At the Washington Post, we read:

"Former Bush administration officials are launching a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign..."

In fact, it is so completely behind the scenes we can read about in the paper.

It's as if we are sitting, stunned, in the theater for the Avante Garde performance of the decade ; the curtain is drawn; the lights are down; we can hear scuttling movement and can only guess at what events transpire there, in the darkness of the obscured stage: "Given what we've just seen, that noise could be from...large rodents of unusual size, perhaps?" and before we can think again the house manager calms our apprehensive souls:

"Owing to the transgressive nature of previous scene and not a little stage fright, the main performers in the previous scene have each requested a few moments privacy; a bucket of fresh towelletes; and clean pairs of pants. There will be a slight delay before the performance resumes."

That's politics. You're welcome.

This morning, I picked a page at random (as I live and breath, at random) from this book:

Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella Meadows

Here it is, from the preview available at Chelsea Green; page 135:

The Trap: Shifting the Burden to the Intervenor

"Shifting the burden, dependence, and addiction arise when a solution to a systemic problem reduces (or disguises) the symptoms, but does nothing to solve the underlying problem. Whether it is a substance that dulls one's perception or a policy that hides the underlying trouble, the drug of choice interferes with the actions that could solve the real problem.

"If the intervention designed to correct the problem causes the self-maintaining capacity of the original system to atrophy or erode, then a destructive reinforcing feedback loop is set in motion. The system deteriorates; more and more of the solution is required. They system will become more and more dependent on the intervention and less and less able to maintain its own desired state.

The Way Out

"Again, the best way out of this trap is to avoid getting in. Beware of symptom-relieving or signal-denying policies or practices that don't really address the problem. Take the focus off short-term relief and put it on long-term restructuring."

A few thoughts: animals will learn to avoid the traps set by hunters, I've heard; and coyotes, I've heard, will crap on a hunter's trap after turning it over. There's a lesson here, probably about traps. Duh.

Breaking the cycle of this addiction is going to hurt; and it is precisely that threat of pain that is the Sword of Damocles over your head, gentle reader.

Again, I'll ask: Is there anyone out there up for a New Economy?