This great article reminds me of this quote:

"THE MODERN CONSERVATIVE IS ENGAGED IN ONE OF MAN'S OLDEST EXERCISES IN MORAL PHILOSOPHY; THAT IS, THE SEARCH FOR A SUPERIOR MORAL JUSTIFICATION FOR SELFISHNESS." -- JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH

My hope for the holidays is that each conservative is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Future so they can see that their selfishness may in fact destabilize the country that brings them such a high standard of living. We are all in fact in this together, the Tiny Tims and the Scrooges alike!

I can't help but wonder if this is right? Namely the thesis that the Leaders are dim. And if it is, how that comes to be. Let's assume it is the case then I'm led to suspect that the reason this comes to be is not a lack of bright (vs dim) leaders in the pool to select from, but in the system that selects those who trickle to the top. And if I were to assume that it's not true, namely that we do have bright leaders, then could it be that they are hamstrung by a system that holds them up mas puppets for the uninspiring heckling and dim party machines?

There is something to consider here. I'm of the view that the key to fixing all of this in the long term is exactly the same in a sense as what created the US constituion to begin with, namely significant electoral reform. A significant revision to the way in which our political system works. To make it significantly more representative of the people's wishes.

There have been many significant eviolutions, albveit slowly in this field across the world. The notable ones that I have witnessed in action are proportional representation (as it is in place in Tasmania) and direct democracy (as it is in place in Switzerland). Both are worthy of study by those who might lead and inspire change and should be manadatory subjects fo study almost before anyone can run for a seat in governernmet.

If I imagione a world in which, in order to represent the people you needed to have a certain degree of learning like this, it looks better. The devil being in the detail. I observe for example this is already the case. You cannot and will not rise to success in politics without much learning along the way. Alas it is learning about how the present party mill works and what you need to do to make an impact.l It contains no required learning on alternate systems and how the party mill might be changed rather than worshipped. But if you were to restructure the learning needs, who sets the elarnnig agenda, polices its implemetation?

We have a spearation of powers that dates back to the Greeks, the executive, the legilature and the judiciary which serves to answer questions of implementation like that. It is far from flawless, but the means exists for us to legislate learning requirments to stand for governement (legislature) and to police it (judiciary) free of the executives bias and influence. That is the legislature and judiciary can keep the executive honest, which was their intent.

Alas, the voting population poorly understands the options and the poor turnout at the polls reflects that. Reflecting again that minimum learning is already a requirment at some level for sensible governanance. But worse still the existing system allows the executive too much power over legislature, and the idealistic party platform machine too much control influence in the legislature.

Still, I suspect the real problem is not dim leaders, or even if its, chiefly still the need for significant electoral reform, to tune the system to achieve the outcomes the founding fathers sought! They had a shot and did much better at it thasn most, but it isn't perfect and hasn't evolved in the right directions over the generations since and is in need of a tune up.

What ever happened to "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?"? Why diminish the only hope you have now - supporting the leader you elected to lead? He is not the Wizard of Oz - which to me epitomizes the deeper fantastical nature of the American Dream, and that is to idolize and look for magic to be bestowed upon the believers just for believing that dreams come true. When the personal dream doesn't manifest as dreamed, the idol is destroyed. How about a new belief system? How about looking deeper? Into the mirror? And The Dream?

"A revolution is coming--a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough--but a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character, we cannot alter its inevitability." John F. Kennedy

I would have to say, it is here and it is now!

THANK YOU “THE NATION.”

Seriously, we do appreciate your work.
However, nothing is really improving.

We the people…are dying out here!
We first lost our jobs, then our savings, and now are losing our homes.
We cannot feed our families and keep them healthy and safe.
We have been hurt enough. Dialog, debate, discussion, compromise, education, peaceful protesting, and even voting, has NOT worked.

Sorry The Nation, as insightful as you are, we tired of just “reading” about the problems and waiting for Obama to wake up, or get some balls (duh).

Wall Street, the 1%, the Tea Party, and corporate fat cats have become a gang of bullies.
Their unlimited cash buys votes, corrupts, and overpowers any positive initiative.
You can never appease bullies. They want more, and more, and finally…everything.
You have to hurt a bully back…badly, so he fears YOU!

