Dear Diary,

It has been a most eventful past few days. With the passage of Health Care I have no doubt that the plebes will finally acknowledge what we progressives have always known; that President Obama has already solidified his place as America’s greatest President.

For a moment there I was scared that the right-wing America haters would get there way and use the legislative process to deny us the victory we so rightly deserved. I mean really, how dare they use something as insignificant as votes to block the bill? It should have been done with Deem and Pass. Our health care is more important than the mere niceties of congressional procedure. The-worse-than- Hitler Republicans should be ashamed of themselves for bringing up the Constitution during the “debate” over the bill. The Constitution has no place in the discussion when it comes to progress and, better yet, there shouldn’t even be a debate. The Founding Fathers, though handicapped by their racist white outlooks, also would have seen the need to push health care through no matter the opposition. Somethings are more important than some 18th century scrap of paper.

Why even bother with open hearings or debates at all? The American people are too stupid and feckless to grasp the basic tenant that they need to be forced into health care. They embarrass themselves with all this talk of “what they want” and their pathetic protests and letters to Congress. They should just shut up and let the people that know best, we enlightened few, we band of brothers with Ivy League degrees, handle things. Like children, they know not what they do and must be put in their place. They don’t know what they want and they don’t know what is best for them. People like Speaker Pelosi need not answer to that shabby and dirty rabble.

Thanks to Republican run education systems in places like Texas, I bet they can’t even read much less articulate a real argument. “Privacy!” “States rights!” “Democratic process!” HA! It makes me laugh, it is like a five year old trying to understand Shakespeare and playing at adults with big boy words! Why do they hate America? Don’ they see they need to be forced to get healthcare? It will run down the deficit too (though I am not quite sure how, I am good with numbers but how does spending a trillion dollars lower the deficit? Why not just tax the shit out of fat-cats making over $30,000 a year?).

President Obama should do us all a favor and fence off everything between the Mississippi and California. Those so-called states resemble more of a third-world loony bin than the US. With their guns and superstitions as well as their racist, sexist and homophobic outlooks, those people belong more to a bad western than the modern era. They even like Sarah Palin! Ha! She doesn’t have a real degree (a “BA” from the “University” of Idaho….how droll!) How could they be so stupid!?!

Thank goodness though. Thank goodness our beloved leader, our Great One, our Dear One, had the courage to do whatever it necessary to pass the bill. He is from Chicago and you can tell! They have it right, they know that important things need to be passed and that the law shouldn’t get in the way. Giving dissenting pieces of shit whatever they wanted in pork for their districts was an inspired tactic! Our beloved President’s bold leadership saved the say from the stupid filthy masses!

It is a great day to be an American. I thought I would never see the day when the Democrats would finally get the courage to do whats right and put to bed silly notions of “Constitutionality” that stand in the way of whats best for America. We finally have a leader that will do whatever it takes to transform this nation into a real, modern social democracy! We will no longer have to be ashamed of America and lower our eyes when the French or Germans talk about the glories of cradle-to-grave government protection.

I have to run, first I have to pick up my check from McDonalds, then clean out my room at home (Mom is on me again) and then I have brie and wine with Jenny Williams-Anthony-Cohen and her life partner * Copeckny-Liter-Jones at the independent bookstore. Its poetry night! I hope my “Ode to Our Beloved One” is as well received as “Texas is Full of Stupid Rednecks and Racists.”

-SVD
Berkeley, CA

From the article:

In the first few months of his presidency, Obama has continued his full-court press for young voters, breaking protocol by giving Queen Elizabeth a loaded iPod, appearing on television and radio and expanding the White House’s Internet presence.

But the political loyalties of that coveted demographic are not yet decided. While they seem to lean to the left, they’re actually more libertarian than liberal, a fact that will reshape the way we think about liberalism and conservatism in decades to come.

America’s Generation Y (born between 1980 and 1995) is the first to have grown up with the Internet, which leaves it the most liberty-loving generation since the era of Andrew Jackson. Liberty, the root of what meant to the founders’ generation “liberal,” describes freedom from control and interference, particularly by government. And there is no domain so free from government as the Internet.

What does it mean to have been weaned in an environment – the Internet – virtually free of government interference? Millions of Gen-Yers have grown accustomed to making purchases online tax-free. They download movies and music (much of it pirated), read their news online for free (to the detriment of print media), find recipes online and network with friends and relatives online.

In short, they love their freedom.

