Obama's First YouTube Weekly Address

President 2.0



Source: http://www.change.gov

The Housing Bust Examined

Great article on the housing bust by Kevin Drum. Simply buying homes you can't afford and then defaulting on the mortgage did not cause the credit crisis and financial meltdown we are in. He compares the housing bust with the dot-com bust a few years back.

"We had one just a few years back when the dot-com stock bubble collapsed. That provoked a recession and the loss of a lot of paper wealth in the stock market, but there was no crisis. There was no crisis because the big movers and shakers of the finance world didn’t build a giant house of cards built on the assumption that tech stocks would continue to rise in value indefinitely."

The articles goes further into the dot-con vs. housing bust, for example the leverage used by the banks:

"Dotcom wealth was mostly held by individuals and funds. Mortgage debt is mostly held by banks, and when it disappears it causes massive capital losses in the banking system."

And as one of his readers points out via Robert Reich's blog, there is more to it than just failing mortgages or equities that crash:

"over the past thirty years, households had done everything they could to compensate for falling wages: women entered the work force; people worked longer hours, they maxed their credit card debt; they borrowed against the equity in their houses. Part of the crisis now is because consumers have nothing left to give. Years of conservative policies have gutted the middle-class. Reich gives the nice analogy that at the end of the poker game, when one person holds all the chips, the game ends."

Bubbles happen, greed and fear run markets, I get that, but there are indicators that we can hopefully see next time and avoid:

"Greenspan pumped up the housing bubble to mitigate the bursting of the tech bubble. He thought aggressive creative real estate financing could make up for all the cash that disappeared with tech blow up."

As America likes to boast about how many millionaires and billionaires it has, remember what it does to get there and how many of its' citizens pay a price.

Transparent, sensible regulation is needed. I feel that is what will come when the Democrats run the show.

Source: Kevin Drum

Netanyahu: View: Page Source: Copy: Paste

If it worked for Barack, it may work for Netanyahu.

The colors, the fonts, the icons for donating and volunteering, the use of embedded video, and the social networking Facebook-type options -- including Twitter, which hardly exists in Israel -- all reflect a conscious effort by the Netanyahu campaign to learn from the Obama success.

Source: HuffPo

Begich Lead Widens In Alaska Senate Race

Not looking good for the felon.

Democrat Mark Begich now leads Sen. Ted Stevens (R) by just over 1,000 votes with more than 90 percent of the total ballots counted in the high-profile Alaska Senate race.

The Alaska Division of Elections counted another 14,500 votes on Friday and Begich's lead increased from 841 before the day started to 1,022 when the counting ended.

Source: Wapo

Humanists Offer Rational Option At Christmas

Bill O'Reilly and his "crusade" for Christmas will like this, although the American Humanist Association reminds me of George Costanza and his "Human Fund":

Buses in Washington, D.C. will feature ads proclaiming, "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake," starting next week and running through December. The ads are part of a new campaign being launched by the American Humanist Association. "We are trying to reach our audience, and sometimes in order to reach an audience, everybody has to hear you," said Fred Edwords, spokesman for the humanist group. "Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion."

Edwords said the purpose isn't to argue that God doesn't exist or change minds about a deity, although "we are trying to plant a seed of rational thought and critical thinking and questioning in people's minds."

Because believing in holidays based on pagan solstice rituals and using a guy who wears a red suit because of a Coke ad is pure religion.

Source: Boston Globe

Bush Has Two Regrets; Here Are Another 37

via: 23/6

In an interview on Veterans Day, President Bush was asked to reflect on his regrets over his two terms in office. Bush said he regrets, "saying some things I shouldn't have said, like "dead or alive" and "bring em on." Bush also said he wishes he hadn't spoken in front of the "Mission Accomplished" banner to declare an end to major combat operations in Iraq in 2003.

Okay, that's two! Looks like he needs help with the others, so we threw together a brief list of some (thirty-seven) of the things Bush should probably be regretting right about now.

