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Departments National Issues Stay in Bed The frightening part is that the people of California knew, too. There is some indication that tracking polls showed his support slipping in the wake of all last week's revelations. Polls are tricky things, of course, but if this is true then the election happened just in time. The republicans have become adept at cherrypicking such opportunities and milking them for all they're worth. The thing to remember is that things are much worse on a national scale. I'm not sure if it makes it easier or more difficult to get out of bed to remind ourselves that no matter what happened in California, war criminals still skulk around the White House, and crimes against humanity continue in our name all over the world. A cornered dog may be a dangerous thing, but it is important to keep in mind that things really are crumbling all around them. Any pseudo-momentum emanating from Arnold's testosterone boost can't compare to the lift they got out of lying to start a war and the tragedy of the attacks of September 11. As long as we have an adolescent political system based on individual personality, we will never be immune to such outbreaks of mass stupidity. Changes are essential to curb the manipulation that money and media can buy, as well as to refocus our political system on politics: the pursuit of policies and solutions that will be of benefit to the vast majority of people. What a novel idea! I admit it does seem a long way off this morning, even if we do ignore California. The cabal in power is truly out of control, and now also panicked, desperate, mean and vengeful. I don't say this gleefully-to contradict Martha Stewart, it's not a good thing. They are gamblers at heart, enormous risk-takers with our money, reputation and future. They have no problem going into Syria if the roll of the dice didn't pan out in Iraq, Afghanistan, or wherever. No, we really have no right to stay in bed. Even if the old adage is true, that the problem with democracy is that everyone gets what the majority deserves, we still have our work cut out for us. There's too much to be done, or in the case of this insane government, too much to prevent being done. But Americans do need to open our eyes to the damage being done in our name. The world is recoiling in just a bit more shock and awe this morning; the fact that ordinary people could actually vote for this nightmare has always been the most difficult thing for foreigners to comprehend. But it is essential to remember that we are almost always voting in a vacuum. Given a real choice, Americans just might make the right decision one of these days. Get out of bed-you're going to be late for work. © 2003 Daniel Patrick Welch. Reprint permission granted with credit and link to danielpwelch.com Welch lives and writes in Salem, Massachusetts, USA, with his wife, Julia Nambalirwa-Lugudde. Together they run The Greenhouse School. A writer, singer, linguist and activist, he has appeared on radio [interview available here] and can be available for further interviews. Past articles, translations are available at danielpwelch.com. Links to the website appreciated. |
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Recent National Issues Articles Factory Farming Cattle for Profit Speeds the Evolution of Disease It's time to overrule the Supreme Court Diebold email: 'Make vote printouts too costly for MD' Is Bush a "Dry Drunk"? This is a Serious, Not Just a Provocative Question To Hell and Back Coulter's Right-Wing Drag Senator Byrd, major media spread coverage of Bush-Nazi nexus George W. and Alcoholism Emails Show Enron May Have Influenced FERC Probe On Calif Power Crisis, Refunds So Rush just wanted a “Rush”; Media accept Limbaugh spin on illegal drug buys and use without questions George Bush, the Democrats, and Revisionist History Schwarzenegger's First Role As Governor-Elect of California: The Deregulator Stay in Bed As Bush Implodes, 30 Ways Desperate Right Wingers Will Respond Congressman John Conyers asks Karl Rove to resign Siege Heil: the Nazi Nexus* Loyal Opposition, Disloyal Regent Time to act National Missile Defense: Bad Science and Wasted Taxes Republicans Seem to Want to Keep Computerized Voting Easily Corruptible How We Lost The Vote - How To Get It Back Again We Can Win the War in Vietnam and other chestnuts from a not-so-bygone era Lootocracy The Business of E-Voting and How it Can Put the Wrong Candidate in Officee After the Governor Sells Out On Requiring Electric and Hydrogen Cars in CA The Air Resources Board Reclassifies Gasoline Cars as "Clean" The Ill-Begotten: Reflections of Unconstitutional Precedence Storm and Strife A New Psychiatric Diagnostic Category; Politician Syndrome; DSM-IV 333.333 Founding Father of Neocon Philosophy Leo Strauss and Jefferson's Impending Death Faith-based drug wars: Bush recruits religious youth groups as ground troops Voting Machine Fiasco Blackouts Happen-California Power Crisis Should Have Been A Warning Sign To U.S. Who is Michigan's Empire Man? Big Ten University President Does Bush's Bidding Power Failure; Bush Disaster Ahnuld, Ken Lay, George Bush, Dick Cheney and Gray Davis Our President is a Criminal Yo Democrats! Wake Up! Read National Issues Articles by Year: |
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