It's Blog Reader Survey time!!! Please take our Blog Reader Project survey. Just bloody well do it since it helps me and Gotta get ads. DO IT NOW!!! (and for those who already have, THANK YOU!!)
On a housekeeping note, we have new ads so click thru and check them out. You can also always make a donation thru the PayPal button to the right, and if you are thinking of buying anything from Amazon, if you use the links over to the right (for all the books we know you've already bought), just using one of our links to buy anything gets us a couple pennies a transaction. Time to stock up for Christmas!!
*Note- Hard to find Happy Pictures these days since everyone is hiding in Cheney's undisclosed bunker.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Overnight Thread and Happy Photo
Mayor Sorry After Showing Fake Obama Bill
What a gem this Clark guy is. Gets his office on the back of demonizing immigrants, roughs up a kid so bad that the kid gets a restraining order against him and now this.
DENVER -- Greeley's mayor apologized Thursday saying he made a mistake when he showed school children a fake $3 bill depicting President-elect Barack Obama wearing a Middle Eastern headdress.
The Greeley Tribune reported Mayor Ed Clark said a girl at University School's middle school asked him if he had an extra dollar for lunch. Clark took out his wallet and didn't have a dollar, but showed the girl the fake bill.
Clark, who works as head of security at the school, said the girl let other children around a lunch table see the bill before he took it back and put it away.
(snip)
He said he never told the kids Obama is a Muslim and that he knows Obama is a Christian. The bill doesn’t depict Obama in a turban, Clark said, but instead in a “prince’s hat” in the Middle Eastern style.
An FDR-like jobs program for Obama?
I think their headline misreads the story, the "jobs program" is for us and it sounds like a damned good idea.
Little known facts about Rachel Maddow
By GottaLaff
- Rachel Maddow is six feet tall.
- She is "knock on wood" superstitious.
- She is anxious, often lying awake worrying about America's need for improved infrastructure and national security.
- She often has just one large meal at 2 a.m., purchased from street vendors.
- She comes in every day and studies for eight hours.
- She has suffered from cyclical depression since puberty that, she says, you can set your watch by.
- At her lowest points, she loses her sense of smell.
- At seven years old, she hated Ronald Reagan.
- She wanted to be an Olympic athlete until a serious injury dashed her hopes.
- Her 10-year partner, Susan Mikula, is 50.
I found an old photo of Rachel and Susan.
Not the most flattering, but one of the few I could dig up.
VIDEO: At what price bipartisanship?
By GottaLaff
On Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Jonathan Turley talks about Obama's surrogate and adviser Cass Sunstein's allegations that, if elected, Obama wouldn't hold Bush to account for the last eight years of crimes. 7/22/08
Setting legal precedent is more important than bipartisanship, at least when it comes to maintaining the integrity of the U.S. Constitution.
By allowing BushCo to get away with the overwhelming number of despicable ways they spit in the faces of real patriots and the rule of law, Obama would be setting this country up to accept the destruction of democracy as the new normal.
Michael Isikoff:
Despite the hopes of many human-rights advocates, the new Obama Justice Department is not likely to launch major new criminal probes of harsh interrogations and other alleged abuses by the Bush administration. But one idea that has currency among some top Obama advisers is setting up a 9/11-style commission that would investigate counterterrorism policies and make public as many details as possible.And then what?
The commission would be empowered to order the U.S. intelligence agencies to open their files for review and question senior officials who approved "waterboarding" and other controversial practices.And then what?
Obama aides are wary of taking any steps that would smack of political retribution. That's one reason they are reluctant to see high-profile investigations by the Democratic-controlled Congress or to greenlight a broad Justice inquiry (absent specific new evidence of wrongdoing). "If there was any effort to have war-crimes prosecutions of the Bush administration, you'd instantly destroy whatever hopes you have of bipartisanship," said Robert Litt, a former Justice criminal division chief during the Clinton administration.At what cost? Since when does Congressional harmony take priority over due process and accountability?
The idea of such [9/11] panels is not universally favored among Obama advisers. Some with ties to the intelligence community fear the demoralizing impact on intelligence officers, said one source who had discussions with Obama aides about the idea. But during the campaign, both Obama and Eric Holder, slated to be nominated as attorney general, sharply criticized the use of torture and the legal rulings that permitted them.While it's understandable that Congress will have its hands full (understatement) with Very Important Matters, it's hard to believe that war crimes (among other legal atrocities) don't also fall under that category.
Ignoring the abuses committed by the Bush administration is tantamount to tacit approval. See video.
An Alaskan blogger's-eye-view of Palin's GobbleGate fiasco
By GottaLaff
Kris Perry on far left NOT nudging Scott Jensen while he's filming Sarah Palin. Considering how he's holding the camera, wouldn't nudging him have made the camera jerk rather violently and/or hit the interviewer in the head?
Celtic Diva has a whole lot of information for us about GobbleGate because, well, she was there. Please go read her first-hand accounts.
