This blog is no longer active as of October 31, 2011
David Schuler writes over at “Outside the Beltway” that the Blogsophere is full of jerks!
Of course, he’s writing about this little situation here.
Um, Dave? Where have you been for the last couple of years man? It’s been this way for a LONG while man.
Just Sayin’! š
*snort* That”d be like naming me Neo-Con, Republican or Roman Catholic of the Year.
š
Bring a good looking twat to the Election and the Republicans wet their pants. If she looked like this Lady:
CNN's Crowley Candy
Nobody would care! But because she’s a MILF, everyone loves her.
When does politics, especially Conservative politics get back to the important issues, instead of what someone looks like?
It’s a question me and a many other Paleo-Cons wanna know.
I mean, Seriously, Conservative of the year, Ann? Seriously?
Hot Air, Political Machine, Hullabaloo, The Reaction, Balloon Juice, Liberal Values, RADAMISTO, PoliBlog, Salon and The Other McCain
(via Memeorandum)
Yes, I know about for Fort Dix Convictions.
I have mixed feelings about it. I’ve read and heard both sides of that argument.
My short and sweet on it is this; if you wanna get your jihad sex fantasies on, don’t do it where other people can hear or see you.
This is a real rip snorter.
It seems that the New York Times got punked.
Early this morning, we posted a letter that carried the name of Bertrand Delanoƫ, the mayor of Paris, sharply criticizing Caroline Kennedy.
This letter was a fake. It should not have been published.
Doing so violated both our standards and our procedures in publishing signed letters from our readers.
We have already expressed our regrets to Mr. DelanoĆ«’s office and we are now doing the same to you, our readers.
This letter, like most Letters to the Editor these days, arrived by email. It is Times procedure to verify the authenticity of every letter. In this case, our staff sent an edited version of the letter to the sender of the email and did not hear back. At that point, we should have contacted Mr. DelanoĆ«’s office to verify that he had, in fact, written to us.
We did not do that. Without that verification, the letter should never have been printed.
We are reviewing our procedures for verifying letters to avoid such an incident in the future.
It appears that someone sent them a fake e-mail, and it got published.
Brilliant! š
Others: Michelle Malkin, Ed Driscoll.com, Gawker, Jules Crittenden, Hot Air, Don Surber, Sister Toldjah, Macsmind, Weekly Standard, Blue Crab Boulevard, Gawker, Pajamas Media, Power Line, Althouse, Patterico’s Pontifications and New York Post (Via Memeorandum)
I am reading with mild amusement of how the Huffington Post is decrying the isolated racist comments being left over on a site called “Team Sarah“.
Um…. Has anyone forgotten about the nastiness on that site towards the right?
Some Examples:
When Ann Coulter’s Dad passed away. (H/T Michelle)
When Jerry Falwell Died that vitriol over at HuffPo was so bad that the site monitors had to close the comments section.
When a missile struck near where Dick Cheney was visiting in Iraq, HuffPo’s comment section when so berserk that the Site Monitors had to close the comments section down.
So, I just do not understand where the HuffPo gets off nailing a site, for doing much of the same stuff they do themselves.
By the way, Arianna, if you happen to read this. Take a fucking english course, you marble-mouthed BITCH! š”
I am in the process of reading the book
that I got for Christmas. So, I will be presenting all the top stories in short take form today.
Reports say that Obama’s top chief of staff is in trouble, despite reports that he only talked to the Illinois Governor once.
The Bush E-mails may remain a secret a bit longer, meanwhile a Bush-connected I.T. guy dies in a plane crash, and of course the speculation on that little accident is out in force.
In other news, The New York Times spins the housing crisis, and I mean spins it hard! Fails to place blame on Bill Clinton’s pressure on lending companies, to give loans to high risk persons. So typical. 
It seems the show thrower was angry about bullet ridden Koran. He also got beaten pretty badly, and this is a shock?
Vice President Elect Joe Biden to chair task force to help the middle class. Now that is a hoot. An Elitist Limousine liberal is going to help the middle class, this I have to see. 
The Editor of the Moderate Voice bemoans the beginnings of the "so called" Professional Obama Haters. Haters? I’m no hater, I don’t agree with his politics, but I’m not a hater. Sound like ol’ Joe is trying to say that if you disagree with Obambi’s Politics that you’re a racist. Which is, in this writers opinion, first class bullshit. 
