Obama's Weekly YouTube Address

In this week's address, President-elect Barack Obama highlights the challenges facing our struggling economy and introduces a report being drafted by Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein.

"The report confirms that our plan will likely save or create three to four million jobs. 90 percent of these jobs will be created in the private sector -- the remaining 10 percent are mainly public sector jobs we save, like the teachers, police officers, firefighters and others who provide vital services in our communities.

"The jobs we create will be in businesses large and small across a wide range of industries. And they'll be the kind of jobs that don't just put people to work in the short term, but position our economy to lead the world in the long-term."

Paul Krugman has some doubts:"[E]ven if I use the Romer-Bernstein estimates instead of my own -- there really isn't much difference -- this plan looks too weak."

Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/ChangeDotGov

David Letterman Show - George Bush Top 10 Moments

David Letterman counts down the walking punchline Bush Top Ten gems.

Rachel Maddow On "Daily Show"

Rachel Maddow appeared on "The Daily Show" Wednesday night, where she and Jon Stewart discussed the MSNBC family, President-Elect Obama's policy knowledge, and George Bush's Blair House snub of the incoming First Family.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Rachel Maddow

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Blagojevich Impeached, Dignity Still Not Located

At what point does someone just clue this guy in?

"In a historic vote, the Illinois House has impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, directing the Senate to put the state's 40th chief executive on trial with the goal of removing him from office," the Chicago Tribune reports.

"The vote by the House was 114-1 and marks the first time in the state's 190-year history that a governor has been impeached, despite Illinois' longstanding reputation for political corruption."

114-1 in Rod's mind sounds like "so you're saying I have a chance" from Dumb and Dumber.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), we're looking at you, too.

Source: Chicago Tribune

Circular Logic Of Cheney's Torture Program

Cheney doesn't think anyone at the CIA did anything illegal during interrogations.

He says they followed the administration's legal opinions.

The Bush administration lawyers [like John Yoo] were ordered to find torture legal.

So illegal activities are legal when our own lawyers say so. What is the point of having laws when you have that brilliant logic.

Source: TPM

Cheney As Bill Buckner

Dick Cheney, and the Bush Administration et al, like to brag about how there has not been an attack in 7 years since 9/11. Nevermind that the only attack EVER happened on their watch.

Do you see Bill Buckner bragging how he has not let another ball between his legs in the 6th game of a World Series?

It happened. The consequences are historic. Your connection with that event are forever linked. Just like Bill let the ball go between his legs, you let the intel of Bin Laden's attack go in one ear and out the other.

The fact that the near impossible has not happened again has nothing to do with you or your ability.

Unemployment Hits 7.2%, 16-Year High

Bush is good at one thing: destroying everything he touches. Economies, Geneva Conventions, Constitutions. He'll even destroy the English language.

Not satisfied with destroying the US, Iraq and Afghanistan economies, Bush wants to salt the soil for future President Barack Obama by destroying US jobs.

You say it's a 16-year high for joblessness? Well who was President back in 1992? It was his father, Bush 41? So we are bookended in history by the Bush family and record high unemployment. Well done.

The Wimp and the Chimp finally have something in common.

Source: NYT

QB Kurt Warner Draws "His" God

All Pro Quarterback Kurt Warner draws his image of God. Fair play, he's a big God Squad guy and has a faith-based foundation called First Things First Foundation. Not attacking his faith, just pointing out how there's a lack of progression.

Nothing against Kurt's drawing skills, but you can see how trapped he is in an infant's state of mind regarding people's understanding of what God is. It's the kind of thing you have to teach at an early age and drive home. That God has a beard? That he has a body? That I am using the pronoun "he" to describe God?

That's only imagery you would pick up as a child. He is describing God the same he did when he was 5, but now he is a grown man, toured the world, played an aggressive sport, had children, seen people die, I'm assuming he went to school. Absolutely no development into the complexity of his belief structure.

Maybe he was drawing a picture geared toward kids? Maybe, but it's just so symbolic of how a child's mind is programmed to propaganda that you can't escape, even as an adult.

Obama VIDEO: Time To Build 21st Century Economy

Obama: "Time to build the 21st century economy."

The current economic crisis is due to “an era of profound irresponsibility,” Obama said, adding that it is “time to set a new course for this economy, and that change must begin now.”

"It is true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or long-term growth, but at this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe. Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy -- where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending; where an inability to lend and borrow stops growth and leads to even less credit.

"That is why we need to act boldly and act now to reverse these cycles. That's why we need to put money in the pockets of the American people, create new jobs, and invest in our future. That's why we need to re-start the flow of credit and restore the rules of the road that will ensure a crisis like this never happens again."

