So it’s that time of year, at long last — the time when bloggers run out of ideas and resort to making lists we reflect thoughtfully on the past year and make resolutions to improve ourselves in the next one.

2010 was a particularly rough year for progressives, and so a few well-considered principles for dealing with the challenges that lie ahead should prove to be especially useful.  Here’s a start on my list:

1.  I will not throw things at the TV/computer* when a White House official/congressperson/corporate media talking head tells me there’s nothing more that the government can do to create jobs.  (*Note: This includes not throwing the computer itself, if it is a laptop.)

2.  I will not throw things at the TV/computer when President Obama or a surrogate informs me that the latest Trojan-horse proposal by Republicans to destroy a progressive goal/program is a “useful starting point” for “compromise” on the issue.

3.  I will not throw things at the TV/computer when some talking head argues that the latest piece of blatant judicial invention from the corporatist Supreme Court majority is in fact the logical result of their strict adherence to the Constitution’s intent.

4.  I will not throw things at the TV/computer when a GOP presidential contender is described as “capturing the imagination of the American people” because the utterly batshit insane portion of the conservative base has to be treated like the true heart of America in a way that progressives can never dream of.

5.  I will not throw things at the TV/computer when… wait, this is all sounding awfully repetitive and downbeat, isn’t it?

Maybe instead of making resolutions to restrain myself, I should turn this into a year-long drinking game instead — you know, drink a shot when any of the above things happens.  It would be more fun.

Then again, alcohol poisoning would be a pretty awful way to die.

Happy new year (if you can bear to think about it)!