Salient Details

Perfectly Fitting

Does anyone else find the President choosing Groundhog Day to come before congress with the cost projections of Operation Double Down a touch ironic? A day which has become synonymous with deja vu and the habitual need to get things right. Someone queue the Sonny and Cher and $245B plz.

Yet, the true meaning of Groundhog Day seems fitting too:

Assuming that the equinox marked the first day of spring in certain medieval cultures, as it does now in western countries, Groundhog Day occurred exactly six weeks before spring. Therefore, if the groundhog saw his shadow on Groundhog Day there would be six more weeks of winter. If he didn't, there would be 42 more days of winter.

So, like so many turning points passed, no matter what happens there is still six weeks of winter or an intractable situtation on the ground ... whichever fits.

Joe Biden and Race in America

It's really bad timing for Joe Biden that he made one of the classic backhanded compliments of African Americans the day before the beginning of Black History Month. Now many of the punditocracy, including the Daily Show and Colbert Report, have done the counter reporting piece on the Congressional Black Caucus with help from Tom the Butcher (R-CO). Race based groups like the CBC, they say, are hypocritical because of thier exclusivity based on race. This color bind society has no place for such organizations.

Well let's see how well our color blind society is doing for the next generation. Below is a video a high school student did for a senior project.

From the mouths of babes indeed ....

Joe Biden Loves Black People

I know this presidential thing starts earlier and earlier but perhaps Joe Biden could have waited a few more days honing his media strategy. Far be it from me to say that back handed compliments, unintended or not, aren't the strategy to bring your message home to the Democratic base.

To The New York Observer he says:

“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.”

No wonder black people love Joe Biden. I honestly think he should invite them to a garden party ...

The Internets

Dang ...

This Internet thing moves pretty quickly. Before I had time to restart this site and post on my less than triumphant return to the blogging I have been told that I suck. Well, it's good to know that there is consensus out there telling me to pack it in.

The only way I can fathom that this Internet raconteur came across this little slice of the blogosphere so quickly is from a comment I made at Right's Field about Mitt Romney and his bid to be the mormontacular commander in chief. C'est la vie. Nothing can really be done about anonymous critics in this high flying on-line world.

To suddenly veer off in another direction, I must mention Matt Ortega at Right's Field and, for that matter, his own site SOTUblog. Matt and I met last year at YKos and hit it off. We were/are both interested in progressive politics and the on-line community. He had made a splash with an ongoing series of posts at Firedoglake on various war profiteers. Following the convention, he invited me to post on his former blog The Great Society before he reformed it into SOTU. It was quite an experience; much like being thrown into the water without knowing how to swim. I caused a few waves with my sporadic posts before submerging once again to the status of lurker as the campaign season hit full swing.

Since the election Matt has been on fire with his new project of tracking the candidates on the right with his sights firmly set from the left.  Ever since I stopped posting over at his blog he has been adamant about getting me back to writing. So I give thanks to him for getting me back on this e-horse.

Now how the hell do I put crap in the side bars ...

Starting Over

About this time last year I began fiddling with this blogging outfit to see if it would keep my attention. Unsurprisingly, it didn't. I wasn't sure what to do with it. It was more random thoughts than coherent structure and more idle banter than focused debate. Both are fine, in their own right, but over the last year I've gained some clarity about a my goals and ambitions.

Last summer I attended Yearly Kos and met some extraordinary people doing amazing work bringing people together through words that flashed up on thousands of computer screens across the country. The movement I came to in early 2004 now has its legs and a victorious cycle under it's belt. It has been amazing to watch. The energy at that convention and throughout the summer was astounding to watch and to be a part of. Unfortunately the campaign I chose to work on wasn't successful, but the experience was unforgettable.

That preamble is only an attempt to focus my vision for this blog. I hope use it to comment on the world in which I spend a majority of my time. The world of politics is a mish-mash of events and ideas, of  movements and people. If there is no debate about what happens in the highest offices or the local sanitation department it is society's loss. To paraphrase a soliloquy from my favorite TV show: " Government is a place where people come together and no one should be left behind." I'd argue that it's the only place where all people can come together and a place where all people should.  I stand in the face of that awe inspiring idea as humbly as I can and add my oft snarky voice to the discussion and if any of you care to listen, I shall count it as a blessing.