Category: Politics

Yeah, Barack Obama is Shutting Down the Revolving Door……

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Former White House Budget Director Peter Orzag is going to work for Citi’s investment banking income:

Citigroup Inc., recovering from its $45 billion bailout in 2008, is in advanced talks to hire former White House Budget Director Peter Orszag, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Orszag, 41, may take a job in the New York-based firm’s investment-banking division, the people said, declining to be identified because the discussions are private. An announcement may come as early as today, one of the people said.

I wonder what he did at the White House to get the back end payoff from Wall Street now, and I am not feeling hopey changey right now.

I Am So Glad I Dropped out of OFA

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What Bender Says, Barry!

I had a post a while ago titled, “I Am Glad that I Pulled My Email(s) from the OFA Mailing List, and the latest bit of lame ass political activism has me even more certain in my decision:

A decade of irresponsible spending led to a projected $1.3 trillion deficit that President Obama inherited upon taking office — putting America on an unsustainable fiscal course.

From Day One, this administration’s top focus has been growing the economy and putting Americans back to work — and that will never change.

The economy is growing again, yet all across America families and businesses have been tightening their belts. The President knows their government must do the same.

Yesterday, he announced a proposal to freeze pay for non-military federal employees for two years — a plan that will lead to $60 billion in savings over 10 years. It’s one of many tough choices the President has made to cut costs in the upcoming budget to begin to put our nation’s fiscal house in order. And it follows directly from this administration’s dedication to stretching federal dollars and reining in the long-term deficit.

Now, if you listen to some talk radio hosts or a few of the talking heads on cable news, you’ll hear a very different assessment of our fiscal policies. These voices ignore the irresponsibility of the past while pinning the blame for “reckless spending” solely on this administration. It would make a good fairy tale if it weren’t so dangerously untrue.

But these voices — as loud as they are — are spreading bunk. Cutting costs and spending responsibly has been a cornerstone of this administration’s record. And we need your help to get the truth out there.

Will you take a few minutes and write a letter to the editor today to set the record straight?

Yep, you got that right, OFA, the DNC run successor to the Obama campaign is asking its members to write letters to the editor supporting cutting the wages of janitors, teachers, law enforcement, and regulators, so that the Republicans can ask for tax cuts for people like the Koch brothers, they Who Must Not Be Named, and the rest of the undeserving rich.

I am so glad that I live in Maryland, because in 2012, if my state is in play, then the Republican has already won the race, so I am under no compunction to vote for him ever again.

That’s Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty!!

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Tom Delay was convicted of one count of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to launder money.

Basically, he used the Republican national committee to funnel illegal corporate money to state races for the the Texas legislature.

While the charges typically carry a sentence of 5 to 99 years in prison, the judge can also sentence him to probation.

First, Delay his lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, is very good, so there promises to be years of appeals, and there is a very real chance that he will find a judge or judges who owe him some sort of favor.

This is Texas, after all.

Call me a cynic, but I would be very surprised if he spends more than 18 months in a minimum security prison.

When one considers the degree to which he made pay to play a part of the Washington, DC political scene, he deserves a lot more than that.

He is a truly contemptible human being, and the most evil contestant on Dancing With the Stars ever, which is saying a lot.

Tom Delay, Felon…You know, I REALLY like the sound of that, and for today, at least, that is the truth.

Of course, he could go the way of Kenneth Lay, and die while the appeal is going on, which would be very convenient for people who are concerned that he might cooperate with authorities.

This is Texas, after all.

Speaking of Mind Blowing Stupidity

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The hed says it all, “The White House, Chamber Of Commerce Attempt Rapprochement.”

What the f%$# are they thinking?

I know that Barack Obama thinks that he is so awesome that people can’t help liking him, and that they like him so much that they will work together for the good of the country, but that is stupid and delusional:

On Wednesday, the intricacies and oddities of the relationship were on full display. For the second time in as many weeks, a member of the Obama cabinet met with Chamber officials. It was not to discuss the sharp elbows thrown during the campaign, when the White House, in no uncertain terms, accused the Chamber of subverting the democratic process by refusing to reveal its donors. Rather, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met with the group’s board of directors to “discuss the state of the economy, jobs, and administration priorities ‘for supporting the competitiveness of American businesses’.”

The Chamber of Commerce has always been a very conservative organization, but it is no longer that: It is now an explicitly partisan player whose goal is the defeat of Obama in 2012 by any means necessary.

They are not the opposition they are the enemy.

And little Timmy Geithner is playing footsie, no doubt with Barack’s approval.

<Facepalm>

George Soros Implies Support for a Primary Challenge

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Or maybe not, since his people are walking it back a little bit:

According to multiple sources with knowledge of his remarks, Soros told those in attendance that he is “used to fighting losing battles but doesn’t like to lose without fighting.”

“We have just lost this election, we need to draw a line,” he said, according to several Democratic sources. “And if this president can’t do what we need, it is time to start looking somewhere else.”

……

While Soros’s comment gave some attendees the impression that he’d cheer a primary challenge to the president, the point, sources say, was different. Rather, it is time to shuffle funds into a progressive infrastructure that will take on the tasks that the president can’t or won’t take on.

“People are determined to help build a progressive infrastructure and make sure it is there not just in the months ahead but one that will last in the long term,” said Anna Burger, the retired treasury secretary of SEIU. “Instead of being pushed over by this election it has empowered people to stand up in a bigger way.”

“There was frustration,” said one Democratic operative who attended the meetings. The main concern was about messaging. I think they are frustrated that the president isn’t being more direct. But I did not get the sense that anyone’s commitment to the progressive movement was wavering… The general consensus is that support has to move beyond being about one person and more about a movement. I don’t know if we’ve moved beyond there.”

So, it could be that Soros is saying that he thinks that liberals should disassociate themselves from the Obama political operation, and go back to funding people 3rd party political operatives, because you can’t trust the Obama team to fight for you, or to fight period. (true)

It’s been well known that the Obama administration, and the associated political operation, has been tremendously hostile to 3rd party political operations, both out of a need to micromanage the message, and because of their ceaseless focus on process at the expense of results.

I think that the message, particularly as put forward by a billionaire, is a shot across Obama’s bow.

I think that there was the intention to tell the Obama White House that if they kept trying to veal pen and defund independent groups, then there is a billionaire out there who is willing to dump a significant chunk of change on making his life difficult in 2012.

For myself, I support a robust primary challenge.

Obama’s weakness, and his eagerness to please the malefactors in this situation (do nothing Republicans, dishonest bankers, etc.) while casting his behavior as liberalism could cripple the party, and the solutions that our country needs, for decades to come, much as Herbert Hoover crippled Republicans and conservatism for a generation.

The difference is that Barack Obama’s PPUT (Post Partisan Unity Schtick) is a refutation of liberalism, while Hoover’s activities were an endorsement of conservatism.

What Took Them So Long?

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Jack Johnson, the outgoing County Executive for Prince George’s County, has been arrested for corruption:

Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson and his wife were arrested at their home Friday and charged in federal court with trying to hide or destroy the proceeds from a bribe from a local developer, according to court papers and federal law enforcement authorities.

Johnson and his wife, Leslie E. Johnson, were charged with evidence tampering and destruction, alteration and falsification of records. After brief hearings late Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Connolly ordered Jack Johnson to be released and placed under electronic monitoring. The judge released Leslie Johnson on her own recognizance. Both Johnsons were ordered to surrender their passports.

The charges stem from a frantic phone call on Friday in which Leslie Johnson told her husband that “two women were at the door” and ultimately ended when federal agents found $76,000 in Leslie Johnson’s underwear, according to an affidavit in support of the criminal charges.

I think that we are finally seeing the end of the PG County machine.

It began with Donna Edwards’ defeat of Al Wynn for Congress in the 2008 primary, and you can see things piling up in this handy Washington Post timeline.

