This Country Is About To Explode.

[TheWatcher]

No not in a physical sense or a terrorist attack sense. Although with all the staged Trial Balloons of the last couple of days, it might very well happen.

No, in a metaphorical sense.

And I think what I mean by that is on a mental and spiritual level, it seems that things all around us in general are unraveling. You can FEEL something in the air, and I think most of you know what I am talking about. It seems as though our Civilization is slowly unraveling before our eyes, and it will be interesting to see how things go from here on out.

We can pretty much predict what our Favorite Crime Family will do. They will stay on the course they are on, but I am beginning to wonder if unforeseen variables are going to make things interesting.

They CAN'T control everything. And they are making things so unstable that things may happen that they didn't plan for. And no, I don't exactly know what.

But I have been observing people in general for the past few days, and believe me, the pot is simmering. People are behaving strangely, edgy, agitated, and just plain strange and restless. And no one really knows why.

From a psychological perspective, I think we are beginning to see the effects of everything that has occurred in this country over the past few years. All of the lies and all of the crap is beginning to take a mental toll on the entire population, which beings me back to the unforeseen variables I mentioned earlier.

Quite simply, I don't think we can all take much more of this. I really don't. Things are at the beginning stages of boil, and I wonder how long before this country begins to look like the movie "Falling Down."

We are starting to slowly notice the effects of all the lies, the crimes, the scandals, the propaganda, apathy, anger, rage, and discontent that are a direct cause of the cesspool our country has become politically and economically.

In short, the country is slowly going Mad.

And today's little staged stunt isn't going to help matters. This was B-Movie Production at it's WORST, and i don't think one single person here bought it.

Things are reaching a fever pitch of insanity.

We know what their playbook is.

But I am starting to wonder if the unraveling of Civilization itself and the unpredictability of the consequences of such is going to throw and interesting wrench in things.

Only time will tell, but Something is definitely up. many of us ave had that feeling for months, but something is going to break within the next couple of months I think.

Thoughts?

[autorank]

1. I pick "the unraveling of Civilization itself"

Bit of a cynical mood myself but I could easily be persuaded otherwise. I'm so tired of anticipating a 'tipping point' that I become weary. However, I do sense what your saying. Let's hope that the maddness is of the type, "I'm mad as Hell and I'm not going to take it any more."

:argh:

[enigmatic]

7. We need "Howard Beale"

or a damn good substiute right now; I don't know who it would be, though..

[autorank]

40. enigmatic, hmmm....

Alex Trebeck, nah
Katie Couric, no way
Martha Steward, on lockdown
Bill Maher, small audience but getting warm

DAVE LETTERMAN
Man of the People


:hi:

[Frederik]

75. Letterman for president

Reagan could be president, so why not?

[autorank]

109. I can just wee it...Dropping objects off the White House Roof!

Stupid political tricks. The Top 10 Conservative Idiot's List. Biff Henderson interviews the Cato Institute. And Chris Elliot on Special Assignment.

Elect Dave, a man of the people and "the King of Rock and Roll (as seen in TV Guide).

[Cooley Hurd]

118. Thank heavens for Dave!

...and for Jon, and Keith...

[Daphne08]

100. 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!'

Yep, we definitely need a Howard Beale type!

You are so right, enigmatic!

[Clark2008]

101. Howard Beale sub?

He even DID him on the Countdown with the Best.Ending.Ever!

[enigmatic]

106. Olbermann did a Howard Beale??

Oh man, that would have been a kick to see; is that on tape anywhere?

[Clark2008]

134. Here's the bit:

http://www.moveleft.com/moveleft/video/keith_olbermann_takeoff_movie_network_2005_03_24.ram

I will PM you with this, too, since I didn't see your post until many hours later. :)

[bunny planet]

112. Yeah Clark, thanks for posting this.

People need to know KO did Howard Beale on prime time MSM.
It was awesome.

[Radio_Lady]

2. Better be willing to wait and reflect on this old poem.

My grandpa notes the world's worn cogs,
And says we're going to the dogs;
His granddad in his house of logs,
Swore things were going to the dogs;
His dad, among the Flemish bogs,
Vowed things were going to the dogs;
The caveman in his queer skin togs,
Said things were going to the dogs;
But this is what I wish to state --
The dogs have had an awful wait.

I would be lacking in any sense of responsibility and lacking in elementary courage if I shared in such a hopeless attitude.

May the dawn bring you to a more optimistic viewpoint.

In peace,

Radio Lady

[Guaranteed]

71. Yes, the world will go on.

Your submission reminds me of another poem, by Dorothy Parker:

"Drink and dance and laugh and lie,
Love the reeling midnight through,
For tomorrow we shall die!
(But, alas, we never do!)"


Parker lived to be 74. Not bad!

-A Treasury of Humor

[Radio_Lady]

80. Good post, BullGooseLoony! Dorothy was amazing -- I admired her!

[GreenArrow]

98. we've been waiting for the dogs for so long

that when they actually come, will anyone notice? Or believe it? Will they come with a bark? Or a whimper...

[Deja Q]

103. Everything changes yet nothing's different.

Tomorrow there will be different leaders, different situation.

We're still who we are, and dominated nonetheless.

Anyone who thinks humans can create a properly balanced society is a dreamer. And I might have been the biggest dreamer of them all. :-(

[undergroundpanther]

3. I have had dreams

about this shit well before Bush.

I was scared years ago, of the republicons when raygun was in office..I hated him than.Glad the corrupt fucker is finaslly dead,and I hate how he got away with Iran Contra and his cozy ups with the Christian fundy fascists..

Things never change when families of criminals make alliances and pretend they are not in on it.

[FreedomAngel82]

4. I think so too

For a while now I've thought anytime soon things would just pop. If you sit silently and just meditate (or don't even) you can feel things are ready to pop. I don't think we can take much more of this nonsense and unpeaceful living. The question is when will things pop? Today was a good sense of what's to come. The Bush administration will do anything to keep their power. I wonder what made them do today's events.

[Kerrytravelers]

8. I wonder what made them do today's events.

I fear what is coming up that they were distracting us from.

Or, what are they planning (think June.. think Scott Ritter... think Iran.)


I live in fear.

[FreedomAngel82]

15. Fear and paranoia

Definietly not healthy. *sigh* Bush has ruined us all.

