Nice post. I've followed you here from fb (although suzi3d also influenced the decision) since I have been reading your posts there since last fall. We'll see where this goes . . . Just something to think about . . . What I think needs to be expanded upon is the actual nature of this oligarchy/kleptocracy that we are dealing with . . . what is specific about it, what is specific about the context/contingencies in which it has developed . . . ?