Death...is racist! (Video)

Chocolate NewsWednesdays 10:30pm / 9:30c

Death's Hate Crimes

More Funny Videos
Comedians on Tour

Get Funny Ringtones
Stand-Up Comedy

Leahy to Specter: Get off your @#$!!!

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) just sent Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) a letter, which in Senate speak roughly translates to get off your ass!

Leahy this week proposed holding hearings to confirm Eric Holder as Attorney General. Initially, Specter seemed warm to the idea, noting that the Marc Rich pardon would come up, but would not be a serious impediment to his confirmation.

As I have said repeatedly from the time reports of his likely designation began appearing in the press in mid-November, I thought we should move promptly. It hardly came as a surprise when the President-elect announced that Eric would be a key part of his national security team at the designation announcement on December 1. My recollection is that your initial reaction on November 18 was that you were at that time already reviewing his record. Of course, Eric is someone you and I both know well and have known and worked with for years.

Now, all of the sudden, Specter needs more time to review Holder's materials (even though by his own admission, Specter's been review his materials since November).

Now, all of the sudden, Specter's extending his travel plans to Europe, delaying the Hearings.

Now, all of the sudden, Specter wants to attend a Senate Republican retreat before the Hearings.

Leahy (again in Senate speak) calls bullshit.

Harry Reid tells Blago to back away from the Senate Seat...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) letter to soon to be former Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill):

Dear Governor Blagojevich:

We write to insist that you step down as Governor of Illinois and under no circumstance make an appointment to fill the vacant Illinois Senate seat. In light of your arrest yesterday on alleged federal corruption charges related to that Senate seat, any appointment by you would raise serious questions.

It is within the authority of the Illinois legislature to remove your power to make this appointment by providing for a special election. But a decision by you to resign or to step aside under Article V of the Illinois Constitution would be the most expeditious way for a new Senator to be chosen and seated in a manner that would earn the confidence of the people of Illinois and all Americans. We consider it imperative that a new senator be seated as soon as possible so that Illinois is fully represented in the Senate as the important work of the 111th Congress moves forward.

Please understand that should you decide to ignore the request of the Senate Democratic Caucus and make an appointment we would be forced to exercise our Constitutional authority under Article I, Section 5, to determine whether such a person should be seated.

We do not prejudge the outcome of the criminal charges against you or question your constitutional right to contest those charges. But for the good of the Senate and our nation, we implore you refrain from making an appointment to the Senate.

Obama: Blago should go!

Obama tells Blagojevich to hit the bricks. MSNBC has it here.

ABC: Senate Candidate No. 5 is...

This would be the Senate Candidate No. 5, who alledgedly offered somewhere between a half-million to a million dollars to get Obama's Senate Seat...

According to ABC News, it's Jesse Jackson Jr.

Jesse Jr. has agreed to talk to Federal Investigators...just as soon as he talks to a lawyer.

TPM: Guess who's keeping his job?

Patrick Fitzgerald.

This comes as the Republicans are demanding Obama answer whether or not he'll keep Patrick Fitzgerald.

He answered the question, apparently, back in June.

WaPo: Procedure...

Let it always be said that Clarence Thomas is a second-rate Supreme Court Justice (and in my personal opinion a twit...and a lapdog to Scalia).

Let it also be said that uhhh...we're still waiting for a African-American to succeed Thurgood Marshall on the Supreme Court. (Yeah, that's a nasty dig, but given his record...)

But let it also be said that Clarence Thomas's bringing the Obama Citizenship case may have been...procedural, and thus...

Can't believe I'm going to say this...normal.

All I have is this posting from Robert Barnes of the Washington Post (which doesn't exactly go into detail), but:

Right-wing blogs were outraged when Justice David H. Souter denied Donofrio's petition for an injunction, and left-wing blogs smelled trouble when Justice Clarence Thomas referred the matter to the full court for consideration.

In fact, both were routine procedures, as the court's action today shows. There were no recorded dissents to the decision dismissing the case.

Given the climate of today's attack dog politics, and the desire of both the left and the right to generate raw meat (even if Obama doesn't feed it to them), I think there is something to this story, but I would like to know more.

NYT: The Liberal Media???

Well, that lasted a minute.

Despite praising the New York Times, they just couldn't stop themselves.  Keep reading that article I held up, and you come to this paragraph.

