And that's exactly why, when someone says "it's free," I point out that Nothing Is Free and Somebody, Somewhere PAYS for it!

I'm hoping to 'turn' my step-grandson from the path he's being led down by his parents, peers and schools. It may be working. When he makes a statement that describes a 'problem,' I ask him, "Well, why do you think THAT happens?" and we drill down towards the REAL root cause of the issue. He is willing to drill down more layers than anyone I've ever met.

There might be hope for his generation... :)

And think about how many years it took to slog out of that morass of national malaise.

The difference between historians like us and most people is that our own historical perspectives extend beyond our own lifetimes. I was just a toddler in 1968 and 1969. I remember the Carter years clearly, but I have no fond memories of them.

DB,

I wonder how many Zombies have been created through decades of anger fueled adrenaline burnout?

We really have two types of zombies...
The never developed will type and the burned out type.

Are you inferring that the majority of police "are at war with us?" I know and have known too many good police officers who in some cases, risk their lives every day in order to do their jobs. Yes, there are bad ones, arrogant ones, but while they bring negative attention to the police they are vastly in the minority.

Hahahahaha +1.

Keep telling yourself you're doing all the right things to influence people in a positive way and the only reason you have no support is you're a misunderstood genius.

Yes. We don't like having our man in Washington.

I agree with #1, except that it doesn't really say much about the whole country, since the congresscritters who spent the money aren't really answerable to anyone but lobbyists.

#2 shares that same problem only more so. Expecting a congresscritter to care about justice is like expecting a wolf to turn vegetarian.

I don't see any problem with #3 or #4.

#5 is the well known (to economists) fact of rational ignorance. David Friedman discusses it in "The Machinery of Freedom". http://daviddfriedman.com/The_Machinery_...

#6 is prejudice against the LGBT community.

#7 really is silly, but I doubt it's true. (And if the people involved are adults it's prejudice, too.)

I have no problem with #8, it's common sense.

#9 - Same answer as #2.

#10 - So what? Reality today IS depressing.

#11 - These are statist lies: (a) terrorism and sexual predators are common, (b) drug dealers (as opposed to drug laws themselves) harm the public, and (c) either or both of these so-called problems, or immigration, are emergencies justifying the loss of more of our rights.

(Gangs and welfare parasites ARE real hazards to you and me, but most of them are born right here in the US thanks to subsidies like AFDC/TANF that pay them to breed. Get welfare out of government hands and the problem will go away.)

The enemies list, on the other hand, is a real problem. It should be the #1 crime that Obama needs to answer for in court after leaving office.

#12 is a call for unacceptable censorship. (An arrest for "encouraging terrorism" would also be unacceptable censorship, but I haven't heard of it happening since Obama took office.)

#13 I agree with.

#14 is a lefty lie.

#15 I agree with.

#16 - Frankly, I'd rather see federal "workers" watching porn than doing what most of them consider to be their jobs.

#17 is prejudice. Payday lenders are necessary, not least because of unfair discrimination by banks, which regulators won't do anything about because banks have lobbyists with bags of money.

#18 is prejudice two ways. It's not wrong to illegally immigrate, and it is wrong for government people to promote the Christian idea of sexual morality on the job.

#19 - Same answer as #5.