I wonder if we can take a lesson from the mexican's version of kerry and gore... and set up a paralell gvt of progressive truth-mongers. You know, get Kuccinich, Murtha, the mayor of Salt Lake City (I forget his name already, but DAMN, that was a great speech wasn't it,) and the others that aren't really puppets of Nader's two-headed monster together and create meaningful political reform. You know, a "coalition of the willing" to ignore special interest lobbying groups.
It seems as though if we wanted to work through the existing channels, it would take some kind of secure website or some such thing where voters could go after leaving the poles to recast their vote, and have them independantly tallied by some agency outside of the US and its sphere of influence. I pretty much expect that the mid-term elections will be as much of a mockery as the last two presidential elections, so in my opinion, the obreadorian model might be the only viable option.
Excuse me for not sharing the hopeful additude of many who look at the current polls and see some form of shift about to take place because of the seeming majority of congressional seats leaning in favor of democratic candidates, but look at lieberman - he was a republican in sheep's clothing. Washington can change even the most respectable humanist into a imperialist in a matter of months, maybe even days!

Truely, in order to create radical change in this nation's politics, the rest of the world is going to have to stop running scared and demand accountability. If countries don't like secret prisons in their back yards, then they can't cooperate with the CIA. If they don't like hawkish foriegn policy, then they cannot send troops into the quagmires that we've created. If they think that we've overstepped our bounds by supporting actual terroist regimes, then they shound cast their vote for venezuela instead of guatemala for the UN SC seat, and step into stop pre-emtive wars instead of relying on tacit complacence to keep them from making enemies. If the world stands up and tells us to sit down, we will have to.

I cannot advocate open revolution. Though such might seem like the only way to get the objectives you/we might consider extremely important, once that box is opened, no one can predict with any certainty exactly what will come out! That's a Pandora's box that we should all hope remains forever closed.

None the less, the various forms of peaceful revolutions are indeed very acceptable. But, anyone who expects to change the minds and attitudes of 300 million people in a matter of weeks or months, is an idealistic fool! The simple reality is our form of government was designed to operate slowly. This protects us from "them" as well as protecting us from our selves! Understanding that, then consider that It has taken 60 years for the Military Industrial Complex to become intrenched as it is. It's taken 60 years for the intelligence community to become exactly what it is today. And it's taken 60 years for the Conservatives in this country to successfully through plodding diligence, mount a successful attack on everything Roosevelt or New Deal.`

Dontchu spose it's gonna take another 60 years just to get out of the hole those bastards have put us into? 60 years just to get to the place where we actually start to improve upon Roosevelt's vision? Why must we be so impatient? Why must we be as flash powder that is momentarily brilliant, but gone in an instant? Why can't we be a steady flame of progressive chipping away at the old fashioned and selfish conservative values? Why can't we simply state, today, is the first day of a Progressive future. And though I can't do everything, I can do something. I will not let that which I cannot do prevent me from doing what I can do. I will there for walk my talk, and lead by example. This does not mean I have to lead vast armies of Progressive soldiers. No, leading by example may be as simple as raising my own children to share my values, and to teach them to "listen" as well as they hear! I will be a part of the real revolution. I will state that this is MY world, and you are welcome in it!

To start a process that leads to a system that encourages progressive change, begins with me, right now.

America's weakest link can be summed up in a single word. DEBT. A couple of Pinget's posts on China's revaluation and consumer spending are also somewhat relevent. Just as empires in the past have outspent themselves, an $8.5 trillion (plus state, local, and individual) federal debt with little to no hope of ever being repaid is just the start. The critical mass function of that equation is the enormous amount required from foriegn "investors" , something atune to $2+ billion a day. The US daollar remains the world's reserve currency for the time being, but it wouldn't take much to lose that status. No one wants to be first to start dumping US Treasuries, but once it started, the door would be extremly narrow. Oil priced in dollars fuels much of that status, and a switch to either Euros or a basket of currencies would be more effective in derailing American empire than a dozen Bin Ladens. Foriegn Central banks know this and while they have been diversifying into other currencies, the US consumer has pumped so many dollars overseas, that it has to go somewhere. Up until now, a large portion has indeed flowed to Treasuries. It doesn't require outright selling, merely a slowdown in purchases to affect the economy in a rather big way. When you're the world's largest debtor the only tool left is to walk heavily and carry a massive stick.