[Kerrytravelers]

39. * is bad for my health. Perhaps the FDA can recall him!

[mmonk]

79. I agree on the recall

I am much more gray (my hair) than just a few years ago and I can feel the stress on my system. It feels claustrophobic.

[Tigress DEM]

21. What happened specifically today? I was out of the loop researching..

Got a book I am writing and had some things to do. Of course, I killed my TV long ago.

All I heard about was:

Bolton had forced his first wife to have group sex and she dumped him then and there, left him holding someone or himself in Italy.

The memo from the UK hit the fan.

Some abortion extremist named Horsely admitted to having sex with a mule and that "everybody on a Georgia farm does it" was his defense

and ongoing stuff here.

[JohnnyRingo]

5. If I get just ONE more psychological shove....

I feel sometimes like I could just go OFF.

Just take ONE more civil right
Just give ONE more handout to the corporate monster.
Just deliver ONE more Character hit on a dissenter.

[Kerrytravelers]

6. Reading this made me wonder if you are reading my mind.

I have felt this same unrest. Even those asleep at the wheel are coming out of their REM sleep and are hearing the alarm clock begin to beep in the morning. They are recognizing that things really aren't getting any better.

There will be a revolt. A peasant's revolt. It's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets a whole lot better.

See you there on the front lines!

[TheWatcher]

12. Indeed.

I think there is a general energy that is shared among us right now, and those of us who can sense it know that things are about to "pop." Another poster said earlier up the thread that this was a "Hopeless Attitude", which i find completely confusing, because there is no attitude here, just an observation and an awareness of the general energy and mood of things.

The situation is not hopeless, but let's be realistic. There are likely unpleasantries that will have to be survived as we go through the endgame of this nightmare.

However, we MUST maintain our hope and continue to fight for what we believe in.

As for the Front lines, I will be standing right there with you. :)

[kentuck]

9. The "memo"

Once people understand what it means, it could be devastating...

[FreedomAngel82]

18. What I wonder

is when the soliders return and they see this memo how will they react?

[Maraya1969]

25. What memo?

The Tony Blair one about going to war with Iraq 6 months before we did? Or have I missed something.

[Newsjock]

10. People who -know- are at the breaking point

... caused largely by the daily sight of people who don't know -- or who do know and don't care -- about everything that's happening inside this nation's government.

Living here in an oh-so-red county, I'm finding that I get visibly angry just at the sight of a Hummer on the road (and they're every-freakin'-where around these parts). I get angry at the rich suburban yuppies in their gated communities and their perfect SUVs and their perfect kids on the soccer team who are all doing drugs behind mommy's back but they don't know about it. I get angry at the incredible poverty on the other side of town, how it has engulfed countless thousands of lives and turned life itself into a hopeless morass of despair from which there is no escape. I get especially angry at the "Support Our Troops" ribbons that are placed right next to the "God Bless the USA" ribbons on far too many vehicles on the freeway. My middle finger is getting lots of work these days.

The bottom line is that I'm reaching a very uncomfortable position where I now assume that the "other person" in almost any situation is someone who's drank the Kool-Aid. And that sets off an entire cascade of anger and rage inside me, and it's damned unhealthy. I've caught myself half-murmuring "damn asshole" at people I see and find particularly loathsome, and if I don't watch it, either I'm going to say it out loud soon, or someone's going to read my lips and give me a swift punch in the face.

And, believe it or not, I'm a big ol' wimp. I hate violence. But the times are on the brink of turning me into a violent man.

You're right -- we're quickly boiling over, and I pray that something can stop it before it's too late.

[Stinky The Clown]

27. :I've caught myself half-murmuring "damn asshole" at people I see"

Man did you say what I'm feeling, too! Man Oh Man!

Also where you say: I now assume that the "other person" in almost any situation is someone who's drank the Kool-Aid

And I live in a purple county in a blue state!

The pot is on the boil .... just not quite a full boil .... yet.

[AndyTiedye]

107. Around Here, Almost Everyone Flushed the KoolAid Down the Toilet

Mostly we can't figure out what happened to the rest of the country.

Whatever Bushbots there are in the San Francisco area are pretty quiet about it.

[tavalon]

128. Yeah, I'm blessedly lucky here too

but step outside of Seattle. It's a whole other fucking insane country!

[oddtext]

126. when i see a "W04" fascist insignia

on someones bumper i invariably flip them off furtively. i am beginning to think these people are the enemy -- kinda like the borg in star trek -- i can't see they're humanity for their stupidity.

bad.

[0007]

83. You couldn't have expressed my feelings any better. I find myself

perpetual in an angry mood these days.

[bunny planet]

113. Totally know just what you are saying.

I just found myself earlier today in a room full of rich Republican women in waspy horse country in NJ. I had to bite my lip long enough to do what I was there for and leave without shouting for all of them to get into 'Republican Rehab'. I never used to feel so alienated from other Americans because of their politics. It's just that I feel their decisions have created such a potentially disastrous situation for my loved ones and the people of the world. It is hard to believe how quickly their actions have unravelled society as you said, just over four short years (seemingly endless when going through them) and thos administration has wrought so much evil and destruction.

[In Truth We Trust]

11. whatever it is, it is long overdue,,,,,,,,, enough is enough!

[Erika]

13. You are absolutely correct

The ramblings I've heard of the grenade incident has brought this home. Bush has torn this country apart. He is 100% hated and despised. He has taken the profits of our workers and shifted them to his globalist buddies. He wishes to bankrupt this country with his buds in control of the remaining $. He has taken the hope away from this country and the Christian need we feel to take care of the needy and replaced it with the need to make the rich even richer. Yes, the pot is about to boil over. He will pay for illegals health care while spitting on our own. He will send SS benefits to Mexico while telling us to expect reduced benefits. Yes, we've about had it.

[KissMyAsscroft]

14. I think the constant of media scare tactics has an effect.

I think that people have become so desensitized that it leads to a sort of daze in human interaction. I think that may be what you are feeling.

24/7 News propaganda is not healthy. And people watch hours of it every day.

[Erika]

17. What I am feeling is anger and loathing

to a president who is railroading this country's working class while giving our $ to the rich and the illegals, and killing our kids in an unnecessary war. How clearer does that need to be made?

