Oooh, nuance!

let's do West Virginia by the numbers. Here we go!

67% to 26%.

41 points was the final margin of Hillary Clinton's blowout victory in West Virginia. John Edwards got 7% despite no longer being in the race...so if we split those voters equally between Obama and Clinton (for lack of a more informed way of doing it), Clinton gets 70.5% to Obama's 29.5%.

At this point in the campaign, for the "underdog" to beat the "presumptive nominee" by 41 points is absolutely unheard of. I hope this puts an end to Obama's insulting and outrageous plan to proclaim himself the nominee on May 20th. (I doubt it will, though; Obama will proceed, in his usual tone-deaf manner, to ignore and dismiss that portion of the electorate which did not vote for him.) No one is the nominee until August. Even John McCain hasn't declared HIMSELF the nominee, and he's more than 1100 delegates ahead of Mike Huckabee!

2,209.

That's the real "magic number" of delegates each candidate must win to be declared the nominee. This number includes the delegates of Michigan and Florida, which should be seated at the convention as is, at this point.

Let's be very clear on this issue. The DNC changed the rules to strip all of Florida and Michigan's delegates AND ignore the popular vote. (The original rule was simply to strip 50% of the delegates.) This was purely on the insistence of Donna Brazile, an Obama superdelegate who holds a prominent position on the DNC Rules Committee. There was absolutely no reason to do this except to game the system to promote Senator Obama. There was also no reason for anyone to remove his or her name from the MI ballot except to make the inevitable winner, Senator Clinton, appear illegitimate. Edwards and Obama removed their names for exactly that reason.

After months of Obama blocking every effort to count the delegates or allocate them in any sort of fair way, it's time to just give up and seat them as they are. As Howard Wolfson stated last night, it's the right thing to do to count the votes of 2.5 million Democrats. And, it's the smart thing to do. You don't tell two key swing states that you don't need their votes. They might just take you at their word in November.

75% of HRC supporters won't vote for Obama, 62% of Obama supporters won't vote for Clinton in West Virginia.

The response from the Obama campaign? An attempt to steal her spotlight with an Obama stump speech from Missouri. (Translation: I AM teh Nominee! Pay no attention to those low-information, bitter, clinging folks in West Virginia! I am campaigning for teh General Election! Bow before teh great Obama!) A claim from Bob Casey, Obama superdelegate, last night on CNN: "They'll get over it." A congratulatory message from Obama on Hillary's cell phone.

La la la la la, I can't HEAR YOU!

The response from the Clinton campaign? A great victory speech that complimented Obama, credited him with values he has not demonstrated, and focused on their united goals for the Democratic Party.

Need we really say who is focusing on dividing the Party and winning at any cost? Who is determined to ignore the voters and cheat his way to the nomination? Who is truly unable to reach out to people he does not agree with and find common cause with them?

Zero.

That's the amount of influence the corporate media has on the American voters at this point. I keep saying this, but people don't believe me. No one watches cable news. No one trusts the TeeVee to tell them what's going on any more. People look at the candidates and read the papers and make their own decisions.

It's a good thing in my opinion. Maybe, seeing the results from West Virginia, we can somehow get the new President and Congress to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine and revive the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to break up media ownership into smaller pieces again. (Bob Somerby at the Daily Howler must be typing his brains out today trying to document the media atrocities from last night.)

75%.

That's the amount of West Virginians who believe that Obama shares the views
of Reverend Wright to some degree. I told you that Wright makes Obama unelectable..and I believe the Wright factor accounts for the most frightening number of all:

100%.

That's the number of West Virginia counties Obama lost last night.

One.

Hundred.

Percent.

May I remind you that it's been 92 years since a Democrat won the White House without winning West Virginia in the General Election? What would you say the odds are of Obama winning West Virginia in November are at this point?

I may like to play the slots, but even I know that's a sucker bet.

The Democratic Party ignores these numbers at their peril. Do we really love the beautiful loser so much that we will select him as the nominee? Or do we love our country enough to choose the one person who can lift us out of the Bush Reign of Error, despite the fact that she has a scary, scary vagina, and is named Clinton?

