Even the fascists of old got the trains to run on time. What we have here in America is WORSE than fascism, I guess.

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There's no money in it for our corporate-fascist oligarchy in actually fixing the infrastructure. Better to wait until the inevitable disasters happen, then send in outsourced, corporate "disaster-mercenaries" to pillage huge sums of cash from the victims under the guise of "relief work."

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In Iraq it reminded me of the breakfast line at Curry Village. The leftover construction of a cafeteria for the Olympics in Yosemite Valley. Nice setting, lousy food and a long wait in the chow line.

The wait is what brought it home to me, we often joked a lot about how it was like a soviet block country, no choice. Last time I was there the food was a lot better, but it has been a while.

When the supplier is a monopoly, the quality goes to the basement, price goes to the roof. But hey it was a hot meal and we were hungry, what else were we going to do? Eat pine-cones?

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There's so much going on in the country that we don't know about because that's the way Washington wants it. Iraq, Afganistan, Katrina, the recent floods, fires in CA, cranes collapsing,soldiers getting electrocuted in showers, police brutality. If it weren't for cell phones and sophisticated cameras allowing people to report things themselves, we wouldn't know anything. ANNA

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We often feel powerless to change things.Politicians say they are working for their constituents and then nothing happens.We are so busy trying to survive as prices rise;we don't stop to worry about the roads and bridges.They are not putting our tax money to good use.What can we do?

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pump their own gas - oops, can't do that, the station's closed because the minimum wage dude or dudette decided not to come to work for a week. Shop for their own food (and cook it), oops, can't do that either - same reason. Unionize the whole fucking planet (and NOT with union leaders in the mold of corporate weenies) and then tell the elites that there are limits to their greed based on their contributions to the "commons". No contribution - no $$$, no multiple houses in resort areas, no servants, no $25,000 desserts, no nuttin' honey. Eat the rich.

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The problem is we are aware of these tears but the problem is with the leaders. They still think the Saudi or Chavez will give free oil. That is the problem. They think we can have the golden, not even the cotton, as that would do, threads we will get to stitch the tear. The oil going up and down ought to tell all that we are going in the economical boat too like that. Up and down and one day the houses torn apart.
The haves are safe so why worry about those on the streets. .
I thank you
Firozali A. Mulla DBA
P.O.Box 6044
Dar-Es-Salaam
Tanzania
East Africa

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It has been the rallying call of the Republicans since Ronald Reagan - Smaller government! They have expanded our government to a point where it is now so intrusive that as citizens we have lost sight of what our personal responsibilities in a democratic society should be. This article points to one area where instead of depending on the Feds to fix the problem, we should be looking to our state and county governments (smaller, more accessible units of government) to step in and act - without Federal funds. The problem: It means we get to foot the bill for the work. Is this such a bad thing - foot the bill locally and get the repairs done, or foot it through the Feds and only hope it gets done?

The creation of a strong nation depends on the populace of that country taking responsibility for not only how it is governed, but being active participants in the process. We seem to have forgotten that, but now while we still have a little time, we need to step up to the plate and take action locally. Tell your neighbors and your friends that with their support and the support of their communities, they can create jobs locally that will fix roads, fix levees, create flood control and hundreds of other things from education to food to energy, etc.. Encourage city governments to adopt policies that rely on local input, not federal, and create within each community an autonomous entity. You will find that this will create a cascade effect, moving from community to community, if you are willing to share what you learn along the way. Your local governments will balk at giving up federal funds, but if your communities come together and issue bonds or raise local property taxes, present workable plans to local banks for financing, or work out volunteer or barter arrangements with local contractors who agree to hire and train locals to do the work, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.

Sometimes when you become dependent on an all powerful central government, as established by our Constitution and defaulted to by state governments for centuries, you get exactly what you pay for - Big Brother. Now is the time to change - as we head into the Perfect Storm written about by Naomi Klein, Richard Heinbeg, and others. It is time to make smaller a reality, not a Republican illusion, but a workable, local reality that can spread across this country to create the kind of country our true patriot Forefathers actually foresaw.

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