Here's an update on how Pallin'-Around-With-Slaughtered-Turkeys is trying to weasel her way out of yet another p.r. disaster:
I wonder how many Thanksgivings have been ruined by that nauseating little photo op. Oh, and the graphic images of the turkeys were sickening, too. Snerk.Here's the latest BS from the Governor's office:
[Communications Director, Bill McAllister] said that, while the cameras were rolling and a worker at the farm began placing turkeys head-down in a big metal cone to cut their necks and drain blood, Kris Perry, the governor's friend and director of her Anchorage office, "was actually physically nudging (the KTUU videographer), saying 'look at this,' and encouraging him not to frame the shot to include that, or to do something about it later, where he wouldn't use it," McAllister said.- I believe award-winning photo-journalist Scott Jenson when he told CC on KUDO 1080 yesterday that Sarah Palin, along with assistant Kris Perry, chose the spot where the interview took place. Whether the "slaughter" was going on or not, THE TUB AND THE FUNNELS WERE FULL OF BLOOD AND GUTS!!!! What idiots (whether the Governor or her staff) would choose to film there?Scott's story and the crew's version has been consistent from the beginning, it's been the Governor's office whose story has been rather...ahhh..."fluid." [...]
- Kris Perry WAS NOT "nudging Jensen" during the whole interview because she was walking all around while it was going on!!! Perry WALKED RIGHT PAST ME AND STARED (I was trying figure out who she was) during the interview while I was waiting for the cameras to move so I could get a shot of the pardoned turkey. She walked back to the spot where you see her in the picture above, NOT NUDGING Scott Jensen. She's even smiling in the picture at the top taken later...while she was NOT NUDGING Scott Jensen nor at an angle to do so.
To clarify, I can't say whether or not she EVER "nudged" him. However, I don't know too many people that would nudge a camera man while he was trying to hold a camera steady shooting interview footage of their boss.
- Suppposed friend of the Governor, Corrections Department Commissioner Joe Schmidt, was there yakking it up with the folks around him. He didn't do anything either!
- Finally, Bill McAllister, WHERE WERE YOU???? WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE WITH YOUR BOSS MAKING SURE SOMETHING LIKE THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN? [...]
I also understand there are some folks who are upset with me for writing the following:
I think KTUU angled it a bit that way on purpose. (Note to Governor Palin's staff: Did you not think that...just maybe...the camera crews would be salivating to get a shot to the network that so perfectly fit the lower-48 "Palin stereotype?")- If you look at the video, it is clear that Gov. Palin is not centered, but is being filmed slightly on the left side of the screen, while the turkey funnels are on the right. [...]
That being said:
HE HAD EVERY RIGHT TO SHOOT IT THAT WAY! Again, it was the responsibility of Governor Palin and her people to make sure the setting was appropriate for the message they were trying to convey.
THIS BOTCHED EVENT WAS THE FAULT OF THE GOVERNOR AND HER STAFF...PERIOD.
Go here for lots more of Celtic's turkey's-eye-view of the event. She posted more photos, and has plenty of interesting observations about that day, having been there to witness everything personally.
ChicagObama keeps his Hyde Park home
By GottaLaff
Getty
Good thinking.The Obama family will keep their home in Chicago's Hyde Park when they move to Washington in January, the president-elect told someone in a local deli.
A news camera caught Barack Obama saying in Manny's Deli on Friday afternoon the real estate market makes it a bad idea to sell the $1.6 million home where he lives with his wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia.
"We're keeping our house," Mr. Obama told a woman in the deli in a comment caught by the CBS-2 camera and posted online in a "Web extra."
He grinned, adding, "We're staying in there for awhile. Now's not the time to sell."
Secret service steps up inauguration security
By GottaLaff
As many as 4 million people are expected to attend Obama's inauguration at the Mall.
What a gigantic, enormous, gargantuan, staggeringly mammoth job this will be:
Law enforcement officials bracing for the largest crowds in inaugural history are preparing far-reaching security — thousands of video cameras, sharpshooters, air patrols — to safeguard President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in.Gulp.People attending the ceremony and parade on Jan. 20 can expect to be searched by machines, security personnel or both. Precautions will range from the routine — magnetometers like those used at airports — to countersnipers trained to hit a target the size of a teacup saucer from 1,000 yards away. Plus undercover officers, bomb sniffing dogs and air patrols.
The Secret Service — the agency coordinating the security – also has assigned trained officials to identify and prevent cyber security risks. And, as it does at every inauguration, the service has mapped out escape routes for the 44th president.
In addition Washington's 5,265 surveillance cameras, spread around the city, are expected to be fed into a multi-agency command center. [...]
Trotta acknowledged the reemergence of hate groups through the presidential campaign and since Obama's election. Threats against Obama have been higher than any other president-elect in history. From Maine to Idaho, law enforcement officials have seen potentially threatening writings, racist Internet postings and other activity. [...]
