I have a Google alert set up for "read my lipstick" and for "read my lipstick network". Today's batch included nothing but Read My Lipstick Network member blogs. I thought you'd like to see that your blog is being "caught" by Google... at least when there's a Google alert set up. Not sure how you're doing in the rankings on search and not sure why Google chose the following few blogs out of the 100 plus members to "grab". It's a weird thing with Google. I will post a blog with "Read My Lipstick Network" in it two or three times (like this one) and it won't show up in the Google alerts. Ever. Then it'll pick up one that has Read My Lipstick Network on the link list on the sidebar. No rhyme or reason. No logic. Just Googlenomics.
JMac Politics: More National News on Underfunded Defined Benefits
By Fayette Front Page.com
Proud Member of the Read My Lipstick Network. Get a once-daily email of the day's posts! Enter your email address: ... Read My Lipstick Network. 16 Followers View All Manage. My Blog List. Go Sarah!! Unification... 23 minutes ago ...JMac Politics - http://jmacpolitics.blogspot.com/
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year-Dem Style « Blacknright’s Weblog
Laptop America · Lipstick Underground · Looking For George · Marantha 777 · Missional Thoughts · Moms in the Right · Nancy Goldfarb · New Family Search · Peach Girl Politics · Pink Elephant Blog · Read My Lipstick · Smart Girl Politics ...Blacknright's Weblog - http://blacknright.wordpress.com/
Our World As We See It
By DD2 aka Debonair Dude
Subscribe to: Comment Feed (RSS). NeoCounter. Get the NeoCounter widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Read My Lipstick. Read My Lipstick. Welcome To. Our World As We See It. Smart People (122). Follow this blog ...Our World As We See It - http://ourworldasweseeit.blogspot.com/
MAXIMUS POLITICS BLOG: Schwarzenegger Throws State Republicans ...
By Maximus Conservative Majority 2010 · Conservative Republican Majority 2010. 2 weeks ago. Read My Lipstick Print · Asleep At The Wheel. 3 weeks ago. Michael Johns · The False and Dangerous Promises of the Pelosi-Reid-Obama Triumvirate ...MAXIMUS POLITICS BLOG - http://www.maximuspolitics.net/
Lasso of Truth: CHRISTMAS TIME!!
By Tenacious Texan 2 hours ago. Read My Lipstick Network · Sarah Palin, Conservative of the Year (Human Events) PLUS Ann Coulter Comments. 12 hours ago. The New Conservative · Lou Dobbs Show: Global Warming Arrogant. 20 hours ago. Smart Girl Politics ...Lasso of Truth - http://lasso-of-truth.blogspot.com/
Ladyblog » Blog Archive » Things You Learn About Yourself
Read My Lipstick Network Blogroll. Proud Member of the Read My Lipstick Network. « A Very Piquant Christmas · Things You Learn About Yourself. By Marianne Brennan. According to my co-worker, with whom I share my dating woes, ...Ladyblog - http://culture11.com/blogs/ladyblog/
Moms 4 Sarah Palin: Collectivist With The Best Chest Competition!
By Tami Proud Member of the Smart Girl Politics Network! View my page on Smart Girl Politics ... Come Join Us On Facebook! Come Join Us On Facebook! Proud member of the Read My Lipstick Network ...Moms 4 Sarah Palin - http://moms4sarahpalin.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Sarah Palin and Margaret Thatcher
Great article by John O'Sullivan (love the last name). Not so sure I care for the title, but it did catch my attention! Glad I read this one:
Conservative Snobs Are Wrong About Palin
I know Maggie Thatcher. The two women have a lot in common.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122999917373529125.html
By JOHN O'SULLIVAN
Being listed in fourth place for Time magazine's "Person of the Year," as Sarah Palin was for 2008, sounds a little like being awarded the Order of Purity (Fourth Class). But it testifies to something important.
Though regularly pronounced sick, dying, dead, cremated and scattered at sea, Mrs. Palin is still amazingly around. She has survived more media assassination attempts than Fidel Castro has survived real ones (Cuban official figure: 638). In her case, one particular method of assassination is especially popular -- namely, the desperate assertion that, in addition to her other handicaps, she is "no Margaret Thatcher."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122999917373529125.html
Conservative Snobs Are Wrong About Palin
I know Maggie Thatcher. The two women have a lot in common.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122999917373529125.html
By JOHN O'SULLIVAN
Being listed in fourth place for Time magazine's "Person of the Year," as Sarah Palin was for 2008, sounds a little like being awarded the Order of Purity (Fourth Class). But it testifies to something important.
Though regularly pronounced sick, dying, dead, cremated and scattered at sea, Mrs. Palin is still amazingly around. She has survived more media assassination attempts than Fidel Castro has survived real ones (Cuban official figure: 638). In her case, one particular method of assassination is especially popular -- namely, the desperate assertion that, in addition to her other handicaps, she is "no Margaret Thatcher."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122999917373529125.html
Saturday, December 20, 2008
RNC Chair
Here's something that is very telling, at least to me: Top Conservatives on Twitter has a chart (http://topconservativesontwitter.org/index.php/rnc-tech-index) listing the six known candidate's support / involvement on Twitter and Facebook. It shows how many they're following, how many are following them, the ratio, etc.
I believe that we lost this election partially because we didn't take advantage of the Internet. We were dismal when it came to support for our candidates (not just the Prez) on blogs, Facebook, My Space, YouTube, and other similar venues. We were pathetic.
The RNC Chair is going to need to lead in many ways. We need to get out of this rut we're in and we need some bold new leadership. We need to change the image we've let the media paint. The list of things we need to change or do is soooo long it's going to take a special person with a lot of energy, the ability to sell, the talent to organize and get things done. They are going to need to be attractive, not in looks necessarily (although that never hurts) but in the way they're perceived.
They will have to be "up" on the latest technology. When I look at the chart it tells me who is walking the walk. They're all talking the talk. It also tells me the kind of support they're getting from all of the cyber-crowd.
I know the info on the chart is just one light barometer, but it certainly is interesting. I had pretty much settled on one candidate until I saw that chart. Now I'm going to be looking at the rest of the candidates a bit closer.
I believe that we lost this election partially because we didn't take advantage of the Internet. We were dismal when it came to support for our candidates (not just the Prez) on blogs, Facebook, My Space, YouTube, and other similar venues. We were pathetic.
The RNC Chair is going to need to lead in many ways. We need to get out of this rut we're in and we need some bold new leadership. We need to change the image we've let the media paint. The list of things we need to change or do is soooo long it's going to take a special person with a lot of energy, the ability to sell, the talent to organize and get things done. They are going to need to be attractive, not in looks necessarily (although that never hurts) but in the way they're perceived.
They will have to be "up" on the latest technology. When I look at the chart it tells me who is walking the walk. They're all talking the talk. It also tells me the kind of support they're getting from all of the cyber-crowd.
I know the info on the chart is just one light barometer, but it certainly is interesting. I had pretty much settled on one candidate until I saw that chart. Now I'm going to be looking at the rest of the candidates a bit closer.
How long can we keep paying?
I saw the numbers flash across the screen the other day re: those filing for unemployment. We're cranking out benefits for first-time claims in excess of 550,000 per week right now! First-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week to December 13 was 554,000, the previous week's revised figure was 575,000 per the Labor Department.
Here's another stark statistic: The jobless rate has risen to 6.7 percent. This is the highest rate since October 1993.
I have no idea how much money is being shelled out to cover those benefits. I know the government keeps extending unemployment benefits. Businesses "fund" unemployment benefits through payroll taxes in part. It's administered through the state with the federal government funding the program when unemployment is high and the states can't cover the costs.
It was intended to be a short-term program to help cover basics while the unemployed individual looked for a new job.
Then we have the bailout. Our politicians are tinkering around with billions and billions of our current and future dollars to bail out select businesses.
According to the New York Times the Treasury has now spent the first $350 billion of the bailout (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/business/20tarp.html).
The states are in trouble and have their hands out. Insurance companies are trying to restructure to meet the bailout requirements. The government just changed the rules of the bailout and opted to throw money at the auto industry. Every time I tune into the news I hear of another business that is laying off people or another business group with their hands out.
I heard on the news that 7% of companies who were matching 401K employee contributions have stopped doing so. Businesses are cutting back. States are considering increasing taxes. Some governments and businesses are going to four-day work-weeks. Companies aren't giving out Christmas bonuses.
I could go on with the doom and gloom, but we're all aware of the state of the economy.
It's almost a vicious cycle, or maybe it's not "almost". I hear the bad news and I decide not to go buy the new car I wanted or to buy some Christmas gifts. I decide not to fly to see my family opting to save the money. You get the idea --- we're all hanging onto our money, just like the banks! The irony is that if we'd go shopping we'd help the economy and maybe stop that vicious cycle.
Sooner or later the government is going to have to shut off the money spigot. There's only so much of our money we can be expected to hand over to take care of companies that made bad decisions. My biggest fear is not that the economy will collapse and that we'll go through another depression, which would be horrible. No, my biggest fear is that Obama, Pelosi and friends will use it as an excuse to move us into a more socialistic society. I fear that more companies will let the government intrude inside their board rooms just to stay afloat. Given my druthers I'd choose bankruptcy and depression over socialism. One is temporary, the other is the ruination of the very foundation that has made America the greatest country in the history of this world.
Here's another stark statistic: The jobless rate has risen to 6.7 percent. This is the highest rate since October 1993.
I have no idea how much money is being shelled out to cover those benefits. I know the government keeps extending unemployment benefits. Businesses "fund" unemployment benefits through payroll taxes in part. It's administered through the state with the federal government funding the program when unemployment is high and the states can't cover the costs.
It was intended to be a short-term program to help cover basics while the unemployed individual looked for a new job.
Then we have the bailout. Our politicians are tinkering around with billions and billions of our current and future dollars to bail out select businesses.
According to the New York Times the Treasury has now spent the first $350 billion of the bailout (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/business/20tarp.html).
The states are in trouble and have their hands out. Insurance companies are trying to restructure to meet the bailout requirements. The government just changed the rules of the bailout and opted to throw money at the auto industry. Every time I tune into the news I hear of another business that is laying off people or another business group with their hands out.
I heard on the news that 7% of companies who were matching 401K employee contributions have stopped doing so. Businesses are cutting back. States are considering increasing taxes. Some governments and businesses are going to four-day work-weeks. Companies aren't giving out Christmas bonuses.
I could go on with the doom and gloom, but we're all aware of the state of the economy.
It's almost a vicious cycle, or maybe it's not "almost". I hear the bad news and I decide not to go buy the new car I wanted or to buy some Christmas gifts. I decide not to fly to see my family opting to save the money. You get the idea --- we're all hanging onto our money, just like the banks! The irony is that if we'd go shopping we'd help the economy and maybe stop that vicious cycle.
Sooner or later the government is going to have to shut off the money spigot. There's only so much of our money we can be expected to hand over to take care of companies that made bad decisions. My biggest fear is not that the economy will collapse and that we'll go through another depression, which would be horrible. No, my biggest fear is that Obama, Pelosi and friends will use it as an excuse to move us into a more socialistic society. I fear that more companies will let the government intrude inside their board rooms just to stay afloat. Given my druthers I'd choose bankruptcy and depression over socialism. One is temporary, the other is the ruination of the very foundation that has made America the greatest country in the history of this world.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Atheists' National Holiday?
By Chuck Norris
Atheists from England to the West Coast of America are stepping up their efforts this year to make a bigger antagonistic splash on the Christmas scene. From London and Washington, D.C., buses to Colorado billboards, skeptics are skewering religions with little respect to the adherents of the religions.
At the forefront is a group's government-sanctioned posting of a sign by a Nativity scene in the Capitol of Washington state (and now also in Wisconsin and Illinois): "At this season of THE WINTER SOLSTICE may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."
I am a patriot, and I believe that atheists are free to believe, speak and post whatever they want. This is America, and that's their First Amendment right. But to do so with harassment and hatred under the guise of free speech is despicable. An anti-religious poster filled with spite is in no way equal to a religious symbol, such as a Nativity scene. Where are the political correctness police when religious followers are the victims?
If such words were written against any social minority group, protests would be ubiquitous. But anti-religious bigotry is in vogue these days. Still, there is absolutely no justification for these atheists' written revile. And if they want to keep using hate-filled language against theists -- particularly Christians -- then they shouldn't be surprised when they meet up with a yuletide (written) roundhouse kick.
Click here to continue reading Chuck Norris' column
Atheists from England to the West Coast of America are stepping up their efforts this year to make a bigger antagonistic splash on the Christmas scene. From London and Washington, D.C., buses to Colorado billboards, skeptics are skewering religions with little respect to the adherents of the religions.
At the forefront is a group's government-sanctioned posting of a sign by a Nativity scene in the Capitol of Washington state (and now also in Wisconsin and Illinois): "At this season of THE WINTER SOLSTICE may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."
I am a patriot, and I believe that atheists are free to believe, speak and post whatever they want. This is America, and that's their First Amendment right. But to do so with harassment and hatred under the guise of free speech is despicable. An anti-religious poster filled with spite is in no way equal to a religious symbol, such as a Nativity scene. Where are the political correctness police when religious followers are the victims?
