Ok, for everyone that cries about corporate power whenever reducing federal government power is mentioned, visualize the following: Government is a big magnet that attracts corporate corruption. The magnetic force is the power that we give them. Eventually this government-corporate blend grows so powerful and indistinguishable that what we get is corporate fascism, one big machine that sucks wealth and power from the people to the leaders. If you limit the power of government, you limit the ability of corporations to be a part of this unholy beast. This is not the free market. This is money sucked out of our pockets and used to finance wars, drug prohibition, government surveillance, and all of the other crap that is stripping our liberty and our bank accounts and making the rest of the world hate us. There are only two viable candidates that are standing up to this crap, Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich. We can all bring up this issue or that issue that we disagree with, we can slander either of them, but right now supporting what they stand for is much more important that this bickering, and although I expected it from the party of Guiliani, I'm really disappointed with the Democrats and their griping about Ron Paul's stance on issues that aren't that important right now.

So if you are a Democrat who believes in the Constitution and the rights of the individual that are rapidly being stripped away support Kucinich and shut up about Paul. I don't hear Paul supporters bothering to bash Kucinich, because most of them are intelligent enough to see that he is with them on the CRITICAL issues we are facing RIGHT NOW.

Just because he's going to burn in hellfire for all eternity doesn't mean he wouldn't make a good president. Besides, if the rapture happens in the next four years, we'll need a strong leader to... oh nevermind, that would probably make him the antichrist.

Have any eschatology geeks out there figured this one out yet? By the way, which one of the candidates is the Whore of Babylon and which one is the multi-headed beast? Sounds like a great ticket.

Blumenthal rules!

Rule of thumb: If you're out somewhere and you see Max Blumenthal and his cameraman sneaking in, you should immediately leave and never come back. And think long and hard about why you were there in the first place.

In related news a greedy, corrupt, polluting corporation gave thousands of dollars to a prominent member of Congress... oh never mind, that happens everyday. Seriously, unless you've been to opensecrets.org and vetted every single big donor of every candidate you support, maybe you should drop this nonissue and focus on something important, like how the Democratic leadership is selling our freedom and privacy rights down the river (as covered quite well lately by Glenn Greenwald). The fact is that no one has proven to be as immune to corruption as Paul, whether you agree with his views or not. If he's not selling out to corporations for big money then he's definitely not going to support a racist agenda because some wingnut gave him $500.

What people here are missing is that there is a coalition forming between libertarians such as Paul, old-school 'Goldwater' conservatives, and rights-minded liberals to protect civil liberties and restore the rule of law to our federal government. Check out americanfreedomcampaign.org to learn more about issues more important than a racist's $500 check.

Once upon a time Republicans believed in the right of the states to manage their own affairs, only interfering when constitutionally permitted to do so. This just shows how corrupt they have become, and how eager to drop their principles to exercise federal power. It bothers me because I think as an individual I can have a much greater impact on the state level. The state capitol is a stone's throw away, and I could get a petition going, talk to my representatives, and really make a difference. Then the federal government comes and just snatches it all away. They've done this on many issues, including medical marijuana, education, immigration, and now the environment.

Think globally, act locally, then get ripped off federally.

of something George Bush once said:

'A progressive tax system is necessary for a stable society and to ensure that the rich pay their fair share. Also, we should make friends with all of the countries in the middle east, reduce the size of the military, reduce our dependence on oil companies, and keep the separation of church and state intact.'

Really, I read it on a website.

Great straw man! So our choices are 1. stay 100% dollars or 2. sell everything to buy gold? As for me I don't really know which way this thing is going but I plan to get a reasonable amount of gold as a hedge against the dollar and inflation. Anyone that tells you to stay out of gold entirely is as deluded as the guy who sells his house to buy gold.

Good article, this whets my appetite for season 2. My prediction, Pete and Betty meet, connect, and have a brief, messy affair. I see Pete in some seedy motel after his wife has kicked him out, a bottle of Jack in his hand, a shotgun in his lap, and the tv on in the background with someone announcing that President Kennedy has just been shot. Or even better, Cooper sends him on a secret trip to Dallas...

Speaking of which, wasn't this season supposed to begin in 1962?

Rush Limbaugh is not a conservative, he is a Republican. If next year the Republican leadership announced the greatest expansion of the federal government in the history of the United States, to be followed by record deficits, he'd be right there cheering them on. Oh wait, that already happened...