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A Christmas Wish …

To everyone at Politic 101 …
Christmas wishes.

😉

347 replies on “A Christmas Wish …”

I just realised, last night I was dreaming about American Politics and getting the 60 senate seat. Aahhhhhh! It’s getting into my head.

Woah! This is big. They are ignoring Davids advice with the weather. What’s wrong with them!

Following Last Friday’s fatal accident, CBS Affiliate WOIO reported that Connell, who had recently been subpoenaed to testify in relation to a lawsuit alleging vote rigging in the 2004 Ohio election, was warned at least twice about flying his plane because his plane might be sabotaged.

Quoting an anonymous close friend of Connell’s, WOIO correspondent Blake Chenault also reported that twice in the past two months Connell, who was an experienced pilot, canceled flights because of suspicious problems with his plane.

Lots more…
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/23/national/main4684431.shtml

Here for you DG is the other side of the coin so to speak.
You love them so much.

The following table contains all state and federal American politicians killed in plane crashes since 1980, and a few others who suffered similar incidents. If you notice errors or omissions please email me.

http://mindprod.com/politics/asbestos.html

Oops….
Sorry Spammy, I accidentally deleted your last post along with the REAL spam!
I had just read it and was looking forward to checking the Rude Pundit site.
Anyway,
A very happy and merry Christmas to one and all.

Megan
It was mine.

Mornin all
and as the rude pundit would say;

Happy Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanzaa/Ba’al’s Sodomize-Your-Neighbor Day/Whatever.

As we count down the days until the Idiot Decider leaves office, we have to be subjected to his bleatings:

“the biggest regret of all the presidency has to have been the intelligence failure in Iraq.”

…while the populace’s biggest regret is the “intelligence failure” that occupied the Oval Office for eight long years!

Soon. Very soon, he will be just a bad, (as in nightmare!) memory.

Merry Xmas again. It’s good to have a distraction on the way to the 20th of January. The nightmare will soon be over.

Is the Kansas governor considering a run for the U.S. Senate?

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ decision not to seek a job in Washington fuels speculation that she’s planning to run for the Senate in 2010. Kansas Democratic Party Chairman Larry Gates says, “I think it’s absolutely back on the table.”

Sebelius isn’t giving any hints about her plans.

more..
http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/16260

She was mentioned repeatedly as a potential Cabinet appointee for President-elect Barack Obama.

Minnesota Ruling Nixes U.S. Senate Deadline

A new Minnesota Supreme Court ruling virtually rules out any chance that the outcome of Minnesota’s bitterly contested U.S. Senate race will be decided by Jan. 6 when the new Congress convenes to seat its members.

The state Supreme Court granted an extension Wednesday in the deadline for the review of some 1,600 improperly rejected absentee ballots. The campaigns of incumbent GOP Sen. Norm Coleman, Democratic challenger Al Franken, and local election officials all supported the extension.

Previously, the court ordered local officials to tally the absentee ballots and forward them to state officials by Dec. 31. That schedule theoretically allowed enough time for ballots to be counted, challenges to be considered, and a winner certified by the Jan. 6 deadline. The new schedule does not.

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/minnesota_race_ruling/2008/12/24/165143.html

Just catching up. Christmas greetings welcomed with thanks. All the seasonal best to all ticsters.

Garrison Keillor says it, as usual, better than most:

A few weeks ago a pundit wrote about what a wonderful thing it would be to appoint Bill Clinton to the Senate to fill his wife’s seat, him being a former president and all, and then that idea vanished. Bloop. I imagine Bill called up a few people and said, “Whom are you kidding?” When a man can jet around the world and be received as a potentate and knock down a hundred grand every time he feels like giving a speech, he is not going to want to sit in the Senate chamber and hear old men drone on about Arbor Day and the crucial role of the forest products industry.

I feel the same way about Christmas parties. It isn’t fun to stand around making small talk with other people’s friends as they anesthetize themselves. But slipping into St. Patrick’s for Mass in Spanish is pretty wonderful. It’s like a big family reunion at which I know nobody and so nobody is mad at me. Nothing said in Spanish offends me doctrinally or any other way. I squeeze into the crowd, under the placid stone faces of saints, the sweet smell of burning wax and a hundred varieties of cologne, and feel the religious fervor, and tears come to my eyes, and I light a candle, say a wordless prayer, and out into the cold I go.

It brought back memories of Christmas Eve in Copenhagen 20 years ago and how beautiful the sermons were before I started learning Danish.

