Random Barking

The New York Times online reported that a suicide bomber in Baghdad killed forty or more today.

Over the past few weeks in my neighborhood, I've noticed uncollected garbage, discarded clothing and furniture, sitting on sidewalks -- and I live in a relatively affluent area on Nob Hill (not in the actual Rich Person's part of it, though).

And watching people act towards each other in public situations, there seems to be a harder edge, a what do you want; get the hell outta my way attitude; a presumption that the world sucks and will continue to suck even more as time progresses.

There's a lot of anger, even hatred, out there, looking for somewhere to flow. The Big Boys and Girls on the Right would like to channel that -- into votes, into advertising and commercial profit, into larger attendance in Megachurches.

They've already tried it, in the Teabaggers -- but they're not reading the poll numbers: People believe politicians suck; that the Dems suck -- but Repubs suck even more.

As The Great Curmudgeon noted, anything different is difficult for anyone to remember, now.

However, I keep thinking that it didn't have to have turned out this way. Or, perhaps (given what humans are), there really was no other outcome.

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