Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Daily Quote

"Let's just say it's likely the president-elect will be occupied with many other activities"

-From ABC News: Lynda Douglass, Spokeswoman for President-Elect Obama, responding to whether the President-Elect will attend any of the functions surrounding Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend, prior to his inauguration.

Two-Face

From Think Progress:

Apparently, GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnel doesn't believe in the $800 billion stimulus plan that President-Elect Obama wants to pass upon his swearing in is not worth it. In fact, he is leading the GOP's fight against it.

So, $700 billion for Wall Street is great, but when it comes to the American people, he says, "Screw you!"

Is there any wonder why the GOP lost in November?

Liberal Rantings Top 10 Political Stories of the Year

10. John McCain comes from behind to win the Republican Nomination.

9. Mike Huckabee wins the Iowa caucus.

8. New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns after being caught in a prostitution scandal.

7. The United States Congress passes an unprecidented $700 billion dollar Wall Street Bailout package.

6. President Bush becomes the least liked President in modern history, eclipsing Truman and Nixon.

5. Hillary Cinton comes from behind to win the New Hampshire Presidential Primary.

4. Democrats gain 20 seats in The House of Representatives and 7 seats in The Senate.

3. Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to lead a major party national ticket, beating out Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Presidential Nomination.

2. John McCain picks Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his Vice Presidential running mate, thus reviving the acting career of Tine Fey.

1. Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to win the Presidency in a landslide electoral and popular vote. 365 EV's to 173EV's. 69 million votes to 59 million votes. President-Elect Obama wins more votes than anyother person elected to The Office of the Presidency.

Daily Quote

"The baby's name is Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston and he was born at 5:30 a.m., according to Jones."

-From People Magazine, in announcing the news that Bristol Palin, Governor Sarah Palin's daughter finally gave birth to her out-of-wedlock baby on Saturday.

Honestly, what's with the "T" names anyway?

Daily Quote

"Good riddance"

-CNN Political Analyst Bill Schneider describing how American's feel about President Bush leaving office.

Happy Holidays

Just a very short post today. I will resume posting regular stuff on Friday (hopefully). I want to wish everyone a very Happy Chanuckah, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Be safe and don't drink too much egg nog.

Daily Quote

"But Liza, of course, sang her mother's more melancholy version. And for one brief moment on a cold winter's night just before Christmas, it was as if it her mother were alive to dazzle us, once more ..."

-Kenneth in the 212, in his review of Liza's at the Palace. Below is the clip from Meet Me in St. Louis, he is referring to.



Somehow, this seemed very appropriate, given the state of the country and the general melancholy feeling of sadness and despair permeating the country right now.

This Hits Close To Home

From the Albany Business Review Online:

KB Toys starts going-out-of-business sale

Just as the end of the holiday shopping season closes in, KB Toys Inc. has launched a going-out-of-business sale for all its 461 KB Toys, KB Toy Outlet, KB Toy Works and KB Toys Holiday Stores.

The 86-year-old Pittsfield, Mass.-based toy retailer declared bankruptcy Dec. 11 for the second time in three years. Although it was able to re-emerge after closing half its stores in 2005, there will be no re-emerging this time. KB Toys has stores in Crossgates Mall, Colonie Center, Rotterdam Square Mall and Wilton Mall.

A news release from the company stated that “despite the success that KB Toys had over the last year in improving the retail, wholesale and operational areas of its business, the downturn in consumer spending compounded by a tightening of credit sources have necessitated the closing of all its stores.”

The going-out-of-business savings will start at 40 percent off regular prices. Gordon Brothers Group, a global advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in the retail, consumer products, real estate and industrial sectors, and Great American Group, a provider of asset management, disposition and financial services, are assisting KB Toys in running the final sale.

The company expects to close its doors in the U.S., the American Territory of Guam and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico by early February 2009.
____________________________________________________________

This is tough. Pittsfield is only a 45 minute drive from Albany, NY. There are many people in our area who work for this company, not to mention all of the sale associates at their stores in Crossgates and Colonie Center shopping malls. How many more business are going to be closing?

Daily Quote

From The Politico:

Asked if he had any advice for Biden, Cheney replied with a chill.“Well, he hasn't asked for any, so I won't go beyond where I've been,” Cheney said.