I watch about two hours of news, so get off that.

[KissMyAsscroft]

111. It might not have an effect on you...

The media does have an effect, so I'm not going to "get off it." Why do you think the Repukes buy up every media outlet they can? Why does the White House control the press so well? Why does Fox News exist?

Propaganda is a very real force. People are generally too stupid to link a problem they are having with a politician. People are weak and gutless and short sighted about politics. They will rail against Bush one day, and than vote for him the next after they hear all about "Al Gore inventing the internet" Humans have a herd mentality and the media creates the "herd."

The media controls the lemmings, not thinkers like you and I.

[bunny planet]

114. 'Boy who cried wolf' syndrome.

[nashville_brook]

16. "unpredictability" will be due to how Civil-ization DOESN'T unravel

something we learned from germany under hitler was that people participate in the lie and litterally "fill-in" the blanks reality keeps serving up.

i think this cuts both ways.

the right will continue to gorge on a false sense of authoritarian power...

and I HOPE the left begins to operate from the real sense of solving problems for ourselves and our kids in the near term. it's the best channel i can think of with this anxious energy you describe -- i feel it too, btw.

i think today's shenanigans were a dry-run for when they start up the draft or declare martial law or some such desperate measure.

[Erika]

19. The left will work toward solving problems?

How are they to do that? They have not the power or control of the media. Isn't the administration in power supposed to be the problem solver. They have the majority and the press, where are their solutions? If you don't expect it out of them, why do you expect it from the minority party?

[Tigress DEM]

26. Technically, since Bozo the Chimp cheated.. this whole minority thing

is overstated. In numbers - even if you don't dispute the fraudulant vote - we are close to half the nation anyway.

Since this mess has gotten muddier, real Republicans have gotten upset and left their party. Independents, Progressives and DEMS find that the things they have in common are huge compared to their differences.

Basically, the solution I believe is to DEMAND the truth. Demand from the party in charge to do the right things for America whether their pResident "allows" it or not.

DEMAND that the Press cover real news instead of Namby Pamby Radio or FAUX News items.

We don't need CONTROL. We just have to be sufficiently irritating to make them acknowledge us and then step up the heat and really get serious.

BTW -- about 15,000 people protesting day and night even disobeying military lockdown in Ecuador booted their pResident out of office. It can happen.

[nashville_brook]

31. not everyone's problems -- "problem-solving in the near term"

i.e. how to survive this mess and have schools and neighborhoods worth living in.

[Stinky The Clown]

32. I would only add that we're *not* the minority party

We are, to be sure, the 'out of power' party. But we're not the minority. They are.

[tavalon]

129. Oops, sorry

I guess it is hopeless. No need to try. I'll just go buy a gun and off myself.

Please look at your learned helplessness. It isn't helping you or the cause.

[shanti]

43. yup

and the camps are ready and waiting for us.

[Tux]

20. Since Kerry gave up the race

I had a weird feeling that things weren't right. My pagan gf said me aura was stressed and fluctuating and she felt the same feeling of despair and panic like something bad was going to happen. Felt like a panicked feeling I get from seeing the dentist but more intense. Felt cold and scared.

America is in need for release and if it doesn't arrive soon, people will become violent or at least more aggressive. That memo should relieve stress since it points to the person who caused this mess.

[Erika]

28. My attorney friend is also pagan

and can't stand Bush nor Pope Benedict who has shown no tolerance (at least, in the past, for any diversity of religious views). Yes, we've been pushed to the edge by the right wing neocons, and their theocratic friends, in their promoting of giving to the rich and denying diversity in religious beliefs , and denying help to the needy, to the point we are not going to take it anymore. No, zilch, nada.

I am going to put out on every forum I know that Bush had his big days in selling out our country and our citizens and it will end. No longer will he respected for denying our needy benefits while giving illegal benefits. No longer will he be respected for flooding our job markets with illegals, to cut our wages. No longer will he be respected for killing and maiming our kids to pay off his globalist empirical friends. It's over.

[FreedomAngel82]

30. I know what you mean

I'm a very empathetic person and I remember the few days after Kerry conceded things felt very wrong and just not right. I couldn't put my finger on it but I felt very strange. Like I didn't belong where I was and that somehow when I went to sleep I woke up in a strange dimension that looked very similiar to the world I left when I went to sleep. Lately I've been having A LOT of dejavu. More then any other time in the last few years.

[Erika]

37. I also felt that Kerry offered so much

Health care for all, programs for the kids, a fix for SS, a bridge to repair nation relationships. I was devestated when Bush was declared winner with his program of increased war, increased tax cuts to the rich, and a total lack of knowledge or concern for working Americans.

[FreedomAngel82]

44. So true

Also, as I mentioned, me being an empathetic person whenever I saw Kerry whether on a rally on CSPAN or a debate or campaign photo etc. I felt this WONDERFUL positive energy. He has this wonderful green aura about him. I've never felt anything like this before from somebody. It's so wondeful to feel his energy it makes you want to cry (a good cry). I just wish he was really our president now. *sigh* :cry:

[Maraya1969]

22. I have a horrible feelings like that in the last several months

But on a good note I truly feel that the right and especially the Christian right are going to implode. They are going to induce their own destruction. Truth will prevail in the end and I believe we have truth on our side.

I do think something really bad is going to happen but in the end it will be for good. This administration is the most corrupt group of evildoers that has ever stolen control of our nation. Eventually all criminals die or get caught.

I think the more we expose the horrible abuse that Bush is allowing to our natural environment the more people will understand what a horrible person he is. People have a hard time understanding how Medicare is going to be affected by Bushes plans but when they hear that Bush is allowing lead to be put back in paint.....well, that will get their attention.

I think some mass emails need to go around about the lead, the destruction of Clinton's environmental plan, the go ahead to allow raw sewage as water for crops and a few other abominable concessions Bush has made that will directly harm our country's natural resources. I think people can understand these things more than what the nuclear options bill would do or the terrible loss that his ban on embryonic stem cell funding is causing.

You can SEE a forrest and you can SEE pollution. It is tangible and people can relate to it.

[Nothing Without Hope]

35. For those who want a link on the lead paint, here it is. Appalling.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1461470
Thread title: LAT: EPA Puts Mandated Lead-Paint Rules on Hold (!!!)

