I don’t know about everyone else, but reading the news makes me tired these days. Downright bone weary, frankly, because it’s too much of “the more things change, the more things stay the same.” Which just is not exactly a bliss-inducing thought, now is it? So I thought I’d look around for something a little more unusual to share this morning. Behold! Some actual good news…

Featuring new music from The Pastels, Tenniscoats, and Delphic.

When Theodore Roosevelt famously branded the White House a “Bully Pulpit,” this is not what he meant.

Almost three years ago, way before Barack Obama was even the Democratic nominee, Michael Tomasky wrote a column titled “Obama the anti-Bush,” presciently predicting that Obama’s bipartisany oppositeness to The Worst President Ever would be a huge asset should he run for president. A year later, Paul Krugman even more presciently referenced that same column while exhorting Democrats to be more like Bush.

William Calley apologizes for My Lai for the first time.

Unlike Glenzilla, I’m not worried about the Naderization of the left, nor am I worried that Obama will lose young people if he fails to appease the liberal base. He will lose young people and the left if he forces them pay tribute to Blue Cross with no cost controls and no competition. There is no constituency who supports that. I could run the campaign against that tomorrow. I very well may. But I don’t, the Republicans will.

Betsy McCaughey — an outspoken proponent of the myth that Democrats’ health care reform proposals will lead to the creation of “death panels,” as well as a former lieutenant governor of New York and adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute — has stepped down from her position as a director of Cantel Medical Corp., which bills itself as a “leading provider of infection prevention and control products in the healthcare market.”

The list that Blue Texan put together earlier today –such Democratic stalwarts John Kerry, James Carville, Chuck Schumer, and Joe Trippi all being forced to distance themselves from the accusation (rudely brought up in 2004 by Howard Dean, and admitted as true now) that the Orwell Bush administration manipulated terrorism alerts for political purposes — brings back some disturbing memories.

Colin Powell, John Ashcroft and Tom Ridge all resigned from the Bush cabinet immediately after the 2004 election. Each had significant differences with Bush policy and was replaced with a more “trusted” Bush insider. How much harm could have been presented if these three had resigned before the election and made public their differences with Bush?

Along with Howard Dean, Trumka is one of the only leading figures to defy Rahm Emanuel’s decree that “f&!ing liberals”  leave Blue Dogs and ConservaDems alone on health care.  It’s good to see someone breaking down the walls of the liberal veal pen that Obama will very much need assistance from to sell the Baucus Caucus deal to disillusioned Democrats (look for them to be mainstreaming the benefits of the “goodybag” soon).

We’re excited to have Richard Trumka on FDL on Monday at 4pm ET/1pm PT to discuss health care reform.  Please join us.