I heart Blago.

I mean, if you're gonna be corrupt - go large.

Live it.

Rod wasn't playing around.

"I've got this thing and it's (expletive) golden," prosecutors quoted Blagojevich as saying about the Senate appointment on federal bugs in his campaign office and wiretaps on his home telephone,"and I'm just not giving it up for (expletive) nothing. I'm not gonna do it."

(Source)

You gotta admire the balls on Blago. Bankrupt Tribune company? Sure, the state can you loan you money, but first, the Tribune will have to fire a few editors who criticized Blago to receive any assistance. Going after the Fifth Estate is never a good idea. That takes balls, man. Even Bush, in his gerrymandering of the news media, doesn't seem to have balls that big. Perhaps, Blago, should have been looking for work with the Bush administration.

Goodness gracious me...

As corrupt as democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich is, at least, the Democrats who he tried to sell the seat to had the temerity and integrity enough to say no. One corrupt asphat discovered, and a handful of honorable democrats confirmed. That will be the forgotten part of this scandal as history is quickly canonized and passed through popular memory.

I think Blago should make the case that's he's just being a good capitalist. That is, letting the market decide just who is qualified enough to become the senatorial successor to Obama. Why not? Most on the right love to state just how much of a capitalist nation we are and that somehow an economic system is tantamount to a constitution which enumerates civil rights as part of its social contract.

Gleefully republicans love to admonish democrats that democrats just don't get it.

I would just love... just love to hear democrats on the offensive admonishing republicans for not understanding capitalism as a defense for Blago.

Or perhaps, democrats could make the tradition argument. Blago is fourth in a long line of Illinois governors to be accused and convicted of corruption. One of which was Republican George Ryan. What's wrong with that, republican? In the beginning, God created corruption and politics. It's a traditional marriage, if you will. Do you republicans have something against tradition?

But as much as I love to see democrats play those cards – even democrats, by and large, ain't that stupid. No need of a tu quoque - if you understand my French.

Anyway, Blago must have his day in court. If the evidence is that good as the indictment indicates, then we are all in for a fantastic trial.

Hopefully, a better trial than that Ted Stevens cat.
 

One of the first things I learned about politics, sitting in Mr Rupnow's current events class during my sophomore year of high school at Kettle Moraine, is that America historically elects only w.a.s.p's for president.

We just elected the first African-American President of the United States of America, I said, as I held my wife's hand watching Senator Obama's acceptance speech.

Amazing!

Yet, during the night as I watched the returns, I held my breath until enough states went blue and Obama could take a commanding electoral lead. I could not forget the Kerry defeat of 2004. For the first 90 minutes, McCain lead with one southern state after another capitulating red, beginning with Kentucky. Electorally, that was no problem if Obama could eat into some of the states which have voted republican in the past, like Ohio and Florida - which he did seemingly without effort.

When Charlie Gibson called the election quietly and almost non-nonchalantly for Obama, there was a moment of silence until my wife and I realized what he just said.

My wife and I promptly celebrated with a $4.99 bottle of champagne.

While its fantastic that Obama did indeed win – by an electoral landslide no less, and McCain conceded as honorably as he did, there is still much work that liberals need to do in raising social consciousness of how we should regulate social policy administrated by our government..

On that note, one the most evocative moments last night was watching the interview with Congressmen Jim Sensensbrenner at the Ryan campaign – who was re-elected over the less crazier choice of Constitution Party candidate... what's his name... Raymond? To the interviewer, Sensenbrenner stated something to the effect, that in order for Republicans to once again lead, they had to return to a party of low taxes and fiscal responsibly, good governance, and true social conservative values.

I wonder what Sensensbrenner meant by "true social conservative values." If "true social conservative values" is legislating policy predicated upon a religious worldview - then I'm afraid I won't be voting Republican anytime soon.

Presently, the Republican party is largely a party of social conservatives. The culture wars that social conservatives purposely engage in, like the banning of gay marriage or civil unions, creationism versus evolution, threatening a woman's health where abortion is concerned, religion over science, drug policy, are really just a whole host of quasi-religious or outright religious principles.

Republicans actively crusade for these principles at the behest of churches or religious right advocacy groups – forever negating the concept of small government by legislating these religious values and imposing them onto our collective freedom of conscious.

I do agree with the opinions of other pundits who state that this country is center-right, if not in economics and regulation, at least in the sphere of the social values I listed above. The banning of gay marriage in Arizona, Florida, and at time of writing this as returns trend, California – illustrates that liberals have much work to do in achieving equality for a class of citizens and restraining government off our bodies and in the choices that we make in our relationships, and the beliefs we wish to, or not, ascribe to.

This is why I admired McCain when he stridently stood up to the religious right, a key base of the GOP as the "agents of intolerance." If our democracy is to survive, it must not function as camouflage for one religion over another - even if that religion is one idiosyncratic variety of a larger whole.

That is why liberals, in this regard, are functionally libertarians – that is, more like true social conservatives then social conservatives are. Liberals are more prone to maintain and fight for the boundaries between religion and secularity.

Personally, my libertarianism expresses my social liberalism which in turn is informed by Humanism and the secular nature of our Constitution. Science, for me, illuminates reality, where religion only substitutes superstition and unfounded and untestable notions on reality.

Where will the Republican party go after this? Where will the Democratic party go after this?

I do not know, but I do have hope.

But it is clear to me, that both parties have a long way to go on these social issues.

Democrats are closer, while Republicans are far from it.

 
Biden is a good choice.

Who would you preferred? Jenna?

Here's my choice:

So say we all!

Busy night last night. I went and checked out Barack Obama's new, downtown Milwaukee office grand opening rally. Mayor Barrett gave the best speech of the night I thought.

Here's a few pictures of yesterday's event. If you want to see more, click on a picture – you'll be redirected to my photo blog.