I am writing from Michelle Bachmann's "Real America," and if this is "REAL America" count me out!

Normally I live in suberbia, but we have a 2nd home in the mountains, and that is where I am at the moment. We spent 25 years living here and raising our family.

I have no cable (because we turn it off unless we are going to be here for quite awhile,) and no internet access unless I drive around what there is of downtown and find a few-and-far-between hot spot, which I finally found. Even having found one, this area is set up for analog, not high-speed, and it is taking me forever to even change a page. I hit load, then I can go to the bathroom, do my business, pluck my eyebrows and by the time I get pack the page is loaded. I can see why people give up and quit trying.

I can't believe I used to live like this. If I am unable to check my e-mail or log onto TPM, I might as well dispense with my coffee, in which case I will have a terrible headache and be a very grouchy girl. I am like a smoker trying to give up the habit,  in search of that butt on the side of the road that was burned down to the nubbins, but may one or two hits left in it.

Yesterday I trekked down the road about 1/2 a mile from my house, trying to find a break in the ridgeline to get just enough of a signal to get into my iphone and check my e-mail. It was frustrating, but I was able to do it, and got just enough of a fix to regain my sanity for a bit. My daughter drove by and I got busted! She whipped out the camera and took a picture of me standing on the corner in my pajamas, 38 degrees outside, iphone in hand! We'll be laughing about that for years!

Anyway, now I have come to the conclusion that this is all a right wing plot to keep a large portion of America ignorant. If there is no access to the outside world, they can keep us stupid. We don't know what they are up to, they can run amuck with no one to keep an eye on them. I firmly believe that this is how they got me to stay a Republican for so long.

When President Obama says he wants to make it so that broadband is available to EVERYONE, I can see why the right is panicking. How will they keep us in line if we know what they are up to?

So, the bottom line is, there are good people in rural America. When rural America is gone, we will have lost something special. But this is NOT (all caps, extra large font) the only place where REAL Americans live. Real Americans are those people who care enough about their country to keep informed about what its leaders are doing, and unfortunately, as it stands now, it takes extra effort to do that if you live in a small, rural town.

My hat is off to all of you who endure the slow connection speeds to  keep up on world events.

P.S. Dick Update: I finally heard from him! His computer crashed and he just discovered he can get an hour of free internet access at his local library once a day. He is going to try and post today!!! Yay!

I suppose I'm not the only one to notice that DD (or Arthur, as I lovingly refer to him) hasn't been here for a couple of days...

Would it be inappropriate to say that a day without dick is like a day without sunshine?

Over in ProfB's post a day or so ago, a discussion was started about the merits/problems with labels such as conservative, progressive, etc. and the two party system.

The discussion got me to thinking about how we got to where we are today. Since I remember little about my classes on American history as it relates to the Constitution, I Googled "Constitution Two Party System" and treated myself to an afternoon history lesson courtesy of wikipedia.

I have to tell you, it was a fascinating read and I found it much more interesting today than I did back in the day!

For those who, like me, need a little refresher course, I'll paraphrase very simply, what I read.

The Constitution does not mandate, nor even address the two party system. At first there were no parties, although "factions" began to develop. George Washington was re-elected without opposition in 1792. Shortly thereafter, Alexander Hamilton, who like Washington, promoted a strong central government, formed a network of supporters called the Federalists. In response, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who feared a strong central government, formed the Democratic-Republican Party.

Hamilton and Washington felt that opposition parties would weaken the government. Jefferson and Madison felt that the Federalists represented aristocratic forces hostile to the true will of the people. In a letter to Henry Lee in 1824, Jefferson explained:

"Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties: 1. Those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes. 2. Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the most wise depositary of the public interests. In every country these two parties exist, and in every one where they are free to think, speak, and write, they will declare themselves. Call them, therefore, liberals and serviles, Jacobins and Ultras, whigs and tories, republicans and federalists, aristocrats and democrats, or by whatever name you please, they are the same parties still and pursue the same object. The last appellation of aristocrats and democrats is the true one expressing the essence of all."

In 1800, the Federalists were swept out of power by the Democratic-Republicans when Thomas Jefferson was elected President. The Federalists fell apart and the Democratic-Republicans remained in power until they split into the Democrats (led by Andrew Jackson) and the Whigs (led by Henry Clay)  in 1824-1828. The Republican Party evolved from the Whigs.

So now fast forward to today. The country is split nearly down the middle. We have an incredibly popular President with a mandate for change, and an opposition party of obstructionists so pissed over losing that it is dangerously close to calling for an armed uprising. No one seems to be able to come up with a working definition that everyone accepts for the labels we use to identify people's agendas.