Before we even had the chance to see the courts slap down the illegal re-redistricting plan put forth by the GOP Senate Caucus of the Commonwealth of Virginia last month, it got slapped down Wednesday by the leading member of the GOP-controlled House of Delegates.

Colin Powell went on Meet the Press this week and took his party to task for not only harboring racist bigots, but doing nothing to rein in the well-known ones who blow the “dog whistle” or worse.

The Obama administration has declared victory with the new tax deal. They believe they got 85 percent of what they wanted on taxes and more importantly the administration claims they finally broke the back of the Republican Party’s opposition to raising taxes. President Obama said, “Thanks to the votes of Democrats and Republicans in Congress, I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans.”

After the “Plan B” vote debacle some in the Republican Party are smelling blood in the water. According to Republican sources that spoke to Reuters, Speaker Boehner was down 40 to 50 votes for his “Plan B” proposal despite intense lobbying from both himself and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Do the terms “leader” even still apply here?

Not surprisingly, what were once whispers inside Washington about removing Boehner have begun leaking.

Act 1: Delight

For the glory of Summer we are punished with Fall. So it was that on November 16th, 2012 the Republican Study Committee offered a bold proposal to reform America’s ridiculous copyright system titled Three Myths About Copyright Law and Where To Fix It. The contact and alleged driving force behind the document was Derek Khanna a staffer at the RSC.

The policy brief was nothing short of a full frontal double barreled blast at Copyright Trolls (also known as the entertainment industry).

Republicans love third parties, but only those that are likely to take votes from Democrats. When a third party or even a mere movement is formed that threatens to take votes from the Republicans, the GOP has a much different response.

The stunt presenter at the GOP convention was Clint Eastwood, who played a doddering, crotchety, ill-natured but loveable old coot talking to an empty chair. In the actor’s new movie, Trouble with the Curve which opens tomorrow, Eastwood plays a doddering, crotchety, ill-natured but loveable old coot who talks to baseball players.

The blatant shucking and jiving to the extreme right continues as Mittens, Paul Ryan, Rick Santorum and other luminaries drop the masks to engage in outlandish theocratic pandering on social issues at a conference put on by a well-known Beltway hate group – the Family Research Council.

Labor Day 2012 comes at a turning point in American history. At a time when the wealthiest have prospered beyond the wildest of dreams, the vast majority of working Americans struggle to make ends meet. Millions have seen their incomes flatten, their jobs outsourced, and their hopes for retirement security put on hold, if not quashed completely. At the same time, Wall Street and the politicians who conspire with them have worked overtime to destroy the ability of American workers to join unions and bargain collectively for better wages and benefits.

A variety of links to interviews/articles/speeches/videos on current issues that may be of interest.