Sunday Afternoon Reading

Jon Meacham in the Kaplan Daily says about Obama:

"He's had his share of bad luck, and his notable inability to convince the country that he is leading a comprehensive economic turnaround is one of the most significant leadership failures in the modern history of the presidency. Still, the White House's tactical mistakes do not excuse the rest of us for ignoring our own history, a history that helps us gain perspective on the president's problems...Obama is not surprised that the kingdom of heaven has failed to arrive in his first two years. A more historically minded country would not be, either."

Having a media that was responsibly, actively debunking the false, destructive memes of the right might've helped in that regard, Jon.

Quote of the Day

"Advertently or not, Mr. McDonnell is working in a long and dispiriting tradition. Efforts to rehabilitate the Southern rebellion frequently come at moments of racial and social stress, and it is revealing that Virginia’s neo-Confederates are refighting the Civil War in 2010. Whitewashing the war is one way for the right — alienated, anxious and angry about the president, health care reform and all manner of threats, mostly imaginary — to express its unease with the Age of Obama, disguising hate as heritage." -- Jon Meacham, in the New York Times, reflecting on the Virginia Rethuglican Governor's attempts to re-write history, and turning the "Party of Lincoln" on its head. Worth reading.

Simply put, Southern states committed treason when they seceded from the Union and triggered the Civil War. Their defense of slavery was indefensible, and their cause was anything but noble. Period.

The Mouth...er, South Rises Again: Mississippi Rethug Gov. Haley Barbour continues to step in shit and claim "It don't smell!"