Well, That Explains A Lot

Airport "Security"

Rightly rebranded "Security Theater".  I wonder how much Mike Chertoff is making from the contracts he's able to influence.  Now that he's done with the "public service" part of his career, he can safely get stinkin' rich by siphoning off a nice pile of taxpayer dollars - knowing that while there's still a real threat of terrorist attack, it's minuscule compared with the amount of money we're throwing at it.

Here's my suggestion:  You can opt out of the body scan, but by doing that, you automatically draw the pat down.  So my idea is that you could insist on a hetero-pat-down.  After all, how do I know the TSA guy isn't gay?  How do I know he isn't getting some kind of a cheap fantasy thrill from coppin' a feel off a stranger's junk?  If somebody has to rub up against my tender bits, I have to insist on having a woman do it.

Close Encounters

...of the police state kind.

9/11 changed everything, because our reactions to the terror of that day have created the conditions necessary for the petty tyrants to be handed power.

Here's a blogger describing the events at an airport in San Diego.

I wonder how many of us have to be abused before we find the courage to insist that we be allowed to take the risks of living in freedom again.

Verifiable Voting

Design And Engineering

Death Penalty

I don't really have a hard and fast position on the death penalty.  I think I have to lean more to the Anti side because we seem to have such a hard time getting it right; ie: there's a heavy probability that hundreds of not-really-guilty people have been killed by state governments over the last 20 or so years.

That said, I still think there're people in this world we can do without:  Charles Manson, Tim McVeigh, Celine Dion.  Anyway, I think what has to happen is that we need to raise the standard of proof a bit if we want the jury to convict for a capital offense.

We can argue about "cruel and unusual" or the over-representation of minorities on death row, or the silliness of continuing to apply 8000-year-old philosophies to modern age problems; but the main reason we need to change the way we approach capital punishment is that we have to keep assholes like GW Bush from killing innocent people in order to score  political points.

Read this. 

Push Back

It's at least doubtful that confrontation will change anybody's mind, but it's always a good thing to stand up to bullying.

One of the protesters makes mention of a newish slant on the anti-choice side of the debate - suicide risk among women who've had abortions. So of course I had to do a little research on that one, and guess what? They made it up. There is no credible clinical authority that recognizes any causal link between abortion and suicide. It's just another in a long line of bullshit arguments manufactured by smug self-righteous Right Radicals.

(tip o' the hat to Nick and friends for posting this on FB)

Today's T-shirt

Projection

Hearing about Sarah Palin's little word spasm at a school in Pennsylvania allowed me to take a small step closer to what I think is a bigger truth.

Palin characterized attempts to teach kids and parents about healthy diets as some kind of dictate from big government.

I think this is revealing - I don't think it's a big stretch to say Palin thinks education is all about indoctrination.  And I think it illustrates the main difference between these Right Radicals and the so-called Lefties.

"Liberals" wanna teach kids how to think; "conservatives" wanna tell kids what to think.

The Next War Between The States

I re-watched Jon Stewart's interview with RIck Perry from last night a coupla times, and something popped into my brain.

1) the attack on Federal Power continues unabated - the approach being to starve the beast.  Extending the Bush tax cuts is being sold to us as "economic stimulus", but the point is to cut off the funding for all federal programs except Defense, Law Enforcement, and just enough social services to keep people from getting too riled up.
    
2) the attacks are aimed at having that power devolve to the states where the Repubs have majorities in 26 state legislatures, which gives them a big advantage because they get to redraw the voting districts, which gives them more power and control right down to the local jurisdictions.

3) the competition between states for companies and their jobs has kicked in to a higher gear.