A Quick List Of Stuff George Bush Should Regret
(Off The Tops Of Our Heads)

1. His existence
2. His decision to go into politics
3. Not learning how to better run oil companies so he wouldn't have to go into politics
4. His decision to run for president
5. His decision to run for a second term as president
6. Every word spoken into a microphone since January 20th, 2001
7. That time in 2001 when he shouted at Dick Cheney, "You know what, screw it. You run the country if you're so smart!"
8. Ignoring the way Alberto Gonzales was always saying, "Geneva Convention, Schmeneva Schmonvention!"
9. Those times when he let Donald Rumsfeld make decisions
10. Revealing the identity of a covert CIA operative. Not cool!
11. That time when he said "Osama, Saddam. What's the damn difference?"
12. Letting the country fall into economic ruin
13. Not getting Scooter Libby to take the fall for some more stuff
14. That "wait for this to blow over" position on Katrina
15. Not learning how to keep from smirking while addressing the nation about certain issues, such as Katrina
16. Not figuring out how to control the weather to keep Katrina from happening
17. Not giving more people hilarious nicknames, like "Turd Blossom"
18. That "Iraq" kerfuffle
19. Not giving more speeches in front of banners that read, "Danger: Under Construction" or "Not Finished" or "This Mission is going to take at least six or seven years, if we're lucky!"
20. Saying, "all right Harriet, you've talked me into it."
21. Never really savoring the good moments.
22. Giving up alcohol
23. Giving up coke
24. Going back on coke
25. Giving it up again
26. Betting Cheney $1,000 they'd lose in 2004
27. Not getting to know Terri Schiavo better
28. Not constantly losing wars
29. Beating Dad's "years in office" record.
30. Thinking, what the heck, it's just a pretzel
31. Not flipping the bird more often at Cindy Sheehan from behind the tinted windows of his passing limo
32. Not taking it as a bad sign that Karl Rove has a forked tongue
33. Responding to a report titled "Osama Bin Laden Determined to Strike Inside The United States" by repeating the title in a mocking, high-pitched voice that made Cheney laugh real hard
34. Not saying, "Brownie, we should sit down for a performance review in the next week or so"
35. Not calling it, "No Super-Gifted Child Left Behind"
36. Those twenty or twenty-five times when he should have offered his resignation but decided to "wait it out"
37. Not doing more to avoid the inevitable indictments sure to come next February once they start finding out about "the real bad stuff"

Source: 23/6

Rachel Maddow Nails Lieberman

Rachel Maddow clips Joe Lieberman's balls and makes a good case to strip the loser from his committee chairmanship.

Why wait? You'll be let down either way: either as a potential turncoat [again] or as a constant sign of failure for supporting McCain so diligently.

Spam Drops 66% After Stutting Down One Host

via WaPo:

"Wow. One spam host got taken offline Tuesday and the worldwide volume of spam dropped by two-thirds:

The volume of junk e-mail sent worldwide dropped drastically today after a Web hosting firm identified by the computer security community as a major host of organizations allegedy engaged in spam activity was taken offline, according to security firms that monitor spam distribution online.

....The servers are operated by McColo Corp., which these experts say has emerged as a major U.S. hosting service for international firms and syndicates that are involved in everything from the remote management of millions of compromised computers to the sale of counterfeit pharmaceuticals and designer goods, fake security products and child pornography via email....Immediately after McColo was unplugged, security companies charted a precipitous drop in spam volumes worldwide. E-mail security firm IronPort said spam levels fell by roughly 66 percent as of Tuesday evening.

I suppose the spam purveyors of the world will find another host before long, but still. One server farm was responsible for more than half the spam traffic in the entire world? Wow again."

Source: Kevin Drum

New Petition

petitiononline has an open letter to Sarah Palin.

To: Governor Sarah Palin

Dear Governor Palin,

We the undersigned implore you to remain in Alaska (where your national security credentials are required to repel a Soviet invasion) and stop giving media interviews and press conferences.

Maybe you missed what was going outside your small circle of adoring fans but you and your team were soundly defeated in the 2008 election. Sensible citizens rejected your fear mongering, divisiveness, guilt by association and rambling incoherence in favor of an articulate leader whose vision has brought millions of people together from all walks of life.

Governor Palin, you had your 15 minutes of fame, and now they’re thankfully over. America has far more important things to do than listen to you right now. If, in the future, the war against terror or another political, economic, social or environmental meltdown demands the best mooseburger recipe, rest assured we will call you at 3:00 am (EST).

Until then, however, the best way to serve this nation you love so well is to just shut up. Enough already.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Source: petitiononline

A Ticket to The Hague for Dick Cheney?

Gene Burns, one of the nation’s most popular talk radio hosts, has an epiphany.

"And then I saw Torturing Democracy.

