The Conservative Whopper Factory

We recently saw SC Representative Joe Wilson disrespect the President of the United States by crying out during a presidential speech, 'You Lie'!  Wilson later apologized, under pressure from his own party,  and the President graciously accepted his apology. 

Never before in my memory have I ever witnessed such  continuous and relentless, venomously acidic assaults on any US president.  It is ominously paranoid and downright pathological.  As I watch the Far Right relentlessly attacking President Obama and accusing him of 'lying', two paramount facts continuously pass through my mind:

First, just who are these folks who so implacably believe they are so 'right', but whose leaders are responsible for the greatest political, economical and foreign policy disasters in US History?

Secondly, just where do these people get off accusing ANYONE of lying, when their own leaders operated a veritable 'Whopper Factory' out of the White House for years?

Here's just a few proven examples:


"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."
~VP Richard P. Cheney,  Aug. 26, 2002

"No terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq".
~ Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld,  Sept. 19, 2002

"We know for a fact that there are weapons there".
 ~White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer,  Jan. 9, 2003

"Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications and statements by people 
now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaida."
~President George W. Bush,  State of the Union speech, Jan. 28, 2003

"We have also discovered through intelligence 
that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas."
~President George W. Bush,  State of the Union speech, Jan. 28, 2003

"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard, and VX nerve agent.... The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
~President George W. Bush,  State of the Union speech, Jan. 28, 2003

"Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."
~President George W. Bush, March 17, 2003

"We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south, and north somewhat."
~US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld,  March 30, 2003

"We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories." 

~President George W. Bush, 5/29/03

"But let’s remember what we’ve already found. Secretary Powell on February 5th talked about a mobile, biological weapons capability. That has now been found and this is a weapons laboratory trailers capable of making a lot of agent that–dry agent, dry biological agent that can kill a lot of people. So we are finding these pieces that were described. … This was a program that was built for deceit and concealment."
~ US Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice, 6/3/03

"And I have yet to hear from our commanders on the ground that they need more troops. "
~President George W. Bush, 11/04/04

"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." 
~President George W. Bush, 09/01/05

"It really caught everybody by surprise" and was a major reason for the delay in the government's emergency response." 
~ US Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff (09/04/05)

"That 'perfect storm' of a combination of catastrophes exceeded the foresight of the planners, and maybe anybody's foresight." 
~US Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff (09/05/05)

"We are finding terrorists and bringing them to justice. We are gathering information about where the terrorists may be hiding. We are trying to disrupt their plots and plans. Anything we do ... to that end in this effort, any activity we conduct, is within the law. We do not torture."
~President George W. Bush, Nov. 7, 2005

"We’ve never been stay the course, George!"
~President George W. Bush, 9/8/08

There are hundreds - likely thousands - of others, but this gives the gist of just some of the production from the GW Bush Whopper Factory  In fact, the Center for Public Integrity, a non-profit/non-partisan research organization has recorded 935 'whoppers' on the Iraq War alone!

For further reading:

http://www.realchange.org/bushjr.htm#spy

The New, Bipartisan Health Care Plan Initiative

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi opened a clandestine bipartisan meeting of several top US lawmakers  in an undisclosed location in Washington, DC.  Republicans in attendance were House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and minority Whip Eric Cantor of WVA,  and Senators John McCain and Mitch McConnell of KY.  Interested spectators in attendance were former presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney.  Democrats present besides Pelosi were Congressman Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota and John Dingell of Michigan.

"This is a serious meeting folks." said Pelosi.  "We don't have the time or the patience for any of your usual frat house bullshit, so please keep the grab-ass down.  We've here because we've got some major problems on this health care reform issue."

"Yeah, tell me about it Nancy." retorted Boehner.  "Ever since you Democrats took over it's left us Republicans sucking at a hind tit for campaign donations from the industry.  Hell, I hardly got latte' money any more since a majority of the campaign money now goes your way."

