Political Blog—January 2010

January 3—Yemen and Things

On Meet the Press this morning, John Brennan said Yemen is not a new front in our fight against terrorism and that we've known it's dangerous for some time. I would hope so; it houses several hundred Al Qaeda members.

Anyway, there were of course a lot of questions about how our exhaustive security system failed. Obama said the attackers will be held accountable. I hope we don't need to expect military action; that's exactly what they want us to do. But, as somebody pointed out, the Unibomber got turned in by his brother, and we had a tip off about the Christmas Day guy from his own dad; if we step up our security checks with that kind of stuff, we'll probably be a lot better off than knee jerk invasions of every country that doesn't like us. Incidentally, Brennan described us as a "country of laws" at least twice, which Dubya could have done with some reminding of, methinks.

Incidentally, another part of the reason the Christmas Day attacker with the bomb in his underwear got as far as he did was because the European Union (from which he was flying) banned body scanners for privacy reasons, though they probably would have caught him. There's a fine line between privacy and protection. I'm always reminded of Ben Franklin's famous quotation . . .

But all the most advanced scanners won't cut it. We are facing a learning enemy: They adapt; so must we. They are, as I believe it was Brennan who said it, nimble, cunning, and suicidal. Well, at the risk of sounding totally jingoistic, you would have to be suicidal to come up against the United States military in a war.

Anyway, later on Meet the Press, they talked about the health reform debacle. Somebody said that if it were another New Deal, we'd have a decade of Democrats in office; if it were another Great Society, we'd have at least a decade of Republicans in office. God forbid; look where that got us last time. And the time before. And the time before. Christ, fuckers, with a track record like that, anyone still votes Republican? Unbelievable.

January 4—Bunch of Class Acts

Brit Hume said Tiger Woods can be forgiven if he renounces Buddhism and joins the Christian faith. I think Brit Hume can be forgiven if he renounces whatever he's doing now and joins journalism. Thank you, Keith Olbermann. Also, thanks for that remark along the lines of "I'm not making a bomb in the underwear joke about Tiger Woods, for God's sake."

Anyway, the question on everyone's mind regarding the Christmas Day terrorist is, of course, "How did security get breached so badly?" Did petty internal politics affect security? Alan Quist would have us think so; he said terrorism wasn't the big battle but liberals versus Republicans was. He said "they're not liberals; they're radicals." Um. No. In this country, *I* would be considered a radical, and even at that, what we have here is nothing compared to the real radicals in other parts of the world. Quit demonizing the left, even the supposedly dangerous factions of it, like mine, because I'm not planning on blowing up any buildings. Worry about Al Qaeda and shit, because they really are out to get you, as in, depriving you of your life, not just your political office.

Speaking of paranoid idiots with no real interest in reality, the Republicans went as far as putting in writing all the things they could do to obstruct legislative procedure. The only shocker about that is they were dumb enough to leave it in writing. Didn't they learn anything from their idol Nixon?

In other news, Michele Bachmann, that bastion of gibberish, claimed that the census was a dangerous conspiracy theory. A dangerous conspiracy that is in the Constitution and began in 1790 and oh by the way is how we draw up congressional districts that give her a job and oh is that why she shut up about it?

Also in the "idiotic hypocritical Republicans" camp, Senator Ensign has been blathering on about ethics, never mind that he's under investigation for the questionable ethics involved in him schtooping a staffer and paying huge sums of hush money to her family. Classy.

January 6—Someday I'll say to my children, "When I was your age, Styrofoam was a planet."

ZOMG we have five new planets! Okay, they're not new because they're millions of years old. And they're not here. And this is the politics blog, not the "random nerdy shit I happen to find fascinating and—" No, wait, it is. Ahem. Anyway, I'd love to see giant aliens play intergalactic Nerf ball with a planet with the density Styrofoam. From a distance.

Moving on to the actual point of this blog, Senators Dodd and Dorgan are retiring, which is not the kerfuffle it sounds like since they're likely to be replace by other Democrats.

In other news . . . and this isn't really news at all . . . one of the founders of teaparty.org is an illiterate racist. Really. I saw a photo of him holding up a crudely drawn poster with the n-word on it. Misspelled. So, yup, I do have a leg to stand on when calling those tea partiers illiterate racist fucks. The Florida GOP chairman resigned because of the schism within the party and said the tea parties were tearing and shredding at the fabric of the party. For once I'm glad illiterate racist fucks exist.

