New show slot opening up at MSNBC. Let them know who you want as host

By GottaLaff

An e-mail from our pal Fernando:

MSNBC is opening up a third show to compliment Keith Olberman and Rachel Maddow. They have opened up a poll at the link below. Please click on the link and vote for Sam Seder. We need our media to have fair news that looks at supporting the people and not the corporations. Sam is a great choice for this slot. Most companies shun him because he won't shill for their advertisers if they aren't progressive. MSNBC needs to know that we are paying attention and they are actually watching this poll to help them decide. Please vote now.

Go here to vote.

There you go, Nando.

By the way, incredibly, Alan Colmes has way too many votes. Please go fix that.

Governments across Europe tremble as angry people take to the streets

By GottaLaff

One of my alumni, Matt, who I have known for 13 years, is an activist. He is also the most intelligent, well-read, and informed former student I've ever had the pleasure to know. He is soft-spoken, but direct, and when Matt tells me something, I listen. He is not one to exaggerate.

He has given me many a heads-up about protests, anarchist demonstrations, impending revolt, you name it. He's witnessed, and video taped, police brutality, the militarization of our cities, and other assaults on our freedoms. When it happens, Matt is there, or knows someone else who is.

Talk about having a finger on the pulse of growing unrest, he's very well-connected and warns me of events months before they happen.

Matt and I met over Christmas break, and he was clearly disquieted by the building anger churning across Europe. His own agitation made me squirm, as he described scenes of violence and impending "revolution". Matt, you called it:

France paralysed by a wave of strike action, the boulevards of Paris resembling a debris-strewn battlefield. The Hungarian currency sinks to its lowest level ever against the euro, as the unemployment figure rises. Greek farmers block the road into Bulgaria in protest at low prices for their produce. New figures from the biggest bank in the Baltic show that the three post-Soviet states there face the biggest recessions in Europe.

It's a snapshot of a single day – yesterday – in a Europe sinking into the bleakest of times. But while the outlook may be dark in the big wealthy democracies of western Europe, it is in the young, poor, vulnerable states of central and eastern Europe that the trauma of crash, slump and meltdown looks graver.

Exactly 20 years ago, in serial revolutionary rejoicing, they ditched communism to put their faith in a capitalism now in crisis and by which they feel betrayed. The result has been the biggest protests across the former communist bloc since the days of people power.

Europe's time of troubles is gathering depth and scale. Governments are trembling. Revolt is in the air.

The article goes on to break it down geographically. I'll let you all know what Matt says the next time I speak to him.

Obama seems unlikely to widen war in Afghanistan

By GottaLaff

I've gotten a few rather hostile comments over at my YouTube of President Obama's visit to Ben's Chili Bowl, of all places, suggesting that Obama is no better than Bush, because, see, he's a warmongering killer. It sure doesn't look that way from this report:

President Barack Obama, who pledged during his campaign to shift U.S. troops and resources from Iraq to Afghanistan, has done little since taking office to suggest he will significantly widen the grinding war against a resurgent Taliban.

On the contrary, Obama appears likely to streamline the U.S. focus with an eye to the worsening economy and the cautionary example of the Iraq war that sapped political support for President George W. Bush.

"There's not simply a military solution to that problem," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said last week, adding that Obama believes "that only through long-term and sustainable development can we ever hope to turn around what's going on there." [...]

Obama said he wants to add troops to turn back the Taliban, but he has not gone beyond the approximately 30,000 additional forces already under consideration by the previous administration.

A just-completed classified Joint Chiefs of Staff assessment lowers expectations in the conflict in Afghanistan.

Instead, it suggests that key goals should be to make modest gains to stabilize the governance and to eliminate terrorist safe havens [...]

The Joint Chiefs review also stresses that the strategy must be driven by what the Afghans want and that the U.S. cannot impose its own goals on the Afghan government.

Army Gen. David Petraeus is not likely to recommend a "surge" there, either.

Librul Media

By GottaLaff

I was going to write up a post about this, but Atrios already did:

Meet the Press tomorrow:

NBC Meet the Press--The stimulus package; financial bailout; the economy: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas); Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.); Erin Burnett ("Street Signs," "Squawk on the Street"); Steve Forbes, Forbes magazine; Mark Zandi, Moodys. Moderator: David Gregory.

Mark Zandi, former McCain adviser. Steve Forbes, former Republican candidate for president and basic conservative crazy person. Erin Burnett, of unknown political affiliation (to me) but was last seen fluffing Rush Limbaugh and generally expresses such viewpoints. John Kerry, Democrat. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican.

With a Democratic president in the White House, and a Democratic Congress, wouldn't you think we'd have better representation (chart that shows we don't, here)? You know, like they gave BushCo for eight years?

Why not just call it "Meet the Republican"?

The Republican Death Spiral, in Graphic Form

By GottaLaff

Via Nate the Great at Five Thirty Eight:

This is a diagram of the partisan composition of the 109th and 111th Congresses. The 435 Congressional Districts are arranged from left (most Democratic) to right (most Republican) based on their PVI -- that is, partisan voting patterns in the 2000 and 2004 Presidential Elections.

We see that most of the damage to the Republican Party has come in moderate districts. Not a big surprise really, but -- the numbers are fairly jarring. There are 81 districts with a PVI of between D+3 and R+3: these are your prototypical swing districts. After the 2004 elections, Republicans controlled 54 of these 81 seats and Democrats 27. Following November's elections, however, the ratio had almost exactly reversed itself: 55 Democrats and 26 Republicans.