(Update: I’m agreeing with Neo-Cons… I must go shower….
)
….and finally, Idiot faux Pastor Ricky Warren likens Gay people to Pizza, all the while playing with his pepperoni. ()
That’s it for today, I’ll be off reading, so, unless a major story hits, I’m off for the rest of the day.
See Ya!
-Pat
Heh… this is too funny.
Via The Jawa Report:
Well, ya know Facebook started a little counter offensive since al-Qaeda supporting terrorist sympathizers vowed to use Facebook to spread Jihadi propaganda.
What was the reaction? They are getting Fatwas!
Go read the rest, please…
Meanwhile, When I read this posting, I thought of this video:
Yeah, I know, I’m an asshole. Thank you very much. š
Yeah, I know, it’s a rough headline. But wait till I get to the money quote here.
But first the video, which comes via Breit Bart:
The full story is here, via AP.
Now here’s the money quote that I was referring to, which comes via Colorado Springs Gazette:
Haggard, a 52-year-old father of five, careens from self-pity to self-loathing to self-aggrandizement in the documentary. Anger about his dismissal from the church he founded bubbles just below the surface.
“The reason I kept my personal struggle a secret is because I feared that my friends would reject me, abandon me and kick me out, and the church would exile and excommunicate me. And that happened and more,” he says.
He also criticizes New Life’s handling of his firing. “The church has said go to hell,” Haggard says in the documentary. “The church chose not to forgive me.”
Oh, Boo freakin’ Hoo! What a jack assed tool! I mean, this son-of-a-bitch was the President and Overseer of the biggest accountability organizations in the Evangelical world, and a Pastor of one of the biggest evangleical Churches and he’s going to bitch about the way he was treated?Ā He is quite lucky he did not end up Prison.
Ya’ll see why I left them Evangelical Circles for good? š
Loser he is, indeed. He needs to just disappear. On top of this, he gets interviewed and filmed by an idiot liberal! All so the Liberal left can mock him. How nice. š
He should go find work with Jimi Bakker, God knows those two would go together swimmingly.
Video: (Via Breit Bart)
The Story Via WRKC-TV:
Cincinnati Police say the fall that killed a woman peforming at a Christmas pageant at an Oakley church was caused by harness failure and was an accident.
23 year old Keri Shryock was suspended when she fell 25 feet at Crossroads Community Church on Madison Road around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night.
Shryock was playing a wise man in the pageant, called "Awaited". Police say it now appears the safety "sit" harness she was wearing failed. The harness has a warning label which says it should only be used for repelling or rock climbing. Police also say it appears a safety latch on the harness came loose, causing her to fall head first.
The accident happened in front of a packed congregation on the opening night of the play. Shryock was taken to University Hospital. She died Thursday morning.
1500 church members showed up Thursday night for a memorial service.
Shryock was a native of Sylvania, Ohio, which is a suburb of Toledo. She was a graduate student at Xavier University studying education and a member of Crossroads Church. 3500 people were watching the performance at the non-traditional, non-denominational church when the fall happened.
The church is canceling the remaining performances of the show. They will hold Christmas services. The church has also brought in counselors today to help cast members and anyone who attended last night’s performance.
Other than a slight objection to the tone of the reporting in the video; which to me, sounded a bit anti-Christian. The only thing I can truly say here is, that I do not think that asking my readers to hold this family up in your prayers tonight, would be out of line. So, Please, do this. 
This is another one of them stories that make my blood boil. š”
Via The Huston Press’s Blog called HairBalls, we have a story of where 2 undercover Huston cops beat a 12 year old girl, because they thought she was a hooker.
You know, I am not the type person that advocates violence against Police Officers, but in cases like this, the use of deadly force against a police officer, would be, in my opinion, justified.
(Thanks to Lew Rockwell Blog)
Better late than ever, I suppose. To listen to some Conservatives talk, the loans are open ended and there’s no accountability. Which is, of course, wrong. 
From The Politico:
President George W. Bush stepped in Friday to keep America’s auto industry afloat, announcing a $17.4 billion bailout for GM and Chrysler, with the terms of the loans requiring that the firms radically restructure and show they can become profitable soon.