Meanwhile, Lindsey Graham got censured again by the Lexington County Republican Party for his work on cap and trade. They said he repeatedly demonstrated contempt and belligerence toward them. Awesome. Of course, he responded by saying "these Ron Paul guys [WTF?] show up and try to take over" and aren't reflective of the party, and that it's a wake up call to Republicans to get involved. Haha, sure; blame nonexistent impostors for your own big mouth. Ron Paul of course said that Graham gave him too much credit.

I always thought Ron Paul was a bit of a crackpot, but I must say he made sense when, later in his response to Graham, he said that Republicans like Graham were typical of Republicans not listening to young people and going to campuses and so on. Young people, he said, want individual liberty, a change in foreign policy, and a look into federal secrecy. He's right there.

Also speaking of Republican idiots, Michael Steele (oh Lord) is promoting a book subtitled "A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Agenda of Obama." Steele said we have to admit we have a problem; then we have to admit our mistakes. Um. Wasn't he the guy who said he didn't make mistakes, but might have made what looked like a mistake but was actually deliberate? Okay, how about the GOP admitting they have a problem with him being the chair and then admitting their mistake in appointing him? No? What? Mistakes like "Obama should use the word 'terrorism' more"? WTF? It's not true that he avoids using that word at all; a quick Google search will prove that. Besides, even if he uses the word less, couldn't that be because it keeps people calmer?

But the Republicans always need something to get hysterical over. For instance, the appointment Amanda Simpson to the post of Senior Technical Adviser to the Commerce Department. Now that's a hotbed of sex and drugs and rock and roll. The religious right is freaking out because she's a male-to-female transgendered person, and the right insists she's not qualified and was only appointed on the basis of her gender. Never mind that 1.) She is not the first transgender to be appointed to such a post, and 2.) She has thirty years' relevant experience and a resume tailor made for her job. The right say that transgenders ought to be changed with therapy. Good luck with that. Not really. Way to broadcast your insecurities and incompetence.

Anyway. There's talk of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which would regulate credit cards, mortgages, etc. I think it sounds awesome. Obviously, the Republicans are already planning to block it; one went as far as saying it would be a "new EPA." WTF? Since when was the organization responsible for preventing us from dumping raw sewage into our drinking supply a bad thing? If that doesn't prove regulation is a good thing, I don't know what does. Anyway, we already have seven regulatory agencies, but they ought to be consolidated into this new one since at the moment all they're doing is competing with each other for business and not actually working. If they worked, this recession could have been avoided. The recession began, like an avalanche, one household at a time, one lousy re-bundled sliced and diced mortgage at a time. They were lousy deals not just for consumers but also for investors, pension funds, everything. Destabilizing families destabilizes the whole economy. The CFPA would protect not just families but the whole economy.

January 7—I SAID spelling counts.

I knew those tea partiers were lying idiots. Their site lied and said Rachel Maddow tried to join, but she did no such thing. They said she would no doubt mention it on her show later, which she didn't, though they'll probably claim she did. What a bunch of fucking idiots.

In other news, Obama took responsibility for the Christmas Day terrorist and looked into the series of human errors that led to it. Turns out the whole thing could have been avoided had an airline employee not dropped a single letter from his name, causing him to be overlooked. SEE? THIS IS WHY SPELLING COUNTS!!!

Anyway, Obama said our adversaries want us to cower and we're not going to do it. Al Qaeda said they want us to bleed into bankruptcy. Now that just might happen. It could be disinformation, but it's good thinking. They want us to suffer human, economic, and political losses in vain except for some benefits for private corporations, which is exactly what's happened thus far. They said the "darkeners of black gold" lured Dubya into war. Well. They were totally right there. But it's probably not true; I mean, why would they reveal their real strategies and motives? Possibly that was how they were fighting and now they've changed tactics and are taunting us for having fallen for it. They want us to fight on their terms, not ours, which will have to change, but I don't know how. I just hope we don't send troops to Yemen, which is what Bush would have done.

Speaking of what Republicans would have done, my illustrious Senator Cornyn (*cringe*) blamed the kerfuffle over health reform for the underwear bomber, as in, we paid too much attention to that and not enough to catching terrorists. That's idiotic, but not as bad as the other guy (I can't remember who) who said that God stopped underwear bomber . . . as opposed to alert passengers. Jesus. Or not, actually.

January 8—Michael Steele better make a bundle off that book, because I don't think he'll have any other source of income for a good long while.

Chris Matthews, in discussion of the underwear bomber (as he seems doomed to be known forever—I say "doomed" because I really don't want to call him that, but whatever) today, posed the question of what we should do on a plane in the event of an attempted terrorist attack. He pointed out that the Republicans, for all their trumpeting about keeping us safe, have never told us what to do when on a plane. Matthews said, "What do we do, vote Republican? Right on; that's all Cheney and the like ever say.