A man gets a keener sense of the divine in a church that is not your own. Maybe Luther and Calvin and Jan Hus and all them were dead wrong and literacy is not the key nor an understanding of Scripture, and maybe the essence of Christmas is dumb childlike wonder and the more you think about it, the less you understand. Which makes me glad I am no smarter than I am. Let’s go have lunch.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/keillor/2008/12/24/christmas/

Could we be reading what the pope said in the wrong context?
I am not into gay bashing but you know there could be something in the reference by the pope to gays ruining the world.
I followed a few links embedded in my link at 104.

http://mindprod.com/politics/asbestos.html

A couple of links had some mind blowing revelations if they are for real.

They are part of the middle column of the 2005 death of Gregory Stevens.

The particular links are in the middle column and are;

“entertain” you end up here;

http://www.libertythink.com/
From the entertain link go half way down the page to a story called;
The White House Bordello: The Gay Whorehouse from Texas

and
“Gannongate” you end up here;

http://mindprod.com/ggloss/gannongate.html

The Gannongate link is to a “Wiki” type page giving a resume on John Gannon.

Given that the US is in the ditch and the imbecile is on watch, if these stories are true then the pope could be right.
Mind you the imbecile is responsible for what has happened whether he is straight or gay.

Excellent reading on a lazy afternoon post “xmas pud”

Warning !!!!!!!!!!!
David Gould do not go there.
Where there’s smoke there’s fire and burnin condoms give off smoke.

And now, for something completely different, (in a way only the Brits could manage):

Channel 4 has opted to end the year on a controversial note by inviting the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to give the broadcaster’s alternative Christmas message tomorrow.

…well it’ll be more interesting than Her Madge droning on, that’s for sure! LOL

CHRISTMAS SHOCK: Australian government to trial P2P filters

The Rudd government didn’t tell voters before the election, but now it has revealed it will filter illegal P2P transfers at a government level as part of its ISP filtering plan.

One of the many trenchant criticisms of the proposed Australian Internet filter is that in its originally proposed form, it didn’t include anything other than Web-based content. The government solution to that quandary? Add P2P to the list of the content types that the still-murky filter systems will have to try and sort through.

Since releasing its murky and contradictory guidelines for ISPs participating in filtering trials, the Federal Government has been largely silent on the issues surrounding the filter, despite widespread public protests over the event. In the past week, however, more details have emerged, albeit largely due to pressure from elsewhere.

On the somewhat derided governmental blog, broadband minister Senator Stephen Conroy revealed that the trial was expected to include a variety of platforms, including peer-to-peer content. “Technology that filters peer-to-peer and BitTorrent traffic does exist and it is anticipated that the effectiveness of this will be tested in the live pilot trial,” Conroy wrote. Conroy did not identify any such technology, and it is not mentioned in the briefing documents on the proposal.

No Christmas cheer as recession gathers steam

The U.S. recession began last December and data from the Commerce Department confirmed analyst expectations that output shrank at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in the third quarter as consumption and investment slumped.

Conditions are expected to get much worse before they get better, with the economy predicted to shrink by as much as 6 percent in the fourth quarter and keep declining for the next six months before a tepid recovery takes hold later in 2009.

“We are in the midst of the worst recession in the post-war period, even factoring in a massive stimulus program,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.

Housing is at the heart of the problem and existing home sales plunged a record 8.6 percent in November to a 4.49 million-unit annual rate, while a separate new homes sales report showed they retreated at a slower 2.9 percent pace.

The median existing home price fell 13.2 percent on an annual basis, down for a fifth straight month to $181,300.

It was the largest drop since the current data series began in 1968 and probably the largest since the Great Depression, said Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

Times are tough when the corporate jet market collapses! Earlier in the year they were lining up to slap down half a million deposit on new Gulf Streams, and now you could almost give them away.

Times are definitely tough.

Electoral-vote.com:

Bush Grants Then Revokes a Pardon

On Dec. 23 President Bush pardoned Isaac Toussie, who had defrauded low-income home buyers, then on Dec. 24 he revoked the pardon. It is a bit early to tell how this will play out, but suppose Toussie goes to federal court to claimed “once a pardonee, always a pardonee” and loses. In other words, supposes the courts rule that if President’s have to power to pardon, they also have the power to revoke a pardon. That could have implications if President Bush pardons members of his administration on his last day in office and then incoming President Barack Obama revokes the pardons. This is definitely uncharted territory.