Framed differently: in the 109th Congress, about 3 out of every 10 Republican Congressmen came from swing or Democratic-leaning districts. Now, only about 1 in 6 does. The Republican conference is very very close, by the way, to being majority Southern. To the extent there are moderate voices in the conference, they are going to get drowned out. There is no possibility of revolt from the moderates; they don't have the ground forces.

With Michael O'bstructionist in charge, things should only get bluer.

Google goofed

By GottaLaff

When Google goofs up, the whole wide world(wide Web) is affected:

Google’s Internet search service malfunctioned for nearly 55 minutes Saturday morning, upending users around the world with search results that carried false safety warnings and Web links that did not work.

The company acknowledged Saturday that all searches produced links with the same warning message: “This site may harm your computer.” Clicking on any of the links led to an error message stating that the desired site could not be reached.

“What happened?” Google explained in its blog. “Very simply, human error.”

One of their employees entered a typo on a Web address suspected of carrying dangerous software that could harm computers. That did it.

A little unnerving, when you think about it.

Republican National Chairman of Obstruction

By GottaLaff

Some people just don't want this economy to improve. More to the point, they don't want that to happen under a Democratic president:

Michael Steele, the new national GOP chairman, urged House Republicans at the end of their three-day retreat to stick to their stand against the $819 billion stimulus measure as they plot their strategy for the 111th Congress.

Way to alienate 66% of Americans, Mike:

Against this backdrop, the Diageo/Hotline Poll finds that a majority of voters approve of the proposed $825 billion stimulus package, even if that means increasing the deficit to pay for it.

Specifically, when voters are asked if they support or oppose the stimulus package and no details of the plan are given to them, 54% of voters support the stimulus package. When voters are given the specifics of the stimulus package, 66% of voters support it.

Additionally, substantial majorities of voters are both confident that, if passed, the money allocated to the stimulus package "will be spent and managed wisely" (57% say they are confident) and that it also "will be effective in turning around the economy" (65% say they are confident).

GOP governors aren't going to be thrilled with SteeleHead O'bstructionson either:

GOP Governors disagree with GOP US legislators over the President's economic stimulus bill. The Governors are lobbying for Congress to pass the measure.

2010 should be interesting.

Obama not wavering on Daschle

By GottaLaff

President Obama is standing by Tom Daschle, but Republicans are trying to take full advantage. I've already posted some of this in my original post here, but more details have emerged:

The White House said Saturday that Obama remains committed to Daschle’s nomination. A West Wing official twice stressed that Obama is dedicated to enduring the fallout—now the second politically embarrassing case of a high-level appointee failing to pay taxes.

“Every nomination has bumps along the road but they handle it,” said this official.

Sources close to Daschle said they’ve gotten reassurances from the White House that Obama was not wavering.

“They knew it was coming and they’d have to take a hit”—and in this case, “a bad first-day hit”—said a person familiar with Daschle’s thinking.

For now anyway, there is little evidence that Daschle’s tax delinquency is fatal to his nomination. Democrats have called a Senate Finance Committee meeting for Monday to discuss the impact on his prospects. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) endorsed him yesterday, saying, "I believe Tom's reputation for integrity will assure that he will be confirmed by the Senate Finance Committee and the full Senate."

While Republican response has been muted, party members are signaling that the case of not one but two tax scofflaws on Obama’s staff is just too good to pass up—a chance to puncture Obama’s squeaky-clean image, particularly at a time when he is scolding Wall Street for about the need for greater personal responsibility. [...]

Republicans have yet to mount a serious challenge to Daschle – but clearly hope to puncture what they see as the hypocrisy embedded in Obama’s tough-on-Wall Street rhetoric and Democratic claims of a brand new day in Washington. [...]

But the response to Daschle's tax issues from the Hill has also been positive.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid quickly issued a strong statement in support of Daschle when the story broke Friday night and other Democratic senators have followed.

That Daschle served in the collegial body for 18 years, an advantage Geithner didn’t enjoy, could help him survive the ordeal. [...]

Administration officials believe it was Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee who leaked the information, which Daschle had supplied earlier this month, after getting word that the former South Dakota Senator was to meet with the committee on Monday. The idea, suggest these officials, was to get the story in circulation over the weekend and make it Topic A for the Sunday morning news shows as an embarrassing lead up to the Monday meeting.

Daschle also has two important things working against him that Geithner did not.

First off, Geithner himself — particularly if Republicans or even some Democrats decide they just can’t look the other way twice on tax issues.

Geithner also benefited from the belief among many senators that the economic crisis was just too serious – and he was just too qualified – to let an old-fashioned “nanny gate”-style issue scuttle his nomination and delay action.

Daschle might not get such benefit of the doubt, either on his uniqueness as the man to be nation’s health czar, or on the dangers of sending Obama back to the drawing board for another nominee, even if that takes time. [...]

“We knew that we were going to have to survive 24 hours on this,” said a source close to Daschle, indicating they believed they had.

We'll see.

NOTE TO COMMENTERS

By GottaLaff

Comments will be moderated from now on. When anonymous commenters start sounding like stalkers, it's time to make a change.

All comments will be posted once they get approved. That means 99% of them will be posted, even those that disagree with our content.

We draw the line at gratuitous insults, racism, personal attacks, vicious remarks, multiple postings, and spam.

Paddy and I have discussed this and came to the decision together.

This should eliminate the need to delete comments already made, and to encourage healthy conversation instead of obviously mentally deranged or dysfunctional spew.

If this does not work out, we'll revert back to open commenting. For now, this is the way it is.

Thanks.

Laffy

People: Smithsonian requests Aretha's hat

By GottaLaff

Jason Reed/Reuters/Landov

The Smithsonian wants Aretha's inauguration hat:

Aretha, however, is still undecided about parting with her Luke Song-designed hat. “I am considering it. It would be hard to part with my chapeau since it was such a crowning moment in history,” says the Queen of Soul.

"What you want, baby I got."

Gregg Nomination Could Come Monday

By GottaLaff

I'd like to know if there were any agreements made to appoint a Republican to replace him, or whether we're actually closer to that magic 60-seat number we've all been anticipating:

An Obama administration official tells ABC News that Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) is now the leading candidate for Commerce Secretary and a could be announced as soon as Monday.

VIDEO-- From: 43 To: 44; Obama reads Bush's letter

By GottaLaff

Have you seen this yet? It's a spoof of this, and it's hilarious:

Obama Reads Bush's Letter - watch more funny videos

Buh-Bye "War on Terror"

By GottaLaff

I've always hated the phrase "war on terror", mainly because declaring war on a tactic is so inanely typical of Bush that I respond to it the way I respond to fingernails on a blackboard... or Sarah Palin's voice. Plus, it's meaningless as well as provocative-- a euphemism for anti-Islam.

And no matter what the label, terrorism (that's the correct word, Georgie) will never go away, so of course, Bush's "war" would be a perpetual one:

The "War on Terror" is losing the war of words.

The catchphrase burned into the American lexicon hours after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, is fading away, slowly if not deliberately being replaced by a new administration bent on repairing the U.S. image among Muslim nations.

Since taking office less than two weeks ago, President Barack Obama has talked broadly of the "enduring struggle against terrorism and extremism." Another time it was an "ongoing struggle."

He has pledged to "go after" extremists and "win this fight." There even was an oblique reference to a "twilight struggle" as the U.S. relentlessly pursues those who threaten the country. [...]

Ultimately and perhaps inadvertently, however, the phrase "became associated in the minds of many people outside the Unites States and particularly in places where the countries are largely Islamic and Arab, as being anti-Islam and anti-Arab," said Anthony Cordesman, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

Now, he said, there is a sense that the U.S. should be talking more about specific extremist groups — ones that are recognized as militants in the Arab world and that are viewed as threats not just to America or the West, but also within the countries they operate.

The thinking has evolved, he said, to focus on avoiding the kind of rhetoric "which could imply that this was a struggle against a religion or a culture."

Wayne Fields, professor of English and American culture studies at Washington University in St. Louis, and an expert on presidential rhetoric:=

"One of the contrasts between the two administrations is the care with which Obama uses language. He thinks about the subtle implications" [...]

"Obama, he said, understands that language and conversation must be worked at and that it's "not just a series of sound bites."

White House officials say there has been no deliberate ban on the war-on-terror phrase. And it hasn't completely disappeared. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has used the wording in briefings, and it's still in vogue among some in the Pentagon and State Department.

Recently, words like "subtle" and "nuance" were not words Americans associated with strong leadership. Looks like we have one more example of real change, courtesy of President Obama.

Alaska Democrats want Palin's e-mails; she's still stalling

By GottaLaff

Get out your scrapbooks, kiddies! It's time to take a fond look back at Grandma 2012's e-mail issues... again:

The Alaska Democratic Party says the state's repeated delays in providing public records it has asked for involving Gov. Sarah Palin are "excessive and unwarranted."

The state notified the Democrats earlier this week that it would likely need until the end of March if not longer to provide records first requested more than four months ago, on Sept. 22, during the heat of the presidential campaign when Palin was the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate.

In the request, Alaska Democratic Party chairwoman Patti Higgins sought Palin's schedules and calendars between Jan. 1, 2007, and Sept. 15, 2008. The Democrats also sought various categories of e-mails for about the same time period, including:

• All those between Palin and state Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole, or between Palin and state Sen. Fred Dyson, R-Eagle River, with the words "abortion" or "AGIA," which is short for the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act;

• All e-mails from Palin containing the following words: babysitter, childcare, McCain, Obama, Democrat, Huckabee, Wal-Mart, Eskimo, Natives, Kuwait, passport, Ruedrich, or Kopp;

• All e-mails between Palin and her husband, Todd, with any of the following words: vote, veto, budget, oil, Monegan, or Wooten; and

• All e-mails between Palin and her sister, Molly McCann, with the words Wooten or Monegan. [...]

Kay Brown, Democratic Party communications director, said the party's request is straightforward and shouldn't be lumped in with other, bigger requests.

"These repeated delays are excessive and unwarranted. There is obvious obfuscation going on here. Sarah Palin is proving herself to be anti-transparent about her own communications and activities," Higgins said in a written statement. [...]

He said he's heard estimates that the requests may cover 50,000 e-mails, and each one must be reviewed by a state attorney to see if the information should be withheld for reasons such as executive privilege.

There's that E.P. phrase again. Bush III. Need a memory-jogger?

The process was complicated by the fact that Palin used a private Yahoo account for much state business. Technicians had to sift through e-mail accounts of 51 employees, including Cabinet members, executive staff and close aides, to look for e-mails from or to Palin. [...]

