stem -- based on free elections, the rights of citizens, and the rule of law -- is, though under the severest pressure, still available for use.  If it is lost, and the full American nightmare descends, there will be many causes. They will include the militarization of foreign policy, global imperial ambition, the loss of balance among the branches of government, the erosion of civil liberties, and the overwhelming influence of corporate money and power over political life -- all present before Osama bin La