If such words were written against any social minority group, protests would be ubiquitous. But anti-religious bigotry is in vogue these days. Still, there is absolutely no justification for these atheists' written revile. And if they want to keep using hate-filled language against theists -- particularly Christians -- then they shouldn't be surprised when they meet up with a yuletide (written) roundhouse kick.
Click here to continue reading Chuck Norris' column
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Rahm pushed Blagojevich to Appoint Obama Loyalists, breaking news from NewsMax
Emanuel Pushed Blagojevich to Appoint Obama Loyalists
Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama's incoming chief of staff, held numerous conversations with indicted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich pushing candidates for Obama’s U.S. Senate seat. Those conversations are on tape and in the hands of federal investigators.
Read the Full Story – Go Here Now
Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama's incoming chief of staff, held numerous conversations with indicted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich pushing candidates for Obama’s U.S. Senate seat. Those conversations are on tape and in the hands of federal investigators.
Read the Full Story – Go Here Now
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Google to "pick and choose" what appears in search results...
My readers know I've been writing about censorship at Google, the potential for problems for conservatives down the road (if not already)... here's another story that highlights where we're heading with Google:
Google cranks up the Consensus Engine
12th December 2008 19:38 GMT
Google this week admitted that its staff will pick and choose what appears in its search results. It's a historic statement - and nobody has yet grasped its significance.
Not so very long ago, Google disclaimed responsibility for its search results by explaining that these were chosen by a computer algorithm. The disclaimer lives on at Google News, where we are assured that...
...This week Marissa Meyer explained that editorial judgments will play a key role in Google searches. It was reported by Tech Crunch proprietor Michael Arrington - who Nick Carr called the "Madam of the Web 2.0 Brothel" - but its significance wasn't noted. The irony flew safely over his head at 30,000 feet. Arrington observed:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/12/googlewashing_revisited/
Google cranks up the Consensus Engine
12th December 2008 19:38 GMT
Google this week admitted that its staff will pick and choose what appears in its search results. It's a historic statement - and nobody has yet grasped its significance.
Not so very long ago, Google disclaimed responsibility for its search results by explaining that these were chosen by a computer algorithm. The disclaimer lives on at Google News, where we are assured that...
...This week Marissa Meyer explained that editorial judgments will play a key role in Google searches. It was reported by Tech Crunch proprietor Michael Arrington - who Nick Carr called the "Madam of the Web 2.0 Brothel" - but its significance wasn't noted. The irony flew safely over his head at 30,000 feet. Arrington observed:
Mayer also talked about Google’s use of user data created by actions on Wiki
search to improve search results on Google in general. For now that data is not
being used to change overall search results, she said. But in the future it’s
likely Google will use the data to at least make obvious changes. An example is
if “thousands of people” were to knock a search result off a search page, they’d
be likely to make a change.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/12/googlewashing_revisited/
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Global Warming she writes as she shivers...
We swallow things that are crammed down our throats by the media so easily these days... maybe we always have. Some of the strongest proponents of global warming have never done anything other than read the headlines and hype. Based on what I've read, I'm not a believer. I know, I know, that's almost heretical these days... At least I'm in good company.
Scientists abandon global warming 'lie'650 to dissent at U.N. climate change conference
A United Nations climate change conference in Poland is about to get a surprise from 650 leading scientists who scoff at doomsday reports of man-made global warming
– labeling them variously a lie, a hoax and part of a new religion.Later today, their voices will be heard in a U.S. Senate minority report quoting the scientists, many of whom are current and former members of the U.N.'s own Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=83323
2008: The Year the “Consensus” Collapsed
Posted in Cause/Effect, Economics, Junk Science, Mythical Consensus on December 12th, 2008 by Dan McGrath
Perhaps the debate isn’t over, but the tables have turned. Truth is an indomitable force. Suppressing it requires constant effort, because it can’t be changed. What is is. People can be convinced of a lie for a short time, but in the end, the truth reveals itself. Truth is patient because it is eternal, unchanging and has no agenda. It can be covered up, but truth outlasts any contrivances devised to hide it. It’s indestructible.
http://www.globalclimatescam.com/
Global Warming Skeptics: http://www.globalwarmingskeptics.info/
Global Climate Scam: http://www.globalclimatescam.com/
http://blog.heritage.org/2008/12/11/scientists-make-their-anti-global-warming-case/
“has added about 250 scientists (and growing) in 2008 to the over 400 scientists who spoke out in 2007. The over 650 dissenting scientists are more than 12 times the number of UN scientists (52) who authored the media hyped IPCC 2007 Summary for Policymakers.”
Scientists abandon global warming 'lie'650 to dissent at U.N. climate change conference
A United Nations climate change conference in Poland is about to get a surprise from 650 leading scientists who scoff at doomsday reports of man-made global warming
– labeling them variously a lie, a hoax and part of a new religion.Later today, their voices will be heard in a U.S. Senate minority report quoting the scientists, many of whom are current and former members of the U.N.'s own Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=83323
2008: The Year the “Consensus” Collapsed
Posted in Cause/Effect, Economics, Junk Science, Mythical Consensus on December 12th, 2008 by Dan McGrath
Perhaps the debate isn’t over, but the tables have turned. Truth is an indomitable force. Suppressing it requires constant effort, because it can’t be changed. What is is. People can be convinced of a lie for a short time, but in the end, the truth reveals itself. Truth is patient because it is eternal, unchanging and has no agenda. It can be covered up, but truth outlasts any contrivances devised to hide it. It’s indestructible.
http://www.globalclimatescam.com/
Global Warming Skeptics: http://www.globalwarmingskeptics.info/
Global Climate Scam: http://www.globalclimatescam.com/
http://blog.heritage.org/2008/12/11/scientists-make-their-anti-global-warming-case/
“has added about 250 scientists (and growing) in 2008 to the over 400 scientists who spoke out in 2007. The over 650 dissenting scientists are more than 12 times the number of UN scientists (52) who authored the media hyped IPCC 2007 Summary for Policymakers.”
More trouble for Obama on the horizon? Rangel tees up...
Rangel Hits Obama Closer to Home
It certainly didn't take long for scandal to rear its ugly head in the new era of Democratic control. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich saw to that, and in spectacular fashion.
But while most attention is fixed on the Blagojevich scandal -- coming as it does in President-elect Barack Obama's home state and replete as it is with enough tape-recorded talk of peddling a Senate seat, shaking down contributors and blackmailing journalists to make even FBI agents blush -- it may not be the most troublesome one for the new president.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122902161394098863.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
---
I do believe we're in for a roller coaster ride - at least until sometime after Jan. 20th when Obama gets his machine fully in place so the leaks and problems are shushed up.
The media closed their eyes to anything negative about Obama. They're starting to see through that euphoric shield they erected and it's not looking pretty.
It certainly didn't take long for scandal to rear its ugly head in the new era of Democratic control. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich saw to that, and in spectacular fashion.
But while most attention is fixed on the Blagojevich scandal -- coming as it does in President-elect Barack Obama's home state and replete as it is with enough tape-recorded talk of peddling a Senate seat, shaking down contributors and blackmailing journalists to make even FBI agents blush -- it may not be the most troublesome one for the new president.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122902161394098863.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
---
I do believe we're in for a roller coaster ride - at least until sometime after Jan. 20th when Obama gets his machine fully in place so the leaks and problems are shushed up.
The media closed their eyes to anything negative about Obama. They're starting to see through that euphoric shield they erected and it's not looking pretty.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Google not the only one censoring... add Obama to the list
Blagojevich questions censored on Transition site
President-elect Barack Obama's Transition today launched "Open for Questions," a Digg-style feature allowing citizens to submit questions, and to vote on one another's questions, bringing favored inquiries to the top of the list.
It was suggested when it launched that the tool would bring uncomfortable questions to the fore, but the results so far are the opposite: Obama's supporters appear to be using -- and abusing -- a tool allowing them to "flag" questions as "inappropriate" to remove all questions mentioning Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich from the main pages of Obama's website.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1208/Blagojevich_questions_censored_on_Transition_site.html
President-elect Barack Obama's Transition today launched "Open for Questions," a Digg-style feature allowing citizens to submit questions, and to vote on one another's questions, bringing favored inquiries to the top of the list.
It was suggested when it launched that the tool would bring uncomfortable questions to the fore, but the results so far are the opposite: Obama's supporters appear to be using -- and abusing -- a tool allowing them to "flag" questions as "inappropriate" to remove all questions mentioning Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich from the main pages of Obama's website.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1208/Blagojevich_questions_censored_on_Transition_site.html
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
McConnell Says No "Wednesday" Auto Bailout Vote
Don't you get the feeling it's a done deal and all we're hearing is the politicians trying to cya when you read the articles and hear the words?
Let's see if I remember correctly... the LAST bailout it was 'gee we have to do it now now now now...' can't wait... rush... rush... including Mitch McConnell. Glad he's slowing this one down, but methinks that's all he be doin' and it's simply to look strong so the bite isn't too bad when it hits at the ballot box (assuming it does, we voters suffer mightily from short memoryitis).
Now we have the benefit of hindsight to know how badly the last bailout was handled and is being handled. Now we know where we're heading as we hand over capitalism, free market and our future monies to the government.
Don't want this bailout. Didn't want the last one. Don't you feel powerless when you see the end of the world and no one is able to stop it?
McConnell: Bailout votes aren't there
The auto industry bailout politics are a mess this morning. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that Republicans are not prepared to back the massive auto-bailout package being negotiated by the White House and congressional Democrats. McConnell would not allow Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to expedite consideration of the bill, setting up a key procedural vote Friday morning.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/1208/McConnell_Bailout_votes_arent_there.html
Talks press ahead in Congress for auto industry bailout
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Lawmakers Wednesday battled over a 15-billion-dollar bailout for the stalled US auto industry amid lingering Republican doubts that the jumpstart is more than a quick fix. A possible vote on the package in the House of Representatives could come as soon as Wednesday afternoon. Senator Carl Levin from Michigan, the base for the auto industry, said he understands that an "agreement has been reached," and that it was only a matter of time before a bill was ready for a vote...
.... Yet Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said there would be no vote Wednesday.
"Let me be clear: there will be no vote on this legislation today. On a bill this critical, with so much taxpayer money at stake, we cannot rush this through without adequate review," he said in a statement, adding: "We will address this issue before the end of the week."...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081210/bs_afp/usautoeconomypolitics_081210164803
Let's see if I remember correctly... the LAST bailout it was 'gee we have to do it now now now now...' can't wait... rush... rush... including Mitch McConnell. Glad he's slowing this one down, but methinks that's all he be doin' and it's simply to look strong so the bite isn't too bad when it hits at the ballot box (assuming it does, we voters suffer mightily from short memoryitis).
Now we have the benefit of hindsight to know how badly the last bailout was handled and is being handled. Now we know where we're heading as we hand over capitalism, free market and our future monies to the government.
Don't want this bailout. Didn't want the last one. Don't you feel powerless when you see the end of the world and no one is able to stop it?
The Service Employees International Union Acted As The Intermediary Between Blagojevich And The Obama Camp:
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Republican National Committee:
An SEIU Official Acted As "An Apparent Intermediary Between The Governor And Barack Obama's Camp."
"Among the revelations contained in the complaint brought against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich yesterday was the description of an official with the Service Employees International Union acting as an apparent intermediary between the governor and Barack Obama's camp in discussions over Obama's Senate seat." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
Negotiations Were Underway To Appoint Obama's Close Confidante Valerie Jarrett To His Vacant Senate Seat.
"Blagojevich and his chief of staff wondered aloud about a 'three-way deal' in which he would appoint Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett, a Chicago businesswoman believed to be the woman identified in the complaint as 'Candidate 1,' to Obama's Senate seat..." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
Blagojevich Believed That The SEIU Official Was An Emissary From Obama To Discuss Jarrett For The Senate Seat.
"The complaint also states that on Nov. 12, Blagojevich spoke by phone with an "SEIU official" who was in Washington and with whom Blagojevich had met a week before on the understanding that the official was an emissary to discuss Jarrett's interest in the Senate seat." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
The SEIU Has Become A Powerful Force In Democratic Politics And Hopes To Play A Major Role In The Obama Administration:
Labor Has Become So Strong That A Sitting Governor Was Willing To Trade A U.S. Senate Seat For A Position As Executive Director Of A Labor Coalition.
"[B]lagojevich in return would become Change to Win's executive director; and Obama would reward Change to Win with pro-labor policies." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
SEIU Has Become "An Omnipresent Force In Democratic Politics."
"But on another level, the SEIU's apparent involvement is an indication of the extent to which it has, under the leadership of its ambitious and controversial president, Andrew L. Stern, become an omnipresent force in Democratic politics." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
Organized Labor Has "High Expectations For The Obama Administration."
"With organized labor holding such high expectations for the Obama administration -- notably, hopes for legislation fiercely opposed by business leaders that would make it easier to form unions -- officials of other unions were hoping yesterday that the SEIU's apparent involvement in the Illinois scandal would not undermine their cause in Washington." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
Obama Picked A Former SEIU Official To Be His Political Director And Has Close Ties to SEIU Officials In Illinois:
"A Former SEIU Official, Patrick Gaspard, Was Named Obama's Political Director." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
In 2004, Patrick Gaspard Served As National Field Director For 527 Organization America Coming Together.
"The Kerry effort will be aided by America Coming Together, an independent group working to get out the Democratic vote. The group plans to stage marches before Election Day to polling stations that open early in key states to put 'peer and community pressure' on low-propensity voters, said Patrick Gaspard, the group's national field director." (Jo Becker, "Voters May Have Their Say Before Election Day," The Washington Post, 8/26/04)
The SEIU Helped To Coordinate America Coming Together, With SEIU Members And Staff Doing Much Of The Management Of The GOTV Effort.
"Despite Stern's criticism of labor's relationship with the Democratic Party, he does understand the importance of political work. Last fall, SEIU generously lent its clout, helping to coordinate America Coming Together and America Votes, an alliace of Democratic interest groups that included the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters and women's organizations. Much of the management of this joint get-out-the-vote effort was done by SEIU members and staff (like me) in a massive union campaign effort without recent precedent." (Clayton Nall, "Gompers's Ghost And Labor's New Look," The Washington Post, 9/4/05)
Tom Balanoff, Head Of SEIU In Illinois, Is Obama's Closest Tie To SEIU.
"But the SEIU official with the closest ties to the Obama team is Tom Balanoff, head of SEIU's Illinois chapter." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Endorsed Barack Obama's Presidential Campaign :
"Sen. Barack Obama Won The Support ... Of The 1.9-Million Member Service Employees International Union..." (Jesse J. Holland, "SEIU Endorses Obama," The Associated Press, 2/15/08)
"SEIU Will Mobilize Thousands To Go Door-To-Door, Work The Phones, And Will Send Mail About Their Support For Obama."
"SEIU members are supporting Obama with an aggressive political effort. With more than 150,000 members in the upcoming primary states, including Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas, SEIU will mobilize thousands to go door-to-door, work the phones, and will send mail about their support for Obama. SEIU also will have a substantial presence on television and radio in every critical state." (Service Employees International Union, "SEIU Members Endorse Sen. Barack Obama," Press Release, 2/15/08)
An SEIU Official Acted As "An Apparent Intermediary Between The Governor And Barack Obama's Camp."
"Among the revelations contained in the complaint brought against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich yesterday was the description of an official with the Service Employees International Union acting as an apparent intermediary between the governor and Barack Obama's camp in discussions over Obama's Senate seat." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
Negotiations Were Underway To Appoint Obama's Close Confidante Valerie Jarrett To His Vacant Senate Seat.
"Blagojevich and his chief of staff wondered aloud about a 'three-way deal' in which he would appoint Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett, a Chicago businesswoman believed to be the woman identified in the complaint as 'Candidate 1,' to Obama's Senate seat..." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
Blagojevich Believed That The SEIU Official Was An Emissary From Obama To Discuss Jarrett For The Senate Seat.
"The complaint also states that on Nov. 12, Blagojevich spoke by phone with an "SEIU official" who was in Washington and with whom Blagojevich had met a week before on the understanding that the official was an emissary to discuss Jarrett's interest in the Senate seat." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
The SEIU Has Become A Powerful Force In Democratic Politics And Hopes To Play A Major Role In The Obama Administration:
Labor Has Become So Strong That A Sitting Governor Was Willing To Trade A U.S. Senate Seat For A Position As Executive Director Of A Labor Coalition.
"[B]lagojevich in return would become Change to Win's executive director; and Obama would reward Change to Win with pro-labor policies." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
SEIU Has Become "An Omnipresent Force In Democratic Politics."
"But on another level, the SEIU's apparent involvement is an indication of the extent to which it has, under the leadership of its ambitious and controversial president, Andrew L. Stern, become an omnipresent force in Democratic politics." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
Organized Labor Has "High Expectations For The Obama Administration."
"With organized labor holding such high expectations for the Obama administration -- notably, hopes for legislation fiercely opposed by business leaders that would make it easier to form unions -- officials of other unions were hoping yesterday that the SEIU's apparent involvement in the Illinois scandal would not undermine their cause in Washington." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
Obama Picked A Former SEIU Official To Be His Political Director And Has Close Ties to SEIU Officials In Illinois:
"A Former SEIU Official, Patrick Gaspard, Was Named Obama's Political Director." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
In 2004, Patrick Gaspard Served As National Field Director For 527 Organization America Coming Together.
"The Kerry effort will be aided by America Coming Together, an independent group working to get out the Democratic vote. The group plans to stage marches before Election Day to polling stations that open early in key states to put 'peer and community pressure' on low-propensity voters, said Patrick Gaspard, the group's national field director." (Jo Becker, "Voters May Have Their Say Before Election Day," The Washington Post, 8/26/04)
The SEIU Helped To Coordinate America Coming Together, With SEIU Members And Staff Doing Much Of The Management Of The GOTV Effort.
"Despite Stern's criticism of labor's relationship with the Democratic Party, he does understand the importance of political work. Last fall, SEIU generously lent its clout, helping to coordinate America Coming Together and America Votes, an alliace of Democratic interest groups that included the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters and women's organizations. Much of the management of this joint get-out-the-vote effort was done by SEIU members and staff (like me) in a massive union campaign effort without recent precedent." (Clayton Nall, "Gompers's Ghost And Labor's New Look," The Washington Post, 9/4/05)
Tom Balanoff, Head Of SEIU In Illinois, Is Obama's Closest Tie To SEIU.
"But the SEIU official with the closest ties to the Obama team is Tom Balanoff, head of SEIU's Illinois chapter." (Alec MacGillis, "Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team," The Washington Post, 12/10/08)
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Endorsed Barack Obama's Presidential Campaign :
"Sen. Barack Obama Won The Support ... Of The 1.9-Million Member Service Employees International Union..." (Jesse J. Holland, "SEIU Endorses Obama," The Associated Press, 2/15/08)
"SEIU Will Mobilize Thousands To Go Door-To-Door, Work The Phones, And Will Send Mail About Their Support For Obama."
"SEIU members are supporting Obama with an aggressive political effort. With more than 150,000 members in the upcoming primary states, including Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas, SEIU will mobilize thousands to go door-to-door, work the phones, and will send mail about their support for Obama. SEIU also will have a substantial presence on television and radio in every critical state." (Service Employees International Union, "SEIU Members Endorse Sen. Barack Obama," Press Release, 2/15/08)
Google, Blogger and Censorship
You all know that on here and on the Read My Lipstick Network blog I've written about my concerns re: Google and their very open Left-leaning tendencies. Now the tip of the censorship iceberg is hitting the web waves... again. Yes, again. I went out to do some research on the issue after seeing a Tweet on it and realized it's not a conspiracy theory, I was not nuts to believe Google was censoring conservative blogs and news sites! This has been going on for quite some time.
I immediately went and switched my default search from Google to Yahoo. I'm not sure that Yahoo will be any better than Google in the long run but it's my small form of passive aggressive protesting. I'd like to switch my blogs over to WordPress, but I haven't been happy using WP for a number of reasons.
Now I'm going to sound more like a conspiracy type... I have a concern that in the upcoming days of the "Fairness Doctrine" and other potential censoring of conservatives, that one day Google may just go all the way and block us all. One day we may wake up and find that conservative blogs are down or blocked.
I've been talking off and on with members of other conservative groups and we're looking into options. So far, I don't know that any of us are really spending a lot of time on the issue. We may get caught at some point in the future without a means to communicate if we don't tackle this issue.
Tx to @Anne76 on Twitter for listing the first two stories below, the rest are some I've found as I went out wandering (key words, "Google" "censorship" "conservatives"):
Anti-Obama Bloggers Question Why Google Froze Their Accounts
Some bloggers opposed to Barack Obama say they suspect Obama's supporters — with the assistance of Google — may have tried to censor them when the Internet giant froze their Web sites for five days last month. Seven blogs run by Democrats who oppose Obama’s nomination for the presidency were incorrectly flagged as spam sites by Blogger, the hosting service Google has owned since 2003. Google says it was an automated response from a spam filter.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,382452,00.html
Conservative Blog Atlas Shrugs Blacklisted by Google
From our friend Pamela Geller: How does Atlas grow? Google search is one critically important way. People find Atlas when they do a word search in google ie "Obama birth certificate", "Obama odinga", "honor killings",
http://www.newstin.com/rel/us/en-010-008332877
Google Censorship - How It Works
An anticensorware investigation by Seth Finkelstein
Abstract: This report describes the system by which results in the Google search engine are suppressed.
Google Exclusion, introduction
Google is arguably the world's most popular search engine. However, contrary perhaps to a naive impression, in some cases the results of a search are affected by various government-related factors. That is, search results which may otherwise be shown, are deliberately excluded. The suppression may be local to a country, or global to all Google results.
http://sethf.com/anticensorware/general/google-censorship.php
Is Google Purging Conservative News Sites?
By Noel Sheppard
May 22, 2006 - 08:37 ET
Something frighteningly ominous has been happening on the Internet lately: Google, without any prior explanation or notice, has been terminating its News relationship with conservative e-zines and web journals.
http://newsbusters.org/node/5477
GOOGLE CENSOR'S CONSERVATIVE NEWS GROUPS!
The New Media Journal May 19, 2006 JB Williams
Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 3:10:53 PM by PlainOleAmerican
Google News & Google Search Terminates The New Media Journal Because of Complaints About Hate Speech
During routine daily maintenance to The New Media Journal website it was observed that the new opinion and news entries published for May 19, 2006 did not appear in any Google News or Google Search Engine query. What was uncovered after Frank Salvato, managing editor, contacted Google News was nothing short of censorship and a blatant violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1635115/posts
Is Google censoring conservative and anti-Obama blogs?
My blog has been flagged as spam by Google ... has yours?I first noticed my blog had been flagged as "spam" by Google around the first part of June, and it continues to be under a "spam suspision" even though I turned in a review request weeks ago. So what is the background on this story?
http://swacgirl.blogspot.com/2008/07/is-google-censoring-conservative-and.html
Inside the world of Google censors
By Michelle Malkin • November 29, 2008 11:05 PM
Several weeks ago, I spoke with GWU law professor Jeffrey Rosen about my curious experiences with YouTube’s mystery censors. Longtime readers will remember the battle over “First, They Came.” For the past two years, my attempts to re-upload the little video about the Mohammed Cartoons and violent jihad were blocked. Other users were able to upload it, but it was blocked from my personal channel. Lo and behold, after Rosen inquired about it, the video is now available again.
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/11/29/inside-the-world-of-google-censors/
Google Censorship By Nathan Tabor
Last week I wrote of the possibility of government censorship on the Internet. “If you’ve never considered the possibility that the federal government might one day tell you what websites you could access...” I stated, not realizing that not the feds, but the most popular search engine on the Net has chosen to tinker with the supposed impartiality of their search algorithms and censor certain websites.
According to Noel Sheppard and Marc Sheppard, writing for the American Thinker, Google has been terminating its news relationship with conservative e-zines and blogs.
http://acuf.org/issues/issue61/060611med.asp
I immediately went and switched my default search from Google to Yahoo. I'm not sure that Yahoo will be any better than Google in the long run but it's my small form of passive aggressive protesting. I'd like to switch my blogs over to WordPress, but I haven't been happy using WP for a number of reasons.
Now I'm going to sound more like a conspiracy type... I have a concern that in the upcoming days of the "Fairness Doctrine" and other potential censoring of conservatives, that one day Google may just go all the way and block us all. One day we may wake up and find that conservative blogs are down or blocked.
I've been talking off and on with members of other conservative groups and we're looking into options. So far, I don't know that any of us are really spending a lot of time on the issue. We may get caught at some point in the future without a means to communicate if we don't tackle this issue.
Tx to @Anne76 on Twitter for listing the first two stories below, the rest are some I've found as I went out wandering (key words, "Google" "censorship" "conservatives"):
Anti-Obama Bloggers Question Why Google Froze Their Accounts
Some bloggers opposed to Barack Obama say they suspect Obama's supporters — with the assistance of Google — may have tried to censor them when the Internet giant froze their Web sites for five days last month. Seven blogs run by Democrats who oppose Obama’s nomination for the presidency were incorrectly flagged as spam sites by Blogger, the hosting service Google has owned since 2003. Google says it was an automated response from a spam filter.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,382452,00.html
Conservative Blog Atlas Shrugs Blacklisted by Google
From our friend Pamela Geller: How does Atlas grow? Google search is one critically important way. People find Atlas when they do a word search in google ie "Obama birth certificate", "Obama odinga", "honor killings",
http://www.newstin.com/rel/us/en-010-008332877
Google Censorship - How It Works
An anticensorware investigation by Seth Finkelstein
Abstract: This report describes the system by which results in the Google search engine are suppressed.
Google Exclusion, introduction
Google is arguably the world's most popular search engine. However, contrary perhaps to a naive impression, in some cases the results of a search are affected by various government-related factors. That is, search results which may otherwise be shown, are deliberately excluded. The suppression may be local to a country, or global to all Google results.
http://sethf.com/anticensorware/general/google-censorship.php
Is Google Purging Conservative News Sites?
By Noel Sheppard
May 22, 2006 - 08:37 ET
Something frighteningly ominous has been happening on the Internet lately: Google, without any prior explanation or notice, has been terminating its News relationship with conservative e-zines and web journals.
http://newsbusters.org/node/5477
GOOGLE CENSOR'S CONSERVATIVE NEWS GROUPS!
The New Media Journal May 19, 2006 JB Williams
Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 3:10:53 PM by PlainOleAmerican
Google News & Google Search Terminates The New Media Journal Because of Complaints About Hate Speech
During routine daily maintenance to The New Media Journal website it was observed that the new opinion and news entries published for May 19, 2006 did not appear in any Google News or Google Search Engine query. What was uncovered after Frank Salvato, managing editor, contacted Google News was nothing short of censorship and a blatant violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1635115/posts
Is Google censoring conservative and anti-Obama blogs?
My blog has been flagged as spam by Google ... has yours?I first noticed my blog had been flagged as "spam" by Google around the first part of June, and it continues to be under a "spam suspision" even though I turned in a review request weeks ago. So what is the background on this story?
http://swacgirl.blogspot.com/2008/07/is-google-censoring-conservative-and.html
Inside the world of Google censors
By Michelle Malkin • November 29, 2008 11:05 PM
Several weeks ago, I spoke with GWU law professor Jeffrey Rosen about my curious experiences with YouTube’s mystery censors. Longtime readers will remember the battle over “First, They Came.” For the past two years, my attempts to re-upload the little video about the Mohammed Cartoons and violent jihad were blocked. Other users were able to upload it, but it was blocked from my personal channel. Lo and behold, after Rosen inquired about it, the video is now available again.
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/11/29/inside-the-world-of-google-censors/
Google Censorship By Nathan Tabor
Last week I wrote of the possibility of government censorship on the Internet. “If you’ve never considered the possibility that the federal government might one day tell you what websites you could access...” I stated, not realizing that not the feds, but the most popular search engine on the Net has chosen to tinker with the supposed impartiality of their search algorithms and censor certain websites.
According to Noel Sheppard and Marc Sheppard, writing for the American Thinker, Google has been terminating its news relationship with conservative e-zines and blogs.
http://acuf.org/issues/issue61/060611med.asp
Love The Morning Bell, Heritage Foundation: The Ugly Face of Progressive Corporatism
Just two days ago, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) stood with about 240 union members inside the shuttered factory of Republic Doors and Windows. The company had closed the factory before providing its 240 workers their due severance pay and accrued vacation time. Blagojevich was determined to bring the full power of the governor's office to bear to make sure the union members got paid. Blagojevich threatened to stop the state of Illinois from doing all business with Republic's creditor, Bank of America, if it did not help the laid-off workers at Republic . Yesterday, after Blagojevich was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and solicitation to commit bribery, the nation discovered that Blagojevich's threats not only fit his well-established pattern of behavior, but also exposed the inherently corrupting influence of organized labor.
Recent Entries
Blagojevich's links to organized labor are long-standing and deep. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, when Blagojevich last raised money as a congressman, three out of his top five donors were organized labor groups, and combining unions from all sectors, no industry gave more to Blagojevich than labor did. The Chicago Tribune reports that as governor, organized labor was "his strongest political supporter."
During his first year in office, Blagojevich helped pass ethics legislation adding new inspectors to investigate corruption, restricting gifts from lobbyists and limiting taxpayer-funded public service announcements that feature politicians. But Blagojevich's arrest yesterday exposed all these efforts as a fraud. According to reports about the complaint filed against him:
[Blagojevich] discussed the possibility of trying to get [President-elect Barack] Obama to get his wife appointed to a corporate board that paid a substantial salary or working out a deal where Blagojevich would obtain a high-paid position with a political action group affiliated with the Service Employees International Union. Prosecutors also allege Blagojevich threatened to withhold $100 million in state assistance for the financing or sale of Wrigley Field if the team's owner, the Tribune Co., didn't fire members of the Chicago Tribune's editorial board who had been critical of Blagojevich.
Unfortunately, this shakedown mentality is all too common to the Service Employees International Union's way of doing business. A Democratic source confirms that SEIU President Andy Stern is the "SEIU official" referred to in the federal complaint against Blagojevich. Since taking his union out of the AFL-CIO and forming the Change to Win federation in 2005, Stern has sought to assert his union's influence over private equity firms, centralize his authority within the union by forcing various locals to merge, and negotiate large deals with employers without member participation.
All of this union-related corruption comes at a crucial point in U.S. public policy. Organized labor has a tall wish list for Obama's administration, including the abolition of secret ballot voting in union organizing elections and ensuring that as much of the $1 trillion Obama plans to spend to stimulate the economy goes to Davis-Bacon compliant jobs. Our economy simply cannot afford organized labor's priorities to be placed above strong economic growth.
QUICK HITS
Only 14% of U.S. voters think the Big Three automakers will run better if they are run by the federal government, according to Rasmussen Reports.
According to Rasmussen Reports, 53% of Americans oppose government loans for the Big Three.
The House Ethics Committee voted to expand its investigation into Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) to include more recent allegations involving an oil company executive's pledge to an education center bearing Rangel's name.
South Korean opposition to U.S. beef has evaporated and more than 50 tons of it were bought the first day it was offered for sale.
The Iowa Supreme Court is hearing a case that could make it the first Midwestern state to legalize same-sex marriage.
--------------
If you're not getting this daily update from The Heritage Foundation, u should be! http://www.heritage.org/
--------------
Time to Twitter... go check out www.Twitter.com, and be sure to sign up at www.topconservativesontwitter.org (TCOT)
Recent Entries
Blagojevich's links to organized labor are long-standing and deep. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, when Blagojevich last raised money as a congressman, three out of his top five donors were organized labor groups, and combining unions from all sectors, no industry gave more to Blagojevich than labor did. The Chicago Tribune reports that as governor, organized labor was "his strongest political supporter."
During his first year in office, Blagojevich helped pass ethics legislation adding new inspectors to investigate corruption, restricting gifts from lobbyists and limiting taxpayer-funded public service announcements that feature politicians. But Blagojevich's arrest yesterday exposed all these efforts as a fraud. According to reports about the complaint filed against him:
[Blagojevich] discussed the possibility of trying to get [President-elect Barack] Obama to get his wife appointed to a corporate board that paid a substantial salary or working out a deal where Blagojevich would obtain a high-paid position with a political action group affiliated with the Service Employees International Union. Prosecutors also allege Blagojevich threatened to withhold $100 million in state assistance for the financing or sale of Wrigley Field if the team's owner, the Tribune Co., didn't fire members of the Chicago Tribune's editorial board who had been critical of Blagojevich.
Unfortunately, this shakedown mentality is all too common to the Service Employees International Union's way of doing business. A Democratic source confirms that SEIU President Andy Stern is the "SEIU official" referred to in the federal complaint against Blagojevich. Since taking his union out of the AFL-CIO and forming the Change to Win federation in 2005, Stern has sought to assert his union's influence over private equity firms, centralize his authority within the union by forcing various locals to merge, and negotiate large deals with employers without member participation.
All of this union-related corruption comes at a crucial point in U.S. public policy. Organized labor has a tall wish list for Obama's administration, including the abolition of secret ballot voting in union organizing elections and ensuring that as much of the $1 trillion Obama plans to spend to stimulate the economy goes to Davis-Bacon compliant jobs. Our economy simply cannot afford organized labor's priorities to be placed above strong economic growth.
QUICK HITS
Only 14% of U.S. voters think the Big Three automakers will run better if they are run by the federal government, according to Rasmussen Reports.
According to Rasmussen Reports, 53% of Americans oppose government loans for the Big Three.
The House Ethics Committee voted to expand its investigation into Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) to include more recent allegations involving an oil company executive's pledge to an education center bearing Rangel's name.
South Korean opposition to U.S. beef has evaporated and more than 50 tons of it were bought the first day it was offered for sale.
The Iowa Supreme Court is hearing a case that could make it the first Midwestern state to legalize same-sex marriage.
--------------
If you're not getting this daily update from The Heritage Foundation, u should be! http://www.heritage.org/
--------------
Time to Twitter... go check out www.Twitter.com, and be sure to sign up at www.topconservativesontwitter.org (TCOT)
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Fed's Release re: Blagojevich Arrest, Federal Corruption Charges
ILLINOIS GOV. ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH AND HIS CHIEF OF STAFF JOHN HARRIS
ARRESTED ON FEDERAL CORRUPTION CHARGES
Blagojevich and aide allegedly conspired to sell U.S. Senate
appointment, engaged in “pay-to-play” schemes and threatened to
withhold state assistance to Tribune Company for Wrigley Field to
induce purge of newspaper editorial writers
CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff,
John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption
charges alleging that they and others are engaging in ongoing
criminal activity: conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits
for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United
States Senator; threatening to withhold substantial state assistance
to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field
to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members
sharply critical of Blagojevich; and to obtain campaign contributions
in exchange for official actions – both historically and now in a
push before a new state ethics law takes effect January 1, 2009.
Blagojevich, 51, and Harris, 46, both of Chicago, were each charged
with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of
bribery. They were charged in a two-count criminal complaint that was
sworn out on Sunday and unsealed today following their arrests, which
occurred without incident, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United
States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D.
Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation. Both men were expected to appear later today
before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan in U.S. District Court in
Chicago.
A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on
court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or
trade Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack
Obama for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his
wife. At various times, in exchange for the Senate appointment,
Blagojevich discussed obtaining:
* A substantial salary for himself at a either a non-profit
foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions;
* Placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated
she might garner as much as $150,000 a year;
* Promises of campaign funds – including cash up front; and
* A cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself.
Just last week, on December 4, Blagojevich allegedly told an advisor
that he might “get some (money) up front, maybe” from Senate
Candidate 5, if he named Senate Candidate 5 to the Senate seat, to
insure that Senate Candidate 5 kept a promise about raising money for
Blagojevich if he ran for re-election. In a recorded conversation on
October 31, Blagojevich described an earlier approach by an associate
of Senate Candidate 5 as follows: “We were approached ‘pay to play.’
That, you know, he’d raise 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the
other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a
Senator.”
On November 7, Blagojevich said he needed to consider his family and
that he is “financially” hurting while talking on the phone about the
Senate seat with Harris and an advisor, the affidavit states. Harris
allegedly said that they were considering what would help the
“financial security” of the Blagojevich family and what will keep
Blagojevich “politically viable.” Blagojevich stated, “I want to make
money,” adding later that he is interested in making $250,000 to
$300,000 a year, the complaint alleges.
On November 10, in a lengthy telephone call with numerous advisors
that included discussion about Blagojevich obtaining a lucrative job
with a union-affiliated organization in exchange for appointing a
particular Senate Candidate whom he believed was favored by the
President-elect and which is described in more detail below,
Blagojevich and others discussed various ways Blagojevich could
“monetize” the relationships he has made as governor to make money
after leaving that office.
“The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,”
Mr. Fitzgerald said. “They allege that Blagojevich put a ‘for sale’
sign on the naming of a United States Senator; involved himself
personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman
meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an
effort to trample editorial voices of criticism. The citizens of
Illinois deserve public officials who act solely in the public’s
interest, without putting a price tag on government appointments,
contracts and decisions,” he added.
Mr. Grant said: “Many, including myself, thought that the recent
conviction of former governor would usher in a new era of honesty and
reform in Illinois politics. Clearly, the charges announced today
reveal that the office of the Governor has become nothing more than a
vehicle for self-enrichment, unrestricted by party affiliation and
taking Illinois politics to a new low.”
Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. Grant thanked the Chicago offices of the
Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S.
Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of
Inspector General for assisting in the ongoing investigation. The
probe is part of Operation Board Games, a five-year-old public
corruption investigation of pay-to-play schemes, including insider-
dealing, influence-peddling and kickbacks involving private interests
and public duties.
Federal agents today also executed search warrants at the offices of
Friends of Blagojevich located at 4147 North Ravenswood, Suite 300,
and at the Thompson Center office of Deputy Governor A.
Pay-to-Play Schemes
The charges include historical allegations that Blagojevich and
Harris schemed with others – including previously convicted
defendants Antoin Rezko, Stuart Levine, Ali Ata and others – since
becoming governor in 2002 to obtain and attempt to obtain financial
benefits for himself, his family and third parties, including his
campaign committee, Friends of Blagojevich, in exchange for
appointments to state boards and commissions, state employment, state
contracts and access to state funds. A portion of the affidavit
recounts the testimony of various witnesses at Rezko’s trial earlier
this year.
The charges focus, however, on events since October when the
Government obtained information that Blagojevich and Fundraiser A,
who is chairman of Friends of Blagojevich, were accelerating
Blagojevich’s allegedly corrupt fund-raising activities to accumulate
as much money as possible this year before a new state ethics law
would severely curtail Blagojevich’s ability to raise money from
individuals and entities that have existing contracts worth more than
$50,000 with the State of Illinois. Agents learned that Blagojevich
was seeking approximately $2.5 million in campaign contributions by
the end of the year, principally from or through individuals or
entities – many of which have received state contacts or appointments
– identified on a list maintained by Friends of Blagojevich, which
the FBI has obtained.
The affidavit details multiple incidents involving efforts by
Blagojevich to obtain campaign contributions in connection with
official actions as governor, including these three in early October:
* After an October 6 meeting with Harris and Individuals A and
B, during which Individual B sought state help with a business
venture, Blagojevich told Individual A to approach Individual B about
raising $100,000 for Friends of Blagojevich this year. Individual A
said he later learned that Blagojevich reached out directly to
Individual B to ask about holding a fund-raiser;
* Also on October 6, Blagojevich told Individual A that he
expected Highway Contractor 1 to raise $500,000 in contributions and
that he was willing to commit additional state money to a Tollway
project – beyond $1.8 billion that Blagojevich announced on October15
– but was waiting to see how much money the contractor raised for
Friends of Blagojevich; and
* On October 8, Blagojevich told Individual A that he wanted to
obtain a $50,000 contribution from Hospital Executive 1, the chief
executive officer of Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, which
had recently received a commitment of $8 million in state funds. When
the contribution was not forthcoming, Blagojevich discussed with
Deputy Governor A the feasibility of rescinding the funding.