[mark414]

23. all great empires must fall at some point

[pauldp]

24. We need a national protest the corporate media day.

Howard Beale from the movie Network has been mentioned a few times around here lately, and quite appropriately. He embodies that maddening frustration that so many of us are feeling. He was a newsman who worked for a network.
Let's disrupt the networks.
Don't let them get to work. Block the entrances to all the TV stations. Harass them (peacefully) where they buy their coffee. Tell them we want the truth and we want it NOW. Just go after the media, nobody else for one day. It is their complicity that has put us in the dire situation we are in. Tell them we want the truth about the pre-war intelligence on Iraq. We want the truth about the election. We want the truth about 9-11. They have f*cked our democracy through their distortions and lies and unconscionable silence, and we have to hold them accountable. Hell I'll get people to do it in our little town in front of our little NBC affiliate. What do you say? What other recourse do we have? Elections are now rigged, and the masses are drugged into submission with vapid, and distorted content on the airways.

[Beam Me Up]

59. If every TV station in the country were picketed--would the media report

it? If the picketing grew to the point where, as you suggest, 'news' personalities work attendance was challenged, potentially disrupted, would they report it?

[pauldp]

104. Probably Not But...

We cannot expect them to report anything else of importance either, so why not at least show them we are watching and intend to disrupt their activities if they don't make a change. The goal would not be to get them to report the protest but to get them to rethink their shameful conduct.

Frankly they should be tarred and feathered like in the old days, but that would probably result in well intentioned people being thrown in jail for indefinite periods of time under the Patriot act so we must use other methods.

[Cats Against Frist]

29. I like how you compared the country to madness

I've long thought the policies of the monsters who have entered into the necocon-theocon-corpo-fascist pact are doing nothing more than acting out an id that has gone wrong. A horrible, splitting and projecting, bolo-tie-wearing "id" that has amassed too much money and too much power, and that the policies of this administration and its butt lickers is nothing short of madness. This also includes all the people with their heads in the sand. This also includes us, type type typing away while false binaries are literally robbing everyone of their former centers of reason, and a postmodern monster has come home to fart a stinking miasma of right-wing authoritarianism in the same castle that they complained that the left paid the mortgage on for too long.

At this point, I think that both Orwell and Freud were the fucking geniuses of all time, and that the sooner that this pot boils over, the better. Of course, then, we have to live through the rule of the third estate again, and I don't want my goddamn head chopped off -- and why is it always the goddamn anarchists that always have to get screwed every single fucking time? We'll be a hell of a lot better off when we realize that either form of authoritarianism -- left or right -- imposed on to large a group of people is a goddam time bomb.

Minarchy, now. I'm running the organic farm & Gnostic-Buddhist Church of Jesus & Thomas Jefferson. I think we can take over Washington and Oregon.

[Erika]

34. The study of one's belly-button is always fascinating

Keep it up.

[Zan_of_Texas]

127. entire countries go mad from time to time

A friend online quoted this to me:

A baseball writer once said, while explaining why some organizations hold on to failed strategies even as the losses mount, "it's not too much of a stretch to believe in a delusion; indeed, whole countries go quite mad from time to time". But who ever thought it would be us?

--Buzzerman, a TT poster

The key, if things do seriously erupt, is that those who benefit from the rotten way things are now, also are known for benefiting from chaos. Big Players LIKE chaos, sometimes, if they are prepared for it. If the dollar plummets, for instance, those Big Players who have been preparing for it will have large piles of cash, ready to buy billions in assets at fire sale prices. Regular people may starve. Keep Argentina in mind. There, a country with lots going for it went belly up. All classes were hit, but those on the lowest economic rungs were hurt hard. "Residents of fashionable Buenos Aires neighborhoods grew accustomed to averting their gaze when hordes of families would descend on their streets in the evening, ripping open plastic trash bags in search of anything edible or saleable."

If our side doesn't want to be bludgeoned economically and otherwise from both the current situation, and a chaotic one, we need to be prepared. What that means, I'm not sure. If I knew, I'd tell ya.

[tavalon]

131. Who ever thought it would be us?

Who ever thought it wouldn't be? We've done this before (Puritans, witch trials, McCarthyism, Vietnam war etc.) and we are the most adolescent nation on earth so of course we would go even further into madness sometime. The surprise I have (given what transpired in my head when I was 14 years old) is that it happened in my lifetime. The one blessing for me is that I am doing that 14 year old proud. She said she would never sit by quietly while fascism came to her door. She was right, I haven't sat by quietly at all. That my rage and protest against this newest fascism may not have any effect on it at all matters not one whit. That I rale against it does.

[lala_rawraw]

33. Critical mass, I agree...

Too much to cover at this point and they cannot let go of power, you see, because then EVERYTHING WOULD COME OUT. So there is only one option... finish the take over as quickly as possible.

[Bluebear]

36. I'm frightened.

First time in my life. It's ominous and I feel that things have changed forever. Not a good place to be!

[lala_rawraw]

45. I know sweetie

But I think that humanity will survive. I do not think America will. We have passed even the crossing of the Rubicon and entered into something dark.

It could be because I am sick and I have had to sort of make peace with fear, but I have a feeling we will survive...we in general and you for sure:) What is there really to be afraid of? What more could they do to us at this point that would make things worse? Don't say "death"... because really, does anyone feel remotely alive anymore?

[Bluebear]

48. I think humanity will survive

As far as America, well since 2000 I have been told that I "don't belong" by the majority so I definitely have less of a worry that we will survive intact (I don't see how we can)...my worries are that the ultra right religious dittoheads will proclaim US as insurgents and then, who knows?

I've known fear, and I don't fear death so much as horror, if that makes sense.

[lala_rawraw]

51. No no, the majority is us...

The 12% (if that) of psychotic Repugbots are puffing up themselves on tv to look bigger (meaning, majority) then they are.

Why do you think all of this work goes into "control" and propaganda measures? It is not for the already brainwashed Dobsonites. It is to try and sway the majority, the real majority.

You belong in America. They belong in prison or an asylum, at Gitmo.

[Bluebear]

52. Wonderful words.

You lift me up.