Pelosi snorted, "Yeah, well.  You don't have anybody to blame but yourselves Johnny boy.  I've been telling you folks for years you were letting George W. Bush's bunch wreck the party.  Now, it's our turn and we're gonna ride this puppy for all it's worth.  And, the good news is, campaign money from the health care folks is at an all time high.  The bad news is, it looks like obama is gonna have the strength to actually make changes this time around.  If that happens, we're gonna lose the issue and the cash cow that goes with it."

"Oh, hell yeah, dammit all!" broke in Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.  "We're all in a heap o' trouble this time around.  And I'm pretty God-damned pissed about it too!  I've a good mind to go kick on some restroom stall doors like Larry Craig."   McConnell was dirty, rumpled  and angry having earlier been mistaken for a large box turtle and wrestled to the ground by security on first attempting to enter the meeting.

"Yes, well, have a seat Mitch.  Johnny and I have already agreed." said Pelosi.  "We've got to do something to keep the issue alive. That's why we're here.  Johnny has come up with a plan which I think has a good chance of working. We can call it reform, but is so blatantly unfair it's bound to keep everybody up in arms and fighting for years and most importantly, keep those campaign funds flowing.  We'll call it bipartisan, but everyone will know it's coming from a Republican.  It's the kind of plan they would expect from any Republican and it gives us Democrats plenty of cover all at the same time."

She went on, " We're gonna embrace this in a bipartisan way by calling it the 'Republican Answer To Systemic Health Initiative Targets', or 'RATSHIT' for short amongst ourselves.

Senator McCain awoke for a moment to break in, "So, tell us Nancy.  How's this here RATSHIT thingy work anyway?"

"Be patient John.  I'm getting to that." she replied.  "I'm gonna ask Johnny Boehner to explain things to everyone."

Boehner got to his feet and passed around a colorful chart to everyone present:

(Click on image to enlarge)

"I've put together a little presentation I'm calling the 'Republican Health Care Plan Color Wheel." he said.  "I'll explain how it works.  Basically, it's a simple qualification chart."

"Notice now." he began.  "There's four levels of health care identified by the different colors, with the highest at the top, identified with a rosy red color.  We'll call this 'Class I'.  You'll notice ten identifiers within this color circle.  In order to get this level of health care a person would need to be able to claim at least 5 out of the 10.  Politicians will always qualify of course no matter who they are, just as we do now."

"Next is Class II, which is identified by a yellow color.  To qualify for this level, a person would need to claim at least two of the identifiers, on either of the yellow color circles."

"Class III is next of course, identified by a green color.  Again, an individual would need to claim at least two of the identifiers in either of the green color circles."

"And finally, there is Class IV with a blue color circle.  A person needs only to meet one of the identifiers for this level.  In fact, the Class IV is for anyone who doesn't qualify for a higher class."

"Absolutely brilliant!" shouted Mitt Romney.  "Not one damned iota bit different than what goes on today, and yet we can still call it a PLAN'!"

"Praise be to the Lord!" cried a smiling Mike Huckabee.

"I thought you'd all like it." grinned Nancy Pelosi.  "Yes, it can be called a 'plan', yet it maintains the status quo and keeps this issue alive and on the front burner forever if we like.  That can only be good for our campaign war chests."

"I'll say amen to that!" said Huckabee.

South Carolina's God-Fearing Red State Family Values Folks!

C'mon now! this is getting pretty serious.

Aren't ANY of the good, God-fearing, Red State Republicans normal folks? Hey, I know everyone's been joking about it and all, but now I'm beginning to get pretty concerned:


First there's this new story about South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer. You know. The same one who will take over when disgraced SC Governor Mark Sanford is impeached, or has the decency and common sense to ever resign. Don't hold your breath on that though. Narcissism knows no limits, especially if God is on your side as he is with Mark Sanford according to himself. Oh but what the Hell. I suppose anyone named 'Andre' in SC has no choice except to be gay . . .?