The FBI has been investigating him for about 4 years, and the fact that he owns about 6 homes, with mortgage payments larger than his salary, might have been an indicator that something odd was going on.

Here’s hoping that maybe some reformers get swept in at the next election.

Wanktastic!

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Yeah, this gives me hairballs too

Everyone’s favorite NFL blowout, Heath Shuler, has decided to challenge Nancy Pelosi as minority leader in the 112th Congress.

This guy’s entire life has been defined by his trying to do things that he was manifestly unfit to do, whether it’s being an NFL Quarterback (top ten first round draft10 busts) a representative of the values of Democratic Party, or of pretty much anything he has done since he has gotten out of college.

Here’s hoping that Nancy Pelosi hangs him by his entrails on the Statue of Freedom on top of the Capitol Dome.*

I’m considering taking up a collection to have Gus Frerotte move to his district and run against him. After all, someone needs to replace this loser, and Frerotte has already proved that he has what it takes to do that.

*In a purely metaphorical, “He needs to be slapped down in a parliamentary kind of way.”†
†The reason that I do not wish him to be threatened with actual physical harm, is that when he is threatened with the possibility of physical harm, he throws a pass to the opposing team, which in this case, is the Republican Party.‡
‡I think. All things considered, I’m not sure which team he is really playing for in Congress.

One Less Bigot With Power

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Andrew Shirvell has been fired as assistant Michigan Attorney General for stalking University of Michigan student Chris Armstrong.

Armstrong was the first openly gay president of the Michigan Student Assembly, and this sent the already right-wing Shirvell into a delusional hissy fit.

As a private citizen, it would be creepy, but as a supporter and confidant of Michigan’s right wing Attorney General, it took on some rather disturbing overtones.

Background here.

Finally, Someone In the Obama Administration With Guts

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Unfortunately, it’s just Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood:

The Obama administration is urging Wisconsin’s incoming Republican governor, Scott Walker, to reconsider his opposition to high-speed rail in his state and threatened to rescind $810 million in federal stimulus grants for the project if the venture is killed.

In a letter (pdf) to Walker yesterday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood discussed what he called a “difference of opinion about the value of a Midwest high-speed rail network” between the Obama administration and the incoming governor, emphasizing economic benefits that high-speed rail could bring to the region.

Walker, who is currently the county executive of Milwaukee County, campaigned heavily against a proposed high-speed line to link Milwaukee and Madison that would eventually be part of a Midwest network. Decrying the project as a waste of tax dollars, he has called for the cash to be redistributed to highway and bridge repairs in his state.

But LaHood said the stimulus grants must be spent on rail projects.

Additionally, LaHood is demanding $271 million back from New Jersey Transit for Governor Christie’s cancellation of the rail tunnel under the Hudson, and there are indications that the Feds will be demanding money back from Ohio when the new Republican governor there cancels their rail program.

Even more amusing is that Illinois is already applying for the money that the ‘Phant governors don’t want.

Good for Secretary LaHood, but I expect Obama to overrule him and give the money to Wisconsin, Ohio, and New Jersey anyway, because he wants these loony tunes to like him.

It is interesting that the only one in Obama’s administration to do the right thing because it is the right thing is a Republican.

What Bill Maher Said

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True Dat

there are way too many people who think that reasoned discourse is about equating the two sides.

It’s not. Reasoned discourse is about the truth, and as Bill Maher notes, “Keith Olbermann is right when he says he’s not the equivalent of Glenn Beck. One reports facts the other one is very close to playing with his poop.”

That is the problem with the Stewart/Colbert March for Sanity/Fear.

At the core of this discussion, there are people who are just lying or delusional, and they should not be considered equivalent to those who are merely partisan.

As the noted tippler Daniel Patrick Moynihan once noted, “People are entitled to their own opinions, not to their own facts.”

And Stewart and Colbert did not make that distinction at the rally, though, ironically enough, Stewart does so regularly on his show.

