Cobb

(laughing to tears) Sorry that you had "one of those days". A nice mixture of good and bad makes it all quite interesting doesn't it? You're on a roll!!! (smile)

Happy Holidays!

I think most people around the world would think how lucky we are that these trivial annoyances are what we think of as bad luck. Aside from the few western democracies, the options of the average citizen ever having a car are practically nil, likewise, the idea of a police officer giving an undocumented person "a break" without a bribe first would be unheard of, an earthquake like the one you experienced in the third world leaves thousands dead and maimed and their homes destroyed. A summons for jury duty another petty annoyance. How many around the world are fighting for the privilege of voting.

I completely empathize with the kind of day you had. We've all experienced them and it reminded me when we lived in a small Vermont town with a bridge over a wonderfully picturesque waterfall as the major artery from one side of town to other and how we all complained when the traffic backed up because flatlanders (non-Vermonters) were taking their time enjoying the view.

Sorry if this sounds preachy. I don't mean it that way. It's just that we are so lucky living here and take for granted that most days everything goes perfectly. I hope we don't do anything stupid next fall and elect a Democrat whether it be one of the declared candidates or the stealth candidate lurking in the shadows conducting focus groups in a frenzy of indecision.

President Bush isn't perfect and I don't agree with everything he's done, but I am completely sure that he puts God and country first and is completely trustworthy. I can again be proud of my government and not become apoplectic on a daily, almost hourly basis as I did when Clinton and his henchmen were in charge

Interesting that you put it that way. I agree that we Americans are spoiled and fortunate. It is a measure of the sophistication of our empire that allows us to be this way. We are at once peasants in a wealthy kingdom and masters and commanders ourselves. There really is not much precedent for our situation.

I mention this because I am concerned about the way this empire is being run. And yet I don't worry so much about the Democrats taking charge. I see the major parties as checks and balances against each other, and quite frankly the fact that there are two rather than three worries me more than what either will do in power.

You are right to preach because the false consensus of bi-partisanship keeps us from a proper understanding of what needs to happen in government. Furthermore a false patriotism often keeps us from understanding of where we stand as human beings in the world. Liberals are often first to express this (stupidly as guilt, rather than responsibly as stewardship) so it's good to have them around.

I assert my bourgie brotherhood in these workaday frustrations, but I'm acutely focused on the fact of the global economy and the fact that people who have it bad will work harder than we for less. I'm not so proud of our government as I am of our central bank and the sophistication we have developed as the result of the wealth of this nation. I'm not sure most citizens appreciate that because they certainly do not elect politicians to be appropriate stewards of that.

All that said, I hope that I manage to get out of jury duty. I need to be working. Someone else can serve on a jury but nobody else can feed my family.