Not that I think there's anything wrong with being gay - except perhaps if you constantly present yourself otherwise as an ardent, God-fearing, family values man who believes so strongly in the sanctity of marriage and sex - between a man and a woman only! (Where the hell does the Republican Party find these people anyway?)

But then, what about that God-fearing, family values gal, Kristin Maquire, who until a couple days ago was Chairwoman of the South Carolina State Board of Education and who, turns out has an alter ego; (Bridget Keeney - FAIR WARNING! THIS IS SOME HOT & NASTY STUFF!) writing some pretty smoky porn, such as one entitled, "Lauren's Masturbatory Musings." A girl after mine own heart that! All that other cynical, Christian hoopla and right-wingnut BS just turns me off, that's all. But, maybe it's a good thing for South Carolina Maquire had the good sense to resign 'due to family matters' though. Doesn't sound like such a good thing to have a head of the state board of education who doesn't believe in schools. Maquire has home schooled her own four children since day one.


But at least Maquire has the decency to do the right thing, unlike the governor who appointed her in the first place, one Mark Sanford, who apparently can't tell the difference between the Appalachian Trail and Argentinian Tail. It is apparent Governor Sanford couldn't recognize a right thing if it rose up and bit him square on his cheating-on-his-wife smarmy red ass.

Then there's the story about the other South Carolina guy who got video-taped and arrested for getting it on with a horse. Well, OK I guess that's kind of odd, but what's even odder was that he was already on probation for getting it on with a horse the year before - THE SAME DAMNED HORSE! Man, those South Carolina horses must be something! And, there's very little doubt in my mind about his political affiliations. After all, SC is one of the reddest of the red states. Can anyone spell "R-E-P-U-B-L-I-C-A-N"?



You just can't make this kind of fun and entertaining stuff up! What the hell are they smoking over there in SC anyway?

Pardon me.

I've got to go find a place to laugh my ass off somewhere.

THE WINGNUT OLYMPICS

The Wingnut Olympics were held Bayou la Batre, Alabama last week.

The 'Birthers' came out of the gate strongly with strident claims that Barrack Obama was not born in the US of A. They trotted out all sorts of manufactured 'evidence' and theories to 'prove' their case. But, they were ruled out on a 'lunacy' technicality when a Birther fringe element laid out a case that, in fact, not only was Obama not even born in the country, but not on the planet Earth. Their contention was that Obama was a 'droid' manufactured on the as yet undiscovered planet "Sublime" by a socialist race with communistic tendencies.

Supposedly, and according to the Birthers, the obama droid was 'inserted' into the mainstream 'milieu' and programmed to gain traction in Chicago, Illinois. Why Chicago should be chosen was beyond anyone's comprehension - hence the lunacy disqualification.

The fundamentalist Christian faction, always strong contenders, went out to an early lead which they stubbornly, if absurdly, defended throughout most of the entire event. Led by Sarah Palin in partnership with James Dobson, they attempted to perform 'de facto exorcisms' via telekinesis of Obama, Sonia Sotomayor and Tinky Winky of Teletubbie fame.


When this failed, Palin volunteered herself as a subject in a desperate attempt to hold onto the lead. And, in fact, several demons WERE successfully exorcised from Palin, but several even more heinous ones were not. The voo-doo priest who performed the exorcism then took his own life by 'self-will' on the stage in front of thousands of excited fans, some of whom were actually splattered by chicken blood. As a result of that, the entire attempt was deemed a fraud and a failure by the judges.

But, no matter. The judges were immediately overruled by the very Reverend Pat Robertson who opined, "Hey, if I can make God steer hurricanes, why can't I overrule a few corporeal judges? But Robertson himself was then distracted by some peculiarly nasty controversies concerning the abysmal treatment of workers at one of his diamond mines in Africa, and lost control of the situation. The judges ultimately prevailed and ruled the fundamentalists out. The fundamentalists stomped out of the event, but not before angrily dynamiting the administration building and torching a number of the judges.

"Peace on Earth and good will to men.' n'est pas?

