Nevertheless, the sooner the issues that are the current topic of so much media frenzy are proposed in the national debate, the sooner a mediocre and most likely incompetent program for relief can be fostered and/or rejected. Whereupon a new round of discussion and inept attempts at augmentation will no doubt issue.

Except in times of perceived emergency, such as the current administration’s focus on war, our system of government is slow, ponderous, corrupt and unproductive. Like evolution, over time, change eventually does take place, inevitably and with many false starts and dead ends. To promulgate the evolutionary metaphor further, not only does the organism itself change but the environment changes as well, the one in complement to the other over painfully long and difficult to perceive epochs.

I still don’t know why anytone thinks there’s anything stunning or earthshaking about the recent election!

Elections are like the weather – ever notice how local TV stations love to really hype up weather events – “The Storm of the Season!” with grave looking reporters on location in front of crashing waves at the beach or reporting from some deep underground bunker “Storm Central” control room? Nowadays they have dramatic music and graphics to go with their breathless rports.

I’ve lived in New England all my life. We get storms here. Big deal. When I was 4 I once had to be evacuated from a beach house by the Coast Guard, but as an adult I drive a 4WD vehicle, keep an emergency kit on hand, and own a whole-house generator, and that’s all. I get on with my life – I go to work, go shopping, and do my daily activities, and pay no attention to over-hyped routine events like weather.

Don’t get suckered-in by the media! Little, if anything will change. We have no good options in Iraq so don’t expect the Dem’s to pull a rabbit out of THAT hat. And the only changs they are likely to make to taxes involve some minor twiddling with brackets and deductions, so the budget deficit isn’t going to just evaporate. On social issues the Dem’s are not far from the GOP, and anyway have no money to throw at major issues like health care. so don’t hold your breath there. They might make some meaningless symbolic gesture on energy or the environment, but do the math: the sheer magnitude of those issues is way beyond anything either party has the guts to tackle.

So, bottom line: don’t be a sucker. This is a medie event. Replacing Tweedle-dumb with Tweedle-Dem is not going to make much practical on the ground difference.

Would anyone like to comment on rolling back the tax break for the wealthy on cap gains? Just to get this one started, is there any reason why those who benefit the most from the actions of the federal government shouldn’t be required to give something back when they’re dead? What’s wrong with a Death Tax anyway, they didn’t pay anything while they were living…

Any chance we can save college students from starting life with huge debt burdens only to find menial minimum wage jobs awaiting them? How about extending Ch 11/13 protection to them as well? Or at least the possibility of the same type of debt restructuring that we extend to foreign countries.

And what about Social Security, pensions and the coming retirement doom?

Give us a break. We’ve had enough slogans. The whole problem with American culture is that Americans confuse gesture and symbolism with concrete facts. If gesture and symbolism could do the trick, the whole Mideast would be a peaceful democracy by now.

No more slogans. The only things that matter are actual behavior. Given Pelosi’s support of Murtha, with his ethical issues, I’m not expecting big improvements from the Dems. Don’t forget: The Democrats were not elected because they are smart, decent, kind, or clean. They were elected ONLY because they are not Republicans in this election year. Neither party has cornered the market in sleaze.

How about an end to the earmarking bonanza?

-In light of stultifying deficits and an overwhelming commitment in Iraq, what do the Dems plan to do with respect to funding Federal land management and conservation agencies like the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service? At the field level, these agencies have been cut or flat-funded for several years and are strangling. What’s the outlook?

-What might the Dems do to restore the basic processes of democracy like putting the interests of citizens ahead of lobbyists and ensuring fair and verifiable elections?

-Any plans to manage the broadcast spectrum (TV and radio) as a public resource and in the interest of the public rather than solely as an avenue for commercial exploitation?

So many more, but if you could pose just one of these questions, I’d be grateful.