And I’m afraid, now that I have seen what I have seen, that I was wrong about that. It looks to me, based on this documentary, as if in fact we have engaged in behavior and practices at Guantánamo Bay, and in these illegal renditions, that are violations of the international human rights code.

And I believe that Dick Cheney is responsible. I believe that he was the agent of the United States government charged with developing the methodology used at Guantánamo Bay, supervising it for the administration, and indulging in practices which are in fact violations of human rights."

For years Burns dismissed accounts of torture, he now believes that some international human rights organization ought to open an investigation of the Bush Administration.

Interestingly, PBS also found that it had no network space for Torturing Democracy until January 20, 2009—the day the Bush Administration decamps from Washington.

Source: Harper's

Obama To YouTube Weekly Address

The change we need.

US president-elect Barack Obama is to make the first YouTube address to the nation on Saturday, recording a talk not just on radio but also on video, a spokesman said Friday.

"President-elect Obama will record the Weekly Democratic Radio Address on video and radio," spokesman Nick Shapiro said.

"The address will be turned into a YouTube video which we will post on www.change.gov," the official website of the Obama transition team, he said.

"No president-elect or president has ever turned the radio address into a multi-media opportunity before," Shapiro added.

Source: RawStory

Secretary Of State Clinton?

Just speculation at this point, but the Lincoln reference does work.

"Several Obama transition advisers are strongly advocating Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for secretary of State, a move that would create the ultimate "Team of Rivals" cabinet, according to officials involved in the discussions."

But with Hillary you pull another Democrat from Congress and you get Bill's private business work with other countries which may become problematic.

Source: Steve Benen

Simple Question

Is Dennis Miller funny anymore?

William Ayers On GMA Video

Republican Boogeyman Bill Ayers on Good Morning America. See for yourself.

Bobbleheaded interviewer Chris Cuomo is desperate to find to "gotcha" moment, but it's simply not there. Ayers is a complete non-issue.

"This idea that we need to know more, like there's some dark, hidden secret, some secret link," Ayers said. "It's a myth thrown up by people who want to exploit the politics of fear."

Peter Schiff Was Right 2006 - 2007

I have written about this guy before. For anyone who says you could not see this coming, Peter Schiff is dead on when he was talking about our financial future back in 2006 and 2007. Nailed it.

It's amazing how often Peter is mocked by these arrogant "money guys", mostly on Fox News, who were never serious market watchers, but, instead mouth pieces and cheer leaders of the criminal Wall Street Financial Corps.

Ben Stein should be banned from TV. What a useless hack.



Source:

Worst Person Candidate

The Catholic Church should get rid of this guy. As a Collapsed Catholic myself it's funny to see men who hide molesters and paedophiles make judgements like this.

I guess a vote for a guy who starts wars is historically Christian, so Bush and McCain are off the hook.

"A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."

The Rev. Jay Scott Newman said in a letter distributed Sunday to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote.

"Our nation has chosen for its chief executive the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for president," Newman wrote, referring to Obama by his full name, including his middle name of Hussein."

I wonder what this priest feels about Palin, who is evangelical, because she thinks he is going to Hell for not being re-born.

Source: Yahoo

The Bidens: VP 2.0

Joe and Jill Biden meet with the real President of the United States today.



h/t Oliver Willis

Palin's First National Press Conference 9 Days After Election

Palin's first national press conference was today.

Asked why she chose to hold her first formal news conference now, she replied, "The campaign is over." She took 4 questions.

Not used to calling females derogatory names like dicks, but "Sarah is a dick".

Looks Like One Less Person Need Apply

University of Texas Longhorns' Buck Burnette, you're so not going to forget those 3 seconds of your life.

A template on facebook.com asks, “What are you doing right now?” An ill-advised response led to Buck Burnette’s expulsion from the University of Texas football team.

What began as a private text-message exchange on Election Night between Burnette and a friend soon became available for anybody with a computer to see.

In the status update section of his Facebook page, Burnette posted, “All the hunters gather up, we have a (slur) in the White House,”

File under: How To Ruin A Career Through Facebook Status Updates.

On the other hand, maybe Tom DeLay is hiring?

Source: Houston Chronicle

Washington Meets Truth Or Dare

Trying to land a job with the new Obama Administration? They have released a seven-page, 63-part questionnaire for applicants to vet your entire life.

A few good men and women will pause and reflect with silent pride at this one:

"(13) Electronic communications: If you have ever sent an electronic communication, including but not limited to an email, text message or instant message, that could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the president-elect if it were made public, please describe."

First off, how embarrassing is a matter of opinion. Sending a picture of your balls over IM may be perfectly OK for some, embarrassing for others. It's sad some old Christmas party pics will eliminate some of our best future political leaders. For me, I would say you would NEED at least one embarrassing e-mail to get the job, a sort of rite of passage. Sort of like Scientology and the gay sex.

Republicans can ignore all this, taking EOE to felonious levels.

Considering McCain took a passing look at Palin's headshot before he gave her the VP nod, it's easier to be a Republican Vice President than Obama staffer.

Source: NYT

Quote Of The Day: Newt Gingrich

“The Republican Party right now is like a midsize college team trying to play in the Superbowl,” Newt Gingrich

I would add the Republicans are not even playing football in this simile, more like a 1950s game of kick-the-can.

Obama Alters Iran Game Plan: Advantage US

The America-haters have to change their game. As Steve Benen at The Washington Monthly points out:

"Iranian leaders have gotten quite a bit of political mileage out of animosity towards the United States. Iran would call for direct, unconditional talks; the United States would refuse; and Iran would use the tensions as an excuse to repress its population."

It often goes unsaid but Iranian leaders want, and apparently need, tensions with the U.S. to justify their existence. The Bush administration has made conditions easier for Iran, not harder. Obama changes all that and has the mullahs on their heels.

Obama's willingness to engage Iran diplomatically puts the country's leadership in a "serious bind." Spencer Ackerman explained, if you're an Iranian leader, "All of a sudden, you're deprived of a method of demagoguery that's aided your regime for a generation. And if you refuse to negotiate, you've just undermined everything you told the international community you wanted, and now appear unreasonable, erratic, and unattractive to foreign capitals. Amazing how the prospects for peace are more destabilizing to the Iranian establishment than any inevitably-counterproductive-and-destructive bombing campaign or war of internal subterfuge."

The Mullahs can't use "the Great Satan schemes to destroy Iran!" as your battle cry against student activists and trade unions with Obama in charge. Those attacks have no teeth anymore. The diplomatic landscape has changed and Obama is not even President yet.

Source: The Washington Independent

Jobless Claims Jump To 516,000

Watch how the conservatives will try to deflect this onto Obama, or even Bill Clinton, before they accept responsiblity for destroying our economy.

"The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment insurance last week surged to the highest levels since the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and the number continuing to collect benefits rose to a 25-year high, the government said Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial filings for state jobless benefits reached 516,000 for the week ended Nov. 8. That's the highest total since the week ended Sept. 29, 2001, two weeks after the attacks against New York and Washington, when 517,000 initial claims were filed.

Claims increased by 32,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 484,000. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 479,000 claims.

The report shows the number of Americans continuing to collect unemployment benefits surged by 65,000 to 3,897,000, the highest level since January 1983. The data comes from the week ended Nov. 1, the most recent available."

This place is getting ug-ly.

Source: CNN

Begich Pulls Ahead By 814 In Alaska

The race is looking better for Democrats to get another Senate seat.

Mark Begich made a dramatic comeback Wednesday to overtake 40-year incumbent Ted Stevens for the lead in Alaska's U.S. Senate race.

Begich, who was losing after election night, now leads Stevens by 814 votes -- 132,196 to 131,382 -- with the state still to count roughly 40,000 more ballots over the next week.

Is there anything that Nate Silver isn't right about?

Source: State of Alaska - 2008 General Election

Palin: Avoids The Obvious

Palin's speech to the Republican Governors Association.

PALIN: "In politics, people sometimes go to great lengths to avoid stating the obvious, but I think it’s about time that we all remembered that the greatest measure of a president is whether he protected and defended this great country. America’s 43rd president took that foremost responsibility, that most important charge, seriously. He poured his life into it. He succeeded in keeping America safe from another attack.

I’m thankful he is my soldier son’s commander in chief and for that, I say God bless George W. Bush, and I thank you, Mr. Presidents[sic]."

Sarah, 9/11 happened on George's watch, he heard a Presidential Daily Briefing [PDB] titled "Bin Laden Determined To Strike In US" on August 6, 2001. What great measure did he take then? He stayed on vacation in Texas on his ranch and did nothing. So if the greatest measure is protecting the US, and not invading arbitrary foreign countries, then by that measure, Bush FAILED!

Using your own words, you are going by great lengths to avoid stating the obvious.