Tune in again soon for...As the Democrats Turn!

As the fallout from the Reverend Wright show continues, I find myself thinking once again about our American two-party political system. And once again, I conclude that it is robbing us of a rich variety of possible candidates and viewpoints.

We progressive-liberal-commie pinko types are always complaining that no candidate really represents our interests. Well, believe it or not, I hear that from conservative and independent types, too. Or do we really think that most Republicans are happy with Mr. 28% Job Approval? And what about their Congresscritters, who, if we watch C-SPAN, appear to have the collective intelligence of styrofoam? At this point, no one is happy, because the Big Tents of Republicans and Democrats are, well, too big. Trying to grow large enough to make it fit tends to bloat our candidates and make them slow and sleepy. You know, like eating too many carbs at lunch.

Just imagine if there were a proportional representation system in this country, and we had multiple parties representing various constituencies. Oh, I know that we would all still be complaining, but at least we would know that our representatives actually, you know, believed what we did and were pushing our agenda in Congress. Wouldn't that be loverly? And even better, the fringier portions of our electorate would only make up a fringie-ish part of our Congress. Yes, I'm talking to you, rightwing wackos!

Let's apply this to Barack Obama and his controversial pastor, Reverend Wright. Suppose there were a Black Liberation Party (the "BLP"), for example, that consisted of African Americans that subscribe to the views of Pastor Wright, which he classifies as Black Liberation Theology on the TUCC website. Should Senator Obama choose to be a member of that party, he would not have to renounce his pastor, mentor and friend of 20 years in order to run for office. He could simply state that he was a member of the BLP, and whoever ascribed to those views would vote for him. Presto-change-o, no pandering, no pretending. WYSIWYG.

Now, would these views make him eligible for the office of the President of the United States? I don't think so, personally, but if he could get enough votes as a representative of the BLP, then so be it!

This type of system only works if we put several other reforms in place as well. So, since I am borrowing Hillary's Queen of the Universe powers for the day, I hereby decree that:

1. Proportional representation now exists in America.
2. All elections are now publicly funded. Yes, you'd have to pay an extra $20 a year on your taxes. Get over it. Think of how much less time your representative would have to spend on the phone raising money from evil oil and insurance companies. Why, they might even be able to get some work done!
3. All candidates running for national office (President or Congresscritter) get equal, limited teevee time for advertising. The networks would provide it for free, in recompense for their use of the public airwaves to broadcast their mostly mindless drivel.
4. All political parties are legitimate if they can meet certain criteria. Let's say, X number of signatures and X number of meetings per year. (At last, we would see what real far-left liberals look like. Those words do not mean what Bill O'Reilly thinks they mean.)
5. Finally, there are no more primaries, caucuses, delegates, superdelegates or national conventions when we vote for President. Let the people have their say. There will be one national election weekend, and instant run-off voting will decide the winning ticket. Largest amount of votes = President. Second largest = Vice President. Bada bing, bada boom, Betty Boop.

Now, there is a danger that this new system could get a bit messy. (Notice my hitherto unseen gift for understatement.) But dammit, real democracy IS MESSY, but vibrant. Wouldn't that be better than messy, but decrepit?

I say let's go for change that is not just an empty slogan. Power to the people!

and Central Park looks like this. (The photo is from the Central Park Conservancy, an excellent place to donate a few bucks if you're so inclined.)

Let's all think positive thoughts today, and I hope the weather is lovely in your part of the world.

This campaign must be making me sick...anyway, here's some good news that does not involve Election 2008.

Yes, you can be pro-peace AND pro-Israel. Just meet me on...J Street.

J Street represents Americans, primarily but not exclusively Jewish, who support Israel and its desire for security as the Jewish homeland, as well as the right of the Palestinians to a sovereign state of their own - two states living side-by-side in peace and security. We believe ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in the best interests of Israel, the United States, the Palestinians, and the region as a whole.

J Street supports diplomatic solutions over military ones, including in Iran; multilateral over unilateral approaches to conflict resolution; and dialogue over confrontation with a wide range of countries and actors when conflicts do arise. For more on our policy positions, click here.