Today, one day after Obama called for unity in our fight against terrorism, Rudy Giuliani claimed to George Stephanopoulos that we had no domestic attacks under Bush and have under Obama. What! Later of course there was an attempted "oh I obviously meant after September 11th"; my ass. He's just a lying, in-denial twerp with no grasp of recent history. I mean, even discounting September 11th, there was of course the shoe bomber, who's been in the news constantly lately because of the parallels between that case and the underwear bomber. And if Giuliani discounts the shoe bomber, he has to discount the underwear bomber too. And even without those stories, there was still the attack at Chapel Hill, the DC sniper, the anthrax attacks, the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, etc., etc. It was far worse under bush, yet Giuliani and other Republican deniers insist we're not safe now. Good grief.

The Republicans have always been in denial about the messes they've caused, like when they tried to say we inherited September 11th from Clinton. WTF! No wonder Clinton was furious; of all the things you could say about a president, to say he didn't keep us safe is probably the worst. And Bush didn't. Now the Republicans think if we get hit under Obama, they'll come back into power. It's like during the campaign when the Republicans said they'd benefit if we got hit again. Now that's patriotic . Win at any cost. Unbelievable. And this is all when Obama says "the buck stops here" and takes responsibility; we never heard that from Bush. It was all drunken cowboy swaggering. Hi, hello, don't you think responsibility had something to do with the general "don't let the door hit your ass on the way out" reaction when Bush left office?

Regrettably, this will probably not spell the end of Giuliani's career since he's doing what all the other Republicans are doing and denying that September 11th occurred on their watch. Their sole strategy seems to be tell a lie, tell it often, and make it big.

Speaking of Republicans embarrassing themselves, Michael Steele made headlines today with a probably-ill-fated book tour. The GOP is upset because no one in the House or Senate knew he had a book contract, and it might break party rules. Steele claims he wrote it before becoming chair, which is a transparent lie because the book describes stuff that happened after he got the job, like the 23rd district election, Specter's party switch, and Steele's own appointment as chair. He's probably nervous because even he realizes the book could be the last straw, and he could well be on his way out. The rest of the GOP, annoyed by Steele profiting off his book and charging for speeches when the party needs money, has begun an anonymous campaign against him, with aides describing him as "a fool" and "unprepared and uneducated." Someone said "he thinks he's leading, but he's become so radioactive that nobody in [his] right mind would follow him" now. Steele, true to the diplomacy required by his position, responded with, "Either fire me or shut up." And added that he hoped that tape got played over and over again. He said he didn't ask for his job, never mind that he ran for it. Idiot. A pugnacious idiot, if you will. Sometimes pugnacious is not a bad thing, but I don't think it's helping him.

Steele is probably in trouble already; he confirmed a radio appearance earlier today but canceled it on the grounds of an "emergency meeting" with the RNC. The RNC later claimed there was no meeting, and then they changed their story and said there was a meeting, but not one that he had to attend. Weird. Suspicious. Hopeful. Of course, if he is ousted from his position, the GOP will not really be any better off, despite the anonymous gossip about how great it would be to have him gone. The GOP would have to suffer months of gossip, the schism within their party would deepen and destroy their attempts at appearing unified, which in turn would damaged their attempts at attacking the Democrats, not to mention damaging fundraising efforts. Anyway, Steele said today that he wanted to become the governor of Maryland. Ha! He said, just like when he once said he might eventually run for president, that God placed him here to do that. Good Lord. Not really.

Anyway, unemployment is holding steady at ten per cent. I want to know when it's actually going to get better. It was twenty-five per cent during the Great Depression. I'm glad the rate of job loss is slowing down, but nevertheless, I don't have a steady job. Stagehand work is certainly not keeping me afloat, otherwise I would not be living at home. I've looked for jobs and found none. I want one. I Want to get the hell out of the house and do something, and there's nothing.

That annoying guy who hosts Mad Money mocked Chris Matthews for mocking Bush for mocking the French, who have a fantastic transit system (as opposed to, say, the stalled-out train and fare hikes of the shitty once-an-hour buses where I live). He couldn't believe we should be looking to the French! ZOMG! not the French! Yes, asshole, we should be looking to people who get it right. We're in trouble for not doing that—that and outsourcing.

Oh, yeah, and the Nigerian president has been missing for 6 weeks. There are rumors that he could be in a Saudi hospital, but it's more likely that he's secretly dead. Now there exist lawsuits claiming him as unfit for service, plus somebody claimed his signature on a recent document was a forgery. There could be a coup; that's happened before. The vice president is named Goodluck Jonathon. Upon taking office, he'll need it.

