Right now, everyone is excited about Barak Obama's Historical Candidacy in  the US. Many Americans think that once he is elected (assuming he is, which maybe a big assumption) somehow everything will sort itself out and in a year or two we will be back on our merry way to riches and prosperity. In this Diary, I propose that not only will that not occur,  but it is more likely that things will continue to get worse, and the Obama Presidency may very well end up being a failed one for the reasons below (as you will see, hardly due to his mistakes.) The problems we face now are far far deeper than just being a result of the Bush/Rove/Cheney  neo fascist cabal, but rather, rest much deeper in the American psyche, attitude and outlook.
Before I begin, Let me state that when I refer to the Average American Here, I am not referring to the Average Kos reader, who in no way I consider to be average. Anyone who participates here is far from average, and should not be considered your average American: most Americans don't read blogs, let alone participate in the kind of discussions we have here. Rather, I am referring to Joe Average, who does not participate here, or red state , or any place else.

Time and time again, I keep reading crap here about how evil the fed is for trying to keep the banking system from melting down, but wont do anything to save people who bought homes using ARMs, option ARMS and other financial voodoo. Apparently there is a large chunk of Americans who do not have a fucking clue about making good financial decisions, and what kind of loan to get for a primary family residence( that means the house you put your family in as the principal place the family lives, for those of you that dont know what a primary residence is.) I think its time to set the record straight here.

Currently we are facing a crisis, economically, of preportions never seen before in the US. the final outcome of the financial meltdown is yet to be seen, but anyone with a brain is aware we are facing a serious recession, and probably a depression. In addition we are facing an endless , expensive war in the middle east, New Orleans is still in ruins, for the most part, and we are now facing all kinds of serious problems both domestically and internationally. I believe that the root of this problem is in the american notion of individuality above all, and that ruthless self reliance is the highest goal one can achieve in our society, coupled with a massive shift in the dynamics of resource allocation, available land, and the ability of Americans in the past to pick up and move on whenever it suits them.

America needs a massive fundamental shift in attitude and culture and values. It needs to start with a new idea that we are all interconnected and our actions have serious consequences for our neighbors, employees, family's and countrymen. its time to bury the notion of individualism and rugged self reliance as the cornerstone of American life.

more below the fold...

here is one simple example of why the fundie-evangelical christian fascists are one of the evilest groups of people in our society today. lets follow the logic here, and see why these people are truly one of the most detestable, evil groups of people who have ever walked this planet.

it starts with their anti abortion stance. remember, according to the fundie wack jobs, an unborn baby has absolute right to life, even at the expense of the mothers life. lets follow their chain of actions here to see why in this particular case these people are really  the embodiment of evil in our world.

bush says that OBL and al queda are plottting an attack against us at this very moment.

i have one question.

after the shooting last week at NIU I think its time for a real look at gun control. proposals are as below.

I found this opinion post on the front page of the agonist.com. I have watched this country walk into the worst condition it has been in living memory. I added my thoughts below. Please add yours. With thanks to Trob. a really good analysis

Ok ladies and gents, At 46 I just bought my first ticket to the Burning Man art project, in the Nevada Desert.  I am curious to hear from Kossacks that have been to Burning Man in the past, or who are going this year. I would like to know what to expect, Hints about what to bring, what not to bring, where to stay( do I find some burning man community to stay with?? what if I dont???) what to see and do, what to not do. I have read the stuff on the burning man site, so no need to repeat here, this is the look behind the curtain thread. Also perhaps you can share some of your experiences and thoughts on what burning man means to you.  For the record, Ill be driving my small truck out there, and probably traveling with one other attendee ( who has not been picked yet, I have two tix, and am looking around for someone to go.) I am planning on taking 50 gallons of water for two people, a tent ( 4 person) food, campstove, etc. I play keyboards, and might bring a keyboard rig, but dot know about electricity and places to perform. also I am not sure about the sand in the equipment, sounds like a good way to destroy music gear.

