Glad to see that the blog issues have been resolved.Good morning fellow Dempcrats!

Democrats,sorry.

Good morning, all.

Matt,

Thanks so much for all you and the staff do. I hope you all had a great holiday season.

I'm on my way out the door. This is a fast flyby...

Sarkozy, Merkel, Blair call for new capitalism

By EMMA VANDORE and GREG KELLER, AP Business Writers Emma Vandore And Greg Keller, Ap Business Writers

PARIS – The head of Europe's biggest economy said Thursday that world leaders should be looking at the massive U.S. deficit and other economic imbalances, not just problems caused by financial markets, as they debate a new global order.

Speaking at a conference in Paris on the future of capitalism, German Chancellor Angela Merkel singled out the American budget deficit and China's current account surplus — the difference between exports and imports — as problems upsetting the global economy...

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, leading the two-day conference with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, blamed financial speculators for encouraging a system fueled on debt. He called financial capitalism based on speculation "an immoral system" that has "perverted the logic of capitalism."

"It's a system where wealth goes to the wealthy, where work is devalued, where production is devalued, where entrepreneurial spirit is devalued," he said.

...Blair called for a new financial order based on "values other than the maximum short-term profit."

"The greatest entrepreneur I had the chance to meet was passionate about what he had created, not what he had accumulated," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090108/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_france_new_capitalism

A world-wide rejection of Republican conservative economic ideology? It sounds like Newt and Spunky have killed more than their political party. And Darth Cheney killed our nation's prestige and moral standing in the world.

Way to go you greedy, corrupt bigots.

some people just don't get it! their itty bitty brains don't understand, that global Warming/climate change is measured over a long period, not short term. Compared to 10, 20, 30 years ago, this winter is mild ! Can you imagine what those temps would be, had this been 40 years ago???

Good morning, all!

Go to the front page and read Obama's speech on the economic mess Chimpy caused. He really lays it on the line. I heard some of it on the radio. WOW is all I can say. Here's an excerpt from the transcript on the front page:

This crisis did not happen solely by some accident of history or normal turn of the business cycle, and we won’t get out of it by simply waiting for a better day to come, or relying on the worn-out dogmas of the past. We arrived at this point due to an era of profound irresponsibility that stretched from corporate boardrooms to the halls of power in Washington, DC. For years, too many Wall Street executives made imprudent and dangerous decisions, seeking profits with too little regard for risk, too little regulatory scrutiny, and too little accountability. Banks made loans without concern for whether borrowers could repay them, and some borrowers took advantage of cheap credit to take on debt they couldn’t afford. Politicians spent taxpayer money without wisdom or discipline, and too often focused on scoring political points instead of the problems they were sent here to solve. The result has been a devastating loss of trust and confidence in our economy, our financial markets, and our government.

ahhh, if only all the world countries could be as progressive about global Warming as Germany is!!

Global Warming Melts Winter Joy at Top German Resort

By Erik Kirschbaum

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (Reuters) - Global warming is more than just a theory to Germany's most famous winter resort, where a worrisome shortage of snow in recent decades has forced the Alpine village to reinvent itself.

http://www.zapworld.com/node/709

Germany seeking US global warming cooperation

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/12/16/national/w161406S18.DTL&feed=rss.business

Germany Puts Global Warming Prevention Plan in Gear

http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_read.asp?id=2130610182006

Can you believe simple Laura Bush? Two weeks before she is to get the door closed on her wide butt, she is buying dishes for $485,000 for the white House ! that's OUR money, folks, for dishes she will not get a meal served on!

the Bushs are all a bunch of idiots!!!

PamB on January 8, 2009 at 11:44 AM

Now why don´t you post the actuall winter temps that they had in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast, for, well, lets say the last 40 years then? An in depth record if you please!

PamB on January 8, 2009 at 11:56 AM

The video on yahoo say´s "It´s NOT taxpayers" money sweetheart! fact check your propaganda as ole dopeydoodle would say!

Dearest PamB, please read this, just pulled from yahoo.

Laura Bush unveils George W. Bush state china

By LISA TOLIN, Associated Press Writer Lisa Tolin, Associated Press Writer – Wed Jan 7, 12:37 pm ET

WASHINGTON – First lady Laura Bush showed off a new gold-rimmed set of official George W. Bush state china on Wednesday, with less than two weeks to use it before the family packs up for Texas.