January 10—Meet the Press

Attention Michael Steele and other shrill right wingnuts: There is a difference between "racial" and "racist." Michael Steele was the one who recently used the phrase "honest to Injun," which I find pretty offensive, particularly because I'm part Indian. And yet they kick up a fuss when Harry Reid truthfully, if insensitively, said that Obama stood a better chance of getting votes because he was a light-skinned black guy who didn't use ebonics. Anyone who's studied racism can tell you that's completely true. Look at Halle Berry. People of all races talk about how attractive she is, and she's light skinned and has very Caucasian features. Anyway, Obama accepted Harry Reid's apology, especially because Harry Reid was praising him, not criticizing him.

Having said that, Michael Steele did make a good point when he said we should have another conversation about jobs and should have had that on the first day of Obama's administration. That doesn't excuse all the other dumb shit he's said, though. I thought it was hilarious that on Meet the Press this morning, he was talking about the importance of principled candidates. I'm so glad he realizes some candidates should have principles. Best of all, he called himself a passionate leader of the party. Does he really not know that everyone thinks he's a buffoon? Sometimes I wonder if he's not actually a Democrat plant with a mission to bring down the GOP from within.

Anyway, for a halfway decent Republican (I can't believe I'm saying this), Arnold Schwarzenegger was also on Meet the Press. I enjoyed listening to his interview, mostly the part at the end where a picture on the wall behind him fell off and he just said "Pay no attention; it's just an earthquake." (Well, that's why we need to work on infrastructure, I guess.) Anyway, he talked about the importance of job creation and new homes and how we had to get the economy back for loans for homes and business expansion. I don't see how he justifies his anti-tax position; the alternative is driving us deeper into debt. At least he has the decency to stress the importance of bipartisanship; I like his saying about how you have to be a public servant, not a party servant.

Schwarzenegger also said something interesting about infrastructure. He said we were still living in the FDR and Eisenhower years when the highway system was built, but we haven't actually built anything in decades. We need, he said, a high speed rail system so we can keep up with the rest of the world, because China and Europe are overtaking us. He's right there. Also, I'd love high speed rail; it would make trips to Houston a cinch.

I also liked that Schwarzenegger, unlike certain other Republicans, did not blame Obama for the underwear bomber. At least he supports Obama there; I wish he also would get behind him on health care reform.

Oh yeah, and I saw a negative political ad about Rick Perry . . . paid for, as I suspected, by Kay Bailey Hutchison. I'm not voting for her either, but at least she made a point about that damn toll road. I don't believe in toll roads; I'm not paying to drive on a road my taxes already paid to build. Too bad Kinky Friedman's not running this time around. Oh well.

January 11—Game Change

We've sure been hearing a lot about that book Game Change; I wonder if it's any good. I don't think I'm going to buy it; it seems like it's all gossip. I might flick through it in the bookstore, but that's all.

Chuck Todd just got his own show on MSNBC at 9 am; it's called The Daily Rundown. I'm ambivalent about watching any more TV, at least in part because on Hardball tonight he used the phrase "[some controversy or other] drug on for a week." "Drug"? Really? Who gave him his own show? Oh well.

Anyway, the book revealed a lot of unsurprising-but-nonetheless-shocking tidbits about Sarah Palin. The authors said she didn't know why North and South Korea were separate and hadn't heard of the Korean War—Geez, didn't she ever see M*A*S*H? Oh, yeah, that liberal show . . . which is I guess why I always liked it, at least until Radar left and it got so damn preachy. Anyway, Palin also had a bit of trouble with the first and second World Wars, and she several times seemed to believe that Saddam Hussein was behind September 11th. She also didn't know what the Federal Reserve did. Good grief. The whole thing is novelistic detail on an overarching story we already know. It's a truly astounding level of ignorance that one usually only sees in a mentally retarded person. My blood runs cold thinking of her in office. I can't believe the Republicans were irresponsible enough to pick her; even Cheney didn't believe she was qualified. Yet they went ahead anyway. And now she's going to be a pundit on Fox. How could she be a pundit? She doesn't know anything! Though that would make for some hilariously horrifying entertainment.

In other news, a couple of my least favorite governors made the news today. Blagojevich said he was blacker than Obama, one such example of which being his former job shining shoes. Good grief. Then Perry announced he wanted to run for governor again. Pfft, sure, in the Republic of Texas. Asshole.

Swiftly changing tack, Morgan Freeman appeared on Hardball discussing his role in Invictus, which looks good. I'll have to see about watching that one.