[lala_rawraw]

54. Thank you...

I really do mean what I am saying. If the real majority actually stood up, things would change very rapidly.

[FreedomAngel82]

46. I know how you feel

I miss the Clinton years when I felt safe and protected. I'm lucky to be where I am because I have a democratic governor and an independent mayor (who has a lot of democratic ideals) but I know there are a lot of places that aren't so lucky (like Florida and Texas for example). I hate feeling helpless. I've written my represenitives but they're all high-profile republicans that won't do anything for us (Frist, Alexander and Wamp). Sometimes I lay in bed and just wish I could move to Canada where I'm not so paranoid or scared and wondering what will happen next with this administration. But then I remember how much I love this country and what we generally stand for and all my family is here and I can't leave them (especially my grandfather when he's sick). One thing to remember is every evil person comes down sooner or later. Look at Hitler. He was the worst evil of them all but yet he got brought down. I only wonder when it'll be Bush's turn and when we can go back to having some peace and happiness for everybody and get back on track like we were in the Clinton years. We've all had so much pain whether you're directly effected or not (like 9/11 or losing someone in Iraq or sent to Iraq). Hopefully there's someone out there who can save us before it's too late.

[Bluebear]

49. I think we will save ourselves

Something has to give. The partisan divide will not be bridged, the toothpaste is out of the tube. Whether the country splits or what, I can't guess. If it weren't for all you at DU I would be completely distressed thinking I was the only one noticing the madness that is going on!

[Erika]

47. We have to take a stand for what this country is for

I don't believe it's for siphoning the working classes wages to give to the rich, and cutting benefits to the poor or illegals, or empirical nation building. And yes, I would give my life to defend what I think this country should stand for. Let the Bushies keep it up.

[Bluebear]

50. They will keep pushing but the dam *will* break.

I will be there fighting with you, but it's distressing nonetheless. How far we've come since 2000. :eyes:

[Nothing Without Hope]

38. I feel it too, that something terrifying is going to happen. I am

wondering if it is either invasion of Iran (predicted for June by Seymour Hersh, Scott Ritter and now Jerome Corsi - Mr. Swift Boat Liars) or a planted bomb in this country. Corsi has been very busy and is about to get a lot busier spreading lies about how Iran is going to set off a bomb, most likely in NYC. It's all those "sleeper cells," you see - they're all ready to go.

If a bomb goes off, we'll know who did it and why. They'll blame it on Iran, but we'll know.

I strongly recommend reading through this thread and looking at the links if you want to know more about the Iran situation:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1768708
Thread title: “Is anyone watching Jerome Corsi saying Iran planning to nuclear-bomb{the US, presumably New York?”}

[TheWatcher]

64. I have read that thread

and it is terrigying. They really aren't trying too hard to hide their intentions anymore are they. It almost seems as if they are "taunting" the one's they know are informed and know better saying "Why yes, we ARE Nazis. What are YOU going to do about it?"

I have an answer for you, General. I won't post it, but I do have one.

[raccoon]

89. Exactly, Watcher, I've thought for some time too,

"They really aren't trying too hard to hide their intentions anymore are they."

[bunny planet]

116. I'd be ok with whatever was coming if it was just me. It's worrying about

my kids and what's in store for them that's eating away at me. I'm so scared for them. I want to protect them from what feels like flames of madness licking at the doors and windows.

I'm just trying to stay proactive, learning to grow food, getting out of debt as much as possible, fighting back politically whenever I can. Can feel myself going into survival mode, like high alert.

The Iran thing seems like a red herring. I certainly have never hoped more that Hersh and Ritter might be wrong. I think the blivet and his evil cronies will find an excuse to attack Syria, any day now.:scared: Perhaps they'll engineer another attack in this country to try and justify or catylize it. Marshall law could easily be their next desperate move.

There is that indescribable feeling of the unknown in the air. We know what they are likely to try and do, they are predictably greedy and destructive afterall. We just don't know how it will play out with the rest of us, and the world.

I have never been so frightened.

[shanti]

41. never fear

prozac is here! :sarcasm:

but on the real....i'm getting this feeling that something is going to blow in june. i hope i'm wrong :scared:!

[libertypirate]

42. They have lost all ability to fight the inevitable truth

that Bush has done some very bad things. They don't have the stomach to shovel the Hanity talking point of the day anymore. They are confused and now is the time you print up your best information on what ever and start passing it around. I can not stress this more people will read and understand that it's not partisan they understand Bush is a bad guy. Don't let him weasel his way back into the hearts and minds.

I have been burning CD's with 911 videos and handing them out to people I think can stomach it. We win when we all know.

Also let these people know that we are in this together offer them an olive branch so to speak, seriously it will help ease their warn dispositions.

[Erika]

55. The only reason my GOP friend voted for Bush

was because of the tax cut to the rich. She could have cared less about his heart and mind. Plus, she's got enough money to support her boy as he decides whether or not he goes to college. She has definitely told him that the military is not an option. Good old Republicans, GOP. Let someone else pay for the needy and die in Bush's wars.

[TNOE]

105. Thank you libertypirate!!!

If I may suggest - video tapes of David Griffin's speech on CSPAN to add to it - if each one of us could wake up just one person - we'd be well on our way. Personally - My whole entire family has NOW FINALLY woken up - luckily about 1/2 did before election - this soon after - the other 1/2.

[applegrove]

53. If anyone is really hurting out there..get thee to a doctor. The price of

some SSRIs has come way down.. and you could be on something to give you a base level.. if this whole messed up world is really, really making you depressed.

Also grieve. Cry. Go through the stages, or go to a web site and see how many stages of grief you have passed through. Grieving allows us to step back so we are not putting our hearts on the line all the time.

I think you could write a letter to local media or the MSM or politicians. Tell them that this president does nothing to assuage people's fears, and even worse, encourages continued fear in people so they will be wedged according to his political needs and his is showing incredible lack of leadership. And you need something to be hopeful for and that making all of America apathetic & depressed is how Saddam Hussein ruled in Iraq.

Anyway..those are three suggestions. Of course #4 (and the first thing tried) should be to work out.

[lala_rawraw]

57. This is

Standard psychological warfare. I actually thought about writing to the CDC demanding that they get involved because this was a health risk causing serious problems. Then I thought, eh...they won't get the truth of the joke or the joke of the truth.

