Primary

Krugman.

Meh, Bleh, and Eek - NYTimes.com:

"At this point, we just have to accept it as a fact of life: Obama doesn’t, and maybe can’t, do outrage — no matter how much the situation calls for it. The purpose of last night’s speech, if there was one, was to rally the nation against crazy Republicans. But there were no memorable lines, no forceful statements of the very stark reality. “Now, now, that’s not reasonable” isn’t going to move multitudes.

It turns out, I’m sorry to say, that he wasn’t the one we were waiting for."

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He doesn't represent me. He doesn't represent Progressives. I will not vote for Obama in 2012. I do not believe he deserves re-election, the alternative be damned.

Obama and the Left: a problem for the WH? - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com:

"At this point, the only factor that can lead someone to deny the significance of this trend is willful blindness. And it's hard to imagine those numbers going anywhere but down as the realization sets in that it is the President who, now by his own admission, has been working hard to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits, and as the President increasingly pursues what is clearly his 2012 strategy: casting himself as a trans-partisan centrist (his doing so vindicates, in my view, those of us who have long argued that there was nothing 'new' about Obama's politics; it was just slightly re-branded Clintonian, Third Way triangulation)."

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Mr. President, What is this "Shared Sacrifice" You Talk Of?

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Daily Kos: Short and Succinct on MY Social Security:

"'Entitlement' my ass, I PAID cash for my social security insurance! Our benefits aren't some kind of charity or handout. Congressional benefits -- free premium federal health care, enormous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, 3 weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days -- now THAT is welfare! And they have the nerve to call my retirement 'entitlement'?"

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For the sake of what's left of any soul of the Democratic Party, Obama needs to be challenged.

Bernie Sanders Says It Would Be A ‘Good Idea’ To Primary President Obama | ThinkProgress

SANDERS: Brian, believe me, I wish I had the answer to your question. Let me just suggest this. I think there are millions of Americans who are deeply disappointed in the president, who believe that with regard to Social Security and other things, he said one thing as a candidate and is doing something very much else as a president. Who cannot believe how weak he has been for whatever reason in negotiating with Republicans, and there’s deep disappointment. So my suggestion is, I think one of the reasons the president has made the move so far to the right is that there is no primary opposition to him and I think it would do this country a good deal of service if people started thinking about candidates out there to begin contrasting a progressive agenda as opposed to what Obama believes he’s doing. [...] So I would say to Ryan, discouragement is not an option. I think it would be a good idea if President Obama faced some primary opposition.

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Clap Louder

Much of the clap-louder crowd are breaking their palms today over this:

Obama: Enough is Enough in Debt Talks, 'This May Bring My Presidency Down, But I'm Not Yielding' | TPMDC:

"'I have reached the point where I say enough,' Obama told the leaders, according to the account. 'Would Ronald Reagan be sitting here? I've reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this.'"

A couple of points if the 'don't question dear leader' folks can quiet down for a moment.

1. No one forced Obama to couple deficit (the grand lie) with debt limit increase. He should have told the Republicans to go fuck themselves from the get-go. Dems and Repubs corporate masters were never going to let them default. Never. Because it would spook the precious markets (per them).

2. He still put SS and MC on the table. No denying that.

3. He'll do anything for a deal, regardless of how band is hurts the middle class. We get small tax increases yet the local library gets shut down? Whoppty-fucking-do.

4. Ronald Goddamn Reagan. Is it not crystal clear who this man patterns himself after?

5. You want me to clap louder? Raise the fucking debt ceiling in a clean bill. No more cuts to middle class programs.

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What Tiabbi says.

Obama Doesn't Want a Progressive Deficit Deal | Rolling Stone Politics | Taibblog | Matt Taibbi on Politics and the Economy:

"I simply don't believe the Democrats would really be worse off with voters if they committed themselves to putting people back to work, policing Wall Street, throwing their weight behind a real public option in health care, making hedge fund managers pay the same tax rates as ordinary people, ending the pointless wars abroad, etc. That they won't do these things because they're afraid of public criticism, and 'responding to pressure,' is an increasingly transparent lie. This 'Please, Br'er Fox, don't throw me into dat dere briar patch' deal isn't going to work for much longer. Just about everybody knows now that they want to go into that briar patch."

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Adm. Thad Allen: Separating The Value of Public Service From The Politics

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Watermelon-prescribing 'doctor' gets a month : Crime Scene:

"A man who posed as a doctor and told a Belmont woman to eat watermelon in a hot tub to help her kidneys has been ordered to spend a month in jail and never to pass himself off as a medical professional."

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Bears

In the wilds of mountainous California. No time to blog as I fend off bears.

Watch Van Jones' speech. Yes, another speech.

WATCH: Van Jones tells Fox News “You’re not America!”�|�Raw Replay

Little less conversation, a little more action baby.

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Nutz

I not used to it at all. Nor should anyone else be used to it.