We've entered an era of economic disruption that is manifesting itself in what looks like a race for the bottom.  Perry said over 100 businesses have left California and relocated to Texas because Texas has a more business-friendly environment (Regulation, Tax, Lawsuit, etc).  To me this means we can look forward to a rash of companies outsourcing jobs from a "labor-friendly" state to one that has stripped away requirements aimed at wages, safety net, work place standards, environment & consumer protection - you name it.  Other states will think they have little choice but to respond in kind because there's no shortage of phony populists who'll gladly lead that charge.

Can you say "Feedback Loop"?  It gets worse before it gets better - if it gets better.

The Genius Of Balloon Juice

The whole post and nuthin' but the post From DougJ:

There’s a new study on how high-profile academic financial economists are paid to do the bidding of our Galtian overlords:

In this study, we showed that the great majority of two groups of prominent academic financial economists did not disclose their private financial affiliation even when writing pieces on financial reform. This presents a potential conflict of interest. If this pattern prevailed among academic financial economists more broadly this, in our view, would represent an even greater social problem. Academic economists serve as experts in the media, molding public opinion. They are also important players in government policy. If those that are creating the culture around financial regulation as well as influencing policy at the government level for financial reform also have a significant, if hidden, conflict of interest, our public is not likely to be well-served.

Felix Salmon makes the obvious point...with a telling anecdote:

It seems obvious that when you’re regularly making significantly more than the median national annual personal income from giving a single speech, you’re prone to being captured by the people paying you all that money. And the secrecy makes things much worse. I once mentioned in passing on my blog a consultancy gig which I happened to know about and didn’t think was particularly secret. The consultant in question phoned me up extremely distraught, fearful that the employer, a hedge fund, would read my post and react to it with a whole parade of nasty possible actions. There’s no good reason for such secrecy on either the employer or the employee side — unless, of course, there’s something ethically suspect about the arrangement in the first place.

Maybe I’m wrong to fixate on this so much, but I see this kind of thing as the central problem facing contemporary democracies: it’s too easy for monied interests to control the flow of information. You want a very serious economist to endorse whatever scam you’re running? Give him a few hundred thousand for speaking fees, consulting fees, whatever the term is that they’re using these days. That’s chump change, but it’s a lot to him or her, and you can probably find a respectable person who’s enough of a whore to do it, if you look around.

There’s a crazy asymmetry at work when things that are worth a lot can be bought for so little, and this is just one example. People make a big deal out $4 billion spent on an election. That’s not a lot of money to buy off the people who run a $3 trillion budget. At least there used to be transparency about that particular form of bribery, but not anymore.

Careful With This One

You could break your brain.

Why Don't They Listen?

I found it!  The so-called conservatives have long been among the most vocal deniers of Climate Change, and I think I know why now.

Watch this one and pay particular attention to what Kent Butts has to say (at about the 1:50 mark).
"...an ice-free arctic, where 25% of the world's resources of oil and natural gas according to USGS may be found."



They don't want us to do anything about Climate Change because they need the ice in the Arctic Sea to go away.

BTW: I think it won't be a lot longer before a large bi-partisan group of politicians can stop pretending and acknowledge the simple fact that they're actually working for Big Oil.

Climate Change

Not that it'll make much difference now that the Right Radicals have taken us around the bend, but hey - fut the whuck, y'know?

We Are So Fucked

Bill Moyers addressing a crowd at Boston Univ a couple of weeks ago.

This is your homework for the week. You must listen to the whole thing if you expect full credit for this course.

Sleight Of Hand

Hey, Tea Partiers - while you're busy getting suckered into wasting your political energies on birth certificates and gays in uniform and Sharia Law and whatever else, the Republicans you've been electing to office are busy trying to give $370,000 of your money to Bill Clinton, while adding $700 BILLION to that deficit y'all keep bitchin' about.

Banana Republic of America.

Just sayin'.

The Conservative Case For Climate Change

It is my firmest conviction that the people being called "conservatives" right now are not conservative at all, but quite radical.

Here is a piece in WaPo this morning making a good part of the case for me.

