If it's Tuesday

it must be time for basketball. As previously noted, our grandson is on the local high school varsity basketball team. Which means for my wife and I will spend two or three nights (and several road trips) watching them play. Russell, our grandson, is not a starter but he gets lots of playing time and he's only a sophmore. The team is good but not much "above average." I'm not the coach so I don't complain but I think their biggest problem is that they don't play as a team very well.

Which is my segway to today's dally. Good teamwork is hard to find at any level of society these days. I am the mayor of a small town with a city council of six members. No member has been on the council less than two years and all have known each other for years. Yet they spend more time arguing about shorterm matters than working together on issues that really matter, such as enabling the city to prepare for the future which means we have to change.
But the reality is the lack of teamwork is prevalent at all levels of government. Partisanship is so much the name of the game today that I wonder if any progress can be made in bringing about a just society. I am happy that the Repubs have finally lost control of both our state and the federal legislative branches but, though I firmly believe that Democrats are better intentioned that the Repubs, I wonder if the whole system isn't so skewed that real change that will benefit the "least of these" as much as does those who already benefit is beyond possiblity.

Still I'm not ready to give up. I'll settle for small steps as long as they move us forward. Unfortunately it will take us years, probabll decades, to even gain back the progress that was made before "the Reagan revolution" began to do away with any hint of a just society in favor of one of, for, and by the wealthy. What I don't want to settle for is decisions that settle for and/or leagalize the status quo. George Bush has done more to harm the intent of the constitution than any president in history. He should be impeached and in a just and truly constitution-based society he would be, but in today's rea;ity it won't happen so we can't dwell on it. I want the Democrats to reverse the direction of our government and let George Bush stew in his own misery.

I have also come to realize that progressive change in a democracy rarely comes in citizen inititives, it comes from elected leaders. Therefore I put most of my hope in someone who seeks political office. I should say at this point that I am a liberal Democrat who lives in what is usually identified as a conservative region. I personally think people are more apathetic and uninvolved than conservative. I think the feeling is that government owes us but we shouldn't have to pay for anything. I think that explains why they usually vote for Repubs.

Right now my first choice for President in the '08 election is John Edwards but others are also acceptable to me. I will have a real hard time generating any enthusiasm if Hillary Clinton is nominated by the Democrats. The only thing she has going for her as far as I'm concerned is that she would be better than any Republican who is under consideration.

Edwards would include everybody as a player on the team and we would all end up winners!

Enough for today. It's time to end this god damn war!

Peace in our time!