Signs Point to Kagan for Supreme Court

Bummer, I was rooting for Crenshaw.

Mike Allen: "Look for President Obama to name his Supreme Court pick Monday, and look for it to be Solicitor General Elena Kagan, a former Harvard Law dean. The pick isn't official, but top White House aides will be shocked if it's otherwise. Kagan's relative youth (50) is a huge asset for the lifetime post. And President Obama considers her to be a persuasive, fearless advocate who would serve as an intellectual counterweight to Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Scalia, and could lure swing Justice Kennedy into some coalitions The West Wing may leak the pick to AP's Ben Feller on the later side Sunday, then confirm it for others for morning editions."

Poll: Americans connecting with government online

The Obama administration has really emphasized the online aspect to government and it looks like it's paying off.

The Associated Press WASHINGTON —More and more Americans are interacting with local, state and federal government offices online. They are turning to the Web to renew driver's licenses and car registrations, to apply for hunting and fishing permits, to pay parking tickets and other fines and even to track campaign contributions and stimulus spending, according to a study being released Tuesday.

In a survey of more than 2,000 American adults conducted in late 2009, the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 82 percent of Internet users - or 61 percent of American adults - had looked up information or completed a transaction on a government Web site over the previous year.

"Recently, we've seen government agencies at all levels emphasize the use of online tools in engaging citizens in interesting ways and making data available to ordinary citizens," said Aaron Smith, research specialist with the Pew Internet & American Life Project. "Those efforts appear to be resonating."

Videos- David Axelrod on The Tonight Show

U.S. Treasury says it will begin selling Citi shares at a profit

Sounds just like socialism to me, if I was an uneducated yahoo.

NEW YORK —The Treasury Department said Monday it will begin selling the stake it owns in Citigroup Inc., which could result in a profit of more than $8 billion.

The government received 7.7 billion shares of Citigroup in exchange for $25 billion it gave the bank during the 2008 credit crisis. It said it will sell the shares over the course of this year, depending on market conditions.

Like any investor, the government will likely hold on to its shares if prices fall steeply. However, Citi shares have steadily been rising with the broader market in recent months, which means the Treasury Department stands to pocket a hefty profit.

Citi shares rose 8 cents to $4.39 in early trading Monday. The government would make about $8.8 billion in profit on its stake in Citigroup if it sells the stock for $4.39 a share.

Video- Beck again suggests people surrounding Obama were radicals who used to "throw bombs"

Executive orders fewer under Obama

Yep Haters, just like Bush.

Despite signing an early flurry of major executive orders, President Obama has been restrained in wielding his White House power having produced fewer executive orders than all but one of his five recent predecessors.

Mr. Obama created a fiscal panel Thursday to tackle the nation's staggering deficit problem when issuing his 43rd executive order - that's 17 fewer than President George W. Bush signed in the same time frame and 29 fewer than President Carter.

But Mr. Obama's use of executive power is likely to change now that Senate Democrats have lost their filibuster-proof majority and Republicans are expected to pick up seats in this fall's midterm elections.

"It is easier to get what you want unilaterally than it is to work with Congress," said Christopher S. Kelley, a professor at the Miami University of Ohio, who noted that President Clinton's executive orders spiked after Republicans took control of Capitol Hill in 1994. "They tried to cut him off, but in the end the president has the prerogative to use them."

Presidential records now include tweets

Holy crap, hell really has frozen over. I even went by the Twitter today to follow Craig Ferguson just to see what he is saying. (@CraigyFerg in case you want to know)

Washington (CNN) – White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced Wednesday that his tweets will be saved for posterity.

"What I write and what I tweet is archived as a part of this Presidential Records Act of 1978 because it is work product created as part of my job at the White House," Gibbs said during his daily press briefing due to questions raised by reporters on this issue.

The press secretary is not the only official at the White House with a Twitter account. Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton tweets, as well as Macon Philips who runs new media operations for the White House. @WhiteHouse is their flagship account with over 1.7 million followers.

All four accounts feature the following disclaimer: "Official WH twitter account. Comments & messages received through official WH pages are subject to the PRA and may be archived. Learn more http://wh.gov/privacy."

Gibbs explained that people who follow and "re-tweet" White House Twitter accounts will not be archived. However, the archive will keep people who directly respond to official accounts.

Robert Gibbs is a Twitterer

Or Twithead or whatever they call themselves. (I know, I'm an out of the loop grandma relic. 23 Skiddoo Daddy-O!)

Washington (CNN) – Count White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs among a growing group of Democratic press operatives who have recently joined the microblogging site Twitter.

The top White House spokesman set up his Twitter account Saturday, Gibbs confirmed to CNN; Gibbs goes by the Twitter handle @PressSec on the popular service.

Gibbs’ arrival on Twitter comes as a number of his colleagues in the Democratic communications apparatus have also joined the site which allows users to broadcast short messages.

(snip)

In mid January, Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton (@billburton44) began using a previously dormant Twitter account.

And last month, President Obama made history when he personally clicked the send button on a tweet from the @RedCross account while on a visit to the Washington headquarters of the Red Cross.

President Obama- The App

If only their media communications were as good as their online stuff... Via Taegan-

The White House announced a new app for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch which allows you to "watch the President's public events at the White House, frequent web chats with Administration officials, and other events like key speeches and press briefings in real time.