On October 21, the Government obtained a court order authorizing the
interception of conversations in both a personal office and a
conference room used by Blagojevich at the offices of Friends of
Blagojevich. The FBI began intercepting conversations in those rooms
on the morning of October 22. A second court order was obtained last
month allowing those interceptions to continue. On October 29, a
court order was signed authorizing the interception of conversations
on a hardline telephone used by Blagojevich at his home. That wiretap
was extended for 30 days on November 26, according to the affidavit.
Another alleged example of a pay-to-play scheme was captured in
separate telephone conversations that Blagojevich had with Fundraiser
A on November 13 and Lobbyist 1 on December 3. Lobbyist 1 was
reporting to Blagojevich about his efforts to collect a contribution
from Contributor 1 and related that he “got in his face” to make it
clear to Contributor 1 that a commitment to make a campaign
contribution had to be done now, before there could be some
skittishness over the timing of the contribution and Blagojevich
signing a bill that would benefit Contributor 1. Blagojevich
commented to Lobbyist 1 “good” and “good job.” The bill in question,
which is awaiting Blagojevich ’s signature, is believed to be
legislation that directs a percentage of casino revenue to the horse
racing industry.
Sale of U.S. Senate Appointment
Regarding the Senate seat, the charges allege that Blagojevich,
Harris and others have engaged and are engaging in efforts to obtain
personal gain, including financial gain, to benefit Blagojevich and
his family through corruptly using Blagojevich’s sole authority to
appoint a successor to the unexpired term of the President-elect’s
former Senate seat, which he resigned effective November 16. The
affidavit details numerous conversations about the Senate seat
between November 3 and December 5. In these conversations,
Blagojevich repeatedly discussed the attributes of potential
candidates, including their abilities to benefit the people of
Illinois, and the financial and political benefits he and his wife
could receive if he appointed various of the possible candidates.
Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly
spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to
the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so,
including: frustration at being “stuck” as governor; a belief that he
will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a
sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake
his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016;
avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate
contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public office;
facilitating his wife’s employment as a lobbyist; and generating
speaking fees should he decide to leave public office.
In the earliest intercepted conversation about the Senate seat
described in the affidavit, Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A on
November 3 that if he is not going to get anything of value for the
open seat, then he will take it for himself: “if . . . they’re not
going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it.”
Later that day, speaking to Advisor A, Blagojevich said: “I’m going
to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and
therefore I can drive a hard bargain.” He added later that the seat
“is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for
nothing.”
Over the next couple of days – Election Day and the day after –
Blagojevich was captured discussing with Deputy Governor A whether he
could obtain a cabinet position, such as Secretary of Health and
Human Services or the Department of Energy or various
ambassadorships. In a conversation with Harris on November 4,
Blagojevich analogized his situation to that of a sports agent
shopping a potential free agent to the highest bidder. The day after
the election, Harris allegedly suggested to Blagojevich that the
President-elect could make him the head of a private foundation.
Later on November 5, Blagojevich said to Advisor A, “I’ve got this
thing and it’s [expletive] golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving
it up for [expletive] nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And, and I can
always use it. I can parachute me there,” the affidavit states.
Two days later, in a three-way call with Harris and Advisor B, a
consultant in Washington, Blagojevich and the others allegedly
discussed the prospect of a three-way deal for the Senate appointment
involving an organization called “Change to Win,” which is affiliated
with various unions including the Service Employees International
Union (SEIU).
On November 10, Blagojevich, his wife, Harris, Governor General
Counsel, Advisor B and other Washington-based advisors participated
at different times in a two-hour phone call in which they allegedly
discussed, among other things, a deal involving the SEIU. Harris said
they could work out a deal with the union and the President-elect
where SEIU could help the President-elect with Blagojevich’s
appointment of Senate Candidate 1, while Blagojevich would obtain a
position as the National Director of the Change to Win campaign and
SEIU would get something favorable from the President-elect in the
future. Also during that call, Blagojevich agreed it was unlikely
that the President-elect would name him Secretary of Health and Human
Services or give him an ambassadorship because of all of the negative
publicity surrounding him.
In a conversation with Harris on November 11, the charges state,
Blagojevich said he knew that the President-elect wanted Senate
Candidate 1 for the open seat but “they’re not willing to give me
anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them.” Earlier in that
conversation, Blagojevich suggested starting a 501(c)(4) non-profit
organization, which he could head and engage in political activity
and lobbying. In that conversation with Harris and other discussions
with him and others over the next couple of days, Blagojevich
suggested by name several well-known, wealthy individuals who could
be prevailed upon to seed such an organization with $10-$15 million,
and suggesting that he could take the organization’s reins when he is
no longer governor, according to the affidavit.
On November 12, Blagojevich spoke with SEIU Official who was in
Washington. This conversation occurred about a week after Blagojevich
had met with SEIU Official to discuss the Senate seat, with the
understanding that the union official was an emissary to discuss
Senate Candidate 1's interest in the Senate seat. During the November
12 conversation, Blagojevich allegedly explained the non-profit
organization idea to SEIU Official and said that it could help Senate
Candidate 1. The union official agreed to “put that flag up and see
where it goes,” although the official also had said he wasn’t certain
if Senate Candidate 1 wanted the official to keep pushing her
candidacy. Senate Candidate 1 eventually removed herself from
consideration for the open seat.
Also on November 12, in a conversation with Harris, the complaint
affidavit states, Blagojevich said his decision about the open Senate
seat will be based on three criteria in the following order of
importance: “our legal situation, our personal situation, my
political situation. This decision, like every other one, needs to be
based upon that. Legal. Personal. Political.” Harris said: “legal is
the hardest one to satisfy.” Blagojevich said that his legal problems
could be solved by naming himself to the Senate seat.
As recently as December 4, in separate conversations with Advisor B
and Fundraiser A, Blagojevich said that he was “elevating” Senate
Candidate 5 on the list of candidates because, among other reasons,
if Blagojevich ran for re-election, Senate Candidate 5 would “raise
[] money” for him. Blagojevich said that he might be able to cut a
deal with Senate Candidate 5 that provided Blagojevich with something
“tangible up front.” Noting that he was going to meet with Senate
Candidate 5 in the next few days, Blagojevich told Fundraiser A to
reach out to an intermediary (Individual D), from whom Blagojevich is
attempting to obtain campaign contributions and who Blagojevich
believes is close to Senate Candidate 5. Blagojevich told Fundraiser
A to tell Individual D that Senate Candidate 5 was a very realistic
candidate but Blagojevich was getting a lot of pressure not to
appoint Senate Candidate 5, according to the affidavit.
Blagojevich allegedly told Fundraiser A to tell Individual D that if
Senate Candidate 5 is going to be chosen, “some of this stuff’s gotta
start happening now . . . right now . . . and we gotta see it.”
Blagojevich continued, “You gotta be careful how you express that and
assume everybody’s listening, the whole world is listening. You hear
me?” Blagojevich further directed Fundraiser A to talk to Individual
D in person, not by phone, and to communicate the “urgency” of the
situation.
Blagojevich spoke to Fundraiser A again the next day, December 5, and
discussed that day’s Chicago Tribune front page article stating that
Blagojevich had recently been surreptitiously recorded as part of the
ongoing criminal investigation. Blagojevich instructed Fundraiser A
to “undo your [Individual D] thing,” and Fundraiser A confirmed it
would be undone, the complaint alleges.
Also on December 5, Blagojevich and three others allegedly discussed
whether to move money out of the Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund
to avoid having the money frozen by federal authorities and also
considered the possibility of prepaying the money to Blagojevich’s
criminal defense attorney with an understanding that the attorney
would donate the money back at a later time if it was not needed.
They also discussed opening a new fund raising account named Citizens
for Blagojevich with new contributions.
Misuse of State Funding To Induce Firing of Chicago Tribune Editorial
Writers
According to the affidavit, intercepted phone calls revealed that the
Tribune Company, which owns the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Cubs,
has explored the possibility of obtaining assistance from the
Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) relating to the Tribune Company’s
efforts to sell the Cubs and the financing or sale of Wrigley Field.
In a November 6 phone call, Harris explained to Blagojevich that the
deal the Tribune Company was trying to get through the IFA was
basically a tax mitigation scheme in which the IFA would own title to
Wrigley Field and the Tribune would not have to pay capital gains
tax, which Harris estimated would save the company approximately $100
million.
Intercepted calls allegedly show that Blagojevich directed Harris to
inform Tribune Owner and an associate, identified as Tribune
Financial Advisor, that state financial assistance would be withheld
unless members of the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board were fired,
primarily because Blagojevich viewed them as driving discussion of
his possible impeachment. In a November 4 phone call, Blagojevich
allegedly told Harris that he should say to Tribune Financial
Advisor, Cubs Chairman and Tribune Owner, “our recommendation is fire
all those [expletive] people, get ‘em the [expletive] out of there
and get us some editorial support.”
On November 6, the day of a Tribune editorial critical of
Blagojevich, Harris told Blagojevich that he told Tribune Financial
Advisor the previous day that things “look like they could move ahead
fine but, you know, there is a risk that all of this is going to get
derailed by your own editorial page.” Harris also told Blagojevich
that he was meeting with Tribune Financial Advisor on November 10.
In a November 11 intercepted call, Harris allegedly told Blagojevich
that Tribune Financial Advisor talked to Tribune Owner and Tribune
Owner “got the message and is very sensitive to the issue.” Harris
told Blagojevich that according to Tribune Financial Advisor, there
would be “certain corporate reorganizations and budget cuts coming
and, reading between the lines, he’s going after that section.”
Blagojevich allegedly responded. “Oh. That’s fantastic.” After
further discussion, Blagojevich said, “Wow. Okay, keep our fingers
crossed. You’re the man. Good job, John.”
In a further conversation on November 21, Harris told Blagojevich
that he had singled out to Tribune Financial Advisor the Tribune’s
deputy editorial page editor, John McCormick, “as somebody who was
the most biased and unfair.” After hearing that Tribune Financial
Advisor had assured Harris that the Tribune would be making changes
affecting the editorial board, Blagojevich allegedly had a series of
conversations with Chicago Cubs representatives regarding efforts to
provide state financing for Wrigley Field. On November 30,
Blagojevich spoke with the president of a Chicago-area sports
consulting firm, who indicated that he was working with the Cubs on
matters involving Wrigley Field. Blagojevich and Sports Consultant
discussed the importance of getting the IFA transaction approved at
the agency’s December or January meeting because Blagojevich was
contemplating leaving office in early January and his IFA appointees
would still be in place to approve the deal, the charges allege.
The Government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reid
Schar, Carrie Hamilton, and Christopher Niewoehner.
If convicted, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud carries a
maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, while solicitation of bribery
carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, and each count carries a
maximum fine of $250,000. The Court, however, would determine the
appropriate sentence to be imposed under the advisory United States
Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is
not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are
entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of
proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.=
ARRESTED ON FEDERAL CORRUPTION CHARGES
Blagojevich and aide allegedly conspired to sell U.S. Senate
appointment, engaged in “pay-to-play” schemes and threatened to
withhold state assistance to Tribune Company for Wrigley Field to
induce purge of newspaper editorial writers
CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff,
John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption
charges alleging that they and others are engaging in ongoing
criminal activity: conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits
for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United
States Senator; threatening to withhold substantial state assistance
to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field
to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members
sharply critical of Blagojevich; and to obtain campaign contributions
in exchange for official actions – both historically and now in a
push before a new state ethics law takes effect January 1, 2009.
Blagojevich, 51, and Harris, 46, both of Chicago, were each charged
with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of
bribery. They were charged in a two-count criminal complaint that was
sworn out on Sunday and unsealed today following their arrests, which
occurred without incident, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United
States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D.
Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation. Both men were expected to appear later today
before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan in U.S. District Court in
Chicago.
A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on
court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or
trade Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack
Obama for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his
wife. At various times, in exchange for the Senate appointment,
Blagojevich discussed obtaining:
* A substantial salary for himself at a either a non-profit
foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions;
* Placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated
she might garner as much as $150,000 a year;
* Promises of campaign funds – including cash up front; and
* A cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself.
Just last week, on December 4, Blagojevich allegedly told an advisor
that he might “get some (money) up front, maybe” from Senate
Candidate 5, if he named Senate Candidate 5 to the Senate seat, to
insure that Senate Candidate 5 kept a promise about raising money for
Blagojevich if he ran for re-election. In a recorded conversation on
October 31, Blagojevich described an earlier approach by an associate
of Senate Candidate 5 as follows: “We were approached ‘pay to play.’
That, you know, he’d raise 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the
other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a
Senator.”
On November 7, Blagojevich said he needed to consider his family and
that he is “financially” hurting while talking on the phone about the
Senate seat with Harris and an advisor, the affidavit states. Harris
allegedly said that they were considering what would help the
“financial security” of the Blagojevich family and what will keep
Blagojevich “politically viable.” Blagojevich stated, “I want to make
money,” adding later that he is interested in making $250,000 to
$300,000 a year, the complaint alleges.
