Cam........I find myself having the same feelings that you are having about Bush and Iraq. I have a son-on-law that got called up in January to go and then the orders were rescinded......so we're walking on eggshells...I saw the Bush press conference today and he just blows me away. If anyone asked him a tough question, he got defensive. He made stupid little remarks, under his breath, about the ones that pressed him.........and I'm sitting here thinking, "this man is the President of MY country".......I can see myself getting into a real rant here...so I must hush. But Social Security is scaring me to death. I see Bush's efforts for what they are........what is wrong with those who can't see that the richer get richer and poor get poorer? Thanks for giving us your thoughts. I feel better now. Pat

Wow...the rich control the government and the poor....???? Hurry up and call CNN and MSNBC, that's never happened before in human history.

Angelton, that is my point exactly. Perhaps we are doomed to watch history repeat itself with Bush in charge. Most Americans do not understand how to look at the world (and at Bush's policies) from a perspective other than their own. All they know is what they see on FOX, CNN and MSNBC -- which, if you follow world events as reported by non-American news organizations such as the BBC -- is a pretty sad state of affairs.

That is what happens when everything is done for the short-term gain and not the long term. Probably 99% of Bush's decisions are done so the next poll numbers are in his favor and his half of the country is generally happy. He knows he won't get the other half no matter what, so he just doesn't care for them. Besides, no re-election to worry about anymore.

Half of the problem also comes from no viable alternatives in the first place. When you have two candidates that are basically the same and just as corrupt, well, no wonder everyone takes the short term view.

The only prayer we have IMHO? Get solid control of the Senate (since the house is less likely) in 2006. It's our only hope to give Bush at least some checks and balances. How to do that? Wish I knew.

"I sometimes think the biggest problem in America is that most Americans don't understand the long-term impact of Bush's decisions."

Only sometimes? At what times do you think people *do* understand the long-term impacts?

"At what times do you think people *do* understand the long-term impacts?"

I think people understand the ramifications of our government's foreign policy decisions once they become educated about the facts that surround them. It helps to know some world history and realize that there are many hidden factors that drive the Bush administration's specific decisions -- unfortunately not all of them disclosed to the American people. Basing your knowledge nad understanding foreign policy solely on the news and information that comes from the mainstream television news programs is at best a vey stupid thing to do.

What a borderline psycho entry. I understand doubt and disgust with Bush, but then digressing into a prediction of America's collapse based on throwing in every current popular worry except the kitchen sink as causes is ridiculous.

Also, I think you're generalizing a lot in terms of Iraq and also the U.S. economy. There's a lot more going on than you give credit for.

And then assassination? Civil war? Come on, Cam.

History has a tendency to repeat itself. We have had presidents assassinated in the past. We have had civil war in the past. We have had a nation-breaking national economic crises in the past. I already admit it sounds far-fetched, but it could happen.

Bush won a narrow re-election. 50.8% of the vote is not a mandate and thinking so only pushes the remaining 49.2% into a weird sort of disenfranchisement. We are a divided country and Bush is doing nothing to stop it from becoming even more divided. If anything, he is only seeking to increase the amount of power "his side" currently holds. This kind of thinking is what leads to civil war. And it doesn't help that they're "religionizing" everything in their path, making it even easier for fundamentalist terrorists to justify blowing us up.

It's easy to think in extremes. In reality, things don't often happen that way.

"It's easy to think in extremes. In reality, things don't often happen that way."

Yeah, sure.

USA: S/11
Spain: M/11

And WWI, WWII,... to name just a *little* few...

No extremes...

History does indeed repeat itself. The headline from this NYT article in 1967 is strikingly similar to headlines written about the Iraqi elections.

I don't think we're at the end of the insanity. I still think things have to get about 1,000 times worse. Perhaps when people can't afford cable anymore, they'll begin to ask why things are so messed up.

As a non US city-zen I may well be shot down in flames for this observation, but what the hey...

It seems to me(us) here in the UK that the USofA is fast becoming a dipole system spinning around the fundamentalist christian far right and the common man, and as the country spins, centrapetal force is gonna tear the sucker in half.

Its time the center ground stood up and started reigning in these two entities to ensure that common-sence prevales and the rest of the world can relax.

(you scare us man, you really do...)

good luck!

You should read "The Pentagon's New Map", Cam.

And sorry Zalo, in my job I deal with "extreme" scenarios. Most of them just never happen. We're lucky that more don't.