Thoughts....ideas..... experiences....

this was posted at the agonist. i am going to link the two articles below. if you have further thoughts or information, please share.

The story isn't about republican malfeasance, ladies and gentlemen. All of us ALL OF US have been able to see the the clear evidence of corruption and greed and fascism that is the current version of the Republican party. I am continually astounded at peoples astonishment about the republicans and what they have done. It was perfectly clear years ago, even before the election of GWB that the world we live in now, where war is a way of life, where the poor and the middle class get poorer while the überrich get richer, where whole cities are abandoned to their demise ( ie New Orleans) was exactly what Newt, Norquist, Rove and the lot wanted from day one. No ladies and gents thats not the issue anymore. its very old news, and really has little or no news value whatsoever. the reals story is why are the democrats letting them get away with it.

Laura Bush visited the site of the brige collapse today. And here we have the money qoute:

First lady Laura Bush visited the site Friday. "I'm so sorry," she said upon meeting Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and other officials. "If there's anything good about it, maybe we can look at other bridges."

She greeted and thanked police officers, firefighters and Red Cross volunteers. "God bless you all," she said.

I am sitting here, watching what preports  to be CNN headline news. on a night when bush is hitting all time lows in the polls, a hostage was killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan, when Congress voted today to hold two key figures in the bush administration in contempt of congress for failing to appear when subpoenaed to testify, when the British government has released a report that the new prime minister should not trust the American government to honor its promises, what is the major news story on TV tonite???
that Lindsay Lohan, some worthless bimbo with a bag of coke in her pocket got busted for drunk driving??? and the follow up is that Brittany Spears was a pain in the ass at a photo shoot??????

I have been gone for a year, in Europe. In a few weeks I am heading back to stay.  I can tell you this. this country is not just screwed, its doomed.

recently there have been appearing posts at several blogs regarding rumors that Bush is suffering from a bunker mentality, that Laura his wife has left him, that he is having an affair with Condi Rice, and that he is basically unreachable by long time friends and supporters. So I ask what is really going on in the White House right now? here is a short collection of bits that seem to be emerging...

Its time to stop talking about what is wrong with the Republikan-Amerikans, and instead, we need to start asking why people still believe anything whatsoever that Republikan-Amerikans say or do. The entire world knows that Bushco lied about WMD, manipulated intelligence, lied about Iraq-Al Queada  connections, lied about the cost of the war, manipulated  no bid contracts for Republikan-Amerikan financial gain, looted the US treasury of billions of dollars, lied to the American people about rebuilding New Orleans and doing something to help those people rebuild their lives. Every single thing, without exception that the Republikan-Amerikans do is based on lies,unmitigated greed, deceit, manipulation of the truth, and a completely amoral self serving approach to any problem or issue they are confronted with. They are constitutionally incapable of any kind of human feeling towards others, or any kind of human approach to problem solving.

Yes that is right folks, King Chumpy has now stated he is going to balance the federal budget by 2012, in the new plan he is going to submit to congress. The article on the Washington post site is short and brief, but makes some really amazing claims. These include that he will make the tax cuts permanent, continue to fund the war on terra at the current levels, and provide for a strong national defense. More below...

OK this is the thread to discuss anything related to executing Saddam, from the trial, the capture, the lead up and now what appears to be the execution in the next hour or so. any comments welcome. Btw I have a thought below the fold.... WHAT IF

This is a brilliant piece about the gop, politics, and the American south. I challenge everyone to read it. The points made here can and will influence politics in the states for years, and define what is wrong with the GOP today.
the article is here at the Washington Post

Harold's Article sums up, in a few paragraphs most of what has gone wrong with both the GOP and with the country today. Rather than quote the article I feel that everyone of us should read it in its entirety at the original location

In the last three days I have seen several sad stories out of Afganistan. This now seems to be the forgotten front in the  war on terra, and more sadly it seems that any chance of real change for the better there is eroding rapidly. Here below are links to Several important articles regarding the situation in Afganistan.