Beyond the irony of its outcome, Mr. Obama’s unusual decision to inject himself into a statewide issue during the height of his presidential campaign was a reminder that despite his historic ascendancy to the White House, he has never quite escaped the murky and insular world of Illinois politics. It is a world he has long navigated, to the consternation of his critics, by engaging in a kind of realpolitik, Chicago-style, which allowed him to draw strength from his relationships with important players without becoming compromised by their many weaknesses.

So...by getting out in front of Ethics Reform in Illinois, by making sure a Ethics Bill headed for defeat was instead passed, he's been...tainted?

This is why newspapers are going bankrupt (or at least should be).

I really should have read further into the article.  It was late.  I wanted to get into bed, and read more in the morning. Will Bunch caught this first, and appropriately ripped the Grey Lady a new one.

This Times story is Day One of what is going to be a brand new silly season in American politics, just when you thought it was safe. No matter how much the next few days demonstrate that Obama didn't want any part of Blago's scam, every phone call in which a junior staffer didn't immediately hang up, or any time that Obama and Blagojevich were in the same room and Obama didn't slap a pair of cuffs on the governor will be more proof of the "murky" circles that Obama travels in.

NYT: Did a phone call from Obama wind up nailing Blagojevich?

Apparently, according to the New York Times:

In a sequence of events that neatly captures the contradictions of Barack Obama’s rise through Illinois politics, a phone call he made three months ago to urge passage of a state ethics bill indirectly contributed to the downfall of a fellow Democrat he twice supported, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.

Mr. Obama placed the call to his political mentor, Emil Jones Jr., president of the Illinois Senate. Mr. Jones was a critic of the legislation, which sought to curb the influence of money in politics, as was Mr. Blagojevich, who had vetoed it. But after the call from Mr. Obama, the Senate overrode the veto, prompting the governor to press state contractors for campaign contributions before the law’s restrictions could take effect on Jan. 1, prosecutors say.

I remember this story.  This was back in September. I thought, at the time, it was a cute "Hey, look how powerful Obama already is story". Instead, lets look at this. In reaction to the possible (at the time) override of this veto:

Trying to stay in the game on the issue, Blagojevich announced Thursday that he's calling the General Assembly into special session Monday to deal with ethics reform. With the potential for the Senate to also override his veto, Blagojevich summoned lawmakers back to Springfield in an attempt to get them to deal with his suggested changes.

What changes was he trying to put in there, I am left to wonder.

WaPo: I guess this is why he didn't get a speaking slot at the Convention...

From the Washington Post, but of course...this story is pretty much everywhere...

FBI agents this morning arrested Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich (D) and his chief of staff on conspiracy and bribery charges, including allegations that the governor was seeking to benefit financially from his appointment of a successor to the U.S. Senate seat that was vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Yeah, not surprising.

One of the most underreported stories of the 2008 Election is that Tony Rezko was going to be waaay more of a problem for Blagojevich than for Obama.

Not alone...

droogie6655321 at Daily Kos, it seems also remembers Obama's line that "the change will come from me"...and he uses a Godfather metaphor to do it!

Equally ridiculous...

Just because newspapers are going out of business and magazines are laying off reporters left and right, doesn't mean that they aren't continuing to produce material that's 100% USDA Grade horse--

--never mind.

Obama may be stuck with anti-pot crusading GOP US Attorney.

Buchanan's indication that she's not leaving -- as all US Attorneys customarily do following a change in administration -- does not mean her continued employment with the federal government is assured. Obama, like every president, has the authority to hire and fire federal prosecutors for virtually any reason; however, he may face some criticism if he moves quickly to oust Buchanan.

After all, Democrats have spent the last two years criticizing President Bush's politicization of the Justice Department and routinely firing US Attorneys with whom he disagreed. While the two situations -- assuming Obama gets rid of Buchanan -- would not be directly comparable, it's not hard to imagine the cries of "hypocrisy" one would hear from the same right wing pundits whose defense of executive power to this point has been nearly boundless.

This is a stupid story. One, this Prosecutor serves at the pleasure of the President, so Obama can, and probably will fire her. Two, if someone wants to compare this to the U.S. Attorney's Scandal, let 'em. It'll tell more about the critic than the criticism. Three, you never, ever dictate terms to the President of the United States if you're not a world leader of equal stature...


Obama's Afghanistan Dilemma: "Growing Dissent" On More Troops.

Afghanistan, the so-called 'good war,' was and remains a dangerous theater. During the closing months of the presidential campaign it was taken as gospel that America needed to send more troops there. Even John McCain, initially skittish on the notion, came to argue that a greater U.S. military buildup was needed.

