Change Is In the Air...Just Read It

President Obama's inaugural speech today was compelling, poignant, and hard-hitting. He gave no quarter for the policies of George W. Bush, and succinctly laid out the challenges and opportunities before this country. I was skeptical before hearing it, but the speech put me at ease in these troubled times. It's a speech that doesn't need to be dissected at this point, so here it is in its entirety:

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My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

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Morning in America

Our long national nightmare is partially over. Today, my Bush Countdown Clock hit zero, Barack Hussein Obama II was inaugurated the 44th President of the United States, and for the first time in my life, I'm proud to call somebody my President.

Some might call me a political curmudgeon. It's easy to despise George W Bush, widely considered America's worst President in history. We've all lived the past 8 years of war, economic and environmental ruin, and abrogation of our Constitution.

Bush's reign of error caused a lot of people to long for the days of Bill Clinton. I call bullshit on that. It's too easy to love a scoundrel when you don't notice that he's violating you, and Clinton violated us repeatedly by doing far more to implement the Reagan agenda than Ronald Reagan ever did. Think about all of the worker & consumer protections we lost during the Bush era...think about the market fundamentalist policies that led to the long, steady decline of the American Middle Class...those policies were supported and further implemented by Bill Clinton, assisted by the Republican Congress of 1994-2006. DLC Democrats like Clinton share the blame with their troglodyte Republican counterparts for the woe we now face.

George H. W. Bush was inept (like his son), corrupt (like his son), and just plain evil. Never let a man who loves pork rinds, hates broccoli, and used to be the head of the Secret Police run your country. Why is it that every time a man named Bush becomes President, the economy goes to shit, and lots of innocent people die? Enough said.

Reagan, also known as Grandpa Caligula, has been canonized in the years since he died. And it's crap. Reagan hurt working people, wasted our national treasure on war toys and military contracts for his benefactors, and started the right's efforts to vilify anyone to the left of Hitler, working mothers, and non-Christians. He also violated the law...repeatedly...and got away with it. If we need to pin the start of America's decline, Reagan's election victory of 1980 may well be it.

Jimmy Carter...what can I say? The best ex-President America has ever had. Too bad he was a failure as a leader. Another reason to never let a Fundamentalist Christian run the country.

Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon. If for no other reason, that puts him down as a villain in my history book.

Finally, we come to the man who was President when I was born...the infamous Richard Milhouse Nixon. Need we recount this man's assault on our democracy? Watergate was just the tip of the iceberg. His history has been beaten to death, especially in comparison to George Dubya. I used to think that I'd rather have a dumb fascist in the White House than a smart fascist...now I'm not so sure.

So there you have it: the long, sordid history of fang-dripping, bought-and-paid-for occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave that have sown their terror on the American people during my lifetime. Not a one I was proud to call my leader. And now that's changed. America's President is now a somewhat progressive, fiercely intelligent, relatively uncorrupted and honest black man with a funny-sounding name that makes xenophobes cringe. The racists are hot and bothered, their designates in the GOP in dissarray. It's time for change to come to America.

Is the Polish Coming Off?

I'm a little concerned. Obama seems to be putting a disproportionate number of former Clintonites in his cabinet. He's apparently tapped Eric Holder to be Attorney General, and he may be looking at Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. This was supposed to be an election about change. These people do not represent change.

How Christian Fundamentalist Bigots "Think"

I'll start this one by saying that Phyllis Schlafly is a fucking idiot. I repeat: Phyllis Schlafly is a fucking idiot. We all know that. She's a fundamentalist troglodyte who'd like to see adulterers stoned to death in public, and non-Christians executed for their views. But I can't help reading her occasionally for a laugh. Her "analysis" of the 2008 election borders on lunatic fringe:

...The women who cast off husbands look to Big Brother Government to support them. They vote for the party that promises more benefits from the Welfare State...

...the feminists achieved unilateral divorce on demand from state legislatures, unilateral abortion on demand from the courts, and unilateral control over children in the welfare class by taxpayer handouts to women that made husbands and fathers unnecessary.