Arianna Huffington: Barack Obama's Memento Presidency:

"We got used to the president making strong promises and then caving -- from closing Guantanamo to not extending the Bush tax cuts for millionaires. Now he's making strong promises he's already broken. He's like a political version of the Guy Pearce character in Memento -- he's figured out a way to break promises outside of the limitations of linear time."

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h/t Dick Cooper:

How Socialists Built America | The Nation

Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy were not socialists. But the nation benefited from their borrowing of socialist and social democratic ideas. Barack Obama is certainly not a socialist. But he, and the nation he leads, would be well served by a similar borrowing from the people who once imagined Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the War on Poverty.

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Doomed to repeat. Fascinating.

On Stones in Japan, Tsunami Warnings — Aneyoshi Journal - NYTimes.com:

"ANEYOSHI, Japan — The stone tablet has stood on this forested hillside since before they were born, but the villagers have faithfully obeyed the stark warning carved on its weathered face: “Do not build your homes below this point!”"

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WTF, Apple?

iSpy Conspiracy: Your iPhone Is Secretly Tracking Everywhere You've Been | TPM Idea Lab

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Ah. Yeah.

Someone Finally Fulfilled My Dream of Knowing What a Squirrel Wearing Acorn Bling Would Look Like | Uptown Almanac

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The People's Budget

The People's Budget presented by the Democrats' largest caucus; The Progressive Caucus.

Negotiations should begin here and not budge a freaking inch.

Introducing the People's Budget

"# Reduces unemployment—and thus the deficit—through extensive investment in infrastructure, clean energy, transportation and education;

# Ends almost all the Bush tax cuts, creates new tax brackets for millionaires and new fees on Wall Street;

# Full American military withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, along with other reductions in military spending;

# Ends subsidies for non-renewable energy;

# Lowers health care costs through a public option and negotiating Rx payments with pharmaceutical companies;

# Raises the taxable maximum on Social Security."

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So, Obama's speech yesterday... yep, lots of words. Heard it all before only to see the action be contrary to the words. His speeches mean shite. Let's see what he does (not holding my breath).

Krugman's take:

The Budget Speech - NYTimes.com:

"Update: I should probably say, I could live with this as an end result. If this becomes the left pole, and the center is halfway between this and Ryan, then no — better to pursue the zero option of just doing nothing and letting the Bush tax cuts as a whole expire."

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On my list for potential write-in candidates in '12. Love this guy. He fights.

Daily Kos: Schweitzer burns GOP with red-hot cattle iron

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"But the rich folks walked to the woods where my daddy stayed...."

Domestic call leads to whiskey still | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL

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Luckiest Guy

Being better than Republicans is not enough

It's not. And until Democrats/Progressives learn how to fight dirtier/fight-to-win than those other bastards, we'll continue to have our asses handed to us even when we have super-majorities. As it stands now, we don't have anyone fighting for us in D.C.

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Another D.C. hack elevated.

Rhee and the Corporate Takeover of Public Education

The rise, and looming fall, of 'education reformer' Michelle Rhee

In the social sciences, there is an oft-repeated maxim called Campbell’s Law, named after Donald Campbell, a psychologist who studied human creativity. Campbell’s Law states that incentives corrupt. In other words, the more punishments and rewards—such as merit pay—are associated with the results of any given test, the more likely it is that the test’s results will be rendered meaningless, either through outright cheating or through teaching to the test in a way that narrows the curriculum and renders real learning obsolete.

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BobDoleCare sucketh.

Weiner Says SCOTUS Will Rule Against Health Care Law, Paving Way For Public Option | TPMDC

California isn't too far behind. Keep in mind that VT and CA are going this entirely alone. Zilch help or encouragement from D.C. (just a reminder for when they try to take credit). Fuck insurance companies. All of them. Blood sucking SOBs.

Vermont’s Single-Payer Salvation -- In These Times:

"On February 8, newly inaugurated Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin unveiled his plan for a publicly funded single-payer healthcare system, which was introduced into the state’s legislature. If enacted, which appears likely, it will be the first system of its kind in the United States and Vermont would become the first state to abolish most forms of private health insurance.

“In five years, I predict the United States will go through another major debate of how to reform the healthcare system,” Harvard School of Public Health Professor William Hsiao told the state’s legislators in January, noting his belief that the federal reform legislation passed in March 2010 will not solve the nation’s healthcare crisis. “The question for Vermont is, do you want to walk ahead of the United States? Do you want to be a model for the United States?”"

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How to be THE LUCKIEST GUY ON THE PLANET in 4 Easy Steps Altucher Confidential

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Taxes: Admission to a Civilized Society

Not all Progressives. Some realize he's home where he is.

John R. Talbott: Progressives Cry Out: "Obama, Come Home":

"Last month, Obama named Jeffrey Immelt to the President's Economic Recovery Board and then we find out it was GE that designed and built the Japanese reactors. Yesterday we hear that GE is not paying any taxes on $14 billion of profits but is instead receiving a $3.2 billion rebate. And Immelt is the man that is supposed to be investigating how to close corporate tax loopholes?"

