Well said, McGrath!

And a lot of Americans feel that same disappointment and sense of betrayal when we know what the country could do and should do, and because our so-called leaders are either corrupt or incompetent--or both--it just doesn't happen. And how did we get such leaders? The problem, I would say, is a lack of that informed electorate that Thomas Jefferson said was essential to the preservation of democracy. The apparent fact that all too many Americans are either unable or unwilling to think beyond bumper-stickers and sound-bites does not bode well for the future.

Jefferson also said, "The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first."

I don't really know where this country is going right now. But I'm not ready to write the country off yet. I have cautious hopes for 2008, but I am also somewhat apprehensive. Naught to do but politick as strenuously as I can and hope for the best--or at least something better.

Don Firth