"Obama!" The Musical

Is it over?

Is it over? Is this how it felt to consider Viet Nam in the early 70s? How long until violence explodes again and we feel the obligation to reenter for further combat missions?

Either way, I hope that the soldiers coming home find peace and welcome.

RIP Dodgers 2010

I'll still watch this year, but c'mon, it's over.

El Museo de las Momias

This is how Jenny and I spent our Sunday afternoon.

We weren't mummified actually, but just walking around a museum looking at mummies. I think in the US, a museum like this would be successful, but there would be far fewer tiny little children being taken in to the place. In Mexico, they have this real interest in death, in a way that is a little spectacle with a little celebration. Here, they have Dia de los Muertos, all the skulls, devil masks, and crucifixes everywhere. The Mummy Museum fits with all that.

Fellow workers...

Nurses rock.

The California Nurses Association's "Queen Meg 2010" parody is awesome. Especially clever are the sash-wearing escorts, Goldman and Sachs:



I don't understand why these folks try to take on nurses, firefighters, cops, and teachers, but they do.

Jonathan Broxton

Trade. Him. Now.
Big John says: "I'm fat and the Dodgers should trade me for a starting pitcher while I'm still marketable."

Are you kidding me?

Glenn Beck is going to hold a crazy Tea Party event on the Anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech. Are you kidding me? Glenn Beck and other like-minded conservatives are trying to frame Dr. King's vision as a right-wing one? There is only one response for that. Glenn Beck is a liar. Observe (picture that HR is Glenn Beck):

Raja Bell and Kobe Meeting

According to ESPN:

"The seemingly hard-to-picture prospect of Kobe Bryant and old nemesis Raja Bell playing for the same team remains alive.

The longtime rivals will sit down for a face-to-face chat Wednesday in Los Angeles to further discuss the feasibility of the Lakers signing Bell in free agency, sources close to the situation said."

Assuming that Shannon Brown gets a deal somewhere else (for more money, which, let's face it, he deserves), Raja Bell would fill that reserve guard spot well. Sentimentality for Brown aside, Raja Bell would be an upgrade from Shannon defensively, and the Lakers will definitely need some defensive help in the backcourt with Derek Fisher returning. Still, I don't think Raja Bell could ever do something like this:

Prince Fielder

I found this awesome photo of Prince Fielder with his dad at the All-Star Game in 1993. Awesome.

RIP George Steinbrenner

I think there's a whole generation of people for whom George Steinbrenner was George Costanza's eccentric boss first, Yankees owner second.

Either way, the guy was ruthless as an owner, but let's try to view this in the best possible light. He bought the Yankees for a mere $10m in the early 70s, and today they are worth more than $1.5b (twice the value of any other baseball team). When he bought the team, they were on their post-Mantle/Berra downhill swing, but within just a few years he had signed guys like Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter and the Yankees had won another World Series. They went on to win the Series 7 times during his reign. It's true that the guy basically went out and bought championships, but he did it because he wanted the Yankees to win. Similar to someone like Mark Cuban, he ran the team like a fan would. He took the huge revenue generated by the most prestigious franchise in all of sports, and he reinvested it in the team to make them great. He didn't line his pockets or build huge shopping complexes in the Bronx like some owners have done in similar situations. Instead he took the money and went out and paid the best players in the game to come and win in New York. As a baseball fan, I can only hope that whatever regimes succeed him in the years to come will treat the cornerstone of American sports, the New York Yankees, with the same honor and respect that Mr. Steinbrenner did.

Patriotism and the 4th of July

As far as loving our country--as in the people, the mountains, the rivers, our neighborhoods and cities, our culture, and even some of the shining parts of our history (the Declaration of Independence stands out, as does the 2008 election)--it becomes a very easy thing to feel patriotic.