But the real heroes of the event were the Flat Earthers and the Global Warming Deniers, who although small in number, displayed a strength far beyond their apparent capacity. Buoyed by massive infusions of cash from their multi-national oil company sponsors, they were a force to contend with throughout.

The FE's and the GWD's were themselves strongly aided by the anti-abortion crowd, who threw a wild care in the event with their claims that human life begins at very first thought of any sexual thought by the male of the species. Although wags like to call this the 'Horny Toad Conundrum', the judges seemed to give the idea a lot of credence.

It was only when the Pentecostal Snake Handlers crowd began wholesale lobbying for the 'Right to Life' for unborn snakes 'even before the egg' that the judges realized their error and reversed themselves.

The gold medal winners turned out to be 'Cynical Corporate Masters', as if there ever were really any doubt. These cynical, behind-the-scenes manipulators of the intellectually challenged, controlled everyone else through the medium of Fox news and corporate shills such as Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. Most of the above contenders coincidentally, already qualify on the intellectually challenged account. As a result the CCM's ruled the event, and laughed hilariously all the way to the bank afterwards.

Sarah Palin Has Left Alaska in Terrible Danger!

We may all be mortally screwed.

What many people lost sight of in the past few weeks since Sarah Palin quit as governor is the terrible danger she has left Alaska and the entire United States in. Did Sarah Palin quit in a moment of frustration at the treatment she perceived she got at the hands of her detractors? She had been after all, the darling of conservatives everywhere. But, did she even stop to think about the danger she was thereby letting us all in for?

Conservative men and women everywhere drooled over Palin's attractive sexy school m'arm looks, aided and abetted with lot's of winks, coy glances, flirtatious smirks, cheerleader grins and 'Pit Bull with Liptick' references. I've had completely sane and sensible men and women say to me, "Man! I really like the way that Sarah Palin expresses herself! She's so sensible and down to earth and all"

They sometimes, even often, say such things even after hearing something she may say like,

(From her resignation speech):

“Democracy depends on you, and that is why — that’s why our troops are willing to die for you. So how about in honor of the American soldier, you quit makin’ things up.”

(Or, like from her interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News):

"What's more than I thought would be is, we're hearing a lot of good rhetoric. A lot of this is wrapped in good rhetoric, but we're not seeing those actions, and this many months into the new administration, quite disappointed, quite frustrated with not seeing those actions to rein in spending, slow down the growth of government. Instead, Sean it's the complete opposite. It's expanding at such a large degree that if Americans aren't paying attention, unfortunately, our country could evolve into something that we do not even recognize, certainly that is so far from what the founders of our country had in mind for us."

(Or, like from her statement on the health care reform debate):

"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care, Such a system is downright evil,"

Conservatives sure seem to get a perception of Palin's marvelous intellectual acuity from reading or hearing what she says, which seems beyond the comprehension of most of us. That is understandable. When Katie Couric asked Palin which newspapers and magazines she read, Palin answered "Oh, I don't know, all of 'em". Boy, the rest of us sure can't match that! It probably would have taken her far too long to list them I'm sure. That is the reason we find a lot of what Palin says so puzzling and nonsensical. We just ain't as smart and well read as she is by golly! I mean, who could be?

But now with her resignation, the real issue is the grave danger we all suddenly find ourselves in - and it all seems to be Sarah Palin's fault.

For example, who in the world will now be on the alert and watching Russia from their house in Alaska? Certainly not Sean Parnell, the new governor. He's far too busy, besides I've been told he actually lives in the governor's mansion in Juneau, a long, long way from, and not at all in sight of Russia as Palin's house was said to be.

And, what in the world will happen if, Heaven forbid, Vladimir Putin should ever again rear his ugly head as Sarah warned? Goodness knows, there can be no one else like Sarah Palin with the alertness, ability and experience to deal with that ugly scenario. Especially seeing as he, as Sarah says, has to fly directly over Alaska to get to our country.