And for him protecting us, him? You make it sound like he's on a boat in New York harbor patrolling the waters with a lantern and a gun. The guy is a joke. When he was in the service as Air National Guard he was a joke. As Commander In Chief he was a joke. Has he kept us all safe by shredding the Constitution, rolling back the Bill of Rights, torture, spying, extraordinary rendition, holding without due process, and enraging much of the world with our undefined aggression against "terrorism."?

And thanking him on behalf of your high school drop-out son is nice. If it were not for George Bush, your son would not have to go to Iraq. So complete your statement by stating the obvious: why don't you thank Bush for letting 9/11 happen so 7 years later your son has a place to go once he drops out of high school as his mom is the Governor.

Source: Think Progress

BREAKING: Salma Hayek: I’m Addicted To Breastfeeding

File under: Politics Can Only Get You So Far, This Is Real News.

Salma Hayek is addicted to breast feeding. The actress, who gave birth to daughter Valentina in 2007, says she can’t stop. She said: "I’m like an alcoholic. It is like, I don’t care if I cry, I don’t care if I am fat, I am just going to do it for one more week, one more month, and then when I see how much good it is doing her and I can’t stop."



There's a line from the movie Bachelor Party where Adrian Zmed is a photographer taking pictures of a mother and child, "I would breast feed until I was 17 or 18", check it:

Stevens Trailing By 3 Votes In Alaska Senate Race

Convicted felon Ted Stevens now trailing in Alaska Senate race with over 10,000 ballots left to count. Dems could hit 58 in the Senate.

"Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, a titan of Alaska politics convicted of felony charges last month, fell behind by three votes Wednesday as the count resumed in his re-election bid.

Democrat Mark Begich, the two-term mayor of Anchorage, began Wednesday down more than 3,200 votes but closed the gap as officials resumed counting early and absentee ballots. The tally was 125,019 to 125,016."

Any wonder why Stevens doesn't want the remaining votes counted? He's going to lose. Republican voter suppression alive and well in Alaska.

Source: HuffPo

Joe Lieberman: Dickishly Wrong

via DailkKos:

What do you do with Lieberman now that his patron is back measuring the drapes at his retirement home in AZ?

Democrats have to remember all the bullshit he's been saying the past 2 years. Including this:

"Is, notwithstanding his celebrity status, Barack Obama ready to lead? And my answer is no."

Payback is a bitch.

Ron Paul: The Future Of The GOP

Ron Paul reflects on the future of the GOP: Where to go from here and who's to blame for the downfall of the Republican Party?

"The Republican Congress never once stood up against the Bush/Rove machine that demanded support for unconstitutional wars, attacks on civil liberties here at home, and an economic policy based on more spending, more debt, and more inflation -- while constantly preaching the flawed doctrine that deficits don't matter as long as taxes aren't raised."

His assessment:

"After eight years of perpetual (and unnecessary and unconstitutional) war, persistent and expanded attacks on our privacy, runaway deficits, and now nationalization of the financial system, Republicans are going to have a tough time regaining the confidence of the American people. But that's what must be done."

Source: CNN

Lehman And Fuld Selling 28 Million In Art

Spreading the wealth because you have to:

"The bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers wants to sell at least $8m (£5.2m) worth of the art collection that once decorated its offices. The news comes as $20m of postwar art, put up for sale by the former Lehman boss Richard Fuld and his wife Kathy, goes on the block tonight at Christie's in New York."

Lehman is selling 8 million and Fuld alone is selling 20 million? I can see Fuld sulking into his $21m Manhattan apartment now, staring at the bare spot where his $4m De Kooning's 1951 Woman once was.

Source: GuardianUK

Fox: We Report, We Get Marginalized

WaPo's Harold Meyerson writes a tongue-in-cheek open letter to Faux News' Roger Ailes. Written as a mock warning, it ultimately thanks Ailes for using Fox to ruin the conservative movement.

"The election has left the Republican Party reeling, its base shrunk to those Southern, Plains and Mountain West states where rural cultures still predominate. The party's smarter strategists are arguing that the world views of the social conservatives and free-market extremists who dominate the GOP are either irrelevant or ridiculous to voters in the middle of the political spectrum.

But Fox has won its viewership precisely by promoting such obsessions."

Adding why Fox still has viewers AKA NASCAR fans:

"The past two elections, Republicans have grown weaker everywhere but the white rural South -- the region that remains the least educated and least diverse."

