Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis knows I'm a big fan of the Bohemian philosopher king, Vaclav Havel. I know, as anyone who has crossed the Iron Curtain should realize, that Carmen Lawrence is shaping out to be the Antipodean Havel in a skirt. Czech out this thoughtful essay worthy of wide distribution, along the lines of The Power of the Powerless, which served as the most extensive theoretical underpinning for Charter 77 and democratic revival. Withering democracy could yet become the polis of our dreams describes how political bullies have dumped voters for a sleazy mix of opinion polls and donor largesse...

Rising Democracies An Interested, Involved Citizenry is Vital to Democracy


Sen. Ernest Hollings of South Carolina said this week he won't run again for the Senate, as he's discouraged by the excessively partisan and counterproductive direction of the nation's politics.
· Partisanship [Madison ]
· Total Information Awareness program that's right out of George Orwell's 1984 [Former Vice President Al Gore: MoveOn ]
· The Running Man: Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor [SanFrancisco: Ms Universe wants to be Mr California]