The $493,000 set was inspired by a few pieces of green basketweave-patterned French china in the White House collection believed to have come from James and Dolley Madison. It was paid for by a privately funded trust of the White House Historical Association, which also purchased a second, less formal set.

"It was paid for by a privately funded trust of the White House Historical Association, which also purchased a second, less formal set."

Since when is a "privately funded trust" OUR money as you say?

Pam, the dishes were paid for by a "private foundation". They were delivered and Laura promptly broke a few, so the set isn't complete. It'll take a while for the manufacturer to make replacements because they were supposed to be 1 of a kind settings.

I'd like to know what that "private foundation" got in exchange, and who were the donors. I'm sure Think Progress or some other fact finding outfit is on it. The MSM wouldn't really care to know that stuff.

Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo on January 8, 2009 at 12:11 PM

Lets have a link about her "promptly breaking a few" please!

A Half million dollars spent on dishes, when this country has been driven into the greatest depression in it's history, is just another sick example of Bush failure !! Imagine what that money could have done or provided!!!

isn't it nice that a German citizen, (even a Zugeriste) is so concerned about our money and our country! But don't worry, German, we will take care of our own problems, as evidenced by our recent election where we kicked the ass of Republicans, who ruined our country !!! WE WON. THEY LOST. They are sick to their stomachs over it !

Doo Bee, I watched the video on Yahoo about Bush bimbo with the dishes. She could have fed hundreds of families in poverty with that money, but that shows the brain power of her dumb brain.

that video also had the gal saying the TIMING of purchasing this china was very very strange!

What makes her think that HER taste is what the Obamas will want? Hopefully, they will have other choices if it is something with cowboys on it.

That china is butt ugly! All sorts of sick green smears all over it, like a trool puked on the plate. The Chimpy family should have been relegated to using paper plates and sporks, as befitting their social standing and utter lack of class.

bbl, doo bee. Got my granddaughter today, she wants lunch! You don't put a 2 yr old off from lunch very long !

Here's a pic. If the full size link doesn't work and goes to the story, just scroll down to the 2nd picture and enlarge.

Besides that, why are the taxpayers paying for an electronic gate for Chimpy's new digs in Dallas?

HE should shell out the bucks or stay on his phony ranch in Crapford.

His Secret Service protection ends in 10 years, so what is he going to do then, tear the thing down and donate it to the taxpayers?

If he wants to live in a gated community he should have bought a house in one rather than soak John Q. Public with some ego booster for the WORST president in history to feed off.

12 days until that asshole is gone. I can't wait.

Yikes! It's back up? I thought surely they would keep it down til after the inauguration like they did for Obama winning the nomination.

Anyway, HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR, everyone. It's comforting to see that the current republican leader isn't letting his guard down on remaining an a--hole. Wouldn't want any negroes messing up the Blair House, now would we. Jack--s.

The Reign of Error is over!

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/12/obama_is_a_kenyan_word_for_ken.php

Love Robin Williams...

OOPS, the link didn't take.

Here is the new White House China. I looks like it would be best used covered with spaghetti sauce so nobody has to look at it during a meal.

Pickles' China Syndrome--BLEECH!

good to see the blog back and running.

so how did norm poleman make out???

hahahahahaha

so how did norm poleman make out???

Like this:

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

It's official.

The Senate affirmed the Electoral College vote and...

OBAMA HAS JUST BEEN DECLARED THE PRESIDENT ELECT BY ORDER OF DICK CHENEY!!!

Remember when WE were considered Sore Losermen back in 2000?????????

Now Coleman is sucking his thumb and crying like a girl!

happy new year everyone. hope all of you have a great one, you've earned it! all of us have put in a lot of work getting to this point, some considerably more than others. we've helped elect the most progressive president to come down the pike in a long time and we're finally going to see real positive change. enjoy the fresh air!

peace

sheesh, Stevie, why don't you tell us HOW Franken and the Secretary of State Cheated?

I think the Federal elections board would be very very interested in that !!

teehee. Just another taunt, not really a prediction, right????? hahahhahahaha

Franken will not win because cheaters never win.

