For that wonderful 3 point analysis. I feel like understand all I need to know about the looming economic crisis. I'd bet you think we must abolish the Fed and return to the Gold Standard.

I found these other bits of genius among your library of wisdom.

Mr. Greenwald, you are always my first read of the day. Management by Ivy League inbreds inevitably leads to Katrina like results because all their experiences are pseudo. All they have ever earned is the right to fit their opinions into a consensus. For that they receive the highest accolades amongst their peers. There is no reason, no incentive to tolerate dissent; fitting in is very comfortable, lucrative, traditional. In their world, there are no consequences for your actions, you just have your assistant fill out the proper form for more funding.

Were you in the Khmer Rouge?

The foundation of the neoconservative movement is the Left so it should come as no surprise that they have a great deal in common. Neocon's used right wing extremists and fundamentalists Christians to help accomplish their political goals, but they are not so far from their liberal roots.

Witness liberal support of the Patriot Act, the War on Drugs, the War in Iraq and the further deterioration of our infrastructure, our dependency of foreign oil, the failure of our educational system; the list goes on and on under both parties.

I'll alert Leo Strauss and Carl Schmitt.

This, however, is my favorite:

This is from a resident of San Antonio, TX. I am an avid reader of Mr. Greenwald. He has a calming influence. Delusional Islamophobes, please be courteous. We are busy down here defending our borders from illegal immigrants sent to reoccupy the Mexican Southwest. Most of us are not good at multi-tasking. Our President has already said we are fighting the Islamics over there so we don't have to fight them over here. I suggest you focus on the matters at hand and order your priorities.

Let me ask you, do you think FDR was a communist Jew dictator?

If you are in fact a lightning_fast_draw I do hope your are only going up against snails.

Do you have a cite for your numbers? I thought I'd read something that was a little different. Will search, but if you happen to have yours handy...?

I really hope I'm wrong - but I doubt it. We're in Roman territory now. -- John of Ventura

@ John of Ventura: you haven't made your case. -- William Timberman

John, William, if I may step in... Maybe the comparison to Rome isn't exactly spot on, but he has a point. Somthing big is shifting in our country, and it's more than what individual corruption or even the game of dirty politics as usual can explain. This is a list, by no means comprehensive, of well-researched books by well-respected authors who are all trying, desperately, to raise the alarm:

Naomi Wolf, “The End of America”: ten easy steps to fascism (most of the boxes have already been checked off as “done”)

Naomi Klein, “The Shock Doctrine”: detailed analysis of how the US government and US corporations work together to leverage both man-made and natural disasters, ignoring the human rights violations and the poverty in its wake, all in the name of making a profit

John Dean, “Conservatives without Conscience” and “Broken Government”: without using the word sociopath or making a diagnosis (mostly narcissistic personality disorder), describes the overwhelmingly obvious sociopathic personalities, tactics, and policies that define modern conservatism.

Andrew M. Lobczewski, “Political Ponerology”: a first-hand account, in psychological and ethical terms, scientifically documenting and analyzing the rise of Stalinism in Poland.

What we have with Glenn’s blog today reminds me of a story in “Political Ponerology” and how the book came to be. Lobczewski and his university colleagues were at first completely disoriented by the rising tide of fascism in Poland in the 50s. Gradually, their respected university was taken over by ideologues with little education, whose job it was to dictate curriculum that was acceptable to the ideals of Stalinism. How could the wholesale warping of truth, facts, reality even – be acceptable? They looked around and realized that most people simply adjusted to the situation. As long as their immediate needs for income, shelter, etc., were met, most people really didn’t care (until they got shipped off to Siberia). And there were even a few that saw something in the party that they wanted for themselves – the power, the control – and they quickly converted into party ideologues.

As the changes to their government and society progressed, the sense of unreality began to overwhelm the literati group. At first, they would go off to a little cabin in the woods together, talking amongst themselves and trying to regain a sense of normalcy. (That cabin to me is a metaphor of Glenn's column, a virtual cabin in the woods where people go for a reality check.) Meanwhile, back in the big city, things got worse. Finally, they decided to document and research what was happening so that they could warn future generations. Not too much later, their activities were banned and they were forced to work in secret.

The thesis of Lobczewski’s book is, essentially, that if a critical mass of sociopaths are allowed to infiltrate the government and control the media, that society is doomed to totalitarian rule. Most of us can’t – won’t – imagine that scenario because a., most people think that sociopaths look like Hannibal Lecter on a bender (they don’t), and b., it couldn’t possibly resemble what happened during the Great Leap Forward or the Shining Path, (it won’t) so we toss out the idea wholesale. We distract ourselves by dissecting each deteail of the latest political skirmish - or Britney’s habit of not wearing underwear (not here, thank GOD), all the while missing the big picture in front of us.

It took thirty years of political suppression before “Political Ponerology” could be published in 1984. At that time, the author saw the Reagan years as the beginnings of something horrifyingly familiar. Twenty years later, he clearly sees fascism poised at our door. It’s one thing to write Naomi Wolf off, accuse her of “reverse engineering” the path to fascism. But it’s another thing to call it that when you’ve lived it.

With most of our Constitution in tatters already, today’s post from Glenn tells me it WILL be getting worse. According to Lobczewski, when historically good, ethical people (Reid, Mukasey, Pelosi) cooperate with the party, we are in SERIOUS, perhaps irreversible trouble.

Maybe the tide will shift spontaneously and the people who predict disaster for the US will look like fools... But we keep saying it can't get any worse, and now Dodd looks poised to be betrayed en masse by his own party.

I am wondering what, besides wishful thinking, leads us to believe the tide will be turning anytime soon?