Some even call her 'inexperienced', but never forget that Sarah Palin actually attended school in Moscow . . . . Idaho. Yes, indeed, Idaho I know, but it IS a 'Moscow' nonetheless. And she ran an entire town in Alaska of over 6,000 people too as mayor. Don't forget that. Ubetcha.

So now, with her resignation we have lost the one person with the acuity, the alertness, the experience and the intellectual proficiency to protect us all. God help us all!

I surely do hope all Sarah's enemies are happy now!

The American Media and the US Crusade Against Gog and Magog

Did you know that US president George W. Bush viewed the war in Iraq as a mission from God to combat Gog and Magog? Well, neither did I, but apparently that is true, according to an article by editor James A. Haught of the Charleston, WVA Gazette.

Bush actually called French premier Jacques Chirac by telephone in early 2003 and told him: "Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East. ... The biblical prophecies are being fulfilled. ... This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people's enemies before a New Age begins."

Sounds a lot like Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson, doesn't it? And, Bush must have had a direct link with the God of Christianity to be able to tell Chirac what God wanted . . .

Haught's newspaper is the only US paper to publish this astounding bit of news - until the Juneau Empire in Alaska republished it today. The Toronto Star in Canada is the only other paper in the western hemisphere to report it. Why? Apparently other media, if they even knew about it, found the story to be too incredible to believe.

I am coming to believe that the American media today is too fearful to seriously challenge the bizarros from the right. I can't explain it any other way. True, you do have a few like Jon Stewart who try to throw a spotlight on the incredible dementia which seems to be proliferating. But his brand of journalism is commonly viewed as 'comedy' - albeit closer to the truth than almost anything else out there.

Gene Lyons of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette columnist writes about Ann Coulter's book: ""Slander," I once noted that "the 'liberal' sins (she) caricatures -- atheism, cosmopolitanism, sexual license, moral relativism, communism, disloyalty and treason -- are basically identical to the crimes of the Jews as Hitler saw them.""

The real tragicomedy is the craziness emanating from those who otherwise might seem to be fairly normal people - until they open their mouths to spew their brand of political invective, hate, hyperbole and falsehoods. With no apologies mind you. You see Sarah Palin declaiming about 'Death Panels', and the incessant nonsense Fox News puts out under their brand of 'journalism'. Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity are nothing but shills for right wing extremism and corportocracy. One has to wonder what the powers that be behind all this hope to gain in the end. A 'New Republic"? A "Fifth Reich"?

The danger to all of us is the constant stream of deceitful propaganda directed at the 'already convinced' which motivates some of the more extreme elements to violence and ever more craziness. Some of their comments in the blogosphere border on insanity. They seem to prefer to believe the shrill, self-serving doctrinal lies over bothering to actually check facts for themselves.

Our situation today is eerily similar to Germany's just prior to the Nazi takeover in the early 'thirties.

Health Care In The United States is Broken

Health care in our country is broken. Big time.

Almost everyone agrees on that. Costs are far too high and the overall benefit and quality of our health care system now ranks below those of many third world nations including Malta's and Costa Rico's. We rank just two notches above Cuba, an economically blasted nation as a result of nearly 50 years of strident economic sanctions courtesy of the US of A.

Most other advanced nations around the world are appalled such a country as rich and advanced as ours does not provide basic health care for huge segments of our population. Even larger segments receive seriously sub-standard care. Many people do without basic preventative medicine because they simply cannot afford it. The added costs due to this one factor alone is immeasurable.

Just compare us to one country, Japan, which ranks #10 worldwide on health care versus the United States which ranks #37. In Japan, 87% of all health care costs are paid by government, in the US 46%; Life expectancy in Japan is almost 5 years more than in the US,. Infant mortality rate in the United States is 246% of Japan's, while our per capita expenditure on health care is 271% of that of Japan's. It is painfully obvious something is dreadfully wrong here.

Why is this? The answer in three little words is pure and simple: GREED, GREED, GREED.

