Clap for the unending wars, perpetual economic crises, and a Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Norway that obviously worships the undead. More popcorn, please!

This article and conversation started out as a discussion of the US Chamber of Commerce and the desertion of major companies from its ranks because of positions it takes.

This is interesting. So then all these "deniers" show up and suddenly we're having to refute bogus science and calls for nuclear energy that are remarkable for the level of their own ignorance regarding what that involves.

It's one thing to have open forums; it's another to open your living room every day and night to whomever wants to come in and shout that "you're all fools."

This is the new right-wing tactic of "engagement": show up whenever two people get together to talk about things that matter to them, get in their face, spout specious knowledge and false facts, and when things are really mucked up, move on.

It doesn't increase anyone's awareness of the issues or lead to a common point of view. It's just nastiness, the same sort of resentment couched in "public spirit" that is used to depredate the earth and everything on it. Like these people never wanted to be born and now that they're here, they're going to wreck it for the rest of us. Ugh.

My Blue Dog Congresswoman sent out a statement indicating that she's in favor of the public option so long as its accompanied by tort reform -- that'll save 3% of the cost of healthcare -- and is contained in a "deficit-neutral" bill.

This is a woman who regularly trots out her military credentials: major deficit-spending for the boys and girls overseas. And her energy credentials: recovery money for the local solar energy industry (commendable, but still at the cost of growing deficits). And her many other spending priorities, each of which enlarges the deficit.

If she's put on the spot, she's got an easy out. But at the cost of a moral deficit.

Conrad was on Hardball looking goofy and embarrassed by the obviously dubious claims he was making about the current Finance bill -- which already is DOA -- and Chris Matthews decides to molly-coddle him. Matthews even goes so far as to wish him well on his disingenuous pursuit of a bipartisan piece of legislation that wouldn't be anything other than trash once all the necessary accommodations to the Republicans had been made.

It was an embarrassing exchange, yet another reminder that for all the sturm und drang, the "left" cable TV is still Big Media and that most commentators there, though they may yell less than over at Fox, still hew to a safely middle, if slightly off-center, line.

Good luck indeed, Kent. Max and you did you job slowing things down until legislation now stands a fair chance to die. Why'd you do that? For bipartisanship -- really? Or was it because that's what Big Medicine whispered in your ear?

I find your sophistry boorish and frankly disruptive of the conversation here. Nothing I do should be construed as encouragement to you to be here.

Politicians have limitless personal resources when it comes to rationalizing their stupid and/or criminal offenses against the people.

There's no reason for optimism that it's going to unloose its grip on the political or cultural reins, so why pretend it will? Objectively, our nation is in the pits and likely to remain there for quite some time, maybe undergo even worse divisions leading to violence and oppression -- the Blade Runner syndrome, only real, not a filmic fantasy. My decision is to leave America and hope the ocean is wide enough to avoid contamination of my next home. I sincerely wish I could offer more surcease to those who are hurting and those who misdirect their ire and those who honestly and courageously call out the criminals; but I'm running too low on juice after four decades of opposition, of "speaking truth to power." Power doesn't listen and neither does Powerlessness. Between them the good hearted people don't stand a chance.

Why did Obama axe Van Jones, his brightest, most spirited, and best connected advisor -- best connected to the people -- and leave such snots as Summers and Geithner in power, people who have trashed his Administration so thoroughly by hurting people where it counts, in their homes and pockets? If racism is occurring, it has no basis in reality -- except the reality that Obama doesn't keep good company in the White House, which makes non-raciss equally mad. For a guy surrounded by snakes, Obama smiles entirely too much. And people are starting to get it.

Summers of the Pontification and Geithner of the Grand Giveaway? Puleeeeze, these two toads couldn't keep a kid from stealing a candy cane from the corner grocer...and they're going to watch Wall Street?

Hell, they're the ones who already gave away the store. Last we heard from the TARP Special Inspector General, $23 _trillion_ dollars constituted largesse that the US taxpayer is unlike to see ever again, except when the bankers spend it.

Until Obama has the guts to admit he made some very wrong choices for his inside team and makes changes, why should anyone clap for empty words?