“There are too many moments these days when we cannot recognize our country.” The New York Times lead editorial today echoes what millions of Americans must be feeling as this awful year comes to a close. It was year of self recognition, when Americans finally realized America can no longer pretend to be a moral beacon.

For weeks, the media has been trying to inflame a good fight between the Democratic candidates, and the best they could muster was the Clintons hinting Obama was a roll of the dice, Obama implying Republicans might oppose Edwards and Clinton and Edwards accusing Clinton of working within a corrupt political system. This is tame stuff compared to the Republican cat fights.

As tragic as Benazir Bhutto’s death is, it is hard to really look at her as the savior of Democracy. After all, now we know her 19-year old son will be her successor, under the guidance of his father, Bhutto’s husband. It is hardly democratic for a political party to be dominated as the province of one family.

Ivan “Boogaloo Joe” Jones

What’s on your mind tonight?

For her year-end column, Deborah Howell gave The Washington Post, its owner, editorial page, management, and journalists a jolly good thrashing because she finally wised up to her job description and realized how much she’d let down loyal long-time readers of the paper in 2007.

After a year with no action by the Democratic majority on Iraq except the writing of more and bigger blank checks, a slate of frontrunners for president who claim they will end the war but actually plan to keep the occupation and talk of “success” in Iraq that only the blindness of our bought-and-paid-for media could buy, I thought we could all use a few laughs.

In the airport on my way to Des Moines, where Jeralyn Merritt and I will be bringing you the latest dish from the Iowa caucuses. We agreed to arm wrestle for who gets to be Patsy and who gets to be Edina when we get there.

We’ve got press credentials and will be at the Polk Convention Center on the night of January 3rd when real-time numbers will be tallied. If you’d like to contribute to our Iowa trip fund, you can do it here. Your support, as always, is greatly appreciated — we couldn’t do it without you.

It’s the last FDL Book Salon of the year and it’s been quite an exciting year. Now we’d like to hear from you. What was the best Book Salon? What subjects are most interesting? What would you like to see more of? Ideas?

“He should have bought those radios.”

“The blood of these firefighters is on his hands.”

You can run, Rudi, but you can’t hide.

When I’m confronted with fact-challenged idiocy from the punditocracy, I like to pretend it is coming from Sam the Eagle of Muppet Show fame. That stuffy, “I know far more about this than you.” tone of voice reciting factually inaccurate drivel in ponderous tones of solemn disapproval for things outside his realms of comprehension is the perfect voiceover for Beltway Brahmins and ill-informed wingnuttery.

Give it a try with any columns