To get what they want, GW and the Republicans manufacture or create an atmosphere of panic and crisis. They toss around alarmist language on a regular basis, repeating the same few catch phrases in the hope that media outlets will oblige and continue the domino effect. In time, the public is confused -- and afraid, primed to give GW & Co. whatever they desire.

Too many of the problems that face us have fairly painless remedies. As an example, a tremendous amount of mending would result for Social Security if the eligible age was simply raised to 70. That's it. Another example: instead of giving in to the BS that we need to drill in ANWAR to attain energy independence, if the fuel efficiency of our auto fleet were raised by just 0.4 MPG (less than 1 MPG!), more gas would be saved than will ever come from ANWAR.

Our "crises" have fairly painless solutions. The problem is solutions are not the desired end by GW and Republicans. Guess what is?