Frank Salvato argues, in the famous words of Walt Kelly via his comic strip, Pogo, "We have met the enemy and he is us." The voters, and even the non-voters, in this country are ultimately responsible for the government. Thomas Jefferson championed public education because democracy requires an informed electorate, but most of us don't bother to think much about politics and the issues beyond the jokes on The Daily Show, Jay Leno and David Letterman. When we pay attention to events in the world, they are generally filtered by the media not just to give us facts, but tell us, more or less subtly, what to think about them. For the past 6 years, however, the MSM has become far more partisan than I remember any time in my 58 years, yet most of its reporters and editors vehemently deny any bias, usually with an expression of disdain for their readers and those who constantly object to their bias and just blundering, the bloggers.

In addition, he notes, many of our beliefs are being shaped by special interest groups who are unabashedly engaged in propaganda and advocacy. The Mark Foley scandal is a good example. Normally when revelations of his behavior appeared, he would have been forced to resign in shame, but today that's not enough. The left wants to use it as a club to drive the Speaker of the House from his job. The fact that this seems to be working, although that may be more spin by the media, is a testament to how little thought goes on in our heads.