On November 10, in a lengthy telephone call with numerous advisors
that included discussion about Blagojevich obtaining a lucrative job
with a union-affiliated organization in exchange for appointing a
particular Senate Candidate whom he believed was favored by the
President-elect and which is described in more detail below,
Blagojevich and others discussed various ways Blagojevich could
“monetize” the relationships he has made as governor to make money
after leaving that office.
“The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,”
Mr. Fitzgerald said. “They allege that Blagojevich put a ‘for sale’
sign on the naming of a United States Senator; involved himself
personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman
meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an
effort to trample editorial voices of criticism. The citizens of
Illinois deserve public officials who act solely in the public’s
interest, without putting a price tag on government appointments,
contracts and decisions,” he added.
Mr. Grant said: “Many, including myself, thought that the recent
conviction of former governor would usher in a new era of honesty and
reform in Illinois politics. Clearly, the charges announced today
reveal that the office of the Governor has become nothing more than a
vehicle for self-enrichment, unrestricted by party affiliation and
taking Illinois politics to a new low.”
Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. Grant thanked the Chicago offices of the
Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S.
Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of
Inspector General for assisting in the ongoing investigation. The
probe is part of Operation Board Games, a five-year-old public
corruption investigation of pay-to-play schemes, including insider-
dealing, influence-peddling and kickbacks involving private interests
and public duties.
Federal agents today also executed search warrants at the offices of
Friends of Blagojevich located at 4147 North Ravenswood, Suite 300,
and at the Thompson Center office of Deputy Governor A.
Pay-to-Play Schemes
The charges include historical allegations that Blagojevich and
Harris schemed with others – including previously convicted
defendants Antoin Rezko, Stuart Levine, Ali Ata and others – since
becoming governor in 2002 to obtain and attempt to obtain financial
benefits for himself, his family and third parties, including his
campaign committee, Friends of Blagojevich, in exchange for
appointments to state boards and commissions, state employment, state
contracts and access to state funds. A portion of the affidavit
recounts the testimony of various witnesses at Rezko’s trial earlier
this year.
The charges focus, however, on events since October when the
Government obtained information that Blagojevich and Fundraiser A,
who is chairman of Friends of Blagojevich, were accelerating
Blagojevich’s allegedly corrupt fund-raising activities to accumulate
as much money as possible this year before a new state ethics law
would severely curtail Blagojevich’s ability to raise money from
individuals and entities that have existing contracts worth more than
$50,000 with the State of Illinois. Agents learned that Blagojevich
was seeking approximately $2.5 million in campaign contributions by
the end of the year, principally from or through individuals or
entities – many of which have received state contacts or appointments
– identified on a list maintained by Friends of Blagojevich, which
the FBI has obtained.
The affidavit details multiple incidents involving efforts by
Blagojevich to obtain campaign contributions in connection with
official actions as governor, including these three in early October:
* After an October 6 meeting with Harris and Individuals A and
B, during which Individual B sought state help with a business
venture, Blagojevich told Individual A to approach Individual B about
raising $100,000 for Friends of Blagojevich this year. Individual A
said he later learned that Blagojevich reached out directly to
Individual B to ask about holding a fund-raiser;
* Also on October 6, Blagojevich told Individual A that he
expected Highway Contractor 1 to raise $500,000 in contributions and
that he was willing to commit additional state money to a Tollway
project – beyond $1.8 billion that Blagojevich announced on October15
– but was waiting to see how much money the contractor raised for
Friends of Blagojevich; and
* On October 8, Blagojevich told Individual A that he wanted to
obtain a $50,000 contribution from Hospital Executive 1, the chief
executive officer of Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, which
had recently received a commitment of $8 million in state funds. When
the contribution was not forthcoming, Blagojevich discussed with
Deputy Governor A the feasibility of rescinding the funding.
On October 21, the Government obtained a court order authorizing the
interception of conversations in both a personal office and a
conference room used by Blagojevich at the offices of Friends of
Blagojevich. The FBI began intercepting conversations in those rooms
on the morning of October 22. A second court order was obtained last
month allowing those interceptions to continue. On October 29, a
court order was signed authorizing the interception of conversations
on a hardline telephone used by Blagojevich at his home. That wiretap
was extended for 30 days on November 26, according to the affidavit.
Another alleged example of a pay-to-play scheme was captured in
separate telephone conversations that Blagojevich had with Fundraiser
A on November 13 and Lobbyist 1 on December 3. Lobbyist 1 was
reporting to Blagojevich about his efforts to collect a contribution
from Contributor 1 and related that he “got in his face” to make it
clear to Contributor 1 that a commitment to make a campaign
contribution had to be done now, before there could be some
skittishness over the timing of the contribution and Blagojevich
signing a bill that would benefit Contributor 1. Blagojevich
commented to Lobbyist 1 “good” and “good job.” The bill in question,
which is awaiting Blagojevich ’s signature, is believed to be
legislation that directs a percentage of casino revenue to the horse
racing industry.
Sale of U.S. Senate Appointment
Regarding the Senate seat, the charges allege that Blagojevich,
Harris and others have engaged and are engaging in efforts to obtain
personal gain, including financial gain, to benefit Blagojevich and
his family through corruptly using Blagojevich’s sole authority to
appoint a successor to the unexpired term of the President-elect’s
former Senate seat, which he resigned effective November 16. The
affidavit details numerous conversations about the Senate seat
between November 3 and December 5. In these conversations,
Blagojevich repeatedly discussed the attributes of potential
candidates, including their abilities to benefit the people of
Illinois, and the financial and political benefits he and his wife
could receive if he appointed various of the possible candidates.
Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly
spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to
the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so,
including: frustration at being “stuck” as governor; a belief that he
will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a
sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake
his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016;
avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate
contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public office;
facilitating his wife’s employment as a lobbyist; and generating
speaking fees should he decide to leave public office.
In the earliest intercepted conversation about the Senate seat
described in the affidavit, Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A on
November 3 that if he is not going to get anything of value for the
open seat, then he will take it for himself: “if . . . they’re not
going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it.”
Later that day, speaking to Advisor A, Blagojevich said: “I’m going
to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and
therefore I can drive a hard bargain.” He added later that the seat
“is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for
nothing.”
Over the next couple of days – Election Day and the day after –
Blagojevich was captured discussing with Deputy Governor A whether he
could obtain a cabinet position, such as Secretary of Health and
Human Services or the Department of Energy or various
ambassadorships. In a conversation with Harris on November 4,
Blagojevich analogized his situation to that of a sports agent
shopping a potential free agent to the highest bidder. The day after
the election, Harris allegedly suggested to Blagojevich that the
President-elect could make him the head of a private foundation.
Later on November 5, Blagojevich said to Advisor A, “I’ve got this
thing and it’s [expletive] golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving
it up for [expletive] nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And, and I can
always use it. I can parachute me there,” the affidavit states.
Two days later, in a three-way call with Harris and Advisor B, a
consultant in Washington, Blagojevich and the others allegedly
discussed the prospect of a three-way deal for the Senate appointment
involving an organization called “Change to Win,” which is affiliated
with various unions including the Service Employees International
Union (SEIU).
On November 10, Blagojevich, his wife, Harris, Governor General
Counsel, Advisor B and other Washington-based advisors participated
at different times in a two-hour phone call in which they allegedly
discussed, among other things, a deal involving the SEIU. Harris said
they could work out a deal with the union and the President-elect
where SEIU could help the President-elect with Blagojevich’s
appointment of Senate Candidate 1, while Blagojevich would obtain a
position as the National Director of the Change to Win campaign and
SEIU would get something favorable from the President-elect in the
future. Also during that call, Blagojevich agreed it was unlikely
that the President-elect would name him Secretary of Health and Human
Services or give him an ambassadorship because of all of the negative
publicity surrounding him.
In a conversation with Harris on November 11, the charges state,
Blagojevich said he knew that the President-elect wanted Senate
Candidate 1 for the open seat but “they’re not willing to give me
anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them.” Earlier in that
conversation, Blagojevich suggested starting a 501(c)(4) non-profit
organization, which he could head and engage in political activity
and lobbying. In that conversation with Harris and other discussions
with him and others over the next couple of days, Blagojevich
suggested by name several well-known, wealthy individuals who could
be prevailed upon to seed such an organization with $10-$15 million,
and suggesting that he could take the organization’s reins when he is
no longer governor, according to the affidavit.
On November 12, Blagojevich spoke with SEIU Official who was in
Washington. This conversation occurred about a week after Blagojevich
had met with SEIU Official to discuss the Senate seat, with the
understanding that the union official was an emissary to discuss
Senate Candidate 1's interest in the Senate seat. During the November
12 conversation, Blagojevich allegedly explained the non-profit
organization idea to SEIU Official and said that it could help Senate
Candidate 1. The union official agreed to “put that flag up and see
where it goes,” although the official also had said he wasn’t certain
if Senate Candidate 1 wanted the official to keep pushing her
candidacy. Senate Candidate 1 eventually removed herself from
consideration for the open seat.
Also on November 12, in a conversation with Harris, the complaint
affidavit states, Blagojevich said his decision about the open Senate
seat will be based on three criteria in the following order of
importance: “our legal situation, our personal situation, my
political situation. This decision, like every other one, needs to be
based upon that. Legal. Personal. Political.” Harris said: “legal is
the hardest one to satisfy.” Blagojevich said that his legal problems
could be solved by naming himself to the Senate seat.
As recently as December 4, in separate conversations with Advisor B
and Fundraiser A, Blagojevich said that he was “elevating” Senate
Candidate 5 on the list of candidates because, among other reasons,
if Blagojevich ran for re-election, Senate Candidate 5 would “raise
[] money” for him. Blagojevich said that he might be able to cut a
deal with Senate Candidate 5 that provided Blagojevich with something
“tangible up front.” Noting that he was going to meet with Senate
Candidate 5 in the next few days, Blagojevich told Fundraiser A to
reach out to an intermediary (Individual D), from whom Blagojevich is
attempting to obtain campaign contributions and who Blagojevich
believes is close to Senate Candidate 5. Blagojevich told Fundraiser
A to tell Individual D that Senate Candidate 5 was a very realistic
candidate but Blagojevich was getting a lot of pressure not to
appoint Senate Candidate 5, according to the affidavit.
Blagojevich allegedly told Fundraiser A to tell Individual D that if
Senate Candidate 5 is going to be chosen, “some of this stuff’s gotta
start happening now . . . right now . . . and we gotta see it.”
Blagojevich continued, “You gotta be careful how you express that and
assume everybody’s listening, the whole world is listening. You hear
me?” Blagojevich further directed Fundraiser A to talk to Individual
D in person, not by phone, and to communicate the “urgency” of the
situation.
Blagojevich spoke to Fundraiser A again the next day, December 5, and
discussed that day’s Chicago Tribune front page article stating that
Blagojevich had recently been surreptitiously recorded as part of the
ongoing criminal investigation. Blagojevich instructed Fundraiser A
to “undo your [Individual D] thing,” and Fundraiser A confirmed it
would be undone, the complaint alleges.
Also on December 5, Blagojevich and three others allegedly discussed
whether to move money out of the Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund
to avoid having the money frozen by federal authorities and also
considered the possibility of prepaying the money to Blagojevich’s
criminal defense attorney with an understanding that the attorney
would donate the money back at a later time if it was not needed.
They also discussed opening a new fund raising account named Citizens
for Blagojevich with new contributions.
Misuse of State Funding To Induce Firing of Chicago Tribune Editorial
Writers
According to the affidavit, intercepted phone calls revealed that the
Tribune Company, which owns the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Cubs,
has explored the possibility of obtaining assistance from the
Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) relating to the Tribune Company’s
efforts to sell the Cubs and the financing or sale of Wrigley Field.
In a November 6 phone call, Harris explained to Blagojevich that the
deal the Tribune Company was trying to get through the IFA was
basically a tax mitigation scheme in which the IFA would own title to
Wrigley Field and the Tribune would not have to pay capital gains
tax, which Harris estimated would save the company approximately $100
million.
Intercepted calls allegedly show that Blagojevich directed Harris to
inform Tribune Owner and an associate, identified as Tribune
Financial Advisor, that state financial assistance would be withheld
unless members of the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board were fired,
primarily because Blagojevich viewed them as driving discussion of
his possible impeachment. In a November 4 phone call, Blagojevich
allegedly told Harris that he should say to Tribune Financial
Advisor, Cubs Chairman and Tribune Owner, “our recommendation is fire
all those [expletive] people, get ‘em the [expletive] out of there
and get us some editorial support.”
On November 6, the day of a Tribune editorial critical of
Blagojevich, Harris told Blagojevich that he told Tribune Financial
Advisor the previous day that things “look like they could move ahead
fine but, you know, there is a risk that all of this is going to get
derailed by your own editorial page.” Harris also told Blagojevich
that he was meeting with Tribune Financial Advisor on November 10.
In a November 11 intercepted call, Harris allegedly told Blagojevich
that Tribune Financial Advisor talked to Tribune Owner and Tribune
Owner “got the message and is very sensitive to the issue.” Harris
told Blagojevich that according to Tribune Financial Advisor, there
would be “certain corporate reorganizations and budget cuts coming
and, reading between the lines, he’s going after that section.”
