Yesterday Obama scored another “w” with the passage of the Korea, Panama and Columbia Free Trade deals — virtually unchanged since Bush tried to push them through before he left office.

In 2008, the Columbia deal was a big campaign issue, with both Obama and Clinton denouncing any agreement until human rights conditions had been addressed. Obama declared he would oppose the Columbia deal “because the violence against unions in Colombia would make a mockery of the very labor protections that we have insisted be included in these kinds of agreements.”

Since that time, the murder of labor leaders in Colombia has only accelerated, but the value of their lives has apparently declined. Because when the Colombia Free Trade agreement passed yesterday, it was awfully lonely in the “what about the dead labor leaders” room.

I am in Boston and about to go down to Occupy Boston. There will be a rally at 3:30 pm and an action in front of a local Verizon branch at 5 pm to demand a fair union contract. I hope to meet some of the occupiers, record interviews with some of them on the police raid at 1:30 am on Tuesday and hear about their vision and plans for Occupy Boston.

A second national poll has confirmed that former Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain now leads the Republican primary field. The NBC/WSJ poll found Cain getting 27 percent of the vote among Republican leaners, followed by Mitt Romney with 23 percent, and Rick Perry at 16 percent. Compared to two months ago, Romney’s support held steady while Cain has gained an incredible 22 points.

Democrats are moving quickly to speak to the frustration of the “Occupy” movement. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent around an email on Monday asking party supporters to sign a petition to Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner and Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor that told them they stand in support of Occupy Wall Street. Nancy Pelosi, seemingly ignoring her disinterest in addressing the crimes of Wall Street when she was Speaker of the House from 2006-2010, said she was one of the many Americans, who are not satisfied with Congress. Vice President Joe Biden said, “The core is the American people do not think the system is fair or on the level…That is the core of what you’re seeing on Wall Street.” And, President Barack Obama has said, “I think it expresses the frustrations that the American people feel.”

This needs to be thrown in the face of every Republican who spouts “tort reform!” when asked what they’re going to do about health care. For years, they’ve pretended like it’s some kind of magic fairy dust that’s the answer to all our problems. It’s a boon for the medical industrial complex. That’s all.

This is just another front in the Obama administration multi-prong effort to cripple medical marijuana with legal actions both large and small.

After the Slovakian opposition won the right to new elections, they agreed to expand the Eurozone bailout fund, becoming the 17th and final country to pass the plan. The bad news is that plan is several months old. But it includes expanded authority that will come in handy for the next bailout plan. But what is that plan?

This was the most successful launch of a soon to be abandoned conservative website since The Next Right burst upon the scene and swept John McCain and Sarah Palin to their 47 state landslide in 2008 and then we invaded our neighbors to the north and installed Willow Palin as Super Awesome Most Totally Hawt Princess of Upper America-Canadia.

As Public Citizen’s Lori Wallach explained yesterday, the three trade agreements passed Congress in a whirlwind of activity last night, because a present for the President of South Korea’s visit to Washington today is more important than a considered debate about the role of neoliberal trade agreements and what they have traditionally done to US exports. In addition, the House did pass Trade Adjustment Assistance, with every Democrat supporting and about half of Republicans. This had already passed the Senate, so the entire package goes to the President for his signature, and he is pleased about this:

If I have to choose between the hot-tempered bigoted ass who used his wife’s money to ruin The New Republic and the guy who freed Poland and won the Nobel Peace Prize, I won’t be siding with the ass, that’s for sure.