Third World People Visit the U.S. for Bargains

Middle and Upper class Mexicans are now doing their Christmas shopping in the U.S. because it is cheaper than in Mexico. If you go back 10, 20, 30 years, Americans travelled around the world to poor countries looking for bargains. Now the economy is in such bad straights that it looks attractive to people from a genuine third world country. Clearly things are moving in the wrong direction.

Peer to peer filters. Looks like more of the same.

EANTC invited 28 vendors of P2P filtering products to participate in the evaluation. The group included all of the established players and market leaders – Allot Communications (Nasdaq: ALLT), Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), Ellacoya Networks (recently acquired by Arbor Networks Inc. ), F5 Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: FFIV), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. , Narus Inc. , and Sandvine Inc. (London: SAND; Toronto: SVC) – as well as a host of lesser known startups. One invitee, Packeteer Inc. (Nasdaq: PKTR), did not respond to the invitation. Another, Juniper Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: JNPR), responded that it did not sell a specialized P2P filter appropriate for the test – which is surprising and noteworthy in and of itself.

The test campaign took more than six months, from April to October 2007, and participation was free – EANTC, Internet Evolution, and SNEP footed the bill. Various ground rules were established to ensure both a fair playing field for all the participants, and to ensure that the best possible results were achieved by the equipment being evaluated. For example, vendors were encouraged to have their own product engineers present to set up their equipment, monitor the test process, and tune their devices as necessary.

Nevertheless, of the 28 vendors invited, only five agreed to take part, and only under the condition that if they didn’t like their results they could withdraw from the test and not be included in this report. In the event, three vendors chose to exercise their right of veto because each of their results were – ummm… how to put this? – “not perfect” for various reasons.

more..
http://www.internetevolution.com/document.asp?doc_id=148803

The whole Internet filtering issue runs contrary to the principles on which the Internet was built. Nothing was to be censored and access for everyone.

Logic tells me that the Peer to Peer network would work the same way as the general firewall with all the same problems.

Coleman suffers setback in court.

State Supreme Court decision keeps disputed ballots in the vote count for now, but Coleman’s lawyers are vowing to press on.

A state Supreme Court ruling Wednesday narrowed the options available for Sen. Norm Coleman to erase a slim lead held by DFLer Al Franken in the Minnesota election dispute, and Coleman’s campaign threatened a court battle that could leave the Senate seat vacant for a month.

The Supreme Court denied a bid by the Coleman campaign to prevent local and state canvassing boards from tallying votes that the incumbent says may have been counted twice. Most of the votes at issue are from DFL strongholds.

Colman seems to be loosing at every turn. More…
http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/36692169.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU

Minnesota Seat May Be Empty When Senate Meets in January.

Developments Tuesday and Wednesday in Minnesota point to a delay of at least a couple more weeks in resolving the state’s still-undecided Senate contest between Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and challenger Al Franken, the well-known comic entertainer and longtime Democratic Party activist.

That means it is now increasingly likely that only 99 senators will be sworn in when the 111th Congress convenes Jan. 6, with that Minnesota seat remaining vacant at least until Minnesota officials certify a winner. A further delay is possible if the candidate deemed the loser protests the outcome in the courts or in the Senate itself.With the Democrats already assured of effective control of at least 58 seats as the result of a confirmed gain of seven in the November elections, a state certification of a victory by Franken could lead to a prompt effort to swear him in. But unless Coleman were to concede and forswear any further contests of the outcome, the Republican Senate minority would almost certainly contest such an action.

more..
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000003000851

That’s what happens when the blind are leading the blind, Kirri. Have not seen footage of Ray stompin’ both of his feet simultaneously before. And what a cool jacket!
The two stars were having a marvelous time of it.

“A boy is born in hard time Mississippi
Surrounded by four walls that ain’t so pretty
His parents give him love and affection
To keep him strong moving in the right direction
Living just enough, just enough for the city…ee ha!

His father works some days for fourteen hours
And you can bet he barely makes a dollar
His mother goes to scrub the floor for many
And you’d best believe she hardly gets a penny
Living just enough, just enough for the city…yeah

His sister’s black but she is sho ’nuff pretty
Her skirt is short but Lord her legs are sturdy
To walk to school she’s got to get up early
Her clothes are old but never are they dirty
Living just enough, just enough for the city………..”

Stevie Wonder

Obama and peeved progressives.

