Yeah, Mr Blunt — your values are being challenged. Not the values you think are being challenged by America’s desire to get the rapacious health insurance industry off our backs. The values America challenged last November, and the values Americans continue to challenge every day, are the values that allow the GOP’s number-two man in the US House of Representatives and its candidate for Senate from Missouri to start a sentence: “Monkeys….” and get an approving reaction from Values Voters.

Obama on Al Punto.

From reports of ever increasing US and NATO casualties along with continuing reports of the suffering of the Afghan people – and complete confusion over the recent election, none of the news from Afghanistan is good. Now there’s word of a back door increase in troops and a surge of CIA special ops while Gen. McChrystal pressures the White House.

Cathy Maples, a spunky stalker fan of Sarah Palin, paid $63,500 in a charity eBay auction to dine with former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. The auction will benefit Ride to Recovery a charity for service men and women disabled in the Iraqi war. Maples of Huntsville, Alabama owns a defense contracting business, so I guess what comes around goes around.

It won’t be Maples’ first time meeting ex-Gov GILF. Oh no, this granny is really a huge fan!

The first time the two met was at a fundraiser in North Carolina during the presidential campaign. The second time was this July in Alaska when Maples took her grandson, family members and friends to Alaska as a graduation present.

A small number of genuine, committed grassroots activists can effect much more change that an army of imaginary astroturfers.

As Hurricane Katrina bears down on New Orleans, Kim Rivers Roberts and her husband Scott, two residents of New Orleans Ninth Ward, emerge as unlikely heroes who rescue their neighbors and survive the chaos. And Kim documents it all.

Back in January 2008, the CIA’s OIG claimed it did not launch its investigation into torture in response to an allegation of wrongdoing. But that’s not what the IG Report itself said.

Perry must have forgotten that he balanced Texas’ books with Obama’s stimulus bill to the tune of $12 billion, the money that bailed us out of the Texas-sized mess Perry’s Texan predecessor got the country in. Perry also used said “irresponsible” and “immoral” federal funds to fix his house. No hypocrisy there.

HR 3200 contains provisions which show a really good way to avoid subsidizing insurance companies at the expense of average citizens: Medicaid for all.

Isn’t that what we struggle to do, to write a republic? Aren’t the voices echoing now in our homes and offices the songs of democracy, including even the songs of a chorus that really doesn’t like democracy at all? Isn’t the word blog an ugly and unpoetic term for the place of the singing?