Political News Dump

This post is exactly what the title says it is - a place where I dump a ton of different news stories and write briefly about each one.

Report: Obama Continues Strikes Inside Pakistan

Front-page NY Times: The president has expanded its covert war attacking a militant network seeking to topple the Pakistani government. There's been two missile strikes within the country over the past week.

Obama is using the CIA for this, and I feel it is important for everyone to know about it. Click here for the full story.

Ayers: Obama Presidency Could "Burn Up in the Furnace of War"

The former Weather Underground member and Obama acquaintance tells Fox News sending more troops to Afghanistan is a “colossal mistake.”

“I fear that this brilliant young man, this hopeful new administration, could easily burn their prospect of a great presidency in the war in Afghanistan or elsewhere.”

Full interview to air Monday at 9 pm ET on “Hannity.”

I found it interesting that Ayers is appearing on Fox News for two reasons: (1) I didn't think he would want to be on Fox and (2) I didn't think Fox would want him on. As for what he said, I think he has a good point.

Clooney, Biden to Discuss Darfur

The two will meet in Washington Monday evening to discuss the conflict and the actor's recent travels in the region.

I am happy that the administration is looking into the situation.


Holder Headed to Gitmo

Obama's AG will visit the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay Monday as the administration weighs what's needed to shut it down.

Please, please shut this place down. However, it is important that we don't put so much focus on Gitmo that we forget about other similar camps, like one being currently built in Afghanistan.

Rice to Ink Trio of Memoirs

The former Secretary of State signs a three-book deal with Crown Publishers reportedly worth at least $2.5 million. The first book is planned for 2011, will focus on years in White House.

I won't read them.

Debate Begins on D.C. Representation

Senators start debate Monday on a bill that would give the 600,000 residents of Washington, D.C., their own voting member of the House.

Adding a Democrat would be offset by giving red Utah another seat, bringing the House to 437 members.

I hadn't heard anything about this, so it surprised me. I've always felt that D.C. should have representation, although I find the Utah part of the proposal odd. I understand that there should be an odd number in the House, but why Utah now? I think this should wait until congressional redistricting in 2010, in which case the new seat would go wherever it was needed most.

Bunning Apologizes for Ginsburg Remark

Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning (Republican) has apologized after making some pretty awful comments.

U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning predicted over the weekend that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would likely be dead from pancreatic cancer within nine months.

During a wide-ranging 30-minute speech on Saturday at the Hardin County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner, Bunning said he supports conservative judges "and that's going to be in place very shortly because Ruth Bader Ginsburg ... has cancer."

"Bad cancer. The kind that you don't get better from," he told a crowd of about 100 at the old State Theater.

There may be a reason why nobody likes him and he is likely to lose re-election if he makes it out of the Republican primary. Meanwhile, Ginsburg is now back on the bench.

Bobby Jindal's Big Moment

Politico: When the Louisiana Governor delivers the GOP response to the president's message to Congress, most Americans will see him for the first time.

A lot of people like Jindal and compare him to Obama. I think they do this because he is a minority and is young. I really don't think Jindal is anywhere near the skilled politican Obama is.

GOP Governors Split on Stimulus

A rift among Republicans over the spending plan goes on full display on Sunday's TV shows. Schwarzenegger: "I think it's terrific and will help us." Crist: “It’s a matter of helping the people." vs. Sanford: "We're digging yet another hole for ourselves." Jindal: "We should be unafraid to stand up on principle...." NY Times: Debate "will go a long way toward shaping how the national party redefines itself...."

Schwarzenegger (CA) and Crist (FL) represent a more moderate wing of the party. Jindal (LA) and Sanford (SC) represent the stubborn right wing of the party. Whether they like it or not, the stimulus money will help their constituents a lot. I don't think the citizens will appreciate this very much. Meanwhile:

Empire State Senators (Schumer and Gillibrand) call on Obama to give their state the stimulus money that several GOP governors say they don't want.

“If any governor -- Democrat or Republican -- leaves stimulus money on the table, then we respectfully request that funds be distributed to New York.”

Schwarzenegger made a very similar comment. If you don't want it, please, let us take it off your hands.

Schwarzenegger Heads Back to the Big Screen

The California governor will make a cameo in the upcoming Sylvester Stallone film "The Expendables." Will be his fourth movie appearance since being elected.

Cool.

Sebelius: No Talks on HHS

The Kansas governor says she hasn't had any talks with Obama on taking over the Department of Health and Human Services. "There really isn't anything to tell. I haven't had any meetings about the position."

