In a free market one entity will eventually gain the ability to crush the very possibility of competition. Witness AT&T in the past and Microsoft today. Monopoly requires opposition and "non-free" controls to return competition to the marketplace.

The same in democracy. A party in power can perpetuate that power by control of the purse strings. Competition cannot be reestablished without opposition - this is more true today than it ever has been.

In the case of the Bush administration "competition" is an absurd concept anyway. It would mean providing an alternate vehicle with which to travel a road that is just plain WRONG! Only opposition makes any sense at all here.

Marlowe, the drivel you're spouting today makes far less sense than even your usual drivel. Perhaps you should request a BIOS upgrade and a re-boot.