[Ws:] Watching this circus unfolding in Washington makes me doubt my previously expressed on this forum position that voting Democract matters. It does not seem to be case. The only diffrence between Repugs and Dems is rhetorics, while the war mongers get all they want regardless which party is in the majority.
The same holds for the energy bill http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7151049.stm which falls short of the only provisions that really mattered: taxes on oil companies and raising renewable energy targets. Increassing fuel efficiency to 35 mpg by 2020 is sheer posturing akin to the King character from "The Little Prince" - whose "power" is limited to ordering things are bound to happen anyway (like the sun to rise.) The 35 mpg will be achieved by the virtue of rising gas prices alone (we are already close to that target today, especially in Japanese imports) - so the Congress "mnadating" that as the standard by 2020 is laughable - pure posturing and meaningless bullshit that only Amerikan politicians can take seriously.
An then there the media ownership rule http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7150485.stm that makes it easier for megacorps to grow even bigger. Again, the dems made some dissenting gruntys but toed in the line as soon as Bush thretened a veto.
So it looks like the only change after Dems gained 'control" of the House and the Congress is a change in political rhetorics - and a mionor one on the top of it, consisting of some minor complaints here and there - while singing Amerika the Imperial in unison. If that is all that electing Democrats can produce, why bother?
I understand that voting Democrat is a magic ritual, akin to various "security" and "risk management" measures that are completeky ineffective and counterproductive, but give people peace of mind that they can do something in a sitution that is out of control. Voting creates a delusion that change is possible.
I myself fell prey to such delusions, but now I see it more and more clearly that these are just delusions. The political system of this country is out of control and beyond hope to people like me (and 90% of the population). Nothing short of the destruction of the Amerikan state will change this (which is unlikely to happen any time soon), let alone the empty ritual of voting.
Given that situation, the best way of "buying peace of mind" is not voting or any other futile activistist delusion that the status quo can be changed here - is to develop stoic indifference to Amerika - stay as long as it is possible to maintain a positive balance of benefits to the pain of dealing with bullshit this country generates, and leave when maintaining that positive balance becomes too difficult.
Wojtek
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