Over a thousand Appalachian residents and activists participated in a rally and march in Washington, D.C. on Monday, September 27th. The action was the culmination of a multi-day convergence that had been put together by a coalition known as Appalachia Rising, which organized the activity to advance the movement to abolish mountaintop removal coal mining in the United States.

This election cycle does not look very good for Democrats. There are structural problems of having won seats in the House that we might not have taken if we had not had the massive outpouring of support for President Obama’s campaign. There is the issue of the economy where voters tend to punish the party in power, regardless of if it was they who drove the economy into trouble or not. There is the mid-term issue where the party that holds the White House historically loses seats. All these combined with a base that is unhappy (with some good reason) with the way that a historic majority has compromised so many of their priorities and values.

Whether it is your intent to support Democrats or not, the time to get involved in the process is now. If you just can’t stomach your particular Democratic candidate, then find a way to work for the ones that you can. Nothing is more important than protecting the liberal and progressive members of Congress, if the long term goal is to move the nation to the left politically.

Some of my friends talk about sending a message to Democrats by not supporting them this cycle. I have and continue to argue that they won’t learn that lesson from losing seats. However, there is another component that might (probably won’t, but might) increase the chances of them hearing this lesson, that is if the most progressive or liberal candidates are the ones who retain their seats.

I received an email from Tim Kaine on behalf of the Democratic Party, asking me if I wanted a bumper sticker proclaiming “DEMOCRATS: Change that Matters.” Tim didn’t ask for my opinion, but I gave him mine.

A lot of progressives are angry and are ready to kick the Democrats to the curb once and for all. In many ways, this group is being misunderstood by those who still want to support the Dems.

Something’s different about 2010. Try as I might, I’m having a hard time getting excited about the fall campaign. It’s not that the Democrats are now on the defensive, or that the Republicans have succumbed to the Tea Party lunacy, or even that all of the Congressional gains of 2006 and 2008 might be undone. What’s gotten me so indifferent is the growing realization that these miderms don’t really matter. And in retrospect, neither did 2006 nor 2008.

Coverage of the Israeli Palestinian conflict

This is the moment.

On Tuesday, Robert Gibbs made comments about the “professional left” being “crazy” for attacking Obama. Then he backpedaled away from those comments by saying, “I watch too much cable, I admit.” If he was watching cable last week, this is what he might have seen:

Some past failures might suggest the US Government is helpless against Wikileaks but an all new strategy never before attempted is giving administration officials high hopes that Wikileaks days are numbered.

Ask yourself these simple questions — Do you feel you have any power in Washington D.C.? Do you feel you have any voice on the decisions that affect your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness?