Selling this house has been a very stop and start sort of adventure. Now, the contract is ratified, and the inspection addendum is reasonable. That means that I'm selling this house, and it's settling the middle of next month.
Soon I will be commuting from bumfuck (100 mile round trip) until another solution presents itself. That is not, however, why I'll miss the house. I'll just miss it because it's cool, unlike anything else around here, and I like it. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to sell it, and it's a good deal for me. I'm just having some seller's remorse, I think.
Sigh.
Two years ago, the Democrats were defeated not by George Bush, but by Ralph Nader. In spite of this fact, they still have shown no leadership (only denial and finger-pointing), and they still haven't considered that progressives are disillusioned with the party. Though a small group, progressives are motivated and are a large enough group to tip the balance away from the Republicans...if only they felt they could support the Democrat candidates.
This lesson was not learned by them in 2000 when Nader made all the difference. It was not learned in this election when voter turnout carried the GOP to victory. There were few Greens to blame in this one for splitting the vote, and in many races, the Dems couldn't even coerce a candidate to run, which certainly invites Democrat-leaning people to not bother to go to the polls.
I predict that in two years:
-The Dems still won't have a viable candidate for the Presidency.
-The Dems will still not have learned that the center makes for low turnout, very close elections and unmotivated voters.
-The Republicans will argue and dither away this two-year trifecta, just like they did under Newt Gingrich's leadership accomplishing nothing meaningful.
-The Republicans will sweep again amid more cry-baby allegations of voter fraud from the Dems, when in reality, the cry-baby sector is not voting in large enough numbers.
The reality is that people don't give a shit who wins because they are all bought and paid for and there is very little difference in their platforms. Everyone knows this, but no one has any ideas on how to fix it that don't violate some part of the constitution. Because of the lack of difference in matters of substance, electioneering turns into a mud-slinging festival, alienating even more voters.
The powers that be are, of course, not interested in fixing this, so it will continue until the people are so incredibly angry that there is a rout of whoever is in power at that point. Unfortunately, that will not happen by the next election unless the economy gets steadily worse. And I mean *seriously* worse. As cynical as I am, I don't really expect that to happen.
I think it will take almost a generation to break out of the horrible stasis we've slipped into since Clinton beat Bush in 1992. That would put us at 2014 before politics are interesting and effective again. I will be voting between then and now, nonetheless, because if one doesn't vote, one has no right to complain, and I obviously like to complain.