[Program Note: This column is a repeat of the first Christmas column I wrote, which originally ran on December 20, 2006. Sorry for the re-run, as getting tomorrow's end-of-year awards column is enough of a challenge over the next two days. Here's wishing our faithful readers have a very happy twenty-fifth of December tomorrow, as well, and that you've all managed to be nice enough (and conceal any naughtiness to a sufficient degree) that the day brings you some merriment!]

Continue Reading »

Speaking as someone who generally enjoys a good conspiracy theory just for the "creative writing" aspect alone, in all good conscience I simply must report this shocking news: I have uncovered a big, fat conspiracy that is no mere theory. We're either being lied to, or we're joining in the propagation of the lie ourselves, with merriment. In actual fact, it would not be hyperbole to call this the father of all conspiracies.

And almost every single one of us has participated in this gigantic hoax, in one form or another, at least once in our lives. For many, it happens like clockwork on a regular basis. And it seems to prove Hitler's point about the "Big Lie" -- if you repeat it often enough, sooner or later a certain segment of the populace will accept it as being true.

Continue Reading »

These days, it takes 60 votes to do just about anything in the United States Senate. That is a fact that galls many, especially since it is a fairly recent development. While the filibuster (or, the more polite modern version, cloture) has been around for a long time, it simply has not been used as such a blunt instrument before in the fashion Republicans are now swinging it around. Which has led to calls to either abolish the filibuster, or scale it back in some way. But proponents of such action should really think long and hard before they do. Because, eventually, the shoe's going to be on the other foot for Democrats in the Senate. This is something which usually gets lost in this debate, or brushed off when mentioned. It really shouldn't, though.

Continue Reading »

[Program Note: This column is a repeat of a past Christmas column, which originally ran on Christmas Eve, 2007. Since today is the Winter Solstice, I thought it was an appropriate subject. While I apologize for offering up nothing but a re-run today, it was unavoidable, as I will spend most of today driving back and forth to the airport. The good news is that testing of the site was very successful this weekend, and our upgrade is back on schedule. We will be upgrading our core WordPress software at some point between Christmas and the new year, to improve security and add features. The framework for new features will be added during the upgrade, and then individual improvements will happen soon after. As always, I will keep regular readers informed of the progress through program notes such as this one. For today, happy Solstice everyone, and I hope you'll enjoy this timely column. Regular columns will resume tomorrow, and don't forget to check our Friday columns for the next two weeks, for our year-end awards presentations.]

When is Christmas? And why?

These are questions guaranteed to get you funny looks when you pop them, especially in a gathering of wassail-soaked relatives. But if you're tired of hearing the seemingly-eternal "this is what Uncle Fred did when he was twelve" stories, and you're leery of bringing up politics with your kin from Outer Podunk, then it's at least a conversation-starter that's somewhat neutral. Plus, you can reaffirm your nearest-and-dearests' image of you as a latte-sipping fruitcake who moved away from the glory of the heartland and now lives on (say it with an embarrassed whisper) the coast.

Continue Reading »

I am finally ready for some testing of new stuff, so I thought I'd warn everyone that the site may not be 100% stable for the next day or so. By Monday morning, it will be back to normal (actually completing the upgrade will not happen this weekend), but it may get a little quirky in the meantime.

As always, apologies for the inconvenience.

-- Chris Weigant

What a difference a week makes, eh?

But before we get to all that, a quick program note needs to be addressed here up front. Every so often in these columns, I start channeling Howard Beale (from Network) and get "mad as Hell and just can't take it any more," and -- rather than the usual Friday Talking Points we normally offer up on a weekly basis almost without fail (well, on average, about 46 weeks out of the year... what can I say?) -- at times we instead are moved by the muse known by her proper name of "Rant."

That's right, the same Greek (or was it Roman?) goddess who inspired Dennis Miller (back before he became a rabid pro-war right-winger and lost his funny mojo as a result) occasionally blesses us here with the inspiration for such a stream-of-consciousness chestal-unloading that it simply defies attempts to divide it into seven discrete and ordinal soundbites. Or any attempts to edit it for length, for that matter (ahem).

This is one of those weeks. You have been warned.

Continue Reading »

[Program Note: This column is a repeat of last year's Christmas column, which originally ran on Christmas Eve, 2008. I apologize for the re-run, but I'm still swamped with upgrade work, to make a better and more secure ChrisWeigant.com for you to enjoy next year, so I hope you'll forgive me. Oh, and (ahem) it ends with a call for last year's donation drive. We're not doing a full-on donation drive this year (although we do have Netroots Nation to attend next year), but if you're full of holiday spirit and are so inclined, the donation button to the right should still work (for both PayPal accounts and major credit cards). Anyway, enjoy this peek into where we all were last year at this time, and regular columns will resume with tomorrow's Friday Talking Points. Thanks for your patience.]

Continue Reading »

It didn't have to be this way. It really didn't.

The epic struggle for healthcare reform is entering its final days in Washington. And the Democrats (being Democrats) have managed to snatch political suicide from the jaws of legislative victory. But, I keep thinking, it didn't have to be this way. If we had had some real leadership from two key Democrats named Obama and Reid, we wouldn't be where we are now.

Democrats have now positioned themselves so that they will lose politically, no matter what happens in Congress in the next few weeks. Well, I should qualify that by saying there's a slim chance for a better outcome than the one that appears inevitable at this point, but that chance is rapidly disappearing as the calendar dwindles between now and the real deadline for a signing ceremony -- President Obama's State Of The Union address next month.

Continue Reading »

President Obama seems to be in the midst of a mini press tour at the moment. To help any future mainstream media interviewers out (should they be at a loss for questions to ask the president), I think it's time to pin Obama down on a few subjects.

So today I offer up the questions I would ask, were I interviewing President Obama in the next week or so. Because you never know what media outlet he'll pop up in next.

Continue Reading »

First, my apologies. This is going to be a poor excuse for a column, and as a result won't even be posted on Huffington Post, as I normally do on Mondays. We're still dealing with the maintenance backlog here, and preparing for an upgrade. So I didn't even have time today to write a normal column. Which is why I'm apologizing up front.

Instead, today, I'd just like to throw a question open to everyone. Here in California, one of our state legislators would hold a contest each year called "There ought to be a law." Average citizens could write in and propose legislation on any topic, no matter how small or trivial, and the winner would be actually written up and introduced as a bill to the state legislature. Sometimes, it even worked, and a new law was born as a result -- mostly commonsense things that people assumed were illegal already. And mostly small issues that annoy normal people, but which never seem to rise to the level of being noticed by lawmakers.

Continue Reading »