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Japanese corporations agree to forgo tax cuts, for good of their country | The Raw Story

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States broke? Maybe they cut taxes too much | McClatchy

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Maybe somebody should do something. Little help here. Dems?

Telecoms want ‘to put Netflix out of business entirely,’ Sen. Franken tells SXSW:

"'I came here to warn you the party may be over,' Franken said. 'They're coming after the Internet hoping to destroy the very thing that makes it such an important [medium] for independent artists and entrepreneurs: its openness and freedom.'

He warned that pay-walls may soon be erected to enhance the content of wealthy interests, ensuring some voices are heard over others and removing the level playing field of today's Internet. Franken called this a new business model that telecoms like Comcast were keen on implementing, purely in the interests of making money."

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What Teachers Make

Herbert's last column at the NYT:

Losing Our Way - NYTimes.com:

"The U.S. has not just misplaced its priorities. When the most powerful country ever to inhabit the earth finds it so easy to plunge into the horror of warfare but almost impossible to find adequate work for its people or to properly educate its young, it has lost its way entirely."
.....

"G.E. is the nation’s largest corporation. Its chief executive, Jeffrey Immelt, is the leader of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. You can understand how ordinary workers might look at this cozy corporate-government arrangement and conclude that it is not fully committed to the best interests of working people.

Overwhelming imbalances in wealth and income inevitably result in enormous imbalances of political power. So the corporations and the very wealthy continue to do well. The employment crisis never gets addressed. The wars never end. And nation-building never gets a foothold here at home.

New ideas and new leadership have seldom been more urgently needed."

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ThinkProgress � London: Half A Million In The Streets To Protest Massive Government Cuts

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Daily Kos: Why Do We Put Up With It?:

"Looking at all this from across the Atlantic, a German acquaintance of mine recently noted “if this happened in Germany, cars would be burning in the streets.” Why, he wondered, were working and middle class Americans so docile in the face of this aggression by Wall Street and its paid-for politicians in both major parties? Why were the protests in Wisconsin an anomaly, rather than part of a nation-wide outcry against the persistent assaults on the vast majority of the population by the plutocratic few?"

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The West coast through progressive eyes

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Passport Divide

Not good.

U.S. shows growing alarm over Japan nuclear crisis - Yahoo! News:

"The State Department strongly urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Japan at this time and those in Japan should consider departing,' it said."

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What happens if a Japan-sized earthquake hits California? - The Week:

"What are the chances California will get hit by the Big One?

'The question is not if but when Southern California will be hit by a major earthquake — one so damaging that it will permanently change lives and livelihoods in the region,' warns the United States Geological Survey in a 2008 study. A magnitude 7.8 quake in California — Japan's quake was 30 times more powerful — would kill at least 2,000 people and cause $200 billion in damage, the USGS estimated. Because of how the state's many faults are structured, a quake of more than 8.0 is unlikely in much of California, geologists say."

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Bay Area Sushi Bars Face Daunting Supply Shortages � CBS San Francisco

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America's Great Passport Divide - Richard Florida - National - The Atlantic:

"At the opposite end of the spectrum, less than one in five residents of Mississippi are passport holders, and just one in four residents of West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, and Arkansas.

It's a fun map. With the exception of Sarah Palin's home state, it reinforces the 'differences' we expect to find between the states where more worldly, well-traveled people live versus those where the folks Palin likes to call 'real Americans' preponderate. Mostly to entertain myself, I decided to look at how this passport metric correlates with a variety of other political, cultural, economic, and demographic measures. What surprised me is how closely it lines up with the other great cleavages in America today."

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Support Unions

Rise up workers. Rise up. With zero representation in the government, workers need to, again, instill fear into the Oligarchy running the show.

Support All Unions.

Miles Mogulescu: Wisconsin Is Ground Zero in America's New Uprising Against the Corporate Oligarchy

But I Thought Union-Busting Solved All Educational Problems! : Lawyers, Guns & Money

Daily Kos: Break the Unions Break the Democratic Party

Republicans attack unions to hurt Democrats: analysts | The Raw Story

What the Right-wing Assault on Women, Unions, the Environment, Health Care and PBS Is All About | Economy | AlterNet

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I stand corrected. $36,800 raised by Tide fans for Auburn.

Tide for Toomer's

"Tide For Toomers" raising thousands for Auburn oaks - CBS 42 Birmingham, AL News Weather Sports

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Underground is where the survivors from the last die-off survived, so....

Helsinki's Underground Master Plan (VIDEO)

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Liberties Taken

Imagine, indeed.

How to Build a Progressive Tea Party | The Nation:

"Imagine a parallel universe where the Great Crash of 2008 was followed by a Tea Party of a very different kind. Enraged citizens gather in every city, week after week—to demand the government finally regulate the behavior of corporations and the superrich, and force them to start paying taxes. The protesters shut down the shops and offices of the companies that have most aggressively ripped off the country. The swelling movement is made up of everyone from teenagers to pensioners. They surround branches of the banks that caused this crash and force them to close, with banners saying, You Caused This Crisis. Now YOU Pay."

