Washington culture? This about covers it.

Below is a quote from Chris Hayes that I found on The Huffington Post

HAYES: It means that the culture of Washington is totally and completely corrupt. And that the country is ruled -- and I know this sounds radical, but true -- by a very intense financial oligarchy, that basically has purchase on both parties. I mean, what you see here -- and I don't want to downplay the import of the derivatives bill that passed out of the Ag Committee and the financial regulations, some of the measures of which are quite strong and built because of this public anger -- but the fact of the matter is, drawing these lines between who's on the side of Wall Street and who isn't, every single one of these members is talking to Wall Street every day, and raising money from them, and having them whisper in their ear. And over the years, we have seen finance metastasize so that it's 40 or 50 percent of corporate profits, and funneling that money back into purchasing the assent of elected representatives in a way that brought us to this crisis point. So we can make technical fixes to regulation, but what we have to do is break the political/economic power of the banks, and that I don't see on the horizon.

The terroists next door

Turns out the gunman shot down at the Pentagon was a Right Wing terrorist in the Timothy McVeigh,Joseph Stack tradition. Lots of these nutcases are out there.

link

Killer Whales: Let them go

Keeping large wild animals in small enclosures for no reason but entertainment is a disgusting practice. Turning them into dancing clowns even more perverse. Better to either let them go or, if they can't survive in the wild, keep them cared for in areas open to the sea in a way that allows them to come and go.

Link to Deep Ecology

Ford Fusion 2010 transmission problems

Our 2010 Ford Fusion had serious transmission problems at 10,000 miles. The transmission slipped and also would not shift to a higher gear. The problem was intermittent, seemed most likely to occur when it and the engine were warm. Our most serious incidents happened after we had traveled 20 miles on the interstate and were going up hill. A brief cruise through Google revealed that many others are experiencing the same or similar problems with the same model Ford. Ours is at the dealer's for the second time. The first time they said they were unable to reproduce the problem.

Obama can't be trusted on Social Security

Here is a link to a longish article on Obama's Social Security position. Hint: He may not be as committed to protecting benefits as he led us to believe in his campaign.

Daily Kos

Is Cheney a fugitive?

As I've said before I knew Obama would be more of the same the day it was announced that he would not investigate or prosecute the Bush/Cheney war criminals. Here's an informative summary of the law and crimes at Naked Capitalism

Canada

I think I should have moved to Canada when I was young enough to make it work. It's the Senate that makes me long for Canada; the Senate, the Republicans and Obama and his crew. This bunch also makes me long for LBJ, of all people. LBJ was a lion. He knew a paper tiger when he saw one and his presence alone would have sent the prissy Mitch McConnell scurrying for a hideout under the rug. Lieberman would be at the door holding the toilet paper while LBJ sat on the can dumping.

It's not going to happen though. Because if the Republicans are mean spirited but prissy, the Democrats are far worse. Either, like Obama they are too smug and self satisfied to act or they are stupid cowards, or they are cut and run closet Republicans like Bayh.

Maybe my daughter will move to Canada.

Real Compromise? Not likely.

No matter what the Democrats offer it will not be enough. The Republicans are only interested in obstruction as its own end. That's the simple truth of today's political landscape.

Poor Obama

Obama's Presidency is in trouble because he is an honest broker. He came to office believing that if he is reasonable and willing to compromise he would be met in kind by the Republicans and Right wing Democrats and be able to get good things done for America and Americans. Too bad. That approach to government is no longer viable. In fact it is almost charming in its old fashion quaintness and would be a good goof if so much were not at stake. Obama needs to face the simple fact that the Right does not want to compromise one inch. It wants to wipe out, grind out of existence any ideas and those that hold them that differ from Right wing Republican orthodoxy. They do not want a country that values diversity, debate, free expresion and compromise. They want a singularity and they will get it if Obama does not wake up and if the Left does not step up to the challenge.

You don't need a compass to see where we're heading

Get off the cloud Obama

I knew we were in trouble when Obama decided to give the Bush criminals a pass. It got worse with his sad efforts to reach out to Republicans. He should know they have the single agenda of obstructing his programs and destroying whatever they label as Liberal. Now it's time for Obama to stop being above it all and come down from the cloud and get his hands dirty. Republican extremists only respond to a kick in the teeth followed by an indictment. Hopefully Obama is not too enamored of his bipartisan self and the enchantment of being president to do that.

It's time to go after the big banks, close Guantanamo, prosecute the torturers, and force congress to bring to votes what's good for us and not what seems most likely to pass. By aggressively pursuing a liberal agenda the agents of failure will be clearly identified and the blame placed where it belongs.

Obama, you need to be more altruistic and less political.