The pub, progressives, conservatives, eight hundred dollar rebates and motley vibes...

      You can call it a pub or an inn or whatever you like. They pop up all over the U.S., way out in the sticks or in the slick nick and crannies of academia. There are several threads that knit them together. Beer from the insipid Miller's variety to the most exotic imports. Football. Football. Football, northamerican style, featuring players that look like gladiators, projected on several screens, while drinkers sip the tarnish colored brew.

      There's a picknic spread out on the table of an inn at the snowy cross-roads not too far from Buffalo, New York. Fried chicken, finger dips, oh, and some dainty choclate cakes dressed with red, white and blue frosting. The event is in celebration of the departure of some young soldiers for a second tour of duty in Afghanistan. They pose for the flashing digital cameras, before a hand written sign that says:

     "The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other BASTARD die for his." Signed: Gen. patton. Gulp! Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

     A rough-n-ready type, retired, big hands, deep blue eyes that jerk right and left engages you in a chat. You can't hear very well because of the loud blasting microphones that transmit the country music twangs of the lone singer.

    "Yea, things are tough, that's true, but they're gonna get better. You'll see.

    "You mean in Iraq?"

    "In Iraq and at home."

    "I don't know about that."

    "Hard to fight against guys that have no qualms in blowing themselves up, killing innocent people. But we're gonna win this, you can bet on that."

    Your host gives you a nudge, as if to say its time to hit the road. To the other side of town, to a gathering of university types at a beautiful colonial style home, no TV, no football, nobody spends more than a minute talking about it. There is an excellent collection of wines, red, white and rose, and on the tables a belly warming asortment of tasty ingredients.

     "Clinton represents the establishment. That's clear, no matter what she says about change."

     The speaker is a youngish and attractive university professor, whose English lacks that typical Mid-western twang.

     "Well, they all talk about change, don't they," puts in a jovial faced academic.

     There's a bit of music in the background, but it isn't country, it sounds like Vivaldi, although from time to time a mellow voiced crooner goes on about that fleeting never entirely understood feeling: love.

      It's hard to find anyone in the crowd willing to say anything nice about President Shrub, and they are wary about the Democrats, but woh! When has there ever been an Afro-american candidate (Barack Obama) for the presidency, confronting a woman (Hillary Clinton)? Sounds great. But then, this primary system is not very democratic, ventures a youngish type, who could be a student. I mean, you might get almost as many votes as your opponent but not get a single delegate for the national convention. And then: who chooses the candidates? How many millions do you have to spend to get elected? From what lobby groups...what compromises imprison you even before you take office?

     It's snowing out, when you leave the gathering. You turn on the radio. Talk about change! It seems even the government is worried about a possible recession. Nearly 7% unemployment in Michigan, for example. The car industry going elsewhere, the price of globalization. Millions without medical care. And try going to a doctor! Around $70 just to see him. And another round if you want your prescription renewed. Unless you have a solid medical insurance plan...Well, in a consumer society how do you get things going? You get people to consume more, say the pundits.

     So why not take one percent of the GNP, that's around $145 billion, and give everyone a rebate so they can buy more and get the dollars rolling? (By the way, this is the U.S.A., not Argentina, not what used to be called the Third World...) That government proposal would send $800 dollar checks to everybody, $1,600 for couples. An injection of optimism in the face of Wall Street jitters. Financial scandals. Home mortgage fiascos. Escalating oil prices. And if you've got a business, tax reductions so you can invest in new equipment. And, well, a rosy incentive on the eve of the November elections...

     Woh! Just imagine! In a couple of months the mail is going to be flooded with letters containing $800 or $1,600 dollar checks! You come home from a hard day's work at the office or factory and see an envelop with the unmistakable markings of the Federal Government. The check has arrived! 

    For a moment let's forget about the cost of printing and sending all those checks. Will there really be an upsurge in purchases? What kind of society is it whose well being is based on buying more and more things, independently of their real usefulness? Is progress only measurable in terms of what you can buy? Are you measured up by others on that standard? If people were just to live with the essentials, would that provoke an economic disaster?

    Let us know if you have an answer to any of those questions. In the meantime, what about another beer at a pub? At least it is a very chummy place, where you can shoot the breeze or maybe even score in on...