Gridlock. Attack ads. Constant fundraising solicitation. Maybe a civil war. Yes, the two major political parties are doing just what our Founding Fathers said they’d do. They’re ruining this country. 

Yes, it’s intentionally timed to coincide with Jan. 6, where partisan politics boiled over into violence.

Also in this week’s episode, a funny story about attending a John Birch Society meeting and the debut of Gen X News. 

Next week: More music, less politics.

Links: 

• On Larry McDonald: The Congressman Who Created His Own Deep State. Really. – POLITICO Magazine
• On school board races and partisanship: Republicans eye new front in education wars: Making school board races partisan – POLITICO 
• Ranked choice: How ranked-choice voting saved the Virginia GOP from itself – The Washington Post 
• My painstakingly detailed looked at how third (and fourth and fifth and 15th) parties are faring in presidential elections: Election 2020: The race for third place | by Beau Dure | X-temporaneous | Medium 
• Canadian columnist frets about the neighbors: If the next presidential election reveals the US hurtling toward possible violence and autocracy, should Canada try to intervene? – The Globe and Mail 
• Gen X exhibit: Calling All Gen X-ers: Illinois State Museum Wants Your Walkmans and Trapper Keepers | Chicago News | WTTW 

Today’s intro music: Gloria Gaynor – Anybody Wanna Party? (Polydor Records 1978)

Featured photo is from Pexels.com

A slightly abridged version (no Spotify music) of this episode is also on its way to Apple, Google and Spreaker/iHeart as soon as a technical issue can be worked out.