Last night was the multicultural festival at my son's elementary school. The looming war with Iraq, though never far from anyone's mind, did not cast an overt pall over the evening, which was lively and fun. Before the last song performed by the chorus, Walter stood up and spoke a few well-chosen words to the assembled families about the uncertain times and asked that we reflect for a minutes about the events that were soon to unfold.
Let's take a couple of seconds and think about where we are...
In this time... And in this place... Together.
As I reflected, I looked around at the people who live in my community.
Being near a large university, we have a substantial international population and are, perhaps, more
diverse that much of America. I felt encouraged that I do believe that America is better at building
an ethnically diverse society and living with voices of dissent than almost anywhere else in the world.
I regret the singleminded way the administration has pursued war, but I very much believe that our
military will try to avoid civilian casualties and "collateral damage". It is cold comfort, but comfort
none-the-less. Seeing my neighbors white, black, hispanic, immigrant, and all our children coming together
and 
singing ''Changamano'' (ogg vorbis file) together to celebrate our diverse heritage gives me hope that not all is dark.
Today I'm working on getting the new G4s to accept the loadset of software I've assembled. My first effort didn't work, so I've made some changes and am trying again. Unfortunately, it takes several hours to test whether or not its going to work.
This article describes the US political system as a form of neo-totalitarianism, basically arguing that the interests that control the United States (e.g. money and corporations) have learned how to manage totalitarianism right: make sure the leader is not very bright, let people say whatever they want, and make sure economic conditions don't get too bad. As long as the corporations do that, they can ride the system wherever they want and skim off the fat for themselves.