Public records in Alaska are generally supposed to be provided within 10 days, but the deadline can be extended for more complicated requests.

Q: How many investigations and ethics lapses does it take to be a Republican? A: Yes.

VIDEO: "Did you know? 3.0"

By GottaLaff

Fascinating. Have you seen it yet?

H/t: Celtic Diva

Obama White Sox Cap Strikes Out

By GottaLaff

This hat tip to President Obama struck out:

President Obama’s home team -– the Chicago White Sox -– has created a special baseball hat as a tribute to their most famous fan. But don't place your orders just yet -- for legal reasons, the White House isn't playing ball.

The hat incorporates the Sox's popular black-and-white emblem -– which Mr. Obama himself has sported numerous times -– with a twist, to include the Obama campaign’s O logo on the side. “Obama” is written on the back. [...]

The White Sox design team created two prototypes internally –- neither of which has been produced yet. The team has reached out to the administration to get their “approval and blessing” for use of Obama’s name and campaign logo first.

Additionally they have asked the new administration to tell them what charity Mr. Obama would like a portion of the proceeds of each hat’s sale to go to. [...]

White House aides say that for legal reasons a deal with the White Sox likely cannot be made –- the president and the White House do not engage in commercial activity of this kind.

A swing and a miss.

Okay, okay, I promise not to pitch any more baseball metaphors. You'd all balk if I did, and besides... jokes like those are so minor league and would be a sacrifice on my part. Although I'm sure you'd let me slide, I'd rather hit a home run than commit an error like that and then be the recipient of a lot of Bronx cheers in Comments... although I did have a few winners on deck. Then again, maybe I'd never get to first base.

All in all, I'd rather play it safe than foul up with a bunch of lame puns. That's why I'm not even going to play ball. I'm a team player.

Michael Steele Was Paid by GOP to Run for Lt. Governor of Maryland

By GottaLaff

Yes, the new RNC chairman received a party salary to run:

When the newly elected RNC Chair, Michael Steele, ran for Lt. Governor of Maryland in 2002, he was paid a salary -- "consulting fees" -- by the Republican Party to do so. [...]

Eventually, the Baltimore Sun wrote an article on the rather unusual "pay to run" arrangement:

The Maryland Republican Party is paying Michael S. Steele $5,000 a month in consulting fees under an arrangement that began shortly after his selection as gubernatorial candidate Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s running mate.

Although the payments appear legal, Democrats said the GOP's contract with Steele raises ethical questions and suggests the party might be subsidizing the living expenses of a candidate for statewide office.

"It looks to me like they've hired themselves a candidate," said David Paulson, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party.

Steele - who held the unpaid position of Republican Party chairman when he was tapped to run for lieutenant governor - defended the consulting arrangement yesterday, saying he negotiated the deal as a way to continue working on party issues while he campaigns. The contract was not a condition of his candidacy, he said.

"I have a consulting business. I have consulting clients. I have to take care of my family," he said. "The state is paying (the salary of Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend) while she is running for governor. So what's the difference?"

But Paulson said "there's something obscene" about the arrangement. "They are paying a guy to be on this ticket whose very presence is being used by Ehrlich and Republicans as a show of diversity," he said of Steele, who is black. "They are the ones who call it the 'opportunity ticket.' We just didn't know how much of an opportunity it was."

This must be the kind of "something different" Steele said he'd bring to the Republican party, along with:

"Get ready, baby, it's time to turn it on. And work to do what we always do well, and that is win."

Yep, no matter what it takes.

Hardball: Michelle Bernard vs Cecile Richards on Lilly Ledbetter

I sincerely doubt that Ms Bernard has ever had a job where she had to worry about this type of situation.

Obama Wants to Control Commercial Use of His Image

I was going to do a separate post about this, but Taegan beat me. I hadn't been to my round the corner Kroger since about a week before the inauguration, and it literally looks like an Obama merchandising truck EXPLODED in it. Hats, t-shirts, buttons, books, videos, posters, water bottles... any damn thing you can think of, they put Obama's face on it.

White House lawyers "want to control the use of the president's image," according to Bloomberg, "recognizing the worldwide fascination about Obama's election, First Amendment free-speech rights and easy access to videos and photos on the Web."

Said a spokesman: "Our lawyers are working on developing a policy that will protect the presidential image while being careful not to squelch the overwhelming enthusiasm that the public has for the president."

Job cuts exceed 100,000 for the week

Bet the Republicans are just damn tickled. While you're around, read this- House GOP’s Stimulus Plan Would Actually Raise Taxes For Many Americans.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In a brutal week for the job market, an assortment of companies across various industries announced more than 100,000 job cuts.

The bulk of the job loss news occurred on Monday, when several major U.S. companies announced sweeping job cuts, pushing the day's total to more than 70,000.

"The picture is still pretty glum out there," said David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor's, noting that January is often a bad month for the job market, because companies want to include the reductions in their annual tax returns.

Gingrich Attacks Obama For Caring Too Much About Civil Liberties

Via NewsHounds.

Saturday Linkage

I'm heading out to the grocery store, ya'll need anything?

Tight security as Iraqis vote for peace, change

The lorry driver who likes to unwind by taking his German World War II tank for a spin

New claims emerge in calzone attack

EUROPE'S 'MEDICINAL CANNABALISM' The Healing Power of Death

Why dolphins are the best calamari chefs in the ocean

Ach, nein! Swiss village fights back after invasion of naked Germans

Twittering plants: Hello? I'm thirsty!