That's really funny!!!

speaking of sore losermen, here's a laugh for you !

Palin---if it was not for Low Class, you would have NO Class at all !!!

"One of the more trenchant moments (in fact, the only trenchant moment) comes late in the interview, when Palin is invited to make a comparison between herself and Caroline Kennedy. Basically, Palin seems to think that "class bias" is enabling favorable coverage of the New York Senate hopeful:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/08/palin-caroline-kennedy-ge_n_156335.html

Caroline Kennedy is not seen butchering moose, surrounded by heads of animals, shooting wolves from planes, having a teen child who after fornicating in the back seat of a car, has a fatherless child or rather a deadbeat father with no High School education nor job.

The difference is Day and Night, Palin. Don't even dream of being compared to Caroline!

Good afternoon, all.

BlueinIdaho on January 8, 2009 at 01:09 PM

Blue,

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love Robin.

He once said something like..."When you have lowered the bar so slow you can't climb over it down there in the slime, you know it's time to leave." And so George W. Bush and Darth are going away January 20.

Hallelujah.

this is too funny, too. Remember PNAC and the names of those who wanted to invade Iraq for years and years? Perle was one of the charter members. Now like the rest of the neocons, he is jumping off the sunk ship!

Neocon Richard Perle Renounces His Role In Iraq War

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/08/neocon-richard-perle-reno_n_156306.html

PamB on January 8, 2009 at 03:22 PM

Pam,

Let’s never allow the Sheeple to forget that Jeb (the Smart One) was also a charter member of the PNAC.

You know, the other day when Poppy was talking about his other son running for President I thought at first he meant Neil.

Neil could run with his good friend, spiritual advisor, and media mogul/business partner...the Reverend Moon. Now wouldn’t that top Spunky/Darth Vader as a winning Republican team...right after McCain/Palin?

BoilerMan on January 8, 2009 at 02:54 PM

BoilerMan,

Obama already seems to wear that Eisenhower glow of integrity and trust with the public. Nobody cares when the Rovarians like Coulter or Limbaugh criticize him. Nobody cares when any of the Republicans talk now.

Can you believe that the Earth is round again after 30 years of the GOP saying it was flat?

And Marvin could be the Secretary of the Treasury because he didn't rob enough banks and S & L's in the 80s. Think what he could accomplish by looting Fort Knox!

Sandy, I chuckled when they announced Jebbie would NOT run for Senate in FL. He KNOWS the bush name is crap now, and he has as much chance as the man in the moon!

Pam, if he ran for Senate, he wouldn't be available to run for Prez in 4 years. He's just on hold for now trying to lose weight while Chimpy's stink dissipates.

I can see it now, JEB / Moosemom! (The "smart one" and dumber)

It's not a dream:

http://www.oliverwillis.com/2009/01/08/video-the-house-certifies-the-electoral-college/

Probably the most applause The Evil Lizard has ever experienced when speaking.

Gee taking after her mother who was fluent in 4 languages and educated at Vassar and the Sorborne, before transferring to George Washington University to finish her degree?

That one?

Let's see, Chimpy can't put 3 words together and make 1 sentence in English, and Moosemom flunked out of more community colleges and small schools than even she can name before eventually graduating from the "Weather Bunny" program at whatever school would finally take her Pell Grant money.

At least Sarah's daughter knows who the father is and intends to marry him.

40Sally-* on January 8, 2009 at 03:52 PM

she does?????? Gee, didn't we hear that before? Is this after they get their High School diplomas and he gets a job? Or maybe he will skip out of state and beat it.

My daughter did not fornicate in the back seat of any cars, Stevie. Sorry to break your heart. Someday maybe I will tell you the story, but until then, you just keep guessing !

btw, you DID get your kid on some BC pills I hope. It would be a shame if you ended up getting your shot gun out for the wedding !!! :)

PamB on January 8, 2009 at 03:19 PM

???????????????????????????????????????
Caroline Kennedy comes from a family that is studded with alcoholics, fornicators, and don´t forget what Teddy"the swimmer" did to mary Jo.

