"Crossing the Rubicon" -- In the vernacular, this means "the point of no return." Historically, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River into Rome on January 10, 49 B.C. The Roman senate, fearful of a military coup, had prohibited their Generals, under penalty of death, from bringing their armies into Rome. By crossing the Rubicon with his troops, Caesar provoked the Roman Civil War. Although successful, Caesar's expedition "home" marked the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Empire.

Everywhere I look, these days, there are signs that the American Republic will probably fall in the same way as the Roman Republic. As in Caesar's day, our Military outclasses any other on Earth. Our economic power is unmatched, and we enjoy a standard of living that most of the world's population can barely imagine. There are insufficient superlatives to describe American culture, science, medicine, literature, art, music, theatre, dance, cinema, sport, and yes, even religion. Where else can some crackpot like Pat Robertson own a communications satellite or a smiling jackass like Joel Osteen fill a football stadium with his drivel?

Really, the only thing the American Republic lacks right now is true leadership -- I can't even fault Trump here, even if he does remind me a bit of Caligula. Where is a government that is willing to actually Govern? At the moment, all we have are the "tea baggers" running a campaign of obstruction, the theocrats trying to turn America into the New Israel, a few crackpot socialists (Hi, Bernie!) trying to create Utopia, a couple tired old hippies intent on legalizing pot, and the usual crowd of "leaders" that only serve themselves. There are presently 435 members of the house and 100 members of the senate that have collectively done NOTHING in at least the last 10 years (yes, 8 of those years were under Obama.) Draining the swamp sounds like a damn good idea, but first feed these blood-sucking leaches to whatever the hell is willing to eat them!

If a Republic we are to remain, let's get our collective shit together. If an Empire we are to become, where the hell is Caesar?