nothing to do? there's always more politics!

it's like i always say: when in doubt, wonk it out!

bush goes to iraq! country yawns, wonders what's in the fridge
like the adolescent we always suspected he was, the president snuck out of the country for the afternoon to go joyriding around baghdad, shaking hands, smiling prettily, and infuriating insurgents, who unfortunately ran out of ieds just a few hours before the president arrived. "the great satan himself!" remarked one bemused militia member ruefully, "i knew we shouldn't have blown up that last bus full of schoolchildren. what a waste!" americans, when reached for comment, were confused.

but seriously, he's looking for a bump after the zarqawi/iraqi cabinet mojo wears off, and this might be his last chance to really get some good iraq news rolling before the 9/11 5-year and the beginning of the midterm primaries. in any case, it seems like the american people are finally tired of his nonstop posturing and actually want clear answers. welcome back, the american people! i promise to go easy on the 'i told you so's.

congress unhappy with constitution, sticks head up ass to look for answers
the republican leadership in the senate, led by evil cheer-tator frist, tried to pass another ill-considered constitutional amendment this week: the defend the flag from liberals amendment aka flag-burning. now, i'm no joe brassard-style jingoist, but i do love/have feelings for/like in that way my country and its flag. and that's precisely why i would never want to restrict my right to burn that flag. especially if my country didn't feel the same way about me as i did about it. burning everything that reminds you of your crush is the only way to heal. even oprah says so.

what if they threw a convention and nobody blogged?
fat chance. the first ever yearlykos convention was last weekend in vegas. if you don't know, dailykos is one of the biggest progressive blogs out there, boasting a ginormous readership and gads of influence. markos and friends set out to bring all of the progressive netroots together and succeeded handily, drawing such democratic luminaries as harry reid (who got booed), hillary clinton (who got booed), and wunderkind mark warner (who got crowned).

i have a lot of thoughts on the netroots, most of them good, but i still haven't sorted out my entire position. i think kos, mydd-chris, atrios, digby, et al. are probably on the right track. they have great ideas on how to undercut the consolidation of the mainstream media, play to a wider audience than the msm's homogenized content can affect, and keep the whole thing incredibly, brilliantly, small 'd' democratic. they've already had proven successes: paul hackett, tim kaine, jon tester, ned lamont, and now this guy webb. they're a force to be reckoned with in political commentary, fundraising, grassroots organizing, and now conventioning, i guess. they really do seem to have a fighting chance of forcing the direction of the party away from the dlc, the tammany-style bosses, and the frothy maw of consultancy. all of which is fantastic news, not just for the democrats, but for the entire country. and a few people are listening hard: howard dean, rahm emmanuel, and mark warner.

there's a few things that don't sit right with me though. first, the kneejerk disdain and condescension to the mainstream media. i don't like this for a couple of reasons. the msm should be a resource for the netroots, not an enemy. don't get me wrong, were these people to fall under the auspices of corporate management, the whole operation would be in trouble. but some of the nation's journalists are not patsies for the status quo and they don't kowtow and bootlick nearly as often as rabid msm-haters like kos and atrios attest. with that said, i think there has to be some way to get the msm to do it's job and actually start confronting the government like they used to. the fact is that the netroots' overt bias and partisanship is just as damaging to them as it is to everybody else. and while i also don't defend the msm as being paragons of objectivity, they deserve credit for the few times they go out and try to present all sides of the story. i guess what i'm saying is this. rather than attempt to sabotage or make irrelevant the msm, the netroots should be promoting various methods of media reform across the board.