J Street will advocate forcefully in the policy process, in Congress, in the media, and in the Jewish community to make sure public officials and community leaders clearly see the depth and breadth of support for our views on Middle East policy among voters and supporters in their states and districts. We seek to complement the work of existing organizations and individuals that share our agenda. In our lobbying and advocacy efforts, we will enlist individual supporters of other efforts as partners.

Good for them. It's about time some rational voices countered the extreme right-wing influence of AIPAC on American politics.

Such a mitzvah!

Okay, I admit it - I'm a fool for Tolkien, and the billion-hour extended DVD versions of the LOTR movies are beyond delicious. This weekend, my husband and I took some time off from our taxes and endless apartment work to watch some of the series.

All I could think of as I watched the misshapen Orcs toiling in a Mordor that resembled a nuclear wasteland, as I watched Saruman willingly turn his beautiful home of Isengard into a smoking hole, was Bush, Cheney, Rove, and the modern conservative movement.

In my mind, we humans are in the same desperate case as Tolkien's fictional Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits. The craze for industry, without a thought to its effects on the world's natural beauty and resources, has polluted and destroyed much of our planet. The ice shelves in the Antarctic are starting to crack and melt, raising the possibility of the sea level rising several feet and drowning major American cities. Of course, the endless strife we have caused and exacerbated in the Middle East, has done its share of destruction as well. Besides the bombing of "shock and awe," we have also been poisoning the lands and people (including our own soldiers) with depleted uranium.

As a person who is not caught up in the elaborate Orwellian fictions of today's conservatism, you have to sit back and marvel. How can anyone see the results of this philosophy all around them - tens of millions in poverty, war that never ends, an environment turning blacker and uglier by the day - and still feel comfortable with the Mordor-ization of their world? Do they want to be nothing but Orcs, never achieving their full humanity, slaving away at dead-end jobs, living in filth and squalor, and being thrown into the grinder of the military machine whenever their Dark Lord deems it necessary?

The answer is simple. As John Dean points out in his invaluable book "Conservatives Without Conscience," today's conservative already sees the world as an ugly and essentially evil place. Human beings are not noble, they're sinners and fatally flawed. Thus, there is no hope for a better world. The religious conservatives, indeed, are actively trying to bring about Armageddon, in the hope that Jesus will return and Rapture the true believers into Heaven. In their case, the more destruction, the better. Praise the Lord!

No wonder we non-conservatives have been so despondent for the past 28 years (with a small eight-year respite during the Clinton Presidency). We are seeing the darkness of the conservative mind take shape all around us. Yet, like the characters in the Tolkien books, we are late and slow in taking action, and the Shadow appears to be too strong to be defeated. Many are taking the Elvish route of non-involvement, whereas others have joined the Enemy out of a lust for power and wealth.

Yet we must not despair, for the Shadow can never win. The forces of creation and renewal will always triumph over the forces of destruction. So it has always been, and so it shall ever be - as long as we are committed to defeating the darkness.

We do have hopes and dreams and plans for a better future, for we are liberals and progressives and moderates and independents, and we don't want to live in the Land of Mordor. And though we may suffer greatly at the hands of Bush, Cheney and their enablers all over the world, in the end, if we fight for our country and our globe, we will triumph.

Peace and love be with you today, and always.

It's Johann Sebastian Bach's birthday today. My recommendation? Listen to some of Bach's beautiful music and allow it to pick up your spirits, even if you're observing Good Friday.

We can't be sad and intense every day. Bach may have written The St. Matthew Passion, but he also wrote The Coffee Cantata.

Hopeful Wooooooohooooooo!

Tucker Carlson, the formerly bowtied, banal Face of Evil at MSNBC, will apparently be fired today.

I don't know the person who is quoted on the possible reasons for the buh-bye, but Mr. Alex Blaze certainly has a way with words.

"Maybe MSNBC has realized that swinging to the Right to try and shake out Fox News for viewers isn't a winning strategy," opines The Bilerico Project's Alex Blaze. "Or maybe they realized that at least half their commentators should accept the reality that white men aren't oppressed. Or maybe they think that people don't want to watch a bully wannabe talk about his fun days of beating up [gays]. Or maybe they got tired of his history of abusing the rules of logic, evidence, and reality."