Anyway, in more news about that book Game Change, the authors claimed Bill Clinton was having an affair during the campaign, which wouldn't surprise me but doesn't strike me as particularly relevant or interesting. We all overdosed on Monica Lewinsky; I'm tired of hearing about the Clintons' sex lives. Then, also not particularly surprisingly, the book also announced that McCain really wanted Lieberman for his running mate, but Karl Rove thought it was a terrible idea, probably because Lieberman didn't have the Republican label that Palin did. I suspect Lieberman will officially turn Republican before the next election.

In California, they might be overturning Proposition 8 after some gay marriage thing goes to trial. I missed most of the coverage of that; I'll have to pay more attention next time it comes up.

What I did pay attention to was the talk about "Chapman's friend," Nixon's spy (or rather, two spies) in the media. Seymour Friedan and Lucian Goldberg (yep, the same one who resurfaced during the Lewinsky scandal) acted as spies for Nixon under the cover of journalists. John Dean said Nixon was completely paranoid about Ted Kennedy—No shit. What I didn't know what that Nixon wanted 24/7 surveillance of Kennedy. Dean stopped it because 1.) They could have easily been caught, and 2.) There was nothing to find anyway; if not for any other reason, Ted Kennedy was no fool and behaved himself.

January 12—Haiti

So there was a huge earthquake in Haiti today. As soon as I find out anything about how to help out, I'll post links and what have you.

We're coming up on the one-year anniversary of Obama's taking office. 96.7% of the time, Congress has gone along with what he wanted, though I have to admit it doesn't seem like a whole lot has really happened. At least, not enough. Though it's only been one year, and he's got eight years of total shit to mop up.

Meanwhile, Sarah Palin began her stint on Fox as an analyst and used the time to deny the allegations in Game Change . . . only she didn't. She said she knew perfectly well there was a North Korea and a South Korea, which is fine, only that wasn't the allegation. They claimed she didn't know why they were separate. She did not deny that. I suspect her tenure on Fox will last as long as it takes for to refute everything that's been said about her on networks that care about facts, and then they'll tire of her and she'll self-destruct and disappear. Really, the only newsworthy thing about her is that McCain actually picked her. He sure didn't seem to take his campaign seriously. The post of vice president is a powerful one, and God forbid Palin ever become president. It's possible she might actually have been worse than Cheney. Then again, she'd have quit less than halfway through, and then Pelosi would have taken over.

Now, about that Prop 8 thing I mentioned yesterday: There is a conservative case for gay marriage. What? Yeah. Ohhhh, I see . . . they've realized that marriage is a right and shouldn't be put to the vote. Or something.

January 13—Donate to the Red Cross, y'all.

So Haiti had a 7.0 earthquake, the kind they call "the big one." It's the biggest natural disaster since the tsunami a few years ago, affecting five million people and who knows how many of them dead. The quake destroyed hospitals and schools—the places usually used for refuge and care—and reduced the presidential palace to rubble; it looks like a collapsed Lego building.

There is a massive U.S. relief mission underway; the first ship to help them already arrived. Frankly, I hope they're able to leave quickly; the whole place is going to spiral out of control in a hurry, just like New Orleans after Katrina. There's standing water there, and it's relatively warm, which I suspect means they'll have cholera before long if they don't get help in a hurry. They already have a shortage of supplies and medicine. Click here to donate to the Red Cross.

On a related tangent, Pat Robertson ought to be shot for saying those people are being punished for their sins. What sins? Being poor and miserable all their lives? You know what; Pat Robertson ought to be punished for the sin of breathing. I swear. Next time somebody says something like that, I may not be able to resist the temptation to grab the shotgun and permanently shut up the idiot who mouthed off.

January 17—Haiti

Obviously there was a huge earthquake in Haiti, which was the topic of Meet the Press today. The quake affected three and a half million people; one to two hundred thousand are feared dead. The airport is nearly inaccessible, and the port is destroyed. Obama pulled the Cabinet together and ordered a swift, coordinated response, in a pleasant contrast to Dubya's dawdling disasters after Katrina. Obama requested Dubya and Bill Clinton to work together to raise funds for Haiti, though I'm sure he has motives of bipartisanship as well.

It will not be enough, though. Just like after Katrina and every major natural disaster, violent outbreaks are bound to increase as people grow desperate. Dubya said the Haitians need security, water, and food; Clinton said they needed water, food, medicine, and shelter. I noticed that even out of office, Dubya stressed security rather than actual essentials for survival, which would more or less guarantee security. Anyway, at least he had the sense to point out that he and Clinton are working together to remind people, after the horror images are off the air, that people there still need aid. Rebuilding Haiti will take years, decades. The U.S. will likely have a role in running the country via the UN. We might operate the airport since Haiti just doesn't have the people to do it.