In fact, far from being conservative, the Republican stance on global warming shows a stunning appetite for risk. When faced with uncertainty and the possibility of costly outcomes, smart businessmen buy insurance, reduce their downside exposure and protect their assets. When confronted with a disease outbreak of unknown proportions, front-line public health workers get busy producing vaccines, pre-positioning supplies and tracking pathogens. And when military planners assess an enemy, they get ready for a worst-case encounter.

...

Today's conservatives would do well to start thinking more like military planners, reexamining the risks inherent in their strategy. If, instead, newly elected Republicans do nothing, they will doom us all to bigger government interventions and a large dose of suffering - a reckless choice that's anything but conservative.

The Real Victory

Repubs won the midterms, taking the House and whittling away at the Dems' strength in the Senate.  But I think the real impact comes from the Repubs' bigger wins in Governors and State Houses.  38 states have Repub governors, and while I can't find the exact numbers, I've heard reports from different sources to the effect that a good-sized majority of state legislatures are Repub majorities.  So what we'll get now is redistricting aimed at shoring up those majorities at the state level, which will further entrench Repub incumbents.  This is exactly what the Dems would be planning if the results had gone the other way, so hold your fire.

The point here is that there may be better ways to approach the task of redrawing the lines.

Here's one.

Politicians have an obvious incentive to fuck us over for the sake of maintaining their power, and we give them the means to do just that when we elect them. But we don't have to just sit and watch while they do it.

Perriello's Farewell

My guy got beat Tuesday night, but he's a class act all the way.  This is the email he sent out to his supporters.

This has been an awesome couple of years and couple of months. I promised you I would have your back against the powerful interests in Washington, and last night, you had mine. Even though we fell short of reelection, we defied the pundits in the roughest of political years. Because I come out of faith-based justice work instead of politics, I can see last night as a victory for conviction and hard work for the idea that when you fight for the people, the people win.

Consider this. We won Danville, Martinsville, Charlottesville, Albermarle, Prince Edward, Brunswick, Buckingham, and Nelson with stronger than expected turnout. Over 110,000 voters had our back last night. And when you compare us to other races across the state and nation, we dramatically outperformed others in "safer" districts and those where members had either dodged the tough votes or run away from them after. And we did not back away from this President when it would have been convenient, because in politics, I will stand with the problem solvers over the political game players any day.

Look at what else we have won. Because of our work together, we turned near-economic collapse into nine straight months of private sector job growth. Because of our work together, 1,800 homes in our district have been weatherized, putting people to work making $20 an hour. Because of our work together, over 20,000 young people in our district are getting more aid to afford college. Over 120 small business owners got the loans to live their American dream. And being a woman is no longer considered a pre-existing condition in this country. And because of our work together, Medicare is now solvent for a generation and beyond, and I do not believe any party will have the gall to roll that back.

I wake up this morning inspired by the people-powered, conviction politics we offered and the incredible results it produced. I feel bolstered by a team that understands real change does not happen with one election night victory or end with one loss. We shouldn't have expected nirvana after our win in 2008 and we shouldn't expect armageddon now. As I told the crowd last night, my father made me promise when I entered politics that I would always consider Judgement Day more important than election day, because doing what's right is more important than winning elections. I believe he is smiling on us today, and that he is thankful for all of you who sacrificed so much to offer a better kind of politics in America.

One More

From Everlast. Ya gotta be careful with this guy - too much and you're gonna paint the ceiling with your brains.

That said, I get a sneaking suspicion we'll be hearing a lot more of this kinda tune in the years ahead. Hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

The Dissenter

GW Bush is about to unleash his memoirs, and one of the focal points is to start the whitewashing of his criminal behavior in taking us to war in Iraq.

Here's a quick look at some of the shit Bush dropped our people into.

"Really, I'm tryin' to do the right thing; I hope my government can say the same."

