To: KLP who wrote (506024 ) 9/3/2012 9:28:05 PM From: simplicity 8 Recommendations Respond to of 794389 Thank you for your very thoughtful and insightful reply, Karen. So for me, and you, and all of us who care about this country, the question becomes not IF there is a problem, but WHAT can we do to help solve the problem. I don’t doubt that after so many years of activism, you are saddened and discouraged. Most of us are too, even if we haven’t been quite as busy on that front as you have been. I completely agree with you that we cannot 'give up'. There is a remnant in our society that fully intends to remain informed, and inform others, until we can no longer do so. I have not given up on attempting to make a difference. I have simply decided that the way to do that is not to approach the government itself -- marching on Washington, sending letters to senators and congressmen, circulating and delivering petitions, and the like may have had an effect decades ago, but our government today is so corrupt, so agenda-driven, and so far removed from embracing the Founders' vision, that those methods of redress amount to simply whistling in the wind anymore. I believe our only avenue to promote change is through informing the populace itself in the hopes that the electorate will see to it that the power mongers who place agenda above the good of the country will be removed from office. The majority of Americans today are either ill-informed, or uninformed. We have a president who has absolutely no qualifications to hold the office. He was a 'community organizer' (a glorified rabble rouser), a part-time college lecturer, and a state and federal senator who voted 'present' or 'absent' more times than he took a stand on issues. Those are the qualifications of the leader of the free world -- a man who, with the stroke of a pen (actually many strokes of many pens) has over-ruled the United States Constitution by implementing unconstitutional policies without the advice and consent of congress, has instructed his federal agencies to do the same, and has made major, far-reaching military decisions that affect the entire globe contrary to the advice of courageous, duty-bound military leaders with decades of experience under their belts. And yet, as of today, nearly half of the electorate intends to return him to office. At the same time, since our ability to directly voice our redress of grievances to Washington really no longer exists, our only rational avenue to achieve change is to attempt to educate that half of the electorate. Each of us chooses our own way of doing that, but do it we must! You are a modern American patriot, and I deeply admire your knowledge and your determination to reclaim our republic from the scoundrels who are determined, at any cost, to remain at the helm. Our methods of attempting to do so may be somewhat different, but we're standing shoulder-to-shoulder in that effort. Best to you and yours in these troubling times!