CAN YOU HEAR the grumbling over in what Howard Dean used to call “the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party?” The tolerance-and-diversity crowd is upset with Barack Obama; it seems the president-elect has been bringing people into his circle who don’t agree with them on every single issue.

The consternation on the left began with the naming of Obama’s national security team – Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, Robert Gates to continue as secretary of defense, and retired four-star General James Jones as national security adviser. “Barack Obama’s Kettle of Hawks,” they were promptly dubbed in the Guardian by the left-wing journalist Jeremy Scahill, “with a proven track record of support for the Iraq war [and] militaristic interventionism.” How could Obama possibly keep his campaign promise “to end the mindset that got us into war,” asked the editor of The Nation, when none of his top foreign policy/national security picks had opposed the war?

We still haven’t seen who has chosen as Internet czar. As long as they are a progressive and not someone who will censor the Internet.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/12/24/obama_and_peeved_progressives/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed7

First it’s “Save it on the Bossa Nova” and now our Stevie & Ray…..just what the doctor ordered for the post -Xmas stupor 🙂

The Turdblossom Xmas pearler of the year;

What we’ve got to worry about some of these sort of goofy, pie-in-the-sky spending ideas in which this wisdom of the government is substituted for the wisdom of private individuals in the market, and there we have every right to question. For example, look, I’m in favor of infrastructure spending, but let’s be honest about it. It’s not stimulative. […]

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/115267/
Video

Gaffy, the collective “wisdom of private individuals in the market” is equivalent to the collective IQ of a herd of sheep headed for the abattoir, as we have just seen demonstrated on a MASSIVE scale, and yet these clapped out old ideologues like Karl Rove don’t seem to get the irony of their trotting out these worn old shibboleths at every opportunity.

It’s over Rover, it’s the end of Captalism 1.0 and it crashed, largely due to the sloppy theorising and worse regulation you and your lot instigated from Ronnie’s time until now. Until, or should I say ‘if’, Federal spending can drag your sorry arses out of dire recession or worse, it would be a good time to skulk off and reflect on the misery and waste your lot has managed to disperse all over the globe.

Viagra as a Weapon against Terrorism

OK, this is not directly political news, but it is a slow news day and the story was too good to pass up. The CIA is using Viagra as a weapon for fighting terrorism in Afghanistan. The CIA has operatives in Afghanistan who are trying to sign up elderly local chieftains to rat on local terrorists. The traditional ways to encourage cooperation are to give the chieftains guns or cash. The problem is that the guns often fall into the wrong hands and cash quickly gets spent on fancy toys that signal to everyone in the area that the chieftain has a rich new friend (which they realize is the CIA), making the chieftain now useless as an information source. The little blue pills don’t leave any tell-tale signs behind and the chieftain often wants more–which he can get in trade for information the CIA wants. It is a win-win proposition.

more.. 😆
http://www.electoral-vote.com

If the CIA gave the prisoners at Guantanamo Viagra, would that be torture or cruel and unusual punishment?

Maybe if females were allowed into Guantanamo and Viagra was provided the Americans would get all the useful information they wanted. #145 shows the Americans are starting to use there brains. But don’t tell the fundies about it.

It reminds me of how they disbanded the Black September movement. A terrorist organisation. The leadership group brought in each terrorist and told him they had a special mission for them. The mission was that they had to marry this very pretty agent. All of them accepted the mission. Everyone of them settle down with their agents and had families. Five years or so later the leaders decided to test the terrorists. They gave them a bombing mission. Everyone of those terrorists refused the mission. Why? They all had something to live for, a pretty wife and a family.

144

Ike sure got that right Ecky, and he would no doubt have been shocked to see what it has metastasized into in the 21st century. They clearly did NOT heed his warning, but instead let it spread its tentacles all over the world and not always for their own long term security.

As a nation they behave like adolescents all too frequently, quick to use the fists and slow to show maturity. They are P plate drivers in a V8, and all too often the outcome is not pretty for themselves, nor the bystanders.

David Marr, tongue firmly in cheek, gives His Pointy Hatness a tick for effort:

At a time when the Rudd Government can only muster the courage to promise 15 per cent cuts in emissions if, maybe, other countries sign up too, the Catholic Church is setting out on a campaign against global warming at least as determined as its historic mission to stamp out gays. Expect a couple of millenniums of persecution. Even burnings. Don’t rule out coal miners being refused Communion.