I don't know about you, but I personally believe that Dick Cheney has been the
most destructive man in American politics in the history of this nation. I
believe he is worse that President Nixon and the sad thing is, Dick Cheney will
never be held accountable for his unconstitutional actions. At least Dick Nixon
was held accountable.

Headlines That Matter

Just how bad is the economic crisis?

From the NYT: Toyota Expects Its First Loss in 70 Years. You know things are bad when Toyota is loosing money.

Where did the money go?

From MSNBC:
Where'd the bailout money go? Shh, it's a secret
Banks unable or unwilling to disclose how they're spending billions in aid
Here is a question? Why was Congress so harsh on the automakers about their private jets when the financial industry hasn't gotten rid of their fleets and their CEO's and top exec's are making millions in bonus money?


Um, how much?

From MSNBC:

$1.6 billion went to bailed-out bank execs
Records show bonuses, chauffeurs, health club benefits, financial planning
So, basically, while I am struggling to pay my mortgage and provide for my family, these guys are living the life of Reilly. Wow, I should have gone into financ.


...And now on to the full contact sport of Politics...

At least someone has lofty goals:

From MSNBC:
Obama increases jobs goal to 3 million
‘We're going to have to be bold,’ president-elect says of economic plan
Of course the Republicans in Congress are balking and do not want to pass his stimulus package. Gee, go figure.


Because we only have 29 days left of him...

From The Politico:

Cheney and Biden trade shots
Vice President Dick Cheney took some of the toughest political shots yet in the post-election period, using an interview to belittle Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s constitutional law acumen and pointedly declined to offer his successor any advice. Biden, separately, said Cheney had been bad for the country and had not stayed within the confines of the Constitution...


You know, I scoured many different websites and could not find and glimmer of good news, except for the fact that President-Elect Obama gets sworn into office in 29 days.

Happy Chanuckah!

Happy First Night of Chanuckah!

Daily Quote

"It really depends upon how the—how our nation conducts itself in foreign policy. If we’re an arrogant nation, they’ll, they’ll resent us. If we’re a humble nation but strong, they’ll welcome us."

-President George W. Bush, then Governor of Texas, during the Presidential debate in Oct. 2000 against Vice President Al Gore. Taken from Meet the Press with David Gregory today 12/21/08.

Hmm, words fail me right now.

Daily Quote

A New Daily Feature:

"In both the House and the Senate, the auto vote underscored a regional imbalance that could define, and constrain, the party's agenda through the Obama presidency. In both chambers, the GOP caucus is increasingly dominated by members from the country's most conservative regions."

-Ron Brownstein, from MSNBC on the Republican Party's furthur shift to the right wing of American politics.

Shameless Plug

One Step Forward...

Sorry everyone, I had to take some time off from posting. There were some personal things I was going through and just didn't have any bright ideas to write about. I am not going to get into all my issues here, as this is not the forum for that. But, needless to say, I am back.

And back I am...My first story today has to deal with President-Elect Obama's choice of Rick Warren to lead the invocation at his inauguration on January 20, 2009. There is currently a lot of anger amongst the LGBT Community and women's rights groups about his selection. The thing is, and maybe I am the only who feels this way, but I don't have a problem with this. I know that Mr. Warren is a fierce opponent of gay marriage and gay rights and a woman's right to choose. Yet, I believe that selecting him for the invocation shows that Mr. Obama is willing to take chances and reach across idealistic divides to find a common ground. Unlike his soon to be predecessor, Mr. Obama wants to work with people of different beliefs as opposed to working against them. So yes, the choice does not make me happy, but I don't believe it is one that should be igniting the same kind of outrage as some of Mr. Bush's decisions.

Secondly, the sorry case of Illinois Governor Rod Blogojevich. What a mess. What an idiot. Need I say more? Actually, I am going to. The Governor of Illinois needs to step down immediately. He needs to leave office and let the state he works for get back to business. Next, the news media needs to stop following the red herring of a story of it being a "Scandal for President-Elect Obama." It isn't. Obama had nothing to do with it. Why now, after nearly eight years of not questioning authority is the media getting a back bone? Was the media so infatuated with George W. Bush that they never had to question a single decision he made? Where were these hard questions after 9/11? Where were these hard questions before invading Iraq? Where the fuck were these hard questions when Mr. Bush decided that he was more of an Emperor than a President?

It is really sickening to me to see the media circling like vultures over President-Elect Obama, praying that there is a scandal and they can bring him down. What do I make of this? Well, here it is...The country elected the first black man as president. Yet, we (as a nation) are not convinced he is as "clean" as he says he is. There is a racial prejudice in the media's reporting. There are complaints that he only takes three or four questions in a press conference. Yet, when was President Bush's last press conference? For all the talk of a forward thinking press, they are still stuck with stereotypes of people and believe that a black man is hiding something. I believe that should President-Elect Obama sneeze in the wrong direction some right-wing goon is going to want to impeach him. If the Republicans gain back control of the House and Senate in 2010, we need to be warned that they will start impeachment proceedings against this man.

Yes, we elected a black man to lead our nation. But, we have not left our prejudices aside. If the media had been just as hard on President Bush, than fine, but they were not. I can only draw the conclusion that the mainstream media is just as bigotted as the KKK or Neo-Nazi's. The thing is, they just don't know it.

That's all for now. Have a great day.

Barack Obama Weekly Radio Address 12/6/08

Obama's Cabinet So Far

Position Cabinet officer
Attorney General Eric Holder
Secretary of Commerce Gov. Bill Richardson
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
Secretary of Health and Human Services former Sen. Tom Daschle
Secretary of Homeland Security Gov. Janet Napolitano
Secretary of State Sen. Hillary Clinton
Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gen. Eric Shinseki

Though there are a lot of liberals out there who are groaning that Obama has not appointed more progressive candidates, I personally believe that the choices he has made thus far are amazing. Remember, to become a popular and affective leader, one must lead the entire country, not just his or her base.

Another Kennedy in the Senate?

Caroline Kennedy, the lone surviving child of President John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, is reported to be very interested in filling the soon to be vacant senate seat of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Now, I am not one for grudges, and lord knows the Kennedy's have given a lot to this country, but she didn't endorse Hillary during the primaries and she actually worked hard to ensure Barack Obama defeated Mrs. Clinton. Why should she get Hillary's Senate seat? Ms. Kennedy has never really shown any desire to serve the public in electoral politics. Maybe she thinks she can one-up Mrs. Clinton and be the first woman elected to the White House? I don't think that would happen.

Personally, I believe the soon-to-be vacated seat should be awarded to Kristen Gillibrand. She is a member of the House of Representatives from Upstate New York. It would probably turn over a congressional seat to the Republicans, but I think that is risk worth taking. It would put an upstater in the Senate and it would also ensure that the seat was held by a woman. My other choice to replace Mrs. Clinton would be Nita Lowey, from Westchester County. She has served in the House of Representatives for 20 years I believe and knows New York like no one else.

Those are just my humble opinions and well, I don't believe Gov. Patterson will be asking for me for any advice.

Update

I was just reading on Americablog:

Apparently, Nita Lowey has taken herself out of consideration for the Senate seat. You can read the entire tidbit here.

Deep in Denile!

From Think Progress:

Today, President Bush defended his foreign policy over the past eight years in an address to the Saban Center for Middle East Policy in Washington, DC. At one point, he acknowledged that there was no link between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks but justified using such a connection to push for the Iraq war:

It is true, as I have said many times, that Saddam Hussein was not
connected to the 9/11 attacks. But the decision to remove Saddam from power
cannot be viewed in isolation from 9/11. In a world where terrorists armed with
box cutters had just killed nearly 3,000 people, America had to decide whether
we could tolerate a sworn enemy that acted belligerently, that supported
terror, and that intelligence agencies around the world believed had weapons
of mass destruction. It was clear to me, to members of both political
parties, and to many leaders around the world that after 9/11, this was a
risk we could not afford to take.

Here is the link to the rest of the article.

All I can say is...What an ASS!!!

Trend or Flash-in-the-Pants

Much has been written over the past month about the Presidential election on November 4th and whether it was a trend or a one time thing. Many pundits have said that it spells doom and gloom for the Republican Party. Others have suggested that it was a fluke Obama won. Here is my analysis of the election and what it all means.

