A year later we’re all echoing Casey Stengal’s famous lament about his 1962 Mets.

I could write up a long post analyzing the Democrat’s institutional deficiencies and misteps over the last year. But I have work to do. The problem boils down to this: Democratic elected officials do not have the courage of the movement’s convictions with regards to change and reform. Thus, meaningful policy legislation is a tough slog even with super-majorites. Repbulican officals on the other hand have lots of courage of conviction. Their problem is that their convictions are based on fantasy and failed policies.

But the Republicans know what they want and they know how to get it. Democrats know what they want and many know how to get it. But they are scared to be as heavy-handed as they need to be in the face of the know-nothing, never-say-die Republican opposition. I’m sick of it. Politics ain’t beanbag.

You know what’s worse than hopelessness? Hopes dashed. Expectations unfulfilled. Hopeless people are meek, and well, hopeless. People who have seen a glimmer of light that is then snuffed out… Those people are pissed off. That is the stuff revolutions are made of.

But that’s where we are right now because the Democrats in Congress and in the Iowa State House (and Governor’s mansion) have utterly squandered the massive electoral mandates they were handed on a silver platter two years ago for no other reason than lack of courage of their own convictions.

If you want to laugh and cry at the same time, Jon Stewart offered another master class in accurate political commentary thinly disguised and humor last night. Sadly for progressives and mainstream journalism, Stewart calls it as it is better than anyone else can, making the complex simple and highlighting the absurdity of it all.

Breaking down the Massachusetts special election and the potential consequences for health care reform and everything else the Democrats want to do in the next few years, he said in part:

Let me see if I have this straight. You need to replace perhaps the most beloved liberal in the history of the Senate with a candidate that believes Curt Schilling is a Yankee fan. Because if this lady loses, the health care reform bill that the beloved late senator considered his legacy will die. And the reason it will die is because if Coakley loses, Democrats will only have then an 18-vote majority in the Senate. Which is more than George W. Bush ever had in the Senate when he did whenever the fuck he wanted.

The Republicans are playing chess and the Democrats are in the nurses office because, once again, they have glued their balls to their thighs.

The Flaming Lips have been around since forever. I remember seeing them at the now-gone but legendary Crow’s Nest in Iowa City in the early 1980’s when they were just a moderatly interesting, albeit fun alt-rock band. When I worked at KRUI, they cut a cool faux-rap station ID. They were amusing, but forgettable.

Flash forward to 1990. I had just come back from Eastern Europe and was flopping in a house in De Kalb and somone played In A Priest-Driven Ambulance. It blew my mind and I asked who the band was. When I was told it was the Flaming Lips, I couldn’t believe it.

Since then they have released one trippy album after another. Some have more catchy tunes than others but all are magnificently produced, interesting and often quite tender. One of my favorite bands of all time. “Do You Realize,” is one of my favorite songs. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots came out in 2002, just as my oldest daughter, Molly was getting interested in music and listening to music with Daddy. I used to play this song for her and it remains, “Our Song.”

Today is the 30th anniversary of the best album ever made, The Clash’s, “London Calling.” You beg to differ? You’re probably older than me. I wasn’t really consuming music when these others were released. Besides, even the Beatles were never called, “The Only Band That Matters.”

The “official video” has embedding disabled. So, here is Joe belting out the title track with the Pogues in 1998. I saw him with them that year. Sadly it was the closest I ever came to seeing The Clash live.

Not a whole lot going on in technology and politics…

But I look forward to the way cool future Microsoft has in store for us.