Big few days in the news

So with the House Dems’ 100 hours is well under way and a couple of successes (minimum wage hike, 9/11 recommendations) already, Pelosi et al are starting the debate on the prescription drug benefit. It is good to see the people’s work being done again.

Next up, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) has announced that he will seek the Democratic nomination for Pres. I have to admit that I like Dodd, despite his vote for the war. I put him in the same tier as John Edwards. Neither would be my first choice in ’08, but we could do a helluva lot worse.

Speaking of Presidents, Bush gave his “New Way Forward” speech last night (second verse same as the first). Color me underwhelmed. It was more of the same bullshit though Bush looked visibly nervous this time. One surprising note was the degree to which he threw his BFF, Joe Lieberman, under the bus.

Acting on the good advice of Senator Joe Lieberman and other key members of Congress, we will form a new, bipartisan working group that will help us come together across party lines to win the war on terror.

Translation: If you don’t like the escalation policy, blame Joe. He said it was OK.

Also, bear in mind that Holy Joe is no longer a Democrat so I am not so sure this can be labeled bipartisan.

Moving on, the Democrats have chosen Denver for the ’08 convention. This is a brilliant choice given the gains the Party has made in the Mountain West. If we are to combat the Republican dominance in the South, we need a strong and effective Party in the West. That area has the greatest growth potential for the progressive message. And seriously, how many times can New York host. NYC is the Billy Crystal of convention cities. Sometimes you have to spice it up.

And in the world of sports, two big ones. First, David Beckham has signed a huge 5 year $250 million deal with the LA Galaxy of MLS. He is easily the best player to sign with a US team since the Seventies when Pele, Beckenbauer, and Chinaglia played for the NY Cosmos.

And last but not least, Barry Bonds has tested positive for amphetamines. Bonds is already under investigation for steroid use and lying under oath about same. I am praying the Major League Baseball does the right thing for the game and takes this opportunity to boot Bands from the league before he breaks Hank Aaron’s lifetime home run record. Not only would Barry’s ejection be sweet poetic justice, it would preserve whatever integrity is left in baseball’s record books.