In any case... I got "me" to the long awaited for specialist only to be sent away. I am sick of doctors and meds. When I run out this time, I am not going to get more. I am simply done. If my body needs to split, so be it. But I am not going drive myself crazy to save my health and in doing so destroy it faster.

Just say no, lol.

[applegrove]

61. Oh I have had the same thought about the mental health of people

caused by Bush lack of leadership and distinct desire to 'not solve problems' if that works in his favor.

When liars start with the reality games and wedging and scapegoating and attacking and playing with hearts and minds and taking pleasure in hurting the 'other' .. it is very, very hard on all people indeed.

I think Bush should apologize to the country in fact. I hope the CDC and all other health organizations are all over the WH.

And you please.. don't just drop the meds without help and monitoring. Going off those suckers can be really, really harsh. Especially when we are in very tough times when your way of life and all that you hold dear is being attacked.

[Goldmund]

58. I disagree.

Don't take SSRIs (unless there is clinically something wrong with you). If reality is painful, then people should feel pain. Taking antidepressants because reality depresses you is complacency. Anti-depressants are for people who are depressed when their reality is good, not for those who want to hide when it is dark.

And then the collective of that pain may jolt the country from its collective complacency.

[applegrove]

60. I should have put SSRIs last on the list. Many, many people carry

a gene for depression that never 'awakes' unless bad times occur. Once depressed (and clinical depression would be diagnosed) you can loose parts of the brain. The part that is ones' working memory can go caput.

I only meant it for people who really were noticing, or having people tell them that they are not themselves.

SSRIs are the treatment for traumas too.

So - obviously - I don't want anyone to be flippant about and medication. But if they keep you from loosing parts of your brain and can temporarily get you through a 'bad few months' or years.. then ask for help.

But there are so many other ways of getting away from the bad news too. Like turning off the news if you have to. And donating that time to helping others.etc.

[raccoon]

88. Some good suggestions, applegrove, except

I'd advise people, Don't get started with the SSRI's, unless you really need them. Ads for those drugs make it look like that for any bump in the road, just pop a Prozac/Paxil,etc., and you'll feel better.

What they DON'T tell you is that those drugs often are hard as the dickens to get off. That you go into withdrawal when you try to stop them--which is euphemistically referred to by the medical community as "antidepressant discontinuation syndrome."

[fob]

56. I think the country ALREADY went mad, it seems to me we are at the

point where either people will wake up and snap out of it or will simply succumb to the bush*adone treatment of FEAR!, TERROR!, IT'S NOT MY FAULT!, FEAR!, FEAR!

Quite frankly I'm not sure which way even I am leaning at this time, it's exhausting.

[nolabels]

62. It's only at a slow simmer

Cover it tightly and bring to a rapid boil x(

Hearing about them people in Iraq and Afghanistan, them people are getting to the rapid boil point. I have a hard time contemplating the point when it makes sense to kill your fellow countrymen :shrug:


http://www.antiwar.com/

Wednesday, May 11th, 2005
Seymour Hersh: Iraq "Moving Towards Open Civil War"
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/11/142250

[dave123williams]

63. Schizophrenic national mentality; the Germans in the crowd know...

...all about it.

[rucky]

65. I've got front-row tickets when it happens

let it burn. kali time. good for the soul.

if you release your attachment to stuff, the domestic/corporate facets of the Great Unraveling, will end up for the best after enough people get squeezed. soon enough our botox-ridden culture will experiece a much-needed shift in priorities. we will be jilted into caring - more by necessity than from empathy.

focus on relieving the real suffering from war, hunger, poor healthcare, environment and (soon to be) plenty of homelessness. none of this money and pride and power shit matters in the long run.

[The Animator]

66. I would like to know if there is a list somewhere...

A list that chronicles all of Bush's ill conceived choices.

From the theft of the 2000 election to the present day. It's one thing to read about this outrage, and then that one, there all seemingly separate issues. Individual attrocities are easily forgoten. I've actually lost track of how many things this administration has screwed up, or flat out purposely ruined.

I think that's what's been missing here. A sense of memory, a sense of history as it's happening. Every story we've been fed has been short, a matter of weeks at the most and then it's over. The outrages of last week have been run out of our short term memory by this weeks outrages. A story starts to grow legs, a crime is commited thats got real meat on it, something that could bring this whole crooked administration down... and then it disapears.

What ever happened to all the disenfranchised black voters, wrongfully turned away from the poles at gunpoint in 2000?

What ever happened to the Supreme Courts decision to stop the recount, where does it say that the Supreme court gets to choose who our President is?

What ever happened in that incident with the AWAC that almost got us into a war with China?

Whatever happened to the "plane" that hit the pentagon?

What ever happened to Bush's connection to Kenneth Lay?

What ever happened to Valarie Plame?

What ever happened to the cherry picking "cabal" in the Pentagon?

What ever happened to Jessica Lynch?

What ever happened to the GOP connections to the "Swift Boat Vets?"

What ever happened to the Bulldog?

These are the only ones that I can remember at the moment. Buit maybe that's what there counting on. With the Telescreens constantly feeding us something new to worry about, maybe we'll never stop to reflect on where we've been. With no sense of where we've been, how can we determine if where were going is better than where we are? If we never stop to catch our breath, to turn around and see the road we've traveled, we'll never see how far we've fallen.

I'm not a religious person, I lost my faith long ago, but the only analogy I can think of to properly describe my sentiment is this: The journey to Hell is not a single leap off a sheer cliff. No person would be stupid enough to willingly jump off the mountain top into the chasm of fire miles below him. No, the pathway to Hell is a road with a long gradual slope, each step takes you further and further down, but the slope is so gradual and so long that you'd never realize you had walked all the way into the firey depths until it was to late.

[misanthrope]

67. I would have agreed...

...a little more than a decade ago. Now, however, I believe that humanity is in a constant state of self-agitation and is firmly on schedule to be its own undoing.

We are an "extinction species," folks. It's as plan as the noses on our faces.

[Swamp Rat]

68. Maybe another species wants us extinct...

[The Minus World]

69. "Everyone knows, this town is gonna blow

and it's all gonna blow right now." - Jello Biafra

In this case, maybe such a sensational reality is not a plausible one. It's quite possible that this country is experiencing something akin to indigestion, after realizing the true extremism practiced by the one-partyists on the right. People are noticing that the lips don't match the words.