May I add to that excellent summation?

Perhaps MSNBC looked at Rachel Maddow, then looked at Tucker, then looked at Rachel again and said, "Hmmmmm....who are people really liking and respecting on this show?"

We don't know who will replace him, or what format the show will take, but I'm optimistic as always, and I'm hoping it's La Maddow. Despite her recent Obamania, she's still one of the most intelligent and insightful liberal/progressive political commentators around; and it sure would be nice to see more of them on my teevee.

WoooooooHoooooo!

CHICAGO - Nearly two years after taking control of Congress, the Democrats have claimed another prize by capturing former GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert's seat - a development that Republicans say is not a harbinger of things to come.

The longtime Republican district fell to the Democrats Saturday when wealthy scientist and businessman Bill Foster snatched the seat in a closely watched special election.

While Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen predicted Foster's win would send out a "political shock wave," Republicans were quick to downplay its significance.

"The one thing 2008 has shown is that one election in one state does not prove a trend," National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Karen Hanretty said in a statement.

[What's that scent you're wearing, Karen? Ah yes. Desperation, by W. Smells like flop sweat and Jack Daniels.]

Republicans had been hoping to hold on to the district that President Bush easily carried in 2004 with 55 percent of the vote. The district runs from Chicago's far western suburbs to almost the Mississippi River.

Foster defeated wealthy Republican businessman Jim Oberweis by capturing 53 percent of the nearly 100,000 votes cast in the election.

"Tonight our voices are echoing across the country and Washington will hear us loud and clear, it's time for a change," Foster told cheering supporters.

Well, I'm not so sure that Washington will hear anything. That bubble is mighty thick.

But this November, if we do the smart thing, that bubble is going to burst once and for all. Can you say "Permanent Republican Minority?"

I knew you could.

ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease let this be true.

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton hinted at the possibility of a democratic "dream ticket" with Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking on the Early Show on CBS, Clinton said "that may be where this is headed, but we have to decide who is on the top of the ticket." Clinton said the race between her and Obama remains "incredibly close," with just "smidgens of difference" between them.

With Clinton's wins in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island last night, I think her argument that she can win big states and swing states is pretty persuasive. Of course, Obama's charisma and his ability to bring new voters and fresh enthusiasim to the party should not be underestimated either. And I don't think anyone wants the superdelegates to decide this thing for either candidate.

Will the Democratic Party do the smart thing for once? Will our strong, persuasive, intelligent candidates get together and become one unstoppable force - dubbed by the fabulous Res Ipsa Loquitur as "Clobama"?

Ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease....

because we're finally moving back to Manhattan on Thursday!

But meanwhile, the healing power of music is recognized everywhere - even in North Korea.

The New York Philharmonic arrived in North Korea Monday, becoming the most prominent American cultural institution to visit the isolated, nuclear-armed country.

North Korea made unprecedented accommodations for the orchestra, allowing a delegation of nearly 300 people, including musicians, staff and journalists to fly into Pyongyang on a chartered plane for 48 hours.

The Philharmonic's concert Tuesday will be broadcast live on North Korea's state-run TV and radio, unheard of in the impoverished country, where events are carefully choreographed to bolster the personality cult of leader Kim Jong Il.

[snip]

[Zarin] Mehta told reporters Monday before leaving Beijing that politics was not part of the trip. "We are going to do master classes, we'll do chamber music, rehearsals ... that's what we're there for. Politics is not our game, we play music," he said.

To me, one of the most wonderful things about music - and art in general - is its ability to transcend the differences between us and to bring our commonalities to the surface. All humans feel love, pain, anger and joy, and music exquisitely amplifies those feelings into an emotionally powerful shared experience.

May the Philharmonic and the people of North Korea share the gift of music together, and may it be a small step towards unity and away from the divisive Bush Doctrine.

I admit it - I love real-ish shows like "Flip This House," "While You Were Out" and "Trading Spaces." I would just adore having the money and time to be able to take a run-down house, or a boring room, and make it into something gorgeous and special.

