"With a less bitter leaven of sure despair..."
        During the Clinton administration, the ATF and federal marshals laid siege to a number of separatist bunkers including those at Ruby Ridge in Naples, Idaho and the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.  During and immediately following these actions the militia movement in the western United States saw explosive growth.  Every hick, yokel and bumpkin in the mountains picked up their deer rifles and started rolling around in the mud, training for the moment when they would rise up against their oppressors.  This of course, culminated in the Oklahoma City bombing.  However, once Janet Reno left office and the government changed their tactics in arresting entrenched criminals, (now a days they just wait for the guy to go to the grocery store and grab him of the street) the militias dried up and blew away.
          I see a parallel between the rise of the militias in the 90s and the rise of radical Islam in the 00’s.  While it is true that they struck the first serious blow at the Word Trade Center, the movement didn’t really catch fire until we began sending large numbers of troops into the Middle East.  While I recognize that it is not wise or reasonable to pull out and allow civil war to erupt (or at least, to erupt more that it already is), I suspect that when the US withdraws its military presence from the word stage, much of the current turmoil will fade.

 
I’ve also put a new post on Don’t Forget This Poem. 

Quote of the day:
“I point this out simply to note the ongoing political irony of our age. The middle-class, for the most part, continues to vote (some would say against its economic interests) for the Republican Party — primarily because of moral and social issues. Meanwhile, a rising percentage of the rich, especially along the coasts, has been voting (against its economic interests) for the Democratic Party — primarily because of moral and social issues.”
~Terry Mattingly
 
And now, for your moment of zen: