The big advantage most conservatives have had over most progressives throughout recent American history is way more disposable income. Lots of that translates into buttloads of material crap we don't need or want, of course, but also into something far more significant:

The time, energy and resources to push their conservative agenda.

This year's economic crisis, however, levels the playing field as newly-strapped reguzzlicans face looming poverty with little, if any, of our poverty management skills.

Their SUV payments, McMansion mortgages, gold card statements and other trappings of extra-excessive excess are excessfully drowning the excessful in stinking excesspools of debt.

Aaahh, that felt good.  

But this is no time for po'boy gloating. Instead, we progressives must press the advantage by doing even better at what we do best - making do.  Now, while the rich and their surrogates are preoccupied with bankruptcy, is the time to strike back by maximizing our own purchasing power and, by extension, growing our political power as well. 

"No Innocent Bystanders," by Mickey Z
Published by CWG Press, Sept. 2008

Well, I told my wife the other day, a book has to be perfect, or I won't read it.

Ruth looked at me and her eyes said, I knew you were a piece of garbage the day I met you, you, you arrogant neo-Nebraska a-hole ... the last twenty-six, seven, eight years have been wasted.

She said, "What?"

I said, you know, I have to like it. So do you. That's what everybody does.

Well, Mickey Z's book is not perfect, but I like it.

I think you will too.

It is organized sort of like a Michael Moore book.

Part of the organization are lists of species we have lost, along with chapters on various musings, like Mickey has dumped his pockets of all the notes he made while spending the day on the subway, walking around the city sitting in the park with pigeons on his knees, watching, making notes.

Mickey Zezima harbors deep observations of Americans and America. It is our luck that he chooses to share them.

They go to the root, perhaps like Ted Rall, maybe Dorothy Day.

Today's vote on the Paulson Plunder Act of 2008 may fail. It should. You should help block it by phoning your representative right now at (202) 224-3121 and promising to vote for them in November only if they vote NO on this grand larceny today. We do have a chance at winning on this and blocking this bill. Here's why.

First, the corporatists have put a bunch of true believers in office. They thought it'd be really clever to convince people that government is evil and should shrink and that the highest good is cutting taxes. They've carved out a huge loophole for the biggest increaser in spending, taxes, and debt: the military. But Congress Members are notorious for not being able to think straight in the presence of tanks and waving flags. Today's vote is not on eliminating a useful public program, and not on putting our grandchildren into debt in order to kill some foreigners either. Today's vote is on whether we should put our grandchildren into debt in order to give a pile of money to the same crowd that is always demanding that people be held responsible for their mistakes, and some of the money could even go to multinational or

Wow! The Obama campaign is doing a terrific job so far don't you think?

I really feel that obama has a really good chance that he will become president. He really took charge when the bail out crisis was going on! Presidents have to juggle many things all at once, and i think he showed that he has what i takes to handle a crisis like that and handle the big debate! Big thumbs up on that one.

Anyways, now i have to get to the subject of teenage politics. So far the amount of teenagers that have taken a part in both campaigns has gotten greater and greater and i am so happy to see that. On the Nick channel they have a series going on about how many kids are actually taking part in the Obama or McCain campaign and its really interesting to see how many teenagers\ kids that are so into this whole politics thing. I thought that i would mention that some of the sixth graders in my school have been following my  footsteps and have been getting more active in politics. i am so happy to hear every time when i walk past the 6th grade L.A teacher and he says that some of his kids are really into that

There was only one foreign policy asked about in Friday night's foreign policy debate: war and potential wars.

Obama began the debate by allowing McCain to get away with claiming the mantle of "accountability" on the issue of a bailout that rewards fraud in financial markets. Why? Because Obama won't oppose the bailout.

Then he let McCain get away with complaining about a huge increase in the size of government, without pointing out that the larger "size" of government is wars and military spending supported by McCain (and Obama).

Obama finally spoke up on a serious and good difference with McCain on taxes, even going so far as to speak in favor of taxing businesses rather than people, but allowed McCain to seize the high ground on earmarks and "pork barrel spending."

In most cases, Obama spoke on one topic and McCain on another. This was not a debate in which both were required to speak on the same points.