The Kennedys, each and every one, are worth FIVE of any Republican ever born! And that just irks the hell out of you boyz, doesn't it. You can't point to one single family that would be as respected or classy as them.

too bad !!!!!!!!!!!!

read it and weep, loser.............

http://washparkprophet.blogspot.com/2005/11/republican-criminals.html

http://www.armchairsubversive.org/

http://hackenbush.org/hackenblog/blogives/00002689.htm

http://recoveringliberal.com/?p=593

http://www.republicancorruption.com/

http://www.liberalslikechrist.org/gopcorruption.html

http://senate2008guru.blogspot.com/2007/08/republican-culture-of-corruption-2007.html

Well, Dems, got to take the munchkin home, so will bbl.....

They got NOTHING! That's why they want to run JEB and that's also why Martinez dropped out. Kit Bond is retiring too, right before the indictments come down.

Pugs are jumping ship early this go-round.

And Moosemom won't even make it through the first round of primaries before she also drops off the edge of that flat Earth she believes in.

Good evening fellow Democrats.

Sarah thinks she's low class? Now she shouldn't put herself down that way.

If she changed parties, read something besides Snowmobiling Today, and quit letting witch hunters lay hands on her, she might raise herself up by the bootstraps. I think she and the whole family might do well on the reality TV circuit.

If Levi doesn't come through, Bristol could be the next Bachelorette...ABC is into single parents right now. Grandma Palin and Johnson could be guest indicters on American Most Wanted along with Gov. Rod?

In a strange sort of White Supremacist religious way Palin's cute as a button. I'd try the weather girl thing again down in Dixie someplace and then take over The 500 Club when Robertson kicks the bucket. He ran for president, too, and utilized Huckabee as his campaign communications guru.

It's in her blood. She's a born trooper...storm trooper for the GOP.

Can you believe that the Earth is round again after 30 years of the GOP saying it was flat?

SandyH on January 8, 2009 at 03:40 PM

Sandy, has it only been that long? it seems like its been forever that the republicans have been tearing apart our government in so many unimaginable ways. that obama is upfront about how we've come to where we are and what needs to be done is utterly refreshing. let's hope the liberal progressive community remains supportive and patient of his efforts. after all, we elected him to take our country back, and he gets it!

Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo on January 8, 2009 at 03:42 PM

DPD,

Marin? How could I forget? Poppy sure fathered a batch of hopelessly mentally-challenged sons. What is Marvin up to these days? Has he been running a defunct hedge fund?

I bet that's why Spunky pushed for a bailout. Marvin lost the entire Bush Crime Family fortune? After all those WMD lies and war profiteering, Brother Marvin speculated all their oil money into worthless pyramid schemes?

It now makes so much sense. I had thought Paulson was just an imbecile.

Finally! I get into the blog after way too long. It kept saying that it couldn't find the address. I was hoping they would fix the site and find a way to cut down on the elephant poop. Oh well!

How did I miss this announcement today?

Missouri Sen. Kit Bond won't seek re-election

By DAVID A. LIEB – 3 hours ago

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Republican Sen. Kit Bond announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election in 2010, saying he wants to go out "at the top of my game" and setting the stage for what one expert said could be a "land rush" for the seat...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5je_sxJSmTfaYU4ES0Hpyr7eU2TQwD95J52VG0

I guess Bond knew that we were bearing down on him hard.

I've had this jerk in my sights since he got caught fighting against generic drugs for Big Pharma. It would have been so fine defeating him. Well, we got rid of Bush/Cheney. I can't have everything.

Another GOP coward bites the dust instead of defending his incompetence. So goes the Republican Party.

Sandy, Marvin is currently a hedge fund manager for some firm in VA after being a major wheeler dealer in the firm that finagled the Security Detail for the World Trade Center

(Remember the short selling right before 9-11?)

Neil is running a scam operation making big bucks off No Child Left Behind

Taht entire low end of Satan's cesspool crawled out of Babs' pooper and got on the public dole from day one. They LIVE for government contracts.

Anyway, It's great to be counting the days to the end of the Bushiato!

I noticed the discussion about Palin's family. I caught a glimpse of Palin on the TV this morning. I didn't see the whole thing, but it sounds like she's trying to say that the Democrats are indulging in class warfare because Obama is picking intelligent educated people for his cabinet!
Things that make you say "WTF???!!!"

...Obama's repeated emphasis amid the stimulus talk on a need for spending control is aimed in part at attracting more support from deficit hawks in Congress.