He would not say whether Obama would get out of his car during the parade or if Obama would be surrounded by bulletproof glass at the speaking podiums, as he was in Chicago on election night.There has never been an assassination attempt at a presidential inauguration.
Trotta said motorcades always present line-of-sight issues, and the inaugural parade is no exception.
Glad to see they're well-prepared for so many horrific possibilities. What a shame these possibilities have to exist.
Dick Morris Blames Bush Recession on Obama
Seems to me Mr Toe-Sucker Morris is getting a wee bit desperate, no? Not too happy these days.
Obama announces key communications appointments
We already knew about Gibbs, but the other ones are worth noting. Didn't the character that Josh date for a while on West Wing also run EMILY's List?
(CNN) – President-elect Barack Obama's transition team on Saturday announced several key appointments to his communications team.PS- Gibbs is cuter than Alison Janney.
Ellen Moran, the executive director of EMILY's List, will serve as Obama's communications director. Moran worked for the AFL-CIO, coordinating "Wal-mart corporate accountability activities," before returning to EMILY's — an organization dedicated to helping Democratic women get elected to office.
Robert Gibbs, an Obama campaign spokesman who also has acted as spokesman for the transition, will become Obama's press secretary — one of the most highly visible roles in the administration.
Gibbs, an Auburn, Alabama, native who has worked for Sen. Fritz Hollings, the Democratic Senatorial Committee and Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign, was communications director, then a senior strategist, for the Obama campaign.
Dan Pfeiffer, current communications director with the transition team, will be Obama's deputy communications director. He began work with the Obama campaign in January 2007 as traveling press secretary before returning to Chicago to work as communications director.
хороший пока and хорошее избавление , President Bush
By GottaLaff
Just hours before a scheduled meeting here with Russia's leader, President Bush issued a provocative statement hailing the fifth anniversary of the so-called "Rose Revolution" in the former Russian province of Georgia.*Good bye and good riddanceBush called the Georgian revolution one of the "most inspiring chapters in the history of freedom" and reiterated U.S. support for Georgia's "territorial integrity" in the wake of Russia's military invasion earlier this year.
"Thirsting for liberty and armed only with roses in hand, citizens throughout Georgia peacefully staked claim to their God-given right of liberty," Bush said in the statement, referring to a wave of massive anti-government protests in 2003. "These demonstrations proved once again, that when given a choice, people choose to live in freedom." [...]
The remarks come at a time of heightened tension between Washington and Moscow in the wake of Russia's August invasion of Georgia in a dispute over the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Obama Books Dominate Political Best Seller List
By GottaLaff
Based on sales for weeks ending Oct. 25 through Nov. 15, 2008
1. The Audacity Of Hope, by Barack Obama. (Crown, $25.) The president-elect asks Americans to move beyond political divisions.
2. Dreams From My Father, by Barack Obama. (Crown, $25.95.) The president-elect on life as the son of a black African father and a white American mother.
3. Hot, Flat, And Crowded, by Thomas L. Friedman. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $27.95.) How a green revolution can renew America, by The New York Times columnist.
4. The American Journey Of Barack Obama, by the editors of Life magazine. (Little, Brown, $24.99.) Photographs and essays, starting with Obama’s birth in Hawaii.
5. Fleeced, by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann. (Harper, $26.95.) Americans are fleeced by government, business, labor unions and lobbyists.
6. American Lion, by Jon Meacham. (Random House, $30.) Andrew Jackson, the seventh president, in the White House, by the editor of Newsweek.
7. Tried By War, by James M. McPherson. (Penguin Press, $35.) Abraham Lincoln as commander in chief, from the author of “Battle Cry of Freedom.”
8. The Rise Of Barack Obama, by Pete Souza. (Triumph, $27.95.) Photographs of Obama’s career, from his first day in the United States Senate to the Pennsylvania primary last April.
9. Ted, White, And Blue, by Ted Nugent. (Regnery, $27.95.) A manifesto by the rock star, gun advocate and host of an Outdoor Channel hunting show celebrates “what so many Americans embrace as abundant truth, common sense and inescapable logic.”
10. Kill Bin Laden, by Dalton Fury. (St. Martin’s, $25.95.) The siege of Tora Bora by the elite counterterrorism unit Delta Force, by the senior ranking military officer at the battle.
11. The Limits Of Power, by Andrew Bacevich. (Holt, $24.) A retired Army colonel argues that American citizens are ultimately responsible for the country’s military and economic woes. (†)
12. Goodnight Bush, by Erich Origen and Gan Golan. (Little, Brown, $14.99.) A requiem for the Bush administration, based on the children’s book “Goodnight Moon.”
13. Michelle, by Liza Mundy. (Simon & Schuster, $25.) The Washington Post writer paints an intimate portrait Of Michelle Obama’s life.
14. The War Within, by Bob Woodward. (Simon & Schuster, $32.) White House debates over the Iraq war, 2006-8.
15. Obama, by Deborah Willis and Kevin Merida. (Amistad, $26.95.) Photographs capturing Obama’s 18-month campaign to the presidency.