The feminists have continued their campaign against marriage through Joe Biden's favorite legislation, the Violence Against Women Act, which provides a billion dollars a year to feminist centers to promote divorce and oppose reconciliation.

Is Phyllis smoking crack? I'm serious: has she developed a drug problem? Or is she just tying a rubber hose around her common sense and shooting up with Jesus™?

America's Ugly Side Comes Out

Barack Obama's victory last week was certainly historic. As much as most of America is lauding the first black man elected President, this cathartic election has brought out some very ugly incidents:

In Midland, Mich., a man dressed in full Ku Klux Klan regalia walked around toting a handgun and waving an American flag. Initially denying it, the man eventually admitted to police that the display was a reaction to the Obama victory. “[The man] had a concealed weapon permit and was walking up and down the sidewalk in front of a vehicle dealership while some motorists shouted obscenities at him and others shouted accolades," police told The Saginaw News.

Ugly indeed...and a black mark for the advocates of conceal-carry permits. Those KKK robes hide firearms quite well. More from the cracker files:

One North Carolina man who flew his flag upside-down claimed that voters were racist, electing Obama because of his skin color, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. “The flag is stretched upside-down between two poles in a field, with a black X running from end to end. The X is a reference to the Confederate flag, said flag-owner Tony Heath. It reflects his belief that the Confederate flag has been unfairly targeted for protest by people trying to be politically correct,” the Journal reported.

It's disturbing that these two incidents are coming from two states Obama won. Then again, racism isn't limited by geography.

Joe the Plumber, er, Welfare King and Tax Cheat

Joe the Plumber was on welfare as a kid...twice. I've stopped being surprised by these types of revelations about Republicans. I mentioned before that they have a mysterious power to create their own reality...even if it bears no resemblance to actual reality. But this one raises my ire. Here we have a skinheaded lower-middle-class white male, whose tax burden would go up under John McCain and down under Barack Obama, a man who owes back taxes, was on welfare as a child, and who would likely be disqualified from voting under Ohio's draconian Republican-, imposed registration laws, spouting the hate-filled talking points of a party whose ideology and approach to governing has largely been discredited. If nothing else, it's at least entertaining.

More on Suitgate

Those Wasilla Hillbillies sure know how to blow money. Most of us spend, what, a couple of thousand dollars a year on clothing? Well, apparently $20,000-$25,000 for a 3-month clothing budget just wasn't enough for Sarah Palin and her husband. That's the amount they were originally budgeted by the RNC for clothing during the campaign. But Palin went on a shopping spree, sticking a Republican donor with a $150,000 clothing bill.


A Republican donor who agreed to foot a majority of the expenses was stunned when he received the bill, Newsweek reported. Both the Times and Newsweek report that the budget for the clothing was expected to be between $20,000 and $25,000. Instead, the amount reported by the Republican National Committee was $150,000.


$150,000 for clothing? Even $20,000 for clothing is ridiculous...most people in America spend less than $20,000 on housing...in a year. I live in one of the most expensive cities in the country and I spend only marginally more than that on housing. Then we have Cindy McCain calling Barack Obama an elitist...while wearing a $250,000 outfit. I wonder if she has one expensive outfit for each of her seven houses? The rest of us, who didn't have the good sense to be born into a wealthy family, will have to make do with our cheap, made-in-Sri-Lanka wardrobes while we work for a living. Oh, and we'll also have to make do with a President with a first-class intellect and no upper class pretensions...a President who watches Sportscenter and shoots hoops...a President any one of us would be proud to have a beer with.

