Re Silicon Valley, I've visited Stanford several times...about as close as I got. I certainly did notice I got along much better with the Latinos than I did the Anglos. The subsurface class warfare between the two groups was enough to make me swear I'll never agree to live there.

Re Scandanavian countries, Sweden is essentially buying their future with deficit spending, at least last time I looked. They also do not have very many defence requirements. And their unemployment rate isn't good. Come to think of it, it isn't good around most of Europe...and hasn't been for a long time.

Re campaign reform, what makes you think it will solve anything? The pols will take the money the gov. gives them AND take any "contributions" made by others. They will get paid off twice, in effect. It won't solve anything, the contributions won't get paid directly to the congress critter, it will get paid to his friends, his family, business in his/her/its district. Campaign reform is a chimera and only glommed onto by dewy eyed "reformers" who just know that the congress critters really, really, want to play fair if only the rules would let them. Bullshit! They are scum, if we want better representation, we'll have to vote for it.

Last I heard, the Justice Dept. and M$ weren't getting along. There's hope yet those bastards will burn, although...we won't get to see Billy and his CrapWare roasted over an open fire. Now THAT I would pay to see.