"If we were to allow the free market to take its course now, it would almost certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy," Bush said at the White House, in remarks carried live by the national broadcast networks. "In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action. The question is how we can best give it a chance to succeed."
Bush said that "bankruptcy now would lead to a disorderly liquidation of American auto companies."
"My economic advisers believe that such a collapse would deal an unacceptably painful blow to hardworking Americans far beyond the auto industry. It would worsen a weak job market and exacerbate the financial crisis," he said. "It could send our suffering economy into a deeper and longer recession."
The money will come from the Wall Street bailout passed by Congress, a reversal for the White House. President-elect Barack Obama and Democrats had long advocated that course, and Bush had resisted it.
Of the total, $13.4 billion will be paid out in December and January, administration officials told reporters in a briefing. The last $4 billion is contingent on release of the second installment of the Wall Street bailout funds by Congress.
As you can see here, there is accountability, there are conditions on the loans, they are not open ended, and if the auto companies do not get their acts together, the loans will be recalled.
Of course, that is not good enough for some Conservatives like Michelle Malkin, who says that someone should sue the Government over the loans to the Auto industry. Yeah, Michelle, like that will really work. The Party that you are a cheerleader for, is already in the minority, has been driven to the wilderness; because of that beady-eyed bastard in the White House, why not just drive a damned stake through the heart of the party? I think Michelle needs to seriously look into going to the hospital, because I believe that "Sickness" that she has, is going to her brain. 
Yeah, I know, defend Malkin one day and whack her on the ass with a wet towel the next, it’s all about Equal Opportunity around this Blog.
Anyhow, some also believe that this will soften Bush’s image a bit, The Moderate Voice’s Joe Gandelman Notes:
It will help add a positive note to the legacy of Bush who, at best, will be considered a highly flawed President and, at worst, rank as one of the worst in American history. The Republicans in the Senate, acting on ideology, regional politics and anti-union sentiment, had scuttled the bailout ā giving the GOP an image once again of a party stuck on ideology.
I agree and I disagree; it might soften his image a bit amongst Independents and some moderate Democrats who did not like that guy, but amongst the hard left, I suspect that President Bush will be the most hated President ever.
Personally, I think Bush did what he felt was right, he put his Party politics aside for a change and did what was right, I commend him for it. I just hope that the auto industry uses this money for the proper purposes and gets their damned act together. Our Government has done the right and proper things, now it is time for the Auto Industry to do theirs. Many people are pessimistic about this; I, on the other hand, try to remain positive about this and hope like bloody hell that G.M. does get their act together. For the sake of the retirees, for the sake of all those who have families that work for those companies, for the sake of all the employees of the local and not so local suppliers and their families.
Go read… it is very good.
Here’s tonight “Worst Person in the World” Segment from Keith’s Show.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Keith is referring to this Segment found here. The Bill O. stuff is comedy gold. I love the facial expressions and Keith hilarious impression of Bill O. who’s actually an impression of the news guy from Mary Tyler Moore’s Show; Ted Baxter, and if you don’t get that connection, you’re either a huge fox fan or a idiot. (or both!)
The Sean Hannity stuff speaks for itself. š
Parting Message: Ya’ll over on Hot Air quit picking on AllahPundit, He might be an Atheist, but he is one of the more level-headed people that writes on that Blog. More than I say for the other 2 muscle headed mooks that write over there. š (Did I just write that? š® )
Yes, I am awake. I was up 30 minutes before the alarm clock went off. Which I believe was amazing. To what extent I slept, I will know later. But I am awake and nursing a mug of coffee. š
Now about Rick Warren.Ā He’s about as traditional Christianity or “Religious Right” as I am Roman Catholic. (See my “About Me” page to see what I am….)
Me and Paul Proctor, (See Here, Here, Here, and Here)Ā and David Cloud all feel the same way; that Rick Warren is not a genuine representation of Christianity in the traditional sense of the word. In fact, warren scoffs at the idea of a traditional Christianity, in which the true Word of God is used; which is, in this writers opinion, The King James Bible, of course.Ā Instead, he prefers a non-judgmental, feel good, version of Christianity, that uses any version of the Bible that one wants, or as Warren says, “You can read.” and also, he mingles human philosophy and the Word of God. Something which is extremely ignorant and very dangerous.Ā He is in the ranks of Robert Schuller or as I like call him, Robert Schuller with a Hawaiian Shirt. š
So, in short, while Rick Warren might be the darling of the compromising Neo-Evangelical crowd, he is hardly what I could call a true believer; that is in the True Bible-Believing, Fundamentalist Christianity sense of the word.
