I was initially going to write about the expected knee-jerk reactions to the Kagan SCOTUS nomination, from both the left and the right. Really, it would be like shooting fish in a barrel, as the right wing tries to feed a family of four on the breadcrumbs they're tossing, and self-appointed guardians of the left wing try to paint Kagan as a latter-day Clarence Thomas.

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum however (or in this case - the blog). In my efforts to collect links and quotes to use, I kept coming across stories that caught my eye and my interest. Ultimately, I gave up on my original concept, and decided to run with these stories...

One of the biggest news items from yesterday (yet getting little play), is the amazing bipartisan vote to audit the Fed:

It would seem like a no-brainer vote, but every Republican voted for a bill put into the hopper by a self-proclaimed socialist. Are they going to feel dirty in the morning? While one might consider this a "feel good" story, they're all downhill from here...

The other big story that every one on the left already knew, and every one on the right (in particular - the teabaggers) will ignore is that Americans are paying taxes at the lowest level since 1950:

Isn't the "Tea" in Tea Party supposed to stand for "Taxed Enough Already"? Looks another FAIL on the teabagger checklist...

Speaking of uninformed Americans, a recent poll shows that 9% believe that "environmentalists" blew up the drilling platform in the Gulf (another 22% are "not sure" about that). Really?? I know that's less than the percentage that believe in flying saucers, but did they think this one through? Environmentalists would blow up an oil rig and cause an oil slick that destroys the environment of an entire region so that.... what? We'll stop drilling that could destroy the environment? It doesn't even make sense.

What people should be looking at is who is going to pay for the cleanup. It's a four way finger-pointing exercise between BP, TransOcean, Halliburton, and the U.S. Government. We know Halliburton has deep pockets (after a decade of pocketing American taxpayer's money in Iraq). BP has pretty deep pockets too. They make enough in profits in 4 days to pay for the cleanup (that's profits, not revenue). Of course - they still didn't want to spend the extra money on the valve that would have prevented this. Penny wise and pound foolish.

This will be tied up in the courts for years, while taxpayers pay for it up front. This could have been prevented had proper regulations been in place. But no - the Republicans rolled back regulation in the effort of getting "Big Government" off the backs of business. Great plan there.

Along with the SCOTUS nomination and an apocalyptic oil spill, we are also in the middle of Primary season. Incumbent candidates are in an especially tough spot, what with having actual records they have to run on. This always causes some spin, but McCain has taken his maverckiness to new levels. He is running an ad promoting something he ridiculed previously - building a fence on the Mexican border. The linked article suggests it is the worst political ad ever. Agreed that it is truly awful (you can watch it at the link), but is it worse than the Carly Fiorina ad (the "demon sheep" ad)? (NOTE: also at the link).

I consider them 2nd and 3rd place. The Worst Ad Ever is one for GA gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine. Sadly, it is no longer available online, but you can see screenshots and read a description here (as noted, the YouTube video has been pulled).

I don't know if it's the short-attention-span ethos created by our current technology, or if it's just that people are getting dumber and baser, but it's a little discouraging to see such stupidity combined with selfishness on a national scale. How are we supposed to remain an international power with this Championship Wrestling approach to politics and other problem solving? Is Idiocracy truly our future?