Since you guys are so politically-minded, I thought you might want to
hear about an old lawn ornament of mine. I think it's a perfect metaphor
for the current state of politics in the US.

The ornament is a bird, with wings that are supposed to twirl in the
wind. The left wing is in the best shape, because it's been sheltered
from the brunt of the weather. It twirls this way and that, reacting to
the smallest breeze. The right wing is quite a bit more beat up, and
it's been patched with duct tape, but it still works. It takes more wind
to make it turn, but when it does it always turns in the opposite
direction of the left wing.

The thing I notice most, though, is that no matter how slowly or
furiously those wings do their twirling, the bird never goes anywhere.

TJ