That is, Henry Waxman is the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  No details yet.

See what kind of headline you can come up with.

Here I am, a taxpayer among taxpayers grovelling in the miasma of the middle class and hoping like Hell that things will get better with the new Administration.

Then I listen to the heads of the Big 3 automobile manufacturers on C-Span as it was re-run last night, begging for 28 Billion Dollars from the lame duck Congress - with no plan, no reasonable means of payback and literally no respect for the folks like us who the expect to buy their gas-eating SUVs. And these guys, as was pointed out by just about every television news program, all flew into Washington DC on their individual private jets at a cost that would probably pay the health-care costs for workers at one of their factories.

Sorry for the short diary. Once I get some responses, I'll delete it.

I'd like to write a piece on how I feel about unions and their role in the American workplace, but I don't feel I have enough information, or balanced enough information, to do it properly.

So. Some of you guys have to be experts. I need to bounce some ideas off you. Who's out there?

My name is David Mauro and I'm a staff writer for Burnt Orange Report, a leading progressive blog based out of Texas. I am also a full-time college student.

Before we get back to our work of ridding Texas of Speaker Tom Craddick, winning Chris Bell's state senate runoff election, and taking back some statewide offices for Democrats in 2010, I have a favor to ask you.

Please take a second and vote for me.

I am a finalist for a $10,000 Blogging Scholarship. The finalist who receives the most online votes wins. The contest ends tonight (at Midnight Pacific Time) and I am in a very close battle for first. Vote now.

I am the only progressive political blogger in the finals and I would really appreciate your support.

To read some of my work, please click here.

Again, this is the last day so please take a few seconds and vote now.

Quick question, and sorry for making this a diary, but it's been awhile since we've beaten the dead horse that is Hillary for SoS.

How is Obama being boxed in here? Most accounts say that he made an offer already. So what is the drama here? OMG, now he HAS to give her the job that he just offered her and that was hers to take if she wanted it! It's hilarious how much they LOVE the idea of Hillary being an unreasonable, crazy person.

Seriously, let's say I have a bunch of apples and I offer you one. You say, "Hmm, only if my husband doesn't want it." Your husband says, "Nah, that's okay, you can have it." Then someone else says, "Oh, they've COMPLETELY played you! Now you HAVE to give them the apple or you'll look like a jerk!"

Granted, there have been gigantic leaks on this, but once she's into the Obama camp, it seems like it will be easier to control if they vet her people. And maybe that's the real story here, that some of Hillary's people don't want her to take this job. Maybe they're pissed at Obama from the primaries, maybe they were hoping she'd run in 2012, maybe they just want her to stay in the Senate. But if anyone is trying to play mind games here, I doubt it's Hillary.

Historically, the courts have been the last line of resort for citizens whose civil liberties are threatened by their government. One such landmark case, Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, overturned the 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, which defended segregation on the grounds that the euphemistically titled "separate but equal" provision for public accommodation was, in fact, equal.  In the Brown decision, the court landed a swift blow to segregation by ruling that "separate but equal" provisions are "inherently unequal."

Today, the California Supreme Court has the opportunity to also assert its ultimate constitutional role--protecting civil liberties. This judicial function is the single component of our government that, prior to Bush 43, separated our democracy from "democracies" such as Iran and Kenya.  The San Francisco Chronicle reports the first positive signs to this effect:

(Cross-posted at C4O Democrats.)

America is a place of great dialogue with the free exchange of ideas.  This conversation can lead to great fruitfulness in potential paths that the nation can take.  The Obama-Biden Transition Team is seeking your input about the great issues of the environment and energy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con tent/article/2008/11/19/AR2008111904207. html?nav=hcmoduletmv

"He is going nowhere," Schmidt said.

I couldn't have said it better myself!  :D