…in plain sight, one side is proposing a long list of legislation, desirable and beneficial to individuals, the country and the planet, and the other side has, uhhhh, nothing.  Well, that’s not completely true, they do have the ridiculous parliamentary power to obstruct, which, also in very plain sight, they do, en masse, at every opportunity.

…pollsters are paid huge fees to take the temperature of focus groups and specific and general populations, compiling public reaction to proposals and performance.  I suppose they all claim some keenly honed scientific reliability but, samples are literally infinitesimal and, historically, results are little more precise than a coin flip.  If you were so inclined to immerse yourself in the dizzying world of today’s polls, (as has become a fetish for all reporting news media), first, you would note them skewed Left or Right depending on the source of their funding, (not exactly empirical).  Most notably, if you weigh the “YES/NO” responses to the desirable and beneficial laundry list, you’ll see a resounding majority of “YES”.  Who doesn’t want stuff that provides childcare, better education, lower drug prices, fairer taxation and a chance, (albeit a wee small chance), to slow or reverse the murderous effect on our planet? That said, the most touted polls, the popularity contest ones, when tasked with evaluating the approval ratings of the main characters of government, give them all a similar 40ish%.  The inference, of course, is that government sucks.  Hardly anyone trusts too often unfulfilled promises and gleaning the few good guys from the rest has always been difficult and worse, time after time after time, painfully disappointing.

…both sides equally suck, right?  NO, absolutely not!  One side really, really sucks more, to the point of dragging us precipitously toward the brink of losing our democracy.  Those similarly valued poll numbers are meaningless in the face of the traitorous, Republican obstruction-at-all-cost hissy fit.  You would have to be blind, deaf and/or stupid, (don’t call people stupid, don’t call people stupid), to equate the legislative agendas, performances or patriotism of our two major parties.

…do we throw our hands up in surrender, (full disclosure, that’s how I am feeling lately)?  Or, do we accept the tragic flaws of the human race and make the best of what we’ve got?  Survey says…That’s not really a choice, right?  Yet, it seems, whatever combination of circumstances brought us to this unique moment in time, we appear to be unable to focus on our most existential threats, leaving the possibility of bonding together to face them nonexistent on our list of options.  Sadly, I think we’re screwed!  The end is nigh!  Fuck…I’m that guy!