A large number of individuals and corporations grow rich off sick Americans. The sicker more Americans are, the richer they become. Sure, it's cynical, shameful and outrageous, but it is also a stone cold shameful fact. They pull this off because of our much revered 'capitalist' system, which is supposed to reward those who are innovative and who work hard, but often doesn't work that way. But, if you dare to question capitalism in this country you will surely be attacked as 'Communist', 'socialist', or at the very least a 'tax and spend liberal'. All swear words 'conservatives' love to use and throw at moderates of any stripe.

The American Medical Association stridently opposed Medicare 30 years ago, and continues to oppose anything that changes the status quo to this day - even though they acknowledge something is seriously wrong. The American Health Care Plans group, which represents insurance companies spends buckets of money to influence Congress against change to the status quo. And why should insurance companies want any change? They don't really care to what astronomical heights cost rise since their earnings are a percentage of total costs after all. They do BETTER when costs are high!

The health sector has increased political lobbying funding by 35% since 2004,. Significantly, 54% went to Democrats in '08, versus only 39% in '04. How cynical is that, and who said money can't buy you love? Whoever said it first never saw a US politician in action I guess.

Capitalism in the US morphed several decades ago into a welfare system for corporations and the very rich. When money is allowed to dominate the people's interests at the voting booth, our present mess is the inevitable result. All this has been aided and abetted by every Republican administration since Ronald Reagan, and a great many Democrats helped along the way too. And these people seriously claim to be 'conservative'. Something indeed, is rotten in Denmark.

The very label 'conservative' is very misleading, since the ones calling themselves that today are nothing of the kind. That is unless you are referring to the conservation of the status quo, wherein rich multi-national drug companies enjoy obscene profits off the ills and woes of the populace, and where insurance companies write their own rules, and where politicians votes are bought and sold like tickets at the county fair.

A serious attempt to make a change is being made today, as we have seen it tried in the past. But, the mere mention of 'health care reform' brings out all the big guns, and all the stops are pulled. Because, if real health care reform actually occurred in this country, that would jerk the biggest lollypops on Earth out of the mouths of those growing rich on the backs of the dismal US health care system.

A huge organized national campaign is being orchestrated to block reform. So-called 'Town Hall' type meetings on the issue are getting blitzed in an cynically organized 'grassroots' campaign, where speakers are shouted down and meetings disrupted in deliberately rude, vicious, even threatening ways. "We the people" are being manipulated to block needed reform for our own good. A litany of lies and distortions is being repeated in lockstep all over the country. It is in fact, frightenly very similar the tactics used by the Brownshirts in Germany in the early 'thirties.

If you don't think it's orchestrated, just check the Fox News web site to find their 'Go To Town Hall' lists showing meeting places and times all over the country. Separate lists for Democrats and Republicans of course - and strikingly different. You may view these as published by Fox in PDF format by clicking on the following links:

REPUBLICAN ~ ~ ~ DEMOCRAT

The right wing continues to caustically demonize our current administration for daring to seek health care reform. The administration is responding by attempting to offset the lies and distortions being widely disseminated by the combined forces of cynical greed, avarice and misinformation. There is a sinister and organized concerted effort from the right wing to 'shout down' all supporters of any reform and keep them from even being heard. Lies and distortions are the ammunition of choice. One glaring example is Sarah Palin weighing in with her semi-hysterical rant on the subject:

“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society’ whether they are worthy of health care.”

It seems Sarah must be drinking her own Kool-aid. There is NOTHING in the proposed bill which is suggestive of such outrages. But facts seem to matter little to Palin and dogmatic types like her. Her outrageous claim has been thoroughly debunked many times, including by FactCheck.org, a non-partisan operation dedicated to checking out claims and political staements.

Sarah of course isn't alone. There is a loud and sustained shouting emanating from the various vested interests, wome of which get downright ridiculous. Here's another example.

Hopefully most of our public is enough in touch with reality to see through the hypocrisy of the right wignuts. I remain hopeful the public will see through these scams, but I am not so sure. Let us fervently hope the American people are not fooled into accepting the status quo yet again.

Let us fervently hope!