Obama's half brother arrested on charge of marijuana possession

1/31/09: President Obama's Weekly Address

Nice to see the closed captioning.

Overnight Thread and SkyNet Heads Up

Don't say you weren't warned.


On a housekeeping note, we have a new ad so click through and check it out. You can also always make a donation through 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, just using one of those links to buy anything gets us a couple pennies a transaction.

Update on Tom Daschle's tax issues

By GottaLaff

Original post here. Liveblogging.

Now CNN is reporting that there was one month of consulting income that Daschle didn't pay taxes on awhile back, $90,000 worth. But he never got the right tax form, or some such thing...

He had a limo and a chauffeur for 3 years that he didn't pay for, that he got from a business associate, who offered to give him his car and driver. He used it 80% of the time for personal use. In June 2008 he looked at it and thought he should be paying taxes on it, so he did.

Plus, he claimed donations to charities that apparently weren't charities.

They've been investigating for about a month now.

But he will be confirmed anyway, Dana Bash reports. Ed Henry is reporting that President Obama is standing by him. Plus, he says, the Senate, being the club that it is, stands by its own.

Anderson Cooper is noting how the Obama team is usually second to none at vetting, and yet this happened.

Mark Halperin is saying it's an embarrassment, but not fatal unless Democrats make something of it.

Paul Begala says that Daschle is a respected senator and gets the benefit of the doubt, as long as Senate Dems don't protest. Reid is supporting him strongly.

The consensus so far is, since the White House and Harry Reid are behind him, he's in. The only glitch would be if Democrats start turning on him. The Republicans, of course, will, they say. And they are so right.

Dems: House GOP’s Stimulus Plan Would Actually Raise Taxes For Many Americans

By GottaLaff

Rush job. Republicans. Desperate. 'Nuff said:

GOP leaders — led by John Boehner and Eric Cantor — have spent days bashing the economic stimulus package being touted by President Obama and Democrats because it doesn’t sufficiently cut taxes.

But is it possible that the alternative plan House Republicans unveiled as a more responsible approach earlier this week would have actually raised taxes for untold numbers of Americans?

That’s the surprising claim that House Democratic staffers who have taken a look at the GOP plan are now making. They insist to me that the Republicans did some almost comic number shuffling in drawing up their proposal, the upshot of which would be that the actual tax bill would go up for many.

And they’re now preparing to make an issue of this in the districts of Republican House members by painting Republicans as the would-be tax hikers.

The Republicans are sputtering their protests, as you'll see if you link to the piece. Even if they're right, it's still entertaining to see them get so apoplectic over this.

H/t: TPM

VIDEO: E*Trade Babies, the Outtakes

By GottaLaff

Need a good laugh?


Exclusive outtakes footage of the E*TRADE Baby and friends.

H/t: Wotching

Daschle Nomination Snagged by Back Tax Problem

By GottaLaff

(Photo: Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times)

Oooops:

President Obama’s pick for secretary of health and human services, Tom Daschle, filed amended tax returns and paid more than $100,000 in back taxes on Jan. 2, administration officials said on Friday.

Mr. Daschle concluded that he owed the taxes for free use of a car and driver that had been provided to him by Leo Hindery Jr., the founder of a private equity firm known as InterMedia Advisors, the officials said. [...]

The belated tax payments help explain delays in the confirmation of Mr. Daschle, a former Senate Democratic leader who had been expected to win swift approval from the Senate. [...]

The official said that Mr. Daschle’s failure to pay the taxes was “a stupid mistake,” but should not derail the nomination. [...]

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, is expected to stand behind Mr. Daschle, a close friend.

Brace yourselves for the usual onslaught.

VIDEO: Orange County, CA Customers Outraged Over Restaurant's "Obama Room"

By GottaLaff


What did you expect from the O.C.?

The owner of a local restaurant that plays off its name -- "The Anaheim White House" -- has gotten some unexpected backlash after he named a room after President Barack Obama.

Bruno Serato says being bipartisan is part of his marketing plan that includes naming the rooms in his establishment after all kinds of presidents like Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

He says none of them ever caused any controversy.

So, he figured naming a room after President Obama would be the same.

Wrong. The usual "weak" and "marxist" adjectives were tossed around in the "plethora of complaints" he received. Dittoheads, maybe?

Serato turned the negative e-mails around and contacted the media as well as his associates in an attempt to receive more business. So far, that appears to be working.

Excellent tactic.

I assume the e-mailers weren't part of the 65-70% who gave President Obama their approval.

H/t: Hilz

Bush's Democratic Iraq

By GottaLaff

Just like home:

Iraq imposed a nationwide security lockdown Friday before key regional elections with blanket measures not seen since the deadliest years of the insurgency, underscoring the high stakes for Iraqi leaders desperate to portray stability after nearly six years of conflict. [...]

[T]he full-scale clampdown also brought back an aura of some of Iraq's most unstable days, including 2005 elections, which many observers believe set the stage for sectarian violence a year later.

Traffic bans were ordered for Baghdad and other major cities. The closely monitored frontiers with Iran and Syria were among borders that were sealed. A nighttime curfew also was in place, apparently to block extremist groups that plant roadside bombs under cover of darkness.

