There are lots of reasons for optimism.

[KlatooBNikto]

Because we focus only on our own domestic situation, we lose track of the historical forces that are gathering to counter Bush and his Neocon Groupies' vision of America the striding colossus that walks the earth.Nothing that one sees in the world lends any support for that view.

Consider: In Latin America,a region that has been dominated by the U.S. for a long time, where rightwing dictators installed and maintained at the behest of one U.S. administration after another were the norm, we see genuinely democratic leaders like Chavez, Lula and others in the major Latin American countries gathering strength.Their true reforms have created hope for the majority of people in that vast continent who have been left without hope because of the corruption and profligacy of military and civilian dictators.

In Asia, the rise of China and India, the most populous nations on earth, offers for the first time rare opportunities for other Asian nations to grow outside the embrace of U.S. led corporate control of their economies.

Even in the Middle East, after the dust settles on the illegal wars Bush has engineered, the trend is away from the dictators and the monrchies installed for the benefit of U.S. oil conglomerates. Mubarak and the Saudi Royal Family are going to be history soon. Israel may also see the writing on the wall and join the Arab countries as a true partner in the Middle East and abandon its reliance on the U.S.

I really think people are on the march everywhere.There is no need to despair.

[MessiahRp]

1. To add to this a little bit...

The European Union decided it needed to offset some of King George's power and have begun to work on a unified army to protect itself.

Also one might point out that we are at the dawn of a new cold war with Russia. Bush kept a blind eye to Putin's abusive takeover of Russia and reinstitution of it's Soviet ways and now the two have serious differences in how they see the World and how they approach each other. Lest us forget that they still have huge amounts of nukes stockpiled and that Putin's Government has been strongarming for a return to full on Authoritarianism for the past few years. A totally revamped Soviet military is not too far off.

Bush has made the world more dangerous to us now than it was back when Kennedy was battling Khrushchev because this time it's not only the Russians that are uneasy with our power, it's every other corner of Earth (including a large laundry list of former allies).

Rp

[teryang]

2. The domestic situation is the one we live in

...and its getting worse every day. Our Constitutional form of government has already been dismantled. What is going on now is the process of consolidation of a new feudal order characterized by looting.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

3. You have that right

The legislative branch and intelligence services are being merged into the executive branch. If the neocons are able to nuke the fillibuster they will in due time merge the judiciary in with them.

[Crankie Avalon]

4. Well, maybe there's even a little good domestic news, today...

In the first defeat of his second term, Bush's pollution bill dies in Senate

Thu Mar 10, 3:30 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) suffered his first political defeat of his second presidential term when a pro-business air pollution bill he had championed was killed in a Senate committee, largely because it did not address the issue of global warming.

The so-called Clear Skies legislation effectively died when members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee split 9-9 as they voted on the measure that critics say would have significantly weakened existing air pollution controls.

Under Senate rules, a bill cannot be brought to the floor after a split committee vote.

Ironically, the measure gave out its last gasp just hours after the president made a passionate pitch in its support in the heavily industrial state of Ohio, promising "to act to get results" on his proposal.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/usbushenvironment

[sendero]

5. This is very good news...

... and my optimistic side says that this might be just the first in a long string of defeats for Bush**.

Too bad we couldn't kill the bankruptcy bill, but this one really stunk and it deserved to die.

As far as I can tell - the main goal of this bill was to push out pollution controls another 10 years. No doubt, when that 10 years was up, the plan was to enact another bill to push it out 10 more.

[laura888]

6. More news from South America...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22121-2005Mar9.html

<snip>
• GUATEMALA CITY -- Police used tear gas and water cannons to beat back hundreds of demonstrators who were trying to prevent Guatemala's Congress from approving a free-trade agreement with the United States. The protests have forced Congress to delay its vote.
</snip>

The people ARE making a difference!

[bigtree]

7. I do worry though about the reaction of our government and its agents

to the resistance around the world. It's a long time until the next election and I worry that some violent reprisal from one of these resisting forces could force us to choose between alleigence to our country and the entreaties of some aggressor nation or individuals. No matter how justified an aggressor's violent actions against our country may prove, the majority of Americans (myself included) will ultimately choose retaliation in defense of our safety, and if so threatened, a strong defense of our independence. In my view, there can be no compromise in this, at least in our initial response.

That is what is the most troubling about Bush's aggression and his ambition to militarily dominate the world, mindless of the consequences of his blustering, ignorant arrogance. We are fast becoming the number one enemy of the world and I fear that such a retaliatory attack may be iminent. Our party, and others, must re-double our efforts to communicate to the world that we are not in support of the reckless actions of our chief executive. Perhaps then we can moderate the tendencies of some who oppose our country's actions through violent reprisals and recrimination.