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Asking nicely always works.

Robert L. Borosage: Obama at the Chamber: Strategic Retreat:

"America is still a big market, and a good place to do business, in a world of increasing insecurity. Send a clear signal that we are going to balance our trade -- and that companies better plan for that -- and show the muscle to prove you mean it. Then lead a campaign to crack down on executive compensation schemes, and use every mechanism of government to defend the right of workers to organize. The howls from the business community and from lobby fronts like the Chamber would be deafening. But it is hard to image a more popular mix of policies -- and ones that might make a difference.

Instead, the president is in strategic retreat. He's embraced the old trade policies, backed away from confronting China, brought in JP Morgan Chase's chief lobbyist into the White House as chief of staff, and GE's CEO as leading economic adviser. The old economy is reasserting itself, with little but pleas to corporate patriotism to change it."

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Nice.

Obama To Cut Energy Assistance For Poor; Kerry Urges Him To Reconsider

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Oh the humanity. The liberties taken, I tells ya. The liberties.

The Most Impotant Letter of Them All | Uptown Almanac

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Keepin' it real in TN.

House of Pancakes, maybe....

Tenn. GOP lawmaker credits Hooters for success - Yahoo! News

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Cheesey Fog

Nails it.

Michael Brenner: Barack Obama -- Out of the Closet

The weak supporting the weak. Comprehensive run-down how Democrats and some Liberals/Progressives are failing this country miserably.

"Faced with betrayal, they freeze at pronouncing the word, of thinking the thought, of feeling the emotion. They are easy marks for the upscale con man with the high-minded rhetoric. They see taking offense as itself somehow offensive. They shy away from accusing, from denouncing. So when Mr. Obama spits in their face week after week, they are stunned into denial. Some declare: Our Saviour is also a rainmaker -- a thousand blessings be upon him! Others turn the other cheek. A few instinctively reach for a handkerchief. The more imaginative suggest that he was really aiming at the Republicans, but he's under such great stress that he lost his aim. The truly original believe that it's all part of a clever strategy so ingenious that we poor mortals can't conceive of it. Mysterious are the ways of Our Saviour."

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Of course they did. Democrats turn 51 votes needed into 67 because..... uh.....

Weak and wrong.

Democrats Scale Down Rules Reform Package, Aiming For 67 Votes

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Might go get a juicer in Jack's honor.

Fitness guru Jack LaLanne, 96, dies at Calif. home - Yahoo! News:

"Just before he had heart valve surgery in 2009 at age 95, Jack Lalanne told his family that dying would wreck his image, his publicist Ariel Hankin said at the time."

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Yes, please.

A.S.B. • Oh god what is this

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Humboldt Fog is like eating a dream. Word has it has it their truffle offering is devine, too.

National Cheese Lovers Day: The Best California Cheeses:

"'The Humboldt Fog is a tribute to classic French goat cheese-making. It's soft ripening from the outside inward and it has the vegetable ash through the middle and a little bit around the edges.'-- Norbert Wabnig."

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Fight or Perish

To continue.... Progressives best get mad as hell and not take it anymore. Otherwise 'leaning conservative' will be the new 'very liberal' (actually, it already is. See 'President', 'Health Insurance Bill', 'Everything that's happened since 2008', etc).

Death by a thousand pragmatic and long-view cuts of our own making.

Daley is a reflection, not a cause - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com:

"Why, angry progressives seem to be asking, would Obama ignore the views of his so-called 'progressive base' while seeking to please those who are his political adversaries?

But it's perfectly rational for Obama to do exactly that. There's a fundamental distinction between progressives and groups that wield actual power in Washington: namely, the latter are willing (by definition) to use their resources and energies to punish politicians who do not accommodate their views, while the former unconditionally support the Democratic Party and their leaders no matter what they do. The groups which Obama cares about pleasing -- Wall Street, corporate interests, conservative Democrats, the establishment media, independent voters -- all have one thing in common: they will support only those politicians who advance their agenda, but will vigorously oppose those who do not. Similarly, the GOP began caring about the Tea Party only once that movement proved it will bring down GOP incumbents even if it means losing a few elections to Democrats."

-----
That is exactly what progressives will never do. They do the opposite; they proudly announce: we'll probably be angry a lot, and we'll be over here doing a lot complaining, but don't worry: no matter what, when you need us to stay in power (or to acquire it), we're going to be there to give you our full and cheering support. That is the message conveyed over and over again by progressives, no more so than when much of the House Progressive Caucus vowed that they would never, ever support a health care bill that had no robust public option, only to turn around at the end and abandon that vow by dutifully voting for Obama's public-option-free health care bill. That's just a microcosm of what happens in the more general sense: progressives constantly object when their values and priorities are trampled upon, only to make clear that they will not only vote for, but work hard on behalf of and give their money to, the Democratic Party when election time comes around.

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Not funny but sadly true.

A Cartoon—By Mr. Fish (Harper's Magazine)

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Yup.