The final zing coming in his sign-off:

"And to think that you're doing all this not on the Democratic National Committee's dime but on Rupert Murdoch's.

Cheers from your new fan,
Harold"

Between Fox and hate radio stalwarts like Rush and Hannity heading the RNC ship, I'll take "Another 10 Wasted Years" for 100, Alex.

Source: WaPo

Amnesty International Ad: Crazy World Leaders

“We can change what they do”

McCain Campaigning For Chambliss, A Man He Called "Disgraceful"

McCain would rather lose an election than lose a war, but he will campaign for just about anyone.

"I'd never seen anything like that ad. Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden next to the picture of a man [Max Cleland] who left three limbs on the battlefield -- it's worse than disgraceful. It's reprehensible," - Senator John McCain, on Saxby Chambliss's 2002 campaign for the Senate.

McCain said he will be campaigning for Chambliss's re-election run-off against Jim Martin in Georgia. And my friends, McCain is an honorable man. What a maverick-y douche.

Here's the ad from 2002. Seems tame next to what Palin and McCain were doing.

Obama Taps Veteran Dems

New Skool meets Old Skool.

via the AP:

"The president-elect has hired former Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sam Nunn to help shepherd his Pentagon transition and former Secretary of State Warren Christopher would advise Obama on his State Department transition."

Barack seems to be tapping a lot of Clinton-era administration officials as advisors, I'm sure his Cabinet will be new blood.

Source: HuffPo

Oil Prices Hit 20-Month Low

Oil prices fell to their lowest level in 20 months on Tuesday. Why it hit $145.29 in July in the first place will make a good story at the Cheney gold-plated Thanksgiving table.



Source: NYT

Fundamentalism And Palin

Great post at The Daily Dish regarding Palin, Bush, religious fundamentalism and how they deal with reality. Reflecting on a reader's letter on how Palin has created her own version of reality, Andrew Sullivan writes:

"The first chapter of my book on how conservatism destroyed itself in America is called "The Fundamentalist Psyche." I don't think you can understand what happened under Bush and what Palin represents unless you grapple with the mindset that can deny empirical truth in favor of Divine Truth.

The resistance to debate, the inability to see your own faults and errors, your final surrender to the will of the Almighty as a way to cope with the massive errors involved in your own management of the material world: this is Bush's world and Palin's world.

Their magical thinking, combined with the mainstream media's defensive crouch, made a great deal possible. And Cheney took advantage."

Faith is great, but fact is better. Thinking God gives you the answers is harmless when your Granny is talking about playing lotto, but it is by no means the way Government should arrive at answers to truly complex problems.

Source: Andrew Sullivan

Obama Uses A Mac

Plays into the whole "Bush is a PC, Obama is a Mac" ad campaign.



Reminding us, that in this tech world, McCain is an abacus.

What Is Legal? What Is Illegal? What Is Barely Legal?

The old Ali G joke. A classic.



When you think that 2 grown men wanting to get married is illegal, think about what is legal. For instance, it is legal for an 80 year old man to have sex with an 18 year old girl. It's gross, but he can marry her, too. There is not one family in America that would be proud about a 80 year old marrying an 18 year old, but he has the right to do it.

It's bizarre what you can think of to expand this argument, what two heterosexuals can marry: someone divorced 6 times can marry someone else divorced six times, the whole cousins can marry [just ask Rudy Giuliani], and for your "marriage is sacred" folks Michael Jackson got married. WTF?

Source: Andrew Sullivan

Quote Of The Day: Newt Gingrich

From the guy who as Speaker shut down the Government twice and railed against Clinton for cheating as he himself was having an affair:

“We need to be honest about the level of failure for the past eight years and why Republican government didn’t succeed,” said Newt Gingrich,

They are floating Newt as future RNC Chairman. Excellent. More failure. Was Tom DeLay too busy?

Source: NYT

Obama's Cabinet: Start With Al Gore

Richard Cohen at the Washington Post makes his case for Al Gore for Secretary of State in Obama's new Cabinet.

"Can you imagine a bolder statement about a new direction when it comes to global warming and the general care of our abused planet? Gore has won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in this area (and an Oscar, to boot), and his appointment would signal a dramatic shift from the indifference of the Bush era with its cold shoulder to the Kyoto treaty. In one stroke, the United States would emerge as the leader of nations in the effort to save the planet from ourselves -- and could prepare for the consequences of a changed world."

