The Washington Post ran an interesting article the other day (which didn't get a lot of attention) on a group advocating a cap on interest rates at a local level. The interesting thing is that it's coming from a faith-based group. And, since it is a grassroots movement which appears to be starting at a local level in the hopes of eventually moving the debate nationwide, news of their attempts may be confined to local news, at least for a while. But it's an interesting movement, which is why it caught my eye.

But is their idea viable? Or would the unintended consequences be worse that what already exists, especially at the small, short-term-loan end of the scale? These are questions that bear some examination.

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In a few hours from now, President Barack Obama will give a live press conference to the nation. This is part of a new and concerted media effort by the White House to make Obama much more visible in the debate on healthcare reform. But being visible is one thing, and showing leadership is another. Because President Obama has so far been unwilling to tackle the tough decisions on healthcare reform, at least not in public. And, as Obama is accusing his detractors of doing, this is nothing more than playing politics with the issue by avoiding personal political risk to himself. Disturbingly, Obama hasn't even been very good at this political cheerleading, although he has gotten better in the past few days.

Obama's legislative style (as evidenced so far, on major bills) has been to vaguely define what he's for, introduce a plan that is quite obviously open to lots and lots of negotiation, and then sit back and let Congress work it out. The White House deploys Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel up to Capitol Hill, who twists a few arms and makes more than a few compromises. At the eleventh hour, Obama appears tough, and says things like "the time for talk is over." So far (see: the stimulus package) this has worked well for him. He has gotten 80 to 90 percent of what he asked for, without too much pushback from his own party. Perhaps he is (or, at least at the beginning, "was") serious about wanting bipartisanship, but in reality it matters little as long as bills get passed that he can sign.

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Quick -- who was Michael Collins?

No, not the Irish patriot who had a movie named for him, but the American Michael Collins. Don't recognize his name? Even today, after watching yesterday's news?

You're not alone. Very few people remember the name Michael Collins. And yet, without him, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin wouldn't have been able to take those giant leaps for mankind down on the surface of the moon. Because Michael Collins was the guy who had to stay aboard Columbia, the "mother ship" of Apollo 11, which orbited the moon while the Lunar Entry Module (LEM) Eagle descended to the lunar surface.

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Conservatives and corporate-owned Democrats are in a tizzy. The House is moving its version of healthcare reform forward, and it (gasp!) raises money by (double-gasp!) taxing rich folks. Not by very much, as these things go -- but you certainly wouldn't know that from hearing Republican politicians and their enablers in the news media. As far as they're concerned, Democrats are going to raise everyone's tax rates (yes, even YOURS!) until they rival Denmark's (complete with Fox News graphics, in case you missed the point). While the tactic is new, the strategy is an old one, and can be summed up as: "Who will stand up for the poor, poor millionaires and billionaires?"

You know what? I'm sick of this nonsense. I really am. Starting, first and foremost, with the term "class warfare." I keep waiting for some Democrat (Jim Webb would be a good choice, in my opinion) to stand up and say something like the following -- to either some clueless, overpaid, inside-the-Beltway media type, or some clueless, bought-and-paid-for Republican officeholder:

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Much to the dismay of just about everyone who breathlessly follows politics, the Senate hearings on the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor turned out to be mostly a snoozer. Web sites (left and right) were liveblogging and Twittering like crazy all week, and the upshot was: "It's a foregone conclusion, she will be confirmed." Which everyone knew already, at the beginning of the week. But it didn't stop the breathlessness online.

The only real question in the hearings was how large a foot Republicans were going to insert into their collective mouth. The answer: medium-sized. Republicans on the Senate committee had a tightrope to walk this week, and the only drama was whether they would fall into the net of public yawns, or plummet to being the "Permanent Minority Party -- And Definitely Not THAT Kind Of Minority, Thank You Very Much." Republicans, you see, live in a world called "the 1950s." They must have all brightened up considerably when Sotomayor herself brought up Perry Mason (which caused the historic First Official Senatorial Joke to be uttered by Al Franken, it should be noted for posterity's sake). The geezers must have thought, "Perry Mason! Finally.... finally... a cultural reference I understand!!"