1. The Republican Party is not dead. It is far from dead. They will come back meaner and more ferocious in two and four years. However, the Republican brand is not being looked upon in a favorable light. They have a lot of soul searching to do over the next several years. What direction do party leaders want to take the party? Do they swing hard right and make themselves a Christian party? If that is direction they go in, that spells doom for the brand. If party leaders focus on core conservative values; fiscal responsibility, national defense, smaller government, then there is a future for the party. The republicans need to get away from being the morality police for the nation. It is my belief that is one of the reasons they lost so horribly in November. No one likes having others beliefs pushed upon them. After eight years of a President who has consistently told us what we should believe and how we should believe it, the American people are tired. They want to be left alone in their own bedrooms and free to make their own choices in regards to their bodies.

2. The elections in 2000 and 2004 were two of the closest elections in American History. Those elections told us that this country wasn't so much divided evenly, but the citizens of this country were not sure what direction they wanted this nation to move. The fact that President Bush won in 2004 by 3 million votes on a national level and 150,000 votes in Ohio, shows that this nation wasn't sure what it wanted. If this country was truly a "center right" nation as many pundits have suggested, then Barack Obama would never have been able to win election by the widest margin of a non-incumbent in history. The United States Senate would not have come two seats away from being filibuster proof and Democrats would have picked up 20 plus seats in the House of Representatives. We are not a center right nation. We are nation which believes in the best of what people have to offer, whether that is right or left, is inconsequential.

3. If we look back to the elections of 1992 and 1996 you can see the beginnings of a trend toward a more blue America. It is my belief that the 2000 and 2004 elections were just a bump in that road. The southwestern United States were trending blue in 1992 and 1996. Bill Clinton won Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada in 1992. He won Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada in 1996. Also, Bill Clinton won Montana in 1992. As much as the media wants to make those states out to be red states, they truly are not. They are not the biggest battlegrounds either. The new battlegrounds are Virginia, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, Missouri, Georgia and West Virginia. George Bush won Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada by very slim margins. Obama just picked up where Bill Clinton left off. In order for the Republican Party to win the Presidency in 2012, they are going to need to figure out how to win back Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana.

4. This is election showed the American people are tired of the divisive policies of the past 8 years. Remember, President Bush ran on a platform of bipartisanship. What we got was 8 years of the most divisive politics and policies this country has since The Civil War. When Americans voted for President Bush they believed in his assertion of "compassionate conservatism" and not letting politics run policy. Instead, politics was the policy of this country and President Bush ran a White House that had a "take no prisoners" attitude. If you did not agree with the President, you were an enemy. There was not room for a middle ground.

Finally, the biggest question is this: What does President-Elect Obama have to do to keep the Democratic majorities and get re-elected in four years? He needs to run this country like he ran his campaign. He must surround himself with the best people in their fields, regardless of their political affiliation. He must listen to both Democrats and Republicans and create policy that is good for the entire country, not just one portion of the population. President-Elect Obama must deliver on his promises during the campaign. If nothing else, enacting Universal Health care, creating green jobs and alternative energy sources, relinquishing our dependence on foreign oil and foreign financial markets is essential. However, to achieve these things, he will need to work closely with Republicans. If he is able to achieve these things, I believe he will easily win re-election in 2012 and by a wider margin than he won this year.

Georgia Senate Runoff

Today, the citizens of the State of Georgia went back to the polls to decide whether Saxby Chambliss should be returned to the U.S. Senate. As of this writing, Chambliss is ahead 61% to 39%. Unless there is a major upset, Chambliss will be returned to the Senate. It is unfortunate, but not unexpected.

In other news today, Florida Republican Senator, Mel Martinez announced that he would be retiring from the U.S. Senate in 2010. This is unexpected and a great chance for the democrats to pick up a vacant Senate seat. It is very possible that Gov. Charlie Christ will make a run for this seat. As of right now, there is a very long list of possible democratic challengers.

Yesterday, President-Elect Obama announced his national security team. Leading the new diplomatic corps is New York Senator Hillary Clinton. While she and Obama ran a fierce a primary battle, it is believed that she will be more able than anyone else to help President-Elect Obama restore America's status in the world.