In a somewhat related vein, I've watched the new show "My First Home" a few times. Of course, I routinely want to kill myself afterwards, since all of the prospective homeowners are paying prices that wouldn't get you a hamster cage in New York...but it's still interesting and somewhat inspiring to see people find a great place to live for their families.

I knew this from my own search for a new home, but it's somewhat comforting to discover that it's never easy. Take the case of the woman who starred in the last episode I watched. A single mom with two kids living in Atlanta, she was a renter with bad credit who felt it was time to have her own home.

For six months, she scrimped and saved to pay down her credit card bills and improve her credit score. She cut out all but basic cable, started driving less, and bought fewer toys and clothes for the kids. She even moved into a friend's house so she wouldn't have to pay rent. After all of these commendable efforts, she was ready to begin her search.

And search she did. She saw 30 homes in her price range. Meanwhile, months and months had gone by, and her kids had to start school again in their old district - for their sake, she had hoped to find a home during the summer so they could begin the year in a new school - and she began to despair that she would never find a home that met her criteria.

Finally, her Realtor showed her the 31st home. It was perfect! She made an offer to the Seller, was accepted, and after many Closing Date changes, finally purchased her new home in Atlanta, Georgia. Wanna cry, Northeasterners and Californians? She got a new construction, three-bedrom, two-bathroom, 1600-square foot home with a huge fenced yard for $128,000. (This is the point at which I always desperately remind myself that I heart New York.)

The last piece of the show was the woman saying she was very proud of herself because, as a single mom, she had bought her first home "all on her own."

Well, I felt like someone had just told me I shoulda had a V-8. All on her own, was it? Not so fast, honey!

This lucky lady's friend was kind enough to let her and her kids live rent-free for more than six months. Her Realtor was patient enough to show her 31 houses, and when her Closing Date was rescheduled for the umpteenth time, took the time to persuade the Seller to allow his client to occupy the house pre-Closing. The Seller also agreed to pay her closing costs and down payment. (I've never heard of that happening.) Finally, she was able to get an FHA loan from the government, which allows 97% financing for first-time home buyers.

I'm not saying this woman shouldn't have been proud of her accomplishment, but I really think her attitude is too symptomatic of Americans' in general. We have this myth in America of the loner, the cowboy, the man who needs nothing from others and does everything himself. In some ways, it's a malignant myth, because it keeps us from realizing that no one gets anywhere without the help of others, seen or unseen.

In the case of the heroine of "My First Home," without her Realtor, her friend and the federal government, she never would have owned that wonderful house. In the 21st century, I hope that Americans will finally understand that no person is an island, and that without joining together with ourselves and the rest of the world, we will never own that wonderful future we all need and deserve.

The survival of our planet depends upon it.

It's Friday - or as I would call it today, "F-day" - and just as in the "Electric Company" days of my youth, I am honoring the letter "F", which played such a big role in the events of yesterday and this week.

My Friends, as the McMaverick would say, let us begin.

"F" is for FISA, Filibuster, Fearmongering, Fuck You and Finally.

The letter "F" served quintuple duty in Congress this week. FISA loomed large on the horizon, as the Senate, after holding the line for months and staging Filibusters to stop telecom/Bushie immunity from being included, realized that Bush's Fearmongering would make it impossible to keep immunity out of the bill. So, the Senate agreed to pass immunity and allow the House to review the bill.

Now, the House had already passed another bill, the Protect America Act, in August, and that bill did not include telecom/Bushie immunity. That bill expires at midnight tonight, at which point, the old FISA bill takes effect. No immunity in that one either. In a spectacular Fuck You to the Deciderer, Speaker Pelosi and the House decided not only to avoid extending the PAA, which Bush had promised to veto in any case, but to take Congress out of session for the next two weeks. As House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes stated, "We'll be Fine." On the same day, the House also passed criminal contempt charges on Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten, who had illegally ignored their subpoenas to testify before Congress on Bush's orders.

FINALLY! At least for now, Congress is Firmly standing up to the Unitary Executive theory, and reasserting its status as a co-equal branch of government. Let us keep our Fingers crossed, and keep sending those emails and Faxes in support of our newly-vertebrate Congresscritters.