Blagojevich allegedly responded. “Oh. That’s fantastic.” After
further discussion, Blagojevich said, “Wow. Okay, keep our fingers
crossed. You’re the man. Good job, John.”
In a further conversation on November 21, Harris told Blagojevich
that he had singled out to Tribune Financial Advisor the Tribune’s
deputy editorial page editor, John McCormick, “as somebody who was
the most biased and unfair.” After hearing that Tribune Financial
Advisor had assured Harris that the Tribune would be making changes
affecting the editorial board, Blagojevich allegedly had a series of
conversations with Chicago Cubs representatives regarding efforts to
provide state financing for Wrigley Field. On November 30,
Blagojevich spoke with the president of a Chicago-area sports
consulting firm, who indicated that he was working with the Cubs on
matters involving Wrigley Field. Blagojevich and Sports Consultant
discussed the importance of getting the IFA transaction approved at
the agency’s December or January meeting because Blagojevich was
contemplating leaving office in early January and his IFA appointees
would still be in place to approve the deal, the charges allege.
The Government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reid
Schar, Carrie Hamilton, and Christopher Niewoehner.
If convicted, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud carries a
maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, while solicitation of bribery
carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, and each count carries a
maximum fine of $250,000. The Court, however, would determine the
appropriate sentence to be imposed under the advisory United States
Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is
not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are
entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of
proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.=
Glen Beck, Joe the Plumber and Sarah Palin
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/19055/
GLENN: What did you think of Sarah Palin?
JOE THE PLUMBER: Sarah Palin's absolutely the real deal. You know, I only got to spend a short amount of time with her but, you know, it was been asked if I felt any presence when I was with John McCain or Barack Obama. You know, with Sarah Palin, I don't want to say I felt a presence but she definitely had energy and she definitely went to work for American people, and it disgusts me on how often they try to bash her just for her sincerity. It's just, you know, she really wants to work for America and I mean, I wish people would listen to her and let them, and let her work for us. You know, she wants to serve us. She's not looking for power.
(Thanks to We Need Sarah Yahoo Group for the above)
GLENN: What did you think of Sarah Palin?
JOE THE PLUMBER: Sarah Palin's absolutely the real deal. You know, I only got to spend a short amount of time with her but, you know, it was been asked if I felt any presence when I was with John McCain or Barack Obama. You know, with Sarah Palin, I don't want to say I felt a presence but she definitely had energy and she definitely went to work for American people, and it disgusts me on how often they try to bash her just for her sincerity. It's just, you know, she really wants to work for America and I mean, I wish people would listen to her and let them, and let her work for us. You know, she wants to serve us. She's not looking for power.
(Thanks to We Need Sarah Yahoo Group for the above)
Newsmax - Poll re: Sarah Palin
Poll title is "Do You Really Like Sarah Palin?"; number of questions asked.
I took it, but it said I'd already taken it... which is not true, however I am signed up for their breaking news alerts already. You can unsubscribe at any time. Most of the time I opt out afterwards on these things (and then clean out my cache, cookies, etc. so they can't keep following me around), but it's a small price to pay for good news so I stuck with Newsmax.
I have mixed feelings about the poll, could just be a gimmick to get you to look at one of their products, but I'm a sap when it comes to any poll involving Sarah. I'm going to do it, along with a ton of others across the country, which is something they're counting on of course!
It's going to sign you up for breaking news alerts from NewsMax, plus after you vote it'll have an ad for an emergency radio...
I took it, but it said I'd already taken it... which is not true, however I am signed up for their breaking news alerts already
I have mixed feelings about the poll, could just be a gimmick to get you to look at one of their products, but I'm a sap when it comes to any poll involving Sarah. I'm going to do it, along with a ton of others across the country, which is something they're counting on of course!
Here's the link if u want to do it: http://news1.newsmax.com/Palin/?PROMO_CODE=7280-1
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Send a Christmas Card to the Staff and Faculty at the University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina has banned Christmas trees. I suggest that we all go out and buy a box of Christmas cards with Christmas trees on them and send one to every member of the staff and faculty we can find at UNC.
If we can find students somehow (legally) let's send them a card, too.
I'm TIRED of being discriminated against.
Passive aggressive protest.
If we can find students somehow (legally) let's send them a card, too.
I'm TIRED of being discriminated against.
Passive aggressive protest.
Another Barack Obama Birth Certificate Case Heads To U.S. Supreme Court...
Another Obama Birth Certificate Case Heads To U.S. Supreme Court...
Posted by: Matt Bruce 12/07/2008 5:20 AM
Press Release: Lightfoot v Bowen...
Mission Viejo, Ca. (NS/OrlyTaitz) -
Let me first start by saying I recieved a phonecall from Attorney Dr. Orly Taitz who will be in Washington, DC Monday December the 8th to file papers about her lawsuit which involves Barack Obama and his birth certificate...
On December 2nd a Petition for an extraordinary Writ of Mandamus was
filed in the Supreme Court of California. This petition (as seen in
the attachment) states that Mr. Obama has not proven his "natural born
citizen" status and cannot be sworn as a president of the United
States and the commander in Chief. There are 7 plaintiffs in this
case and they include Vice Presidential candidate for Ron Paul, on the
ballot in CA, Ms Gail Lightfoot, 4 electors and two registered
voters...
http://www.redcounty.com/national/2008/12/another-obama-birth-certificat/
Posted by: Matt Bruce 12/07/2008 5:20 AM
Press Release: Lightfoot v Bowen...
Mission Viejo, Ca. (NS/OrlyTaitz) -
Let me first start by saying I recieved a phonecall from Attorney Dr. Orly Taitz who will be in Washington, DC Monday December the 8th to file papers about her lawsuit which involves Barack Obama and his birth certificate...
On December 2nd a Petition for an extraordinary Writ of Mandamus was
filed in the Supreme Court of California. This petition (as seen in
the attachment) states that Mr. Obama has not proven his "natural born
citizen" status and cannot be sworn as a president of the United
States and the commander in Chief. There are 7 plaintiffs in this
case and they include Vice Presidential candidate for Ron Paul, on the
ballot in CA, Ms Gail Lightfoot, 4 electors and two registered
voters...
http://www.redcounty.com/national/2008/12/another-obama-birth-certificat/
Chuck DeVore Running Against Barbara Boxer, California
The 2010 elections are well underway! I'll try to keep you updated on various conservative candidates across the states as I hear about them.
Aside from the fact that he's running against Barbara Boxer, I really like the way he's using technology. He has a Twitter site or two, his website is already up and running, he has a YouTube site, he's collecting donations on-line and is OPEN about it, showing who's donated how much and he's on top of his communications... I'm not in California but I know some of my readers live in that very huge state.
Here are some links:
http://www.chuckdevore.com/
http://chuck76.com/twitter/
Here's a YouTube commercial he has at http://www.youtube.com/user/devore4ca
Here's his intro page:
I'm California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore and I'm a candidate for United States Senate in 2010.
Sen. Barbara Boxer's career has focused on stopping domestic oil production, stopping nuclear power, and stopping tax cuts. With more and more Californians out of work, we can no longer afford her "No, no, no" philosophy.
I support environmentally sound oil extraction offshore using slant drilling from inland areas and in Alaska. Boxer claims to be for the environment, but has supported policies forcing America to buy oil from the other side of the planet, then pay more to ship it here. America needs America's oil and gas.
I support modern, safe, and reliable nuclear power to produce baseload power with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions. Boxer opposes nuclear power, but then offers no viable replacement to the massive amounts of coal America burns.
Boxer wants higher taxes, yet America has the second-highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world and our taxes on capital are too high. California requires investments to turn ideas into intellectual capital into innovative products and services. I support lower taxes to spur growth and jobs. Only through higher rates of economic growth can America ever hope to make good on its $86 trillion in unfunded MediCare and Social Security obligations.
Aside from the fact that he's running against Barbara Boxer
Here are some links:
http://www.chuckdevore.com/
http://chuck76.com/twitter/
Here's a YouTube commercial he has at http://www.youtube.com/user/devore4ca
Here's his intro page:
I'm California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore and I'm a candidate for United States Senate in 2010.
Sen. Barbara Boxer's career has focused on stopping domestic oil production, stopping nuclear power, and stopping tax cuts. With more and more Californians out of work, we can no longer afford her "No, no, no" philosophy.
I support environmentally sound oil extraction offshore using slant drilling from inland areas and in Alaska. Boxer claims to be for the environment, but has supported policies forcing America to buy oil from the other side of the planet, then pay more to ship it here. America needs America's oil and gas.
I support modern, safe, and reliable nuclear power to produce baseload power with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions. Boxer opposes nuclear power, but then offers no viable replacement to the massive amounts of coal America burns.
Boxer wants higher taxes, yet America has the second-highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world and our taxes on capital are too high. California requires investments to turn ideas into intellectual capital into innovative products and services. I support lower taxes to spur growth and jobs. Only through higher rates of economic growth can America ever hope to make good on its $86 trillion in unfunded MediCare and Social Security obligations.
Blogging about Obama's Birth Certificate
I know for many that this is an issue that bores... and that many think, as David Horowitz writes in the piece I'm posting below, that it's sore loserism... But no matter how hard I look at the issue I can't get away from the fact that Obama is fighting it. If it's not big deal, produce the birth certificate.
Settle the issue once and for all. WHY is he going to court over it? Why would he give conservatives an issue like this one? Why are so many people looking into it and coming up with more questions rather than answers?
Here's what I posted on the Read My Lipstick Network with more of my thoughts added. I don't like to go into too much of my personal thoughts on the RMLN blog as it's more for general news than MY opinions (although I do get carried away sometimes I know ;-).
Rec'd the following from "The Intellectual Redneck" as a comment on a previous RMLN blog. We can't publish things on here in their entirety from other blogs or publications, can only publish links and a few lines (professional courtesy, and it's illegal, too ;-). Thus, I'm including a link to The Intellectual Redneck (cause it's a good blog even though they're not a member of our Network) here: http://bloggingredneck.blogspot.com/, and then I'm liking to the comment and the original story.
The following, which is excellent as The Intellectual Redneck pointed out, is posted on the History News Network as a comment on "David Horowitz: Obama Derangement Syndrome ... Conservatives Need to Shut Up About the Birth Certificate". Hank Rand makes a very credible case for continuing the quest to have Barack Obama stop stonewalling and produce the easily located piece of paper that will stop all the legal challenges in their tracks. There is NO legitimate reason not to produce a birth certificate if it exists.
If I am to understand David Horowitz correctly, he asserts we should void the Constitution because 64 million voters chose Barack Obama. I would hope that if the question were posed to all 64 million: "Would you void the Constitution of the United States to elect a President", enough would choose to answer No to drop the number of voters for Obama substantially if they followed that through to its logical conclusion.
However, insert the name Barack Obama for President in that question and I would guess that number wouldn't drop quite so drastically. Although I seriously doubt most who punched the Obama name on the ballot knew about the question of his place of birth, and if they did, they "assumed" it was Republican hype.
Horowitz gives Alan Keyes the credit for pushing the birth certificate issue. He is incorrect. Keyes is just the latest to get on the bandwagon. His article, in my humble opinion, is NOT well thought out.
I'll take it one step further for Horowitz... why isn't it important? Why shouldn't we know the birthplace of our President? If it were another issue in the Constitution would Horowitz be so quick to chalk it up to sore loserism? If, instead of Barack Obama, we substituted the name Bill Ayers, or Chavez, or Arnold Schwarzenegger, would he write the same article? What if everyone had gone to the polls and written in the name George Bush giving him a third term? Yes, I know that could never happen given the way the media has trashed Bush, but what if? The voters would have spoken.
Either the Constitution is right, or it is wrong. Either we live by its statements, or we don't. This is a bigger issue than Barack Obama's birth certificate in my mind. This is an issue of lines, of where we're heading in this country, of what is really important.
Mr. Obama needs to produce his birth certificate if he can do so and stop fighting. Unfortunately, I think he's well aware that the chances of the Supreme Court handing down an unfavorable ruling, negating the vote, is highly unlikely. The question will remain. Once he's circumvented the Constitution, the rest of the path he's outlining should be easy going.
Really? (#129849)
http://hnn.us/comments/129849.html
by Hank Rand on December 6, 2008 at 9:44 PM"What difference does it make to the future of this country whether Obama was born on US soil? Advocates of this destructive campaign will argue that the Constitutional principle regarding the qualifications for President trumps all others. But how viable will our Constitution be if 5 Supreme Court justices should decide to void 64 million ballots?"A proponent of the reality that there is an outstanding question that exists relating to Barack Obama's natural born citizenship (not that I have an answer, but rather simply that no answer has been given), my personal opinion is that this has less to do with the merit of this particular Constitutional law...and more to do with the character and integrity of a man who may have gone to such great lengths to, knowingly, break it. And in that course of action, our entire country (not just those who didn't vote for him) and our most coveted process of Democracy (our vote), were defrauded.
http://hnn.us/comments/129849.html
David Horowitz: Obama Derangement Syndrome ... Conservatives Need to Shut Up About the Birth Certificate
http://hnn.us/roundup/comments/57846.htmlSource: Special to HNN (12-6-08)The continuing efforts of a fringe group of conservatives to deny Obama his victory and to lay the basis for the claim that he is not a legitimate president is embarrassing and destructive. The fact that these efforts are being led by Alan Keyes, an unhinged demagogue on the political fringe who lost a senate election to the then unknown Obama by 42 points should be a warning in itself.
http://hnn.us/roundup/comments/57846.html
Settle the issue once and for all. WHY is he going to court over it? Why would he give conservatives an issue like this one? Why are so many people looking into it and coming up with more questions rather than answers?
