Uptown, Downtown

For me, there is nothing like being in the presence of history. The photo above shows some of the bound volumes of our oldest continuous publishing magazine -- The Nation. But it would be a mistake to think this organization is lost back in the 1860s. Please visit The Nation website and find a community of nearly a million people who, like you, don't believe in business as usual.

Today's editorial board meeting was inspiring to me. Yes, we wandered off-course now and then, as any group of people with over-active brains are prone to do. But, the main takeaway is that, despite the current monopoly on political power enjoyed by the political right, there is an alternative vision, based in populist, progressive traditions. That alternative does not wilt and go away in the dry periods, but survives to thrive when conditions again are more favorable.

Thanks to a President who has alienated his own base with a war that cannot be won, plus a pattern of corruption, not to mention a certain Florida Republican who just confirmed many people's perception that those who denounce anyone who is not a straight, right-wing, male, white, conservative Christian are in fact men so perverted that by any standards of decency, they belong behind bars. Thanks to the delicious irony of the Foley case, he faces charges under a law he himself sponsored.

What can get better than that?

I promised last night to issue a political prediction, based on what I heard today. The bad news is that, due to gerrymandering, no more than a half dozen Senate seats and perhaps 30 House seats are actually in play in next month's election. So, despite the GOP's disastrous moves while in power, the party can only lose so much this time around.

But, I predict here that the Democrats will regain control of at least one, and possibly both houses of Congress. That should make the next 2 years interesting, because the majority party gets to chair committees, and committees get to hold hearings and launch investigations.

Let's face it. There is a lot to investigate. Why are we in Iraq anyway? That's a decent place to start.

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