Our ignorance of the budget has made the challenge of deficit reduction nearly intractable.  What we don’t know is a gaping hole in our psyches that is filled daily with junk information entertainingly wielded by performers with books, television and radio shows to hawk.  What we don’t know is killing us.

Americans torn between the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street would back an independent for President

Over long periods, the involvement of the public in planning or implementation of public policy has been quite marginal. This is a business-run society. The political parties have reflected business interests for a long time.
Noam Chomsky (via noam-chomsky)

Just a week after President John Kennedy’s assassination, Lyndon Johnson addresses Americans on Thanksgiving Day, 1963:

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
John F. Kennedy

This country cannot afford to tear itself apart on a partisan basis on issues so vital to our national security.
Henry Kissinger 

As California's economy continues to struggle, a bipartisan group of business leaders and former politicians is looking to overhaul the Golden State's tax system on the 2012 ballot.  The group bills itself as the Think Long Committee, a union of business and political leaders that the LA Times says is joining forces to place a $10-billion tax increase on the November 2012 ballot.  Those involved are described in the Times' recent piece:

Why are there more independent voters today than perhaps ever before? Is it because people are fed up with the party first and the nation second mentality of incumbents?
Bill Miller, Missourian Editor 

As Occupy Wall Street demonstrations across the nation have started encountering resistance from city authorities, recent data from the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP) firm indicates that voters are less fond of the Occupy movement today compared to last month.