Pawsox up 1-0 after first inning.

We're at the game today, my Father's Day gift!

Hitler was a populist.

So was FDR.

I have thought, for some years, that we'll soon be moving to a populist government. That is the typical way forward out of the politics of give-the-rich-whatever-they-want-who-cares-how-#%^*ed-everyone-else-is that we stumble into every 80 years or so.

If it's true that Cantor got creamed by a populist revolt, it seems that the time is coming soon when Americans will pick on a grand scale: Fascism or Liberalism. "Sensible-ism" will not be an option.

Our work is cut out for us.

My Yiddishe wish for Rep. Cantor:

ווערן זאָל פֿון דיר אַ בלינטשיק און די קאַץ זאָל דיך כאַפּן.
Vern zol fun dir a blintshik, un di kats zol dikh khapn
May you turn into a blintz and be snatched by a cat

Schmuck!

Breaking on all news outlets...

When a real Tea Partier runs against a Republican who acts like a Tea Partier,

Voters will pick the real Tea Partier in every primary. (But in the general election, the person on the Democratic ticket will win.)
- Harry Truman's Ghost

Beaten by Brat,

Beaten by Brat,
Beaten by Brat,
Cantor's gone... Like that!
Oh yeah!
Oh yeah!
Oh-oh-oh!

(My apologies to The Ramones!)

Fine. I'll say it. I'll vote for Elizabeth Warren if she's the nominee.

With gusto! Damn, you bet!

The President is Powerless. Utterly Helpless.

There's a group of folks on DU that have been clamoring for our president to end his boundless infatuation with the bankers and wealth, to turn instead to helping the rest of America. (You know... us little people who voted him in to office.)

"But there's nothing he can do!!! He's utterly powerless!!! He needs Congress to do anything more!!!"

"Bull@#$%. The President of the US can do all kinds of things - he just needs to want to do them."

"No-no-no!!! Nothing can be done, nothing at all, only a MoleLibertarianRacistPuristFirebaggerRatFucker would suggest otherwise!!!"

So yesterday our president unilaterally signed a law that will make student loan debt more affordable for many folks. A few days ago, he unilaterally released prisoners from Gitmo.

Were new laws passed that allowed these things to happen? Nah. Instead, our president simply used the same power he's always had - he just decided he wanted to use it now, that's all.

That's really it. The President of the United States has extraordinary powers - if they want to use them. They can make good stuff happen, and they can apply enormous pressure to persuade bad actors in Congress to act responsibly.

If they want to.

If they want to.

When the time came for the Bush tax cuts to end, there was much gnashing of teeth: "We NEED to renew the cuts, the Republicans have us over a barrel! The world will end!" Yet when the Republicans threatened our president's own legacy achievement, ObamaCare, it was all "@#$% you Republicans, just try", the government got shut down and the Republicans folded in no time.

I appreciate that our president is starting a slow shift towards addressing the ever-deepening plight of the folks who don't have co-workers and/or family in the White House. I deeply appreciate it, and I hope it continues and expands. But can we end "The president is powerless! Powerless!" meme? It's utter nonsense.

Think it's so easy? Try it yourself.

Suppose that *you* were unceremoniously kicked out of the White House with only $8 million and possibly some good will generated by pardoning Marc Rich and giving Wall Street everything, just everything.

What parts of your life would *you* cut?

See? Not so easy!

Regards,

Ready-For-Hillary Manny

I've changed my mind: now I'm Ready for Hillary!

Dear friend:

Hillary Clinton's searched her soul and concluded that her 2002 vote to invade Iraq was a mistake. I know - we all know - how difficult it is to admit to any mistake, and few of us will ever feel such remorse in our soul as Hillary must feel from that awful vote that caused such horror.

I believe that Hillary's change of heart humanizes her, shows us that she's big enough to think things through based on better information, rather than clinging blindly to previous positions out of stubbornness or insecurity. I respect that, as much as I respect Hillary's long history of fighting for the 99% and winning tough battles.

So, today, I find myself in the surprising position of throwing my support behind Hillary. Should she run for the 2016 presidency in 2028, I believe that she'll do a superb job of making the right decisions based on data from 12 years before, just as she's done on Iraq.

Until 2028? Since most Congressional Democrats voted the right way in 2002, perhaps we should try to make someone else the Democratic nominee in 2016.

Manny is... Ready for Hillary! (As soon as we have a time machine.)