*The following is an abbreviated posting of an article on the way Democrats and Americans are handling health reform.

In a listserv, a fellow scholar posted an honest question about patriotism. In one post, she asked if being critical about the country would call into question her patriotism. I remembered how Obama's patriotism was questioned when he was found not wearing an American flag lapel.

It's amazing how many awesome and awesomely offensive political ads have been surfacing over the last week as McCain's negative attack ads, ones that have failed to give him the edge he needs over Obama, who polls show has runaway approval ratings across the board. So, the GOP has begun to resort to even less savory tactics.

It seems as though every news source I turn to, from CNN at the gym to the New York Times webpage that's set as my homepage, there's Palin. I receive at least over a dozen emails about Palin daily. Is it just me? When's the last time you received an email, read an article, or watched headline news that was about McCain without any mention of Palin?

I was having dinner at a Japanese restaurant with one of my friends last night who suggested we order an Alaska roll in honor of the GOP's VP candidate, Governor Palin. I expressed my disappointment and frustration with Palin's dismissal of the responsibilities that come with being a community organizer.

We’re all still bobbing in the ripples from yesterday’s massive Obamatronic victory in SC, but tomorrow marks another very important moment in this year’s presidential race – a contest that could lock up the Republican nomination for John McCain (if McCain edges out Ole’ Mitt in FL tomorrow, I think it’s safe to assume that he will have all the momentum he needs to lock up the nomination on Super Tuesday).

Maybe the reason the House Ethics Committee didn't do their job in this most recent GOP fiasco is that Speaker Hastert had already compromised its integrity by packing it with Tom Delay supporters back in 2005 (we all know how ethical Tom Delay supporters are).  Alarmed by an Ethics Committee that was actually doing its job, Hastert replaced the Chairman with a team player, and two other Republican members with lawmakers who had donated thousands of dollars to the Tom Delay Legal Fund.  Dennis Hastert now has to reap what he has sown (to use a popular GOP mode of speech).