Bush and his theocrats wish they could back in time, sort of the same way the fundamentalists in the Middle East love 14th century societies. Thanks for nothing.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Source: MSNBC

DRM RIP

The music industry has decided to sell music the way their customers want: untethered and without restrictions. Apple iTunes announced they will be selling music without DRM, digital rights management. It will also sell songs at three prices: 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29.

EMI was the first major to offer music without DRM in 2007.

Trying to control how people rip and burn music was always the paranoia of the labels. Technology was always a few steps ahead of them, and they always choose litigation over adaptation. Copyright owners love to sue.

But look how Youtube unlocked billions of dollars that all those copyright owners sat on for all those years. Old TV shows that never saw the light of day have new life.

In retrospect, the music industry should have exploited Napster and peer-to-peer, instead they shut down what fans liked and spread them across the internet.

Source: WaPo

1.2 Trillion Reasons Republicans Suck

The annual budget deficit Obama will inherit from Bush will be $1.2 trillion.

Republican fiscal responsibility and conservatism at work.

Source: Politico

Atheist Bus Ads In The UK: Me Likes

What would God think of this? And why don't we ask Zeus and Jupiter anymore? The Bronze Age is long gone, so should its' myths.

New Atheist bus ad campaign in the UK, "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life":

"Supported by the scientist and author Richard Dawkins [pictured below], the philosopher A. C. Grayling and the British Humanist Association, among others, the campaign raised nearly $150,000 in four days. Now it has more than $200,000, and on Tuesday it unveiled its advertisements on 800 buses across Britain."

Remember, it's "freedom of religion" that's in the laws, but not "freedom FROM religion".



Source: NYT

Colbert And Colmes

Alan Colmes joins Stephen Colbert.

"Hamburger you're good"

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Colbert and Colmes - Roland Burris Appointment

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Cheney: Still Dead Wrong, Now With Myoptic Hindsight

Is it the job of the Vice President to deceive the Country? Is it his job to put exclamation points where there should be question marks? Dick Cheney changed "WMD?" into "WMD!"

In an interview with CBS "Face the Nation" on Sunday morning, Cheney continued to offer a stout defense of the Bush legacy in Iraq, even though like other administration officials he conceded problems with WMD intelligence.

"The original intelligence was wrong, no question about it," Cheney said on the show. "But there were parts of it that were right. It wasn't 100 percent wrong. It was correct in saying he had the technology. It was correct in saying he still had the people who knew how to build weapons of mass destruction. I think it was also correct in the assessment that once sanctions came off, he would go back to doing what he had been doing before."

"Where it was wrong was said he had stockpiles, and he clearly didn't," Cheney said. "So the intelligence was flawed."

Funny, I remember Hans Blix and all the weapons inspectors saying there was no WMD.

Once you stop looking at Iraq as a place that had WMD and we just have not found them, and instead, look at it as a country that NEVER had them and Bush Inc made it all up, you see the war for what it is.

Source: Politico

Why Are Conservatives So Liberal About Who They Kill?

Michael Goldfarb, conservative writer for the Weekly Standard and former John McCain aide, commenting on how Israelis killed a Hamas leader, his wives, and his 12 children.

"The fight against Islamic radicals always seems to come around to whether or not they can, in fact, be deterred, because it's not clear that they are rational, at least not like us. But to wipe out a man's entire family, it's hard to imagine that doesn't give his colleagues at least a moment's pause. Perhaps it will make the leadership of Hamas rethink the wisdom of sparking an open confrontation with Israel under the current conditions."

Goldfarb is pretty much endorsing deliberate military attacks against innocent civilians, embracing collateral damage.

As Matt Yglesias explained:

"To be clear, [Goldfarb's] not saying that it's sometimes okay to kill a bad guy's innocent children as part of a military operation directed against the guy. He's saying it's better to kill his children than it would be to avoid killing them."

Adding:

"the ethics of Osama bin Laden being explicitly adopted by the organs of mainstream conservatism."

Neoconservatives want it both ways: the use of lethal force against civilians and the selective perception of whose lethal force is morally objectionable. As with torture, not only is it reprehensible, it's also wrong.

Source: Washington Monthly

You Lost The Money, Can't Explain How, But Want More Money

Jay Smooth breaks down our economic crisis. The same people who lost the money, who don't know how and couldn't see it coming, need more of our money, FAST!

On voting for Obama:

"This is the time for a nerd we can believe it."

Source: http://www.illdoctrine.com/