Unfortunately, this caused one of them to short-circuit a bit, and he tossed in what he obviously thought was a witty pop culture reference to the only Latino he was aware of -- Ricky Ricardo. Seriously, guys, I Love Lucy was on television a half-century ago. "You got some splainin' to do" is not exactly relevant, and not exactly funny. That whole "making fun of stereotypes of minorities" thing was a laugh riot in the 1950s, and sold a lot of Brylcreem and Burma Shave, but it's considered gauche in today's world. Just for your information.

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Apologies for the lack of a column today.

Our power went out and stayed out for hours, meaning I could not read the news of the day, or write about it, until a short time ago.

Columns will return (the electric company willing) tomorrow. We sincerely apologize for the disruption in service.

A Farce, In One Act

[The curtains open on the following scene: a dark laboratory in an undisclosed location. Two scientists, with "GOP Labs" on their white lab coats, are seen tinkering with a massive robot lying on a slab. A high official from the Republican Party enters unexpectedly. The High Official from the Republican Party (let's just call him HORP for convenience's sake) strides into the lab. The scientists (let's call them Dr. Frank and Dr. N. Stein) jump nervously to attention.]

HORP begins by blustering:

"OK, guys, I'm here to see what all our secret funding has paid for. So show me what you've got so far."

The two doctors look at each other sheepishly. Dr. Frank begins timidly, "Well, it's not ready for release yet, but we're definitely making progress!"

"That's right, definite progress!" echoes Dr. N. Stein.

"That's what you've been telling us for months. So fire this thing up and let me see how it works. What do you call it again?"

"The JusticeBot 9000!" both doctors proudly say in unison.

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Americans are in the mood for summer fun right now. We've just had Fourth of July parades, and President Obama is about to throw out the first pitch in the All-Star Game tonight (he is reportedly better at baseball than he is at bowling, so hopefully this will go well for him). On Capitol Hill, the nomination hearings of Judge Sonia Sotomayor have not produced any fireworks, and she is all but guaranteed to gain a seat on the Supreme Court. But for many, it's a season of parades and fun in the sun.

It's also parade season in Ireland. But this is a very different kettle of potatoes than what Americans think of when we use the word "parade." Because, among other dates, the Big Day for parade season in Ireland is July 12, the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.

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President Obama has always said he wants to look forward, not backward. This, when it comes to the actions of the previous administration, means Obama is content to just identify any problems with George Bush's (and Dick Cheney's) methods on security and intelligence matters, rectify any abuses and correct any mistakes, promise we'll never do it again, and move on. Obama has never advocated -- and, indeed, done what he could to discourage -- any sort of investigation into Bush's actions in response to 9/11 (some of which continued throughout Bush's two terms). Obama's opposition to such investigations has been steadfast and unwavering. He has even (now that he leads the executive branch himself) strongly argued in the courts against any examination of how executive branch power was used under Bush.

This is all understandable. In the first place, presidents always see executive power differently when they arrive in the White House. It's the nature of the job. So we shouldn't be all that surprised when a Justice Department lawyer argues in court in favor of secrecy in the executive branch -- even under President Obama. In the second place, this is a political loser for Obama, and he knows it. He does not want to look like a "sore winner" by digging through all the dirt Bush and Cheney left in their wake. Obama would prefer it if we could all just sweep it under the rug, and trust him when he says he's stopped doing all that bad stuff. "Nothing to see here, folks -- move along," in other words.

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"Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends..."

All week long, this line has been running through my head. It's from an Emerson, Lake, and Palmer suite of songs called "Karn Evil 9," from the album Brain Salad Surgery. Which, of course, has an album cover designed by H.R. Giger, the same guy who did the artwork (and designed the monster) for the movie Alien (looking at the album cover or the album sleeve, it's easy to see the similarities).

This past week was chock full (in the media sideshow, at least) of both Michael Jackson and Sarah Palin (known as "the gift that keeps on giving" to late-night comedians and political columnists alike). We will honor this media coverage throughout this week's Friday Talking Points column introduction, by inserting random ELP lyrics from the First Impression (Parts 1 & 2) and Third Impression of this song (the Second Impression is all instrumental...).

Step inside! Hello! We've the most amazing show
You'll enjoy it all we know
Step inside, step inside.

The other thing I can't get out of my head this week is the old Saturday Night Live "Weekend Update" bit from the 1970s: "Breaking news -- this just in -- Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead!"

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