We could simply be experiencing the malaise and despair that mankind incurs after willfully subjecting his collective body to despotic rule, while his mind conjures fanciful images of freedom.

It's also very possible that our case for an Iran invasion will be made - or manufactured - through any number of devices available to this highly secretive administration.

Those of us who frequent this message board tend to have our ears so close to America's political pulse that we notice even the slightest fluctuations, and become profoundly concerned about the potential for coronary. This is one of those situations in which I hope we are not correct.

[LTRS]

70. My thought is no

Why? Because most people don't even pay attention and have no idea what is going on. hell, did you see that poll where only 47% of the voting age public knew who Dick Cheney is?

I rest my case.

[Tesla]

72. It just makes me freak out

When I see how close we are to John Titor's predictions!!!!
I mean, when I read about him for the first time in 2001, I thought "How far fetched"
Now....not so much!!!

http://www.johntitor.com/

[hippiegranny]

124. I know what you mean

So many times, since reading the Titor stuff, something will happen and I remember things I read there.

Things that make you go hmmmm.

Personally I think "Titor" is a psychic, not a time traveler, but the time travel story was the vehicle he chose for his message.

[ernstbass]

96. I agree - things are status quo in this red state

The majority of people are blissfully unaware of anything going on around them and they continue to delude themselves that the prez is keeping them safe and spreading freedom:puke:

[GoBlue]

73. I think foolishness inevitably becomes self-evident

except for those who prefer to make complete fools of themselves. I hope that they are the minority but I have my doubts.

[Disturbed]

77. Wow! a lot of anxiety and it's only the 1st 100 days...

of the 2nd Bush Junta take over.

If this Iran attack madness really starts to happen I feel that the anti-Iraq protests that occured before the invasion here and around the world will pale in comparison to the protests of anti-Iran attack. Would that stop the insane Bush Junta or the Israelis?

[ananda]

74. still shopping n drugging

As long as most people can shop and drug, nothing much will happen to change things as they are now.

Can you say: comfort zone?

Sue

[shanti]

102. thank you!

it makes me physically ill to listen to coworkers discussing their latest shopping spree, or who won the latest reality show on teevee, or what they're eating or planning to eat/losing weight. their eyes glaze over when you try to talk about REALITY to them. :-(

[bunny planet]

119. I think reinstating the draft will be the tipping point for a whole lot of

people.


:mad: :mad: :mad:

[Zan_of_Texas]

135. There's one thing nobody is really mentioning.

Let's just say that 9-11 was either an inside job, or done with the help of so-called friends of the U.S.

Let's just say that Osama bin Ladin is/was a former asset of the US.

Let's just say that the risk to the U.S. on its soil of an authentic terrorist attack was minimal before the Bush administration.

Let's just say that the actions of the US military etc. in Afghanistan and Iraq have CREATED terrorists and hatred against the US rather than democracy and friendship.

What's to prevent suicide bombers from blowing themselves up in the U.S., as is done in Israel? (The great work of the Department of Homeland Security? Yeah, right. I feel SO safe.) What's to prevent civil war in this country? Most of us in the US are limited in our personal experience of warfare to the occasional shooting of a bird with our finger at a very bad driver in traffic. I would no more know what to do in a war zone than I would know how to fly using large wings. People who live in many other countries around the world know war in a personal, up-close way, unfortunately. It's a fact of life for billions of people.

[mopaul]

76. meanwhile, Rumsfeld makes millions from anti depressants

no shit, he's big in the pharmaceutical industry, not only does he sooth our anxieties, he causes them too. viscious bastard.

[Theres-a]

81. perfect

[Q]

78. Strange that the Bush Gov. was able to scramble military jets for a cesna

...but couldn't do it on the day it was really needed...when commercial jets were lumbering slowly towards their targets. Was there a 'stand-down' that day? Does anyone even care anymore?

There may indeed be something coming up that will 'shock and awe' our country. But I get the impression that the Bushies will be able to once again use it to their advantage.

[raccoon]

91. That occurred to me too, Q,

that the Bush govt was able to scramble military jets for a Cessna--and very quickly, too, I might add--but on 9/11, that didn't happen.

Makes you wonder....

[callous taoboy]

82. I know that I'm not the same person that I was pre-2000:

I didn't pay much attention to politics back then. People are chasing their tails these days, that is if they don't have their heads planted firmly up their asses. Texas teachers are being shat on, yet I receive e-mails weekly from colleagues that slam liberals/Democrats.

[rainman99]

133. Hey, Callous, same here. I was politically ignorant.

I'm also in Texas and just heard some redneck badmouthing Clinton in a restaurant. I just wanted to get up and slap him.

[DivinBreuvage]

84. This phenomenon has been observed before

in Europe before the eruption of the First World War, in America before the eruption of the Civil War, in America and France and Russia before the eruption of their revolutions; and no doubt many other instances can be found.

I think it is safe to say that certain conditions really do produce a weird sort of psychological impact that seeps from person to person until whole populations are infected. One of the symptoms is indeed a general polarization and gathering of suspicion, fear, and rage in the hearts of the people, who begin to feel that they are itchin' for a fight; and this mood feeds on itself, snowballing as rhetoric and emotion are ratcheted up until some incident, perhaps insignificant in itself, tips the balance and the pressure cooker finally explodes.

I just finished reading "The Last Tsar" by Edvard Radzinski. One of the curious things he describes in that book is the mood of the country on the eve of the 1917 Revolution, and how so many people from so many sections of society knew the revolution was coming -- people could "feel it in the air".

[DARE to HOPE]

85. Hang in there, everybody!

It is hard being the ones "in the know." Most people try to stay in denial as a coping mechanism. But that isn't always a bad thing. And it IS really wearing to be so aware.

Take a break. Walk outside, among trees, or by water, or wherever it is still beautiful. And give thanks to the universe for the breath you are breathing.

There have always been evil men. There have always been terrifying events. But life somehow goes on. Let us be thankful while it does.


Martin Luther lived in a tumultuous time. People asked him frequently if he thought the world was coming to an end. His answer: only God knows. And that even if he DID think the world was coming to an end, he would still plant a tree today.


