Mechanics of the Tea Party sellout; local govts can nix drones! Plus that funny socialist parable

The explosive first chapter of modern Tea Party history, starting around 2009, was unexpected. The sheeple seemed too ovine, they drink too much fluoridated water, and listen to too many pietistic sermons to ever really start making politicians nervous again, I thought. But suddenly there it was -- people giving politicians the angry, unvarnished truth right between the eyes, some pols even sneaking out of town meetings that made them extremely jittery. What followed was too predictable -- prognosticating it would have felt like playing checkers with a 5-year-old: the movement mellowed, the furious citizenry believed rumors that they'd regained power, they ran candidates and they got elected -- whooppee! Where do we go from here, and all that. Since then, things have gone back to what they were. Republicans got elected and (golly gee) "took back" the US House of Representatives. It would be lovely if this or any such turnabout brought any real change, but their promises of rolling back Obamananism in Washington have led to no results worth mentioning -- not compared to the desperatedly needed CHANGEs they promised! Past "Republican Revolutions" have CHANGEd nothing -- this "half portion" has brought more of the same. Here's a fine little expose of how they were simply bought off by the Establishment -- Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington and Switches Sides, why does this feel like "deja vu all over again": http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/05/21/484283/how-banks-bought-the-tea-party/?mobile=nc HOW BANKS BOUGHT THE TEA PARTY: Cash Transforms Populist Insurgents To Reliable Vote For Financial Industry A highly telling photo caption in the article: "Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) erupts at a constituent who asked about the bank lobby". Note the highly damning chart that says Walsh received SEVENTY THOUSAND BUCKS in donations from a combination of "Banks enrolled in TARP" and the "American Banker's Association"!!!............. The bad news of this era includes that drones are going to freely fly through our skies, surveilling, inhibiting or killing us according to Establishment whim -- but this article brings the good news that Local Governments Have the Power to Restrict Drone Surveillance in the US https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/05/local-governments-have-power-restrict-drone-surveillance-us God bless the Electronic Frontiers Foundation -- they're a very professional yet very grassroots/populist org! ............. This joke makes a great point even if it requires "willing suspension of disbelief" regarding the GOP's real nature: I recently asked my neighbors' little girl what she wanted to be when she Grows up. She said she wanted to be President some day. Both of her Parents, liberal Democrats, were standing there, so I asked her, 'If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?' She replied, 'I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people.' Her parents beamed with pride. 'Wow...what a worthy goal.' I told her, 'But you don't have to wait until you're President to do that! You can come over to my house and mow the Lawn, pull weeds, and trim my hedge, and I'll pay you $50. Then I'll take you Over to the grocery store where the homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward food and a new house.' She thought that over for a few seconds, then she looked me straight in the eye and asked, 'Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50?' I said, 'Welcome to the Republican Party.' Her parents still aren't speaking to me. /\/.\/\/.