And yet, over the last few weeks, the progressive community that once pleaded for greater resources and attention to Afghanistan has begun to raise concerns about the idea that additional forces could change that country's increasingly dire situation.

Sen. Russ Feingold launched a major salvo just weeks before the election, when he penned an op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor, questioning the wisdom of sending more troops to Afghanistan. He was pre-dated by former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, who warned about the United States repeating the Soviet Union's ill-thought-out efforts in that region, during an interview with the Huffington Post. On Monday, the scales tipped even further, when the chief of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan warned that a re-intervention into the country would be pointless if not done with deep cultural sensitivities.

And...

"There is a growing dissent," Caroline Wadhams, a Senior National Security Policy Analyst for the left-leaning Center for American Progress. "I think around town there is new thinking: 'Well, what do we actually want to achieve?' The fact that they are doing all those strategic reviews reveals we are suffering the symptom of the same [foreign policy] problems [of the past]: no one is sure what our objectives are and what we should do now."

Okay. The objectives? Really, you're asking this? It's on the transition website.

Obama and Biden will refocus American resources on the greatest threat to our security -- the resurgence of al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They will increase our troop levels in Afghanistan, press our allies in NATO to do the same, and dedicate more resources to revitalize Afghanistan’s economic development. Obama and Biden will demand the Afghan government do more, including cracking down on corruption and the illicit opium trade.

Last I checked going back into Afghanistan was all about getting Usama Bin Laden. Last I checked, this was a good thing.


Selecting Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State and Obama's Premise of Change

Given the Clinton's connections in Washington and it seems almost impossible for Hillary to just be a messenger and not an architect of US foreign policy.

Not as moronic an article as was sold by the headline, but I'm starting to wonder...am I the only one who heard the man say "the change comes from me??"


Obama little help to Dems post-election

President-elect Barack Obama has kept quiet on the three Congressional races that have been decided since he was elected.

There is the impending Global Economic Meltdown, picking a Cabinet and moving his family; coupled with the fact that Bill Clinton actually did hit the campaign trail in 1992 for runoff candidates, much to his everlasting regret. If you're trying to change the tone in Washington, change the tone, don't start off by continuing the campaign.

Also, where the hell does Politico get off offering Republicans space for "ideas" pieces? Are they a News organization or a Advocacy Group?

Hubris knows no bounds...

Hi! I lost 11 billion dollars for your company! Now, gimme my 10 million dollar bonus!

Toolwatch: Liberals versus Obama...more made-up Bull!@#$??

Following Hildebrand's piece reminding the hard left that it's not all about them, we have:

David Sirota blathering back to Hildebrand. It's funny reading the TPM story about the Hildebrand piece. Even commenters who agree with Sirota can't stand Sirota...

Thomas Schaller of Salon already afearin' that the Republicans are going to take back the House in 2010.

Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake saying that Caroline Kennedy is just not good enough.

"Obama's Education Pick Sparking Conflict" reads the Headline at Huffington Post. Never mind the fact that Obama hasn't made a pick, this piece seems to be about the awful, awful choice Obama hasn't made yet.

If you want to point to Obama criticism that I can live with, look no further than Harry Shearer's "What's Missing From Obama's Infrastructure Plan", namely New Orleans. Here at least, we have a case of something that not been discussed, and a New Orleans native asking plainly, what about us?

And in the meantime, we have the Politico doing their damnedest to stir the !#$ up...

WSJ: Hoover, all over again...

George Bush is trying to pull a Herbert Hoover...

Barack Obama's transition team is resisting Bush administration overtures to coordinate more on the financial-sector rescue, convinced that neither the lame-duck President George W. Bush nor the president-elect has the clout to win a smooth congressional release of more bailout funds.

With the first $350 billion of the bailout money nearly allocated, transition aides are pressing Treasury officials to convene a bipartisan meeting on Capitol Hill this week. Obama aides say the Treasury needs to sound out congressional leaders and rank-and-file lawmakers on what information they need to release the second, $350 billion tranche from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

Senior transition officials said they would attend the meeting, but they made clear they would neither lead it nor lobby for approval of the funds. Their focus is on passing a separate, half-trillion dollar stimulus program that Mr. Obama said Sunday would be the largest infrastructure program since the Eisenhower administration's construction of the interstate highway system.