Here's what I posted on the Read My Lipstick Network with more of my thoughts added. I don't like to go into too much of my personal thoughts on the RMLN blog as it's more for general news than MY opinions (although I do get carried away sometimes I know ;-).
Rec'd the following from "The Intellectual Redneck" as a comment on a previous RMLN blog. We can't publish things on here in their entirety from other blogs or publications, can only publish links and a few lines (professional courtesy, and it's illegal, too ;-). Thus, I'm including a link to The Intellectual Redneck (cause it's a good blog even though they're not a member of our Network) here: http://bloggingredneck.blogspot.com/, and then I'm liking to the comment and the original story.
The following, which is excellent as The Intellectual Redneck pointed out, is posted on the History News Network as a comment on "David Horowitz: Obama Derangement Syndrome ... Conservatives Need to Shut Up About the Birth Certificate". Hank Rand makes a very credible case for continuing the quest to have Barack Obama stop stonewalling and produce the easily located piece of paper that will stop all the legal challenges in their tracks. There is NO legitimate reason not to produce a birth certificate if it exists.
If I am to understand David Horowitz correctly, he asserts we should void the Constitution because 64 million voters chose Barack Obama. I would hope that if the question were posed to all 64 million: "Would you void the Constitution of the United States to elect a President", enough would choose to answer No to drop the number of voters for Obama substantially if they followed that through to its logical conclusion.
However, insert the name Barack Obama for President in that question and I would guess that number wouldn't drop quite so drastically. Although I seriously doubt most who punched the Obama name on the ballot knew about the question of his place of birth, and if they did, they "assumed" it was Republican hype.
Horowitz gives Alan Keyes the credit for pushing the birth certificate issue. He is incorrect. Keyes is just the latest to get on the bandwagon. His article, in my humble opinion, is NOT well thought out.
I'll take it one step further for Horowitz... why isn't it important? Why shouldn't we know the birthplace of our President? If it were another issue in the Constitution would Horowitz be so quick to chalk it up to sore loserism? If, instead of Barack Obama, we substituted the name Bill Ayers, or Chavez, or Arnold Schwarzenegger, would he write the same article? What if everyone had gone to the polls and written in the name George Bush giving him a third term? Yes, I know that could never happen given the way the media has trashed Bush, but what if? The voters would have spoken.
Either the Constitution is right, or it is wrong. Either we live by its statements, or we don't. This is a bigger issue than Barack Obama's birth certificate in my mind. This is an issue of lines, of where we're heading in this country, of what is really important.
Mr. Obama needs to produce his birth certificate if he can do so and stop fighting. Unfortunately, I think he's well aware that the chances of the Supreme Court handing down an unfavorable ruling, negating the vote, is highly unlikely. The question will remain. Once he's circumvented the Constitution, the rest of the path he's outlining should be easy going.
Really? (#129849)
http://hnn.us/comments/129849.html
by Hank Rand on December 6, 2008 at 9:44 PM"What difference does it make to the future of this country whether Obama was born on US soil? Advocates of this destructive campaign will argue that the Constitutional principle regarding the qualifications for President trumps all others. But how viable will our Constitution be if 5 Supreme Court justices should decide to void 64 million ballots?"A proponent of the reality that there is an outstanding question that exists relating to Barack Obama's natural born citizenship (not that I have an answer, but rather simply that no answer has been given), my personal opinion is that this has less to do with the merit of this particular Constitutional law...and more to do with the character and integrity of a man who may have gone to such great lengths to, knowingly, break it. And in that course of action, our entire country (not just those who didn't vote for him) and our most coveted process of Democracy (our vote), were defrauded.
http://hnn.us/comments/129849.html
David Horowitz: Obama Derangement Syndrome ... Conservatives Need to Shut Up About the Birth Certificate
http://hnn.us/roundup/comments/57846.htmlSource: Special to HNN (12-6-08)The continuing efforts of a fringe group of conservatives to deny Obama his victory and to lay the basis for the claim that he is not a legitimate president is embarrassing and destructive. The fact that these efforts are being led by Alan Keyes, an unhinged demagogue on the political fringe who lost a senate election to the then unknown Obama by 42 points should be a warning in itself.
http://hnn.us/roundup/comments/57846.html
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Fleming leads razor-close election for 4th Congressional District race; Carmouche won't concede
Republicans appeared to have held on to a reliably GOP congressional seat Saturday night as Dr. John Fleming narrowly led Democrat Paul Carmouche in Northwest Louisiana's 4th Congressional District race.
Fleming received 48 percent of the vote to 47.7 percent for Carmouche, according to complete but unofficial returns. Fleming led by 356 votes out of more than 92,000 cast.
Fleming declared victory but Carmouche did not concede defeat.
http://www.ktbs.com/news/Fleming-leads-razor-close-election-for-4th-Congressional-District-race-Carmouche-wont-concede-21226/
Fleming received 48 percent of the vote to 47.7 percent for Carmouche, according to complete but unofficial returns. Fleming led by 356 votes out of more than 92,000 cast.
Fleming declared victory but Carmouche did not concede defeat.
http://www.ktbs.com/news/Fleming-leads-razor-close-election-for-4th-Congressional-District-race-Carmouche-wont-concede-21226/
Indicted Louisiana congressman loses re-election bid
CNN) -- Nine-term Democratic Rep. William Jefferson, who has been battling scandals and a federal indictment for the past three years, appears to have lost his bid for re-election.
Louisiana Democratic Rep. William Jefferson has been embroiled in a bribery scandal.
In the 2nd Congressional district, with 79 percent of precincts reporting, Republican challenger Anh "Joseph" Cao -- an attorney and community organizer -- had 52.9 percent of the vote to Jefferson's 43.2 percent.
In Louisiana's 4th District, Democrat Paul Carmouche led Republican John Fleming. Carmouche had 49 percent to 46.7 percent for Fleming, with 579 of 640 precincts reporting. That race was to replace retiring 10-term Republican Rep. Jim McCrery, a top-ranking Republican on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/06/louisiana.congress/
Louisiana Democratic Rep. William Jefferson has been embroiled in a bribery scandal.
In the 2nd Congressional district, with 79 percent of precincts reporting, Republican challenger Anh "Joseph" Cao -- an attorney and community organizer -- had 52.9 percent of the vote to Jefferson's 43.2 percent.
In Louisiana's 4th District, Democrat Paul Carmouche led Republican John Fleming. Carmouche had 49 percent to 46.7 percent for Fleming, with 579 of 640 precincts reporting. That race was to replace retiring 10-term Republican Rep. Jim McCrery, a top-ranking Republican on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/06/louisiana.congress/
Cao over Jefferson in Louisiana
I bet most of you didn't even know there was a hotly contested Congressional race going on down in New Orleans... Well, the Republicans have (according to the AP) added another seat.
La. voters oust indicted Rep. William Jefferson
By CAIN BURDEAU – 13 minutes ago
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Voters in Louisiana have ousted indicted Democratic Rep. William Jefferson and sent a little-known Republican to Congress.
Unofficial results showed Republican attorney Anh "Joseph" Cao denying Jefferson a 10th term.
Republicans made an aggressive push to get rid of the 61-year-old incumbent, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, laundering money and misusing his congressional office.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jhyxqwT9LfU2KxIMO9AMBfWVuuAAD94TKTKG0
Well, hmmm... maybe I crow too soon. I just went back over to Google and they've changed the headline to make it a little less of a sure thing. It's a district that one article made sound like it was drawn specifically for Jefferson... I'll keep watching and will post something if it does change.
La. voters oust indicted Rep. William Jefferson
By CAIN BURDEAU – 13 minutes ago
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Voters in Louisiana have ousted indicted Democratic Rep. William Jefferson and sent a little-known Republican to Congress.
Unofficial results showed Republican attorney Anh "Joseph" Cao denying Jefferson a 10th term.
Republicans made an aggressive push to get rid of the 61-year-old incumbent, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, laundering money and misusing his congressional office.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jhyxqwT9LfU2KxIMO9AMBfWVuuAAD94TKTKG0
Well, hmmm... maybe I crow too soon. I just went back over to Google and they've changed the headline to make it a little less of a sure thing. It's a district that one article made sound like it was drawn specifically for Jefferson... I'll keep watching and will post something if it does change.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Update on Dunkin' Donuts Obama cards
From Sarah, Lipstick Underground (one of our illustrious and industrious Read My Lipstick Members):
I heard back from Dunkin' Donuts.. They say they never issue Obama cards...but folks can customize their own, so that is how these came into existence. Considering the artist is all about propaganda, he probably made it easy for folks to use the image for this sort of thing.
Sarah
Lipstick Underground
http://lipstickunderground.blogspot.com/
Thanks Sarah! Much appreciate the follow up and info.
I heard back from Dunkin' Donuts.. They say they never issue Obama cards...but folks can customize their own, so that is how these came into existence. Considering the artist is all about propaganda, he probably made it easy for folks to use the image for this sort of thing.
Sarah
Lipstick Underground
http://lipstickunderground.blogspot.com/
Thanks Sarah! Much appreciate the follow up and info.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Wondering when the MSM is gonna figure it out???
I scanned a couple of stories about Sarah's visit to Georgia yesterday. She drew HUGE crowds and really does have rock star status. The mainstream media just doesn't get it. They don't understand her popularity and they still don't believe it's real.
You know something else? They don't know we're out here. They don't know (or they're ignoring) all the people like us who love what she stands for, her character, her intelligence, her values and abilities. She's a TRUE rock star, not one of these empty heads who has a God-given talent and a little luck. Well... some of them just have luck, can't speak for the talent.
We need to get active in as many areas as possible on the Internet. We need to have multiple blogs (if time permits). We need to have Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and Yahoo groups going that are associated with our blogs or causes.
We need to make them take notice that we're here.
I'd also suggest that everyone go read a few articles on getting ranking in the search engines. A lot of us don't use key words or labels on our blogs. We should.
Another thing that helps with blogs is to have links to other sites and to mention key phrases in your blogs. For instance, you may have noticed that I will off and on mention something about the Read My Lipstick Network. I do that whenever I can reasonably do it because it helps in rankings, helps in promoting the Network. I try to mention your blogs, which is why doing the hat tip to other blogs is important. They're more likely to find your blog and come read and link to it... Not to mention that it's just the right thing to do!
You have to be reasonable about all the things you do though. The various search engines are set up to ignore obvious attempts to gain rank. In some cases I understand they'll write your blog or website off completely if you try to fool them and get caught.
I'm just rattling off a few thoughts --- you really do need to consider taking a few minutes to read up on ways to increase your readership and visibility on the Internet. If we're going to take the time to write, it is nice to know someone is reading the words and the more the merrier.
OK, I'm done for now. Keep an eye on the Georgia race. I understand the early voting looks like it was swinging in Saxby's favor, but today there's a high Obama supporter ratio of voters heading out to the polls. The numbers give Saxby 50% to Martin's 46%, but there's a 4% margin of error so who knows what those totals really mean.
If you're in Georgia and you're voting Republican, go VOTE. If you have Republican leaning relatives or friends in Georgia, call them and tell them to VOTE.
You know something else? They don't know we're out here. They don't know (or they're ignoring) all the people like us who love what she stands for, her character, her intelligence, her values and abilities. She's a TRUE rock star, not one of these empty heads who has a God-given talent and a little luck. Well... some of them just have luck, can't speak for the talent
We need to get active in as many areas as possible on the Internet. We need to have multiple blogs (if time permits). We need to have Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and Yahoo groups going that are associated with our blogs or causes.
We need to make them take notice that we're here.
I'd also suggest that everyone go read a few articles on getting ranking in the search engines. A lot of us don't use key words or labels on our blogs. We should.
Another thing that helps with blogs is to have links to other sites and to mention key phrases in your blogs. For instance, you may have noticed that I will off and on mention something about the Read My Lipstick Network. I do that whenever I can reasonably do it because it helps in rankings, helps in promoting the Network. I try to mention your blogs, which is why doing the hat tip to other blogs is important. They're more likely to find your blog and come read and link to it... Not to mention that it's just the right thing to do!
You have to be reasonable about all the things you do though. The various search engines are set up to ignore obvious attempts to gain rank. In some cases I understand they'll write your blog or website off completely if you try to fool them and get caught.
I'm just rattling off a few thoughts --- you really do need to consider taking a few minutes to read up on ways to increase your readership and visibility on the Internet. If we're going to take the time to write, it is nice to know someone is reading the words
OK, I'm done for now. Keep an eye on the Georgia race. I understand the early voting looks like it was swinging in Saxby's favor, but today there's a high Obama supporter ratio of voters heading out to the polls. The numbers give Saxby 50% to Martin's 46%, but there's a 4% margin of error so who knows what those totals really mean.
If you're in Georgia and you're voting Republican, go VOTE. If you have Republican leaning relatives or friends in Georgia, call them and tell them to VOTE.
Never, never going to Dunkin' Donuts again...
Hat tip to P.U.M.A. for this photo.
I will NEVER walk in the door of Dunkin' Donuts again (or go through their drive through).
Unless I find out that some individual just did this for himself...
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