Gone and back again

So for people who were not aware (understandable due to the short duration of this incident) Keith Olbermann was suspended Friday for having donated to three of the campaigns this year, which is a violation of NBC's policy for journalists.  Well, as of last night per ABC news the suspension is already over.  Now if only we could see some of the Fox idiots suspended there would be justice in the world.

The Storm is Over and now...nothing gets done

Well the 2010 midterms are effectively over and what have we gotten?  A house controlled by climate change deniers and ultra-conservatives who want to start impeaching the President (no real reason why) and shut down the government; A senate that is now narrowly controlled by the democrats which will only be able to pass legislation if the completely abandon the filibuster; and a white house that is going to be spending the next 2 years trying to do stuff with people who are insane...

Yeah we are all screwed.  The republicans have already laid out their strategy for 2010, which is blame the Dems since nothing they pass will get out of the Senate then take us back to Bush-anomics.  They'll probably try to defund Health care, which won't pass then force a shut down when no budget they do will be acceptable.  The only way anything will get done is if they suddenly become sane and actually end up being willing to compromise so they can govern, a change in behavior I do not expect.  So what are we Progressives to do?  I don't know yet, but I'll be thinking about it.

Today is November 2nd 2010

Go Vote!

My Appologies

Sorry for the recent lack of posts.  Unfortunately I actually have to have a job and October is literally the biggest month of the year so I've barely been able to do anything beyond go to work, work, come home from work, and go to sleep; fortunately this should be the last week of it.

Just Poor Enough

So I was listening to an interview with Noam Chomsky yesterday when I heard him comment about how people in America are not so bad off that they can't get involved; how they are far better off then people who do get politically involved in other cultures.  I think Mr. Chomsky is missing a key concept of the conservative principals of control in that observation.

Some people think that it is the objective of the filthy rich and conservatives to make us all dirt poor, but that is not the case.  Rather, they want us all just poor enough.  If the populous is too well off (ie middle class) then they have excess time and resources to commit to being politically active.  Conversely, if they are too poor, so poor that they cannot fulfill the lowest level of Mazlow's hierarchy of needs, then they have no choice but to foment political opposition.  But if they are just poor enough that they can barely meet their basic needs, if they are just able to survive in their society, then they will not revolt.  They will continue to slave away striving to fulfill those basic needs and desperately trying to achieve some of their safety needs.

Sadly, in America right now many people are just poor enough...

Christine O'Donnel is an Idiot

So if you haven't seen it yet Christine O'Donnel was in an event with her opponent in front of a bunch of Lawyers and was shocked to learn that Seperation of Church and State is in the first amendment.  Now, for those people who don't know the constitution, the First Amendment begins with "The Congress shall pass no law respecting the establishment of religion;"  Now Conservatives love to say that this doesn't say what it says, that somehow this still allows the government to be Christian, but willful ignorance does not make it true.  I only wish that every republican candidate was so proudly and voiciferously stupid, if they were it might turn this election around.

The Case for the Justice department Appealing the DADT strike down

So I'll be the first to admit that when I first heard about the verdict ruling DADT unconstitutional, I thought that Justice should abandon tradition and let it stand.  Then last night on Rachel Maddow I heard a very good case for why they SHOULD appeal it, and I have to say...it convinced me.

Basically, the argument goes that by setting the precedent of allowing the lower court to over turn it without pro-forma appeal then it would encourage some right wing loon to shop around something they didn't like, such as health care reform, till they found a judge who would rule it unconstitutional when another Republican becomes president.  Having the justice department move the case up to the supreme court for a definitive ruling will keep congress from reinstating the ban or something similar and will provide a deterent for future conserva-nuts.  Now if, when they defend it, Justice doesn't just come out and say that they think its unconstitutional and that all they are doing is appealing pro-forma then I will be royally pissed.