Hubris and nemesis - something I hope will be inspiring.

[Taxloss]

Today, the decent progressives of the world shivered in impotent fury at their TV screens, while some of them were warmed by protest in the eye of the shitstorm itself. And shitstorm it is, in the best sentiments of Dr Thompson; a plague of stench swirling around what was once the heart of an ideal, even if it was not the model of a practice - the city of Washington DC.

But those progressives can be warmed by this fact; the premiership of Bush burns on high-octane petroleum, and the tank is running low. Coupling corporate avarice to corpus Christi will forever be a shortlived tactic as the separate camps begin to wonder what they really gain from each other. And America's credit cards are maxed out. The mighty dollar's primacy as the world's reserve currency is a driver of prosperity, but it is half of a bilateral deal with the rest of the world. And that deal obliges America to exercise a fiscal restraint that it has not shown. Just as America under Bush seems to have turned its back on multilateralism, now the world is giving up on its side of the deal - and is selling dollars.

Because that's the basic flaw in the neocon agenda. The neocons would dearly love to turn the world into a slave market for American products, to buy American output for all time and enrich a tiny clique. They never seemed to think that the actions required to achieve this agenda might anger their "so-called allies" (in the words of the presidential historian today). America's strength, wealth, and dream, is built on the world, on the foundations of trust and faith the world has in America. In Europe, and across the world, people buy American, and support the American ideal, because they understand the people's notion of it, not Bush's bromides and glosses on it.

In short, America needs the world and the world needs America. Under Bush, the US is headed for diplomatic and economic meltdown. His reign will be short, and it is being watched by hundreds of millions of people just like you who exist outside the echo chamber and who are taking the long view.

Take heart, and be strong. These things shall pass; day will break again. The world needs America, and we're watching. And we will not stand idly by.

Good luck.

[Taxloss]

1. Kick - come on! I'm trying to cheer you guys!

[bigmonkey]

2. It is cheering.

But we're so weary. Maybe we don't know how sacrifice can lead to better things anymore. So much propaganda, for so long.

Underneath, I am a little cheered that tyranny always ends.

[Taxloss]

3. You just need to sit back and watch.

The whole spectacle will collapse.