Let me say before I fire off this posting. That I am no fan of Islam, in fact, I totally reject the premise that Islam is a religion of peace.Ā However, I saw something today, that quite frankly, disturbed me greatly.
I was over at HotAir.com and I happen to see this video:
At first, I laughed. But then, I thought about it.Ā I asked myself and I will ask you. What is the difference between the video above, and this one?:
Now obviously, the second video is very offensive.Ā But there was a time, when people would look at the second video and laugh.Ā But, nowadays, people would look at the second video and blanch, shudder and be offended.
My question is simply this, is it now considered to be socially acceptable to poke fun at Islamic Terrorists and by proxy mock Islam, Muslims and by default the Arabic culture?Ā After all, it was not American Muslims who slammed those planes into the twin towers.
No, I’m not picking on Ed, he’s gotten his fair share over the supposed “Bailouts”. But it is something that needs to be addressed. I don’t claim to be the resident expert here. I’d like to know your thoughts, is that first video outright offensive or just distasteful?
Or am I just overreacting here?
I mean, We don’t mock blacks, We don’t mock Jews, We don’t mock Catholics, we don’t mock Protestants. So, why Muslims?
I cannot say that I am shocked or even surprised for that matter.
Now, I am sure that you are expecting me to say something rather nasty or even Ann Coulter’ish sounding about this.
Well, Surprise… š
I have absolutely no issue with Obama being named person of the year. I will explain to you why…
Barack Obama came out of nowhere and defeated the Clinton Machine. Because you and I both know, that knocking Hillary out of the captain’s chair is a feat in itself.Ā You see, unlike some of my fellow Conservatives, I saw what Obama was doing and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. I didn’t agree with some of the tactics that some of his surrogates were using, and still do not; however, I did admire the grace that Obama showed, especially under pressure from some of his worst and fiercest critics.Ā One thing that I can say and any Conservative; of any stripe, would say, if they are being intellectually honest, that they never heard Obama make any sort of “Al Sharpton” sounding statement. I mean; yes, he did drop the occasional reminder that he was a black man. But there was never any of that, “I’m black and oppressed” nonsense that continually flows from the mouths of the race baiting ilk in New York.
Further, let it be known that it is not lost on me, that Obama has a far left progressive ideology. Although, I will say that judging from his cabinet selections so far, it may seem that Obama is going to try to run a White House from a centrist viewpoint and try and avoid some of the more far left politics of his campaign; much to the chagrin of those who are of that political mindset that voted for him.Ā Personally, I think at the very least or at the very worst; Obama may want to raise taxes to pay for some of the debt that this Nation has incurred at the hands of a quasi-Conservative President.Ā This could be more the case if both of the wars continue to drag on.Ā Not to mention that if every Business in America gets a poorly named “Bail out.”
From a libertarian conservative viewpoint I simply say this; this election was not Obama’s to necessarily win, it was John McCain’s to lose.Ā John McCain was having to follow and associate himself with a very unpopular President, who, in this writers opinion, was elected on the basis of pedigree. Further, John McCain just was not able to articulate Conservative positions without sounding like some old feeble grandfather who was telling a bedtime story. Not to mention, that the economy took a rather large nosedive in the middle of the election cycle. Adding to all this; McCain made some rather disastrous campaign decisions that in essence doomed his campaign to failure. I could sit here and list them all, but I believe anyone who has been following this election cycle as much as I have, knows what I am referring to.
So, in closing, this award, was one well deserved. I hope Obama enjoyes the romance with the media, because I have a sinking feeling it will not last forever.
Reports the AP:
As 13 electors cast ballots Monday for the nation’s first black president in the Confederacy’s old Capitol, Henry Marsh emotionally recalled the smartest man he ever knew – a waiter, who couldn’t get a better job because of his race.
“He waited tables for 30 years, six days a week, 12 hours a day, from 12 noon to 12 midnight, and he supported his family,” Marsh, 75, a civil rights lawyer and state senator, said of his father as he fought back tears. “He suffered a lot. He went through a lot.”
