BradBlog's Excellent Article on the 2012 election.

[Ichingcarpenter]

The title of historian Kevin Phillips' otherwise excellent work, Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American Rich, is somewhat misleading. With the exception of constitutional monarchies, which preclude royalty from all but figurehead status, democracy and the concentration of great wealth cannot co-exist in the same society.

If citizens can see past the corporate media-erected contest of personalities so as to examine how it reflects the undemocratic structure of our society, the 2012 Presidential election can provide us with a teachable moment of great value. This is true whether we examine the flood of SuperPAC monies, courtesy of the now infamous Citizens United decision, the striking similarities in their methodology of wealth acquisition depicted both in the 1987 movie Wall Street through its fictional Gordon Gekko and in real life by Bain Capital and Mitt Romney, the ridiculously low 13.9% federal taxes on Romney's $21.7 million income in 2010, his extensive Goldman Sachs holdings and as much as $32 million maintained in off-shore accounts, or the fact that only one, essentially marginalized Presidential candidate in either of the two major political parties --- Ron Paul --- is willing to discuss an end to perpetual war and our global military presence.

Here, Mitt "Gordon Gekko" Romney provides the principle focus, not because of personality, or "envy", but because his candidacy affords an opportunity to explore the inconsistency between wealth and democracy...
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9091

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. Allow me to be the first. It's really early. At least in Az.

but I've got a couple of broken ribs that are making sleep difficult. KR.

[Ichingcarpenter]

2. Yikes those hurt ...keep yourself wrapped

broken a few myself a few times over the years.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

3. Actually, my Dr. says they don't do that anymore. Causes pnumonia.

[bemildred]

4. Yep, just hold still for a week or two and the pain stops. And don't cough.

I didn't use the meds for pain, but I did use them to stop coughing.

Mine settled down after a year or so, and eventually (years) stopped clicking against their neighbors.
Good luck.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

5. A year or so? Oh fuck me.

October 2010 I retired. Cool huh? Now I can play golf, start working out, take Spanish lessons, work on my guitar...

Fuck no! Last January I had rotater cup surgery. Last June I had a knee replaced. In December I tried to pick up a telephone post and tore a bunch of ligiments in my back, now I broke some ribs.

God does NOT want me to play golf!

and I'm really sick to death of being in pain.

This is soooo not the retirement I had envisioned!

[bemildred]

6. Nah, it was 3-4 weeks and I was good to go.

Two months and I hardly noticed it. This was last August, I'm 66. But it still clicks sometimes when I take a deep breath. Freaked my wife out at first. I broke 2 in 1994 when I had pneumonia, and it was the same deal.

You have to be a lot more careful when you get older, you are not made of the same quality materials as you once were, but you can srtill do what you want. I used to think I was invulnerable too. Guys like us are lucky to be alive. You have to pace yourself. I plan to go backpackng for a week in April.

And it's not as bad as gout, trust me.