While I agree with much of what he is saying there, I do have to point out some disagreement with the beginning of his op-ed:

If exit polls and surveys prove accurate, there will be one demographic deeply underrepresented in Wednesday’s conservative “taxpayer tea parties,” to be held at capitols across the country: Americans between the ages of 18 and 29.

While in the eyes of many Americans that might seem like a safe assumption, personally, I don’t think it could be further from the truth.

The fact of the matter is that if it wasn’t for this demographic (and those who come close to falling in it), the tea parties that have been (and will be) held around the country wouldn’t have been as successful.

It was the Internet (the tool that Burkee rightly points out as one that has given our generation a unique footing politically) that has led to these movements becoming what they are today.

Luckily, most of us “Gen-Y” folks haven’t been politically active enough to be completely indoctrinated by one party or another. This means that if anyone is going to be able to call bullshit on those in Washington and in our states, it’s going to be us.

We’re young and we’re not huge donors, so most politicians don’t give us the time of day (unless they want free labor or websites built). This inherent bias and neglect gives us a perspective that many older Americans simply aren’t able to see… at least without our help.

Simply put, we get to see politicians for who they really are, first hand, because so many of them still don’t take us seriously.

While every generation was once young and had similar experiences, with the Internet, we have the advantage of being able to share our frustrations with millions of people in seconds, and quickly organize to yield change.

Yes my friends, change is coming America, and it’s going to come from us, Generation Y. Yes we can.

Let the classical liberal revolution begin

Democrats will introduce contentious labor legislation in both chambers today even though Senate Democrats do not yet have the support necessary to overcome a certain Republican filibuster.

This is all going to come down to the Blue Dogs in the House of Representatives. Those 51 Members, all self-proclaimed conservative democrats, have the power to block this in the House.

Obviously, there will be more updates to follow.

Even Warren Buffett opposes Card Check:

Click here to view the embedded video.

And a concise commercial regarding the legislation:

Click here to view the embedded video.

In this video features Psychologist Jonathan Haidt examines the various foundations of moral values that form the way we think politically.

This video is definitely one step closer to helping answer the question of “what’s the difference between conservatives and liberals?”

Click here to view the embedded video.

What do you think? Do you think this is accurate?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Since returns are still coming in, I don’t want to delve too deep into any likenesses between their election and the one we just had in November, but please check back over the coming hours as I post updates and any other observations.

If you haven’t followed Israeli politics before, I strongly urge you to try and become immersed in this election as the final results come in.

What’s great about Israel’s electoral system is that unlike the United States, you only need to receive 2% of the vote to be a viable candidate, courtesy of a well organized multi-party system. This means that there is no “absolute control” of government, and alliances are usually a must in order for the government to be successful.

What’s also unique about this election is that this year two parties have been banned from the election: United Arab List-Ta’al and Balad, both Arab political parties. It’ll be interesting to see where that voting block decides to go.

Here are some early updates (from Ha’aretz):

Channel 1:

The Channel 1 poll gave Kadima 30 seats, Likud 28 seats, and Labor 13 seats. Yisrael Beiteinu is predicted to win 14 seats, according to the poll.

Channel 2:

According to the Channel 2 poll, Kadima will hold 29 seats, Likud will take 27 seats and Labor 13 seats. Yisrael Beiteinu will have 15 seats in the new Knesset.

Channel 10:

The Channel 10 poll indicated that Likud will take 28 seats, Kadima will hold 30 seats and Labor 13 seats. Yisrael Beiteinu will have 15 seats.

Real-time Updates:

Last year I saw some of the march and in terms of numbers, it was extremely impressive. While the 2008 march appeared to be successful, it’s quite clear that the 2009 march easily surpassed the bar set last year.

Not only was the weather better and the crowd larger this year, but it seemed that those in attendance were even more passionate than in previous years.

Of course, the timing couldn’t have been any better. This year’s march was less than 48 hours after the inauguration of Barack Obama, an openly pro-choice liberal who is seen as a major threat to the pro-life community.

I had the opportunity to sneak off to the March for Life rally and was able to get some great pictures capturing some of the energy surrounding this important segment of the conservative movement.

While I’m not usually a fan of single-issue voting blocks, I still find it extremely fascinating to see the energy people have for their issues. It’s tough to argue that this block doesn’t do an excellent job of getting their message across.

This picture was taken from the middle of the crowd.

March shot from 7th & Pennsylvania Ave

This guy doesn't mince words

Crossing Pennsylvania Ave.