In all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the 538 electors performed a constitutional process to legally elect Democrat Barack Obama the 44th president.
More than 131 million voters cast ballots – the most ever in a presidential election. But Obama’s election is not complete until Congress tallies the outcome of Monday’s Electoral College vote at a joint session scheduled for Jan. 6.
Monday’s voting was largely ceremonial, the results preordained by Obama’s Nov. 4 victory over Republican Sen. John McCain. Obama won 365 electoral votes, to 173 for McCain. With every state reporting, all the electors had cast ballots in accordance with the popular votes in their states.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr; Your Mission is now finally Accomplished. You may now rest in peace.
Here it is:
Artist's impressions of the Palazzo Versace Hotel in Dubai. The refrigerated beach will include a system of heat-absorbing pipes built under the sand and giant wind blowers
The Story via the U.K. Daily Mail:
The world’s first refrigerated beach is to be built at a luxury hotel in Dubai so the filthy rich holidaymakers don’t burn their feet on the scalding hot sand.
The revolutionary beach will sit next to the new Palazzo Versace hotel and will include a system of heat-absorbing pipes built under the sand and giant wind blowers, designed to keep tourists cool in the searing 40-50C heat.
The hotel, which is due to open late next year or early 2010, will be controlled by thermostats linked up to computers and feature a cooled swimming pool.
Think of that the next time you pull your into the gas station and full up. š
I hate to be the resident Conservative Flag pole runner upper… But for Pete sakes man… The stuff is just flippin’ wrong.
Seen over a Gawker.com which was written by aĀ Hamilton Nolan, a suspected child molester: (of which I’ve made my appearence there..and for the record, the posting was up less than 4-6 hours… not 12)
Brief and sinister. Sure, Bush had Fox news yakker Tony Snow as his press secretary, but Tony Snow was an out-and-out smiling conservative asshole even before he got to the White House. All this time America trusted Jay Carney to give them the real unbiased news on the campaign, right there in the trusted pages of Time, an it turns out he was privately on Biden’s team the entire time! Will America ever trust the media again?
Oh, How quaint, insult a dead man. Now, if he were a Liberal and some Conservative had said something like this. It would be front page news. But because it is a Conservative, it is perfectly fine. š
In case anyone has forgotten, Tony Snow died with cancer.Ā He left a loving wife and 3 kids; 2 sons and a daughter.
Here’s the idiots picture:
Hamilton Nolan - Liberal asshole of the week
According to this, this hosebag piece of liberal shit worked for PR Week before going to gawker.
Here’s the asshole’s e-mail address, let this asshat know what you really think: hamilton@gawker.com
Ana Marie Cox sure did create a fucking monster, when she created that shit rag of a Blog.
My good friend, Tom DeWeese, chairman of the American Policy Center, recently issued an urgent alert regarding a revived effort to assemble a modern Constitutional Convention. Mind you, the United States has not assembled such a Convention since 1787, when a Constitutional Convention replaced the Articles of Confederation with the U.S. Constitution. Fortunately, the delegates to the Con Con of 1787 were composed of freedom-loving patriots who had just fought a bloody war for independence and were in no mind to reenact tyranny upon the land they had just fought to liberate. However, can one imagine what would happen if the current bunch of politically correct leftists in Washington, D.C., were to be granted the power to rewrite our Constitution? It would be the end of the United States of America, and that is no hyperbole.
The modern Con Con effort began back in the 1970s. Since then, 32 states have issued the call. The total number of states that are required to enact the Con Con is 34. Simple math reveals that we are only two states short of this disaster. As word of this potential calamity began to surface, the effort stalled with the total states issuing the call stuck at 32. With the election of Barack Obama, however, supporters of a Con Con have been emboldened and are now trying to resurrect the momentum. The state that is currently in the crosshairs appears to be Ohio.
States that have already approved a Con Con include Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. A few of these states have since seen the error of their ways and have voted to rescind their approvals. This fact, alone, should be enough to kill the push for another Con Con, but don’t expect the powers that be to see it that way. Therefore, it seems that if Ohio approves the Con Con, only one more state would be required, and upon the call of that 34th state, a Con Con would be seated. And, no doubt, state number 34 is already sitting quietly, but excitedly, in the wings, ready to act with “lightning speed” to seal the deal.