"The White House App also lets users stay up to date with the White House Blog and the latest from the Briefing Room. Browse behind-the-scenes photos and watch on-demand videos. The app provides instant access to full videos from recent speeches, press briefings, and special events."

Pulsing It

They're such hipsters, those Obama kids!! Via Taegan-

Lynn Sweet notes the new language used by a senior White House official in a background briefing -- "pulsing it" and "pulsing the system" -- refers to how the administration is scrambling to find out about the recent intelligence failures that led to an attempted airplane bombing.

She suggests it's "a new term that may catch on and be part of the political or government lexicon."

Obama naming Hispanics to top posts at record pace

Under the radar and unheralded.

By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ

MIAMI -- President Barack Obama is on track to name more Hispanics to top posts than any of his predecessors, drawing appointees from a wide range of the nation's Latino communities, including Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Colombians.

(snip)

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is by far Obama's most famous Hispanic appointee. In less than a year in office, the president has also tapped at least 48 other Hispanics to positions senior enough to require Senate confirmation. So far, 35 have been approved.

That compares with a total of 30 approved under Bill Clinton and 34 under George W. Bush during their first 20 months in office, according to U.S. Office of Personnel Management data.

The personnel office does not track appointments of judges or ambassadors. Early indicators suggest Obama is naming many Hispanics to those positions as well, though he has been slow to appoint judges in general.

"He's really captured our trajectory, and the vast, vast array of Latinos that make up our country, whether it's Mexicanos, Puertorriquenos or Dominicanos," said Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, the Cabinet's first Hispanic woman.

White House okayed Anita Dunn's Fox smackdown

By GottaLaff

The best thing about leaving a job is being able to say whatever the hell you want:

In a parting shot at Fox News, White House Communications Director Anita Dunn mocked the conservative-leaning network on Friday and laughed off its controversial host Glenn Beck for calling her a Mao enthusiast.

Okay, okay, but what did she actually say? Get to the good part:

"Jon Stewart actually did one of the most amazing pieces of journalism last week or a couple of weeks ago," she said, "in which he looked at the way Fox, on their opinion shows, raises some issue that then gets reported on by their news division as 'a controversy.' ... Now, that's a point of view. That's fine. That's entertainment. It helps their ratings. But I think if you go downstairs and walk through the Newseum that's not traditionally what you think of as traditional news -- to some extent inventing the story."

Anita just called them liars. Right out. She can do that now.

As for her earlier remarks, she got a permission note from her parents:

Elsewhere in her remarks, Dunn acknowledged that her decision to go after Fox News was not an example of her "going rogue." White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and perhaps even the president himself gave her the green light. She also mocked Fox for proclaiming that it had secured an exclusive sit-down interview with President Obama during his trip to Asia when, in actuality, it was simply part of a rotating pool of reporters.

ClusterFox may be proud of their ratings (being the only available "news" station in many markets/hotels/places of business doesn't hurt), but they can't escape the fact that they are total and utter frauds.

First openly gay US attorney begins job in Washington State

When I get grumbly and cranky over Obama not doing some stuff, I have to remember this kind of thing would have never happened under McCain. Sometimes you have to celebrate the little victories as well.

SEATTLE -- The new top federal prosecutor in Seattle knows the significance her role carries for many people: She's apparently the nation's first openly gay U.S. attorney.

But as a daughter of privilege - her dad was a powerful Democratic state senator, and she had all the benefits of a comfortable upbringing and a good education - Jenny Durkan also recalls what someone once told her: "You're the most non-diverse diverse person I know."

"I don't think I can fully appreciate how important it is to many people to have someone in a role like this who is gay," Durkan said this week in an interview with The Associated Press. "The more people are able to see people in situations where pretty soon that's an invisible characteristic, the better it is for the entire community."

Gay rights activists say her appointment reflects a growing acceptance in the U.S. as well as the attitude of President Barack Obama's administration. Earlier this month, Obama nominated an openly gay police sergeant to be the U.S. marshal in Minneaopolis; she would be the first openly gay U.S. marshal.

Video Flashback: Bush spokeswoman accuses NBC News of political bias

But the Obama Administration is a big bully. Vid via Jed.

White House Will Reveal Visitor Names

Strike one up for transparency!

The Obama administration "plans to change White House policy by releasing the names of thousands of visitors whose comings and goings traditionally are kept secret by presidents," USA Today reports.

"Until now, Obama had followed the Bush policy of keeping visitor logs secret. News organizations and watchdog groups had sought to make the records public to show who was influencing administration policy on health care, financial rules and other issues."

Video- Fox Pushes Bogus Muzak Story

Paranoia, it destroys ya. (Hopefully) Seriously, go peruse Memeorandum for a greatest hits of scary things the scary black man is doing to your poor widdle country. Oy. Vid via Think Progress.

Video- President Obama & Sec. Clinton Speak on Human Rights for Persons with Disabilities

Video- The Colbert Report- Austan Goolsbee: 'Don't believe anything the Canadians say'

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
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Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Stephen Colbert in Iraq

Some peeps around here seem to think this Goolsbee guy is cute...

Morning Distraction- Obamtourage

This was so good I couldn't wait to get it up. Slightly NSFW.

60 Minutes interview with VP Biden

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