Sorry, but my old outrage meter is burned out, and I don’t think the new one will be online until Obama actually takes office and starts to do things. And frankly, I’m enjoying the respite. My god, I’ve even discovered there are still other things than politics! I had totally forgotten!

In terms of his personnel selections, I’ve read reasonable arguments on both sides (as well as a few unreasonable ones), and it’s not my decision nor do I have strong feelings based on knowledge of my own. There is no one who has experience who is without some baggage, and this is a new day and they are in new jobs.

FISA — yes, I was majorly disappointed and I expressed it. I also hope that’s something that DOES change and I’ll do all I can to encourage it. But that happened before the election, and I got past my anger enough that I still donated all the money and time that I could to Obama’s campaign.

And in terms of Lieberman, nothing would satisfy me more today than seeing him told “actions have consequences, Joe,” and stripped of all of power. In fact, personally, I would have loved to see him leave and join the Republicans, and find out how much they despised him when he was just a low-seniority Republican instead of their pet “Democrat.” If Obama had sent the message that he wanted Lieberman voted out, I feel certain that would have happened.

But I do understand the power play Obama made with Lieberman, and while it didn’t satisfy my thirst for revenge, it may bring Obama much more in the long run. And since I can’t do anything about it anyway, I’ll watch it play out and see if he really does have Joe’s balls in his pocket.

Chill for a bit, watch what happens, and let him get sworn in and started on what he’s going to actually do. Then we have almost two years and a lot of work ahead of us to push the Congress and the nation as a whole further in the direction we want it to go.

Many of us put hundreds of hours in for Barack (and I did so in both Colorado and Ohio). Punch the netroots in the stomach once twice three times. Unless something dramatically changes in the next six months and Barack demonstrates through policy changes that he meant anything that he said. I will not be volunteering for him in 2012 and will actively encourage others to pull out.

Can we get our money back?

So it turns out that the endlessly repeated public relations mantra of “Hope and Change” was just that public relations.

Have we heard Obama use the word “change” once since he has been elected?

“Chaange” Hooey!

Back in the day, I lived in a housing co-op that had been the original off-campus home of the school football team, before they got a dorm under the stands of the new football stadium. The provider of the home – a humongous mansion – was Georgia Seagle, and after the football team moved out, she created the trust that made the place a housing co-op for 55 guys (the guys-only clause was in the by-laws.)

Anyway, by the time I walked in off the street as a sophomore who had escaped dorm life, Georgia Seagle Hall was full of Vietnam Vets, a Vietnamese refugee, two guys from Nigeria, Ramon and two other Latinos, two brothers who were working as managers at a Piggly-Wiggly, black guys, white guys, guys with cars, guys with nothing, and a group of audiophiles.

Breakfast was cooked to order by Willie Mae, dinner was at 6:30 every night, and if you left her a note the evening before, she’d fix your favorite bagged lunch, too. We liked Willie Mae so much, she was in all of our house pictures, right in the front middle.

The Chief Justice of the house was the guy who had been there the longest – Butler had been there 7 years when I arrived, which was amazing, because you had to be an enrolled student to live there. If there was a dispute, both sides aired it out in front of him, and then he decided. There were no appeals, but he would declare mis-trials if new evidence were discovered

The lounge of this house was a small theater with rows of fold-down seats, originally the team’s film room – now it had one television up on a shelf. Channel selection was done by majority vote.

Not all the rooms in the house were the same size. In fact, there was a great disparity between them – so much so, that the succession of rooms, from small doubles (like the one I shared) to cavernous singles, was closely watched according to seniority. I saw some amazing deals go down on room-jockeying.

Each evening, I would go hang-out with the audiophiles; we all enjoyed a smoke after dinner. A couple of the audiophiles had been there long enough that their rooms not only contained some of the finest amps, tapes, platters, and speakers ever known, but they also had aquariums, coffee tables, couches for 8, small refrigerators and air conditioners, too.

We’d fire-up the music and settle-in to solving the world’s problems – problems like ’Were Johnny Winter’s eyes really pink?’ and ’Should the French loss at Dien Bien Phu in ’54 have told us that we were destined to lose in Vietnam, too?’

We mostly had very spirited discussions on meaningful, emotion-laden topics, just like in bmaz’s thread here, usually over the course of months. People’s positions would morph over time, as a preponderance of information and persuasion moved the discussion along, and on most of the issues we worked our way through to clear understandings: Johnny Winter’s eyes are pink, and we fucked-up in Vietnam by not learning from the French.

In order to speak-up in opposition to the point being made by somone else, we had only one rule – the Party Rule we called it – if you spoke-up, you had to propose a supportable alternative to the other person’s point. You couldn’t just say, ’That’ll never work!’ or ’Fuck no, they’re not pink!’

You had to pony-up something tangible if you wanted to object – ’It’s not the same, we were air-mobile and the French were fixed in place,’ or ’Well, his eyes look mighty brown to me on the cover of ’Saints and Sinners.’’ You can move those objections forward in the discussion.

So, that’s my long-winded way of saying that this Blog, emptywheel, was before housed at TNH, and it has a legacy tradition of spirited debate on meaningful, emotion-laden issues. If you want to object – please go right ahead – but please, put something tangible on the table.