Does Obama want a Clinton guy in the White House? The article includes a few more of Cohen's choices for other Cabinet positions.

Source: WaPo

Baby Barack

Our 44th President.



Although the photo is undated, Barack Obama was born August 4, 1961.

Source: Chicago Tribune

Olbermann On Prop 8

Keith Olbermann gets a tad emotional about the opposition to Prop 8 in California. Love is being prohibited from some and I don’t know how making a second class of citizenry stands up in the Supreme Court. Whether you're for or against it, it's worth watching.

NOTE: Why does California have an initiative system where you can overturn laws just after they've passed and leave basic human rights to the loudest, most heavily-funded groups to determine?

Schwarzenegger: Mormon Segregationists

Schwarzenegger makes the connection with Prop 8 not allowing gay marriage with previous laws that prohibited blacks from marrying whites:

"I think it is unfortunate, obviously, but it's not the end, because I think this will go back into the courts, this will go back to the Supreme Court, because the Supreme Court very clearly in California has declared this unconstitutional. It's the same as in the 1948 case when blacks and whites were not allowed to marry. This falls into the same category."

The racist Mormon Church didn't think blacks had souls until the late-70s, now they think gay marriage in another obvious right they think they can deny. Civil rights are civil rights and are not subject to some hick from Utah and his six wives to interfere with.

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Potential Cure For AIDS

A potential cure for AIDS:

"The startling case of an AIDS patient who underwent a bone marrow transplant to treat leukemia is stirring new hope that gene-therapy strategies on the far edges of AIDS research might someday cure the disease.

The patient, a 42-year-old American living in Berlin, is still recovering from his leukemia therapy, but he appears to have won his battle with AIDS. Doctors have not been able to detect the virus in his blood for more than 600 days, despite his having ceased all conventional AIDS medication. Normally when a patient stops taking AIDS drugs, the virus stampedes through the body within weeks, or days.

While cautioning that the Berlin case could be a fluke, David Baltimore, who won a Nobel prize for his research on tumor viruses, deemed it "a very good sign" and a virtual "proof of principle" for gene-therapy approaches."

Still early days and a lot of research to be done, but as stem cell research and other sciences get a new life post-Bush and his anti-science administration, there is reason to have new hope.

Source: WSJ

Bush Spy Revelations Anticipated When Obama Is Sworn In

The great thing about getting a Democrat in office after Bush is that we will get to know all the horrible illegal things Bush/Cheney/Addington/Yoo did.

"When Barack Obama takes the oath of office on January 20, Americans won't just get a new president; they might finally learn the full extent of George W. Bush's warrantless domestic wiretapping.

Since The New York Times first revealed in 2005 that the NSA was eavesdropping on citizens' overseas phone calls and e-mail, few additional details about the massive "Terrorist Surveillance Program" have emerged. That's because the Bush administration has stonewalled, misled and denied documents to Congress, and subpoenaed the phone records of the investigative reporters."

War criminals, all of them. Keep this in mind as January 20 approaches:

"I'd bet there are a lot of career employees in the intelligence agencies who'll be glad to see Obama take the oath so they can finally speak out against all this illegal spying and get back to their real mission," says Caroline Fredrickson, the ACLU's Washington D.C. legislative director.

Source: Wired

Olbermann: "Four More Years"

Liberal media is catching on, Olbermann re-ups with MSNBC for four more years:

"The announcement came less than two years into Mr. Olbermann's current four-year deal. MSNBC essentially tore up his February 2007 contract (reported to be worth up to $4 million a year) and wrote a new one, according to two employees with knowledge of the agreement. The new contract is valued at about $7.5 million a year, one of the people said."

Why mess with success. Next up will be Rachel Maddow.

Source: NYT

2012: Palin Goes Rogue

Palin goes rogue in a 2012 debate with Grandpa.

Cocoa Tea Sings "Brack Obama"

Songs dedicated to the President-elect are popping up, check out Cocoa Tea with "Barack Obama"



Found this video dedicated to Oliver Willis by his fans on his blog, Source: Oliver Willis

The Mormons: What You Need To Know

After writing about the Mormon Church and their support of Prop 8 in California, I was reminded of the South Park episode on Joseph Smith. I had forgotten I had my own cartoon on the Mormon Church I had found on the internets.

This video explains the origins of mankind. Spirit children? Jesus and Lucifer were brothers? Jesus had three wives? And the classic line:

"Negroes cursed with black skin"

You have to see this! Does religion get any better than this?

