>>No fear, according to recent polls I saw publized this weekend, the President's popularity dropped to almost 40% from 69% since the war with Iraq supposedly ended...I think even Republicans are beginning to question the current administration's priorities...
>
>This almost directly leads to the following train of thought: "war ends - popularity falls - priority?". The only question seems to be "who's next".

Sometimes I get the sense that someone is funding a continuing crisis in the middle east as well as in venezuela.

Imagine no crisis:
1) Defense and Security Vendors will get back to building the machines to save the world and travel us to the stars.
2) Energy prices tumble - now industry can afford to invest in emission scrubbers, health and community services
3) Alternative energies would be developed, fossil reserves would be relegated to plastics. Plastic studs in buildings? Plastic cars? Plastic pets?
4) Eventually the world is saved, wealth is knowledge - knowledge is free - and our global hive marches into the future.
5) Then, we die, with a smile, cause we know our descendants, and the descendents of the rest of the hive will live humane, satisfying and healthy lives!

We need to create a market for tolerance. We need to make the clerks we hire [elect] to manage the details of our operation understand that emphasizing a shared humanity, rather than theft through corruption, destruction and privatization would be in their best interests!

Heavy huh!
Beam me up
RANT OFF