Money Over Matter (and Mind for that Matter. . )

My analytical skills (much less much any predilection to use 'em) are pert much in the basement for the nonce. That's a big chunk of why so much music and emo lately.

Arianna can be a flighty, immature socialite at times, but I read HuffPo cuz she's more spot-on then many o' teh wonks in our world when it comes to discussing the cultural roots of our political insanities.

To whit:

"The way I would like to proceed (in rectifying the oil lease snafu)," said (Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico), "is to find something that the administration thinks will pass muster."

Really? If what passes muster with the administration is what passes muster with the American people, Bingaman would still be in the minority in the Senate.

Feinstein, meanwhile, has endorsed the version favored by the Bush administration, which is to ask the companies to renegotiate, and, in exchange, extend their current leases without bids.

Does anybody really believe that no-bid contracts for oil companies were what the American people voted for in November? If they wanted a Senate that opened the Treasury to the oil companies and pled helplessness when asked to exercise real oversight, the voters could have left the Republicans in charge.

This story offers us a glimpse into the other side of political money. The media often treat the money race like a contest in which the total raised is the end of the story. But it's only the beginning, and until more light is shone on the paybacks, the real loser will continue to be the American people.

Not to mention our species as a whole and the planet we just may change beyond are ability to survive upon.

Good luck, eh..