I think it goes deeper than that. Or let me rephrase that; I do not believe the struggle is between the left and the right. I believe these are no more than contrived, well marketed differences for the most part. Under close examination, we see a relative few that are far left or right. Most of us are shades of purple. The truly radical factions on both sides get all of the attention, and they are meant to do so. It gets us all talking about and watching them, even though they have no real impact on our lives or on the real political landscape. It's all a diversion. A diversion from considering those that have the real power and influence. Big money; big business runs this place. Our elected leaders are no more than pawns of this class of people, no matter which side of the aisle they claim. They are bought and sold and traded among the men that comprise the real power base like so many baseball cards. I think the men in such positions of real power have done an excelent job of convincing us it is all about two choices, liberal or conservative. Most issues that we should really be concerned about don't fit neatly into either camp. I think if the American people ever caught on to all of this and united in opposition, crossing and breaking down "party lines" once and for all, all hell would break loose. The corporate big-wigs juust might wind up with some explaining to do.

You're right about pigeonholing people based on a single-word label. It's another national sport. It allows us to completely dismiss points of view we find uncomfortable. And like pro sports, it sucks up attention better spent on decisions that affect our future.

Both corporate influence and foreign influence are stronger, I think, than they have been in the last 100 years of American politics.

Remember when Eisenhower warned against the "military-industrial complex?" I'm sure you do, but enough people didn't that we got the modern presidency money can buy. Friendly to Tyson Chicken and Worldcom under Clinton; bestest buddies with Enron, Halliburton and ______ Oil under Bush2.

Does it bother anyone else that Martha Stewart has been in prison and Ken Lay is at large?

(some fun stuff here) http://www.hereinreality.com/enron.html

Bother? Of course. Surprise? No. It is all a part of the smokescreen. Take a lady that has been dealing in relatively small sums, compared to the big players, and make a public spectacle of her. Famous, grudgingly envied; people just loved to see her fall. It didn't mean squat in the big picture. Ken Lay, affecting millions of lives, but a part of the corporate good ol' boy network. Untouchable. Will people ever wake up?

Martha Stewart, small time? I don't think so. That doesn't mean she nshould have gone to jail. But she's light years from small potatos. George Carlin said it right. OJ, MJ & Robert Blake are free but they take the one woman in America willing to cook, clean & work in the yard & put her in jail.

Jef, if you keep talking like that, your friends are going to kick you out of the clubhouse. You'll be welcome over here on the left, but you're WAY too much of a conspiracy theorist to stay in their group. They're probably making a tin foil hat for you as we speak. Or as I type, I should say.

But you're absolutely correct, by the way. And if a guy just sits and things about it, thinks about what the playground was like in the fourth grade....what the locker room was like after football practice......what it's like today at the office.....then it becomes embarrassingly naive to pretend that rich guys are not holding the reins.

And yes, in this great country (yes, liberals love America at least as much as conservatives) there is hope. There is hope because a violent overthrow of the country is never necessary. If the people wake up and decide to take control, they can. Simple as that. While they're asleep, they're getting fleeced. If they want the system to work for the ordinary Joe, they can do that. But it's not just sleep, either. We're getting a steady dose of some sort of powerful drug periodically, that changes our value system. We're a bit twisted here in America, thinking that the pursuit of money and security are not only necessary, but the only real path to happiness. We're drugged by Madison Avenue. Happiness is actually something you find when you break OUT of the downward spiral of the commercial treadmill.

But.....that's covered in the advanced course. Which you're probably ready for, Jeff.