Clowns to the Right of Me, Jokers to the Left

Winding down 2009 is an emotional experience, that is certain. This has been one hell of a roller coaster year. From the heady experience of going to Inaugration with 2,000,000 other people high on hope, to the closing of the restaurant I worked for, to the opening of my own company, money stress, economic collapse, the tea-bagger summer, the wars, the slow disasterous weakening of the health care bill... it has been exhausting.

I don't know about you all, but for me reading about the senate has become one of the saddests and most frustrating things that I do. How can we be getting so little done for american people AND be in charge of the house the senate AND the White House???

And then there are the folks on the right- the racists, the crazies, the confused and the top of the heap are the malicious ones using fear and hate to hold together their diminshing base. Climate denial on the rise, Sarah Palin running around the country whipping up the birthers again, gun toting racists at political rallies... I swear it is enough to drive a progressive off the cliff.

The Nobel speech this week was great. Maybe it is aspirational but I want to believe that this first year was one of transition and then we will really work on the change and progressive improvement part in the coming year. Whatever the case I am more than eager to leave 2009 behind.