""a man and a woman have a scared and a traditional cultural bond"

I hate to be a nudge: sacred.

Great piece as usual!

"People who have long argued that there is no difference between the parties, that "the system" is irrevocably corrupted, and that Obama will change nothing"

-- Glenn Greenwald

A good example of "the system being irrevocably corrupted" argument can be found in Chris Hedges' (not to be confused with Hitchens) column on Truthdig today entitled "It’s Not Going to Be OK". He's basically resigned to the “fact” America as we know it is over, so lets wait until the apes get here and rename NYC the Forbidden Zone... People seem to be outdoing themselves in seeing who can predict the most dire, irrevocable outcome to the current economic clusterfuck.

"And when one adds on to that the fact that Daschle is a member in good standing of the incestuous Senate club that must confirm him, it is difficult to see anything happening here other than easy confirmation, no matter how many more incriminating details are revealed"

-- Glenn Greenwald

Keep hope alive!

“An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so.”

-- Mahatma Gandhi

Our society approves of the proliferation of alcohol, tobacco, and guns - items that cause thousands of deaths each year due to abuse - yet singles out marijuana as illegal even though it has never taken a single life. It's not only an unjust law, it's a thoroughly ridiculous law.

Or, to quote Martin Luther King Jr:

“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust .. is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.”

So, if you love the United States of America, get high and prove it!

Since Greenwald is an advocate for dead Jews in Israel his opinions are largely meaningless.

-- DanielGree

And the opinions of someone unable to make an honest argument due to their bigotry and racism is also meaningless.

The bizarre notion that Obama must find common ground with the chronically incompetent, mentally vacant, intellectually devoid, morally bankrupt rightwing is a belief he needs to abandon immediately.

There are not ‘two points of view that deserve equal time’ as our national media believes when one of the "views" is the 100% destructive, failed ideology of conservatism. These are the same clowns who 6 years believed their messiah, Dubya, was talking to Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ told him its was okie-dokie to attack Iraq without provocation and torture and murder all the innocent people he wanted! So, instead of admitting how stupid they were to have a religious faith and blind Jesus-worship in Bush, they've decided that anyone who wants Obama to succeed views Obama as a "savior" and a "messiah".

It’s amazing how quick they think people have forgotten what conservatism has done to this country as if we're not living in it's devastating aftermath. Such a pathetic attempt to blame others for their own idiocy is par for the course when you're dealing with a party whose leader a drug-addled radio shock jock.

Obama should make it clear that he will no longer work with asshole rightwingers. It's like a fireman trying to find common ground with a pyromaniac. Their leader, Drug Limbaugh, has stated in unequivocal terms he wants America to fail rather than undo the clusterfuck mess of conservatism on this country

"By changing the position of the Bush Administration only three weeks in, Obama could short circuit the ongoing process and open himself up to charges of a "political prosecution" of the Bush Administration".

-- John PM

I can't think of one example of how that could hurt him. The media would yell & pontificate, but the American people despise the media. The righwing would yell & pontificate, but they have long since lost all credibility. Considering the climate in America right now, a political prosecution of the group that tanked our economy and caused unemployment to skyrocket, would make Obama a significantly stronger leader both at home and abroad.

While the Bush administration used the 'secrets act" broadly, that is not what the Obama administration is planning on doing. They will use it more 'sparingly' case per case.

-- bernbart

And Santa Claus only gives gifts to the good little boys and girls because he knows what's best.

The WSJ comments section on this piece is also a study in dissonance. Apparently, the last 8 years didn't happen, the GOP has been the long-suffering, sensible ones on the sidelines whose views are never heard, and Obama is the "messiah" not the guy who told the world Jesus Christ gave him the greenlight to shock 'n awe Iraq.

But if he had put prosecuting Bush officials as his first priority when we are in the midst of a true crisis..

-- btdenver

Aside from the notion that the economic mess is a "true crisis", unlike the Bush administration's slightly irksome crimes against humanity, why is there a constant attempt to ignore the ability to both walk AND chew gum? Last I checked there were more than 2 or 3 people working in the District of Columbia. It's not as if Obama would be physically prosecuting lawbreakers. If Bush could tank the economy, spy on the America people, setup concentration camps, shock and awe a sovereign nation, and create an astronomical deficit, Obama can probably work on both our economic nightmare AND our human rights abuses.