You know it's a slow news day when...
By GottaLaff
Film at 11.At 9:02 a.m., Obama's SUV pulled out of his driveway bound for the Regents Park apartment complex where his friend and periodic campaign employee Mike Signator lives and where Obama worked out at the gym for 78 minutes from 9:07 to 10:25.
The temperature in the WIndy City is a colder-early-than -usual 27 degrees but Obama was presumably only outside long enough to go from door to car (the line of sight to the building's entrance is now blocked for security purposes) and only his White Sox capped head was visible in the SUV.
His SUV pulled back onto his home street by 10:30 and we are holding nearby.
Thank you, Sarah Palin
Oh my. Sometimes real life is spoofier than spoofs.
The conservative Our Country PAC puts up a perhaps poorly timed, Thanksgiving-themed video thanking Sarah Palin with images of, among other things, a nice, roasted turkey.In case you missed it.
VIDEO-- Coleman: Votes for John McCain/Al Franken must surely belong to Coleman
By GottaLaff
This is all Normy can come up with?
Via.
Coleman's Lead Continues to Shrink in Recount
By GottaLaff
In Minnesota's U.S. Senate race recount, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) "was hanging on to his whisker-thin lead" over Al Franken (D), the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
"With 64% of the 2.9 million ballots recounted, Coleman was ahead by 120 votes, down from 136 at the end of Thursday and from the unofficial lead of 215 signed off on Tuesday by the state Canvassing Board."
Too nerve wracking for me. I'm in no mood for cliffhangers.
Voice of reason
By GottaLaff
Good god, who's doing the leaking? Hillary? Her team?? The Hill??? Could it be that Obama's gang has lost all control?! He-e-elp! The world is coming to an end! Somebody tell us it's all gonna be okay! Who will finally come forward and-- ?
"No one is frustrated, no one is anguished. Any time you involve large numbers of people in something like this, there's gonna be leaks. And there's a fanaticism almost among the news media to break the big story."Whew! What a relief. We've avoided Armegeddon. We can all go shopping again (well, except for that whole lousy economy thing).
-- Obama strategist David Axelrod, quoted by the Huffington Post, on the increasing leaks during the transition.
Thank you, as always, David Axelrod. I'll let my dad know what you said.
Shallow Thoughts: "Look" edition
By GottaLaff
Today's Shallow Thought:
What's up with so many political interviewees starting their sentences with , "Look..."?That was today's Shallow Thought. Thank you for wading in.
Most Consider The Web Most Reliable Source of News
See if you can find the give away that it's a Zogby poll.
A Zogby Poll, commissioned by IFC, found 37.6% of those asked consider the Internets the most reliable source of news. 20.3% consider national TV news most reliable and 16% say radio is the most reliable source.
Also revealed:
• 39.3% of those surveyed trust FOX News most for the issues they consider most important, followed by CNN with 16% and MSNBC with 15%.
• 72.6% believe the news they read and see is biased.
• 88.7% Republican and 57.5% Democrat respondents describe the news media as biased.
Irish eyes keep on smiling, according to latest research
I'm telling you wotching, one of these days I'm just going to show up on your front step. Their secret? IMHO, it's all the damn walking they do.
IRISH PEOPLE are among the happiest and most optimistic in Europe and believe themselves to be the healthiest, according to a major new survey.
Ireland also ranks third out of 27 countries on an index of mental health contained in the quality of life survey carried out by an EU agency.
Only Norway and the Netherlands scored higher in the index, which measured how calm, active, rested and interested in life respondents were.
Some 83 per cent of Irish people said their health was good or very good, higher than in any other European country, even those like France with much-lauded health systems. Yet more than one-third reported difficulties accessing health services, in terms of waiting times for appointments, waiting times to be seen and the cost of medical treatment.
Opa-locka hopes to claim first Obama Avenue in U.S.
Okay, this one is a bit much. The school I get because the kids did it, but this is just too precious.
Turn off Opa-locka's Ali Baba, and you'll hit what may be the first street in the nation to be named after the president-elect: Barack Obama Avenue.
The city will officially rename what is now Perviz Avenue on -- what else? -- Presidents' Day.
And Opa-locka officials are hoping the newly installed president will attend the dedication.
''His campaign engaged so many diverse people from all over the world,'' said Commissioner Dorothy Johnson, who proposed the idea. ``He showed good can happen if you only believe.''
Honoring the nation's first black president is especially important to historically black Opa-locka. According to the most recent U.S. Census data, the city is 70 percent black.
Friday, November 21, 2008
180 degrees
By GottaLaff
GPS: Former VP Al Gore
Meet The Press: Sen. Joe Lieberman
VIDEO-- Obama: "I got the corned beef.”
By GottaLaff
Hold the mayo:
President-elect Barack Obama made his first public appearance in 10 days on Friday at a Chicago lunchtime institution.