A Bit Better

Mercy Now - Mary Gauthier

Feelin' a little beat down today. I guess we just keep pluggin' along and hope for the best.

We Are So Fucked

From Paul Krugman's piece in NYT:

So the moralizers are winning. More and more voters, both here and in Europe, are convinced that what we need is not more stimulus but more punishment. Governments must tighten their belts; debtors must pay what they owe.

The irony is that in their determination to punish the undeserving, voters are punishing themselves: by rejecting fiscal stimulus and debt relief, they’re perpetuating high unemployment. They are, in effect, cutting off their own jobs to spite their neighbors.

But they don’t know that. And because they don’t, the slump will go on.

Asking The Right Question

Truth Will Out

Clint McCance. Remember that name. Notable for two reasons, I think.
1) he's a complete raging asshole redneck.
2) there's a small probability that he's trying to stop being a complete raging asshole redneck.

It's pretty amazing that he wanted to talk openly on the air about it and that he seems fairly contrite. We can wonder about ulterior motives, and about his true level of sincerity, but the thing that sticks with me is that he comes off as being genuinely conflicted about the whole thing. It's like he read his Facebook comments afterwards and was himself shocked at what a complete raging asshole redneck he actually is.

There's a kicker, too. The guy's Facebook comments were to the effect that if his own kids were gay, he'd run them off. He'd disown them. He'd refuse to allow them near him. During the interview, he says at least twice that he loves his kids, and that they mean the world to him, and he expands that out to say he'd never do anything to hurt anybody's kids. But very near the end, Cooper asks him how he'd react if his own kid turns out to be gay, and the guy equivocates. Watch.

A Joke

From a comment posted at HuffPo, via Balloon Juice:

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost so she lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

"She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be an Obama Democrat."

"I am,"replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Republican."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."

The Teabagger Shuffle

If Tea Party candidates believe everybody working for "The Gummint" is stupid and lazy, how come they all wanna work for the government?

Geeks Rock

Benoit Mandlebrot died last week - I think this is a fitting tribute

Dear Ikea,

About those directions...

One From Mr Moon Martin

I actually have this album.

The Mis-Informant

Dylan Ratigan Gets It

Crossover

More On DADT

So the nice judge in San Diego does a smack-down on DADT, and Obama does nothing.  The only thing coming from the White House is Mr Gibbs saying that DADT will end at some time - he doesn't know how or when, but it will end.  Excuse me sir, but what the fuck is all that?

The only thing I can think of is that somebody in the administration thinks there may be some kind of deal to be made here.  They think they can use the demise of DADT as leverage to get something else done(?)

It's one of the shittiest things about politics - you take an issue that should be a no-brainer and you put together a bill that addresses it, and then you start counting the votes, and since you know it's gonna pass almost no matter what, you can let some of your caucus members vote against it anyway because it's a good opportunity to pander to a certain demographic in their districts blah blah blah.

I just wonder what kind of quid pro quo is happening here.

For me, this is pretty simple.  It's about equal rights, and if you can't figure out how to lead on something as basic as that, then you need to open a shoe store or somethin' cuz you're in the wrong fuckin' business.

Almost Gone

Makes Me Wanna Holler

District Judge Virginia Phillips in San Diego has issued a ruling that says the US military has to shit-can the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell.

I suppose now we can all look forward to the Repubs and TheoCons making lots of noise about "activist judges legislating from the bench", and we can prob'ly expect the Dems to run and hide.

Here's a tho't on what Obama and Reid and Pelosi might try:  "Judge Phillips has done exactly what a good judge is supposed to do, and she did it exactly the way the Founders envisioned it: The Judiciary is there to balance the powers of the other 2 branches.  She struck down an unjust law.  She told Government that you don't treat people that way.  She got the Government off of people's backs".

Is it really that hard?

Things MLK Had To Say To Us

A Librul Dose Of Sarcasm

Coin Operated Politicians

See if you can guess who voted against Finance Regulation Reform.

