And Rachel Maddow occupies the long vacant seat of Helen Thomas in the White House press corps.

And Rachel Maddow occupies the long vacant seat of Helen Thomas in the White House press corps.

Speculation is that just getting the sheer numbers to the polls to vote in the presidential campaign sent an inordinate amount of people focused on just that aspect, with very little regard for, and grossly uninformed about the "extraneous" measures... and that, combined with an equally inordinate amount of propaganda "probably" delivered us the disappointing vote for Proposition H8te.

Right or wrong... change that we could believe in never added up to a full dollar. Or three for that matter.

The Good: At least we still have Russ Feingold.

The Bad: I called Senator Barbara Boxer (my presentative) and the usually friendly, engaged reception I normally receive was replaced by a snide, holier-than-thou attitude delivered by a male fembot who could only say that she hadn't yet released a statement about the matter, and then couldn't tell me whether or not she would be doing so. When I asked why it seemed that Traitor Joe was getting more respect than her constituents, it was "maybe she will, maybe she won't." So I told him to lose the attitude and pass along that we're owed some explanation.

The Ugly: Then I called Harry Reid's office to inform his staff that Senator Reid was confounded by the word "accountability" and that he had mistakenly replaced it with "retribution." Oh, and that he was a spineless mealy mouth interested in preserving the corrupt power in Washington over the interests of his constituents.

The female fembot said "I'll be sure to pass that along, sir."

"Good." I replied. "And when you do, please deliver 'spineless mealy mouth' in all-caps and underscore."

Everyone else goes shopping. Or not.

The greatest irony here is that while Sarah Palin is out there promoting "small business," also, is that she's wearing a Burberry scarf and holding what seems to be a cup of coffee from Starbucks. Oh, and second, she's "in charge" of the turkey. Really? In charge?

Let's start with these two. Eliminate unfair corporate tax breaks, which have done nothing to spur job creation. And the bloated Pentagon budget... let's bring some transparency to that, and go through that line by line.

Thank you.

An economy dependent upon a frenetic pace of housing starts and automobiles, and factory orders from China, is one in need of serious redress. They are all components of an unsustainable empire that is little more than a debt-saddled house of cards. In foreclosure.

As the editorial writers of the Wall Street Journal, (the Main Street of Empire) are so wanton to say, the markets will decide. And they have spoken. Loudly.

Is Carole Rome, the woman engaged to Florida governor Charlie Crist. It is a role formerly occupied by political pundit Arianna Huffington.

"Bush has wreaked havoc on Iraq. Death, dismemberment, disfiguring, displacement and political disarray are all part of his tragic legacy."

And you're going to quibble about how someone wishes to express his dissent? Because you can, from your armchair?

Sure, let's ask a journalist from the country that George W. Bush invaded and destroyed, illegally, to follow rules of decorum and protocol.

George W. Bush doesn't deserve sympathy for *anything.* At all. At best he deserves to be tried for war crimes.

Mere sympathy will be temporary as the images of this moment will permanently endure as the final punctuation on Bush's legacy as an utter failure

Ugh. That was like reading Rosie O'Donnell.

That aside, nothing this woman could write about that fat, goateed bigot presiding over a Walmart church that serves religion like a fast casual dining experience would cause me to accept him as anything else. He's a truly vile creature who is selective about what sins merit condemnation, and throws all of his (considerable) weight behind this very un-Christian behavior.

It doesn't matter what he may have said to Melissa Etheridge during a meeting. His very public statements and actions say it all much more loudly, and much more succinctly.

I hope he rots in... McDonalds.

This is a conflict much older and much deeper than "Hamas," what now seems a code name for justifying the brutal treatment of Palestinian civilians. Who would, um, actually like to live their lives on their own land with things like food and money.

It is absolutely reprehensible that Salon (Are we too busy with our vacations to actually edit anything here, or are we just texting in our performance over the holidays?) would allow this post in its current form.

@Renegade_Iconoclast

Nothing about my response was anti-Israel, and to contradict your assertion, it was about the hypocrisy of the blatant omission concerning the culpability of the Israelis in the larger picture. As a recent transplant to New York after 25 years in Los Angeles, you can be rest assured that I am neither "anti-Israel" nor an armchair liberal. As a subscriber, I expect Salon to responsibly report all sides of any issue.

Paint your own room as you see it, but don't include me in your fantasies.

@ Renegade_Iconoclast:

The troll in the room needs its attention today, doesn't it?

Talk about missing the point... That there are no sides to these "facts" is patently absurd. Facts support sides. Which is why Mr. Schone incorporated Ralph Nader's "side," or viewpoint contrary to President-elect Obama's that calls Mr. Obama out on his hypocrisy. Or, that Mr. Obama's position originally had another "side," if you will.

The premise reinforced in Mr. Schone's post, is that everything starts with Hamas. Oh, and this is in the un-ironic forum of political discourse entitled "The War Room." Get it? Probably not.

So, I'm done feeding the troll... and I'm on to greener pastures.