Nothing Fails Like Prayer

And now, we turn to the negative. To all of you biblical sheep out there...all of you who prayed for a McCain victory...to all you wingnuts out there who equated an Obama victory with armageddon or the triumph of Satan..to anyone who devolved into speaking in tongues while conducting "spiritual warfare" on Obama...to all of you who truly believe that the dark forces of African witchcraft (no, Africa is not a country Sarah) are casting spells on McCain-Palin...to all of you overly religious, troglodyte sheep, I say this:

NOTHING FAILS LIKE PRAYER

But don't despair, fundamentalists...God™ has a plan for all of us. Yours apparently involves humiliation and being laughed at by sane people.

Cathartic...

That's the only way to describe how I felt today. All day. Sure, we've elected the first black man to be President. We've repudiated 8 years of a failed and stolen presidency, and 30+ years of failed economic policy and its driving ideology. But we've also shown that a grassroots, bottom-up candidacy, driven by loose associations of motivated and smart people, can wrest power away from the monied elites and start turning the ship of state towards change. And we did it not with the divisive and dismissive style that the Lee Atwater Republicans of the world have come to rely on, but with an inclusive campaign that emphasizes the common while still acknowledging and respecting our differences.

I walked the streets this morning and everything seemed more alive. There was a spring in peoples' steps...even though many of them were hung over and tired from last night's spontaneous street parties celebrating Obama's victory. The guys digging up the street for the DPW all had smiles on their faces. The meter maid had a spring in her step as she wrote parking citations. The folks behind the counter at the coffee shop moved around as if they floated on air. And it wasn't just because we finally see the end of eight long years of a terrible presidency. No, these folks seemed like they were enjoying life more because once again they had hope.

If America can elect a black man, a man from humble beginnings, a man who's articulate and intelligent, a man who has unquestionable integrity and an appetite for change...if America can finally, FINALLY make the right and obvious choice...then we may well come through these turbulent times intact. Gone is the idea of America as a third world nation. Gone is the idea that it's OK to torture people and invade countries for their oil. Gone are the crass political calculations driven by the idea that might makes right. Gone are the cynical politics of self-destruction, division and culture war, displaced at last by the politics of positive change and the identification of ourselves as Americans...not as baptists, pentecostals, latte liberals, rednecks, midwesterners, or America-haters, but as Americans. We're at the beginning...not the end. We can be the new Greatest Generation. Yes, we can.

Looting Wasilla Hillbillies

An absolutely classic quote, courtesy of Matt T. Newsweek has discovered that the extent of Sarah Palin's clothing shopping spree is much greater than originally reported:

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy.

...

One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

Wasilla Hillbillies. That could be the name of a new Palin-based reality show. I guess the name fits...a pregnant teenage daughter, moose hunting from helicopters, and a whole passel-o-kids in tow.

Photos From Last Night

What a night! The pagan forces of Evil(TM) gathered at my place to celebrate an impending victory by the Islamo-Fascist-Baby-Killing-Gay-Marrying-Arugula-Growing-on-forced-Communal-Organic-Vegetable-Plot candidate for President (and yes, I'm once again spelling that with a capital P). Anne and I made some strategic alterations to the place. Visitors were greeted at our door with the Obam-O-Lantern:

Then, when folks went to the bathroom they got a few laughs from our favorite shit shoveler:

We had 11 people over, and it was an absolute blast!

Not ALL Happy News

It appears that Prop 8 is narrowly passing. Sad to say that bigotry and hatred is still alive and well in the most progressive state in the nation.

Morning in America

Keep That Outfit, Tina

Sarah Palin wants Tina Fey to keep that outfit:

"And a little advice for Tina. We wanted to make sure she's holding on to that Sarah outfit, because she's going to need it for the next four years."

Keep that outfit Tina...you won't need to do another Palin skit after tomorrow night, but hell...it's probably worth $150,000 and was paid for by the Republican National Committee.

Twenty-Four-Twenty-Four Hours to Go...