Lest anyone take this lightly or think that a Constitutional Convention is no big deal, DeWeese properly warned, “In truth no restrictive language from any state can legally limit the scope or outcome of a [Constitutional] Convention! Once a Convention is called Congress determines how the delegates to the Convention are chosen. Once chosen, those Convention delegates possess more power than the U.S. Congress itself.”
DeWeese is right. If called, a modern Constitutional Convention could declare the U.S. Constitution to be null and void, and could completely rewrite the document. For example, former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger once declared, “There is no effective way to limit or muzzle the actions of a Constitutional Convention. The Convention could make its own rules and set its own agenda.”
Given the fact that Washington, D.C., is comprised mostly of Big-Government liberals and neocons, it is almost certain that the founders’ Constitution–which was founded on the principles of Natural Law that protects individual liberty–would be replaced with some sort of “collective rights” document protecting an ambiguous “common good.” At that point, there is no more United States of America. There would be no more Bill of Rights protecting individuals from governmental abuse and overreach. Furthermore, the principles of Natural Law would be forever removed as a basis of all our nation’s laws and statutes. The nation that had been bequeathed to us by our forebears would be gone forever.
Yes, it is that bad, and, yes, it is that close to happening!
In the short term, every freedom-loving American must do everything they can RIGHT NOW to prevent this from happening. Since the state of Ohio is currently in the crosshairs, it would behoove us to contact every person we know in Ohio and do whatever it takes to motivate them to be sure to let their Ohio legislators know how dangerous this is. Residents and citizens of Ohio need to make sure the Ohio legislature rejects the call for a Constitutional Convention. By the same token, it would be wise for all of us who live in states that have not yet ratified the call for a Con Con to contact our state legislators to make sure that they understand the issue, and that they will do everything in their power to resist any attempt to call for a Constitutional Convention.
For more information on the status of a new Con Con and how to fight it, go to the American Policy Center web site.
In the longer term, there is another question that must be addressed. What will we do if and when a modern Constitutional Convention is called and our U.S. Constitution is declared null and void, with a completely new constitution enacted? Which states will reject the new constitution? Which states will declare their independence from any such new union? Or, will they all surrender their state constitutions and go along with this Twenty-First Century New World Order–a New World Order that will doubtless incorporate some form of North American Community or Union?
It might be a very good idea to immediately begin identifying those states that would unequivocally reject any new union, and would be willing to declare their independence from whatever government would evolve from a modern Constitutional Convention. Yes, I am saying it: we may need to resurrect the original Thirteen Colonies, except they would probably not number thirteen, and, in all likelihood, they would not be located on the East Coast.
I am convinced that there are still millions of Americans who are sick and tired of surrendering their liberties to Big-Government sycophants in both the Democrat and Republican parties, and that if a Constitutional Convention is called–and our U.S. Constitution is wiped away or rewritten–are ready and willing to declare their independence all over again. So, I issue the call: where are the new Thirteen Colonies?
We better start looking now, because there will come a point when the time for looking for good ground is over and the time to stand our ground will be upon us.
Original Article in Question at American Policy Center and an update to the Story
(Via NewsWithViews)
Speaking of Irony….
It is being reported via the New York Times that Caroline Kennedy is interested in Hillary Clinton’s Seat in Congress.
The Snort Worthy quote is this:
Ms. Kennedy ended weeks of silence with a series of rapid-fire phone calls to the stateās leading political figures, including Gov. David A. Paterson, in which she emphatically and enthusiastically declared herself interested in the seat, according to several people who received the calls.
āShe told me she was interested in the position,ā Mr. Paterson said at a news conference outside Albany on Monday. He added, āSheād like at some point to sit down and tell me what she thinks her qualifications are.ā
The governor, who has sole authority to fill the Senate vacancy, insisted that he had not yet chosen a successor to Mrs. Clinton and said that Mondayās conversation with Ms. Kennedy was the first he had had with her since an initial discussion almost two weeks ago.
But several people who have counseled the governor on the pending vacancy said that Ms. Kennedy has emerged as a clear front-runner, if she proves able to withstand the intense scrutiny and criticism that her decision to seek the seat is likely to provoke.
Still, some have questioned whether Ms. Kennedy is qualified for the job.