Double-ring cordons are planned for the thousands of polling sites — in schools, offices and civic centers — stretching from the foothills in the far north to the Persian Gulf in the south. In many places, women teachers and other civilians were recruited to help search for possible female suicide bombers.

Free at last.

US diplomat challenges Clinton's appointment

By GottaLaff

Here we go again:

A US diplomat has filed a lawsuit charging that Hillary Clinton's appointment as secretary of state is unconstitutional, a watchdog group representing him said Thursday.

The lawsuit filed by David Rodearmel argues that Clinton is "ineligible" for the job because the Senate approved, while she was a senator, a salary raise for her predecessor Condoleezza Rice, Judicial Watch said in a statement. [...]

In the lawsuit filed in a Washington court, Rodearmel wrote that "for almost a century, administrators of both parties have used various legal maneuvers to avoid complying with the constitution's emoluments clause."

He added: "I am bringing suit to finally resolve this issue and to seek compliance with the manifest tenor of the constitution."

Knock yourself out.

Team Obama mobilizing e-mail list

By GottaLaff

See that title? It just hit me, I don't recall anyone referring to BushCo as "Team Bush", and for good reason.

That would be way too reminiscent of the Bad News Bears ("An aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league"). Replace "California little league" with "D.C. Bush league".

Welcome to the major leagues:

President Obama’s new political network, Organizing for America, is giving his campaign followers their first task Friday in what is becoming an all-hands-on-deck effort to push his stimulus package through Congress.

Their mission: to host “Economic Recovery” house meetings across the country next weekend.

In a “Dear Friend” email set to go out today, the group’s director, Mitch Stewart, warns against “partisan games” holding up Obama’s plan, and explains how recipients can help.

“Invite your friends and neighbors to watch the video with you and have a conversation about your community's economic situation,” reads a copy of the e-mail obtained by Politico.

“The president's plan passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday. But if it's going to move forward, we need to avoid the usual partisan games. That's why supporters are opening their homes to talk with neighbors and friends about how the plan will work — and what it means for their community.”

Organizing for America, housed within the Democratic National Committee, will send the e-mail to anyone who hosted or attended an Obama house party during the campaign encouraging them to organize economic stimulus house gatherings next weekend, according to Democratic sources.

Democrats involved in the process say the goal is not to get these supporters to lobby their elected officials or pen op-eds in their local newspapers advocating the president’s stimulus plan.

Team Obama, indeed. More like "Obama's Millions."

Community organizing: So obviously inferior to the skills of, say, a former Wasilla mayor.

Full text of the e-mail here.

Conyers-Rove showdown postponed until Feb. 23

By GottaLaff

We have to wait until February 23rd:

The John Conyers-Karl Rove showdown has been delayed.

Conyers, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, agreed on Friday to postpone the deadline on the Rove subpoena for three weeks, giving the Obama administration time to decide how it wants to handle the issue of executive privilege and congressional subpoenas.

VIDEO: Vice President Biden slams Dick Cheney

By GottaLaff

Suh-nap! Vice President Biden zings the Nation of Dick during the announcement of the White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families today. This time, however, I doubt there will be any need for him to apologize.

PhotObama: Send in the clones edition

By GottaLaff

(via)

BREAKING: Michael Steele wins RNC Chairmanship

By GottaLaff

(H/t: Joeyess for reminding me that Steele campaigned as a Democrat)
And this:

Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele profusely apologized yesterday for comments linking stem cell research to Nazi experimentation

UPDATE:

It’s unclear, however, how much influence Steele will actually have in influencing Republican lawmakers who are proud to be Rush Limbaugh’s ditto heads. Last month, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney told CNN that “the most powerful voices of the party are going to be elected officials in the Senate, in the House, and in governors’ offices.” Those powerful voices are still embracing the hate radio host — who has called Obama a “little black man-child” — as a spokesman for their movement.

If Steele — who once called Bush his “homeboy” — is serious about reaching out to people of color, will he condemn Limbaugh? Or will he join the ranks of his fellow ditto heads?

In 2006, Limbaugh said he had a high level of "respect" for Steele.

In 2006, Robert Novak wrote that Steele could be a "black Rush Limbaugh."

MSNBC is just breaking the news of Steele's victory.

Correction-- Tameron Hall: "The first African American to lead the party." Sound familiar? He is known as a moderate, and not a current RNC member, per MSNBC.

Michael Steele says the Republican party is going to "bring them something different."

Is that like change?

He says, "For those who wish to obstruct, get ready to get knocked over."

How ironic.

"Get ready, baby, it's time to turn it on. And work to do what we always do well, and that is win."

Seems to me, they haven't done that well in years.

"This is about empowering you." Channeling Obama... again.

Hey, financial institutions, give it back!

By GottaLaff

A few months ago, I was having a conversation in which I wondered aloud why the government couldn't cut outlandish bonuses, and/or temporarily and/or partially limit incomes of those greedy Big Biz types, given the dire state of the economy. I was sternly admonished, including being told that such a thing would be impossible.

I hung my head in shame and shuffled off to my room without supper. After all, as I've mentioned here previously, I admit to being woefully inept when it comes to discussing most things economic. So off I went, feeling like a fool.... until:

A day after President Barack Obama bashed bailed-out banks for giving huge bonuses, Sen. Claire McCaskill, (D-Mo.) proposed capping salaries for employees at companies accepting government funds.

“We must have our financial institutions survive but not with a culture that thinks it’s all right to kick the taxpayer in the shins,” she said in a Senate floor speech.