It would be easy to dismiss America as the land of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, and I suppose that, yes, it is their country, too. But this is also the country of FDR, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, Emma Goldman, and Cesar Chavez, jazz music, baseball, California, New York City, the Statue of Liberty, rock and roll, rap music, and The Boss. Millions and millions of immigrants from all over the world, who speak thousands of different languages and have come here at great cost to participate in our society can attest that this is a great country. Not perfect, but certainly great. Not the only great place to live or to be from, but one that those of us who are, can be proud of.

I was born here and plan to live my whole life here, and so will just about every person I love. I LOVE America is this sense. It's our home.

Sometimes those who operate our government are total a-holes (okay, pretty often actually), and use their positions of power to exploit the labors and resources of our country for absolute evil. That should not cause us to doubt all of the other things that make this country great. To celebrate the 4th of July, I'm posting some quotes from some prominent American dissidents and their (positive) comments about patriotism and America. Hopefully, these can clarify where I'm coming from.

Tom Morello:
"I am enormously proud to be an American. I would say that the things that our corporate-controlled government has done at best are shameful and at worst genocidal-but there's an incredible and a permanent culture of resistance in this country that I'm very proud to be a part of. It's not the tradition of slave-owning founding fathers, it's the tradition of the Frederick Douglasses, the Underground Railroads, the Chief Josephs, the Joe Hills, and the Huey P. Newtons. There's so much to be proud of when you're American that's hidden from you. The incredible courage and bravery of the union organizers in the late 1800's and early 1900's-that's amazing. People of get tricked into going overseas and fighting Uncle Sam's Wall Street wars, but these are people who knew what they were fighting for here at home. I think that that's so much more courageous and brave."

Noam Chomsky:
"To begin with, we have to be more clear about what we mean by patriotic feelings. For a time when I was in high school, I cheered for the school athletic teams. That's a form of patriotism — group loyalty. It can take pernicious forms, but in itself it can be quite harmless, maybe even positive. At the national level, what "patriotism" means depends on how we view the society. Those with deep totalitarian commitments identify the state with the society, its people, and its culture...
"For the totalitarian, "patriotism" means support for the state and its policies, perhaps with twitters of protest on grounds that they might fail or cost us too much. For those whose instincts are democratic rather than totalitarian, "patriotism" means commitment to the welfare and improvement of the society, its people, its culture. That's a natural sentiment and one that can be quite positive. It's one all serious activists share, I presume; otherwise why take the trouble to do what we do?"


Howard Zinn:
"Patriotism to me means doing what you think your country should be doing. Patriotism means supporting your government when you think it's doing right, opposing your government when you think it's doing wrong. Patriotism to me means really what the Declaration of Independence suggests. And that is that government is an artificial entity...
"So to me patriotism in its best sense means thinking about the people in the country, the principles for which the country stands for, and it requires opposing the government when the government violates those principles.
"So today, for instance, the highest act of patriotism, I suggest, would be opposing the war in Iraq and calling for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Simply because everything about the war violates the fundamental principles of equality, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, not just for Americans, but for people in another part of the world. So, yes, patriotism today requires citizens to be active on many, many different fronts to oppose government policies on the war, government policies that have taken trillions of dollars from this country's treasury and used it for war and militarism. That's what patriotism would require today."



Cornel West:
"We have to pay debt to the sources of our being. That includes mom and dad. That includes the community that shaped you. That includes the nation that both protects you as well as gives you some sense of possibility. And for religious folk, of course, it includes God. Now, the problem is there has to be some Socratic energy in one’s piety. Piety ought to be inseparable from critical thinking, but the critical thinking is parasitic on who one is and where one starts. And who one is and where one starts has to do with what has shaped you from womb to tomb. Part of the hollowness and shallowness of some of modern thinking is to think that somehow one gives birth to oneself and therefore one has no debt to anybody who came before—as if you can have a language all by itself, as if you could actually raise yourself from zero to five, and so forth and so on. So that I look at my beautiful daughter and I give her all the love that I can and as she gets older, she is going to feel a certain kind of relation to me. In the end, she may characterize that as a debt that she feels to me because of the love that I gave her. I think that’s appropriate. I don’t do it for that reason, but I think that’s appropriate. I certainly feel that with my parents and I feel that with my neighborhood. I feel that with my Black church. I feel that with the nation and I also feel that with my intellectual ancestors. I think I have a deep debt to Chekhov and a deep debt to Coltrane. I have a deep debt to Hilary Putnam and Stanley Cavell, and these people who were so very kind to me. That doesn’t mean I uncritically accept what they have to say. I wrestle with them, but I’m thinking of a kind of critical, Socratic patriotism. Let’s call it that."


