Some 40 years ago, the democracy of FDR faced the same kind of crisis, and had the same kind of crack-up.

For the most part trade shows are being replaced by conferences and sales calls. There just aren't that many small buyers anymore. But there is a continuing need for people to learn.

What was needed, at all these times, were new political myths, new values, in order to create a new meaning for power, a new guide which addressed the questions of the day, with answers that would work in the future.

Gibson's real sin is becoming political. Not so much the content of his politics, but the sin of being political. It's the activism that makes him a target.

It's the biggest lie of the 20th century. Bigger than any whopper told by Hitler, or Stalin, or Mao Zedong. And it's told by Americans, believed by Americans, today. It's what sustains today's dominant worldview. It's powerful mojo.

Notice that these are optimistic values, liberating values. They're the values of 1776, and of 1860, and of 1932. A generation moves toward pessimism, and the next must move the other way.

It's a no-win situation for everyone involved, and it's pushing millions and millions of parents, like me, toward keep our kids away from all highly-competitive sports. You can bet these kids will also grow up uncaring about competitive sports.

Publishers determine the politics of media, and publishers have, historically, been very conservative. Medill was a right-winger. The Chandler family (which controlled the LA Times) was, until its last generation, notoriously right-wing.

Remember, we're looking for a seminal artist (doesn't have to be a singer) who was wildly popular at the start of the decade, and associated with Republican politics, but who now seems to be leaning the other way, and who is likely to be widely seen, by their generation, as a Democrat.

If Winston Churchill were more like the Bells, Great Britain would still be a Great Power.