@Serolf Divad: Was watching Hurt Locker (OK, what the fuck is with the title? What does it mean?) and couldn’t help but wonder what it might be like if Iraqui troops were yelling Arabic at pensioners in the parking lot of the Woodstock CVS. And Paultards were bolting bombs to refugees from the national tour of Cats.

The more compelling explanation is that the American public lives in Candyland, where government can tackle the big problems and get out of the way at the same time.

Problem is: we’ve been convinced by shameless politicians that cutting taxes increases government revenues. Therefore if you want to balance the budget you do so by cutting taxes. The American public is basically Hansel and Gretel in the gingerbread house, convinced of the veracity of something that’s too good to be true. And I’m afraid they’re about to get eaten.

The “think positive thoughts” meme (notably embodied in the whole “The Secret” nonsense) has an exceptionally dangerous corollary that I’ve run across – people whose lives have turned to shit read the stupid book and come to the conclusion that all the terrible things that have happened to them are their own fault. Talk about a self-reinforcing depression cycle!

Even better, the same logic is used by smug (mostly conservative) assholes to explain why they shouldn’t have to help others; after all, the poor people deserve it, and all *my* wealth is due to my “positive thinking”!

“Like attracts like” may be an occasionally useful philosophical principle, but far too many bad things happen to good people (and conversely, not NEARLY enough bad things happen to bad people) for it to be any kind of universal principle.