January 18—The Gitmo Within Gitmo

We all know that three Guantanamo Bay detainees committed suicide three years ago. What we didn't know was that they were far more likely murdered.

They were each supposed to have hanged themselves with their feet and hands bound together and cloth shoved down their throats beyond the point of gagging. All three simultaneously in separate, nonadjacent cells. WTF.

This happened in the super secret Gitmo within Gitmo called Camp No. The Obama administration's official story is still that the guards took all three to the clinic from their cells in Camp 1; however, former Gitmo sergeant Joe Hickman reported that no one was brought from Camp 1 to the clinic. Colonel Michael Bumgarner made Hickman out to be a liar, claiming that he was there that night, but on June 17th, he wrote in a sworn statement that he was not in the camp. Somebody's lying, and it's probably the guy who's not sticking to his story.

I just want to know what the hell they're covering up. It's like Room 101 in 1984.

In other, less horrifying but still unpleasant news, Scott Brown is almost definitely going to win the Massachusetts election. I hate to see anyone other than a Democrat in Ted Kennedy's seat, but, though I hate to admit it, Brown was right when he said it was the people's seat, not Kennedy's. And while I don't like him, he's still run a better campaign than Martha Coakley, who seems to have taken voters for granted and topped that off with a series of gaffes. I really didn't give a shit about the Yankees thing, but clearly, a lot of people did, which is why you don't mix sports and politics. I mean, she supposedly meant it as a joke, and besides, what the hell does that have to do with anything? But some people will use any lame excuse to hate on Democrats.

January 21—I'm ashamed to be American today.

For the first time ever, I am seriously considering leaving the country. The Supreme Court opened Pandora's box today with the worst decision since Dred Scott. They said that corporations can donate as much money as they want to campaigns, which obviously amounts to buying elections. And we won't be able to do a damn thing about it since corporations control everything, even, now, the people who make our laws.

Get ready, folks. Get ready for the drowning flood of money from corporations in exchange for legal favors; nothing but bribery. They'll reward politicians who play with them and bleed dry the ones who don't. From now on, we won't have a Senator from Oregon or a Senator from Kansas but rather a Senator from Microsoft or a Senator from GE.

The corporations should at least get the authorization for donations from the shareholders (like they'll dissent) and disclose it to the public immediately (like that'll make any difference). Corporate boardrooms will become political cockpits, as if they weren't enough like that already.

I can't fucking believe it. We've politicized the Supreme Court.

Visit savedemocracy.net to try to stop this horrible travesty in its tracks. Call your Congressman; write to your Congressman; whatever it takes, or you can kiss your freedom of speech goodbye. I'd call for a revolution, but all the corporations control the supplies we'd need. I guess free speech is down to writing in blood. Funny how these things go in cycles.

January 24—Mitch McConnell is an idiot.

Apparently, Bin Laden claims responsibility for the underwear bomber. That's just a rumor, and even if Bin Laden says it's true, it may not be the case. I'm not sure it really matters.

White House spokesperson defended Obama's policies on Meet the Press this morning upon criticism of the economic stimulus. David Gregory said the stimulus hadn't provided the jobs it said it would—That's for damn sure; I'm still shit out of luck. Four million jobs were lot this last year, but, as pointed out, the meltdown has slowed, and we're not in the depression we were headed for.

David Plouffe is back with Obama after a book tour, which seems a bit like hitting the reset button. If it works, fine. Obama got elected on the promise of change, and most of the change seen hasn't been concrete. We've changed how we're perceived around the world, with better relationships with world leaders.

Then Mitch McConnell defended his party's lack of action. David Gregory said the "Party of No" charge seemed well-deserved; McConnell said no; Gregory asked him to name the three points of the Republican health care platform. McConnell listed bipartisanship, suits against doctors and hospitals, and something about taxes. He used the word "cost" a lot. Cost is the whole point here, but it is not a platform. Neither is bipartisanship, especially when you scream no to everything from the other party. Then he said young people weren't interested in health care reform and insurance because they think they'll live forever and don't need to buy it. WTF! Then McConnell said the Democrats were arrogant, acting as though they knew best and wanted to make history rather than listen to public opinion. What about the public opinion that created the moniker "Party of No"? What about the public opinion that wants Congress to get something done rather than fighting?

McConnell also suggested a new contract with America. Brilliant. Let's repeat the fiasco that got us into this mess. That of course was nothing to his idiotic claim that the recent Supreme Court decision, the one that had me (and anybody else in his right mind) screaming for revolution, an "important victory for the First Amendment." He said that a corporation that didn't own a media outlet couldn't say what it wanted to. WTF! What the hell else is a corporation for if it isn't power? Money will give you a media outlet. Just like money will give a seat in the Senate, at least until you say the wrong thing and get bought out.

