Rule of law: a country where no one, and I mean NO ONE is above the law: Let's TAKE IT BACK!

The ability to vote and not have to (seriously) wonder whether or not it was going to count: Let's TAKE IT BACK!

Going to vote without having to find out that you are not on the list as "registered" even though you know you DID register: Let's TAKE IT BACK!

Our courts, especially the Supreme Court; remember when justices were chosen for their respect for the law and not simply raw ideology? And remember when justices, once appointed to the Court, would give their best reading of the law and constitution while trying their damnedest to leave their partisan natures out of it? Maybe, just maybe, (has it not crossed anyone's mind) the reason so many justices are thought to be conservative, yet once they get onto the Supreme Court, turn out to be more liberal, is that the law unfettered by partisan bias IS in fact Liberal-leaning? Hmmm... Let's TAKE IT BACK!

Abraham Lincoln's "government of the people, by the people, for the people": Let's TAKE IT BACK!

Religion and faith: who ever said these would be so narrowly construed as to mean only marriage, abortion, and gay rights? Religion and faith encompass so much more than just these things: Let's TAKE IT BACK!

Family values. The party of Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), Senator David Vitter (R-LA), Newt Gingrich, Ted Haggard, Rudy Giuliani, et al, has been preaching about but not necessarily living a family values worthy life. Family values they're for? I don't think so: Let's TAKE IT BACK!

Freedom of speech, which means the ability to protest government without fear of retribution or invasion of privacy: Let's TAKE IT BACK!

Raising taxes as a total detriment - they say it's a terrible thing; and when you think about it, it is, for a very VERY small segment of the populace who have forgotten the duty that comes along with wealth, which was known to families like the Roosevelts, Johnsons, and Kennedys; the solemn duty to help others less fortunate; this is consistently mentioned in the Bible; perhaps those who have forgotten it need to re-read: Let's TAKE IT BACK!

Where Contempt of Congress is a serious issue and doesn't refer to, as Jon Stewart so succinctly put it, "the existential disgust we all feel for Congress": Let's TAKE IT BACK!

The term "bipartisanship" - talk about hijacked... We should get this straight from here on out and be VOCAL about it: bipartisanship is NOT a fancy way to say "agree with me;" it's actually a way of denoting two opposing parties truly working together - with real give and take - to find real solutions for real people in this country and those representing this country in various ways around the world: Let's TAKE IT BACK!

The term "tax and spend": last I checked, if I didn't save money for something, I either couldn't buy it or had to borrow on credit for it, which added an interest bill for each month I could not pay in full. Now conventional wisdom tells me it's much MUCH better and cost efficient for me to save the money and then buy what I would like (borrow and spend leaves a bottom that could fall out and who wants that?) So "tax and spend," or more commonly known now as "pay as you go" is a pretty good solid economic philosophy, and most anyone who's ever held a credit card can vouch for that; Let's TAKE IT BACK!

The term "big government" as a detrimental thing. Anyone, seriously, who has kept his or her eye on government for the past 7 years, cannot with a straight face, say that this government believes in "small" government. The argument of "big" government is simply a boogeyman that the righties can use, even though it's pretty blatant that they don't truly believe in it themselves. And railing against "big" government is one of their signature issues even though "big" government can be beneficial; Let's TAKE IT BACK!

Diplomacy in our foreign affairs and responsible use of our military resources; we owe it to our men and women in uniform who do their duty for our country not to use them frivolously and to exhaust every last option before asking them to put their lives on the line. For years, the righties have claimed this issue as their own: Let's TAKE IT BACK!

Science, the study of, the findings of, the experiments of... So many people nowadays seem to think that if they can manage to get somewhat scientific words out of their mouth, then they have formed a scientific theory (such as "intelligent design.") But scientific theory is much more than a regular theory; in order to be a scientific theory, the hypothesis (first stage) MUST be testable over and over again: if it's not, then it CANNOT become a SCIENTIFIC theory - it's just a regular old run-of-the-mill theory along the level of "I think the world will be greener looking tomorrow." Oh wait, even that's testable. So as far as intellectuals know, there is a vast difference between scientific theory and other theory. Let's TAKE IT BACK!

The hearts, minds, and ethics of MSM journalists. Ok ok - I know this is a tough order, but watching guys like Keith Olbermann, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert do it every night proves that it can be done, if we can find more journalists with ethical scruples and get them out there. Let's TAKE the airwaves BACK!

The term "liberal;" it has been made into some kind of dirty word when by definition it's not. It actually means "open-minded" "tolerant" "marked by generosity" "broadminded": who wouldn't want to be these things? Yet as the righties would have it - these things are BAD, very very bad. Must. Be. Lock. Step. And Disciplined. Anti-Liberal. Let's TAKE LIBERAL BACK!

The term "hate" being co-opted to mean anything said that is contradictory to anything the righties stand for. It's time they were told that "hate" is NOT an interchangeable word with "disagrees with" or "thinks is bad." "Hate" also is not something indigenous to the left, alone; Let's TAKE IT BACK to its original definition!

And my last one for now, shallow as it may seem: the color red. I happen to like the color red and am not gonna stand here while some right wingnut (or anyone else) tells me it means anything but red is a good color. It shouldn't mean Republican. Let's TAKE IT BACK!

Oh yeah, one more thing: the Presidency: Let's TAKE IT BACK!!!!!

Until next time, a bientot!