McCaskill introduced legislation that would forbid employees at firms collecting government funds from collecting more than the $400,000 salary made by the president of the United States, until the company no longer relies on money from the $700 billion government rescue fund. The cap would include not only salary but also bonuses and stock options.

“If any of them think it is a hardship to take the salary of the president of the United States, I dare them to say it out loud right now,” McCaskill said. [...]

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said he plans to “get back” billions of dollars worth of bonuses being paid out by financial services companies.

"I'm going to be urging — in fact, not urging but demanding — that the Treasury Department figure out some way to get this back," Dodd told reporters Thursday. "This is unacceptable.”

Thank you, Chris and Claire. I have been vindicated.

Biden Recommended Clinton for State

By GottaLaff

Brotherly love:

Aides to Vice President Joe Biden tell the Wall Street Journal that Biden's original list of potential Cabinet nominees after the election included Hillary Clinton as chief diplomat.

Said one: "Joe loves Hillary like a sister and backed her completely [with President Obama] for secretary of state."

One big happy family.

President Obama doesn't get mad, he gets disappointed

By GottaLaff

Robert Gibbs just now at he White House press corp briefing [paraphrased at the end, because my memory is just that short], on President Obama's "anger" at the CEO bonuses:

"He's more like that disappointed parent who, when you do something in the mall, is upset that you let him down."

Let's hope those CEOs get a far worse consequence than being grounded. At the very least, take away their Facebook and iPod privileges... along with that 18 billion dollars.

BREAKING: RNC chair Mike Duncan withdraws bid for re-election

By GottaLaff

UPDATE: Ken Blackwell just dropped out, too, per MSNBC.

UPDATE: Saul Anuzis just dropped his bid, too.

That is what is flashing on MSNBC right now. I'll get details.

UPDATE:

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele got the most votes in the third round of balloting for the Republican National Committee chairmanship. He got 51, but that wasn't enough.

Because 85 votes are required for elevation to the helm of the party, the RNC will vote a fourth time.

None of this bodes well for current GOP chairman Mike Duncan. He is seeking re-election, but has watched his support erode steadily with each round of voting. He got 44 votes in the third round.

No, it didn't bode well for him at all.

McCaskill Tapped for New Oversight Post

By GottaLaff

Joe Lieberman shouldn't chair anything:

Claire McCaskill will get to chair a new subcommittee under the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (chaired by everybody's favorite, Joe Lieberman). This subcommittee, the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contract Oversight, will be responsible for overseeing all federal contracting. Quite the plum for McCaskill, who will be able to draw on her previous experience as auditor.

Here's the entire press release.

Kentucky Governor: Obama people 'hit the ground running' on storm

By GottaLaff

"Hitting the ground running" seems to be the mantra for the ObamAdministration. This is the anti Katrina-White House:

Kentucky's governor is praising the Obama administration's prompt reaction to the fierce wintry weather that slammed his state.

"They really hit the ground running," said Steve Beshear, interviewed by CNN. "They're working very hard to get all the equipment and supplies here that we need."

So the U.S. government under President Obama was-- Oh, hmm, what's the word again? It's escaped me since 2001... Oh yeah-- responsive.

He said he spoke to the director of intergovernment relations and said she walked Kentucky's paperwork through. He said President Obama called him and told him he was announcing an emergency declaration for the state.

"I can't tell you how appreciative we were," the governor said. "He not only expressed his concern, but he obviously had the Kentuckians in his thoughts and prayers, and he communicated that to us."

Heckuva job, Barack.

Obama Gitmo order rebuffed, the sequel

By GottaLaff

Original post here:

The chief judge at the Guantanamo Bay war crimes court Thursday rejected President Obama's call to halt the prosecution of terrorism suspects, ruling that a delay in the case of a Saudi accused in the Cole attack would "not serve the interests of justice."

Many of us were asking if the judge had legal standing to do that. It turns out, he does, because President Obama said "please":

Legal scholars and Pentagon officials said Pohl's ruling was not insubordination because Obama's proposal was a request, not an order.

Pohl pointed out that the rules for military commissions adopted by Congress in 2006 gave the military judges "sole authority" to grant delays once charges had been referred for trial.

"Technically, it's within the judge's discretion to treat this as a request or a motion on the part of the prosecutors and the government," said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. "We like to think that even military judges are independent, to some extent, of the commander in chief."

Fair enough. However #1:

"But given the clear message in the executive orders of last week, it's difficult to understand why that request wouldn't be granted," Tobias added. "If the issue is really forced, the judge would probably have to yield."

But... and there's always a but... BushCo is still depositing their piddle stains all over the place:

"Judge Pohl's decision to unabashedly move forward in the Al Nashiri military commission case shows how officials held over from the Bush administration are exploiting ambiguities in President Obama's executive order as a strategy to undercut the president's unequivocal promise to shut down Guantanamo and end the military commissions," said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

However #2:

The top official in the tribunal, former Pentagon judge and Bush appointee Susan J. Crawford, has the authority to step in and drop the capital charges against Nashiri, said his Navy defense lawyer, Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Reyes. [...]

A Pentagon spokesman insisted that Obama's call for a halt in the proceedings would be honored.

"The Department of Defense is currently reviewing Judge Pohl's ruling. We will be in compliance with the president's orders regarding Guantanamo," said Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey D. Gordon, a public affairs officer.

The Howevers have it. The Bush Buts (pun intended) lose.

