I think that there is a lot of effort devoted to keeping all the average and lower income citizens angry at each other.

Oh, lordy, yes. Pitting non-union private workers against government employees, especially teachers and firemen, in the recent Wisconsin stuff, really brought that home to me. We are not one anothers problem. But we're fighting over one ever-shrinking piece of pie instead of organizing against the Koch brothers and the like who have the rest of the pie and the entire dessert table it's sitting on.

ETA:

I've faced reality and I'm moving on scheduling cataract surgery.

Much surgery~ma to you. My grandmother had a very successful cataract surgery back in the 70s, and the procedure has only improved since.

On the other hand, a fair bit of the debt ceiling news coverage seems to revolve around the US losing it's AAA credit rating and no longer being seen as a good place to loan money. And, honestly, I think that's a fair assessment.

This. Honestly, I don't think a deal now will necessarily prevent that. I mean, it'll be less bad than if they don't get there, by a long shot. But while raising the ceiling was once pretty much an academic matter, the failure to do so and how this has all played out has exposed how completely, utterly disfunctional the legislative branch (in particular) has become, and that brings a whole new calculation.

I disagree. While I think the (utterly irrational) Clinton hatred exists, I think the Scary Black Man in the Oval Office blew everyone's previous hatred right out of the water. I absolutely believe that.

I think so too. HRC would be getting some nasty, nasty stuff to be sure, but the whole development and prominence of the Tea Party would probably be nowhere near its current state I don't think.

Have y'all heard that Wisconsin Republicans passed a bill requiring photo ID to vote? And then Walker closed 10 or 15 DMVs in Democratic areas and extended the hours of DMVs in Republican areas.

And if you need a photo ID, the DMV will give you one for free... but only if you know to ask for it to be free. Otherwise they charge you $20 or so.

(Many other states have passed identical photo ID voting bills, thanks to the Koch brothers.)

Many Republicans are just fundamentally undemocratic.

eta: Of course, the poor an minorities are much less likely to already have a drivers license.

I disagree. While I think the (utterly irrational) Clinton hatred exists, I think the Scary Black Man in the Oval Office blew everyone's previous hatred right out of the water. I absolutely believe that.

I should clarify - I meant in congress. I agree that in the general public on the Right, it is much worse. With congress, though, I get the feeling sotnewalling and attacking Obama is just a matter of policy. Plus, Obama was one of them, whereas the Big Dog was, in their eyes, the governor of a hick state who came out of a dirt-poor background. There was a lot of class hatred going on with the Clinton-bashing (and with Hilary, throw in a heavy dose of misogyny), and with politicians, I've always gotten the feeling, at least during the last few decades, that money & background trump race as a basis for loathing.

Eye~ma to you, Toddson! I can offer another positive anecdote: my mom had cataracts removed in the late 1990s, had both lenses in her eyes replaced, and ended up with near-20/20 vision, which she'd never had before. Personally, with my 20/900 vision, I've been wondering why they can't do that for me NOW.

They don't have a candidate. It's, what, 16 months away? If they had a viable candidate by now -- sorry, Mitt -- that person would be campaigning so hard right now he/she would be more visible than The Bieber and the cast of Glee put together.

Yeah, that's kind of amazing. I'm kinda rooting for Mitt because I get the vibe he's a reasonable guy. Not that I'd have loads of common ground with him, but I don't get the impression he's going to anything batshit crazy. I think he has chance in the same sort of way as Kerry took the '04 primary. Nobody is really that excited by him, but nobody else really emerges.

Thanks - I have a good doctor. The really good part is that they may be able to correct my near-sightedness to the point I won't need glasses most of the time. (boggle) I've been wearing glasses since I was seven.

On the debt ceiling - since it's kind of up close and personal - seemingly a lot of the new representatives have signed a pledge to not raise taxes ever under any circumstances. And Grove Norquist - the author of this pledge - first said that repealing the Bush tax cuts wouldn't not violate the pledge and then changed and said it would (and who the hell is Grover Norquist? he seems to be setting economic policy for the country these days). Then, one of the freshman reps. reportedly asked what would happen if the House passed it and the Senate changed it. Seriously. Obviously they never watched "Schoolhouse Rock." Which actually explained it well and clearly.

Have y'all heard that Wisconsin Republicans passed a bill requiring photo ID to vote? And then Walker closed 10 or 15 DMVs in Democratic areas and extended the hours of DMVs in Republican areas.

I'd heard. Plus there's a big redistricting push, trying to improve Republican chances for election and re-election. I think they're a bit worried about having their asses handed to them in the upcoming recalls.

On an unrelated note, I think we may have another lurker web cartoonist in our midst: [link]

I think they're a bit worried about having their asses handed to them in the upcoming recalls.

Stuff like this is going on on a national scale. Future demographic shifts will really hurt the Republican party, so I think that's what's behind the Citizens United ruling, all the attacks on unions (as they strongly fund the Democrats), and this voter photo ID stuff.