It is a cold grey day here in the Connecticut Berkshires and my brother is out in his woods paintballing with our sons and a number of their friends. (Some will be happy to hear that his enterprising effort to lead a flanking attack resulted in him being hit with yellow paintballs seven times in a few seconds: he looks like an heroic frying pan.)

It is pretty cold and grey on the political front too. Those with memories long enough must be thinking of the 1974 Post-Watergate election catastrophe - dubious economy, foreign policy disasters, ethical outrage.

Dow Blog (whose threatened demise was worrying me recently) has put up a succinct summary of the wasted opportunities arising from the electoral gyrations of the past few years. Sometimes it is useful to read a refresher on this fairly complex business:

On the other side were imperious neoconservatives, conflating Israeli and American interests, driven to create a Pax Americana at the point of a bayonet. The neocons were aligned with business interests, those who believe in the myth of homo economicus, who sought mass immigration as a means of keeping wages low, and who see tax policy and tort reform as more important than the murder of unborn children.

I continue to believe that when citizen volunteers, with family concerns pressing, invest the time to write 1,500 word essays, all cannot be lost. I commend his post earlier this week too, particularly the later portion:

Where were the men who possess the character of William Jennings Bryan, willing to resign rather than go along for the ride?