SMH

Yes, Kirri, we touched a little base on the topic earlier this year. If you havn’t caught the film “Good Night and Good Luck” it’s a dead-set pearler. That Ike clip makes a “special guest appearance”.

Chris, what’s this I hear about Uncle Sammy having a hard-on for Democracy; is this what Bush The Imbecile means when he says: “We’re coming……….and we will not rest(de-tumesce?) till yer country is free”, like some sorta low-rent Imperial Onanist urging the practice of widespread Persian Bukake?
Anyway, the notion of pushing diamond-cutter pills to opium war lords and their minions is not without attendant irony. Redolent with it, as a matter of fact.

Ecky, how does it feel I wonder, viagra and opium? Brings a new level of meaning to “chasing the dragon”, huh?

Ah, Kirri, Grasshopper once advised: “Ride the Dragon, don’t fight it”. A significant number of selfless “Perception Analysts” would chase a long time for the viagra/opium rush. An interesting cocktail, indeed. Perhaps one should mention lest any kiddies be browsing blog;

“Kids, do not try this at home!”

Pity we havn’t got Burroughs and Thompson around to explore the nuances of the pharmacological and phantasmagorical parameters of the V/O experience, then report the endeavours of their research to grateful global degenerates.

Reckon the O would dominate response though. Testers would end up lying around scratching themselves, tormented by visions of unrequited lust.

The trouble is if the give it to the Pakistani soldiers and Indian soldiers it will increase the tension along the border. 😈

For Obama, huge challenges vs. big assets
President-elect must decide which major issues to tackle first.

Barack Obama will inherit two wars and the worst economic conditions in three generations when he takes the oath of office on Jan. 20. Ironically, that challenge might be a blessing for the president-elect — unemployment is so high and consumer confidence so low that even modest improvements will let him claim progress.

Obama also brings extraordinary assets to the task.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28390824/

Americans admire Obama most, poll finds
Bush, McCain follow; Hillary Clinton tops Palin, Winfrey among women.

President-elect Barack Obama is the man Americans say they admire most in the world, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll published Friday.

Thirty two percent of those questioned said Obama was the man they most admired compared with 5 percent for President George W. Bush who came in second. Defeated Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain came in third with 3 percent.

With this popularity, Obama can completely outflank the Republicans over the next four years. The will have absolutely nowhere to go. Unlike Bush Obama will use it for good and not evil.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28391268/

personally I’d much rather they gave the soldiers valium than viagra – I suspect a lack of virility is not the problem!

Who’s Who on Obama’s Dream Team
Remember These Faces: A Look at Picks, Top Contenders for Obama Administration.

On Jan. 20, President-elect Barack Obama inherits a nation that is in financial turmoil and waging wars on two fronts overseas, which makes a quick, smooth transition imperative.

Obama has been working hard to select his Cabinet and administration.

The balloons had barely settled in Chicago’s Grant Park on election night before Obama got down to business in picking his team. Some believe President Clinton handicapped himself in his first year by not moving quickly enough during the transition period. Clinton did not select his chief of staff, Leon Panetta, until days before his inauguration.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/President44/story?id=6297764&page=1

Kirri
How does this stack up for a con theory?
More weird stuff in the Madhoff episode.

The Madoff Double Bluff

Rather than saying this hedge fund has gone bust, due to its choice of investment assets and investment methologies, a scenario which is highly probable in the current financial paradigm, since all the professionals are predicting that at least 30% of all hedge funds are about to fail, more than 700 of them, the CEO chooses to fess up to fraud. If the CEO admits the fund has gone bust, then all those wealthy members of the Jewish community get nothing, but if the CEO admits to fraud they get their money back as compensation from the US tax payer, just as they are also drawing money back from the tax payers with the other hand.

And, as can be seen at the Daily Mail link above, the investors in this fund only get to litigate the fund directors against Lloyds insurers in London for even more compensation. Done properly the compensation could end up paying out far more than the original fund returns (yes this is sarcasm, it was bound to creep in eventually in yet another swindle like this).

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11488

Yeah, I did come across some mention of the fact that there’s some tax benefits if the investment was ‘stolen’ effectively, but I suspect it would only accrue to those who still have income, and for those who got totally stiffed…well, stiff luck, as they say.

We’re going to get years of Madoff stories, I’d reckon.

Nothing could be weirder than the two autobiographies/report cards/self appraisals i just tried to stomach. FFS!