These signs were everywhere

Clever sign

This is actually towards the end of the procession to the National Mall, just to give you an idea of the massive crowd.

Catholic Priest getting his message out to the media

Even the monks were live-blogging the event

This time, it looks like the objective (kidding) media executives at MSNBC have worked out a deal with Screenvision that will essentially grant the rights for MSNBC’s coverage to be aired in 27 theaters.

From THR.com:

President-elect Barack Obama is on his way to the big screen, thanks to a deal between MSNBC and Screenvision that will put the news channel’s inaugural coverage in 27 theaters around the country.

Free tickets are being handed out via MSNBC.com to see the inauguration and parade from 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. ET at the 27 theaters run by 11 exhibitor partners in 21 markets. Midday Tuesday isn’t necessarily a big movie time, so it helps to fill the theater — and boost popcorn and soda sales — at a time when it’s not usually busy.

I think it’s quite clear that MSNBC will be the ‘Fox News’ of this administration.

While this is might rile some up, to be honest, I really don’t care. During the Bush years, we had Fox News as an outlet for our conservative-friendly news stories, and they didn’t tend to hide it.

I guess I’d rather see networks be open about their bias like MSNBC has been lately, then try and claim objectivity like they were doing before the primaries.

America, Obama Water is now here.

From MediaBistro.com:

We went into Whitley Market on the corner of Highland and Franklin on Saturday to buy some over-priced breath mints and there across from the Marilyn Monroe wine and the Elvis lighters was Obama Water.

The water could go nicely with the George Bush toilet paper our cousin sent us for Christmas. Which besides the fact that it’s just screaming ‘health care-less rash’ – was a very thoughtful gift.

Anyway, this is not exactly a political town – but we do like to capitalize on images of stars. Clearly.

To be honest, I find all of this fascinating and humorous at the same time. It’s fascinating to see so many people actually interested in American Politics, but it’s also extremely funny to see some of the cult-like products being developed to pay homage to our new leader.

I wont lie, the Obama sex-toy is probably the most mind boggling, but I guess some ladies want to feel change instead of just believing in it.

Maybe I’ll make my own line of Obama hand sanitizer or something.

First, here is a quick rundown of the political experience that Leon Panetta has:

• In 1971, Leon Panetta switched parties, officially becoming a Democrat
• In 1976, Leon Panetta was elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing California’s 16th congressional district
• In 1994, Leon Panetta was appointed as the White House Chief of Staff by former President Bill Clinton.

Based on political positions alone, it’s quite obvious that he doesn’t have the credentials to serve in such a capacity. Even looking back at his committee assignments, the only one he held any leadership on was the House Committee on the Budget. Again, by no means a post that qualifies someone to lead the one of the worlds foremost advanced intelligence gathering agencies.

However, some may find rationale for this appointment by citing his military qualifications. While Leon Panetta did receive the Commendation Medal, his tenure in the United States Military only lasted from 1964 to 1966.

Even looking at his more recent accomplishments, it’s quite evident that he has done very little in the intelligence field. Here is a profile from his organization’s website regarding his activities since he left public life:

Panetta is currently co-directs with his wife Sylvia the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy, based at California State University, Monterey Bay – a university he helped establish on the site of the former U.S. Army base, Fort Ord. The Institute serves as a nonpartisan, not-for-profit study center for the advancement public policy, seeking in particular to attract thoughtful men and women to lives of public service.

In addition, Mr. Panetta serves as Distinguished Scholar to the Chancellor of the California State University system. He advises the Chancellor on national issues affecting higher education and teaches a Master’s course in Public Policy at the Panetta Institute.

In 1997, he was also appointed Presidential Professor at Santa Clara University, teaching a course called Studies in Public Policy

Mr. Panetta has served as a leader in numerous community and national public policy organizations throughout his career. In March 2006, he was chosen to serve on the Iraq Study Group, a bi-partisan committee established at the urging of Congress and organized by the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Center for the Study of the Presidency and the James A. Baker III Institute. Since 2005, he has served as member of the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America’s Future. In November 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed him co-chair of the Council on Base Support and Retention.

While I understand why President-elect Barack Obama tapped Retired Admiral Dennis Blair to serve as the Director of National Intelligence, I can’t find anything in Leon Panetta’s past that makes him even remotely qualified for this position.

I’m going to keep looking for things that might qualify him for this position, but it appears that this might be nothing more than an attempt by Barack Obama to satisfy his supporters on the far-Left, while still being able to maintain more moderate foreign policies.