"F" is for Fascist.

In a brilliant Special Comment last night, Keith Olbermann spoke these words to the Cheerleader-In-Chief:

It is bad enough, sir, that you were demanding an ex post facto law that could still clear the AT&Ts and the Verizons from responsibility for their systematic, aggressive and blatant collaboration with your illegal and unjustified spying on Americans under this flimsy guise of looking for any terrorists who are stupid enough to make a collect call or send a mass e-mail.

But when you demanded it again during the State of the Union address, you wouldn’t even confirm that they actually did anything for which they deserved to be cleared.

“The Congress must pass liability protection for companies believed to have assisted in the efforts to defend America.”

Believed? Don’t you know? Don’t you even have the guts Dick Cheney showed in admitting they did collaborate with you? Does this endless presidency of loopholes and fine print extend even here? If you believe in the seamless mutuality of government and big business, come out and say it! There is a dictionary definition, one word that describes that toxic blend.

You’re a fascist — get them to print you a T-shirt with fascist on it! What else is this but fascism?...

In the same comment, Keith also excoriated the Fascists in the House, who, standing up bravely AGAINST the rule of law and Fearlessness, staged a walk-out.

And your minions like John Boehner, your Republican congressional crash dummies who just happen to decide to walk out of Congress when a podium-full of microphones await them, they should just keep walking, out of Congress and, if possible, out of the country.

For they and you, sir, have no place in a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

The lot of you are the symbolic descendants of the despotic middle managers of some banana republic to whom “freedom” is an ironic brand name, a word you reach for when you want to get away with its opposite.

This "Special Comment" was a clarion call, louder and more powerful than ever when backed up by the actions of a suddenly emboldened Congress. In addition, it was a masterpiece of Framing - a strong blow in the battle to Call Things Aright, which the traditional media has not done for a long, long time.

Yes, the "F" reigned supreme this week. May there be more Fearlessness, Finally and Fuck You to come.

In a weird way, this gives me hope for America.

Our nation is in such bad shape, but if we don't give up, if we keep fighting against seemingly impossible odds, we can bring about true change, no matter how hopeless it seems.

May I quote "Galaxy Quest?"

Never give up. Never surrender!

Congratulations to the greatest team in football, the New York Giants!

When we progressives in Real-World-Land hear about something awful happening in DC-Land, like Judge Michael Mukasey's nomination and confirmation as Attorney General, we are perfectly within our rights to let our representatives know our feelings about that something. I did, and I don't regret it.

However, sometimes - all right, probably more than sometimes - we don't know the whole story behind why our representatives are doing those things they do. I do think that our government should be much more transparent and that these deals should be out in the open, but realistically, I don't when or if that's going to happen - it certainly won't while Bush and his thugs are in power. Given this story that broke yesterday, I think I may have an idea why my Senator, Chuck Schumer, recommended Judge Mukasey in the first place, and continued to support him in the face of mounting party and public disapproval.

The Justice Department has reopened a long-dormant inquiry into the government's warrantless wiretapping program, a major policy shift only days into the tenure of Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

The investigation by the department's Office of Professional Responsibility was shut down last year, after the investigators were denied security clearances. Gonzales told Congress that President Bush, not he, denied the clearances.

"We recently received the necessary security clearances and are now able to proceed with our investigation," H. Marshall Jarrett, counsel for the OPR, wrote to Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y. A copy of the letter, dated Tuesday, was obtained by The Associated Press.

Hinchey and other Democrats have long sought an investigation into the spying program to see if it complies with the law. Efforts to investigate the program have been rebuffed by the Bush administration.

"I am happily surprised," Hinchey said. "It now seems because we have a new attorney general the situation has changed. Maybe this attorney general understands that his obligation is not to be the private counsel to the president but the chief law enforcement officer for the entire country."

The Democratically-controlled Senate and House have long been stymied by AG Gonzales' refusal to enforce their subpoenas and ensure compliance with their requests for documents vital to continuing investigations.

Without the backing of the supposedly apolitical Justice Department, the Senate and House have been all bark and no bite. In my opinion, since Gonzales' forced resignation, the Democrats have been waiting to proceed on how best to deal with the Bush Administration's lawless behavior until they could get an AG in office who would actually, you know, enforce the law.

