A while back I brought up the case of Citizen’s United v. Federal Elections Commission. Well, the case has been decided in favor of Citizen’s United. It was decided that since corporations are people, they are entitled to the same rights as people under the constitution. Further, political campaign contributions are considered political speech. Therefore, any law limiting corporate political campaign contributions is unconstitutional.

The Obama administration has called on congress to pass some sort of law fixing this, but I don’t know that it will work. The law may well be considered just as unconstitutional. That remains to be seen. If it isn’t corrected, however, this next presidential election should be absolutely wonderful. Instead of just worrying about commercials during candidate debates, we’ll get them using corporate slogans in exchange for their contributions.

“I’m one with the people, just like you. I’m the every-man candidate. And just like the people, I enjoy the refreshing taste of Coca-Cola on a hot summer day. Always Coca-Cola. Just as refreshing as that wonderful taste will be my approach to politics. Too long Washington has be let loose, has spent with reckless abandon. We need to let them know that we will not stand for this, that government should be fiscally sound, and should deposit all of its reserves in Bank of America investment accounts. So remember, when it comes to election day, vote for me. Just do it.”

Even as a staunch libertarian, I smell the death of democracy.

Just like that, in what was told to be an upset victory, the Massachusetts special election went to a Republican, cutting the Democrats down to 59 seats in the Senate, removing the filibusterer proof majority. The rest of us are set to step back, to watch and wait, to see what this means for the future of the nation.

Certainly, it means partisan politics will come out in more force. The ruling party is no longer able to force what they will upon the minority party. Or is that the minority party is now able to interfere with the will of the majority? I suppose that depends on which side of the isle you sit on but in either case there’s now a stronger requirement for negotiation.

Most likely, this will cause the health care bill as it stands to fail. The democrats couldn’t get all of their own party on board with the program, so it will be even more difficult to convince the republicans to fall in line. Something will have to change, and my money’s on the public option. Could be some other points in there that they focus on instead, though. I can’t say I’ve read the bill in its entirety.

Whatever the case, it’s politics as usual now. My question to you, is that good or bad?

Scientists today have pushed back the hands on the Doomsday Clock by one minute, bringing us back to the six-minute mark; this marks the nineteenth time since the clock’s inception in 1947 that the hands have been moved. For those not in the know, the Doomsday Clock is a device maintained by a group of scientists and other such bigwigs, meant to indicate how close they feel we are to complete self-annihilation of the human race (represented by midnight). During the course of its existence, the clock has ranged from 17 minutes out (on the signing of the START I between the US and USSR) to a narrow 2 minutes (when the same two countries tested nuclear devices within months of one another in 1953). This is a pretty noteworthy occasion, since the clock has moved so few times in its 63-year history — the hands are only adjusted when the global political climate changes significantly — it was pushed back four minutes when the Berlin Wall fell, for instance; this move comes on the heels of recent global talks about reducing both nuclear stockpiles and self-harming gaseous emissions around the world.

Since I first heard of it, I’ve thought the clock was a very interesting thing. It’s a somewhat arbitrary measure, sure, but there are some serious brains behind the ups and downs, the ins and outs of it, so it’s certainly not entirely random or baseless, but at the same time, I can’t help but ponder what it truly represents. To be clear, it’s not meant to measure when the world might end or when things are going to be so bad that the planet starts to melt away — it’s a measuring stick of how likely humanity is to wipe itself out; nothing more. It makes me think of a sweeping, Hollywood-style pan over a barren, wind-swept landscape, the empty remains of what was human civilization still smoldering in the white-hot breeze, showcasing the near-complete destruction of everything we’ve built, slowly focusing in on a lone bunker amongst the rubble, where deep underground a solitary nuclear physicist (in full laboratory regalia, of course) adjusts his glasses with grimy, dirt-caked fingers and wistfully pushes the minute hand of a large wall clock to the 12:01 position. Heh.

But, what does this really mean? A group of people who devote their studies to such things believes that we’re now further from erasing our existence from the memory of the universe than we were the last time the clock was adjusted (2007, largely due to North Korean nuclear testing and continued strife in the Middle East) — that is, that we’re making progress towards a more peaceful unification of mankind on our shared planet. It’s a move of optimism, of hope for a future made brighter by something other than nuclear fire. It’s an affirmation of the global community’s confidence in our current leaders to think before pulling the trigger, and to weigh the outcome of their actions rather than to push their own agenda violently. It’s a measure of hope, much like I espoused in my latest post, that somehow, some way, we might just make it through our differences as nations, and survive into new days as humans.

In short, it’s everything that I hope for in the world, wrapped up in a symbolic gesture from a scientific community that too often otherwise demands hard data and results rather than affording themselves the luxury of having hope.

For just under two weeks now, I’ve been telling myself on a daily basis that it’s time to post something. To cash in on the benefits of a new year, and all the optimistic future-hashing that it brings; after all, each new year does bring with it an essence of change, renewal, a new chance to leave the sins of the past in our trail and move towards a brighter tomorrow, one where all of our dreams are possible and we’re going to lose weight, eat healthy, stop smoking, reconnect with old friends — all of the doors are opened at that magical moment as we transition from the cold disquiet of post-Christmas reality and into the vast new horizons of January and a year yet unmarred by our transgressions and shortcomings.

I’m not the sentimental type, really. Left to my own devices, I’d scarce notice the passage of particular days, months, or years; I can’t tell a late December morning from a mid-January one, and my schedule, for the most part, remains constant throughout the year. I know that there’s no realistic value to the sense of glassy-eyed hopefulness that sweeps over people as differences are set aside and people celebrate, together, this milestone in our Gregorian march forward. Somehow, though, I still cannot help but be caught in it. It’s infectious to see so many people joining together to commemorate an event together and forget, if only for a few moments, the fears and trepidations and trespasses of the last 365.242199 days and allow ourselves to believe that we can accomplish goals that seemed insurmountable just days prior.

I don’t generally believe in making resolutions for the new year, because I don’t believe in breaking promises, and the change of calendars isn’t going to be enough to motivate me to do some dreadful thing that I know I should do but simply haven’t yet. As much as I’d like to say here that I’m resolved to post more, to be more insightful, to be more active — I can’t say it, because I have no idea what 2010 has in store for me. I’m hopeful that all of those things will come to pass, but until I can look back and say with certainty that they have, I’m not interested in pledging something which may be circumstantially impossible. So instead, I’ll leave you with this; as we dive headlong into the unknowable potential that is 2010, be hopeful, be cautious, and be proud; do not hesitate for any regrets that linger, but shed the skin of scars earned and lessons learned and shine through all that which you have suffered; do not let the saccharine ambrosia of past successes slake your thirst, but burn with desire for a new achievement, towering over all that you have done; be enduring through your new trials, and never forget, all things will pass, and soon we will fade into yet another year, the potential for which is unimaginable and limitless.

Happy 2010, readers.