C’mon Americans, OWS, the 99%, middle class, and forgotten people...it’s time to get mean dog fighting mad! Passivity is NOT working! Are we sheep? Are we going to let these bullies continue to hurt our families? Are we supposed to just lie down and die?
Hell no! (Not loud enough) HELL NO!

So, Fox News, Wall Street, fat cats, right wing nuts…we will take your advice to develop clear demands, strategies, and new battle tactics against your continuing class warfare.
Are we still obscure?

IT’S TIME THE BULLIES…WERE BULLIED BACK !

V

We had two years of opportunity to show the world what a real progressive government could do. We fumbled the ball. Between the Bluedog Dem's and the weak-kneed president we lost a golden opportunity.

One of the most unrecognised causes of the selfishness, and even ruthlessness, that is effecting the leaders of the US politically and commercially, and of course the leaders of other so called democracies too, is the way that loyalty and concern for others comes early in life, when the "mirror neurones" are most active in babies and small children . As the baby watches those who care for them their mirror neurones sensitise the cells in the brain that will need to be activated for the baby or small child to copy what the adult carer is doing, so a baby even in its first day pokes its tongue out when the carer pokes their tongue out at the baby. This mechanism also is the basis of how small children learn languages and other behaviours easily in their early years, copying their mother's and father's behaviours as is the basis of Suzuki's successful method to train outstanding violinists, but has been shown to be important in the development of outstanding sportsmen in golf, cricket, tennis, and mathematicians and of course as is well known with languages. That mechanism continues to be active through early life, and underpins the so called "internalisation" of the behaviours of those around them. Mothers are especially important here, being loyally available and responsive to the child in caring and helpful ways, breast feeding too ideally, leads to "secure attachment" and the internalisation of loyalty and concern for others in the foundation of the child's personality, and as is important around the world today to resilience against drug abuse and other addictions. Father's being available to support mother in the child's early months and years is also important and individual care for the child from a few key carers is essential to the development of physically and emotionally healthy caring adolescents and moral adults, who are concerned for others. As a society we cannot expect to have leaders who are concerned for others if the children of the rich and powerful, who are most likely to be the leaders of the future, have mothers who are constantly distracted from the care of their child by many other demands and interests, with babies "baby sat" by television or too often "cared for" by a succession of carers in early life, who are not bonded to the baby in the way that natural healthy mothers are. That natural bonding gives great joy in the care of their baby to compensate for all the hard work, which paid child care workers may or may not have. Its past time for the misinformation about early child care from those who want to profit from caring for babies and small children and from commercial interests who want to have mothers working for them rather than caring for their babies is systematically challenged, and as a society we work to facilitate loyal maternal care for babies and small children so as to foster the growth of more future leaders who are properly concerned for others.

To paraphrase someone much smarter than I...In the face of plutocratic barbarism, everyone know what freedom means.

So is Europe, but that means someone has to lead. So lets lead the rest of the World back to the principals and values that made this the greatest country ever. All that is necessary is to learn about the issues from anywhere but that TV and then go out and vote on the appropriate day. Don't let them take that away from you. Vote out the small minded group and vote in those who are more interested in the country as a whole and people in the village, they are there. People like Eliz. Warren and Alan Grayson and Sen. Bernie Saunders. They are there, we just need to find them and put them in a position to do We the People some good.
Michael Douglas starred in two movies and had a memorable line in each one.
For lack of a better term, Greed is Good. "Wall Street" remember that one

America is Democracy 601. You gotta want it, you gotta work for it... The American President....

Well we are at the point where if we want it we have to work for it. Or else you will lose it and your freedom too. So turn off the TV and the radio and go to the Library and look up the information. Be wary of the stuff we get on the Computer, so much of it is little more than the chewed over TV/Radio/Newpaper bull which are little more than someones press release. We used to depend on the Press and Media to do the research for us, no more. We have to do it ourselves, or we will be nothing more than low information, misinformed voters, confused and frustrated over a process we do not understand or know how to fix. Sound familiar. Want it work for it. NOW.