Senator	2010 Wall Street Cash	Career Wall Street Cash
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)	$1,600,000	$4,900,000
Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT)	$1,500,000	$2,600,000
Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO)	$333,600	$3,300,000
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)	$1,500,000	$3,300,000
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)	$2,500,000	$3,500,000
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)	$451,700	$1,200,000
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)	$3,100,000	$3,300,000
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)	$3,200,000	$4,700,000
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)	$1,300,000	$2,600,000
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)	$1,100,000	$2,000,000
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH)	$233,200	$1,100,000
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)	$1,400,000	$2,600,000
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)	$1,400,000	$4,700,000
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA)	$1,500,000	$4,200,000
Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ)	$2,800,000	$3,800,000
Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN)	$412,200	$2,500,000
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)	$947,600	$34,000,000
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)	$4,300,000	$5,300,000
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)	$268,200	$909,700
Sen. John Thune (R-SD)	$1,600,000	$3,900,000
Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH)	$435,200	$2,800,000
21 Republicans
0 Democrats
Senate Total	$31,881,700	97,209,700

House Member	2010 Wall Street Cash	Career Wall Street Cash
Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La.	$106,500	$422,300
Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala.	$611,600	$4,400,000
Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C.	$20,400	$806,700
Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark.	$24,900	$663,700
Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill.	$395,000	$1,900,000
Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.	$1,200,000	$3,800,000
Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio	$1,300,000	$3,700,000
Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Ala.	$90,400	$702,200
Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif.	$190,000	$733,400
Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark.	$257,700	$491,000
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla.	$123,100	$722,200
Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va.	$92,700	$1,400,000
Rep. Charles Boustany Jr, R-La.	$226,300	$934,600
Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas	$157,000	$840,500
Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C.	$35,700	$494,000
Rep. Vernon Buchanan, R-Fla.	$336,800	$1,400,000
Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif.	$180,300	$940,300
Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich.	$588,000	$1,700,000
Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif.	$413,400	$1,200,000
Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va.	$2,100,000	$4,400,000
Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del.	$749,100	$3,200,000
Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C.	$23,400	$502,500
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.	$110,000	$686,000
Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas	$161,500	$711,800
Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla.	$86,100	$717,000
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas	$90,600	$606,900
Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa.	$177,900	$881,000
Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas	$324,200	$1,900,000
Rep.Vernon Ehlers, R-Mich.	$8,500	$292,200
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo.	$143,900	$904,400
Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Okla	($1,000)	$340,700
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J.	$86,200	$840,300
Rep. Jim Gerlach, R-Pa.	$251,600	$1,800,000
Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas	$140,000	$1,100,000
Rep. Wally Herger, R-Calif.	$171,500	$1,100,000
Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich.	($1,000)	$300,600
Rep. Bob Inglis, R-S.C.	0	$572,800
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.	$173,900	$1,600,000
Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill.	$1,900,000	$4,200,000
Rep. John Kline, R-Minn	$170,900	$989,100
Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif.	$31,800	$748,000
Rep. Daniel E. Lungren, R-Calif.	$147,700	$622,500
Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif.	$132,100	$1,100,000
Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif.	$144,500	$902,000
Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz.	$130,900	$558,000
Rep. Sue Myrick, R-S.C.	$93,600	$1,200,000
Rep. Soloman Ortiz, D-Texas	$40,200	$381,700
Rep. George Radanovich, R-Calif.	$24,900	$462,000
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala.	$128,200	$1,000,000
Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky.	$50,200	$468,000
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.	$127,000	$986,000
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.	$531,500	$1,900,000
Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio	$121,900	$519,700
Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz.	$39,700	$1,200,000
Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa.	$30,700	$403,600
Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Ind.	$20,500	$266,900
Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo.	$112,500	$524,200
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas	$258,900	$1,300,000
Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind.	$40,500	$405,800
Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio	$169,300	$476,300
Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla.	$79,200	$494,800
Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb.	$202,600	$1,400,000
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas	$42,500	$603,400
Rep. Patrick Tiberi, R-Ohio	$555,500	$2,800,000
Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich.	$81,700	$929,400
Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.	$180,700	$732,400
Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.	0	$715,700
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.	$155,500	$580,200
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va.	$90,400	$1,100,000
60 Republicans	$15,873,400	$72,443,800
9 Democrats	$1,108,400	$7,233,000
House Total	$16,981,800	$79,676,800

Where's My Recovery?

