I still think we're a country. I don't think corporations control the government, but I do think the government seeks to control corporations.

I'm 28 for a few more weeks, but we had a little box with a slider on it that went to 18 channels, I think. I remember that Channel 15 was Disney. I used to watch the old Zorro episodes a lot.

It's all about power. Government exists to serve the people, but government increasingly believes we exist to serve it. I still do believe we are the greatest nation on earth, but we're not on a course to keep it that way. And a lot of people in this country seem to like it that way.

You know there's something wrong with education when they start talking about not handing out awards for A-B honor roll or whatever because the other kids who didn't earn them might feel bad. Screw that. Earn it then. Like you said, they're taking away any incentive to excel. Then little Johnny is all proud of his or her school supplies on the first day of school and the teacher confiscates them from everyone in the class and tosses them in a big bin and says they belong to everyone and they're not his anymore.

Education funding needs to be cut, not just frozen. Spending more and more isn't making it any better. They need just enough to get the job done, and there need to be standards that are stuck to so we get some results. There are way too many government programs, perhaps many the brainchilds of good intentions - but good intentions are useless without results and we need to demand results. Like the old saying goes, sometimes the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Joe, your post had visions of the Imperial Senate and legions of Storm Troopers dancing in my head. :-) I don't see things ever getting quite so extreme, or at least I certainly hope not. But it's true that we are producing less and less here, and other places will suck on the teat of the USA until they're fat and happy and when they don't need us anymore and we're not producing enough on our own, we will be ripe for the picking. And many will put on that yoke quite willingly.