CommonSense2 publishes 11 times a year with one of those months being a combined issue in the summer to allow for me to take a vacation. This August/September issue is that combined issue. I’ll be heading for the beach off the coast of North Carolina. And I’ll be bringing a book by Stephen King, not some political tract to read. But we will return with our October issue to cover what appears to be the dreariest major election campaign in ages.

I often wonder how our politics have devolved to today’s pathetic depths. Meaning has been extracted from our politics with surgical precision by those whose intent is to buy up Washington. And buy it they have. The late-great George Carlin had it right when speaking shortly before his death: “They don’t give a damn about you.They’re a big club down there in Washington. And guess what? You and I are not members of that club. Just them and their Wall Street buddies. And they don’t give a damn about you.”

I think George was right, and I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about that lately. I’m looking for alternatives into believing that the Republicans and Democrats in Washington are going to change things substantially for the plight of working families in this country. In my heart I know that’s not true. They’re locked in a death-dance with the special interests and can’t break free. They’re pitchmen who survive by convincing enough voters that their servitude to the corporate rulers was actually for them. Con-men extraordinaire!

Does this mean I’m pessimistic and that nothing can be done? No, not at all. It just means we’ve been taking the wrong path to change. We’ve acted as if we believe that the politicians in Washington and Harrisburg are leaders. They are not. They are followers. They are not interested in upsetting the status-quo. Why should they be? The system as it is has made them winners and put them in the seats of power. Their political opponents are home licking their wounds. Why would they want to shake that boat?

Does this mean that they are not capable of change? No, it doesn’t. It just means we have to understand the essential calculation that they make. That calculation is simply this: A politician will be for change when the political cost of that change is less than the political cost of standing pat. That in a nutshell spells out the mission for progressives. We need to alter the reality on the ground in a politician’s district and among the public at large, so that a politician comes to believe that not embracing a progressive agenda will cost him his seat. We need to build the pressure from the progressive side by using the very same messaging techniques that have been employed so successfully by conservatives for the past 35 years.

A new progressive group is forming here in Berks County called Berks Progress. And no, we’re not going to use BP for short for obvious reasons. I am very high on this group. It has great leadership, a sense of purpose, and is determined to break through and join the battle for the hearts and minds of the citizenry. It understands how the fragmentation of the left has ruined many such efforts in the past. It remembers how Martin Luther King marched with atheists, Jews, and blacks to present a formidable force against the status-quo. Each group and individual put aside their differences to unite for the common good. Those groups have splintered since then with each becoming impotent by standing alone with their smaller numbers. At Berks Progress we agree to set aside our differences for the common good of a strong and vibrant progressive dialog with the public. We will succeed. Come join us for our next meeting at The Peanut Bar in Reading, PA on Penn Street on August 11th at 6:00pm. We’ll be meeting in the back room and giving birth to a new progressive era.

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Off the soapbox and on to the issue. The story of Zeitoun is both harrowing and disturbing. What it says about how those in authority act when they feel no one is watching, and what it says about the dark underbelly of the American psyche is something that this nation needs to discuss. Please take the time to read the story of Zeitoun.

One of the treasures offered by CS2 is the work of Lynn M. Petrovich. For those of you out there who think our health care system employs some semblance of sanity, I defy you to maintain that position after reading Lynn’s wonderful analysis of her hospital bill. Hospital Accounting: It’s Complicated is a must read in this issue.

Our cover story this month is by the ever popular Walter Brasch. Walter takes a look at the controversial Arizona law in light of the words written on the Statue of Liberty. Ms. Liberty shedding a tear is done by my wife Pat Brown, as are all the covers. You need to read Shining the Light of The New Colossus into Arizona. Walter has a second submission this month giving his take on the NBA’s absurd LeBron James team-choosing production. Check out LeBron James, the Media and the American Soul.

In a complete insult to reformers, the Obama Administration continues to show that their recently passed health care legislation has nothing to do with reform by appointing WellPoint executive and Baucus committee stooge Liz Fowler to implement the program. Health care insurers are in the driver’s seat in this Administration. They wrote the bill. They are the beneficiaries of the bill. Now they get to implement the bill. Check out The Fox is Guarding the Hen House by Ron Stouffer and Rosie Skomitz. Speaking of Ron Stouffer, we are reprinting one of his essays which is just as relevant today as it was the first time around: To Which Flag Do You Pledge Allegiance? The single-payer movement in PA is looking for donations so that they can have a study on the impact of implementing single payer. If you can donate to a worthwhile cause, this is it. See: Need a $500 or $1000 Tax Deduction For A Good Cause?

My daughter, Lauren Brown, took a recent road trip from her home in Las Vegas to visit Death Valley and Mono Lake. The views are breath-taking in this photo essay. Check it out.

Those of you who missed Dorothy Reilly last issue are in for a triple-treat this issue. Dorothy is back with a vengeance. First, she pays homage to that hero Julian Assange with Wikileaks Lets Us Know That We Still Have Heroes In Our Midst. Ever wonder how Bush’s insane, inhumane, unconstitutional wars morphed into “Well, the President doesn’t have any good choices here”? Just change Presidents and watch hypocritical and shameless Democratic activists justify it. Dorothy takes on liberal hypocrisy with Obamapologists Are Schizophrenic. And finally, Dorothy makes the point that When You Have Reform Things Should Get Better.

Despite all the evidence that the world is going to hell in a hand-basket, Berks Progress President Karen Feridun remains an optimist. Find out whey in Why Am I An Optimist?

Our book reviewer, James Patrick, is here with a few gems in this issue. First we have a review of The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt. Then, The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges. Finally, “Bech At Bay” by John Updike. Wow! You’ll have to get up early in the morning to keep up with the reading pace set by James.

Karen Voytas returns to our pages in this issue. Is Creation Myth supposed to be taken straight or as a parable about BP?

If you haven’t been reading Jack Lindeman’s continuing series in CS2 than all I can say is: You Don’t Know Jack! Check it out with Reflections on Religion in the Western World.

We round out our issue with 5 Great New Poems:

Summer is Dying by Michael Lee Johnson

Two Poems by Barry Greenawalt

No! by Will Kiffer

Shavings by G.K. Thomas

Away With Words/The Talking Heads by Mark Soifer

Well that’s it for this issue. Hope you enjoy–

Keep on keepin’ on–

Charlie