Exclusive: DoJ veteran sees ‘dangerous precedent’ in letting Bush officials walk | Raw Story:

"Hebert said he believed that in wanting to appear nonpartisan, they instead weakened the Justice Department, sending a consequential message to the American people.

“It’s one thing to want to appear like you’re above the political fray and your cases aren’t motivated by politics,” Hebert pointed out. “But it’s another to not hold people accountable and to not bring justice.”"

---

"Hebert said he believed that in wanting to appear nonpartisan, they instead weakened the Justice Department, sending a consequential message to the American people.

“It’s one thing to want to appear like you’re above the political fray and your cases aren’t motivated by politics,” Hebert pointed out. “But it’s another to not hold people accountable and to not bring justice.”"

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What Atrios says:

Eschaton:

"LEAVE RICH CRIMINALS ALOOOOONE

I'm sure the Very Serious People response to anti-rich people leaks to wikileaks will be the same as their response to leaks embarrassing powerful people in governments. It's just wrong to hold powerful people accountable for anything.

Look forward people!"

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Let the teabaggers deal with it so we can watch their heads explode trying to figure out which one is baby jeebus:

Earth must prepare for close encounter with aliens, say scientists | Science | guardian.co.uk

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The Little Bill That Could

Good news:

Timothy Karr: The Little Bill That Could:

"Little noticed but extremely important to progressives, on Saturday afternoon Congress also passed the Local Community Radio Act.

This legislation opens up radio spectrum to hundreds, if not thousands, of local independent radio stations (also known as LPFM).

Its passing will bring new choices and voices on the radio dial nationwide, but is especially relevant to a broadcast area reaching 160 million people who lived in areas where these stations had previously been barred from local airwaves.

Anyone tracking the rise of radio personalities like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage understands the primary political significance of gaining access to spectrum."

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Hey, Mickey. You blow my mind.

Mickey Rourke Visits A Russian Hospital For Xmas (NSFW): Pics, Videos, Links, News

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President Huckabee

Goodbye Democratic Party...

Goodbye soul of the Progressive...

Goodbye Social Security....

Hello President Huckabee.

Because nobody is gonna campaign for you, Obama:

Daily Kos: Obama staffers speak out:

"Jeana Brown, Obama 2008 Field Organizer in Georgia:
I personally am saddened. It is clear to me that we have not seen the 'change we can believe in.' Extending the Bush tax cuts will kill volunteer recruitment and retainment.

Daniel Roche, Obama 2008 Deputy Field Organizer in Nevada -- a key swing state Obama won:
If he capitulates on this, there really is no point in voting for him in 2012. The difference between voting for a Republican and voting for someone whose default negotiation strategy is rolling over and dying whenever the Republican Party says mean things is marginal. This should be a ridiculously easy fight to win.

Matthew Donoghue, Communications Staffer for 2008 Ohio Campaign for Change
'I want the President to adhere to his campaign promise. I didn't go to Ohio eleven weeks after completing chemoradiotherapy to have him uphold the reckless Bush/GOP 'spare the wealthy' tax scheme.'"

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Maybe someone will squash this bastard of a cave.... I'm not holding my breath, though:



And, regardless of history, Obama should be primaried so we'd at least have some chance at finally capturing the Presidency.

The only way that happens is if the African-American community turns on Obama. Say, one of MLK's main men:

Clarence B. Jones: Time to Think the Unthinkable: A Democratic Primary Challenge To Obama's Reelection:

"It is not easy to consider challenging the first African-American to be elected as President of the United States. But, regrettably, I believe that the time has come to do this.

It is time for Progressives to stop 'whining' and arguing among themselves about whether President Obama will or will not do this or that. Obama is no different than any other President, nominated by his national party. He was elected with the hard work and 24/7 commitment of persons who believed and enlisted in his campaign for 'Hope' and 'Change.'

You don't have to be a rocket scientist nor have a PhD in political science and sociology to see clearly that Obama has abandoned much of the base that elected him. He has done this because he no longer respects, fears or believes those persons who elected him have any alternative, but to accept what he does, whether they like it or not.

It is time for those persons who constituted the 'Movement' that enabled Senator Barack Obama to be elected to 'break their silence'; to indicate that they no longer will sit on their hands, and only let off verbal steam and ineffective sound and fury, and 'hope' for the best.

The answer is blowin' in the wind"

...Or even a commenter on a news site....

Unhappy Dems Mull Obama-GOP Tax Cut Deal | TPMDC:

"Well, as a black man, all have have to say is...let's hope Barack Obama never comes up with an 'initiative' to advance the interests of black people. By the time he's halfway through his pre-compromise phase, the question up for debate would be, 'To exactly what extent should Jim Crow be reinstated?'...LOL!"

Oh well....

President Huckabee.

We should have elected a Democrat. Too bad one wasn't running in 2008.

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Soul Cookin'

Something about not being able to find its ass comes to mind....

Daily Kos: White House searches for its soul:

"I'd like to save you folks in the White House a whole bunch of trouble. When you all look for your souls, you had better find something that looks like JOBS. That is your soul. Your soul is JOBS.