Ha! (sorry Chris Matthews….) What are her qualifications? There are none! Does she honestly think that just because she’s a damn Kennedy that this fact automatically qualifies her to be the replacement for Hillary? You must be fucking joking me. Seriously.
Just a fair warning; I am about to serve off into the seriously political incorrectness here. So, hold onto your hat. Does this bitch seriously think, that just because she’s the holder of a family name of a President, who got his fucking head blown off; possibly by the mafia or for his involvement in the Cuban missile crisis. That this automatically qualifies her for the President of the United States? If this is the case, and using that sort rational, I am fucking qualified to the Senator of New York or even possibly President of the United States.
Do you all see now why I stopped voting for Democrats? I mean, because they’re now giving offices away! First they gave the Presidency to a African-American, who is not even remotely qualified to be President, now they are about to give an Senate seat away to some feckless bitch who is not even qualified to be a Senator!
I’ll tell ya, I didn’t vote for McCain, I voted for Bob Barr. Because I thought John McCain was too soft on principles and also because I felt he was a bit too close to Bush’s Polices, but I will give McCain credit for one thing, at least HE was fucking qualified to BE a President!Ā He just was too damn nice to be involved in Presidential Politics.
Others from all sides of the Political map: The Moderate Voice, The Field on the Narcosphere, Buck Naked Politics, Ben Smith’s Blogs, The Daily Politics, Fox News, NY Daily News, No More Mister Nice Blog, Crooks and Liars, Time, TalkLeft, Washington Monthly, The Gun Toting Liberal, Open Left, Salon, Majikthise, ,Ā Political Machine, D-Day, Gawker, The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room, Hot Air, A Blog For All, George’s Bottom Line, Taylor Marsh, Jack & Jill Politics, Democracy in America, NO QUARTER, The World Newser, TPMCafe, The Swamp, The Fix, TIME.com, Ross Douthat, City Room, Below The Beltway, Hotline On Call, Truthdig, Kevin Drum and The Note (via Memeorandum)
I know what some of you are thinking….
Via L.A. Times:
Former Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday for running an illegal wiretapping operation that gathered information for a list of well-to-do clients, including celebrities, attorneys and business executives.
U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer condemned the once-famed investigator for “reprehensible” conduct that went on for many years as she handed down a sentence that significantly exceeded the five-year, 10-month term recommended by probation officials. “He did this eagerly, sometimes maliciously, and with pride,” she said .
When the United States of America wiretaps it’s own citizens, it’s perfectly fine. But if one of it’s citizens wiretaps for profit; not so much.
Oh, the irony of it all!
I realize that this is a crime and case with quite a long history. But, still the irony strikes me quite hard.
About this. But I am not.
Via Washington Post:
Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets Monday to demand the release of a reporter who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush, as Arabs across many parts of the Middle East hailed the journalist as a hero and praised his insult as a proper send-off to the unpopular U.S. president.
The protests came as suicide bombers and gunmen targeted Iraqi police, U.S.-allied Sunni guards and civilians in a series of attacks Monday that killed at least 17 people and wounded more than a dozen others, officials said.
Journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, who was kidnapped by militants last year, was being held by Iraqi security Monday and interrogated about whether anybody paid him to throw his shoes at Bush during a press conference the previous day in Baghdad, said an Iraqi official.
He was also being tested for alcohol and drugs, and his shoes were being held as evidence, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Showing the sole of your shoe to someone in the Arab world is a sign of extreme disrespect, and throwing your shoes is even worse. Iraqis whacked a statue of Saddam with their shoes after U.S. Marines toppled it to the ground following the 2003 invasion.
I mean, seeing I am not a war-loving Neo-Conservative, I will simply say this. When you invade a country based upon faulty; some would say falsified, intelligence, What do you really expect?Ā The shoe thing is the least thing this Nation should worry about. Wait till the revenge attacks happen years from now.
Of Course, the Neo-Cons are going to dismiss this as just liberals exploiting a embarrassing moment. Of which, to extent, I say is deserved. But it makes one take pause and wonder, what in the hell did this President do to our image around the World?
It scares me to even think about it.Ā It also makes me wonder, will Obama be enough to fix what is broken?
Something tells me the answer is no.
This is just not a good thing, at all. š
Via the New York Times:
With unemployment claims reaching their highest levels in decades, states are running out of money to pay benefits, and some are turning to the federal government for loans or increasing taxes on businesses to make the payments.
