Quote Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter View Post
Yes, the release of election day (days?) will be cathartic and wounds will be licked. I suppose shutting down this thread might be appropriate, but as Dave W. noted, there will be more to do. No matter who wins, there will be a lot on the plate. We will either be led further down the path to a Southern European model of socioeconomic decline, or we will have to press a new guy hard to genuinely "turn it around". Decline has the momentum from decades of institutionalizing sloth and envy, and the producers to non-producers ratio is perilously near going over center. The megaphone advocating shifting ever more power from the people to the elites is still in a position of dominance in communication systems, though I suspect their sycophancy in this cycle has wounded their credibility even more than before. Take a rest, but don't stop.
Once again, I agree Bob. While the focus of this thread has shifted to being mostly about the campaign and election, I look back to Post #1 where the guidelines for the thread were stated:
It was suggested that we start a new thread for our off-topic discussions regarding the state of the union, world peace, cures for physical ailments or other potentially disrespectful subject matter. So with that as our tenet, this thread is dedicated to the free and open dialog of any subject, provided posts follow the guidelines of the forum which we all agreed to when we signed on, and especially those in Bill's post on RESPECT (not the Aretha Franklin song!!) Respect, Respect, Respect!!!
I will welcome the passing of the campaign rhetoric, but I fear that regardless the outcome of this election there are going to be critical concerns to be addressed. Again, regardless who wins the election, I will be interested in the slow unraveling of the facts(?) of what truly happened in the weeks, days and hours before the tragedy in Bhengazi; and for another, in how we stop the slide into the economic morass that much of our world today finds themselves occupying.

As Bob says, I believe that it is critical that folks like us continue to be concerned with what's going on, and to do whatever we can to keep our leaders accountable. After all, this is still supposed to be a government by the people, for the people and most importantly, of the people, whether this thread remains open or is locked to drift away.