The analytical side of the CIA, if the reports of the recently retired members are any example, has been the one segment of the government that has put professionalism and truth over politics. The loss of this valuable resource will be a loss for all of us. There needs to be an organization that speaks only about the verified facts to power -- not political bias, not rationals for any political stance -- just what is known. It is not a job that I could do being far to partisan. But, it is a valuable and essential function.

The destruction of the CIA and its replacement by military or political operatives is frightening to the extreme.

I had a wonderful time at Pirates 3. Enjoyed myself immensely and the time fly by for me. It's nice to just have a joyous time.

Sweet 16, quinceañera, over budget weddings . . . they all seem to me to be the regular folk trying to pretend they are the rich folk. They all make me sad. Somehow, they all seem part and parcel of the thinking that made folks believe that Bush' tax cuts had something to do with them. Or, years ago, that Prop 13 in California was going to help the renters.

but still a disappointment. When the calls for money came in I told each and every solicitor that Obama was no progressive, that I was disappointed in my Party's choice of candidate, that I would vote for Obama because that was my job as a Democrat but that I would not part with my extremely hard earned cash to support the nomination. I feel good about that decision. Just hope that next election I still feel even moderately motivated to vote. And, that feeling - of not wanting to vote anymore - is a surprise.

speak for yourself, Mike.

I read with disappointment but no surprise the predictable anti public employee, anti-unionized labor rants. As a public employee I will indeed get a pension (god willing) when I retire that will provide a munificent 43% of my final wage. However, I will not receive social security benefits since (no choice on my part) local government workers where I work are not covered by social security. It my salad days, I believed it was an honorable career choice to serve the public. However, the years of hearing how much tax payers (often said as if public employees do not pay taxes) despise public employees, my idealism has somewhat dimmed. That does not mean that I do not continue to work more hours than those for which I am paid. It does not mean that I do not try to provide value for the public. It does not mean that I do not continue to believe that customer service is the most important quality for any public employee. But, it does mean that I find less joy than I did when I started this work.

Truth is that public employees are tax paying, consumers like most every other working person. And, reduction in force has never been met with a reduction in the public's demand for service. It will not help the economy if public employees are unemployed. And, it will not help the public if the services that they expect are not available.

As for the UAW workers, it is interesting that the public did not seem to have the same concern over the salaries and benefits of Wall Street financial workers whose jobs were saved by the economic bail out of the financial sector.

Public sector and unionized workers seem to be easy, socially stigmatized targets for some. We are all in the same, leaking boat . . . We will do better pulling together than trying to toss some of the survivors off the life boat.

To Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Richard Mellon Scaife, Dick Morris let me give to you the wise counsel that you were so quick to give to us - Get over it.

(about Obama's treatment of Dean) -- much as you would expect. But for me not surprised. It is a rare national level Democrat who cares more about the Party than his own glory. (I think we had such a man in Dean not so much in Obama and not at all in Emmanuel) What does surprise me is how ham handed this has been handled. For someone who ran such a fine tuned campaign - he surely hasn't handled the care and feeding of his party (particularly the "base") with much elegance.

Don't really know whether Burris' is good or bad. But do know that it is no wonder that no one believes the Dems when they say they will do something. Is there anything on which they have not backed down??

>Calling the president and his administration names is not going to get Dean on anyone's short list. His friends need to back off.

Calling the president and his administration "godlike" isn't going to do it either. And, THAT is a loss for the country and the party.

It is amazing that even the slightest criticism of our President is somehow seen as toooooooooooooo much. Who is he? George Bush?