Fire Hydrant of Freedom

Everything exists on a continuum. The UK is less free than us, more free than most other places.

I worry that we will follow the UK.

If Al Gore starts talking, will the solar wind gain power?

She's pretty! 

I'll pass on the deaths and rioting, sounds like too much work.

So does that mean we are stuck with the middle to bottom of the barrel, self-interested candidates forever?

It seems that way to me, unfortunately.

Is there a way to get smart, interested individuals involved in politics?

Good question. They'd have to be rich enough so they couldn't be bought - or just not be driven by money (but, then how would they run a campaign?) - they'd be putting themselves into a large group of powerful criminals or at the least just a group of shoddy liars and thieves. Sometimes I think that a person like this comes along, takes a look into the political arena and walks off, probably to become successful in business or some other enterprise.

Also, I'll throw this out here. If we take some relatively unknown but very smart (he must be) candidate Obama and take him at face value, we have an energetic guy who wants to clean up government {this is theoretical but serves my purpose of example} = Obama comes from nowhere and gets elected. Now he gets to sit in on some secret briefings, where he finds out that the government isn't quite what he thought when he was on the outside. No, not black helicopter tin foil things, just that the US does things for reasons he didn't know about. He gets quiet and starts to rethink whether he can fulfill any of his campaign promises.

Fill in whatever name for "Obama" as a newcomer dropped into a cesspool. I can't come up with why a smart, clear-thinking person would want any part of politics. If there's someone out there who truly believes in the "greater good," I suspect he or she is doing something like surgery to help people.

I sure hope I am wrong.

An interesting thread. Maybe it's just me and some "getting older" paranoia, but in the past I did not give much thought to being prepared at home for some length of time. However, since about the end of last year, my wife and I have both reconsidered this and now, while we don't live in a bunker, we do make an effort to have a stock of supplies, pet food, meds - and have been really cutting a lot of firewood for this winter. In the past, the wood stove was only considered a supplement, now it's seen as a possible only source of heat.

I ponder whether this is just crazy thinking or prudent pre-emptive action. But, while I'm pondering, I'm also staying prepared.