In his remarkable speech Wednesday night at the “Together We Thrive” gathering in Tucson, President Obama offered up words of hope that in responding to the tragedy in Tucson, we should strive to improve our civil discourse and to live up to the example that young Christina Green expected in how our democracy should function. The word “civil” has many shades of meaning in the context of Obama’s speech and in our society. Considering these meanings brings to mind some suggestions for how our country can move forward.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi were in the room when Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes last night, less than a week after the tragic shooting that killed six and gravely wounded her. In the background of the commentary of this event, there has been this improbable success story, as Giffords’ condition continues to improve, beyond the expectations of even her doctors.

Even using just Quinnipiac’s numbers, I still find it impressive that there are almost as many people in the general public who support completely eliminating the filibuster and returning the Senate to majority rule as there are individuals who support the status quo. Totally ending the filibuster effectively lacks any even semi-prominent champion, outside a few bloggers.

This is a critical moment for the unemployment crisis. After a tick downward, first-time jobless claims hiked back up last week. Increases in commodity prices like food and oil, which are tied more to global growth than inflationary by-products of monetary policy, are starting to be worthy of conversation as a net lag on the economy. The economic indicators remain mixed at best, and at the top, people still need jobs.

A new judge, from outside of Arizona, has been appointed to handle the Federal Criminal case against Jared Loughner, and he will have a substantial issue of jurisdiction on his hands when he first takes the bench on it.

Today, the EPA flat-out revoked the permit for one of the largest mountaintop removal projects in the nation.

2010 gave us a lot to write about here at Firedoglake. From passing student loan reform, to covering the BP oil disaster, to elevating the national conversation around marijuana policy, FDL bloggers and diarists came through with amazing reporting and analysis on the wide variety of issues facing the country.

Here’s a round-up of the top 10 blog posts at Firedoglake in 2010 (based on pageviews) — feel free to share your favorite FDL posts from last year in the comments!

I am here in Alexandria VA at an event being put on by FDIC to look at small business lending issues. Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke is a panelist as well as several members of Congress, bankers and of course, a representative from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who represents small business about as much as bin Laden represents U.S. national security interest.

President Obama’s call for more civility didn’t impress the Anchor Baby, who found something last night to fling poo at.

This will call for some leadership. So far in the President’s two years, despite campaigning on renewing the assault weapons ban and closing the gun show loophole, the only gun legislation he’s signed expanded concealed carry rights to national parks.