Your soul is not a smooth, orderly process. Your soul is not bipartisan compromise with Republicans. The GOP could care less about 'changing the ways of Washington.' What independents care about right now is results. Results = jobs. Plain and simple."

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But, but, but....

Marty Kaplan: Is it Audacity Time Yet?:

"Mr. President, when Mitch McConnell and John Boehner keep saying that they're not going to compromise on their principles, the amen corner on cable hails them as heroes. But if you say you're not going to compromise, they'll call you a tool of the left. Don't let it spook you. When you walk into that meeting with the Republican leadership, you've got to be seen as the best dealmaker in Washington, the kind LBJ was, the kind of mofo that Rahm Emmanuel was supposed to be until the course of the health care bill on the Hill revealed that he was something of a pussy.

Don't negotiate with yourself ahead of time. Trash talk the opposition. Play mind games with them -- freak them out with your confidence. Don't fall for their 'mandate' crap -- it's a con game. There's no evidence for it. Your tail is between your legs only if you say it is. You've got plenty of power, and it includes the power to define what victory is."

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Yes, look to California.

Jamie Court: How Can Progressives Win Again? Look To California:

"Progressive populism won in California and it can gain more power across America if progressives get back to the basics of populist power we practice here: 1. Expose 2. Confront 3. Force Your Opponents To Make Mistakes 4. Make the Mistakes the Issue 5. Don't Let Go.
.....

Progressives need to raise more hell and worry less about raising money."

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Brought to you by a Democrat. Super.

Will Internet censorship bill be pushed through lame-duck Congress?:

"A bill giving the government the power to shut down Web sites that host materials that infringe copyright is making its way quietly through the lame-duck session of Congress, raising the ire of free-speech groups and prompting a group of academics to lobby against the effort."

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Agree with the awesome and also to the horrible.

Why working at home is both awesome and horrible - The Oatmeal

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Porpoises

Indeed. Why?

Eugene Robinson - Where's the Democrats' fighting spirit?:

"'Why don't they fight back?'

That's the question I've been hearing from the Democratic Party's stunned and dispirited base. For the past month, I've been on a book tour that has taken me to Asheville, N.C., Terre Haute, Ind., Austin and elsewhere. Everywhere I go, supporters of President Obama and his agenda ask me why so many Democrats in Washington don't stand up for what they say they believe."

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I doubt they could negotiate themselves out of a wet paper bag.

Paul Abrams: The White House Needs to Take "Negotiation 101":

"What makes the White House believe that, having achieved a bloodless victory, Republicans will settle for less than 100% of what they want when they actually have the majority?

Baffling."

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Toughen up, bitches. No, I mean it. Sick of pussy Dems (I'm looking at you, voting Dems).

Obama Without Tears | The Nation:

"People who still have great hope for Obama can help revive his presidency, but only if they toughen up themselves. Stop holding his hand (he's an adult) and start building a people's agenda that compels the president to change his. Obama won't like this at first—his own supporters talking back—but he can learn to draw strength from their courage. If people fail to step up with their own message, the president will likely fail with his."

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Shocking. See Negotiations 101.

No change: Wall Street finds loophole in financial reform

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I hope this scumbag finally gets what's coming to him.

Arizona Sheriff used hidden database to misspend up to $80 million, officials claim

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And then there's this....

Porpoises rescue Dick Van Dyke | Film | guardian.co.uk

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Failure of Leadership

Yesterday's post was cathartic. More of my thoughts and some action items on Monday.

I received a lot of support both publicly and privately for yesterday's post and I appreciate those who haven't pulled the shades over their eyes and are tuned into to the failure of leadership we are tragically experiencing.

The election map was in our favor on Tuesday. What happened absolutely did not have to happen. The election map in 2012 is in the Republicans favor. You do the math.

We've got to find a way to bring on board our Progressives brothers and sisters who are simply predisposed to avoid any kind of conflict and are too scared to consider that 'their guy' is turning into a very big problem. We need an unapologetic, advocate leader, not a philosopher king.

First article: Look up 'Marshall Ganz' and see the position this person held in Obama's campaign in '08. Then read their op-ed several times. This is an insider who nails part of the problem.

Obama suffering from failure of leadership - latimes.com:

By Marshall Ganz

"The nation was ready for transformation, but the president gave us transaction. And, as is the case with leadership failures, much of the public's anger, disappointment and frustration has been turned on a leader who failed to lead.

Obama and his team made three crucial choices that undermined the president's transformational mission. First, he abandoned the bully pulpit of moral argument and public education. Next, he chose to lead with a politics of compromise rather than advocacy. And finally, he chose to demobilize the movement that elected him president. By shifting focus from a public ready to drive change — as in 'yes we can' — he shifted the focus to himself and attempted to negotiate change from the inside, as in 'yes I can.'"

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Ask yourself, which strategy prevailed on Tuesday? Which strategy failed? Why are we going to continue to pursue a failed strategy? The very definition of insanity.

