Well said, Boats and Doc. Disgust with the way the government works (or does NOT work) is universal. You add pork, hypocracy and fear-mongering (to hold the attention of the "little people") and you've got your average US politician - Repub or Dem. But changing the system seems almost impossible. It would be like the fox making his own new rules for raiding the hen house - then promising to abide by them.
I remember a Tom Clancy novel published in 94 (Debt of Honor?) where the plot had the entire US government wiped out by a terrorist group that crashed a 747 into the capitol during a joint session of congress. Marshall Law was immediately put into place. At the time, the book and plot seemed really far-out but, hey...he was the "Hunt for Red October" guy. Then came 9-11.
The interesting part that I remember about the book was the the US had to create an entirely new federal government from scratch and fast. There was little time for special interests to set their hooks into the delegates that were selected by local elections that were held to tight deadlines. Consequently all of the old campaign and graft tricks (at least for awhile) where thrown out the window. Since the stock market crashed immediately afterward, all trading was suspended until the new government was setup. Before it reopened months later, all prices were "reset" to the level they were on the day before the crash. Like I said, far-out.
Reading about the entire government being fragged was unsettling, but the idea of starting over with the core principals of the constitution with new players and campaign rules was intriguing. Am I starting to sound like a renegade, or just a vet that fed up with the way the current system works? I guess if I get a knock on my door by a couple of suits in shades I'll have my answer.
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