The head of the Federal Communications Commission reported late Thursday that he was recommending harsh punishments for Comcast as a result of the company's violation of net neutrality practices.  The unfair blockage of Internet access caused a flood of criticism to come at Comcast, one of the largest Internet service providers in the country, and this site was one of the main sources of that criticism, which almost certainly caused this decision.

More below the fold.

The America of today is tired, it is busy, and today's Americans do not have time to get involved and speak out for their beliefs.  It was 40 years ago today that one of the greatest protesters in American history was shot dead not only because of what he believed, but what he had done.  Opinions alone were not enough, Dr. King recognized.  We must act to effect the change we so desire.

We've all been getting tired of the regular back-and-forth between Barack and Hillary.  I've heard the same arguments about why one is better than the other a thousand times since the race began over a year ago.

Well, I have just the cure for the late primary season malaise that I'm sure ails you.  Remember Mike Gravel?  He calls himself a former senator from Alaska, but he's so far out that I'm not sure I believe him.  Anyway, he's now a libertarian (although he hasn't officially dropped out of the Dems' race...I bet both candidates are calling and begging for his endorsement), and he's still running for president.

This is breaking news, picked up so far by a few papers and Politico's Ben Smith.  In a conaference call this morning top Clinton aide Howard Wolfson compared Barack Obama to Kenneth Starr, prosecutor and Republican attack dog during the impeachment hearings in the late 90's.  Here's the full quote

"When Senator Obama was confronted with questions over whether he was ready to be Commander-in-Chief and steward of the economy, he chose not to address those questions, but to attack Senator Clinton," Wolfson said. "I for one do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president."

I'm originally from Vernon, Connecticut, but I'm a sophomore at Tufts University, just outside of Boston.  On the 10:00 FOX 25 News in Boston,I heard a startling story about my hometown.  This Hartford suburb of fewer than 30,000 people has rarely seen controversy of this magnitude, especially not over a touchy idea like religion and atheism.

The story can be seen in its entirety at the Hartford Courant's website, but the basic outline is that an atheist group, the Connecticut Valley Atheists, applied for a permit to erect a sign discussing the Winter Solstice.  The town has provided three spots for displays regarding the holidays, religious or not (the sign is expected to be joined by a creche and a menorah in the coming days).  The sign in question shows a picture of the twin towers before 9/11, with the text "Imagine No Religion".  

After reading Matt Bai's new book, The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics, and hearing him speak at Tufts University, his alma mater, I cant help but consider not only the validity of Bai's own argument (that one does not exist), and the implications if he's correct.

What does it mean if we as Democrats are argument-less?  If we are adrift without any sort of direction?  Assuming Bai gets at least part of it right, and there isn't enough vision or forward-looking thinkers in the party, what is next?

I'm going to try to articulate a set of values that are unique to the Democratic Party, that relate specifically to us and differentiate progressives from conservatives.  It won't be true for everyone, but it's my very preliminary start to this supremely important discussion.  To clarify, this is less like "healthcare for all" and more like "government-provided healthcare for everyone regardless of ability to pay".  Please feel free to add, criticize, and review.  I'll be here to discuss for a little while at least.

Markos talked about this tangentially earlier today, but I want to crystallize on it.  I quote:

I passionately believe in candidates funded by small-dollar contributions, beholden to people, not big dollar donors.

How does this play out in the 2008 election?  I'm glad you asked.

I know, I thought we were finished talking about how black Barack Obama is and should be, too.  His father is from Kenya, his mother from America, so he is, literally, African-American.  Those are the facts.

Why, then, is Jesse Jackson criticizing the Senator for "acting like he's white"?

This is a letter to my local newspaper.  What do you all think?

Most politically savvy observers heard about the well-publicized clash (video) between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton regarding diplomacy with unfriendly countries, such as Iran and North Korea.  Obama said he would be willing to meet with leaders of the unfriendly nations, which led to an immediate response from Hillary, who called the junior senator from Illinois "naive" and "inexperienced".  He came back by calling the former first lady "Bush-Cheney lite".

Without taking on the issue of who's right and who's wrong (this will quickly become apparent), recent comments from Mrs. Clinton indicate a change of heart on an issue that she once felt so strongly about.

When I was five years old, walking through the supermarket with my mother, Joe Courtney (now Congressman Joe Courtney, CT-02) didn’t seem like such a big deal.  I was already annoyed that I had to shop with my mother while I was almost certainly missing some important cartoons at home, and so when Mom had to stop and chat with Joe and introduce me to him, it was not a big deal.

Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) and the House Education and Labor Committee recently passed the College Cost Reduction Act, which lowers interest rates on Federal Stafford Loans and increases the amount of the Pell Grant significantly.

...for Cindy Sheehan, who announced her potential candidacy for Speaker Nancy Pelosi's seat in the 2008 election.

Ms. Sheehan, who has announced her retirement from the peace movement, plays an important role in the upcoming election, and I'm really thrilled that she's come out talking tough at this point.

So far during the Bush administration, I've been sort of appalled by the level of incompetence and carelessness, but as time passes I've sort of gotten used to it.  Well, there's a fascinating story out from the NY Times that blew me away as far as incompetence and just utter failure is concerned.  Read on...

I'm an 18-year-old college freshman.  I should be and normally am full of optimism and high hopes for the future.  Today, I hit a breaking point.  I am tired of politics and this administration.

Tonight at 6:00 pm EST, ironically on the anniversary of his now infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech, President Bush has announced that he will in fact veto the supplemental funding bill.  This was pretty much a foregone conclusion for some time now, but the important question will come up after Bush actually vetos the bill.

Like many card-carrying democrats, I normally think of Dennis Kucinich as a socialist-leaning crazy who has no chance at winning the nomination.  In fact, last week I was at an Obama event in Boston and some Kucinich supporters were flyering near the line, trying to increase awareness of Kucinich and his position on the war.  I said "great, Kucinich is right on the war, he's just wrong on everything else."  I still stand by this to some extent, but I'm not sure that "everything else" outweighs being right on not only the Iraq War, but war in general.

I know the 2nd amendment guarantees the right of all men to bear arms.  I can read, and I've read this many times.  I just cant help but wonder, though, what were the founding fathers intending with that passage?  I think it's something quite a bit different than what it has come to represent today.