Obama arrived at Manny’s Cafeteria and Deli around 12:30 p.m. and ordered three corned beef sandwiches. He was accompanied by his newly named senior adviser and close friend Valerie Jarrett.“Rahm Emanuel sends his regards,” Obama told the deli’s owner, Ken Raskin, whose late father founded the Chicago institution. “I ordered him his corned beef.”
Obama worked the restaurant full of enthusiastic patrons for about 15 minutes, but he declined questions from reporters about Congress’ decision to put off approving a plan to salvage the fledgling auto industry.
Asked by reporter what he ordered, the president-elect said, "We got the corned beef."
Asked then, "What do you think about the auto industry?” Obama smiled and said, "I got the corned beef.”
Then he mingled. Barack the Mingler. Oh how I'd love to be a minglee.
"I love you," one of them told the president-elect.
"I love you back," Obama said.
Another woman hugged him.
I guess that could be classified as "co-mingling". And oh how I'd love to be a co-minglee.
Obama also got two cherry pies. Mmmm. Now I like him even more than I did when I said I wanted to be a co-minglee.
Treasury chest
By GottaLaff
The Obama Effect:
Geithner Chosen to Be Treasury Secretary; Summers to Serve in White House
I hadn't heard this before:
Summers, Bill Clinton’s last Treasury secretary and now a professor at Harvard University, would have a post that positions him to succeed Ben S. Bernanke as Fed chairman, central-bank watchers said.
Triple whammy
By GottaLaff
Three headlines, three big messes:
1. Number of juveniles held at Guantanamo almost twice official Pentagon figure: Canadian national Omar Khadr (right) is still being held at Guantanamo Bay. Accused of murder, Khadr was captured in Afghanistan in 2002 when he was 15.
On Sunday, the Pentagon admitted that 12 juveniles -- those under the age of 18 at the time their alleged crimes took place -- have been held at Guantanamo Bay (as opposed to the figure of eight that was submitted to the UN in May).
But a RAW STORY count, drawn from the Pentagon's own records, reveals that the total number of juveniles held at Guantanamo is at least 22 -- nearly double the official Pentagon figure.
2. Some Defense Department computer networks have been infected with a "global virus": "We are aware of a global virus for which there are some public alerts on," said Bryan Whitman, Pentagon spokesman. "And we've seen some of this on our networks. And we're taking steps to identify and mitigate the virus."Whitman would not identify the virus or say what steps have been taken, and it was not known whether the virus had spread to classified computer networks.
BushCo: Keeping the U.S. safe since 2001.3. Guantanamo judge rejects 'forced' confession: A US military judge in Guantanamo Bay has thrown out the US government's evidence against an Afghan detainee because it was obtained under coercion, a rights group said Friday.
The decision came late Wednesday in a preliminary hearing in the trial of Mohammed Jawad, arrested in Kabul in 2002 as a teenager on charges of throwing a grenade that wounded two American soldiers and their Afghan interpreter. [...]
"If the government continues to prosecute this case, it will only provide further evidence that the military commissions system is a sham aimed at obtaining convictions regardless of the facts or the law," said ACLU staff attorney Hina Shamsi.
The lead prosecutor in Jawad's case, lieutenant Colonel Darrel Vandeveld, quit in September due to "ethical concerns."
Bob Jones University is sorry
By GottaLaff
From the Department of Better Late Than Never:
Bob Jones University has apologized for racist policies including a one-time ban on interracial dating that wasn't lifted until nine years ago and its unwillingness to admit black students until 1971.File this under "Never should have happened in the first place."The private fundamentalist Christian school that was founded in 1927 said its rules on race were shaped by culture instead of the Bible, according to a statement posted Thursday on the university's Web site. [...]
"We failed to accurately represent the Lord and to fulfill the commandment to love others as ourselves. For these failures we are profoundly sorry. Though no known antagonism toward minorities or expressions of racism on a personal level have ever been tolerated on our campus, we allowed institutional policies to remain in place that were racially hurtful," the statement said. [...]
Bob Jones University President Stephen Jones decided to issue the apology because the school still receives questions about its views on race.
The leader of the South Carolina NAACP said the civil rights group welcomed the statement.
"It's unfortunate it took them this long - particularly a religious, faith-based institution - to realize that we all are human beings and the rights of all people should be respected and honored," said Lonnie Randolph, president of the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Randolph said that when Jones became president three years ago, he asked the civil rights leader not to hold the decisions made under his father and grandfather against him.
VIDEO: Dear Lorne Michaels, Here's your FauxBama
By GottaLaff
Hey Lorne, if you're still looking for someone to fill the SNL FauxBama role, check this out:
H/t: Evathia and one of our Anonymi
VIDEOS: Saxby Chambliss Turns Election Frustration on Cameraman
By GottaLaff
(This is a really short video, about 25 seconds)
Oh that Saxby, always causing a ruckus. He's probably just upset about his name.