January 26—Free speech isn't free; it quite literally will have a price on it now.

Obama is set to announce a spending freeze in tomorrow night's State of the Union address. I'd like to think it's only rumor, but I know better. I think it's a terrible idea. Figures. McCain promoted the same idea during the campaign, and Obama opposed it then. I hope it's just a cheap political stunt that soon fades. An idea more popular with me is his supposedly proposed salary freeze for White House folks.

Meanwhile, with regard to the disastrous Supreme Court decision the other day, somebody said that the first amendment protected the speech of Americans, not everyone in the world. That was meant to be a loophole to gag foreign corporations' donations to campaigns, but I hope it doesn't work. It'll be a gag on anyone living here who has not yet obtained citizenship, which I cannot agree with. On the other hand, though, the last thing the founding fathers wanted was to empower British businesses in London.

I still wonder why and how it is that a criminal bound in chains in a courtroom cannot have free speech, but a foreign company that might be funding terrorism can buy free speech and feed it into our living rooms. Appalling.

January 27—The state of the union isn't good.

President Obama issued his first State of the Union address tonight. He started by stating the obvious: It sucks.

Then he commented on the nation's decency and strength and said he'd never been more hopeful. He said we never give up or let fear or division break our spirit. The government, he said, should match the decency of, and embody the strength of, its people.

He pointed out that we have not raised income taxes on anybody, and that there are two million Americans with jobs now who'd otherwise be unemployed. He said we'd add another one and a half million jobs by the end of the year as part of the recovery act, meaning the stimulus. He said jobs must be the focus in 2010. I hope so; they weren't last year, and it sucked. Aforementioned jobs seemed to be about energy energy energy.

Obama also said we still need health care reform— Oh lawd. When the smoke clears, we'll be back to that disaster again. Obama said he addressed health care last year due to stories he heard of people who were one illness away from financial ruin and so on. I for one am more interested in the fact that many of those people face financial ruin due to joblessness. At least he said he took his share of blame for not explaining health care reform better; I complained for months that I didn't understand what was in the bill.

Then he moved on to the massive fiscal hole in which we find ourselves. He carefully avoided mentioning Bush or the previous administration, but he did point out that there was a surplus when Clinton left office, and that evaporated when we didn't pay for two wars, tax cuts, and a huge prescription drug program; plus of course a recession put a three trillion dollar hole in the budget. He said that the government should, like the people tighten its belt to sacrifice what it didn't need.

As I feared, he announced a spending freeze to take effect next year when the economy is stronger. I do not believe it will work, but we'll see. If it even happens. It doesn't sound like common sense to me, and he said he wanted to govern with common sense (a novel concept). To further this cause, he said he wanted to initiate monthly talks with leaders of both parties. "I know you can't wait," he said wryly. Me neither.

Obama then discussed the two wars going on; he said our troops in Iraq would be home this August, and the troops in Afghanistan would be home by July 2011. However, he did hint at possibly moving into Iran, or at least that was how I interpreted it. I hope to God it doesn't happen. I know the Middle East is a mess, but I don't want us to be any part of it.

Then Obama mentioned getting rid of the awful "Don't ask; don't tell" policy within next year; sadly, he didn't specify details, which makes me think it won't happen. He pointed out that his campaign slogans of hope and change weren't things he could do alone, which I interpreted as a well-deserved jab at the Republicans. He commented on politicians pushing each other down instead of pulling the country up.

I liked the fact that the Republicans' response was given by newly-elected governor of Virginia who gave a shout out to another Republican not even in office yet. It's like they know their history sucks and they can't redeem themselves with familiar faces.

January 28—The State of the State of the Union

Three young conservative idiots tried to tap the phone lines at Louisiana Senator 's office. Even if they had not been dressed as pimps, that probably would not have gone well. Conservative "journalists" are lauding them for their daring; everyone else is reminding them that they've committed a felony and will spend several years in jail as a result. It's like they were trying to redo Watergate but with even more mistakes.

Anyway, tonight I will focus on the Republicans' response to the State of the Union address. Most of them sat on their hands, looking like they were sucking pickles. Toward the end, some of them finally began applauding, most likely as a result of peer pressure or self-awareness in looking like jerks.

Worst, though, was Justice Ilito, who sourly shook his head when Obama commented on the Court's recent disastrous decision regarding corporations funding campaigns. He was channeling Joe Wilson's "You lie!" Luckily he did not say anything other than mouthing "That's not true." Obama of course ignored him, even softening his polite deference.