Believe her if you will.

Rulings Diminish Coleman's Chances

A series of court rulings have dealt the Republican long odds for overturning Franken's lead. And/But: He could still be laying the ground for another appeal.

I've been reading about Coleman suffering setbacks for over three months now. This is ridiculous, as is this:

RNC Gives $250,000 to Coleman Recount

FEC reports show the party has invested a quarter of a million dollars in the fight over Minnesota's contested Senate seat. The funds were given to the Republican Party of Minnesota on Jan. 26.

It must be so frustrating to live in Minnesota.

Citigroup Possibly Headed For Nationalization

WSJ: Citigroup is in talks with federal officials that could result in the government substantially expanding its ownership of the bank.

Meanwhile: NYT reports Obama aides will begin taking a hard look at the financial condition of the country’s 20 biggest banks this week.

Plus: Federal regulators deny plans to nationalize any bank but announce they will launch an effort to get more money to banks on Wednesday.

Citigroup is dead. My guess is that the federal government is going to have to nationalize some banks, turn them around, and try to privatize them again as quickly as possible.

Alright, that was a massive dumpage. My apologies. Have a nice day.

Continue Reading...

Coleman Attorney: "I don't care about your procedures."

As the court battles for the Minnesota Senate Race continue, my annoyance at Norm Coleman, or at least his political team, grows.

[Coleman Attorney Joe] Friedberg: In point of fact, even though I did something I wasn't supposed to do with the application, my ballot should still count because my signature is genuine.

Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann: Not according to the procedures we use to determine whether the signature is genuine.

Friedberg: I don't care about your procedures.

(Franken lawyer calls an objection, is sustained.)

Friedberg: Okay, I do care...

This is just ridiculous. Have a good day.

Continue Reading...

Norm Coleman is a Dick

Norm Coleman is a total dick. Go figure. It has been obvious for weeks that Al Franken won the November 4th election. He was certified as a winner, but Coleman contested the election, which prevents Franken from being sworn in. For those who aren’t familiar with this entire recount process, it has been really, really aggravating.

On Nov. 4th, Coleman was up by a few hundred votes. He told Franken that he should concede, even though there were thousands of votes yet to tally. He also said that there should not be a recount because it costs the state money. If the difference between candidates is less than 0.5% in Minnesota, there is an automatic recount unless the losing candidate concedes.

The final votes came in with Franken up by a small amount. Coleman doesn’t concede, instead letting the recount go forth. I welcomed the recount, although Coleman is definitely a hypocrite.

During the recount, there were tons of really crazy ballots viewable online. The Franken and Coleman camps argued the ruling on thousands of ballots, even ones that weren’t worth arguing about.

Both sides dropped some arguments, with Franken dropping most. After the recount, Franken came out ahead by even more.

Then there were absentee ballots that Franken argued were wrongly revoked. When he was ahead, Coleman said not to review them. As soon as he was slightly behind, he said to look at some, but only ones in conservative districts. Now that he is far behind and is going to lose, he wants all of them to be viewed. If he gets his way he is totally screwed because they will most likely increase Franken’s lead instead of shrinking it. He wants them to not be viewed, however, so as to decrease the “legitimacy” of the election, even though it has been pretty fair in my view.

Today, however, is when Coleman reached the status of being a total dick, before he was just a prick. He has taken a day job as a consultant. He knows he has lost. Everyone knows he has lost. He isn’t continuing on his legal challenges in hopes that he will win. My best guess is that he is trying to bloody up Franken as much as he can. Franken is a fairly controversial figure. Any other Democrat would have crushed Coleman, but Franken isn’t any normal Democrat. Coleman is probably working with John Cornyn (head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee) to make this draw out as long as possible to make the election seem illegitimate, which they hope will hurt Franken and make him easier to beat in six years. In addition, they hope that it will affect peoples’ views of the Democratic Party as a whole.

Al Franken will be the next senator from Minnesota. He already won the election, and Coleman’s challenge is unlikely to be successful, and if it is it would only help Franken.

In addition to being a dick, Coleman is likely a criminal as well. He is currently under investigation. The investigation revolves around lodging he accepted in violation of the Senate gifts rule. Coleman used some fundraising money to pay for his lawyers, although, for some reason, I don’t think that is illegal, just pretty unethical.

I’m not sure if Franken will be a good senator or not. I have trouble believing he won’t be better than Coleman, however. I look forward to watching him.

Have a nice day.

Continue Reading...