He said Wednesday, without details, that his initial budget proposal next month will include "some very specific outlines" of how he plans to tackle spending. That extends to the ballooning and so-far unsolvable fiscal problem presented by the Social Security and Medicare programs, which Obama promised would be "a central part" of his deficit-reduction plan.

The stimulus package is expected to easily pass Congress, now controlled by solid Democratic majorities in both houses. But since it is the first major legislative test of an administration that promised to usher in a new era of bipartisan cooperation, and a measure of such enormous scope and import, Obama doesn't want to see it approved on a merely party-line vote.

On Wednesday, he made good on a campaign promise and introduced his choice for a new White House post he is creating: chief performance officer. Nancy Killefer, a professional efficiency expert, is charged with scouring the federal budget to eliminate programs that don't work and improve those that do. Obama called her appointment "among the most important that I will make."...

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090107/D95IJHTO0.html

Ms. Killefer, let me make your job real easy. Remove the FICA cap that is currently at $100K, or so, and return to means testing for Social Security and Medicare. It is past time for the fat cats to pony up. Do the Bill Gates and Warren Buffets of the U.S. really need Social Security? Of course not; yet they only pay 6.2% on their first $100K annually. We the people means all the people, not just the rich ones.

55
Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo on January 8, 2009 at 05:31 PM

Sounds like those "COWS" of Neal Bush's are of that breed know as cash cows.
As for "Why would large corporations fund things that taught rote learning over critical thinking?" That answer is simple. They want the workers to be smart enough to run the machinery, and too ignorant to ask questions about things like working conditions, pay, mandatory overtime, and why the emissions from the factory are turning their kids green.

57
BobVADemocratHawk on January 8, 2009 at 05:34 PM

Programs that don't work? Like the Every Child Left Behind Act? NO-bid contracting? The Bank Handouts which went into the pockets of the rich and greedy with no relief for our worsening economic situation? For a start.
Anybody have any more suggestions for Ms. Killefer?

now this is the kind of thing i was hoping for. i am beginning to believe that the democratically controlled government is going to make the last eight years seem as if we were being led by morons...oh that's right, we were being led by mendacious, greedy morons!

updated 2 minutes ago
AP
WASHINGTON - Democratic lawmakers have reached a deal with Citigroup Inc. on a plan to let bankruptcy judges alter home loans in an effort to prevent foreclosures and said they expected other lenders to follow.

The lawmakers said Thursday they aim to attach the plan to President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus legislation.

The compromise between New York-based Citigroup and Sens. Richard Durbin of Illinois, Charles Schumer and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, would be limited to loans made before the bill is signed. Obama has said he backs the concept.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton isn't waiting to be confirmed to name her team, settling already on several senior positions, say Democratic sources and officials familiar with the transition.

Clinton will retain respected career diplomat William Burns in his current position as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the department's third-highest post, and will select Kurt Campbell, a Pentagon official in her husband's administration, to be assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, they said.

Clinton also is expected to appoint former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke and former Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross to high-profile special envoy posts, the officials said. Holbrooke will serve as a special advisor for Pakistan and Afghanistan and Ross is likely as a special advisor for the Middle East and Iran, they said.

Philip Gordon, a former director for European affairs at the National Security Council, will be nominated to be assistant secretary of state for European affairs, the sources said.

In addition, Clinton will keep Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy, who oversees the department's far-flung worldwide operations, in his post, and will name Princeton University professor Anne Marie Slaughter to be director of policy planning, they said.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the appointments, some of which require Senate confirmation, have not been formally announced.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Meanwhile, at Foggy Bottom, the plot thickens and the plan takes shape. I wish Secretary-designate Clinton the best of luck.

Straight talk on the economic crisis

James Rainey
L.A. Times
January 7, 2009

Business journalists have been straining for months to describe the economy. Some have it "struggling" or "staggering." They've labeled the downturn a "crisis" and a "meltdown." Others have reached for metaphors -- "off the rails" or "in a ditch."

That might have felt like strong stuff, but it pales in comparison to the alarms sounded by Paul Krugman, the New York Times columnist who topped himself Sunday...

"Let's not mince words," Krugman declared. "This looks an awful lot like the beginning of a second Great Depression."...

