231 years latter

If you have read the personal letters and papers of the founding fathers you know they really didn't anticipate that their grand experiment would last 231 years. Of course they were correct, it didn't. The revolution was all about escaping the tyranny of a monarch, the church and a feudal economic system. Look around and check out what we have today. We have a president and vice president who think they are all powerful monarchs. We have tyrannical church leaders trying to use the government to enact their 16th century views of the world. We have a world controlled by huge multinational corporations that resembles that of the feudal British empire complete with a middle class of indentured servants.

Bob Geiger sums up my feelings this day, No Joy This Fourth Of July.

I've always enjoyed the Fourth of July.

It's summer, it's a festive holiday about celebration -- not mourning or remembrance -- and, as a military Veteran, it has been a time to feel good about whatever miniscule role I've played in maintaining our country's strength and freedom.

But I'm going to skip the barbeques and just go to work today. I do this because the state of my country under the reign of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and their entire cabal of crooks and non-patriots, leaves me with a feeling so hollow and barren that I simply cannot use drinking a beer, eating a hot dog or watching fireworks as a soothing balm.

Yes, the founding fathers were right - it couldn't last.