Oklamoma, Where the Dumb Comes Sweeping Down the Plains

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So, someone decides to ban “Sharia Law,” in Oklahoma, which will almost certainly be overturned, someone already has a claim that it invalidates his will in violation of the First Amendment, but the constitutional amendment, which intends to, “prohibit state courts from considering international law or Islamic law when deciding cases,” also has the effect of banning the 10 commandments:

[U of OK Law Professor Joseph] Thai said the ballot measure “raises thorny church-state problems as well” and could even affect a state judge’s ability to consider the Ten Commandments.

“The Ten Commandments, of course, is international law. It did not originate in Oklahoma or the United States,” Thai said.

Morons.

Both the politicians who place demagoguery above observing their oaths of office, and the voters who pulled the lever for this crap.

Well, This is Shaping Up to Be a Crappy Day

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First, I have to put my cat to sleep, and now Keith Olbermann has been suspended by MSNBC for making campaign contributions:

Keith Olbermann, the pre-eminent liberal voice on American television, was suspended Friday after his employer, MSNBC, discovered that he made campaign contributions to three Democrats last month.

The indefinite suspension was a stark display of the clash between objective journalism and opinion journalism on television.

Many prominent liberals and conservatives immediately called on MSNBC to reinstate Mr. Olbermann, who is usually outspoken but who had no comment on his suspension Friday.

The contributions came to light in an article by Politico Friday morning. Mr. Olbermann acknowledged in a statement that last month he donated $2,400 to the campaigns of Representatives Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and Attorney General Jack Conway of Kentucky, who lost his Senate race to Rand Paul.

I think that this is a stupid standard to hold straight journalists to, much less someone who is clearly an talking-head opinion type.

In the article, there is a suggestion that this is an attempt to make brand differentiation with Fox, where, for example, Hannity gave to Michelle “I used to be the nuttiest person in Congress, but the elections moved the bar” Bachmann, but I don’t live in media executives heads, nor would I ever want to.

It does appear that Keith will be back at some point in the not to distant future, though.

H/t DC at the by invitation only Stellar Parthenon BBS.

What Emptywheel Said…

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Click for full size

This is how well Tim Kaine, former governor of Virginia, served the Democratic Party in Virginia

Fire Tim Kaine as head of the DNC.

Since Kaine has become head of the DNC, just in Virginia, we have had a Neanderpublican Governor and Attorney General, and lost 3 house seats, one of which had been held for decades.

Kaine is, of course, head of the the Democratic National Committee, hand picked by Barack Obama, because he is the sort of Democrat that Barack Obama loves, the type of Democrat that runs against the Democratic Party base.

How’s that whole cock punching hippies thing working, Barry?

While We are On the Subject of HP Lovecraft Quotes…

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Yesterday, I posted H.P. Lovecraft’s quote on Republicans, and I also forwarded it to my Lovecraft-reading family.

My brother, Stephen, aka “No I’m Not Wearing a Wookie Costume, I’m Just Hairy,” asked the question, “Given Lovecraft’s fondness for slimy spineless creatures, it is strange that he didn’t have anything to say about democrats…”

Well, according to the Donovan K. Loucks, the Webmaster at The H. P. Lovecraft Archive, who posted in the comments, the author did make his feelings known on both parties:

“Democrats invariably ape the grotesque crudities of the lower orders and make conspicuous clowns of themselves; jeering at civilised speech, manners, and standards of accuracy and beauty instead of respecting these things and urging their beloved masses to work up toward them. As long as they persist in this position, they will win nothing but the distrust and hostility of men well-disposed toward civilisation and the fullest realisation of the human personality.”

(H. P. Lovecraft to Woodburn Harris, 9 November 1929)

Given Lovecraft’s rather well documented nativist attitudes, though biographer L. Sprague de Camp implies that his attitudes moderated as he grew older, and that some of his statements were a way he taunted people that he did not like, this is an unsurprising statement from him.

Interestingly enough, he was a fan of FDR and an Ardent New Dealer according to the Wiki.

Truth be told, I am kind of torn as to whether, if I had a time machine, I would want to meet him or not.

