I protest.

Wiped out.

Life has been complex lately. Not only has my personal life been difficult, but the current State of Things has been and continues to be incredibly depressing, with the Right crowing at their "mandate," Bush consolidating his Legion of Sycophancy, Iraq casualty rates reaching new record highs, the dollar reaching new record lows and the Idiots in Charge happily pretending that nothing at all is wrong with anything, anywhere. Oh, and the sneak attacks via last-minute secretive amendments in the House haven't made life very much fun, either.

It is almost enough to make one want to run amok.

I have a post in progress regarding "red states," "blue states," "values" and the current fad of denigrating the Left. Hopefully I'll manage to finish it this weekend. I do have things to say, things that I think are important, but it seems at times that it's futile, hopeless, that I'm trying to move all the sand of the Sahara with a teaspoon.

Despite our best efforts, the inmates have taken over the asylum. Bush in his arrogance, egotism and delusion has taken his "reelection" as confirmation that he is indeed "chosen by God" and so has embarked on a course that, I'm afraid, will make the last four years look like a golden age. Meanwhile, I watch as the Democratic "leadership" pisses and moans about losing the election while they do nothing to actually oppose those who want to eliminate us. And make no mistake: Those in charge of the Republican Party want to eliminate dissent, to eliminate liberalism as a political force and to eliminate the Democratic Party as a rival for power. And I watch as Democrats (not all, but far too many) whine about "values" while they move further to the right, losing anything that might have distinguished them from out opponents.

I strongly believe that Howard Dean or someone very much like him is the only hope for the Democratic Party and, by extension, those of us who depend upon Democrats to make our voices heard. As I said some weeks ago now, we need Churchill, not Chamberlain. Unfortunately some Democrats would rather sell their souls to the Republicans than risk actual confrontation.

What I really want to do is to grab a few people by the ears and yell in their faces until they start waking up. My dream, though, is, somehow, to actually meet George W. Bush, personally. Walk up to him. Tell him, "this is for all those without power, all those whom you have have neglected, ignored, mocked, spat or walked upon, all those whom you have harmed who cannot defend themselves." And then slap him in the face. Hard.

And walk away.

Pretty unlikely, yes, but as a dream it has its attraction. Of course, if I were to start slapping people, George would be only the first and my hand would be awfully sore before I was finished.