I’ll do my part – What does ’Give Obama 200 days’ have to do with the point of bmaz’ article? Change We can believe in is Principled Change – There is no honeymoon on that! The passion you are hearing from him, and me, is a Wail that, since the election, Obama has Changed his Tune from Principled to Unprincipled.

We voted for the Rule of Law! That’s not a ’sometime’ thing – without accountability, the Rule of Law is Meaningless to Justice for All.

We don’t Torture – except under Bush, and now he gets a Pass. Do you see? Principled to Unprincipled – Torture As Policy is Wrong, no matter what the DTA or MCA may say.

The AG is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the Nation – he or she ought to be held in high-esteem by the Department of Justice – he or she should radiate stirling Honor. Compared to lhp’s and bmaz’ proposed candidates, Holder is an Ambulance Chaser. Principled to Unprincipled.

Lieberman is a Traitor to the Dems, he should be unceremoniously kicked to the curb – except under Obama, Joe should go unpunished. Do you see? Principled to Unprincipled.

So, please, take your sentimental, sensitive feelings somewhere else, or try to come up with a better objection than Obama deserves a Principle-free honeymoon.

That’s not the Change We voted for – in fact, that’s exactly what Bush has had for the last 8 years.

No response yet !!!!

Dear Joe Lieberman,My name is Charlotte, and I am writing to you to express my complete and utter disgust with your actions throughout the general elections. As a (true) democrat I can not believe you even call yourself one of us. Your actions at the RNC, are completely unforgivable and reprehensible. As someone who campaigned day and night for weeks in a battleground state. I often had to defend against your remarks to citizens who believed your pathetic rhetoric. It was a difficult argument, and I was often taken off message just to make people understand that President-Elect Obama was not the person you, John McCain and Sarah Palin painted him out to be. That Sir was by far one of the most difficult challenges that I faced in this election. While I was working to elect Obama, you were systematically undermining my efforts. Mr. Lieberman, I walked door to door, got chased out of yards, spit at, cursed out, had things thrown at me, dogs chase me and people threaten me. All the while I believed that what I was doing was the right thing for this country and for my family. Yet you Sir seemed to feel that I and countless others were on the wrong side.Given the fact that Obama campaigned for you and helped you in your time of great need, one can only wonder why you couldn’t do the same. You were able to keep your coveted Chairmanship, only because your comrades were too afraid or perhaps too sensible to listen to the will of the people. Were it not for the very one you turned your back on, you would have surly received what you deserved. The very thought that you were able to retain a chairmanship in the (Democratic Party) makes me physically ill. Because of what I had to go through campaigning I am completely offended and totally against the vote. However, since the public had no say or vote in this matter then all I can do is to write you myself. You may have won this round and yes perhaps you did get the last laugh. I am sure it gives you great fulfillment to shun and trot over the efforts of hard working people, by campaigning for the other side, then turning around and smugly ask us to look past it and move forward. I am sure it is easy for you to say these things when you have spent no time in the shoes, homes, or presence of those you spurned. Maybe if you could take one moment to talk to the people who were affected by what you did then possibly you would understand how far reaching your words and actions were. In the halls of Washington, you won’t see the disappointed faces, or hear the discouraged voices of the public, that you swore to represent. If you are really interested in moving forward, then why don’t you do this, “Call” me and let’s have a one on one conversation about my concerns. Call me, let’s talk about how “we” can move forward and put the past in the past. Because to be quite honest, Mr. Lieberman at this point in time the only thing I am interested in doing is literally assisting in anyway possible the Democrat that will campaign against you. Oh, and trust me from the many blogs out there I am not alone in my sentiment. But, I am a sensible person I do want this new administration to work very badly because I am truly vested. I want to move past my anger, my frustration and my distrust of you. So, I am willing to talk and listen to anything you have to say. You can contact me anytime via any means. I don’t want some scripted email I want to hear from you, Senator Lieberman. I will be posting this letter on the many blogs and websites with a daily calendar counter for number of days with no response from you. There are many people who would like some answers, not some generic statement written by a staffer. I am a professional writer, ghostwriter and speechwriter myself so I know when words come from a person’s heart and soul. We (I) want to know what you have to say for yourself. You may reach me at the number below anytime of any day. I will make myself available for an in person meeting should you desire. I am ready to listen, I am ready to understand and I want help moving forward. Thank you for your time and attention in this matter. Feel free to post wherever you like

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Holder

There are two sides, or more in DC, to every story and cas, as I’m sure you know.

You, and a few others in here, continue to lobby loudly, and tirelessly about Obama’s poor choices and the people he’s picked for office to support him, once installed on Jan. 20.

I’m with a few others who have said, enough already, let’s see how he governs thru ‘09, without impeaching him before then.

And let’s not forget who the REALLY bad guys are, and what they’ve done to our nation for 30 or more years.

I’d think any of you would be delighted with a swing left, albeit far from YOUR left.

Let’s remember who the bad guys are. And let’s support the new good guys.

I think there’s ample proof and posit put forth in everything published in the last week or so to show how Obama is building up his staff and angling for a decent starting position come 1/20/09. Cuz, let’s face it, the bad guys continue to wreck the country and the economy every which way they can. It WILL be the worst, or second worst sitch for a new prez to enter in the history of our country.

Obama certainly is not the neocon, war mongering, self serving, oil owning and corp bought beast that the GOP became. *G*

And in two years, I’d like everyone in this forum to look back at where you stood as of today. *G*

Harumph.