There is an old saying that a judge is a law student who marks his own exam papers. Offhand i do not know who it is attributed to.

I tried to read these report cards sponsored by the imbecile and his neocon mates. I browsed to about page 19 and felt like i wanted to go for a technicolour yawn so gave up. What a joke they are playing on the population of the USA.

The White House has published two lengthy reports, “Highlights of Accomplishments and Results of the Administration of George W. Bush,” and “100 Things Americans May Not Know About the Bush Administration Record” in an attempt to change the emerging historical consensus about a failed presidency.

First one;

“I’ve been witness to the character of the people of America, who have shown calm in times of danger, compassion for one another, and toughness for the long haul. All of us have been partners in a great enterprise.”

—President George W. Bush
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/bushrecord/documents/legacybooklet.pdf

Second one;
“100 THINGS AMERICANS MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION RECORD.”

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/bushrecord/documents/appendix_acc_for_web.pdf

Ten standout political events for 2008; 5 of each worst and best.

2008: The Worst and Best

The Worst
5. “Just say no.” Republican Senators Block Critical Legislation: The 110th Congress saw Republican Senators invoke cloture motions – to limit debate and head off filibusters – a record 138 times, more than double the previous ignominious standard. The do-nothing GOP killed legislation with broad support – bills that had already passed in the House of Representatives – including renewable energy tax credits, a windfall profits tax on oil companies, negotiations with drug companies over Medicare drug prices, DC voting rights, and withdrawal from Iraq. As a result Republicans lost eight Senate seats in the general election.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/2008-The-Worst-and-Best-by-Bob-Burnett-081226-502.html

One for all the bookworms when you are looking for a book to read in the new year.
I have not read it DG but the review makes it sound interesting.

Many readers of this review may now be rushing off to declare Baker either profoundly insane or (probably in fewer cases) indisputably correct in his views regarding the removal of Kennedy and Nixon from the White House, but I would strongly urge reading the book before doing so. It’s called “Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It In The White House, And What Their Influence Means for America.”

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Did-Bush-Sr-Kill-Kennedy-by-David-Swanson-081226-372.html

Looks like Franken may now be first over the line. Just the court challenges to follow.

In what may very well be the death knell for Norm Coleman’s time in the U.S. Senate, the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously dismissed one of his last legal objections to the recount process.

In a five-to-zero decision, the court rejected a Coleman campaign lawsuit that sought to block the course of the recount due to concerns that some ballots had been counted twice. It was the Minnesota Republican’s last legal angle for making up the 47-vote deficit he currently faces against Al Franken

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/24/supreme-court-rules-on-mi_n_153383.html

After their self appraisal of 100 good things they have done for America the imbecile is hell bent on introducing another 100 pieces of legislation in his last 100 days which will help to God Bless fuck America.

“George Bush is behaving like a furious defaulter whose home is about to be repossessed. Smashing the porcelain, ripping the doors off their hinges, he is determined that there will be nothing worth owning by the time the bastards kick him out.”–George Monbiot, The Guardian, 11/25/08

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Bu-hWorld-The-End-Game-by-Mick-Youther-081227-677.html

Gaffy, dig Monbiot’s featuring G.W. Imbecile as a bad tenant who phonied his way into upmarket digs with bodgie references and is presently awaiting democracy’s bailiffs……. with bad attitude and mauvaise foi.
Apparently Austin Removals have successfully tendered for the job as unfortunately, a certain onsite demanagements specialist was compelled to terminate his international franchises due to ongoing “economic uncertainties”.
Anyhow, since we’re on about abodes………

Why get all tense about home heating costs?

Have you actively considered passive housing?

Here’s a great way to save on fuel, diminish your carbon footprint and say FU to Big C ……. all by the simple act of dwelling.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/world/europe/27house.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Tues Dec 25: (reprise)
http://news.yahoo.com/edcartoons/bensargent;_ylt=AvZrPAIZcakyaKYYdn3eUlTV.i8C

Wed Dec 26:
http://news.yahoo.com/edcartoons/tomtoles;_ylt=AiylD5uLqiXehhm6p3WUCKLV.i8C

Thurs Dec 27:
http://news.yahoo.com/edcartoons/doonesbury;_ylt=At._sRi4KKU8nZS19Fe8N5cl6ysC