"There's at least as much risk that politicians will fail to appreciate the urgency of the situation as there is that the public will become excessively scared. So, all around, honesty is the best policy," he continued, by e-mail. "And if the truth is scary, so be it."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-onthemedia7-2009jan07,0,7332196.column

It is getting scary out there, folks.

Forget the stories about closed factories and displaced middle managers scrambling to hold onto a middle class lifestyle with consulting work. There are people going to food pantries with law degrees now and even hospitals are beginning to lay off personnel.

This is the economy the Republicans decided the Baby Boomers were going to face as they retire? They couldn't destroy Social Security so the did the next best thing...destroyed our entire capitalistic engine with globalization? The GOP sold out our nation to wealthy foreign interests and speculators. What a bunch of fine family-values Christian traitors they turned out to be.

Senator Bond can retire but he can't hide. I hope those Chinese bankers holding Bush's debt are hot on his tail and all the rest of those crooked K Street Republicans.

bbl.

WASHINGTON (AP)- Vice President-elect Joe Biden has met with leaders in Kuwait on his way to southwest Asia.

A Biden spokeswoman says Biden and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham arrived in the Middle East emirate on Thursday. The senators met with Kuwait's prime minister and foreign minister to discuss Iraq, Iran and international relations.

Biden is traveling in his role as a U.S. senator from Delaware. He takes office as vice president on Jan. 20 but has not yet resigned his Senate seat.

To protect his security, Biden aides are not saying which countries he plans to visit. The public description of the trip suggests destinations such as Afghanistan, Pakistan or India.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

I see the VP-elect is doing his homework prior to the inauguration. It is so good to know that the smart guys are taking over again. Twelve days and counting...

BobVADemocratHawk on January 8, 2009 at 05:57 PM

Secretary Clinton might very well be Obama's smartest appointment. She's more than ready for this challenge.

I wonder if the world's diplomatic corps has any idea who this woman is. They all thought they knew Bill and how to play him. And after dealing with Rice for the past eight years, they probably aren't expecting much.

Surprise, surprise. Don't get in Madam Secretary's way when she's on a mission and has the U.S. military to back her up. Obama has already put Putin on notice.

later.

Good evening.

Moose Palin just doesn't know when to shut her ignorant yap up:

Palin: Caroline Kennedy Gets Free Pass From Media

Several people have directed me today to the raw video of an interview of Sarah Palin, conducted by John Ziegler, last seen losing his mind at Nate Silver over a weird poll he conducted with myriad foundational logic deficiencies. It's a wide ranging discussion, primarily focuses on the way Palin feels she was treated by the media, which is all she ever talks about anymore.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/08/palin-caroline-kennedy-ge_n_156335.html

What'ya jealous Moosey that Caroline Kennedy can speak coherently? Back to the Tundra with you!

Time to seat Big Al:

Senate open to seating Franken

Neither Al Franken nor Roland Burris have been officially certified as senators, but Democratic leaders are still open to seating Franken while refusing to seat Burris until he has his paperwork in order.

Republicans see inconsistency in this stance, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says the cases are totally different.

"People have gotten the certificate thing messed up," Reid said. "State of Illinois is an appointment. State of Minnesota is an election. Two different things."

Minnesota's canvassing board this week announced that Franken was the winner in his bitterly contested race with Republican Norm Coleman, but state law prohibits granting an election certificate if legal challenges are pending. Coleman is suing over the election results that show Franken won by just 225 votes out of nearly three million cast.

Like Franken, Burris, the 71-year-old former Illinois attorney general, does not have complete credentials to take the Senate seat because he lacks a signature from his secretary of state, who refused to sign the paperwork because he was appointed by scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090108/pl_politico/17226_1

We wouldn't want to deprive the right wing nuts of Big Al. They are just dying for two Democratic Senators from Minnesota.

Food crisis is global warming's biggest threat, say UW, Stanford scientists

Forget ice sheets melting and sea levels rising. Global warming's biggest threat may be heat that wilts crop production across much of the globe, says a UW scientist.

By Sandi Doughton

Seattle Times science reporter

When searing temperatures blasted Western Europe in 2003, more than 50,000 people died and harvests of wheat, animal fodder and fruit fell by up to a third.

