Trying to follow the convolutions of GfS's hysterical rants is sort of like watching a poor bug that has been stepped on but is still alive trying to get its many legs in order, then seeing it try to walk off in about three directions at once. Other than saying that the world is going to hell, that the Democratic Party is just as screwed up as the Republican Party and the Tea Party (while occasionally saying that the Tea Party folks are justified in being upset, which seems to imply that s/he agrees with them),and that we, the lunatic fringe, are all too stupid to see it, then does a riff about gastro-intestinal upset. . . .

And, of course, that s/he's convinced that Obama is the Anti-Christ. . . .

What'd s/he say???

Then, of course, s/he wanks winks a couple of times to try to convey the idea that s/he's not really being insulting, s/he's just funnin' us.

Take two bran muffins, GfS, and you'll feel better in a while.

(Of course, I knew someone who did that, and when the muffins did their job, his head shrunk to the size of a raisin!)

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If one informs oneself, one sees that there is hope and opportunity, which tends to mitigate against hysteria, despair, and a tendency to lash out at others in a rash and random manner. For example, I'm currently reading The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger, by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. Many examples of countries in which there is far less economic disparity between people and how they rarely get into international conflicts, and how their populations hover right around the top in statistics on general contentment, happiness, and a sense of personal security and well-being.

Far from being the "city of light on the hill" and "a beacon for the rest of the world" that Reagan talked about, the United States could learn a great deal by observing how many other countries actually manage to do "the greatest good for the greatest number" of their citizens.

Also, I'm watching a series of lectures by University of California's Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics, George Lakoff. These lectures are on politics as it is occurring right now and how progressives can pull their socks up and take the debate away from the Right-Wing bloviators. Each lecture runs about an hour, but they're well worth the time and attention. Lakoff knows where his towel is!!!

Here's a good intro:   an interview with George Lakoff. 55 minutes. Well worth it.

This will lead you to a whole series of talks and interviews by George Lakoff. Just check the right hand column on the YouTube page.

Don Firth