This week I’ve begun a new screenplay -- a political thriller. A renowned Congressional progressive is taken for a ride on Air Force One by a relatively new, engaging, corporate-enabling African American president. By the time the plane reaches its destination the progressive has been morally lobotomized.

As for Oprah, up until Obama became President, I couldn’t say enough good things about her. “She’s America’s teacher!” I’d assert whenever she was mentioned. A role model of compassion and humanism. My favorite segments of her show were done with Eckhart Tolle -- conversations about the destructiveness of ego and living a soul-awakened life. If anyone could talk the talk about walking the walk, it was Oprah!

Especially after what's gone down today. But you should read Chris Hedges latest essay anyway.

Terrific interview in the London Review of Books with British historian Tony Judt.

It's wide ranging--he talks about politics, economics and culture in Europe, Israel and the U.S. He also has an interesting take on the general suckiness of baby boom gen politicians.

White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer about the HCR bill and abortion, and incidentally summarizing Obama's entire HCR agenda:

The President has said from the start that this health insurance reform should not be the forum to upset longstanding precedent.

Not that the forcing people to buy big-ticket commercial products isn't a precedent-setter.

At OpenLeft. In Quick Hits, of course:

How to make change
(dr anonymous)

This is a 1976 guide on how to understand and organize your community effectively that I came across recently.  Whether you care about health care broadly or reproductive rights or lgbt rights or anything else, this will be useful to you in working locally (or on the internet!).

http://www.tenant.net/Organize...

If only. Greenwald:

The Washington Post's Ezra Klein has an amazing post in which he trumpets what he calls the "Twilight of the Interest Groups" reflected by likely passage of the health care bill (h/t).  Why are Interest Groups -- once so powerful in Washington -- now banished to their "twilight"?  Because, says Ezra, "the Obama administration succeeded at neutralizing every single industry."  If, by "neutralizing," Ezra means "bribing and accommodating them to such an extreme degree that they ended up affirmatively supporting a bill that lavishes them with massive benefits," then he's absolutely right. 

What's amazing about it?

(Publishing Monday's comic early because of breaking news).

Here.

I'm going to try to plant some "Three Sisters" -- a companion planting of beans, squash, and corn -- this year. I don't have full sun, though.

Angry Bear lays out the case.

While we wait for the FKDP to sell us to AHIP parasites, I thought it might be nice to send out a little link love to politicians who we think are doing the right thing.

Speaking for myself only, I will be voting for Sulaimon Brown for mayor.

It’s ironic that teabaggers are now raising the cry of American Exceptionalism. The term has a long history, generally along the lines of U.S. as a beacon of Democracy, young, free, blessed by God. The Communist Party USA in the 1930’s re-defined the term to claim they could achieve socialism peacefully, paving the way for their accommodation with Roosevelt. The teabaggers are today re-defining it again as America having the right to rule the world, unrestrained by treaty, law or human decency. America uber alles, you might say.

They have the audacity to call Obama a fascist, even as a U.S. rep at a teabagger rally proclaims in Huffington Post:

"Fill this city up, fill this city, jam this place full so that they can't get in, they can't get out and they will have to capitulate to the will of the American people," he said.

"So this is just like Prague under communist rule?" the Huffington Post asked.

"Oh yeah, it is very, very close," King replied. "It is the nationalization of our liberty and the federal government taking our liberty over. So there are a lot of similarities there."

Earlier, King implored the crowd to bring the nation's capital to a sort of paralysis. Warning, erroneously, that the health care bill would fund abortion and fund care for 6.1 million illegal immigrants, he demanded that concerned citizens "continue to rise up."

Here's a thread where people can post on the historically historic shit sausage making that's going on today. Apparently, you can watch it all on the teebee!

E.J. Dionne: Why Democrats Are Fighting for a Republican Health Plan. Dionne concludes:

You could argue that Democrats have learned from Republicans. Some might say that Democrats have been less than true to their principles.

But there is a simpler conclusion: Democrats, including President Obama, are so anxious to get everyone health insurance that they are more than willing to try a market-based system and hope it works. It’s a shame the Republicans can no longer take “yes” for an answer.

But there's an even simpler solution: Big Money owns both legacy parties.

We read books: let's review them here! Leave your reviews in the comments.

Note: you need not write a long review. Just a few words telling us why you are mentioning the book can be useful. And feel free to stretch the definition of "book" if you like.

Go read AllentownJake.

Seriously, when your entire ideological stance is government can be utilized to do good things, and than you bash the notion of a government plan for health care, something every other country in the world does and embrace private insurance, you beat yourself.

Honestly, that is your entire party's defense for existing. Government can help people. The GOP has the other stance, government hurts people.

Every single fucking action you've taken since taking office in 2009 has reinforced every single GOP talking point on government action.

What not to do in THE KINGDOM

Originally uploaded by valleygirl_tka

My uncropped photo (for airport context) is here

Yes, my mind does weird associations, but The Obama Kingdom, the DFHs and the fate of HCR....

... the odds for passing a "historic" bill -- by which I mean a bill that all the serious folks, including career "progressives" label "historic" -- are very good indeed.

Here's a musical antidote:

What blogs / bloggers / jounos, etc. have steadfastly refused to dignify the meaningless "public option" as a legitimate agenda?

It's a bummer going to sites I like and then seeing otherwise sensible people acting as though "the/a public option" refers to some specific thing worth wishing / hoping / fighting for.

I challenge them on it, on fundamental questions that show "PO" for the big fat zero it is, and they got nuthin'. But they keep chasing that pony, like Roger McGuinn jonesing for the chestnut mare.

This typist, 12/9/09:

The vacuum created by a vapid agenda and zero criticism for a process in which Dems lied to high heaven about being open and transparent and considering all options is leading to essential policy being decided in a panicky clusterfuck for the ages.

Shit and sausage everywhere, and not a health inspector in sight.

Something's going to be slapped on the plate NOW NOW NOW, with the barest deliberation and even less — surprise! — transparency.

... well, you know what it turned to, right?