Well, Derek, your point is well taken and indeed more fact than fiction. It is true that the political extremes are identical. Sure, we can compare Ann Coulter with a radical tree-spiker in the Pacific Northwest, but who are we kidding here? They back themselves with facts and agendas and move their machine forward and we sit here and protest and weed through the garbage, and shape it into our perspective. But we live in a world that dictates policy through Media, or as Chomsky referred to as "manufacturing consent," Whether to bomb a town in some desert monarchy on the other side of the globe, or to put Martha on the block for being a bad businesswoman.

But, what I am actually gathering here through our series of abstract, concrete and passionate discussions is that the "reality" of all this constant information lies in what YOU make of it. You can struggle to sift through and pose and ponder, while others pander and pilfer, because they beat you to the punch in getting "their" side out there first. OR, we can do something about it, as RandomMan pushes ever so slightly. Grassroots movements have and will continue to work to change the status quo. The question is "When will we decide to relinquish all control?" You don't want these people in your life, true, but your anarchist musings elude you. One day you may have to fight for your rights at great risk to you and your well-being, and your immediate "world." This is not a question of economics, or Capitalism, or Democracy, but instinct or power. Humans don't want to fade away quickly; one group just wants all the control.

I am not here to persuade you to choose between two leaders, or two parties, or two ideas, for they both may be wrong. More ideas are better, and breaking down the wall to get to compete and have a presence is necessary. So that is our calling, our action -to push forward with our lives as individuals for a greater cause, and peace, and art, and balance. So do what you do, Derek. Show your life through your art and action. Nobody is requiring the specifics, really. That is all noise on our screens. We won't remember Coulter's words, or Halliburton's actions years from know. That is not important. What is important is how, why and when we learn from them. And I am not talking about more laws and regulations, but real fundamental change. Not "moral responsibility" and "compassion conservatism" or "bridges to the 21 Century" and "thousand points of lights," but real change...

Thanks for being here...