Perhaps - just perhaps - AG Mukasey will do just that.

Woo-Freaking-Hoo!!!

Democrats wrested control of the Senate from the Republicans in yesterday's legislative elections, picking up the four seats they needed to give them a majority of at least 21 to 19 and end a decade of GOP dominance in the chamber.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) claimed victory in a celebration at Tysons Corner. The Republicans retained control of the House, but the Democrats also gained seats there. The party's surge will help the governor advance much of his agenda during his last two years in office, including investing more in education, health and the environment.

"It's an exciting time," Kaine said in interview. "It enables me to get even more done."

It appears that even incumbents in Southern states aren't safe any more.

Politically wounded and unable to find a compelling message to voters, Gov. Ernie Fletcher failed to win a second four-year term as Kentuckians overwhelmingly swept Democrat Steve Beshear into office Tuesday.

Beshear, a lieutenant governor and attorney general in the 1980s, completed an unlikely political comeback by winning the governor’s office — a position he sought unsuccessfully 20 years ago.

He defeated Fletcher by about 17 percentage points, according to unofficial returns.

The Fascists, thanks to their oh-so-brilliant strategy of playing only to their extreme rightwing base, are finally starting to achieve the permanent minority status they so richly deserve.

It's a good day.

As I walked through the streets of my town over the weekend, I saw signs advertising an event to memorialize the attacks of September 11th, 2001. I immediately thought, "Why?"

Is there any American, anywhere, that does not remember 9/11? Of course not. The events of that day have been forever burned into our minds by a media and administration bent on keeping us terrified and submissive to their anti-American, fascist, neo-con agendas. Using 9/11 as a cudgel, Bush and his cabal have beaten our plowshares into swords and our Constitution into pulp.

What we need to do is FORGET 9/11. Or at least, put it into some perspective - yes, we were attacked by a terrorist, a non-state actor, but it has happened before, and we responded with appropriate, law-enforcement measures. I understand that 3,000 Americans were killed, and it is a tragedy. But did we really have the right to use our outrage and grief to justify acts of atrocity - shock and awe, Abu Ghraib, hundreds of thousands of dead civilians, depleted uranium - against a nation that never attacked us? Meanwhile, George Bush has killed more Americans than Osama bin Laden.

Does anyone remember the exact day the World Trade Center was bombed during the Clinton years? No. We do remember that the perpetrators that were known at the time, were caught and are imprisoned for life.

But we cannot forget 9/11. The World Trade Center site remains unhealed. Osama Bin Laden remains uncaught. And Al Qaeda is stronger than ever, thanks to our moronic neo-conservative intervention in Iraq and our failure in Afghanistan. Let's not forget that other, non-nuclear nations in the Middle East, like Iran, are now desperately trying to prevent us from attacking them by rushing to speed up their nuclear programs. Can you really blame them, when Bush and Cheney have their fingers on the proverbial button?

No, we don't need to remember 9/11. We need to remember who we were before 9/11, when our foreign policy was focused on diplomacy, and our domestic policy was focused, for the most part, on improving the lives of working Americans, rather than turning billionaires into trillionaires. We need to take back our country for the pre-9/11 thinkers. Only then will we join other nations in moving towards a freer, more progressive, more peaceful 21st century.

There may be an upside to Senator Craig's recent public disgrace and resignation - it shows that the outrage over his gayness is coming almost exclusively from the Republics and their followers.

Which means that most of the population DOESN'T CARE ABOUT TEH GAY.

The reaction to Democratic New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey's public coming-out was, as reported at the time, a collective shrug. Overwhelmingly, New Jersey residents felt his sexuality was his business - what they were upset about was the fact that he was using his power as Governor to reward his lover with a highly-paid job for which the lover was not qualified.

Of course, New Jersey is a liberal state, but national statistics on gay rights issues are encouraging. After all, we all know someone who's gay, and we all love someone who's gay, whether we know it or not.

It seems that Americans are starting to realize that ostracizing and punishing people for being themselves is NOT a moral value. And that might just be a silver lining.