By GottaLaff
Yesterday, Paddy posted about the Geico spokesman who got fired over an insulting telephone message he left for the Tea Baggers' little astroturf extended family, FreedomWorks.
FreedomWorks' Matt Kibbe then posted Douglas' cell number on biggovernment.com, which caused Douglas to get harassed and ultimately sacked.None of this hubbub prevented Douglas from making light of the situation in his own riveting little video...
By GottaLaff
I officially declare today Rep. Anthony Weiner day (follow links, it's worth it):
[An] obscurely sourced (at best) memo purporting to detail Democrats' messaging plan on health care reform traveled in just a few hours this afternoon from a Republican lobbyist to political reporters to Hill aides and onto high-profile news websites before Democrats beat the story back with cries that the memo was a "hoax."
(click on image to enlarge)By GottaLaff
Remember this and this and this? Of course you do. What's that phrase again? Oh yeah: Turnabout is fair play:
Fox News is well-known for taking the tactic of "ambush journalism" to gratuitous lengths to get footage for air of their pet targets getting freaked out on the streets of this fair nation. [...]Wait, so... Fox considers bloggers members of the news media? I've been promoted? Why am I always the last to know? Hey, Paddy, guess what...?!
Adam Green of OpenLeft espied Fox's Griff Jenkins outside a convention for ACORN, a community organizing group who Fox is relentlessly working to depict as a band of Uruk-Hai bent on the destruction of Western civilization. Jenkins was dressed in a tuxedo (he likes to play dress-up!) and standing by a "red carpet" (actually, a sad red doormat), hoping to interview people for something that was sure to be substantive, given the set-up and artifice! So, Green turned the tables on Jenkins, and confronted him about whether Fox reporters are issued memos laden with GOP talking points! It all sort of gets under Jenkins' skin, just a little bit.
By GottaLaff
re-posting a favorite #DDay pic from earlier. kids were mobbing vets for autographs. vets were beamingAwesome. On. A. Stick.
By GottaLaff
Howard Dean's appointment to the chair of the Progressive Book Club is being hailed as a major step on the part of Democrats to close one of the few remaining institutional deficits they have with Republicans.I love that "one of the few remaining" part. Look at us closing the gaps all over the place like that!
For years, progressives have watched with a mix of envy and wonder at the capacity of the conservative movement to nurture and promote its young writers. As the Democratic Party and like-minded institutions have matched their ideological counterparts in other organizational functions, that gap in book promotion has lingered.Nothing worse than a lingering gap, I always say.
Enter Dean.That would be "50-State Strategy" Dean, don'tcha know.
"Books are extraordinarily important, even in this day of the Internet," said Dean. "It is the one place where you can have the time, take the length, do the work that you need to do, to fill out the kind of ideas and the kind of framework that you need for a better world. The Progressive Book Club (PBC) was started as an antidote to the framework for a worse world by the conservative book club. They have been saying all kinds of things that bring us back for a long time. Yet their ideas are potent because there hasn't been an organized opposition."There is now.
The Conservative Book Club has more than a four-decade head start on its progressive counterpart. [...] Organizations like the American Enterprise Institute and Heritage Foundation often buy books in bulk while conservative media outlets host authors on their shows to discuss and promote their work, often pushing books up the bestseller lists. [...]
"I don't think we are there right now," [Democratic strategist Mike Lux] said. "I think progressives really need to get into the idea of helping market progressive media. And not just books, but blogs, radio shows and TV shows, everything. We really don't do a good job of marketing our idea. Conservatives have always been ahead of us. They still are."
That would be because they have their very own cable channel. We don't.
Dean's task is to connect those dots between established Democratic institutions, young progressive authors and sympathetic, or even mainstream media outlets. Initially approached to serve on board, then asked to be the board's chair, he is being asked, in essence, apply a version of 50-state-strategy to the progressive book industry.
Perfect fit. Love this idea. No, more than love... lerve.
By GottaLaff
Tears.He considers unnecessary what his son Representative Patrick J. Kennedy of Rhode Island calls “the premature eulogizing,” or what Mr. Biden terms “a bordering on an obituary,” that has accompanied his life in recent months.
“Obviously I’ve been touched and grateful,” Mr. Kennedy said in a phone interview Friday from the rented home in Miami where he has spent most of the winter. “Beyond that, I don’t really plan to go away soon.”
Friends who have seen Mr. Kennedy describe him as driven and focused on work as he recuperates in Florida. He sometimes gets angry watching C-Span, pores over memorandums and briefing papers, and speed-dials staff members and colleagues (sometimes from his sailboat, the Mya). He speaks frequently — and often on his trademark issue, overhauling the nation’s health care system — to President Obama; Mr. Biden; the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel; and checks up on the Senate “chatter” with lawmakers.
