Bush's trifecta

Be sure to read this terrific article by freelance writer Lynne Glasner, from yesterday's OpEdNews. Excerpts:

Of course the trifecta for Bush is not exactly what others might call their lucky day: In one fell swoop, the Bush Administration began to raid the U.S. treasury in the name of recession, abandon civil liberties in the name of national emergency, and plan an unprecedented pre-emptive war in Iraq in the name of terror. Giving Bush tacit support, the public has offered him another trifecta: distraction (people are too absorbed in taking care of their own survival to pay attention); irrational fear of a terror attack (the odds of dying because of a terrorist attack in the U.S. are 1 in 88,000 over a lifetime; the odds of dying from an assault from a firearm are 1 in 299); and a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness about the odds of making changes in the government...

For the possibility of positive gain, we are willing to take long shots, even if it means going for broke; but for shorter odds, we are willing to give up almost everything if the gamble plays to our fears... Bush & Co. prey on this fear in the same insidious way that lottery companies prey on consumers' irrational hope, using the spin and lure of hitting 'the big one'...

All addictive behavior gets worse as the addict gets more deeply entrenched. Are we willing to go along with more Bush long shots that "no one could have predicted"? What other cataclysmic events have to occur before we are willing to go cold turkey and put an end to the Bush Powerball lottery? In spite of the odds, in spite of the false advertising, and yes, in spite of the lies, we keep buying more lottery tickets, throwing in our own luck with that of Bush and hoping that the next one will hit the jackpot.

Hey, that reminds me - I'd better check those Mega Millions results, to see if we can finally pay the dentist this month...