In response, somebody said the Supreme Court is the highest authority on the law. No it is not. The Constitution itself is. Furthermore, the Supreme Court is supposed to be apolitical, even if Ilito clearly isn't; "apolitical" doesn't mean "does what you want to."

In further Republican response to the State of the Union address, Rudy Giuliani whined that Obama didn't mention the word "war" during his speech. Yes he did; seven times. I wonder what channel Giuliani was watching. Others on the right described Obama using words such as "arrogant," "cocky," "flippant," and "punk." Keith Olbermann suggested that those words were a step above "uppity" or "forgetting his place," and we all know what those words are a step above, but I don't know about that. They'd probably use the same words about a white guy; it's Obama's politics they don't like, though I'm sure his race doesn't help.

Speaking of Republican idiots, Sarah Palin is now on the tea partiers' enemies list because she stood them up or something. Amazing. I thought she would have been their idol; I guess they're so disparate they can't decide whether to like her or not. I rather wish they'd keep her as a friend; I hate to think of having anything in common with them.

January 29—Keep your friends close, but visit the Republican caucus every few months.

Obama spoke to the GOP today, showing quite a political fight. He proved himself competent and knowledgeable, showing that he had the best argument in the room. Essentially, he pleaded with the Republicans to join him, which of course was a veiled way of saying "or else." Or else they'll look bad, that is, meaning worse than they already do.

Republican Mike Pence of Indiana attempted to criticize the stimulus, citing continued job losses. Obama steered clear of that one by pointing out that many of those jobs were lost before he took office and before the stimulus even took effect, so, as he said, "I assume you're not talking about that" even though they totally were. As before, he essentially dared them to argue otherwise. He did admit that job losses were more severe than he'd expected, but again, it all happened before any stimulus by a new president could have taken effect.

Then they moved on to tax cuts. The Republicans want across the board tax cuts, and Obama said that he would not support tax cuts for the very rich or the banking industry, for instance.

The Republicans discussed the possibility of a line item veto, which Obama also supports. Everyone wants that. I mean, how else are you going to get rid of pork and ear marks and so on?

Throughout the debate, I got the feeling that he seems to be setting the Republicans up to fall on their faces and embarrass themselves worse than they already have. He definitely knew what he was talking about, which I think disconcerted the Republicans, especially since he gave the impression that he knew more than they did.

GOPposition

I flipped back and forth between Meet the Press and a hockey game this morning (Go Pittsburgh!), so my notes on Meet the Press were a little sketchy.

Anyway, David Axelrod said, on the State of the Union address, that it was appropriate for Obama to comment on the Supreme Court's recent disastrous decision since it has such impact on politics and laws; but, he said, it was not appropriate for Justice Ilito to shake his head and mouth his objection since it was disruptive and rude. Having said that, Axelrod observed that we have rather grown used to bizarre outbursts in the chamber this last year. I said Ilito was channeling Joe Wilson.

Then John Boehner got on there. Oh lawd. He said the Republicans have offered better solutions to Democratic ideas all year long—Such as what? Last I checked, "no" was an objection, not a solution. He claimed the Republican opposition—sorry, solutions—were about standing on principle, opposing bad policies, and offering better solutions. I noticed he didn't mention a single solution during his speech.

David Gregory reminded Boehner that he—Boehner—doesn't want the government in charge of health care but supports taking it across state lines, which runs counter to the Republicans' traditional obsession with states' rights. Boehner didn't have much of an answer; instead he moved into some bile about how Pelosi and Reid have been scheming and plotting all week to get their "big government takeover of health care" in action and are trying to find way to shove it down throats of American people. Ugh! Listen to that bile! Actually don't.

Then David Gregory asked Boehner if he supported Michael Steele. Boehner initially hedged around a direct answer, saying Steele had been elected and he didn't agree with everything he said. When pressed, he said he does support him. Wholeheartedly, I'm sure. Then Gregory asked him who the leader of the GOP was, and Boehner said they wouldn't have one till they had a presidential candidate. Wow!

Then, when Gregory pointed out that the Republicans have received the lion's share of the blame for not having any solutions in Congress. Again, Boehner kept insisting the Republicans have solutions, yet he offered no examples.

Then Gregory brought the anticipated repeal of that awful "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which the Republicans said was not a campaign issue and questioned why we were getting into this debate in the midst of two wars and job losses. Because, duh, gays getting kicked out the military means they're losing their jobs and are no longer in the military to fight two said wars.

Finally, at the political round table, somebody made the point that the Republicans need to learn the difference between being an alternative party and an opposition party. Like I said, "no" is an objection, not a different solution.