Here's another, slightly longer video (h/t: Jon Lester) to give you some background:Facing a runoff election in a few weeks — and recently hit with a subpoena to testify about his ties to the sugar company whose refinery exploded in February, killing 14 — the Georgia Republican has turned his frustration on the media, giving a light shove to a cameraman yesterday who appears to get to close to the embattled senator.
The Democrats are hoping to make the subpoena (not to mention the shove) an issue in Chambliss’s Dec. 2 runoff against Democratic challenger Jim Martin — which, by the way, can’t come quickly enough.
Can he just lose already? Please?
Stevens witness says he was coached by prosecutors
By GottaLaff
In a new twist in a case that has seen no shortage of unusual events, a key prosecution witness in the trial of Sen. Ted Stevens has written a letter to the judge saying that some of his testimony wasn't true and that he was coached in his answers by prosecutors.Details here.
David Anderson, a nephew and once-trusted employee of Veco chief executive Bill Allen, also said the government lied in a letter to Stevens' defense attorneys that described as false an affidavit signed by Anderson in March.
Patrick Gaspard, a longtime labor operative, to be Obama's political director
By GottaLaff
Patrick Gaspard, a longtime labor operative, will be the White House political director for President-elect Barack Obama, sources with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to The Fix.
Gaspard served as national political director for much of Obama's general election campaign and was named deputy director of personnel for the transition effort. Prior to his work with Obama, Gaspard was the lead political operative for the 1199 branch of the Service Employees International Union, a huge and hugely influential union representing health care workers in New York. [...]Confidence has never been a problem for Obama, and he has every reason to have a ton of it.
Of his job interview with the Illinois senator, Gaspard recalled Obama saying: "I think that I'm a better speechwriter than my speechwriters. I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I'll tell you right now that I'm gonna think I'm a better political director than my political director." Following the first general election debate between Obama and John McCain, Gaspard emailed his boss to praise him as "more clutch than Michael Jordan." The Democratic nominee replied: "Just give me the ball."
Obama daughters to attend Sidwell Friends School
No great whoop, I just wanted a reason to use that pic.
(CNN) – Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter confirms to CNN the Obama daughters will attend Sidwell Friends school in Washington, DC.
"They looked at a lot of great schools but they felt Sidwell fit their best interests," spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter told CNN.
Chelsea Clinton also attended the school when her father was in the White House.
The importance of voter registration
Another tidbit from the USC conference today: Steve Hildebrand, Obama's top field aide, described of the importance of the Obama campaign's voter registration effort.
"In nine states, we registered more voters than our margin of victory," Hildebrand said. Without the new registrants, "We would have ended the campaign at 244 [electoral votes], not 270."
Obama Makes Pitch for 2016 Chicago Olympics
Hey, I'm all for it since I'm close enough I could probably rent out a couple rooms.
Afternoon Distraction
WARNING- Video started really loud for me.
Blah, blah, blah, please take our Blog Reader Project survey, take a second to check out Cesca's book, and don't forget anything you buy thru our Amazon links gets us a few pennies.
I've got to deal with a semi-crisis, be back soon!!
Tim Geithner for Treasury Secretary
Todd and Mitchell were just discussing this on MSNBC.
Barring last minute changes, the nominee for Treasury Secretary will be NY Fed President Tim Geithner -- a career Treasury official under both Bob Rubin and Larry Summers -- who actually had worked at the Treasury in three administrations under five Secretaries -- going back to 1988.
Geithner has been a key player in the current economic crisis -- helping Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and his team manage the wall street bailout.Former Treasury Secretary Summers -- also considered for the post -- might still play a major future role in the Obam administration, according to sources. Summers came under fire from women's groups because of controversial comments he made about gender issues while President of Harvard, but sources say the decision to choose Geithner had more to do with Obama's interest in "change" and getting someone new on the team.
Students Rename School for Obama
Note that one word, students. Makes me verklempt. Go read the whole thing since I can't use it all.
A New York elementary school has been re-named in honor of President-elect Barack Obama. Ludlum Elementary School in Long Island's Hempstead Union Free School District was re-named at a board meeting Thursday, at the request of numerous school students.
"Just to watch these kids after the board voted on what they asked them to do, they were so elated," school district superintendent Dr. Joseph Laria told ABC News. "You want to talk about "Yes we can!"? That was a lesson in democracy."
Effective immediately, Ludlum will now be known as Barack Obama Elementary School, following a decision by the board to adopt the resolution drafted by students and staff.
VIDEO: Stuck for gift ideas? How about a Cheney-inspired bullet-proof jacket?
By GottaLaff
By GottaLaff
Nothing says Merry Christmas like getting shot by a .38. And who better to inspire holiday thoughts like that? Why, none other than the Nation of Dick himself:
As she makes her way down the runway in gunmetal gray stiletto heels, a flashy flannel and moosehair shirt, and featured designer Miguel Caballero's Xmas Dick-garb, carrying a turkey and smiling as if there's no tomorrow (for good reason), we see a salivating Cheney taking aim. What a way to stage a fashion show!