We are the ones who can sleep. It is the criminals that roll around in their beds. Bush Sr.'s suffering shows upon his face, and the rumors of drugs/sex and his other dysfunctions have been rife for years.


Soooo--do what you can this day to advance our cause (write/call Congress, the papers, talk to someone, plan a protest, or just laugh in the face of it all) and then shrug it off, hug your spouse and kids, and let love rule your life for the rest of the day.


God bless each of you with His loving arms around you.

[bunny planet]

122. Thank you. That helped.

[halobeam]

86. You ask what are my thoughts?

This is what I think:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3642768&mesg_id=3642768&page=

[lonestarnot]

90. A watched pot never boils!

[Toots]

87. I can understand now to a degree how those people felt in the "dust bowl"

How a woman could kill her entire family, chop them up into little pieces. The utter frustation and despair of the never ending dust and dirt and little food because no crops. Every day the creeping blowing dust that destroys all. And it too was all man made. Republicanism is like the creeping blowing dust. It gets into everything and destroys all that is good and decent, driving sane people insane and causing the already insane to be gleeful. We are living in a modern day "dust bowl" only the dirt is Republicans.

[bunny planet]

121. Well said. And we'll need another FDR to get us out of the dust.

[Ripley]

92. No it is not.

People have said that since 2000. This country is nowhere near the explosive state of the 1960's. People are not in the streets.

Only one thing will get lazy Americans to "do" anything explosive. And that is for Dumbshit to attack Iran. They won't accept the money drain of another war. But then again, they fell for it once.

Other than that, life goes on.

[natrat]

93. thoughts?

same as it ever was out there in suburbia. Who won american idle? How's the michael jackson trial? Most people dont have time to figure out what's going on; and i think it will be that way right upto the crest. Now only the intelectually curious have an inkling. Although when money becomes an issue people do wake up. United pension thing might be waking some people. But in general most people are just going about there lives.

[northzax]

94. so you feel like this?

Tile floor of the bathroom
Scrubbed clean and bright
Checkerboard white and grey
Towels from the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Kingston Jamaica
I can still see the rust colored stains today
The stage is set
Someone's going to do something someone else will regret
I speak in smoke signals and you answer in code
The fuse will have to run out sometime
Something here will eventually have to explode
Have to explode

You and me lying on the tile floor
Trying to keep cool
Restless all night
Sweating out the poison
As the temperature climbs
Staring up up at the hundred-watt light that burns above
Name one thing about us two anyone could love
We roll out the red carpet
When rotten luck comes down the road
Five four three two one
Watch for the flash
Something here will eventually have to explode
Have to explode

"Have to Explode" by The Mountain Goats, avaliable on "Tallahassee"

[realFedUp]

95. reconciliation is also in the air

How do you reconcile with people who
see someone as the "other", who have
an agenda that's good for them but
not the "others", who talk one way
and do the opposite, who lie, cheat
and steal...despite laws to the contrary...
who are bringing down the moral fiber
of this democracy and the idea of
America for greed and power.

It's time to stand on the side of truth.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

97. I think you are right.

As Abe Lincolnsaid, 'you can't fool ALL the people ALL the time." I was thinking the same thing just yesterday at the grocery store. All of a sudden people will begin throwing their arms in the air and yelling "BULLSHIT! Enough already!"

[jenn1977]

99. my boyfriend and i talk about this all the time

we see it and experience it everyday. there is tension in the air - so thick, people really ARE behaving strangely.

the fish rots from the head down.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

108. I first read about dysfunctional familes during the Reagan years, and

it didn't take me long to see America as an exceptionally dysfunctional family.

Given the attitudes of some of today's Bushbots, I really feel as if I'm living in a remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I never know when some apparently rational person is going to start coming out with something they heard on Fox or Rush.

[Arugula Latte]

110. The sense of a topsy-turvy world is very old

Won't you show me something true today
C'mon and show me anything but this

It's portrayed in those weird-ass paintings by Bosch hundreds of years ago, for example.

World Party's "Way Down Now" expresses it too:

Inside my future eye
What I see just makes me cry
I'm way down now
I'm way down now
The clocks will all run backwards
All the sheep will have two heads
And Thursday night and Friday
Will be on Tuesday night instead
And all lthe times will keep on changing
And the movement will increase
There's something about the living babe
That sends me off my feet
There's breeding in the sewers
And the rats are on their way
They're clouding up the images of perfect day
And I know I'm not alone
And I know I'm not alone
And I know I'm not alone
Anything but this
Can you hear me I said

...

Won't you show me
Something true today

[RBHam]

115. BOOM!

Good thing the CIA announced they are moving their Domestic Division to Denver...

Washington just may have a HUGE bullseye on it right now...

[slackmaster]

117. Looks like same shit, different day to me

I empathize with your sense of impending drama but don't feel it myself.

[Tinoire]

120. Yeats... The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all convictions, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.


Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Yeats... The Second Coming

Great post. Recommended....

[0rganism]

123. "Civilization" was never wrapped all that tight anyway

We've been in free-fall for 10,000 years.

Thousands of bloody wars and species extinctions, hundreds of genocides, scores of empires buried in the sands: the long-term record is nothing to brag about.

Nonetheless, there are individual accomplishments, geniuses and leaders who have risen to the challenge, whose legacies persist across the ages and form the basis of the next act in our global tragicomedy.

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear --
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.'
("Ozymandias", Percy Bysshe Shelley)

[ariesgem]

125. I wanted to post something similiar to this but then I thought, maybe

it was just in my imagination. Here in Los Angeles we're having freeway shootings on a daily basis, blacks and latinos are fighting each other in the schools, another police brutality incident was recently caught on tape, we're paying the highest gas prices in the nation, many people in low/middle class communities are forced to work 2 jobs just to pay skyrocketing rent, etc....

I swear, the people here have a "don't push me cause I'm close to the edge", vibe about them. When I'm out, I check out people's expressions while they're driving, sitting on bus benches, walking down the street most of them look either TIRED or PISSED.

Something IS in the air.

[benburch]

130. Cry Havock and let loose the dogs of war!

The explosion could not come soon enough for me.

[rainman99]

132. I hope you are right. It seems like we have hit bottom.