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/64576

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/64624

Bless a prez, bash the gays. All in a day’s work really for a money-sucking preacher man delivering HIS interpretation of the message of god’s love.
BHO’s imprimatur to sexual bigotry will go global on inauguration day; Pastor Rick Warren doth gird his loins in anticipation. Praise the lord! Switch on yer home plasma to Big Sky channel. Now lay yer hands on that suckah and pray!
Excellent, now send yer once in a lifetime donantion* to the evangelical Saddleback megachurch and yer salvation will be assured.
http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/64640

http://andrejkoymasky.com/mem/holocaust/03/pinktr.jpg

* all major credit cards accepted

Ecky, the passive house article was a day or so after the news that Seppos were busy buying coal burners for their houses once again, after years of decline: cheap and dirty. Wow, save 40% on your heating with a pile of black stuff delivered to your door. OK, a bit messier than the usual fuels, but hey, it’s recession, and Seppos are learning to get their hands dirty again.

Beats burning the furniture I suppose!

No doubt they’ll be getting some curbside models going too, for the homeless and unemployed to huddle around. By next winter the unemployment rate could be tipping double digits and a dozen or more states will have declared bankruptcy.

Yep, it’s going to be some sight, Arnie goes to Washington on his knees begging for a bailout for California. Well why not? If Detroit can get one, why not the sunshine state? Meanwhile, he’s stubbornly refusing to pass the Democrat’s bill to actually raise some taxes…it’s just NOT the American way (read Republican). So guess who gets it in the neck first?

Yep, the unemployed, the uninsured, the cripple and the lame will have every last state service pulled out from underneath them, refused medical care and left to rot.

Now, that’s the American Way.

wonder how long before they start eating each other Kirri!
How the fuck could this happen in one of the wealthiest nations on earth?? The degree of squandering and stupidity is utterly incomprehensible. Sadly- we are probably deserving of what we get in all of this.

It’s like an end of year sale: Eartha, Pinter and now the great cultural warrior supremo, Samuel Huntington. And we’ve still got 3 days to go!

If Huntington had held on another day he could have caught the most recent episode of shooting fish in a barrel, the Jewish/Arab version they do in Gaza. “You lob some crappy homemade rockets our way, and maybe kill one or two of ours, or sometimes yours, and we come over with jets and beat the crap out of you. That should make you more peaceful”.

Huntington would no doubt have seen this as further proof that we are all headed to hell in a handbasket, and sadly, I feel compelled to agree.

Pink Mist Engulfs Gaza:

Peace on earth and goodwill to all. And of course, Happy Hanukkah.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/27/israel-launches-air-strik_n_153664.html

Warplanes, Lockheed Peacemakers, are made in the U.S.A and distributed to selected client-states only.
Palestinians don’t have an Air Force as such, but like young David, a shared common ancestor with Israelis, plenty of slings and shangais.
Shame about the collateral damage but smart bombs like education, have been systematically dumbed down as profits from the arms trade have escalated.

Israle’s attack is interesting in it’s timing, no? One more dirty job Bush wanted to tick off before he gets chucked out?

Jen, we ain’t seen NUTHIN’ yet, as they say. It will get seriously much worse long before it ever (if) gets better. I’d expect a head fake in 12 months or so, but the real sting in the long tail of the decline of the USSA will be massive inflation that takes off down the track. If you think Zimbabwe looks awful, just wait.

Like someone trying to do a fuel reduction burn off, Bernanke is desperately trying to get some inflation going to halt the deflation, but when the wind picks up he’ll have NO chance of controlling it.

The richest nation on earth? Yeah, like Alan Bond or Chrissy Skase, the “wealth” was increasingly on borrowed money and it only took a little breeze to capsize the boat. It’s going to take a generation at least for the USA to save, to pay down some debt, reduce its mindless and compulsive consumption, and begin producing things the world wants in large enough volume to pay its way.

On second thoughts, make that two generations!

Kirri- I tell people who are trying to spout the nonsense that this is all a self-fulfilling talk down by the media that people such as you who have been avid and informed observers of the economic situation are predicting utterly dire outcomes that we can’t even fathom. None so blind…
It’s a bit like the argument that global warming will only hurt the developing world and that because of our wealth we will be protected.
Denial is comforting in the short term I guess, but tends to leave one illprepared. I’m planting vegies..