Let's hope ol' Dick is shooting blanks! But then, he usually does, from what we in the know hear from anonymous sources. Winky winky.
This is a wardrobe must for any family. Buy matching bullet-proof vests for the kiddies! Invite the in-laws in for some good old fashion people-hunting! Rootin'-tootin' fun for all ages!
And for only a few dollars extra, we're including the stocking stuffer of all stocking stuffers! A travel-sized container of the best buckshot money can buy, already gift-wrapped! Tell your friends!
Death certificates not included.
Nothing says Merry Christmas like getting shot by a .38. And who better to inspire holiday thoughts like that? Why, none other than the Nation of Dick himself:
Who better to model the stylish fashion-o'-the'day than the Alaskan clothes-horse of the hunting set, Quickdraw Sarah Pallin'?Miguel Caballero, “a Colombian tailor who has made a fortune from selling bullet-proof fashion to presidents, oligarchs, celebrities,” is marketing a new line of stylish bullet-proof jackets. The jackets are apparently inspired by Vice President Dick Cheney’s now-famous shooting accident:
The Guardian’s Rory Carroll tested out the new product, bravely allowing himself to get shot by a .38 pistol at point-blank range while wearing the jacket.“This is a new market for us. Dick Cheney has helped raise awareness of accidents,” said Carolina Fernandez, a marketing director.
As she makes her way down the runway in gunmetal gray stiletto heels, a flashy flannel and moosehair shirt, and featured designer Miguel Caballero's Xmas Dick-garb, carrying a turkey and smiling as if there's no tomorrow (for good reason), we see a salivating Cheney taking aim. What a way to stage a fashion show!
Let's hope ol' Dick is shooting blanks! But then, he usually does, from what we in the know hear from anonymous sources. Winky winky.
This is a wardrobe must for any family. Buy matching bullet-proof vests for the kiddies! Invite the in-laws in for some good old fashion people-hunting! Rootin'-tootin' fun for all ages!
And for only a few dollars extra, we're including the stocking stuffer of all stocking stuffers! A travel-sized container of the best buckshot money can buy, already gift-wrapped! Tell your friends!
Death certificates not included.
Live! From New York! It's Barack FauxBama!
By GottaLaff
If you want to see video of the Top Four, go here. Personally, none of them strike me as all that Obamaesque, but then I'm really picky.While Armisen handily pulled off the arduous task of poking fun at a man we'd follow off a cliff, critics agreed that his interpretation left a little something to be desired. Fred neither looks nor sounds quite like Barry.
[...] Because the rest of the political impressions on the show have been so spot on this season—Tina Fey’s Palin, Jason Sudeikis’ crazy-eyed Joe Biden—an imperfect Obama stands out. With four-years of Barack-baiting to go, it might be time for Michaels to let go of Armisen and pick a replacement. So now big question looms: Who, if anyone, will Michaels hire to match the hype surrounding Obama himself?
Currently, insiders say there are four top contenders who have auditioned for the spot and threaten to topple Armisen from his current position. [...] [Jordan Carlos, who currently plays Alan, Stephen Colbert's token "black friend." Carlos has made the circuits on Funny Or Die.com; Donald Glover, an Emmy-winning writer for his work on 30 Rock and a well-known comedian throughout New York; Wyatt Cenac, now a correspondent on The Daily Show; and Jordan Peele, known for both his work on MadTV and David Alan Grier's Chocolate News, who is the rumored favorite to play Obama.]
The trouble with finding a suitable Obama can be boiled down to this: Michaels needs to find a comedian that can not only portray our president but also play our first black president. The comic chosen has to manage a delicate balance: finding the funny in Obama’s mannerisms without alienating black viewers who might take offense. Right now, Armisen’s interpretation is acceptably mild, but doesn’t advance the conversation about Obama in the way that Fey’s Sarah Palin may have changed the race. Michaels needs to bring in fresh meat; someone to shake up water cooler talk.
Keeping up with the Joneses... as National Security Advisor
By GottaLaff
Gen. Jim Jones is close to getting the job, according to Dave Rogers at Politico. If so, it would be a good choice. With Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton very likely to become secretary of state, [...] it’s important to have a national security adviser with the stature necessary to impose discipline on a war cabinet filled with outsize personages. (See: Rice, Condoleezza.)
Also, Jones would be reflective of two huge Obama priorities. First, Afghanistan. As NATO Commander, Jones ceaselessly lobbied the European allies for greater assistance in the Afghanistan war. Second, energy security. Jones is widely known to be an advocate of alternative energy sources, and, as Politico notes, chairs an energy task force for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Bill Richardson a contender for Commerce Secretary
By GottaLaff
Now that Secretary of Clinton is "on track", Richardson is up for Commerce:
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has emerged as a "serious contender" to head the Commerce Department under President-elect Barack Obama, according to a Democratic official close to the proceedings.It was just a matter of where to place him, at this point. I love the photo, by the way.