I’m Not Sure if It Was the Elections……

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But after my morning election summary was posted, I got sick.

I ended up worshiping the porcelain alter, and that IPA that I bought by way of a condolence drink did not taste as good coming up as it did coming down.

Still went to work after everything settled down. I’ve had this reaction to stress since I was 7 years old.

It hits when I’m stressed, and then I relax.

And yes, it kind of sucks.

Understanding Christine O’Donnell

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When one looks at the craziness out there, why is it that Christine O’Donnell appears to get the lion’s share of the attention?

Well Matthew Yglesias has a good explanation:

That’s true, but I think there’s more in play, namely logistics. The Alaska Senate race should be excellent copy. Joe Miller is nuts, Scott McAdams is fascinatingly amateurish, the Palin-Murkowski feud is interesting, everyone likes to talk about Sarah Palin, etc. But Alaska is also cold and remote. Sending a reporter there would be expensive and annoying. The time zones are inconvenient. By contrast, Wilmington is a 2 hour drive or 90 minute train ride from both Washington, DC and New York City. So if you want to get some “real reporting” done it’s convenient. And logistics count in life.

I would note that even some place less remote, like Angle in Nevada, or Paladino in New York, or McMahon in Connecticut, they were also much less willing to expose themselves to the press.

Basically, if you wanted to cover “the crazy,” it was easier, and cheaper, to cover Ms. O’Donnell.

OK, Google™ Adsense™ Has Me Confused

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So, I see an ad for Charles Loller.

He’s running for Congress in Maryland, as a Republican, in the 5th Congressional district.

Normally, this is the place where I would say, “What the f%$# is Google™ Adsense™ doing putting an ad for a Republican on my page?”

I know my reader(s) and they are NOT Republicans.

Only …………… The 5th Congressional district is Steny Hoyer’s district, and I have been consistently critical of him, so the Republican party running an ad for their sacrificial lamb,* in this district might actually meet the eyeballs of someone who is disgusted, as I am, with the distinguished gentleman from the 5th.

So, by the generally low standards of Google™ Adsense™, this actually appears to be a well done job, by virtue of being marginally competent.

Still, if I were running his campaign, I think that I might be a bit miffed that I was paying (fractions of a cent) for this.

Please note: once again, that I do not vet, nor do I endorse any ad that appears on my site, and I reserve the right to mock both the ads that appear on my site, as well as the advertisers.

Also, please note, this should be in no way construed as an inducement or a request for my reader(s) to click on any ad that they would not otherwise be inclined to investigate further. This would be a violation of the terms of service for Google™ Adsense™.

*No, I am not going to pivot off of the sacrificial lamb statement to make a “black sheep” joke, and I will note that if this race were at all competitive, this guy would not have gotten the Republican Party nomination, because the Republican Party does not want black candidates elected, the party sees them as nothing more than useful window dressing.

I Don’t Know What to Make of This

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But it appears that someone in Yemen was attempting to send letter bombs to the United States:

Security officials in Britain and Dubai intercepted parcel bombs being sent from Yemen to the United States in a “credible terrorist threat,” President Barack Obama said on Friday.

He said the parcels were bound for “two places of Jewish worship in Chicago.”

Suspicion fell on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, which took responsibility for a failed plot to blow up a U.S. passenger jet on Christmas Day in 2009.

“Initial examinations of those packages has determined that they do apparently contain explosive material,” Obama told reporters in a televised briefing, calling it “a credible terrorist threat against our country.”

The White House said earlier that “both of these packages originated from Yemen” and that Obama was notified of the threat on Thursday night.

This is clearly an attempt at electioneering, even in Yemen, one would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to know of the election, but, unlike bin Laden’s statement just prior to the 2004 election, where he was clearly trying to throw the race to Bush, the intent here is unclear.

Some questions:

  • Is this an attempt to favor Democrats or Republicans?
  • Why were synagogues chosen?
  • Did the perps expect to succeed of fail?

Damned if I know.