Sometimes I have to pump some political courage into our candidates and incumbents and coax them to support difficult or controversial items on the progressive agenda. Our guest today isn’t that kind of candidate. Jonathan Tasini, whose politico-spiritual mentor is Paul Wellstone, is the kind of figure who I fully expect to call me and ask me why I’m not working harder to round up more votes for Employee Free Choice or against the War Supplemental.

Larry Summers spells out his approach to financial regulation. It’s about how you close barn doors after the horses escape.

I’ve heard that question posed in numerous places, sometimes with anger and disgust and other times with bewilderment. The answer is “my kind,” and I’d be proud to have ushers like George Tiller in any parish I serve.

I bought a whole bunch of rhubarb at the Saint Paul farmers’ market last week. Three big bunches of it. So far, I’ve got three dozen little rhubarb pies out of it, with enough rhubarb filling left over for at least a dozen more. But who knows? I might actually get up the gumption to make a full-sized round pie out of it. Decisions, decisions!

Robert Greenwald has been a committed antiwar activist since the war in Iraq began. He was on Ed Schultz talking about his film “Rethink Afghanistan.”

Travel usually means I catch some dread ick. But this time I caught it from my own family. While with them on my trip.

The sort of ick that saps all your will to do anything but sit still and try to breathe.

Featuring music of Jeremy Jay and Katzenjammer.

Remember back when we all agreed here in America that no matter our differences at home, no matter what divided us, no matter the political battles that were raging inside the United States, when we spoke to the world at large, when we ventured outside our vast, um, homeland, at that point, we the people, the US government, the people in the government, at that point, we would present a unified face—remember that? As the old saying goes, “Politics stops at the water’s edge.”

The conservative Democrats who keep introducing these brainstorms understand that most Americans are hungry for reform of our dysfunctional and overpriced healthcare system, but they also understand that their big insurance donors will be very displeased if their profits decline.

Brad Sherman’s office has confirmed that he will vote “no” on the supplemental according to those lobbying on the issue.  The number of Democrats now committed to vote against the bill in its present form is 34.  We need 39.

Sherman’s decision to oppose the supplemental is noteable because he one of two who voted for it the first time that have now switched their votes.  Sherman, like Peter DeFazio, is opposing the bill because of the inclusion of the IMF funding.

It will be interesting to see how Jim Cooper votes on the bill.  Cooper is committed to being “fiscally responsible” and will betray everything he’s ever professed to believe in if he votes for a pork-laden bill like the supplemental. 

If I were a betting woman, I’d say that number is likely to be at least 35.  Cooper and other Blue Dogs are going to have a really tough time in their districts with this vote.