Daily Kos: How'd That Bipartisanship Thing Work Out For You?:

"Could the effort at bipartisanship over the last two years have been a bigger disaster? The Democrats allowed the Republicans to make their case for two straight years while Democrats laid down their arms. And it turns out the voters didn't know why they should vote for the Democrats. Surprise, surprise.

The Republicans on the other hand went with complete and utter partisanship -- and it worked! If the Obama White House trusts one more idiot in Washington who says they should try reaching consensus with the Republicans, then they deserve the ass kicking they'll get next time around, too."

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Obama's Fed dropped a nice little bundle of cash on Corp America the day after the election, b/c they knew it wouldn't get any press.

This is unbelievable.

Federal Reserve Rains Money On Corporate America -- But Main Street Left High And Dry:

"When it comes to helping Wall Street and corporate America, the Federal Reserve spares no expense."

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Thank jeebus for Markos.

Daily Kos: The battle for 2012 starts NOW:

"First thing's first -- stop bashing the base, or the professional left, or whatever liberal boogeymen pisses them off. Fact is, people who fall in those disaffected categories -- the young, blacks, Latinos -- don't read blogs, or watch Keith Olbermann, or read Firedoglake. But they are losing their jobs and their homes, and they see Wall Street get all manners of bailouts without any of it trickling down to them. That has killed us. Make their lives better, or (since nothing will happen with Boehner in the House) at least fight to make their lives better."

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This is what happens:

Turnout among young voters: 20 percent | Raw Story:

"Only about one in five people under the age of 30 voted in the mid-term elections Tuesday, says a study based on exit polls.

The poor turnout among youth likely had some effect on the outcome of most races, but nowhere was this more dramatically highlighted than in the California ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. Political observers on Wednesday said the poor youth turnout in California accounted for the defeat of Proposition 19.

'Pot legalization defeated thanks to the elderly,' reads the headline of a Justin Elliott article at Salon.com. Elliott points to a report that while six in 10 youth voters supported the measure, it was opposed by seven in 10 senior citizens."

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He simply doesn't get it and he's a stubborn as Bush. He's not going to change. We are looking at a complete Republican takeover in 2012. He'll get annihilated by whichever clown the Republicans nominated. Obama will run on 'I'm not as a bad as the other guy' again, and it'll look like we got off easy in 2010.

Obama challenges Cabinet, sets bipartisan talks - Yahoo! News

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Interesting Times: The Era of the Disappearing Era : The New Yorker:

"Yesterday, I ran into Senator Mark Warner, of Virginia, who was campaigning with Perriello in Martinsville and Danville. When I interviewed him over the summer for my piece on the Senate, he had said that he expected the election of some moderate Republicans, like Mark Kirk of Illinois and Mike Castle of Delaware, who might be able to create more middle ground for bipartisanship. When I reminded him of this yesterday, Warner wouldn’t abandon the hope. How is it faring tonight? Not well—Castle lost to Christine O’Donnell in the primary, Kirk is losing, and Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, and perhaps other Tea Party senators, are headed to Washington. I predict that there will not even be a gesture toward centrism and bipartisanship on the part of Republican leadership. They’re too scared, and too eager. Pace David Brooks, the level of extremism and partisanship I described will go up—way up. This midterm is the party’s first salvo in its first order of business, to end Obama’s Presidency. There will be little mercy and a great deal of rancor. Tomorrow we’ll find out how Obama sees the next two years. I see one of the ugliest political periods in my lifetime, which has seen a few."

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The only highlight from last Tuesday.

Blue Dog Coalition Crushed By GOP Wave Election

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This is a pissing into the wind article to post, b/c Obama is not going to deviate from the iceburg he's got us pointing towards, but it is a good read. And it makes you hope that we can, at some point, elect an actual Progressive Leader with some giant balls.

Opinion: Obama can learn from 'Godfather' - Roger Alan Stone - POLITICO.com:

"Remember that the don has done you this favor.

As a powerful man, the don does many people many favors. But they know that something will be expected of them in return. When that moment comes, they had better be willing to return the favor. This favor bank is a great source of the don’s power.

Obama has been all quid, with no pro quo. With Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) down on his luck — no job in the McCain administration and the Democratic Caucus skeptical of his liberal credentials — Obama intervened. Because of that, Lieberman got the committee chairmanship he so desperately wanted. But, somehow, attached to that favor were no strings — for example, no condition that he could vote as he wanted on bills but would support the caucus on breaking filibusters."

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Earth Deaux

If we do somehow pull it out of our ass and correct this country, we'll have a lot of thanking to do for Stewart and Colbert.

Rally To Restore Sanity's Roots: A Search For Calm From Day One:

"While the upcoming Rally To Restore Sanity, and its opposing March To Keep Fear Alive, marks an exciting high point in the lives of 'The Daily Show' and 'The Colbert Report', respectively, the combined event can best be seen as something that deepens and extends a challenge that the two shows have long sought to meet -- that a debased and frantic public discourse needs to be confronted head-on by the cool reason of rational minds.