The recession "ended" in the summer of 2009 - except it didn't.  GDP Growth has to run ahead of Population and Productivity Growth by a percentage point or two in order to maintain a healthy expansion. +1 or 2% GDP ain't gonna cut it.

Via WaPost, here's a good illustration of why we'll be waiting for a good while before we see anything that looks and feels like a real recovery.

St Ayn Sez

Paraphrasing - Contradiction exists, but it cannot prevail.

Quick Tho't

Trying to make some connections.
There are those who feel the need to keep certain facts of the world away from us - or so it seems when I try to figure out why the Theocons attack something as essential as Evolution.

So here we go:
1) without an understanding of Evolution Theory, you can't make much sense of biology.
2) without understanding biology, you can't do much about cancer (eg).
3) being unable to attack the causes of cancer, you have to be satisfied with a status quo.

Who benefits from the status quo?
Who makes money and holds power now with the way things are?
If we could find cures for diseases - or relatively simple ways to prevent them - would we still support the Pharmaceutical Industry the way we do now?

Who makes it possible for the Theocons to raise doubt and create resistance to science education?

Because Money Talks

Sister Sarah

Here's a load of the usual gag-inducing mutual stroking, but near the end Levin brings up Palin's new book, and I can't help but think she's definitely in the race for 2012 now (she's polling 2nd, just behind Romney).  The book is her attempt to establish herself as the Giver of the National Myth, which is a vital part of a Leo Strauss-type strategy, with a slight Christianist twist.  And that basically goes like this:   She has been to the mountain and she's back now to deliver God's word to His chosen people - and of course, since God has chosen us, and since God has told us this thru her, then it should be obvious that God has chosen Sarah Palin to lead us.

It could also still mean that she's really just making sure she's at the front of line of power brokers and king makers.

Must Read

Matt Taibbi is a curmudgeon, and a contrarian, and royal pain in the ass when it comes to cutting thru the political bullshit; and his conclusions are almost never wrong.

From Rolling Stone:

The individuals in the Tea Party may come from very different walks of life, but most of them have a few things in common. After nearly a year of talking with Tea Party members from Nevada to New Jersey, I can count on one hand the key elements I expect to hear in nearly every interview.

One: Every single one of them was that exceptional Republican who did protest the spending in the Bush years, and not one of them is the hypocrite who only took to the streets when a black Democratic president launched an emergency stimulus program. ("Not me — I was protesting!" is a common exclamation.)

Two: Each and every one of them is the only person in America who has ever read the Constitution or watched Schoolhouse Rock. (Here they have guidance from Armey, who explains that the problem with "people who do not cherish America the way we do" is that "they did not read the Federalist Papers.")

Three: They are all furious at the implication that race is a factor in their political views — despite the fact that they blame the financial crisis on poor black homeowners, spend months on end engrossed by reports about how the New Black Panthers want to kill "cracker babies," support politicians who think the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was an overreach of government power, tried to enact South African-style immigration laws in Arizona and obsess over Charlie Rangel, ACORN and Barack Obama's birth certificate.

Four: In fact, some of their best friends are black! (Reporters in Kentucky invented a game called "White Male Liberty Patriot Bingo," checking off a box every time a Tea Partier mentions a black friend.)

And five: Everyone who disagrees with them is a radical leftist who hates America.

Austerity

Tea Partiers ain't gonna like this one.

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