There was a time when the chance to denounce tryanny was considered a virtuous and noble calling. With the recent military coup d'etat in Honduras, ejecting the democractically-elected President, is it surprizing that that the mainstream media has been silent/silenced, that the US seems content to want to negotiate with the military folks in charge, that Canada doesn`t have much to say, and that the hope for real change in Washington is embroiled in town-hall meetings in which the merits of providing a health care to all is being ridiculed by all concerned? The beer-summit got three weeks of ink, yet questions of "democracy," if they can be categorized as such are entirely neglected. The fact that the US has 750 military bases in a hundred countries, including 600 troops in Honduras, should not be overlooked. Is it too bold and brazen to suggest that the real litmus-test is the removal of militarization from the proverbial arsenal of US hegemony? Check out this article on the topic:

http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/weisbrot090709.html

And a word on the health care debate: is it not somewhat ironic that the cost of health care, which, at the very least, provides some tangible benefit to breathing human-beings, is so discredited because of the cost BUT the cost of US military ventures is not questioned/critiqued/debated/considered?

Peace

Paul