Imagine that heat being the norm over much of the world, and you'll have an idea what the future is likely to hold for agriculture — and humanity, says a new report from scientists at the University of Washington and Stanford University.

"I'm not worried about Greenland sliding into the sea. I'm not worried about sea levels going up," said UW atmospheric sciences professor David Battisti. "This is probably the most compelling reason why we need to deal with global warming."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008604722_webwarming09m.html?syndication=rss

Global warming! Hey right wing nuts, it's for real.

Pass the Moose Burgers.

(AP)...Kaine plans to work at the party part-time until 2010, when his four-year term as governor is up and he can take over the DNC full-time.

In February 2007, Kaine became the first governor outside Obama's home state of Illinois to endorse his presidential bid. He campaigned vigorously for Obama nationally and helped Obama become the first Democrat in 44 years to win Virginia in a presidential race. Kaine also was among the finalists for Obama's running mate before he settled on Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.

Last fall, Kaine said he wasn't interested in the DNC job but he changed his mind when Obama pressed him to accept.

Virginia Republicans have criticized Kaine for taking the political job while serving as governor. Kaine has said he will do the DNC job on personal time, evenings and weekends, and take almost no role through next month, while the state legislature is wrestling with a $3 billion budget crisis.

His tasks at the DNC will include retiring the party's $15 million debt from last November's election, reinforcing the message of the new Democratic administration and the party's strengthened majorities in Congress, and preparing for the 2010 midterms and elections beyond.

Dean assumed the DNC chairmanship in 2005 after losing the Democratic presidential nomination a year earlier. He quickly embarked on a 50-state strategy — sending party organizers to each state, even the Republican ones — but his strategy drew criticism from Democrats within the Washington establishment.

In 2006, Dean clashed with Sen. Charles Schumer, the then head of the Senate Democrats' campaign committee, and Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who led the House Democratic effort and is now Obama's incoming chief of staff, over how to spend Democratic dollars. Dean's critics had argued that the DNC's focus should be on competitive races rather than spending its money on strengthening state parties.

But that year, Democrats won in Republican-leaning districts in Indiana and North Carolina to seize control of the House and Senate. And, two years later, Obama captured the presidency in an electoral landslide, racking up decades-long Republican states such as Virginia and Indiana, while Democrats strengthened their congressional majority.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

That's my boy! And he deserves extra credit for not turning this state over to a bunch of backward thinking fat cats as our Lt. Gov. and AG are Republicans. Gov. Kaine (D-VA) will do an excellent job as DNC Chair and he'll continue the 50-state strategy that proved so effective in 2006 and 2008. My obviously biased compliments to the President-elect on this choice. The men from VA, Gov. Kaine, Sen. Webb, and Sen. Mark Warner, will do us proud.

SandyH on January 8, 2009 at 06:07 PM

Secretary-designate Clinton is indeed a force to be reckoned with. Add to that that the bar has been set so low by outgoing Secretary Rice her first term as Secretary of State can only be an improvement over the past four years. I doubt we'll be seeing any more mutinies out of the State Department now.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Eric Holder Jr., President-elect Barack Obama's pick for attorney general, brings to his confirmation hearing next week a dream resume and a bull's-eye target with his picture in the middle.

Holder will get a Republican grilling before the Judiciary Committee Jan. 15. Critics challenge his role in President Bill Clinton's pardons while the No. 2 Justice Department official, as well as his failure to recommend an independent investigation of fundraising by then-Vice President Al Gore.

For conservative Republicans, there's a significance to the challenge that goes far beyond any single nominee: Holder is the liberal face of nominees to come as Obama remakes the federal judiciary, and possibly the Supreme Court, after eight years of a Republican White House...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28558253/

So the Republicans are looking for a fight on the Holder nomination, eh? Fine. In the words of President Bush, "Bring it on". It's about time the Republicans learn what it means to be in the minority.

65
rjsnj on January 8, 2009 at 06:12 PM

"Moosey Palin"? Aw come on rj, aren't you being a bit insulting to moose?
Moose are nice animals who go around minding their own business, wading around in ponds and streams, eating willows and water lillies, unless you mess with them or their offspring and then they will try to tromp you into the pond muck. But they don't go around whining about how they're being treated unfairly because they do stupid things that are shown on national television. Moose are classier than that. ;-)

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