Here's George W. and Laura Bush sitting uncomfortably in the lovely chairs positioned directly in front of the chairs occupied by George H. W. and Barbara Bush at the recent inauguration, during Rev. Lowery's benediction. This photo transports me, mostly without my permission, to many unpleasant memories of the very human events following Hurricane Katrina.

Come with me and I'll tell you why.

During the third presidential debate, McCain proclaimed that the public "wants a new direction. I can bring them in that direction by eliminating spending." McCain has advocated a freeze on all discretionary spending, a radical proposal that would in turn allow inflation to eat away at Head Start funding, Pell Grant funding, unemployment benefits, and food stamp programs, just to name a few. On Monday, McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin acknowledged that balancing the budget will be "harder" to do because of the economic downturn. Nevertheless, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) still commits to a balanced budget by the end of the first term. Sens. Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) have also committed to aggressively pursuing a balanced budget during the economic crisis.

But, a consensus is emerging among economists that the recession has brought on the need for the next administration to, "initially, at least -- open its wallet, not tighten its belt." - (The Progress Report)

This week, we've watched, helplessly, as our elected representatives decided among themselves to take 700 billion of our hard-earned dollars to bail Wall Street out of its gambling debts. Watching this mismanagement is no less of a helpless feeling than the one so many of us felt as we watched the planes dive into the World Trade Towers in 2001.

If we could just stop them! Stop! We know what they are doing is wrong! If we could have kept those jets from ever touching the towers, we would have.

If we could reach out and grab our elected representatives by the scruff of their necks, shake them by the shoulders and tell them to stop giving money to the rich, we would. We definitely would. Helpless to keep our lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican, from ruining our futures; we don't have the pause button we should have. Where is our Franklin Roosevelt?

“This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today...

“In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunk to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income....

"More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment."

- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, January 1933, at his inauguration

Maybe in Alaska, Republicans are used to having a Republican governor that repeats bold lies. The rest of us do not welcome lies and untruths. Sarah Palin, McCain's pick for VP, is playing fast and loose if she thinks we will whitewash her cover-ups.

Her most repeated lie in the last few days is about the "bridge to nowhere" that Congress has planned to fund in Alaska. Palin has said (over and over again) that she had told Congress "'thanks but no thanks' on that bridge to nowhere." The truth is that Palin had fought for that very same $223 million earmark for the bridge in 2005, when Congress was controlled by the Republican majority. Then, in 2006, Palin, the Alaska governor, campaigned on a build-the-bridge platform. In fact, the Palin administration has (to date) spent tens of millions of dollars in federal funds to start building a road on Gravina Island that is supposed to link up to the yet-to-be-built bridge. She has never given the money back to Congress. Never.

Now, we learn that she has lied about a member of her family. She's not claiming that she adopted her teenage daughter's baby. No, what she is asserting is that she actually gave birth to her daughter's baby. If it turns out to be true, this is a nightmarish story...

Presidents are hamstrung without strength and support in Congress. Regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination for president, this coming November, what will determine our future more than anything is the kind of individuals sitting in the seats in the Senate and the House. We have an opportunity to build a majority in Congress that supports what most Americans want - fair trade, affordable education, health care for all Americans and peace.

For those of us that live in states that have already had the presidential primaries, politically, it's time now to deliver our support to senatorial and congressional candidates that are dedicated to health care reform, education reform, jobs and social justice. As a Californian, I'm thrilled to see things changing in the middle of American, especially in red states like Oklahoma. Ever since Ally introduced us to Andrew Rice, a man in Oklahoma who is running for the U.S. Senate, I've happily paid attention to his campaign. He's the kind of candidate that just makes you smile. I recently ran across a blog post he wrote and I'm sharing excerpts of it here:

My wife Apple and I were recently reminded why so many Americans are frustrated and anxious about healthcare. Our 11-month old son Parker was hospitalized here in Oklahoma City for three days last November with pneumonia. He received excellent care and, like most youngsters his age, he has rebounded very quickly from what was a scary time for all of us. But, that is only half the story...

Here's the rest of that story...

A "no bid contractor" usually refers to a private for-profit corporation that receives American tax payer monies in large amounts (billions of dollars) without having to competitively bid for the contract. One of the most famous "no bid contractors" is Halliburton. Since Bush and Cheney have been in the White House, Halliburton has received tens of billions of dollars of our money.

There's four important things to remind ourselves about Halliburton...

Although presidents and politicians often seek to occupy the limelight during Black History Month, celebrities really are not central to its importance or its purpose. Black History Month is meant to be about everyday citizens and their rightful places in our nation's future and especially its past.

It all started when one young educator who is now revered as the Father of Black History, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, was dismayed to discover that the history of his own people had been largely left out of the history books written about his country. Carter Godwin Woodson was born in 1875. He didn't begin any formal education until his late teens because he had labored as a child in the coal mines of Virginia. However, once he began studying, he never stopped. He eventually became the second African American to receive a Ph.D. in history from Harvard.

After completing his doctorate, Dr. Woodson dedicated his life to two Herculean tasks...

Under George Bush's control, in the last six years, federal contracts have become the fastest growing component of federal discretionary spending. Now, Bush’s new budget request calls for more than double the amount of spending on defense accounts than did the budget he inherited from his predecessor.

This growth in federal procurement has enriched private contractors. But it has also come at a steep cost for federal taxpayers. Overcharging has been frequent, and billions of dollars of taxpayer money have been squandered. (Dollars, Not Sense: Government Contracting Under the Bush Administration)

Even defense experts are surprised at how generous the Bush administration is willing to be with the taxpayers' money, in light of a faltering economy and deep cuts to domestic programs. Not counting the hundreds of billions that Bush has already demanded from us for his Iraq operations, now he insists that we give him another $515 billion just for building up the defense department.

No-bid (non-competitive) contracts have grown by 115% under Bush. Seven years of the unbelievably healthy profits experienced by defense contractors will continue for at least another year, if George Bush has anything at all to do with it.

In 2004, the 9/11 Commission recommended that the U.S. government establish the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board in order to safeguard Americans' privacy and civil liberties in the wake of post-9/11 national security laws.

On Jan. 30, 2008, the board members' terms expired, but the Bush has yet to nominate any candidates to fill the positions. Now, thanks to Bush, you are protected by empty chairs.

The Bush administration has failed to nominate any candidates to a newly empowered privacy and civil-liberties commission. This leaves the board without any members, even as Congress prepares to give the Bush administration extraordinary powers to wiretap without warrants inside the United States. (Abracadabra! Bush Makes Privacy Board Vanish, Wired)

Civil-liberties advocates like Lisa Graves, deputy director of the Center for National Security Studies, considered the board to be apologists for the government's anti-terrorism policies, rather than independent civil-liberties watchdogs...