I don’t think we’ve lost the way because Congress is at 10.6, down from 11.5. “We’ve got to get back up to at least 10.9!” (Everyone knows the real reason for our descent is due to gays, girls and gun control.)

There must be a better way to judge communication than vocabulary and sentence structure.

Yes, I agree. By quoting and referring to pseudo-science we are giving it credibility. Now we have another irrelevant measurement of Congress, and another irrelevant wedge issue about how America has lost it’s way.

I agree that the 1% doesn’t care about this issue. They might use it for a wedge, but personally, overall they wouldn’t care deeply one way or another. In fact, one way sexual orientation is different than race is that you can’t avoid it by procreating with the “right” kind of individual. So ‘gay happens’ to families across the spectrum. The fact that it can’t be isolated means that socially there is less pressure to isolate sexual minorities. (Less, not none.)

But the fact that some 1%s are gay or support gay people doesn’t negate the great thing Governor Gregoire is doing. She didn’t shoot anybody or do any kung fu. But let’s get rid of the “two sides” rule and leave it to Fox News. There are other concerns besides the 1%. She is no doubt hurting or at least changing many personal relationships and her relationship with her church. That is scary. I’m not nominating her for the Nobel Peace Prize but I do recognize an act of courage and a good thing when I see it, on occasion. Furthermore, there are a lot of good people in Eastern Washington, including some rednecks.

There’s a place for cynicism in politics. Actually this is one of the few places I don’t feel cynical. I doubt this is a politically motivated move on Gregoire’s part. I think it is statesmanship. We need more such statesmanship.

I will miss Gregoire, no doubt, when we have Governor Inslee or Governor McKenna next year.

That may mitigate some of the consumption in the US, but what about China and India? It seems their oil consumption is going way up. They both could benefit from hybrid and electric cars (China is selling electric scooters and banning motorcycles in some areas, but they replace bicycles as much as motorbikes). But is their any evidence that they are buying a significant percent of electrics or hybrids, or planning too?

I can’t get that REM song out of my mind: “It’s the end of the Euro, and I feel fine.” Well, fine is probably not the right word, but I couldn’t think of a word that rhymes that means “not fine.”

This looming disaster could be the impetus of real sensible economic, financial, social policy, but more likely the brown shirts then the black shirts, then the red, white and blue shirts will use it as a reason to restore “order”.

Hear hear. And really, if these guys are allowed to continue with the wars, environmental exploitation and destruction, will there be anything left for THEIR grandchildren? We have to save them from themselves. (Save the hoi polloi first, of course). I really can’t see a political solution anymore, without at least the possibility of a mass uprising and soiled silk underwear.

Soylent Greed is Rich People! (and it’s really not that bad when you get used to it. Tender. Lots of marbling.)

The existence of racism, particularly racism aimed at black people, doesn’t excuse bad policy or inaction or bad action. Obama is a politician in the worst sense of the word. If SOME white liberals worried less about being labeled a racist for dropping support for such an obvious tool, perhaps his support would be even less. And if Americans of all colors would overcome the sense of guilt from abandoning the only black guy (so far) ever elected President, his support would drop a bit more. The rest of Obama’s supporters would be a combination of team cheerleaders and lesser evil nose-holders.

I’m a white liberal who didn’t vote for him in the first place, so I’m not in that statistical pool. I was overseas and my ballot never arrived, but I was deciding between Nader and McKinney while waiting. I have to admit, though, when I actually watch his speeches, I want to believe.

I didn’t vote for O the first time and probably won’t be voting for any Democrats in the foreseeable future, at least in national races. However, by providing facts, such as Walker did today in his usual professional style, a couple of good things could happen:

1 Lefty potential politicians could become more motivated to run for office, buoyed by the revelation(s) that voters are becoming more skeptical, especially from the left. We could get a dog-catcher elected here, a school board member there, and over there, who knows?

2 Democrats in office may vote for bills or enforce laws that they recently would avoid, in order to try to appeal to disaffected former constituencies. They’ll still stab us in the back imho, but some real good could conceivably come to desperate people.

3 Obama could declare martial law, and people would finally see his loyalties. Laissez les bontemps rouler!

I like a lot of the things Democrats have to say, but when they get backed into a corner, and the only way available is to act according to their rhetoric, they find a way to slip out and “sigh, unfortunately (if only there was another way!)” do the bidding of their financés. We can’t, as liberal progressives, get any more irrelevant than we are when we beg, cajole, petition, rant, plead with, CONTRIBUTE to, these ass-hats. We need to find a way to really hurt so-called progressives’ chances. Jane, as usual, is absolutely right. We may end up giving the right the government they had hoped for and maybe that’s our only chance of getting rid of that “government”.

Alert China! We going to need to change the flag. Why doesn’t Alaska, with real geographic issues, albeit with no sizable population try dividing like a single celled organism? Imagine four “Alaskas”, two or more North Dakotas, etc. etc. Maybe 500 States. That might by itself add balance to the out of balance Senate.

I think Russ Baker’s book “Family of Secrets”, covers (and documents) the story pretty well. Of course there is more evidence to be found. In it he shows that Zapruder was not just a amateur home-movie maker who happened to be at the right place at the right time. He owned the book repository and hired Oswald. Lone gunman? All of the evidence points there, and the rest is speculation? If that’s what the authorities tell us, it must be true.

I blame American pollyanism to some extent: we just can’t believe that some people in responsible places don’t want what’s best for the Red White and Blue. But some people grow up consciously or unconsciously and work towards a better society. Some people don’t really care but grow up enough to know what it is supposed to look like in order to remain free to get what they want. I think that is the case here: a combination of rich and powerful people who have no qualms about moving the players around (and sacrificing some of them) on their big chess board. It’s easy to see sibling rivals machinations in toddlers and soap operas, but we don’t look for it in government.