In the George Orwell novel 1984, a scenario is presented in which nations go to war against each other not to win, but simply by agreement, to keep their populations subjugated.  It has been suggested that the Democrats and Republicans are doing a version of the same thing, not with military warfare, but politically.  While some of their differences are genuine, and some of the conflicts between them are real, there is a tacit agreement between the two major parties that neither side will destroy the other.  It is far too important to keep the public distracted while maintaining the power, perquisites, and privileges the ruling class enjoys.  Thus it is that both parties make promises they seem never to keep.  Power almost never devolves to the people, but rather, instead, it is nearly always the government that gets more of it. Power is a zero-sum game.  The more of it the government has, the less of it the people have. While we argue and...(Read Full Post)