Bill,

Agree re interns: in business, sex with underlings always carries a taint of misused power, which is why corporate policies and employment contracts call it serious misconduct. Even apart from that, there's plenty of opportunity to dally without knowingly creating a timebomb that can go off whenever the underling experiences disappointment in future life or is persuaded s/he has a grievance. It says something about your common sense/wisdom if you go ahead and do it anyway IMHO.

For the rest: you live in a fine country and your glass is half full only because it's so big! I've great confidence in Yankee (expressed as a general rather than civil war sense) ability to make change when you put your minds to it, especially as the internet continues to expose the propaganda and Newspeak distractions that have kept the frogs content as the water boils. So have a good New Year and be ready to live in interesting times!