Begun, The 2010 Election Has

The president used his weekly Youtube speech to lay out the battle lines for the 2010 election.

Here are some of the highlights:

Too often, the Republican leadership in the United States Senate chooses to filibuster our recovery and obstruct our progress. And that has very real consequences.

[...]

Think about what these stalling tactics mean for the millions of Americans who've lost their jobs since the recession began. Over the past several weeks, more than two million of them have seen their unemployment insurance expire.

[...]

So after years of championing policies that turned a record surplus into a massive deficit, including a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, they've finally decided to make their stand on the backs of the unemployed. They've got no problem spending money on tax breaks for folks at the top who don't need them and didn't even ask for them; but they object to helping folks laid off in this recession who really do need help.

BP Oil Gusher Finally Capped

Word on the street is that the oil spill has finally been capped. While that doesn't change the fact that this is still a complete disaster, it's quite a relief to know that the eruption is over, at least for now.

Meanwhile, Anderson Cooper reported last night on the blackout the media is facing in spill zones. This is Bush Administration-style bullshit that the White House has to remedy directly.

Frustrated Ratigan Boots Stonewalling Congressman

This clip is the epitome of what's wrong with cable news. While I agree with Dylan Ratigan, his righteous anger at a Republican member of Congress does nothing for the vast majority of people who don't understand the issues. It sounds just like Fox News does most of the time. I can't help but think that Ratigan would have been far more effective if he would not have been emoting like Mel Gibson the entire time. Kicking a stonewalling, talking points-spewing mouthpiece for corporate crooks off the show is a brilliant idea. But do it calmly and deliberately and it would mean so much more.

UPDATE: You know what? I take it back. Go ahead, Dylan, yell your head off, buddy. These guys are graverobbers.

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Sudanese President Charged with Genocide

Today, for the first time in history, the International Criminal Court issued charges of genocide. The charges, three counts of genocide, were levied against Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir after years of mayhem and mass slaughter in the country's Darfur region left approximately 300,000 people dead and another 2.7 million displaced.

How the court's authority will be enforced remains to be seen. In 2009, Al-Bashir was charged with a slate of seven war crimes for atrocities in Darfur, and all that's happened to him was re-elected to a new five-year term. He does not accept the court's authority and has no plans to turn himself in.

The blog Afrospear looks at a list of "stinking dictators the world over".

The Obama Administration You Do Not See on TV

The President spoke today at a company in Kansas City called Smith Electric Vehicles. It's small, innovative companies like this that the administration has been consistently supporting that is keeping the economy from totally collapsing. People may have a hard time seeing this through the media distortion, but what Obama is talking about in this clip is his quite legacy. If congress changes hands or if he is not re-elected, this long-term foundation for a real recovery is going to go to waste.

On a completely different note: YouTube users who do not allow their videos to be embedded really grind my gears.

UPDATE: Here's more on the White House's innovation initiative. Why they aren't saturating the media with this kind of thing I have no idea.

Economic Downturn, A Marxist Perspective

Sociologist David Harvey recently explained the current economic meltdown from a Marxist perspective at London's Royal Society for the Arts (h/t Cory Doctorow). This clip includes animation from Cognitive Media.

Meet the Utilities Nazi

When Arizona passed their "papers" law, I guess I thought of that as the end point of the crazy.

Not even close.

At least, if Republican Barry Wong has his way. Wong is running for a spot on the Arizona Corporation Commission, which is an elected body that decides public utility issues. He wants to force utilities to verify their customers' citizenship status and, if you don't have your papers--no cable or electricity for you!

I Knew It! Also, Siegelman Appeal Gets New Life

The Government Accountability Office has found seven instances of improper burrowing by the Bush Administration! Finally, we nailed those assholes. I knew they were burrowing all along!

Okay, I have no idea what burrowing is, but I'll take it. At this point, I'm going to find out what this whole burrowing thing is all about, but clearly, whatever it is, I'm sure no one is the least bit worried about going to jail.

TPM's Justin Elliott describes the practice thus:

...political appointees shifting to career civil servant positions in a given agency...

So the administration expires after eight years, but the ideology lives on through the actions of the burrowers. Guess where the majority of this took place. C'mon, guess.

Yeah, it's the former home of Monica Goodling, the Justice Department. I'm sure there's no connection.

Speaking of the Bush Justice Dept., Don Siegelman will get another shot at his appeal thanks to the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of U.S. vs. Skilling. This is good news for the former Alabama governor who's conviction stank badly, but it's still not over.

You Knew it was Bad, But This Guy Documented the Experience

CBSNews.com's Shira Lazar talks to Josh Fox, the director of the devastating documentary Gasland that is currently running on HBO.