Beach volley ball pretty much sucks. Unfortunately, the NBC producer(s) probably grew up in SoCal where, inexplicably, the game is revered. So despite your well reasoned criticism you're probably just spitting into the wind. The sand pit is here to stay. Afterall, if the executives responsible for programming the Olympics bothered to listen to sport fans we wouldn't be subjected to a single second of that ribbony gymdance-tics crap.

Most striking of all is that the "issues" of least significance, of zero import, are the ones which receive the most attention in the "political debates" conducted by our media -- pigs and lipstick and bowling scores and lapel pins and windsurfing tights -- while the ones of greatest significance are virtually ignored. And that is highly unlikely to change between now and November.

When I observe what passes for media coverage (both presentation and consumption) of a presidential campaign, I think of the dog that, when his master points to the moon, looks at the man's finger.

It's good to know that Glenn reads people like Chris Floyd. Floyd consistently sees beyond the bullshit cover stories and exposes the ugly reality of American foreign policy. (Take note Obama fans. More troops in Afghanistan will solve nothing.)

The relevant issue here is empire: who benefits and who bears the cost. It would be wise to question what the Democrats and Republicans agree on, and thus don't even publicly discuss.

Why can't the $700 billion go to distressed homeowners in such a way that the banks holding their mortgages ultimately get repaid?

Why would this solution be less desirable than the one proposed by Paulson and Bernake?

Anyway you look at cleaning up this mess, moral hazard is out the window. So why not bailout Wall Street by allowing people to keep their homes?

(Don't bother answering. I know the answers: Because this is how the Ruling Class rules.)

The people on whose behalf these schemes are being implemented -- the true beneficiaries -- are the very same people who have been running and owning our Government -- both parties -- for decades, which is why they have been able to do what they've been doing without interference.

With the possible exception of the twenty years following World War II, this has been the prevailing paradigm from the very beginning of this country, not just the past few decades. The two dominant political parties operate government primarily to benefit those who run and own industry.

In a nutshell, this is Ralph Nader's "not a dimes's worth of difference". (Yes, there are marginal differences between the Democrats and Republicans and yes, marginal differences can--but not necessarily--lead to significantly different outcomes.) With respect to the financial crisis, a vote for Obama will not be significantly different than one for McCain. Hank Paulson, Robert Rubin and friends will have the "solution" they seek regardless of any dissent. Even if the "solution" turns out to be nothing more than a stalling tactic that allows the owners time to liquidate assets prior to a complete collapse of the financial system.

Remember early January 2001 when the Senate met to validate the Electoral College outcome of the 2000 presidential election? Credible allegations of wide spread African American voter disenfranchisement in Florida were officially raised by members of the Congressional Black Caucus. They asked the Senate to invalidate the electoral outcome and to formally investigate the allegations--allegations that put the credibility of the Florida result in serious doubt. All that was needed was for one Democratic senator to second the motion.

Remind me again what happened. Oh yeah, those paragons of political courage bit their tongues, sat on their hands and meekly watched as Bush & Company had their way. Not one of the senate's so-called liberals spoke up--not Russ Feingold, not Paul Wellstone, not Barbara Boxer, not Ted Kennedy and on and on.

Daschle was the leader of the senate's Democratic Caucus at the time. Daschle likely had a hand in enforcing party unanimity during this disgraceful episode. If he did play an active role, what steps did he take and why?