It's very hard to evaluate long-term political trendlines and my theories could certainly be proved wrong, but the trajectory of American culture and politics show me an America that will be polarized along ethnic and generational lines in the not-too-distant future, much more so than is the case today.

Our role as the opposition was critical for most of the last eight years, but we won the elections, and now it's time to step up to the hard work of changing policy.

Barack Obama rightly pointed out during his historic speech yesterday in Cairo that in order to move the so-called peace process forward in the Middle East the Israelis have to stop building more settlements in the West Bank. But the settlement issue has been and is likely to remain the most daunting of the many issue that have to be overcome if there is ever to be a deal and a version of peace.

A spectacular, nasty Washington drama is unfolding which you aren't likely to read about in the New York Times or the Washington Post, until perhaps after the fact. Even if it is reported in these papers, few readers will understand it, because the reporters won't care to understand and explain it, and the critical voices of progressive Democrats in Congress will be ignored in their reporting, even though the actions of progressive Democrats are at the center of the drama.

The University of Florida, the number two selling brand of university athletic apparel in the country, just cut its ties to Russell Athletics, revoking its license to sell Gator apparel. Union busters, you see, are Gator Bait.

Yesterday the Council of the European Union, made up of ministers from all 27 EU countries, agreed to allow former Guantanamo inmates cleared for release to settle in those countries prepared to take them. The EU ministers made this decision despite the fact that, once inmates are resettled in the EU, they will able to move from country to country relatively freely. 27 European states, all with good reason to be concerned about the terrorist threat posed Al Qaeda, are prepared to take this step to help America out of a jam of entirely its own making. Yet, not one U.S. State is prepared to do the same. Not one U.S. state has shown the strength of character of tiny Luxemburg, Ireland or Portugal.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. After 23 years of being a parent, including changing thousands of diapers when my kids were little, I have found no biological or psychological reason that men cannot be just as good parents and homemakers as women. Actually, there is one thing ... men can't breastfeed. Other than that, as far as I'm concerned, moms and dads are "interchangeable parental units".

Watching the flurry of bill signings and vetoes coming out of Florida Governor Charlie Crist's office in recent weeks has been akin to watching a confounding, if not outright conniving Republican remake of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Call this version, Gov. Crist & Mr. Candidate. While Gov. Crist still gives every indication of doing the business of governing, his alter ego is already campaigning to be Florida's next Republican U.S. Senator.

Like so many others, I have been listening to the President's Cairo speech, and reading and listening to various commentaries on it. I was moved by the compassion and courage of the speech, aware that it was not strong on details, but recognizing that details were not its purpose. I saw a President who not only changed the rhetoric of the Bush years, but also brought a totally new world vision to the issues.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to try to slash cal grants to solve the budget crisis. The future of hundreds of thousands of college students literally hangs in the balance. Please, watch this action video, send it to your friends, and call your legislators to preserve the dream of education and opportunity for all Californians.

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