~~~~~

What a difference a day makes

Or, in the immortal words of Nelson Muntz, "HA ha".

It seems things are about to change. Even the beleaguered Iraqis are once again hopeful, cautiously optimistic at least. The House of Representatives and, dare I project, the Senate, are now under the control of the Democrats. Some people, rightfully so, have every reason to be worried about their futures. Others, this writer among them, are hopeful that a balance of power between the legislative and adminstrative branches of government will stop the bleeding.

While there is a general giddyness in Democratic circles, I am not seeing the arrogance we saw in 1994 when the Republicans wrested control from the Democrats. This is a positive as far as I'm concerned. The Democrats in Congress have contributed much to the problems we are faced with, mainly through their annoying tendency to cower and hide from the ideals we want them to represent. They've been given a chance by the electorate, many from the ranks of disgusted GOPers, to show that they can be an effective counterweight to a runaway adminstration and to show they can stem the tide of K-Street corruption, the latter being the biggest issue among certain exit poll results. But, the Dems are on probation. We're all watching. 2008 will be the real report card.

Nancy Pelosi is poised to become the most powerful woman in American history, if not world history, becoming the first woman Speaker of the House. Congratulations in advance! Tough-as-nails, experienced, but also a grandmother, she has put forward a 100-hour plan that doesn't include any baby-eating, devil worship, or nomination of Osama bin Laden as supreme overlord. Her plan does include increasing the minimum wage, enacting the 911 commission recommendations, cutting the student loan interest rate in half, and changing the prescription drug plan to allow the government to negotiate lower prices from drug companies. Her plans also include curtailing subsidies to the hugely profitable oil companies, more funding for homeland security, etc. As far as furthering the homosexual agenda, the GOP seems to be doing fine with that. While she can present her agenda and get it passed in Congress, it still faces the veto pen of the President and we'll certainly see how that works out. What I hope to see from Speaker Pelosi is a calm, measured and intelligent management of the House that brings together the skill of her experience as a tenacious legislator and leader with her experience as a nurturing mother and grandmother. I also expect her to devote a certain amount of time to exposing the dark underbelly of the Bush administation and GOP and nailing some of these fuckholes to the wall.

While nobody wants a singular focus on investigations, the way it was while Clinton was in office, there is an expectation that there be hearings, firings, indictments, prison terms and copious amounts of public ridicule of those who have done so much damage and, in some cases, have committed crimes. At the very least, there is an obligation under our system of laws to investigate and prosecute crimes if there is probable cause, and there certainly is that. Look for C-Span ratings to improve somewhat over the months to come.

The greater agenda should be a positive, inclusive, and uplifting one, but there must be an example set for future leaders that trampling our Constitution is not to be tolerated.

One last thing:

Katherine Harris, you're a trainwreck. You blew your family fortune and still got your ass kicked. Nobody wants you around anymore, especially your own party. Go get a job at the make-up counter at Walmart, after you finish posting your concession speech on fugly.com.