How did we get transported back to 1994-5?

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

So here's the thing, I actually tried to make my way through the 'manifesto' of the suicide pilot today. While I don't think there is anything there that 100% drops him in the Tea Party camp or CPAC or any of the many Right wing Neo-Con groups it does seem like he fit in with that crowd more easily than with some extreme ACORN like group. It just goes to show that the farther out and more extreme you go in either direction the greater the likelihood you end up with people agreeing with each other.

What all this stems from is distrust of the Government. My more Right Wing friends will say they don't trust the government with their money, that they will just waste it or spend it on some cause they don't support (like providing welfare and health services for those who can't afford it).

And I agree with the first part, I don't trust the government either. But not because government by itself is the problem. Instead I don't trust them because I believe the elected officials are beholden on some level to moneyed corporate interests, that they no longer are really looking out for the people who elected them. This is true at every level, from the Senators in pay of big corporate lobbyists, down to my beloved home town City Council bending over backwards to keep a marginally helpful organization headquartered in the town.

So what is my solution?

First, enact and enforce term limits at all levels, possibly including the Supreme Court. I strongly believe that our Founding Fathers would not have wanted or approved of Legislators for life like we have in both houses. Turnover is the real key to keeping the lobbyists at bay to some extent.

Second, kill all of the lobbyists, just joking. No the solution is to find some legal way to put an end to this massive growth industry. Last year while the rest of the country was suffering massive layoffs and economic losses one of the few 'industries' that did a bang up job was the lobbying industry, more lobbyists were hired last year instead of cutting back. There has to be some solution to this.

Last, shame. Open up government to the public, here is a great organization and site bent on doing that. The more open things get, the more we break open the closed door sessions and bring the real actions of our elected representatives out into the open the more we force them to either be up front about their greed or realize that there are electoral consequences to their actions. Now most people are not going to take the time to actually visit open government sites and see what is really going on. But the more sources of information there are the easier it will be for media on both sides to shine the spotlight on people who aren't doing what they promised, or get caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar. The technology is there, there is no reason it cannot be done beyond a will to do it.

Back to the title of the post. I remember thinking that the Oklohoma City bombing was in some way directed at the IRS due to the timing being so close to April 15th. I also remember not being all that surprised that one of these militia groups finally got things together to act on all of the anti-government anger fomented by what was at that time the minority party. And while I come back to not really knowing if that what was behind the actions of this man today, I can't help but feel like this is potentially the tip of the iceberg.

There is a lot of potential anger out there to be reaped. You can't have prospects of long term unemployment, populist rhetoric and class anger without expecting something to happen. There were hints of it in the Town Halls of August, and the Tea Party movement. And sooner or later there may be a group that comes from the Left and performs it's own variation with some action directed at symbols of inequity like the mega banks.

One of the strengths of this country has always been that we managed to come up with solutions that pulled us back from the brink. Be it the Civil Service reforms and Trust busting of the Progressive movement, or the New Deal Or the Civil Rights movement and Act. But I wonder if that is possible in our present hyper polarized state? I certainly hope so, but every day, with every crazy action I do worry.