...and I wanna be sedated. I've been waiting for tomorrow for eight long, anguishing, pain-filled years. I'm on pins & needles...can't concentrate. The time has come to change this country, and it can't happen fast enough. If you had told me eight years ago that in 2008 I'd cast my vote for a Democrat running for President, I'd have told you to get the sedatives and a straightjacket. But, contrary to my expectations, the Democrats stepped up and nominated someone who wasn't corrupt, too conservative, and untrustworthy as they have in past. This time, it was a young, courageous junior Senator from Illinois...someone who built his campaign from the grassroots up. And tomorrow, we elect him President. Now get your arse out there and VOTE!

Stevens Creates His Own Reality

Ted Stevens, after being convicted of 7 felony counts earlier this week, is insisting that it didn't happen:

"I have not been convicted of anything," he maintained during a Thursday night debate in Anchorage, only days before Tuesday's election.

Like other prominent Republicans, it appears that Stevens is trying to create his own reality. Nevermind the 12 people who convicted him. Nevermind the solid case against him. The Senate's longest serving Republican thikns he hasn't been convicted of anything at all.

If the people of Alaska re-elect this man I may lose my faith in the goodness of humanity.

UPDATE
It looks like reality is giving Stevens a bit of an ulcer. He's losing his re-election bid:

Stevens (R) 36 (46)
Begich (D) 58 (48)

Have fun in prison, Ted. And remember: spit's the best lube around.

Geezer-Dingbat '08

More Jim Crow-Style Voting Shenanigans in the South

We know all about the Republicans' above-ground attempts to suppress voting by "unfavorable" constituencies (like black folks, poor people, or Democrats). Terms like caging lists and voter purges flow freely through the national press and the blogosphere. But occasionally we see some even more underhanded and disgusting things...like this:

A phony State Board of Elections flier advising Republicans to vote on Nov. 4 and Democrats on Nov. 5 is being circulated in several Hampton Roads localities, according to state elections officials.

I guess someone thinks that people in the "fake" Virginia are stupid.

The Dumb Cracker Files: Lee Harvey Trailer Trash

We know there are some really dumb people out there. Unfortunately, a lot of them have guns. These two are exemplar. Daniel Cowart and Paul Schlesselman are two neo-nazi thugs from rural Tennessee...very rural:

In a rural Tennessee county where you can't buy alcohol or even find a Wal-Mart, residents of tiny Bells stopped each other to ask if anyone knew the pale-skinned young local accused of plotting to kill dozens of black people, including Barack Obama.

Bells, TN...where alcohol ain't on sale, there are more churches than schools, and where all the children are apparently below average. While it may not surprise many people that this kind of idiocy can come out of rural Tennessee, it apparently comes as a big surprise to the salt-of-the-earth folks who live there:

The town surrounded by fertile cotton fields is safe and certainly not known for breeding neo-Nazis, they agreed.

"If we had any skinheads in this county I wasn't aware of it. We hardly know what they are," said Sam Lewis, who lives across the street from the mother of suspect Daniel Cowart. Cowart, he said, grew up in the comfortable, well-maintained neighborhood and wasn't known as a troublemaker.

Cotton fields? In the South? Skinheads and racism? In rural Tennessee? This sounds eerily familiar in a historical context. Remember the good salt-of-the-earth German citizens who claimed they knew nothing about the concentration camps in their midst? OK, maybe it's not on that scale. But the belief that your community/President/party/religion/God(TM)/kin can do no wrong is often the first step in a long journey toward fascism. Sam Lewis might not think his town is capable of producing such idiocy, but I bet he steps into the voting booth next month and punches the chad for John McCain and Mitch McConnell. And Lord(TM) help us if a Muslim moved into the area. Wake up, folks. The rural south is exactly where this kind of crap takes seed, gets fertilized, and blooms into a gigantic turd blossom. These two morons got caught because they stepped over the line and made actual plans. How many more are out there with only general notions?

Stevens Convicted

It's the perfect political storm. Today a court convicted Alaska Senator Ted Stevens of ethics violations. The Republican Senator had a oil services firm pay for major renovations to his home, and failed to disclose them. Note that he didn't get convicted of taking bribes, but was instead convicted of failing to report them. These convictions are federal felonies.