Between chemotherapy treatments, physical therapy sessions and naps, Mr. Kennedy has been lobbying the White House on possible nominees for secretary of health and human services. (He has heard good things about the leading candidate, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, though he does not know her well and has been pressing for other candidates.)
While his office said he planned to return to Washington in a few weeks, Mr. Kennedy has been orchestrating efforts from afar, setting the foundation for legislation on what he calls “the cause of my life.”
“What has been essential to his recovery and motivation has been setting goals,” said Dr. Lawrence C. Horowitz, a former Kennedy staff member who has been overseeing his care. The first goal the senator set after cancer surgery in June was to speak at the Democratic National Convention (he did, despite painful kidney stones); then he resolved to attend Mr. Obama’s inauguration (he did, though he had a seizure afterward).
“Now, his goal is to play a central role in health care reform,” Dr. Horowitz said. “That’s what keeps him going.” [...]Mr. Kennedy describes the Senate as a “chemical place,” meaning that reading the chemistry between members is critical to understanding how an issue or a vote will play out. Removed from it, he has been frustrated, fellow Democrats say.
“When he’s not here, things don’t happen the same way,” Mr. Dodd said. [...]
Dr. Horowitz said, “He is doing very well, considering that he has a serious disease.” He added that the “unanimous consensus” of Mr. Kennedy’s team of doctors is that “his disease is totally under control.” [...]After the swearing-in, Mr. Kennedy repaired to the Capitol for a Congressional luncheon, where he mingled with colleagues and ate a meal of pheasant and seafood stew. Before dessert, he was rushed to a hospital after a seizure. The next day, Mr. Kennedy called Mr. Biden to check up on his 15-year-old granddaughter, who had witnessed the incident.
“I’m sorry if I upset your granddaughter,” the vice president recalled him saying. Mr. Kennedy also sent Mr. Biden’s 91-year-old mother flowers (he told her she looked wonderful at the inauguration).
Stories of such gestures from Mr. Kennedy have abounded. [...]
“I got elected to Congress in 1972 running against the Kennedys,” said former Senator Trent Lott, the onetime Republican leader. “Forget liberal, conservative, moderate, whatever,” he said of Mr. Kennedy. “He’s a damn nice guy.”
By GottaLaff
New Christmas PoemThank you, Yvonne. Much love to you and sweet, amazing Nick.
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
'SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY! COUNTRY, MY CORPS.'
THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,!
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT..'
This poem was written by a Marine.
Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your small part to plant this small seed.
By GottaLaff
This will cheer us up after that disgusting Chambliss win:
As Obama was leaving Philadelphia, kids from Friends Select, a Quaker school across the street from his hotel, gathered at the gates.
An agent stood near the kids, who after about 15 minutes of waiting started chanting "Obama! Obama!"
By GottaLaff
President-elect Obama said "man" to Steve Kroft. That spoke volumes.
When Bush was declared "president", I sat there in disbelief, and I cried.
As I sat watching President-elect Obama get interviewed on 60 Minutes, I sat there in disbelief, and I cried. But they were tears of joy and relief... and a little bit of awe.
Not awe as in idolatry. No, it was the kind of awe you feel when you realize something huge has occurred. And ironically, the hugeness is, in fact, smallness. Barack and Michelle came across as one of us. Not royalty. Not beyond reach. One of us.
They bantered. Michelle gently called him out on a couple of unintentionally amusing, seemingly rehearsed responses to questions posed by Kroft. Michelle is "sensible", said Barack. He was right.
I saw two people who love each other. I heard, for the first time, a detailed account of what it's like to transition from a relatively normal, somewhat anonymous life to scrutinized inhabitants of the White House. I've never heard such an honest play-by-play before.
I could relate to this couple. I felt an ease between them, and between us.
The interview made mincemeat of the "elitist" label with which Obama was smeared by the opposition during the insanity of the campaign.
Obama misses his barber. Obama misses his ability to take walks. Obama is already nostalgic for his one-bedroom D.C. apartment, the one that burned down before he'd even consider moving out of it.
The Obamas didn't pull punches. They were the real deal. I like them.
For the first time in eight years, I feel a sense of relief. I'm like a chick pecking out of its shell, peeking out at the bright light that, at first, takes some getting used to, but soon the eyes adapt.
The Bushies are leaving. The abuse is over.
For the first time in eight years, we have permission not to cower in fear. Instead, we are asked to take on the responsibility of seeing things as they are, and how they can be.
For the first time in eight years, I feel warmth instead of a chill.
And, "man", that's change we can believe in.
By GottaLaff
Via 236:
What- you watch CNN at 8 PM? You fool. It's 2008 and MSNBC is where it's at. We dare you not to "Olbermann" after you watch this:
By GottaLaff
I can't embed this terrific slide show, so please go check it out here. I can, however, get a screen shot up, just to give you a preview:
By GottaLaff
It's pdf, so I can't do much more than link to it. People is doing a spread on about how the Obamas will adjust to living in the White House. Lerve the photos!