Ani Difranco:
(from "Grand Canyon")
i love my country
by which i mean i am indebted joyfully
to all the people throughout its history
who have fought the government to make it right

Happy 4th of July!

The Deal LeBron Should Take

If Lebron James doesn't stay in Cleveland, there's one offer he should consider above all others.

The Oklahoma City Redhawks, who are the Texas Rangers Triple-A minor league baseball affiliate have offered the free agent an interesting deal. In addition to offering the maximum allowable minor league salary (something shy of $1 million), they are also offering:
-Free housing in a 1500 sq.ft. home owned by the team in Harrah, OK
-Lawn maintenance in the the above home by one of the Redhawks' own groundskeepers
-A new hotdog at the games known as the "LeBrawtwurst"--King James himself would get to "design" the toppings for the hotdog
-Throw out the first pitch every night
-All Lebron runs will count for 2, and each homerun will count for 3

So, I think the other teams should just pull back their offers right now. I think we know where his heart will lead him.

A Brief Interruption for the Dodgers

I fell asleep watching the Dodgers lose miserably to Los Angeles last night, 10-1. As I was dozing, It struck me that the Dodgers will probably need to acquire a right fielder next year. Right now we have a left fielder (or at best a first baseman) playing right field. I don't expect the Dodgers to try to hold on to Manny. As much money as that guy makes McCourts (I don't know which McCourt gets custody of Manny), I just don't see them trying to dole out any cash for him. Cost-Benefit wise, he can't increase their profits to the extent that he's actually worth it. So, the obvious result will be Andre Ethier moving to left. But then we'll need a right fielder. Xavier Paul did an excellent job a few weeks ago when Dre was out, but I am hopeful that they'll move and get someone who can preserve our status as the best outfield in baseball. The problem is, I'm racking my brain and I just can't think of a good fit.

"so I know whose a** to kick"

President Obama decided to become an advocate of the People today. It inspired me to make sure that I find time to vote tomorrow.

More Soccer

The Onion on soccer. Ha!

Avatar

I'm kinda late to this, but I just watched "Avatar" and it was awesome. I had always planned on watching it when it came out on DVD. I didn't make it a huge priority even though I figured it would be entertaining. I just thought it would be too cheesy to take seriously. I mean, c'mon, those graphics, it must be like watching a cartoon for two-and-a-half hours, right? Wrong.

There was so much that I really enjoyed about the movie, not to mention all the cool, not-so-subtle political stuff. Although, I heard a lot of talk about the movie's message being environmental, and while that was obviously there, I felt a lot more convinced by the arguments it made about imperialism and colonialism. I kept thinking about folks not just in Iraq and Afghanistan where we are basically unwanted occupiers, but people in places where our influence is more under the radar because its on the basis of "advisory" roles, or just with paramilitary American contractors (just like in the movie). Places like Columbia, Pakistan, or Nigeria (which got a mention early in the film).

Overall, it was a very inspiring movie. It inspired me to A) have crazy fiber-optic tentacles coming out of my hair that could connect with other species and B) to take up with some forest-dwelling resistance movement in a country where the government-elite interests have become intertwined with our governments-elites' interests. Neither of those are very likely to happen, I guess, so I'll settle for just chilling with Japhy while the Magic beat the Celtics.

