Here, like at twac, the hiatus is over. Bar exam taken. Camping trip taken. Part-time working. Results awaiting.

The hiatus did little, however, to stop the inexorable growth of the blogroll. There's the aforementioned twac, and Zettwoch's Suitcase (where you can find a nifty sketch of camping me) bringing up the caboose of an impossibly long link train. Meanwhile, calm found new refuge at Wordpress. The Schnoktol Sentinel decided to synchronize with its url and become don't click it dude. The things I miss while I am away.

One thing I didn't miss while away was television, particularly of the 24-hour cable news variety.

I came back from my venture in the wilderness to tea partiers effectively shutting down "town hall" meetings by constant shouting and displays of intimidation.

Democratic processes are inherently fragile, and easy to disrupt by intimidation through political theater. Take the "Brooks Brothers Riot" during 2000 Florida recount, for instance.

Fast-forwarding to 2008, the American people elected Barack Obama their president more decisively than for any candidate in twenty years. Targeted political theater and thug tactics weren't going to disrupt and paralyze the 2008 vote-counting like they did so effectively in 2000.

So, here come the April 15 and July 4, 2009 "Tea Parties." They were incoherent with regard to a single theme or message, but it's becoming increasingly clear that a single theme or message never really was the point. Unabashedly promoted by Fox News and funded in large part by corporate entities including the insurance industry, the "Tea Parties" now appear to have been a way to identify, recruit and use people for later.

Later as in shutting down civil and democratic discourse through fear and intimidation. Adel Stan of Alternet lays out the program pretty well here. It's the right-wing way - disrupt and paralyze democratic processes when and where one can. Not only does it often work in intimidating politicians and their supporters, the "town hall" disruption is irresistible to television media. "Brooks Brothers Riots" all over the country.

The GOP staffers and campaign workers flown in to Florida to "riot" in 2000 knew that they were actors in a piece of political theater. But what about the Teapartiers? They believe it's for real.

Frank Schaeffer on Maddow:



Things seem very dangerous to me right now.