Obama's a model for black college dress guidelines: 'People might not want to see your underwear.'

By GottaLaff

(click on images to enlarge)

President Obama has been such a force for good in so many ways. Now he's even having an effect on underwearitude:

When candidate Barack Obama told MTV viewers in November that "brothers should pull up their pants," Kent Williams Jr. was thinking the same thing.

Williams, the student body president at North Carolina Central University, was weary of seeing young men show up in class wearing do-rags, pajama bottoms or pants drooping over their rear ends.

So the historically black college will soon distribute information cards that he proposed, using students as models, to illustrate the right -- and wrong -- ways to dress on campus and professionally. "Don'ts" include droopy pants, do-rags, gold chains and other totems of hip-hop culture.

Students at some historically black colleges say they began rebelling against such crimes of fashion long before Obama spoke up. But they also say Obama's fashion sense on the campaign trail -- and now as President Obama -- has made it easier to persuade other young African Americans to trade street sloppy for business cool.

Referring to sagging pants, Obama told the MTV audience on Nov. 2: "You are walking by your mother, your grandmother -- your underwear is showing. Come on. . . . Some people might not want to see your underwear. I'm one of them."

Williams said he was heartened by Obama's comments. "We're all looking to him for guidance," the senior said this month. [...]

[B]ecause Obama has provided "the visibility of an alternative image of black masculinity," Neal said, the trend toward sharp dressing has accelerated. [...]

As Obama came to national attention, Davis said, she noticed young men dressing better. "They're thinking, 'Maybe we don't have to look like we're a product of where we come from. We can look better,' " she said.

As for First Lady Michelle:

Jasmine Bell, 20, a junior, cited Obama's wife, Michelle, as a role model for young black women.

"I look up to her -- she's awesome," Bell said. "Barack and Michelle Obama give us all the inspiration to go out and carry ourselves with respect." [...]

Marcus Donovan Waters, a North Carolina Central senior dressed in a bulky coat and baggy pants (worn well above his hips), said the dress cards would not impinge on students' freedom of expression. He said he is preparing a campus fashion show of styles that can be adapted to individual tastes but are still respectful.

The Obamas are all about R-E-S-P-E-C-T. We as a nation had nearly forgotten what that felt like.

Shoe on the other foot: 'Shoe monument' in Iraq taken down one day after it was unveiled

By GottaLaff

Remember this uplifting story? So much for the new, "democratic", free-speech-oriented Iraq:

The monument commemorating the journalist who hurled his shoes at President Bush was taken down a day after it was erected, local officials in Tikrit told CNN. [...]

But officials from Salaheddin province told CNN that the monument was removed after a request from the central government, which has charges pending against al-Zaidi [Bush's shoe-thrower]— now in an Iraqi jail.

After the request was made, Iraqi police visited the location to make sure that the shoe monument was removed.

"We will not allow anyone to use the government facilities and buildings for political motives," said Abdullah Jabara, Salaheddin deputy governor.

Al-Zaidi's angry gesture touched a defiant nerve throughout the Arab and Muslim world. He is regarded by many people as a hero and demonstrators last month took to the streets in the Arab world and called for his release. [...]

The orphans helped al-Amiri build the $5,000 structure in 15 days, said Faten Abdulqader al-Naseri, the orphanage director.

"Those orphans who helped the sculptor in building this monument were the victims of Bush's war," Al-Naseri said. "The shoe monument is a gift to the next generation to remember the heroic action by the journalist." [...]

One of his brothers told CNN he "in good health and is being treated well." [...]

By tradition, throwing a shoe, is the most insulting act in the Arab world.

I'd like to correct what I wrote at the top of the post. Iraq is, indeed, a democracy: A Bush democracy. Let's hope that President Obama will have a more positive influence.

VIP Donors Alarmed At "Porous" Obama Security

By GottaLaff

This kind of negligence is disconcerting. You'd think that, especially with this president, security would be tight as a drum, and then some:

Downtown Washington resembled a militarized zone last week for the inauguration of President Barack Obama, but some major contributors who had direct contact with Obama said they were surprised to find what they viewed as porous security surrounding the president-elect and vice president-elect.

Three contributors who raised $300,000 or more for the inauguration said they were never asked to show identification to retrieve dozens of tickets, including VIP passes that allowed them and their guests to meet privately with Obama. One of the three said ticket checks were so lax that no one noticed when, after a breakfast for contributors, a friend whose name hadn't been submitted for a background check tagged along into a VIP room to take pictures with Vice President-elect Joseph Biden.

And a half-dozen said that after a screening to sit in a ticketed area near Obama for his swearing-in, they mingled with public crowds but were never again checked for firearms or explosives.

"I was surprised," said online retail executive Alfred Lin, who attended most of the events for major donors in the days leading up to the swearing-in. "It was less strict than going through airport security." [...]

Two donors expressed concern about security screenings that preceded a meeting they and about 100 others had with Obama in a tent behind the Lincoln Memorial before the Sunday concert.

One said he was waved through with a camera that had no batteries despite warnings that it would have to be operational. The two said they later walked unattended by the president's motorcade and watched other donors lean on Obama's limousine, posing for pictures.

By the next morning, when Biden spoke to donors at a Northwest hotel, one said it had become clear that ticket checks had become "a joke." He said he flashed a handful of coveted gray passes to gain access to the VIP room with Biden but brought in an extra guest.

Many more details here.