It's not at all new for wealthy and powerful interests to try to hide the ball and ignore independent analyses of relevant facts.

American democracy is in grave danger from the changes in the environment in which ideas either live and spread or wither and die.

I put all my sighs in a lockbox

At some point, a false belief collides with physical reality.

The 'well-informed citizenry is in danger of becoming the 'well-amused audience'.

There are some bright spots, to be sure, but the internet is still in a Wild West phase, as was the case during the early age of the printing press as well.

The role of campaign contributions in our political system and the role of lobbyists have now reached levels that are quite unhealthy for the operations of our democracy. But the antidote, as in past eras of lobbyist excess, is for more involvement by citizens to build pressure on members of the House and Senate to serve the public interest.