Here's a screen shot collage:
By GottaLaff
Maya Soetoro-Ng could have accepted her brother's invitation to be at his side on Election Night in Chicago. But Barack Obama's sister knew where she belonged.
As she had for much of the past eight years, Soetoro-Ng stayed in the two-bedroom apartment on Beretania Street where she had taken care of their maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham. [...]
Soetoro-Ng returned to her teaching job on Monday at La Pietra — Hawai'i School for Girls but has not spoken to the media since the death of their grandmother and her brother's Election Day electoral college landslide.
But in a post-election e-mail sent to friends last week, Soetoro-Ng wrote of the whirlpool of emotions surrounding both her grandmother's death and her brother's success — and of the need to then unplug for a while with her husband, Konrad, and their 4-year-old daughter, Suhaila, on O'ahu's North Shore.
I posted a personal story about Suhaila here .
The more I learn about this family, the more I admire them. I want to hug them all. Now.In the subject line of the e-mail, Soetoro-Ng wrote, "love!"
She said she had been flooded with e-mail messages "of both congratulation and condolence. ... There's a wide swatch of emotion cutting through me, sometimes swirling, never simple ... a briny mixture of elation, sadness, determination, regret, pride, hope, fatigue. You can imagine ..."
Dunham, whom Obama called "Toot" after the Hawaiian word for grandparent, tutu, never showed self-pity or fear as she faced the end of her life, Soetoro-Ng wrote.
But Dunham could be wickedly funny.
"When she saw the number of flowers that had been sent to her," Soetoro-Ng wrote, "she said, 'Oh my ... with all of this hullabaloo, it's going to be embarrassing if I DON'T die.' I gave her a chuckle and of course told her that I wouldn't at all mind such an embarrassment, and then I invited her to stay and dance with me into the new year. She couldn't stay, but she certainly tried, and defied expectations again and again."
Soetoro-Ng then quickly turned to her brother's election as the nation's 44th president.
The "relief I feel has everything to do with the profound faith I have in Barack's leadership and vision for this country," she wrote. "I wept tears of joy for all of us on Tuesday. He may not be a perfect man. Certainly, he has often said that he'll likely be an imperfect president, but he is a good man, a smart man, a disciplined soul who balances temperance with determination and courage. We've made a great choice, I assure you."
She goes on to celebrate the victories of local politicians and thank supporters.
"Of course, part of me wanted to go, thank and celebrate with the many, many local folks who supported and contributed so much to this campaign, but the other part of me needed to go underground for a bit," Soetoro-Ng wrote.
She wrote of her plans last weekend to stay at a friend's beach house on the North Shore with Konrad and their daughter.
"In addition to wrapping my tutu's life, I need to prepare to teach my pumpkins, as I resume work next week," she wrote. "... I am going (to) read through dozens of potentially useful new resources to use with the kids, while I look up at the too-seldom seen canopy of stars, and snuggle with my husband and daughter."
By GottaLaff
Right after the election, hundreds of messages of good luck to Obama were written on makeshift walls near the Lincoln Memorial.
Hmmm. I don't remember that happening after Bush got selected.
By GottaLaff
I've died and gone to heaven.Among the ideas listed on the site:
- Centralize Ethics and Lobbying Information for Voters: Obama and Biden will create a centralized Internet database of lobbying reports, ethics records and campaign finance filings in a searchable, sortable and downloadable format.
- Require Independent Monitoring of Lobbying Laws and Ethics Rules: Obama and Biden will use the power of the presidency to fight for an independent watchdog agency to oversee the investigation of congressional ethics violations so that the public can be assured that ethics complaints will be investigated.
- Create a Public "Contracts and Influence" Database: As president, Obama will create a "contracts and influence" database that will disclose how much federal contractors spend on lobbying, and what contracts they are getting and how well they complete them.
- Expose Special Interest Tax Breaks to Public Scrutiny: Obama and Biden will ensure that any tax breaks for corporate recipients — or tax earmarks — are also publicly available on the Internet in an easily searchable format.
- Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House Web site for five days.
- Shine Light on Earmarks and Pork Barrel Spending: Obama's Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act will shed light on all earmarks by disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, along with a written justification, 72 hours before they can be approved by the full Senate.
By GottaLaff
The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District announced this week it will add cars to South Shore trains Tuesday to accommodate extra passengers headed for Barack Obama’s Election Day rally in Chicago.*From Annie Hall:
Diane Keaton: Do you love me?
Woody Allen: Love is too weak a word. I lerve you. You know, I lo-ove you. I luff you. There are two "f's." I have to invent... of course I love you.
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