Rage is an important energy source. It fueled the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, and is powering the ongoing protests in Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain. People in the Arab world have directed their anti-government anger at corruption, economic mismanagement, and human rights abuses. There's no shortage of things to be angry about. The regimes may control the oil. But the people have access to the renewable resource of rage.
Here in the United States, the tea party movement is dominating the airwaves, has overtaken the House of Representatives, and is building an ever-larger foothold in the blogosphere. By cornering the market on the production of anti-government anger, right-wing populists have created a kind of OPEC of outrage. They’ve gone ballistic over President Barack Obama, the "nanny state," and a perceived elite of pointy-headed liberals. Some of that rage backfired, as the election results in Alaska, Nevada, and Delaware demonstrated. But however laughable their grasp of American history, interpretation of the Constitution, or opinions about breast feeding, the tea partiers have undeniably changed the current political landscape in this country.
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http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/23-2