for violent reprisals.

I can't imagine continuing to work with someone like this. Normally I don't recommend people changing themselves under duress, but maybe you should look at getting another job, to go with the new therapist and new friend. But whatever you decide, I wish you well, and please stay safe.

I can't attest to all the sins of earlier presidents, but America survived them so they can't be the worst. The two that America may not survive the legacy of are the Current Occupant and the mindlessly venerated Saint Ronnie.

Dubya is in many ways merely the affable sock puppet that conceals an entire cabal, nay movement, of people who view America as nothing more than an exploitable resource and her citizens as an endless ATM. They are not politicians, they are businessmen, and as such have no concern for rights, freedoms, or anything else that impedes the smooth flow of finances. So calling him the worst president is a bit like saying Hitler was the worst dictator - it's accurate in the particulars, but it undercuts the truth that neither of them could have wielded such terrible power without a cadre of bad lieutenants and a compliant populace. (I know, invoking Hitler is a taboo, but we are discussing superlatives here.)

The other president whose impact may have doomed our nation is Ron The Pretender. Another person eminantly unsuited to the job but who provided a genial cover, his reign brought about such sweeping abolitions of social justice and corporate responsibility that America was altered from a democracy to a plutocracy, perhaps irrevocably. The degredation of quality of life in every sector, from basic necessities to education to freedom of speech, can be laid directly on the doorstep of Saint Ronnie. Worse, his continued exaltation as a "great president" continues to fuel the brutal calculus that results in leaders who are charismatic instead of competent.

Together these two, with the aid of psychological theorems that maintain an unsure and uninformed public, have mutilated our country to a degree that no earlier American would recognize it as a democratic nation of the people. It has become a corporate entity, a conspiratorial oligarchy, and a satanic mill of Fritz Lang proportions.