I celebrate this 4th of July with an upside-down flag. Instead of celebrating the lies that I've been told to believe, I've found it's healthier for me to mourn the ideals I once thought were central in the functioning of my government. I mourn the men and women who have used their agency to support their government under the guise of humane purpose, only to be betrayed unto death by expediency. Americans don't live in a democracy. We don't even live in a representative republic. We live in an oligarchy, our government, our choices are determined by those with the money to afford lobbying and superpacs. Candidates are only affordable to those that can afford to buy them. A popular vote is meaningless when the choices are rigged. The nominating conventions are just as corrupt as loyalty is secured with promises of x, y, and z for state/district/constituency. Our political process is merely a contest to see who can outspend the other. Independent analysis is ...