David Brooks: Conservatism Dead, No Leadership

David Brooks on Bob Schieffer growing a set of balls and speaking truth to politics. Modern conservatism is dead, it has no leadership and has failed to address any of the problems of the day.

With its circular firing squad in place, Brooks is a dead man walking.

Grading the Election Theories

Mark Schmitt at the American Prospect grades all the election theories you've heard over the long election cycle. Some highlights:

Bradley Effect: F.
"Polls will be wrong because white voters lie and say they'll vote for a black candidate when they won't. Or, polls under represent lower-income whites who won't vote for a black candidate. Whatever version of the theory, it wasn't true and never was. There wasn't even a Bradley Effect in the election it's named after, L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley's 1982 campaign for California governor. He lost because of a gun-control initiative on the ballot that drew unexpected rural white turnout. The only interesting thing about the Bradley Effect is why so many in the press seemed deeply invested in believing it. Perhaps it was just shorthand for the doubt that Barack Obama would ever be elected president."

And:

Always trust Nate Silver: A+.
"Not really a theory, per se, but Silver's fivethirtyeight.com had an impeccable record all year. In the primaries, he operated from a core theory, which was that demographics would be a better predictor than polls, but for the general election, he used aggregations of polls in addition to creative demographic data, such as the ratio of Starbucks to Wal-Marts in a state, to make projections. More important than being right, Nate taught all of us (and all political wonks went to fivethirtyeight.com) a vast amount about electoral politics and demographics -- enough to make all the theories above look kind of simplistic."

Source: Mark Schmitt

Get Your War On: New World Order

Play this video for all your Faux News Hannity and O'Reilly friends who fear Obama and "change".

Source: 23/6

Separate Church From State

California is not as liberal as you thought after passing Prop 8. And as the battle continues and the Mormon Church sends its' money and members to fight, I can't help but think of that South Park episode on Joseph Smith and Mormons. But I digress.

The First Amendment says the State may not establish a religion. The state may not take principles of religious belief from a religion, any religion, and establish it as the law applicable to all.

"That the supporters of Proposition 8 were motivated by religious beliefs cannot be denied. Now the religious beliefs of some Californians are in our Constitution and, until overturned, govern us all whether we like it or not," - James Brosnahan, San Francisco Chronicle.

But the church is all about control. Maybe that's good for some, but it's not good for all. They need to step back and realize that the Founding Fathers were not zealots and made remarkable provisions to protect all involved.

"Marriage is a fundamental right in constitutional analysis. There are very few things in life more important than the ability to choose one's partner. Marriage is not just a word; it is a status, a state of mind, a way of being. Look in any direction and you will see examples of the people's respect for the institution of marriage.

A large group of Californians has now been denied that fundamental institution."

What it boils down to is equality is equality. All men are created equal. Our rights should be equally protected. If the Church has an opinion, great, but it should not be the law.

Source: SFGate

Obama Plans Guantanamo Close

Bush, Cheney and Addington shredded the Constitution, Barack is putting it back together.

via HuffPo:

"President-elect Obama's advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the United States to face criminal trials, a plan that would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but could require creation of a controversial new system of justice."

I am not pro-detainees rights, per se, but the Bush administration's military commissions were a farce. No convictions and a lot of mistrials, not to mention, major criticism by human rights groups, defense attorneys and even some military prosecutors who quit the process in protest.

The whole "enemy combatant" title and suspension of Habeas Corpus were mistakes made by novices. Endless incarceration with no rights sent the world a message that Bush was just as evil as the next guy and our standing around the globe suffered. Want to enlist more terrorists? Just show them a picture of Bush or an orange hood. That is his legacy.

Obama closing Guantanamo is as clear a signal as can be sent that the Bush era isn't just over, it will be actively rolled back.

Source: HuffPo

Smartest Guys In The Room

The smartest guys in the room on election night.

From left to right, that's Robert Gibbs, communications director; David Plouffe, campaign manager; Barack Obama, president-elect; and David Axelrod, senior strategist.

Obama Positioned to Quickly Reverse Bush Actions

200? I'm sure it will be much higher soon.

"Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team."

A good first step:

"Obama himself has signaled, for example, that he intends to reverse Bush's controversial limit on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, a decision that scientists say has restrained research into some of the most promising avenues for defeating a wide array of diseases, such as Parkinson's."

Change I can believe in.

Source: WaPo