Thirty states are at risk of having the funds that pay out unemployment benefits become insolvent over the next few months, according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. Funds in two states, Indiana and Michigan, have already dried up, and both states are borrowing from the federal government to make payments to the unemployed.
Unemployment taxes are collected by states from employers, but the rate varies from state to state per employee. In good times states build up trust funds so that when unemployment is high there is enough money to cover the requests for benefits, which are guaranteed by the federal government.
āYou donāt expect the loans to happen this early in a jobs slump,ā said Andrew Stettner, the deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy organization for low-wage workers. āYou would expect that the states should, even when they are not well prepared, to have savings.ā
The Labor Department said last week that initial applications for jobless benefits rose to 573,000, the highest reading since November 1982. It is recommended that states keep at least one year of peak-level benefits in their trusts, but many have not, and already some states are far worse off than others.
Yet more of the ripple effect in the Nation’s Economy. Of course, I could sit here and blame the Democrats or the Republicans. But honestly, who is really to blame here? I personally think it is the fault of both parties really. First off, it is the fault of the globalist Neo-Cons who would rather ship jobs overseas for cheaper labor, than to keep the jobs here on Terra Firma. Second, it is the Democrats, with Bill Clinton putting pressure on the lending companies to offer high risk loans to those, who normally could not afford them. Put simply, it was a system that was set up upon risk and it ultimately failed.
So, now we’re stuck with states with extremely high unemployment rates and states who are having to ask the Federal Government for help to support these people.Ā Now some of my more purist fellow LibertariansĀ would essentially say, “Screw ’em! Let ’em suffer!” But seeing I am from the area, and I do admit to being more a moderate, I do not hold to such asinine views.
I personally think that the worst thing that our Government can do is throw up their hands and panic. Throwing more legislation and huge amounts of money at the problem will not work. The Wall Street Bailout proved that. I think, as a moderate, the best thing that the Federal Government can do is give the States that need the help the funds to keep the unemployment programs running and try the best they can to weather out the storm.Ā The Economy is not going to stay horrible forever, we had a recession in the 1980’s, which was a result of some of the stupidity of the Carter administration.Ā We weathered that storm out and recovered, I believe that we will do the same here. Yes, there will be hardships for a while, but in the end, we will prevail. We always have and will always will.
So says the Wall Street Journal: (standard caveats apply here)
Conventional wisdom holds that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald ordered the FBI to arrest Rod Blagojevich before sunrise Tuesday in order to stop a crime from being committed. That would have been the sale of the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.
But the opposite is true: Members of Fitzgeraldās team are livid the scheme didnāt advance, at least for a little longer, according to some people close to Fitzgeraldās office. Why? Because had the plot unfolded, they might have had an opportunity most feds can only dream of: A chance to catch the sale of a Senate seat on tape, including the sellers and the buyers.
The precise timing of Tuesdayās dramatic, pre-dawn arrest was not dictated by Fitzgerald, nor was it dictated by the pace of Blagojevichās alleged ācrime spree.ā It was dictated by the Chicago Tribune, according to people close to the investigation and a careful reading of the FBIās affidavit in the case.
At Fitzgeraldās request, the paper had been holding back a story since October detailing how a confidante of Blagojevich was cooperating with his office.
Gerould Kern, the Tribuneās editor, said in a statement last week that these requests are granted in what he called isolated instances. āIn each case, we strive to make the right decision as reporters and as citizens,ā he said.
But editors decided to publish the story on Friday, Dec. 5, ending the Tribuneās own cooperation deal with the prosecutor.
See the problem with the doing things like this is, it might very well be the case that Blagojevich may just get off with, at worst, an embarrassment. I believe personally in the end, Blagojevich will resign from office, but the FBI’s ability to get a water-tight case against the guy will now be hampered. I said “Standard caveats apply here”, because I am well aware of who owns the Wall Street Journal, and it seems that since Mr. Murdoch has bought said paper, a anti-liberal or anti-anyone who does not work for Rupert Murdoch bias has come out. So, please, keep that in mind.
Having said all that, it would seem that the Chicago Tribune would have shown a bit more restraint in the situation.
Others: The Corner, Stop The ACLU, Gawker, Althouse, Flopping Aces, Betsy’s Page
(Via Memeorandum)