The Democrats are in bed with special interest groups like the unions, teachers, lawyers and blacks and will actively promote (or block) legislation affecting these groups, in many cases contrary to what may be in the best national interest. Likewise for the Republicans, only with a seamier group, including the Pat Robertson Right, the gun lobby, Wall Street, oil, tobacco and financial companies, and most of the major (high pollution) manufacturers.





While satisfying to the hard-liners and election-year voters, the 3-Strikes policy has had two large downside effects. First, crowding prisons with non-lifer types, those guilty of marginal crimes who deserve prison time, but of a shorter duration. Second, the murders committed by two-time losers to evade being caught a third time.




Most of what you need to know about American politics and politicians can be deduced from the following. In 1992, after decades of Democratic control of the House of Representatives, the amount of federal money spent on districts with Democrats as their congressman was 310 million dollars more than in the Republican districts.

By 2001, 7 years after the crossover to a Republican House, Democratic districts were receiving 615 million less from the big-ladled federal budget than the in-charge GOP. This further proves the axiom that the Republicans are more expert (some would say cold-blooded or avaricious) when it comes to money-gouging activities.




Sure, the liberals overreached on welfare, busing, business and environmental regulations, criminal rights, and most of that PC stuff, but these were generally in response to legitimate problems and real issues of malfeasance.




There's an old expression, "It's a free country." This was never more than a half-truth but nowadays, between an overabundance of laws and regulations, perpetrated by a many-layered law enforcement structure, a litigious society (squeamish, whiny citizens and voracious lawyers) and the damn PC police, it's more like a quarter truth. And all this is currently being compounded by Ashcroft's Army and Poindexter's Police, all in the name of Homeland Security. (But that's mostly aimed at dark-skinned foreigners, at least for now.)




Question: What do the My Lai Massacre coverup (Viet Nam), the Iran-Contra coverup and the since-discredited Iraqi invasion justification have in common? Answer: The reports and testimony of one Colin Powell.
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