Obama considering former Miss. governor for cabinet
By GottaLaff
From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro:
I don't know much about him. Anyone?Former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus is being considered for multiple Obama cabinet positions, according to an informed Democratic source. Among the positions -- Secretary of Education, Energy and Ambassador to the United Nations.
Mabus was one of the earliest supporters of Obama, a key one at the time as a former Southern white statewide officeholder. He also did a lot of stumping for Obama in both the primary and the general, and there's a sense among some Mabus supporters that he's more than earned serious consideration for a fairly top appointment.
Quote Of The Day
Another one who knows where the butter is on the bread.
Roger Ailes responded to the report in the New York Daily News that he instructed FNC to tone down attacks on President-elect Barack Obama. He denied giving specific orders, but said he told staffers "all presidents deserve time to get their team on the ground and get organized."
"We have some obligation in a new presidency not to attempt to destabilize it," he said.
As for whether the big stars will heed the advice, he tells Gold: "Who knows? Most of them do whatever the hell they want."
Fred Thompson Back To His Past
Very sad. I sure hope I'll have future chances to use my arsenal of Fred & Geri pics.
"Fred Thompson is going back to the small screen after his foray into Republican presidential politics over the last year. He campaigned heavily for eventual nominee John McCain, and had recently tried to gain support to be in charge of the Republican National Committee. But his former finance chairman, B.C. 'Scooter' Clippard, said Thompson told him Wednesday that he was returning to acting and dropping his RNC bid. 'He seriously considered it, but he called and said that it was not in the cards,' Clippard said."
Congress's First 'Unwed Mother'
Oh lordy. So nice that K-Lo is concern trolling now, but when it was a 16 y/o it was considered a "personal family matter". Wonder how many congressmen have become unwed fathers while in office?
Over at National Review's "The Corner," K-Lo calls it a "cultural indicator:" Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., will likely become Congress's first unwed mother, or single mom, if you prefer.
As reported by the Washington Post's Reliable Source, Sanchez -- with help from her "unofficial fiancé" Jim Sullivan -- is "poised to become only the eighth congresswoman in history to have a baby while in office -- and the first to do so while single....The two are 'unofficially engaged,' she says, and looking to buy a house. They will plan a wedding later -- but at her age, she says, planning a baby couldn't wait."
Senators Applaud Convicted Felon Ted Stevens
I guffawed when I read this-
In Case You Haven’t Noticed
by Michael D.
CNN is running a live feed from the Senate floor. Apparently, a convicted felon has seized control of a microphone and is giving a lengthy speech.
More Votes Challenged in Minnesota
Slowly, vote by vote...
Try your hand at judging the ballots here.(CNN) – The number of ballots being challenged in the Minnesota recount is growing. This as more than 40 percent of votes have been recounted in the battle for Norm Coleman's US Senate seat. The recount kicked off Wednesday and could extend into next month.
(snip)The Secretary of State's office reports that 734 ballots have been challenged in the first two days of recounting, with 374 questioned by Franken's camp and 360 by Coleman's camp.
According to the Secretary of State's office, 42.33 percent of the more than 2.9 million votes cast in the election were recounted by yesterday. It appears Franken's made a dent into Coleman's pre recount lead of 215. According to the results posted on the Secretary of State's website, Franken now trails Coleman by 129 votes.
Obama birth certificate lawsuit dismissed
May I just point out that Republican Governor Lingle was an enthusiastic supporter of John McCain?
A Circuit Court judge has dismissed Internet author Andy Martin's lawsuit seeking to obtain a copy of President-elect Barack Obama's Hawai'i birth certificate.Andy Martin is a lying scumbag.Judge Bert Ayabe upheld arguments from Gov. Linda Lingle's administration that Martin — a political opponent of Obama — had no standing under state law to obtain a copy of the document.
The decision, issued late Wednesday, first denied Martin's "emergency motion" for production of the birth certificate.
Friday Linkage
Okay, what exactly does it say about me that I dreamt of the "Morning Joe" crew as monkeys? (The Willie Geist capuchin was really cute!)
China Says 19,000 Students Died in May Earthquake
'Superglue' brain operation for toddler
Bush effigy burned in anti-US protest in Baghdad
Nuclear war and environmental disaster looming as American influence wanes, warns terrifying new U.S report
Washington Post: If Clinton's the Pick, Where Does That Leave Richardson?
As Hillary Rodham Clinton inches toward becoming secretary of state, Latino advocates are asking: Whither Bill Richardson?
Chávez's populist grip shows signs of weakness
Jail forced to scrap comedy course for Al Qaeda terrorist
Men's bras snapped up in Japan
Iraqi troops donate money to US wildfire victims
WSJ: Former Pilots-Union Chief Has Inside Track to Lead FAA
A onetime union leader is a top contender to head the Federal Aviation Administration, people close to President-elect Barack Obama's transition team said, at a time when smooth labor-management relations will be critical to the agency's modernization plans.
.jpg)