News from the Votemaster
GOP Primed for Internal Battles

David Broder points out that while normally the secretary of transportation in not a key cabinet member, the new one, Rep. Ray LaHood, may have a problem on his hands. A large piece of the stimulus bill deals with roads, bridges, and other items that fall under his department, so he is the point man for them. His problem is that the stimulus bill is likely to be opposed by the (southern) congressional Republicans, which puts him in direct conflict with his former colleagues. By reaching out to a moderate Republican like LaHood, President-elect Obama may have (inadvertently?) attempted to drive a wedge between the few remaining congressional moderates and the southern core of the party.

more here….
http://www.electoral-vote.com

New rule prompts fears of guns at inauguration.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and gun control groups are concerned that some visitors attending President-elect Obama’s inauguration may try to pack heat because of a rule allowing concealed weapons in national parks.

The Bush administration recently altered federal regulations to allow people with permits to carry concealed firearms while in national parks if the park falls within a state or district that allows concealed weapons.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/new-rule-prompts-fears-of-guns-at-inauguration-2008-12-27.html

Ideology steers RNC chairman race.

A battle for the soul of the Republican Party has spilled over into the contest for national committee chairman, as conservative members are prodding candidates to shift their way.

Now that the presidential campaign is over and the congressional leadership elections are settled, conservative activists are turning to the race for chairman as their next chance to shape the party.

Already, one candidate has come under fire for his association with a centrist organization, while a group of prominent RNC members is set to put others through an exhaustive test of their personal conservatism.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/ideology-steers-rnc-chairman-race-2008-12-27.html

After Bush, will MoveOn live up to its name?

After more than a decade spent railing against the Republican machine, MoveOn wants to move on —even if it means leaving some of its high-minded ideals behind.

Last week, the group’s members chose their top four priorities for the organization, winnowed down from a top-10 list culled from 50,000 suggestions. The decisions they weighed would determine in large part whether the group would become a friend or foe of the Obama administration, a player or a gadfly in progressive politics, a piece of the Democratic machine or a thorn in the party’s side.

What they chose: universal health care; economic recovery and job creation; building a green economy; stopping climate change; and end the war in Iraq.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16822.html

GOP Official Blasted for Distributing Obama ‘Magic Negro’ CD.

One of the Republican Party’s best-known operatives is under fire for distributing a CD containing the spoof song “Barack the Magic Negro” as part of a campaign to be elected chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Chip Saltsman, 40, sent out a mailing to RNC members that contained a CD of political songs by conservative satirist Paul Shanklin, according to The Politico.

Saltsman was Mike Huckabee’s campaign manager during the former Arkansas governor’s 2008 run for president, but is now facing the condemnation of his party. Current RNC Chairman Mike Duncan blasted Saltsman’s comments in a statement released Saturday, according to The Politico.

They can’t help themselves can they? 😈
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/27/gop-blasts-magic-negro-cd-distributed-republican-operative/

Obama and daughters cause stir on Hawaii outing.

Barack Obama, trying to enjoy the last semblance of normal life before he becomes U.S. president on January 20, caused a commotion when he took his daughters to a shopping mall in Hawaii on Friday.

It made for a surreal scene — the president-elect, daughters Malia, 7, and Sasha, 10 and family friends eating at a table at the mall watched by a crowd of onlookers and surrounded by anxious-looking Secret Service agents.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/burningIssues/idUKTRE4BQ06I20081228

It looks like the election saved the US economy.

Spending Doubled as Obama Led Billion-Dollar Campaign.

Barack Obama surpassed all other presidential rivals in a record-setting 2008 U.S. election campaign that generated $1.7 billion in spending by candidates.

Campaign spending was more than double that of four years ago, the candidates’ Federal Election Commission filings show.

In capturing the presidency, Obama, 47, became the first major-party nominee to reject federal funding for the general election. He spent $740.6 million, eclipsing the combined $646.7 million that Republican President George W. Bush and Democratic nominee John Kerry spent four years earlier. Obama accounted for 44 percent of the money spent by the 2008 candidates.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=anLDS9WWPQW8&refer=home

Brown vows new alliance with Obama.

Gordon Brown will today use his New Year message to broker a new “coalition for change” with Barack Obama on the economy, the environment and the war on terrorism.

In an attempt to make a decisive break from the Blair-Bush era of transatlantic diplomacy, the Prime Minister sets out the terms for the new special relationship with the president-elect ahead of his inauguration next month.

Despite the global economic storm, Britain and the US will work closely on tackling climate change, including a successor to the Kyoto Protocol at next year’s Copenhagen summit, Mr Brown says in his traditional turn-of-the-year address.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brown-vows-new-alliance-with-obama-1213840.html

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