Beware.

So we are stuck as there is no way a new trillion dollar program can be pulled off with a single year deficit of 1.4 trillion.

If unemployment rises to 15% nationally (25% to 30% in real numbers) then you can expect to see a push for a WPA style program for energy grid upgrades.

A new REA style program for high speed internet would also put people back to work.

The cost of all of this is public money of which we have none. Chicken/egg once again.

The guarantee of profit to consumers on solar or wind (officially called feed-in-tariffs) requires public money to subsidize the power company program (along with the smart grid). Where does that money come from?

It appears to me that every program on the table requires government money for funding. With our current budget priorities and too-big-to-fail investments we are heading for a much deeper crash. The 10K mark on the DOW was nothing but an over exuberent Wall Street expecting another bubble to save the economy within 12 to 18 months. Once again, they have screwed it up as the old dynamics no longer work in this new economy (or lack thereof).

The 2 to 4 trillion poured into Wall Street could have funded much of a new economy but instead the wealthy class forced the government's hand to rebuild the old economy (and financial hierarchy).

So we teeter on the edge of the abyss; good economic ideas but no government stimulus money left to kickstart, Wall Street making no large capital investments in this country.

Eisenhower sold the interstate highway system by making it a military priority for rapid equipment and troop moves. Redefining our centralized power grid as susceptable to terrorist attack could mean the freeing up of military budget funds to build the smart grid (distributed power feeds). REA style internet access could be sold the same way.

Just cut a supercarrier and you have a smart grid; cut out our troops in Europe and Korea and you have the internet REA.

Europe is preserving their economies by allowing the US to fund global military policing; the same is true for Korea and Japan. We have neglected Central and South America (and Mexico) which are near collapse.

It is time to re-order the military balance of spending and rethink our position of global military dominance to the detriment of our society. The high cost of an overextended military ruling force is what ruined every culture or Empire in history. (I will be glad to argue that against any traditional history major in the room).

He got the message; we'll know in less than 30 days if he was listening.

I would not put him in the "Yes" column or even the maybe column although we are working him hard.

I recently testified for the DOJ in a contempt hearing against the State of Tennessee for their treatment of mentally retarded citizens. Yes, it took the DOJ prosecuting Tennessee (where my sister lives) for the last 17 YEARS to protect the civil rights of the mentally retarded within the State.

Palin's irresponsible statements strike at the fear of every parent or sibling of a severely mentally retarded person; that the State will abandon the services that allow for a decent life for these citizens. I know the frustration of dealing with these issues. I know the fear of responsibility for someone that needs extensive care beyond what a family can provide. To be responsible for such a family member is an overwhelming emotional burden.

Thankfully, the courts are there for the protection of everyone’s civil rights. However, it takes great resources to fight those battles in Federal Court against a powerful entity like one of the States.

Now we have a new heartbreak to deal with; someone as crazy as Palin making outrageous statements conjuring the threat of death to our loved ones. Could we possibly add more fear and emotional burden onto the loved ones of the mentally retarded?

Palin is exploiting her child for personal and political gain. This goes well beyond the boundaries of acceptable social behavior. Where are the outraged MSM at someone that could even contemplate making such mean, hateful, sociopathic comments on a national stage?

Have we become a country where the MSM actually rewards people for crazier and crazier behavior just to spice up the MSM ratings?

To only find solace from Palin's rant on a few blog sites (like the posters here at TPM) is not very reassuring about our society; and then there are the wingnut sites that support her behavior, all the while the MSM remains silent.

Yes, I am feeling offended and emotionally attacked but imagine how my sister would react if she only could do so. That is what pains my heart.

As an atheist I cannot even call down the condemnation of a hell onto Palin. Where then can I find some measure that would impose the suffering onto Sara Palin that she so deserves?

So, now we have our Democratic Majority. In reality, it has become a parliament of divergent groups under the Democratic Banner. At blame are primarily Pelosi and Reid.

The DSSC and other funding groups should be right under Reid and Pelosi telling the Blue Dogs that if they aren't on script they can kiss their campaign contributions good-bye.

That hasn't happened and so it appears that there never was any serious attempt to present a unified Democratic front.

In the name of bi-partisanship, the Dems have lost control of their own agenda.

The single payer march on Dc is another example of the lack of senior level democratic backing and planning. If any of the senior leadership were really serious about single payer it would have already passed both houses and been on the President's desk.

So, rational is correct.

We are being played.

Congress isn't paying any attention to the attendance at the town hall meetings.