Comedy, which harvests laughs by juxtaposing the life we're left with against the ideal, is a genre that loves reason above all else, and the two hosts have plowed the field carefully."

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My golden years will be much bleaker than I original imagined.

Time to find a second Earth, WWF says | Raw Story:

"Carbon pollution and over-use of Earth's natural resources have become so critical that, on current trends, we will need a second planet to meet our needs by 2030, the WWF said on Wednesday."

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I've been making a form of this argument for a while. That's why incrementalism is not a viable option anymore.

BBC News - William Gibson says the future is right here, right now

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Break that Wagging Finger

Obama hasn't 'scolding Progressives', he's deflecting all of the deserved blame for his failed policies and governance onto Progressives. Rahm had Clinton do it in 1996. Pretty damn irresponsible, if you ask me.

I'm sure Freud would have something to say about Obama's addict-like need to appease the GOP Daddies and shit on the people who elected him.

Sad what Obama has turned into. Doesn't hold anyone responsible and is never responsible for his own, many failures.

Just strengthens my resolve to only vote for one Dem (Jerry Brown) in November. I'm really not scared of the alternative.

Weak and wrong. Weak and wrong.

Obama both rallies, scolds Dems in campaign trip | al.com:

"'It's not helpful,' said John Aravosis, the editor of the progressive AMERICAblog.com. 'The base is depressed and they're depressing it even more, and it's not clear why.'

Said DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas: 'They wouldn't be in this predicament if they delivered on their campaign promises, rather than waste the last two years putting bipartisanship above action.'"

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Alas. I wish I could afford to purchase a ball that I could take to the home I can't afford to own.

Jane Hamsher: Obama's Blame Game: It's Not About Turning Out Voters, It's About Protecting Himself:

"And right now, Obama is turning the Democratic base into Martha Coakley and setting them up for the blame for any electoral failure in fall. The people who showed up to vote for him in 2008 'just weren't serious' if they 'now want to take their ball and go home.' There is no internal consistency to the narrative that the 'professional left' is suppressing turnout by criticizing Obama, but Obama is not suppressing turnout when he scolds the voters who aren't clapping loudly enough for his achievements. But few in the professional punditocracy find their way to that obvious conclusion. This isn't about motivating Democratic voters. It's about setting up a fall guy for November. The headline should really read:

Obama Distances Himself From Democratic Voters"

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The Obama Administration is 100% responsible. Don't forget it.

Do Progressives Need Tough Love or Coddling? | Talking Points Memo:

"It's time for the administration to face the fact that it is they who are responsible for 100% of the problems the Democrats now face in the upcoming midterms. It isn't the left and progressives and actual Democrats who criticized them and warned them and begged them not to sell out on issue after issue who turned people off. No polls are providing evidence that progressive criticism of the President's lackluster results on everything from the stimulus, to healthcare, the wars, climate change, financial 'reform', credit card 'reform', and a host of other issues is fueling the enthusiasm gap. Quite the contrary.

It is a total distortion and misreading of what is going on among voters to make the straw man argument that people are upset because Obama didn't do 'everything' 'overnight'. People are upset because the administration's priorities have not been addressing the problems that real people face like unemployment and foreclosure and that those things that have been done have been an almost embarrassing gruel of half measures and compromises that don't promise to solve the problems we face or prevent future problems."

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Dean/Grayson 2012

Dean Called Rahm's 'Contempt' For Base 'Devastating And Incredibly Demoralizing': Book Excerpt:

"The majority of the book looks at the efforts by former DNC Chairman Howard Dean to build a national network that could immunize the party from becoming either marginalized or regionalized. But the epilogue charts out how the style of Obama's governance drained the type of voter enthusiasm that, Dean acknowledges, was critical in those efforts.

'The White House began to believe that they could mobilize their supporters without hearing what their supporters really wanted in terms of specific change,' Dean is quoted as saying. 'The principal problem with OFA is the same one the president's having. You can't dictate to your base what's going to happen. It's got to be a two-way deal, and it hasn't been.'"

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Biden and Obama can do something that rhymes with 'buck' and includes 'off'.

AMERICAblog News: Biden: Liberals need to 'buck up':

"The President refused to challenge someone standing in the way of his agenda. Sound familiar?

The reason the Republicans have been able to filibuster nearly every single piece of legislation, the reason we have a new majority in the Senate, is because Democrats - with Barack Obama at the top of the list - have enabled the Republicans ever step of the way.

Rather than lecturing Democrats about how unreasonable they are to be upset with the President for constantly negotiating with himself, Biden would do better having a talk with his boss, and asking him why George Bush was so effective at passing his agenda, at kow-towing Democrats, and at thwarting opposition filibusters, when Bush had far fewer numbers than Obama has now in the US Senate.

60 is the new 50 because Democrats permit it be so."

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I scored 14/15 on the mini quiz. Of course we know more. We are thinkers.

Atheists, agnostics most knowledgeable about religion, survey says - latimes.com:

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