For a grim snapshot of America – check out the front page of today’s USA Today. There – you’ll see two stories – one above the fold – one below the fold – and both relate to the death of the American middle class. First – there’s this story out of Texas – where Sheriff’s deputies are trying to figure out a way to end a stand-off that’s been going on for 12-years. John Joe Gray – a self-identified “Sovereign Citizen” who believes the government has no legitimacy and thus no authority – has been holed up in a fortified compound in the woods daring police to come and arrest him on felony assault charges that are more than a decade old. Back in 2000 – Gray wrote a letter to police reading, “If y’all come to get me, bring body bags.” Police have resisted moving in on the compound – knowing that any attempt will certainly end in violence and death. For John Joe Gray – and many other Americans – the militia movement is their last refuge when they’ve given up on the American Dream – and realize the United States is not a land of opportunity like it was before Reaganomics took hold. These Americans – mostly men – watched their fathers and grandfathers come of age during the New Deal era in America – when men were able to raise families on a single paycheck working in a factory. They learned what it meant to be a breadwinner – to be a provider for their families. And whether it’s politically correct or not – being the sole provider for the family – was an important part of what …