Yet Another Fine Jackpine Rant…
My fundamental problem with current politics is this: I perceive a broad spectrum of current problems and looming crises in the nation and the world, ranging from the spectre of mass surveillance to environmental degradation and catastrophic climate change. This combination of threats has the potential to destroy not just our species, but the Earth’s biosphere. Few if any politicians are taking any of these matters seriously, mostly because greedy and apparently overwhelmingly powerful forces have chosen to let their own short-term self-interest determine the course of our future.
These forces, the international corporations and banks, now control all aspects of our government, from the courts to the Statehouses, and are forcing their tentacles ever downward into ever smaller units of local government such as county and town boards and local school boards. This unseen and unelected oligarchy controls the mass media, which it uses to censor and distort information and mold public opinion as it chooses. The oligarchy is currently grasping for control of the Internet to complete its control of access to public opinion and eliminate the last channels of dissent.
The oligarchs are not monolithic in their interests; some, for whatever reason, have culturally liberal values and are tolerant of gay rights, reproductive choice, and drug legalization, while others have made alliance with culturally conservative social and religious movements that would prefer to suppress these social liberties.
Likewise, the economic overlords seem to be somewhat divided in their opinions on the desirability of continuous warfare, and this schism has been sufficient to permit the current administration to avoid armed conflict with Syria and Iran so far, although the hawks have so far had their way with Afghanistan, and the Islamic State is providing a rationale for entering a new conflict of undefined boundaries and proportions in the Middle East.
It is within the crevices that divide the oligarchs that our political parties are allowed to have their differences with each other. The liberals fight for social liberties, and the conservatives struggle to enforce their view of morality. With few exceptions (minimum wage perhaps being one), no issue is permitted to rise into public attention if it is opposed by a consensus of oligarchs.
It is not correct to say that there is no difference between the parties; clearly, there is, particularly on the previously mentioned issues of individual liberty. However, the differences that do exist are too small, and do not begin to span the range of critical issues that the world faces. Climate change, for example, was not even mentioned in the 2012 Presidential debates, and members of both parties are all too willing to do the bidding of the fossil fuel industry. Both parties have been complicit in the growth of the Security State. Both have actively worked to replace a public education system, and an educated populace, that were once the pride of the world with a privatized system of narrow vocational education that produces heavily indentured drones to unquestioningly take up roles as cogs in the industrial machine, with an infirm and largely inaccurate knowledge base that precludes them from seeing or thinking beyond the narrow boundaries of the world as defined by Fox News, Facebook, and reality TV.
The problems we face are so severe, and the time remaining to address them so short, that I despair of the power of politics as usual to even begin to address them. Further, I believe that these problems cannot effectively be addressed piecemeal. Either we quickly and decisively gain control over the Corporate State that threatens to overrun us, or we will be crushed beneath the massive weight of power-mad forces that are so short-sighted as not to see that their own doom will follow shortly upon ours.
Where are the politicians who will take on the Evil Empire?
= new reply since forum marked as read
Of course, someone will come along in a minute to SHOUT at me for not being their version of a "real democrat." 
I was living in the country for 15 years, but it was an hour drive to work (one way), and when the guy I was living with couldn't suppress his alcoholism and rage issues any longer and we ended.....well, there was no one else to handle the "farm". So I needed to move.
Much more practical now, and I'm closer to civilization and friends. I've got a used Prius, and I'd sure like to set up solar. But yeah, we're dependent on big energy, big food, big "health".
But still, it's critical to keep moving forward, doing as much good as we can. imnvho. (In my not very humble opinion. 
)
Best articulated analysis I've read in sometime. /Spot on the mark. I hear ya, and have the same questions which largely unanswered except.. big expose in Friday's paper of my little town of Alameda of an obscure entity with a bogus office front in Los Angeles pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars to certain candidates running for office in Alameda. This is not the first time but kudos on the Alameda town papers for investigating and giving a lot of attention to this.
Still it feels like trying to clean up a 500 million gallon cesspool with a teaspoon.
Seriously tho… well said.
With the massive piles of cash that the plutocrats are spewing into elections it seems less and less likely that we will see any significant change on the national level without a serious shock.. Move To Amend is one possibility but getting the juggernaut turned around feels like a daunting nigh impossible task. This ain't gonna be easy… better learn to have fun waging this battle or go crazy.
Agony
