Now, as YOU know, between Bush veto threat and GOP filibuster, it has NOT been a Dem Congress at all. Piss off!

Your BDS is impairing your ability to read and comprehend the English language, Green Nightmare.

I figure you're just being provocative, but OK:
All tax policy is wealth redistribution. Current policy punishes workers and rewards investors, in the belief that investment drives the economy. No, I don't favor wealth redistribution from the middle class to the rich. It doesn't work and hurts our country. Socialized medicine. No, I don't favor the government hiring, firing or managing doctors. I do favor someone paying them. If the government can do so at 25% lower cost (and that's conservative), I'm for that. Money in refrigerators. No, but that's not Democratic policy; it's corruption. I deplore that in both parties. “Cozy relationships with dictators?” Funny. You mean like our cozy relationships with China, the Saudis, etc? Or were you talking about the heroes from our past: the Marcoses, Noriega, Castro (yeah, we helped put him in power), Hussein (ditto), Pinochet, Botha? Them?

Or if you're trying to revive the “Obama talks to terrorists” stupidity, let me remind you that he favors negotiation, not cozy relationships. The police negotiate with murderers and kidnappers. Is that the kind of cozy relationship you mean? Because negotiation is an effective way of dealing with crisis situations involving criminals who have created the crisis. Guns a-blazing policy has failed us, in case you had not noticed. We have proven to the world that we cannot subdue even pathetic third world nations with our mighty military.

You're wrong about who pushed deregulation of lending, and I've posted Bush's speech lauding the Freddie and Fannie programs several times. He said “even if you have bad credit and low income, you can have as nice a home as anyone.” President Bush. Isn't that exactly the kind of irresponsible policy you're accusing Dems of?

Government doesn't pay lawyers. Clients do. Union officials are paid by dues of workers.

I know you're a true believer in the neocon economic platform. It has failed us. “Privatize, deregulate, cut social spending” (Milton Friedman, R. Reagan) produces increasing wealth gap, shift of public wealth to private hands, and private debt to public hands. That's where we are right now, nationalizing massive private debt, having already given lavishly of public resources to private interests. It's not working, but true believers want to do it some more, just as they think increased militarism will somehow work better in the future than it has for the last 40 years.

I remain too cynical – they are all corrupt and venal. They just serve different masters.

Well, except of course my representatives. They help our community!

In my case, the primaries are the only meaningful races. Since I don't believe in torture, imperial presidents, illegal wiretapping and shoveling money into the pockets of the rich, I'd have to be stupid to vote for any Republican. (I'm not, and I don't).

Things can't be that bad, considering these folks have “earned” themselves a raise:

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/with-econom…

Perhaps I'm doing something wrong. To remedy the situation I am going to be the meanest and toughest college professor students have ever had the misfortune to take a class with next semester. That should get me around a 10% approval rating when the time comes for them to fill out the student evaluations. I will then present these results to my dean and say that I should get a raise in the Fall based on these results. Sounds kind of silly, but I think what's worse is the fact that we somehow let Congress to decide their own pay.