C'mon y'all

I feel really disconnected from what is going on in the States in terms of politics, society and pop culture. I'm too busy to read enough news to make up for the sort of cultural osmosis that happens around the watercooler in the culture you live and work in. I do read when I can (Some people would say a lot), and the news is strange.

I hear that Americans don't want good healthcare after all apparently. Hopefully Obama will give them hell tonight, but I'm preparing to be underwhelmed. He doesn't seem to be able to recognize when leadership means using your supermajorities to actually get something done. Schade (a pity). People worked their butts off for this, and the Dems who want change seem to be allowing themselves to be faced down by the anti-change Dems, lobbyists, Reps, the corporate media, and those poor saps who these last four can hoodwink, rile up and/or terrify. My father said a year ago that it would get worse before it got better, and I didn't believe him at the time.

In my humble opinion, its time to realize that the struggle for a better world is going to demand marches and hollering and persuasion and vigils and reflection on a massive scale. We need to stop delegating change five days a week to people who only have the backbone that we give them. You can't reward the disgraceful circus that this has become by backing down or every other positive initiative will be run through the same gauntlet. Americans will get very comfortable with public healthcare when they have it, and no one will be able to take it away -- that is what is scaring the corporate interests to death. The hell with compromise. Fire up the arm twisting, tote a bullhorn to the bullypulpit, let's hit the streets and write the letters, let's get 60 votes and move on to the other issues. C'mon America, I was enjoying bragging to Europeans about how the country has turned around in the last two years and y'all are getting off on the wrong foot? Lets go!