yeah, and we have a commercial culture that finds it profitable to convince people to buy cheap, polluting crap they don't need and can't afford with money they haven't earned yet. even better, they find it most profitable to sell intangibles like "financial services" that produce absolutely no motive power whatsoever. remember, tb, greedy careerists work for business as well as government. in fact, most job hop from one side of the line to the other.

the vote is about as effective at curbing the politicians as the free market is at controlling the businessmen. great in theory, but in practice the players have learned how to adapt their larceny to exploit the rules. in both cases, political and business rivals find it more profitable to work together and violate the public than to compete against each other. so in spite of ideological differences and rhetoric, both republicans and democrats are for all practical purposes indistinguishable,they just have different constituencies they suck up to; and the shabby treatment that we're getting from the corporate sector seems to be spreading across company lines.

"...our options have changed, please listen carefully..."

i have come to the conclusion that ideology is irrelevant. i think it's the philosophical position that managing workers and exercising power is more worthwhile and noble than figuring out how stuff works and making things people need. then again, maybe the neckties just inhibit the elimination of poison from their souls.