Oddly enough, in 1933:

Hoover wanted FDR to join him in reasserting faith in the old-time conservative philosophy—support for a balanced budget and a stable currency through the gold standard. Had he done so, Hoover confided to a friend, FDR would "have repudiated two thirds of the so-called New Deal."

To avoid being co-opted, and because he felt like taking a vacation (as usual, without Eleanor), Roosevelt spent 12 critical days during the transition aboard Vincent Astor's yacht, selecting top cabinet members in coded ship-to-shore messages.

Granted, Obama isn't going on vacation yet (though Hawaii is just days away for him), but he is wise to avoid letting Bush pull him down into the quicksand.  This is his mess.  House and Senate leaders have been telling him for weeks now what needs to be done, but the President refuses to do so because to him, ideology is more important.

HuffPo: Steve Hildebrand responds to the President-Elect's Progressive Critics...

...or the "Stick-Up-The-Butt" Liberals as Stephanie Miller likes to call them, or the Tools as I like to call them.

Steve starts off well enough, with a nice laundry list of what the President-Elect faces. Finally, in the next to last paragraphs (ain't that always the way?), he gets to the nitty gritty:

I could go on and on. The point I'm making here is that our new President, the Congress and all Americans must come together to solve these problems. This is not a time for the left wing of our Party to draw conclusions about the Cabinet and White House appointments that President-Elect Obama is making. Some believe the appointments generally aren't progressive enough. Having worked with former Senator Obama for the last two years, I can tell you, that isn't the way he thinks and it's not likely the way he will lead. The problems I mentioned above and the many I didn't, suggest that our President surround himself with the most qualified people to address these challenges. After all, he was elected to be the President of all the people - not just those on the left.

Amen.

Not quite the utter smackdown I wanted, but it's good enough.

Like I've said.  I'm a progressive.  I proudly call myself a Liberal.  But some of the things I've been reading and seeing have been driving me crazy.

Another reminder that we all have to put our shoulders to the wheel, because there is a lot of work yet to come...

Meet The Press: Barack Obama Interview - Dec. 7th, 2008

Tom Brokaw interviews the President Elect. It's also Tom's final appearance on Meet The Press

MTP: Shinseki, your Secretary of Veterans Affairs

From the Meet The Press interview taped today, but for broadcast tomorrow...

Wrong again...

I'm wrong again. It's not the first time, nor will it be the last...

I said I thought Max Cleland would be Secretary of Veterans Affairs...

According to the Politico, it looks like it's going to be Eric Shinseki.

Now, I kinda like this because of Shinseki's past with the Bush Administration.  I also like that we've got an Asian on the Cabinet.

According to Wikipedia, Shinseki was the first Asian American in U.S. history to be a four-star general, and the first to lead one of the five U.S. military services.

On February 25, 2003, four months before the end of his term as Chief of Staff of the Army, Shinseki told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he thought an occupying force of several hundred thousand men would be needed to stabilize postwar Iraq. He was pressed to provide a range by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI). Below is an excerpt from the exchange:

SEN. LEVIN: General Shinseki, could you give us some idea as to the magnitude of the Army's force requirement for an occupation of Iraq following a successful completion of the war?

GEN. SHINSEKI: In specific numbers, I would have to rely on combatant commanders' exact requirements. But I think --

SEN. LEVIN: How about a range?

GEN. SHINSEKI: I would say that what's been mobilized to this point -- something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers are probably, you know, a figure that would be required. We're talking about post-hostilities control over a piece of geography that's fairly significant, with the kinds of ethnic tensions that could lead to other problems. And so it takes a significant ground-force presence.

In a public rebuke to Shinseki, Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, called Shinseki's estimate "far off the mark" and "wildly off the mark". Wolfowitz said it would be "hard to believe" more troops would be required for post-war Iraq than to remove Saddam Hussein from power.

In my memory, this exchange got him fired.  Wikipedia disagrees.

But back to my original post, Tammy Duckworth, my own early favorite isn't going to be there.  Is she going to be Senator Duckworth??

CNN: Obama to name Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sunday...

On Pearl Harbor Day, of course.

Now, here's the trick. How does this selection play into Obama's eventual replacement in the Senate?

Well, if Tammy Duckworth (current head of Veterans Affairs for Illinois) isn't given Secretary of Veteran Affairs, I'm betting she's about to become Senator Duckworth. In that case, look for Max Cleland, former Senator from Georgia to get the gig.