Futbol

I'm so pumped for World Cup! I'm glad there'll be something to go to after the Lakers win the Finals. Apparently, Kobe is looking forward to it, too. Don't believe me? Watch this (seriously effective) piece of Nike propaganda:


Maybe the best part is Wayne Rooney's beard after he's living alone in a trailer with only his failure. There's another commercial piggy-backing on that concept:

Interleague Play

When I was about 10 and first found out that there would soon be interleague play in baseball, I was excited about seeing the Dodgers play teams that they would have previously only met in the World Series. I pictured scoreboards that featured the Dodgers and the Orioles, or the Dodgers and the Royals. The seemingly-bizzare images in my head were just like the one above. The Tigers? In Dodger Stadium? It was just that sort of a random American League team that the Dodgers never encounter, that I rarely even think about, that I was so intrigued to see the Dodgers play. Yes, it will be exciting in a couple of weeks when the Yankees ("boo...") are in town. And yeah, the "rivaly" developed by playing the Angels in two series a year has added some interest for SoCal baseball fans. But I see those teams on TV all the time already, so when I was 10, being the baseball geek I was, I was most looking forward to match-ups with teams that it would be really strange to see. Like the Detroit Tigers. So, it was pretty awesome on Friday night to see all those Old English D's, with Dodger Stadium in the backgound. I could muster my 10 year-old awe at seeing Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Cabrera, and Jim Leyland with "Detroit" across their jerseys, playing against my team.
As an aside, seeing the Tigers made me think of that Disney movie "Tiger Town" starring the guy from "Jaws". I liked that movie, too, around the time I was 10. The only thing I really remember from that movie is how in the first scene, where their trying to set up how pathetic the Tigers have become, they show the main character swing at a pitch that hits him in the back. That seemed really sad. Just really terrible.

Nerdiness

Did you know that every black hole in our universe might be a doorway to another universe? Not only that, but our own universe may be what is merely a tiny side street accessible through one of the black holes in another universe. Thank you, National Geographic!

Seriously

How is Mos Def so cool? He just is, I guess.

All Good Things

I had a realization today. 2010 has the potential to go down as quite a bad year overall. If the Lakers don't end up making the Finals (which certainly seems possible at this point), it will be a disappointment. The Dodgers are looking pretty bad, and I honestly don't see a whole lot of improvement on the horizon. Meg Whitman is leading every poll for Governor, and is the odds-on-favorite to win in November. Our neighbor, Arizona, is leading the world in bad ideas! I guess whenever/wherever the stakes are high, there is potential for (seemingly-)huge failure.

It is, of course, possible that each of these situations will actually result in better-than-expected outcomes. But, Meg Whitman's scary, you know?

On the other hand, there is some good left in the world: The Dodgers sad, sad, road trip is ending; The Kobe-era Lakers showed that they are not over the hill (yet) last night; and California still isn't Arizona.

Now, Bruce tells it like it is:

What's wrong with Bills?

Chad Billingsley has not pitched that well so far this season. I don't think he's been quite as awful as some would say, but still, it is not what we need from a guy who just last summer was considered to be the NL starter in the All-Star game.

So what's wrong?

Memories of Kevin Malone has a really interesting (though technical) analysis. Most bizarre, I think, is how his pitch selection has changed over the years. As you can see (below) there has been a serious drop-off in his use of four-seam fastballs in favor of using a cutter or a slider nearly 50% of the time. Historically, he succeeded using these two pitches to vary from his highly effective four-seamer. Why is he doing this? I don't know, but I hope someone shows Joe Torre this chart and quick!

Confederate Teabaggers

There are people in America who want Sarah Palin to be President. Some of our compatriots don't believe that the earth is older than a few thousand years. Many of them think that our government is too large. They are taking to the streets in Teabag 'uprisings.' They think that our overgrown government spends too much money on "programs" and "special interests". Meanwhile, they also send their kids to public schools, get to work and church by driving on public roads and highways, live in relative comfort and safety with public police and firefighters, and know that their own freedom and that of their families has been earned and is preserved by the US military, by far the largest (and most expensive!) public institution in the history of the world. When they are interested in fueling their righty knowledge by reading a book like "The Wealth of Nations" or "Atlas Shrugged", they head to their public library and check it out for free.
One of their biggest complaints is that the government infringes on their liberties. These same provincialists want to determine what goes on between a woman and her doctor from their own remote locale somewhere in the middle of the country (far far from where most Americans actually live--and make such decisions--on the coasts).
And some of these folks are moronic, confederate-romanticizing jerks who think that post-Civil War American history is a story of the "Nawth" stealing the wealth of the South. The idea that taking anything using any degree of force from slaveowners in the South could ever be remotely wrong is just ludicrous, but the argument (see below) that Lincoln was basically conspiring to steal from the South is positively insane. These are basically the same teabagging people who want to keep our country far behind the curve as far as: health care, global warming, education, public infrastructure, economic recovery, etc. "Which horrible idiots?" you say. Oh, here's one now:



If someone is hanging teabags from their ears, they qualify as an official "teabagger". I think that's more than fair. But, seriously. These people suck. I'm tired of them getting to talk and everyone pretending like we have to care what garbage comes out of their mouths. Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinions. Yes, we are all free to express whatever crazy idea or belief we have--especially unpopular political ones. But, I really think we need to make one thing clear: Normal, sane, not-crazy America is a whole lot bigger than these Teaparty morons. AND we don't have to listen any more. For my own mental health, I'm going to try to stop listening to this crap. It's disturbingly interesting, I know, like seeing an accident on the freeway or something. But, like real accidents, the thought process here is just kinda gross. Apparently, it's so gross that it sometimes grosses out other drivers and causes minor fender-benders and the like, tying up our political traffic for a while.
Let's stop listening to their stupid ideas and their stupid arguments. We don't need to engage them. They have made this much obvious: they don't know what they're talking about.

Things that should have happened

Sometimes--especially when it comes to potential music pairings--there are things just seem like they would've been such a good idea, that they really should have happened. If only...

Happily, I discovered that one of those things that definitely should have happened at some point, actually did. The obviousness and brilliance of it, makes me feel a little embarrassed for ever having doubted it. So, I give you Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer:

Oooh, sick burn

"The last I checked, Sarah Palin is not much of an expert on nuclear issues."

Shine

On Spring Break this week. This is without a doubt the worst "vacation" experience I've ever had. I can't help but wish I had spent this week working.

Anyway, I've been actively combating my tendency to get down in such situations. I think I may have found the antidote:


"It's time to align your body with your mind--
It's hero time.
It's time to align your body with your mind--
It's time to shine."
"Hard times are getting harder.
The liars are acting strong.
You better get a grip on yourself
or you won't be around too long."

There's a reason for this internet meme:

Not a Hipster

This was posted on 1001 Rules for My Unborn Son a couple weeks ago. It's still awesome, though.

The Necessity of a Public Option

With DailyKos and others taking a big swipe at Dennis Kucinich (and reportedly getting him to change his vote), and with everyone on the progressive left going on and on about our shared disappointment in the Health Care bill, I am left revisiting thoughts I had last summer. Specifically, why is a public option so important? Don't get me wrong, I see the merits of a public option (especially if there is an insurance mandate)--and quite honestly, I'm with Kucinich and others in preferring a model that would include single-payer, but is it a deal-breaker (a la Tina Fey) if the bill doesn't include one? It shouldn't be.

Single-payer would be the most equitable and efficient system, and I'm disappointed that the (supposedly) Democratic leaders in Congress and the White House never seriously considered trying for it. A public option almost certainly would be better than nothing in that, if we aren't going to supplant for-profit health care, we can at least give it a dose of competition.

Still, I believe that the same objectives we seek in a public option could be met by using a tool which Democrats have been running away from since the 90s: Regulation. With a strong system of regulation, such as price-controls and eligibility requirements, we could achieve just about everything promised with a public option. Mind you, this system still falls far short of where single-payer would get us, but I think that relative to the public option, its a wash. It may even be better. If we are to merely rely on a public option to work its invisible hand in the "marketplace" that is human health, who really knows where it would lead. Certainly in an economy like the current one, I can envision a time when certain forces might work to undermine the publicly provided option financially. Many or most people would not be inclined to stand up for the public option in this scenario, because they wouldn't be a part of it in the first place. Where would we be then without any other regulatory force that we all depend on, and thus have an interest in protecting?

Why then, isn't regulation the emphasis of progressives and the left? Because since the Clinton era, the left has been so eager to prove its pro-market credentials that we've forgotten what we stand for. So, yes, the Public Option could be a tool to shame private insurance into more reasonable territory. But, short of single-payer, our aims should be on identifying the structural problems with our current health care system and creating legislation that fixes those problems. I think many aspects of the current bill do this--or at least get us closer to this type of an environment, and it should be supported on that basis.

Chuck Ragan

I can relate to this guy:

Them's fightin' words

Bring it on, Ayn Rand geeks!

"Even confined to a wheelchair, Franklin Roosevelt can defeat Ayn Rand."

TR and Health Care in the Early 20th Century

Basically I'm posting this because in spite of all the military involvement in the Philippines--and Cuba!--and Panama!--TR was still a pretty cool President. Besides, how cool is this?:

Lower the flags, Raise up the Earth

At 17, I would have loved this video...I think I still do. Strike Anywhere rocks!

State of the Health Care Bill

Ta-Nahesi Coates (a daily read of mine) posted his discussion with Ezra Klein about the status of the Health Care bill now that Kennedy's Senate seat has been lost. Klein does an excellent job of explaining why the (Senate version of the) bill was (and still is) worth supporting. While Klein describes it as "intellectually honest" for progressives to admit that we truly wish for a single-payer system and that the current bill isn't really what we'd dreamed of, he rightly insists that the potential improvements to our present system included in the bill are too great for us to pass up.

Although my own insurance situation will not be affected either way (bill or no bill), I can't shake the feeling that we are missing a historic opportunity to accomplish something momentous in terms of social justice and economic fairness.
Perhaps most frustrating is the thought that the Democrats are on the verge of dropping this completely simply because their huge majority in the Senate was diminished by just one seat. One f'n seat! They still have 59 seats in their caucus. Maybe I'm overestimating the discipline of the congressional GOP, but I'm pretty confident that if they had a 59 seat majority in the Senate, with an insane majority in the House, not to mention a doctrinaire Republican in the White House, and that if they were then on the verge of passing legislation that was pretty much a pillar of their party's agenda for a generation or two (say tax code reform, for example), they would not hesitate to ram it through. They would succeed. Sure, some Senate Democrats would threaten to filibuster, but in the end, they would pass their bill, the President would sign it, and they would all celebrate together at parties with their mistresses, while drinking bourbon, and joking about how easy it all was.
Why can't the Democrats accomplish things the same way? Is it a matter of will? Are they just a bunch of cowards? Or is it just that a significant proportion of elected Democrats aren't committed to social democratic or progressive ideals to begin with? If so, what the eff are they doing in our party?

16 again

Everytime I hear about Mumia Abu-Jamal, I feel like I'm 16 again---not necessarily in a good way. So confusing, I swear! Only, when I was 16 I didn't think it was confusing at all. But I think that's what adulthood's about, realizing that the world is a pretty complex place with very few simple answers (Occam's razor aside).

Orel Hershiser

True Blue LA has a pretty extensive piece describing the greatness of Orel Hershiser in the 80s. As I was reading through, I was struck by how hard is for me to believe there was a time when the Dodgers were so dominant. I mean, I know the facts: The Yankees had the most wins in the decade, but the Dodgers won the most World Series (2). Orel won the Cy Young award, not to mention SI's Sportsman of the Year Award in 88, too. Kirk Gibson was MVP that year. Fernandomania in 1981 (149 pitches in Game 3 of the WS!). It's just difficult to picture the Dodgers being something other than an obscure hobby that my family shares with...no one else I ever encounter.

What TBLA does in the Hershiser piece totally captures so much of what I love about baseball as a game: Yes, there are endless statistics and detail that can be broken down and analyzed so many ways for years and years, but it's combined with simple, beautifully romantic, and intrinsically American narrative. No wonder there are so many movies made about baseball.

Glenn Beck = Hannibal

Jon Stewart's coverage of the Glenn Beck-Sarah Palin interview almost makes one feel a little sympathy for the Alaskan Wolf-Hunter. Not quite, but almost.

40 Days

So, here I am watching the Lakers getting handled by the Spurs, and I decide to check on the Dodgers' Spring Training schedule. I have good news: There are just 40 Days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training on February 21, 2010.

I really want to get out to Glendale for at least one weekend in March. It didn't happen last year, but last year I talked about it all winter. This year, I hadn't even thought about it until it occurred to me a moment ago. Somehow that seems more promising.

Anyway, I'm pumped. Go Dodgers!

Economic Rights

Michael Lind boosts economic rights in his Salon column this week. Lind often refers to himself as a "New Deal Democrat", so it's fitting that the piece centers around the policies of FDR. The money is in the FDR quote:

"This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights ...As our nation has grown in size and stature, however -- as our industrial economy expanded -- these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness."

In addition to arguing for the extension of "economic citizenship" to the general populace, FDR rebuked the notion that economic rights should take priority over political rights and liberties, but in doing so underscored the point that without economic rights, citizens of a state are unlikely to truly enjoy said rights and liberties.

"We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. 'Necessitous men are not free men.' People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made." (emphasis mine)

With the news that Sarah Palin is getting her own show, FDR's words really stand out. I am concerned that we may be in a situation that is ripe for something like dictatorship. Not that Palin is herself a fascist or a dictator, but that sort of rabid tendency is there in her intended audience. Look: Palin, Tea-Parties, Glenn Beck, Minutemen, Lou Dobbs, etc. For all their rhetoric about "liberty" and retro "Don't tread on me" flags, there is an undeniably scary feel to the way they stand around with boogey-man signs of an African-American President, openly brandishing guns, endlessly blaming our country's troubles on immigrants, and rambling on about other baseless garbage (ie. death panels and the like).

With such a terrible economic situation, and a relatively tame government response (at least by FDR's standards), should we be surprised that so many have reacted this way? Right-wing crazies have always been with us (see: Slavery), they were quiet for a while, but now they are back big-time. The problem is, this time, they are getting quite a few more fans than just nuts like Timothy McVeigh.

What to do about this?
For one, this shouldn't just be about winning. It should be about creating a situation in which more people get a fairer share of the pie. More economic security, more political freedom, and a greater stake in preserving and protecting those securities for future generations. This is what the President should be working on. A newer New Deal. Then I'll call myself a "New New Deal Democrat".

Harry Reid

For once I agree with Michael Steele. If a Republican had said the same thing I would have referred to him as a racist until the day he died, and then forever after (see Strom Thurmond). I'm pretty surprised that (so far) Reid's getting a pass for this from all the important players.

I should emphasize though, we should never be surprised when racist comments slip out among powerful elected officials of either party. Yeah, the Democrats should be better on this, and to a certain degree, they run into this problem less often than than Republicans do. But don't forget how apparently common this sort of attitude is even among significant Democrats. Remember Joe Biden's "slip"?:

“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” he said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

Of course, Biden went on to be Obama's running mate and our eventual VP.

If the President can hear someone talk like that, and then make the guy his VP, how often has he heard similar comments in his life? It makes me sick to my stomach to think of how the President of the United States has heard so much of this garbage in his life that he's just numb to it. He just ignores it, when he probably wants to push them right off of Air Force One...or, at least give them a strong rebuke.

Point is, it should be considered unacceptable. Reid should pull his foot all the way out of his mouth and then step down as the Majority Leader.