Preface: I have nothing but the utmost respect for digby, which is why I was surprised, taken aback, and inspired to write this. I still have the utmost respect for digby. I just disagree with her. Strongly.

Eugene Robinson nailed this right to the wall, and Adam Serwer missed the mark with his arguments for why Robinson was wrong.

Are voters behaving like spoiled brats? Robinson:

This isn’t an “electoral wave,” it’s a temper tantrum.

[...]

The nation demands the impossible: quick, painless solutions to long-term, structural problems. While they’re running for office, politicians of both parties encourage this kind of magical thinking. When ...

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I am grateful beyond words that the last combat troops are leaving Iraq today. For those of you inclined to say, “but, but, but…there’s 50,000 left there!” I point you to these statistics. Note Afghanistan and Iraq have not been updated since May, 2010.

This was a war that didn’t have to happen, but it did. Today should be a day for celebration because at the very least, this war is over. And don’t forget, the remaining 50,000 troops are scheduled to leave Iraq by December, 2011.

Bonus

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Good post from Yahoo News about how the “Ground Zero” mosque framing is entirely inaccurate.

Salon’s Justin Elliot noted Monday that the “Ground Zero mosque” controversy started to take shape in early May, with conservative Pamela Geller, of the Atlas Shrugs blog, and the New York Post leading the charge. It was only after such opposition gained steam — and in the wake of an important local community board vote — that the words “Ground Zero mosque” started appearing in headlines of national publications.

Just in case you weren’t aware that most news flurries aren’t news, have absolutely no basis in fact, and are intentionally spun to create dissent or criticism (but mostly division) among varying factions, walk through the past 36 hours with me.

1. Friday evening, 8:30pm EDT: The White House releases text and video of President Obama’s speech at the White House Iftar dinner, where he very specifically reinforces the First Amendment right to freedom of religion, saying this:

   As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. (Applause.) ...
   
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Because Ms. Dancer has been sick most of this week and I’m tired and grumpy. Nothing can get me laughing faster than The Pug’s soulful duets with the BigDog or Sticks. This one is with BigDog.

Can’t be outraged all the time…It becomes exhausting.

Also, there’s some photos from our Tuesday rally at Elton Gallegly’s office here. Good times, good times. (He was in DC, voting against the bill to keep teachers and firefighters employed.)

It’s Friday the 13th. Think I’ll take my chances with the crazy drivers in this town and ride the bike for some clarity. Enjoy your weekend.

Elton Gallegly’s (R-CA) recent confirmation that he’s toying with the possibility of joining the tea party caucus made me laugh aloud. First, it’s a joke because it would require him to actually do something. For 20+ years, he’s gone to Washington largely to do very little, and certainly nothing that would offend the party faithful.

Those of you who don’t live in California Congressional District 24 probably don’t know who Elton Gallegly is, beyond possibly hearing the name in a roll call or two. That’s because he doesn’t do much of anything other than vote against everything in Congress, write an ...

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I received the following email yesterday from Democracy for America, Howard Dean’s activist organization. After waiting more than 24 hours for them to correct themselves, I unsubscribed for the second time. I will not go back.

The first time I unsubscribed, it was because Dean went on MSNBC and shouted out for a “Kill the Bill” movement with respect to the Affordable Care Act, because it did not contain the public option which Dean didn’t support until he did. This time, it was a direct response to this email from Arshad Hasan, Executive Director of DFA:

That’s right, I said it ...

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My ambivalence on Afghanistan has not diminished. On an almost-daily basis I feel self-contradictory and utterly torn.

I never wanted to send troops to Afghanistan. A timeworn memory in this house is me, stomping around the house shaking my fist, ranting about it. It wasn’t at all helpful to the dialogue, but then-President Bush wasn’t really listening to me either, nor did he really much care to listen.

In fact, not too many people really did. New York, Washington DC and Philadelphia had just been attacked by wild-eyed zealots, and that turned a ...

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Lightning strikes three of the tallest buildings in Chicago at the same time! from Craig Shimala on Vimeo.

The fascinating thing to me about this video is the difference between the realtime capture of lightning striking three of Chicago’s tallest buildings at once, and the slower, more nuanced and detailed versions of the same event.

Last week’s Shirley Sherrod story and this week’s Wikileaks story feel like the lightning strike in real time. Everyone can see the flash and might even figure out that three buildings were hit at the same time if they had a wide enough view, which would leave ...

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If you’ve been reading my blog from the early days, you know about my involvement with Julie Amero’s fight for justice. But for new readers, know this: Julie Amero was the victim of a poorly secured network, vicious malware, and a culture of suspicion and ignorance within the ranks of the law enforcement community in Norwich, Connecticut.

After very nearly being sentenced to forty years in prison for the heinous act of trying to shield students in a class where she was substitute teaching from pornography being served via popup to her school computer, after losing the child she was carrying ...

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