Doug forgot to add, in his list of two sided keyneses: the heterosexual or the homosexual. I think the budget debate is important in that the gap represents the inability of the existing government in a capitalist country to hold things together, and examining where the budget gap has come from could probably help illuminate how to explain the failings of the capitalist system to non-economists, non-marxists, non-intellectuals. I'm not sure at all that this particular debate did any of those things, ...... but I find that part of the problem with marxists and lefties -- unreformed, reformed and in the closet -- in general in that the only people they really talk to is themselves, in turgid and endless terms. At least this debate was partially founded in reality since it was centered around a real world phenomena. maggie coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED]