I feel better

“Bored” young woman makes prank
calls to Grandmother 45 times in one
day, threatening to kill her.

I feel better today. I know most things are still not going very well, but I can’t help it. The Press conference today in Moscow between Obama and Medvedev seemed to me to go very well indeed. I realize much of it was for the camera but even so I think I detected a genuine aura of responsibility and trust that was refreshing after the poisonous eight years of Bush/Cheney. And there were, in fact, some positive accomplishments announced: the significant reductions in our respective nuclear armaments, Russian acquiescence to our use of their air space, agreements to convene and talk again, and so on. I have no idea how all of this will eventually play out but I must say that at the moment I am very pleased and I think Obama has done a truly remarkable job of diplomacy.

And how could I not be pleased that Al Franken, after eight months of nonsensical Republican footdragging, has finally made it to the U.S. Senate. While this does not guarantee 60 votes for every Democratic proposal it certainly will make it easier to get most things done. Those who criticize Franken for being a comedian I think fail to see his more serious and thoughtful side. He is not going there to entertain but to conduct serious business and I believe he will be a genuine asset to the Democratic Party.

I still have no idea why Sara Palin resigned so precipitously. I’m not sure anyone does, but of course there are all kinds of rumors floating around. One good sign, if you are a Palin despiser as I am, is that her attempt to bully Alaskan bloggers with threats of lawsuits is falling on deaf ears. Indeed, they seem to want her to sue them so they can potentially reveal even more about some of her questionable behavior. I confess I cannot stand her, and the very idea that there are people in the U.S. that would consider her Presidential I find terrifying. I do think (or at least hope) she is finished as a potential candidate, but that does not mean that the right-wingers will not pay her exorbitant speaking fees and keep giving her exposure. That’s fine with me, as the more exposure she gets the more she comes across as another Republican ignoramus, or worse. I find it interesting that no one has suggested Boener for a candidate for President. I guess he is too idiotic even for the Republicans. That is quite an accomplishment

There is an unusually fine article on Buzzflash today, by Carmen Yarusso, on why the phony and useless “War on Drugs” needs to be ended. I think he makes the case very clear as to what is wrong with this misguided attempt to too tightly regulate human nature and behavior. Unfortunately, he also spells out why there will be unrelenting and powerful opposition to doing anything so sensible. There are too many people and organizations dependent upon the billions of wasted funds to want to see it abolished. This is the U.S., after all, we don’t do sensible things here. And we have long since abandoned doing anything “in the public interest.” Corporate interests are another thing entirely, as has become indisputably obvious.

If the Democrats cannot pass a Universal Health Care Bill (with a public option), with a supermajority in Congress, a sympathetic President, and a majority of the American people in favor of it, we might as well just throw in the towel and start sending our checks directly to the Insurance Companies. It is now said that the Health Care Lobby has hired 350 lobbyists, most with personal ties to members of Congress, and is spending 1.4 million dollars a day to prevent a public option. Insurance companies are totally unnecessary for a decent and sensible health care policy, indeed, they are absolutely parasitical. As this is true, it is no wonder they are willing to spend so much to maintain their status quo. As I said above, this is the U.S.A., we don’t do sensible things here. Let’s face it, the days when our elected officials acted in the public interest are history, a history that does not seem about to repeat itself. If the corporate elite that now controls the world cannot be overcome we can resign ourselves to serfdom, a history that might well repeat itself. The slogan “Power to the people,” has now become identified as socialism, and you know what that means…or do you?

LKBIQ:
We have among us a class of mammon worshippers, whose one test of conservatism or radicalism is the attitude one takes with respect to accumulated wealth. Whatever tends to preserve the wealth of the wealthy is called conservatism, and whatever favors anything else, no matter what is called socialism.
Richard T. Ely

TILT:
The Black Plague is believed to have originated somewhere in the steppes of Asia.