One of the more scurrilous 2008 campaign tactics (in a campaign seemingly full of them) had to have been those insidious "Have you heard... Barack Obama is a secret Muslim?!?" emails. These bounced hither and yon on the internet almost from the beginning of the campaign itself (or at the very least, since when it looked like Obama had a chance at the nomination). This sort of activity would likely fall into most people's "there ought to be a law" list -- a list of things worth changing in our election process. Unfortunately, the state Supreme Court of Virginia handed down a ruling in the midst of the campaign which may ultimately make any sort of limits on this sort of anonymous political (and technological) mudslinging actually unconstitutional. Meaning it would be impossible to pass any sort of laws against the practice at all.

Read Complete Article »

OK, I know it's been a week and we've got to move on. The election is over, the dust has settled, and I really should be writing about something else rather than indulging in navel-gazing. But I can't help myself. I have to write one more article about the election, and in particular my picks. I apologize in advance. If you don't like watching someone else pat themselves on the back, then just skip today's article altogether and go out and decorate a veteran's grave. You have been warned.

Read Complete Article »

First, though, I got tired of endlessly downloading various "election results" webpages, in the hopes of getting some final results. And I also got tired of waiting for the mainstream media to do its job and inform the public what is going on with the remaining states, whose election results have not yet been reported. So I called up the state election officials myself, and thought I would share with you what I found.

Read Complete Article »

Of course, the big question on everyone's mind right now is: What is going on up in Minnesota? Al Franken is tantalizingly close to taking a lead in his Senate race, but very few details are available in the media (with the exception of this report from the Huffington Post) to let us know exactly what is going on. So I went to the source, and contacted the Franken campaign for some details.

Read Complete Article »

[I am taking another day of rest today (normal columns will resume tomorrow). Instead of an article, I present here today as a public service the full text of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s final speech, which was given the night before he was assassinated (April 3, 1968). King was in Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. If you don't have time to read the full speech, which is rather long, please at least scroll down to the end and read the last few paragraphs. Video of the speech is available from www.mlkonline.net.]

Read Complete Article »

[This is a repeat of a column I did right after the 2006 election. Most of it is still appropriate, but since I am taking a few days off for a well-needed (and, in my humble opinion, well-deserved) rest, it suggested itself as the best possible column to run today. I still love the tinky piano soundtrack -- paid for by my tax dollars, no less. The Toles cartoon is still hilarious, and could have run today. Some of the items are out of date, however. Now would be a dandy time to strip Lieberman of his committee assignments, for instance. In any case, I beg the gentle reader's forgiveness for this re-run, but it's been a long two years....]

Read Complete Article »

But the most exciting news is that Al Franken will win a very tight race in Minnesota. Senator Al Franken will take over from Senator Hillary Clinton as the biggest annoyance to Republican peace of mind across the country. Just the fact that Franken will now be in the United States Senate is going to drive some right-wingers clear around the bend (that's my prediction, anyway).

Read Complete Article »

But it has to be said -- Barack Obama is where he is today because he is smarter than us. Now, by "us" I am not referring to you, dear reader (perish the thought!), but rather the collective "us" out here blogging in the progressive trenches on the left. We (and I certainly include myself in this) have been second-guessing Obama's political tactics and strategy for over a year now. Obama has had us tearing our hair out at times with frustration, and each time he wound up proving us wrong.

Read Complete Article »