(always our underlying Puritanism) - and maybe as concise an indictment of the poverty of gravitas (?) principle.. in all Murican machinations which have anything to do with reaping $$ at the end. What we tend to call 'pragmatism' is so often a robotic excuse to ignore the social cost of the $$ grasped.

I think that this compact summary could make its way into the Prologue for the formation of that near-ineffable concept for Muricans, next:

An antidote to The Republicrat Single Party System! that Siamesed-bird which flies in circles for possessing two Right-wings. It is not the only way to run a 'democracy'; nor can Presidential faux-debates ever again be allowed to be closed by meeja + handlers, to just the Two sets of candidates for that One-Party meaningless ritual, which pretends there are large differences.

My small hope amidst the maybe irreversible damage this mouth-breather Resident is doing to the idea of the USA, all around the world - is that he will go even farther in his single-minded intent of this insane First Strike. I hope that, by his abjectly demonstrating the limits of his own intelligence and simultaneously, revealing the actual ethical sense of his father's toadies -
[see Codrescu's spot-on characterizations in 9/11 above]

the way may at last be cleared for a genuine debate about America's role in the world now.. long post-cold-war. It is even possible that the huge funds we have all along apportioned to the harbingers of Perpetual Cold War - will also suddenly be noticed by, not merely the citizens - but by the much more numerous indifferent consumers.

We may finally realize something about Guns VS Butter; schools & basic medical care for all and ... (maybe even repairing the bridges, water, city infrastructures!) so long neglected - since the 1930s, even. This time.. I don't see this as a naive hope. The shameful performance of this coterie; the almost parody of G\ufffdbbelsian propaganda of these daily stump speeches demonizing Saddam (of a far lesser subtlety than the Grand Master's) and the utter boorishness of the threats made to everyone from "The UN as a whole" down to individual States - these actions have done palpable damage.

This is so IMhO even if the plan goes no further == even if the congress rapidly gets its collective head out of its collective ass and begins to act like the branch of government it is.

Let it be enough! damage though, and obvious enough to create that Shock which no one has yet managed to deliver to the grazers at the mall.. maybe the trade-off then, this need to repair relationships over the next 5-10 years - will have been worth it.

Otherwise this affair will be: lose/lose.



Now if we only had any viable candidates, next - whatever the umbrella they collect under..


Ashton

Sorry but.. I think it's pure sophistry to imagine that the chances for the US populace to morph into actual Citizenship - after enough intentional suffering - is simply, Zero.

That is the sort of pessimism which made it possible for the voters (those who could both manage to reach the polling places AND operate the stone knives) - to come near-to electing a Village Idiot.

(We can't blame those for the actual Selection process, of course)

IMhO there is and remains:

A SOLID 1% CHANCE we shall extract heads from asses - amidst the First Strike madness now offered by the Ministry of Propaganda. After all, some.. managed to get out of TWT alive - we have about the same chance.