Yesterday I blogged about someone I never heard of and never heard speak before.
But last night on the Rachel Maddow Show I got my first take on the former Illinois Attorney General.
Let's just say there was a bit of a let down...
*sighs*
All during the interview, Mr. Burris defended his credentials, his experience, dedication and service for the people of Illinois. What Rachel tried to point out in a very subtle way is that Roland seems to miss the fact that no one is disputing anything about him ... that the focus of the story was not on Roland himself, but on Mr. Blagojevich and the subsequent political and legal mess he's finding himself in.
Instead of being in the "Impossible Situation" as I mentioned yesterday -- Mr. Burris instead took the take head, bury head in sand, la-la-la-la-la approach to the problem. Seemingly blind to the fact that the appointment of ANY person, regardless of credentials is going to be met with absolute anger by the Senate of the United States.
As I was telling Darby last night -- it doesn't matter if it was Mr. Burris, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Jesus himself that Blago appointed -- no matter WHOSE name that gets put into that hat and tossed into the ring ... that person is going to be met with the angst of both parties because of the insistent calls by all parties concerned that Blagojevich must resign and tender the responsibility of appointing a replacement Senator in the hands of the people of Illinois.
If Mr. Burris has any inkling of responsibility to the people of Illinois - it rests squarely in the fact that the person who just appointed you is not serving the best interests of the people of Illinois by the appearance of impropriety by selling the seat to the highest bidder. Mr. Burris, your appointment is nullified by the nature surrounding the charges the governor is facing. Even in the light of virtually no (initial) impropriety done by Mr. Burris in the current situation -- the appointment is incredibly irresponsible.
The was but one proper course for the Illinois governor -- which would be to step aside and let the investigation complete itself. If in fact Mr. Blagojevich is innocent -- then the politically, socially and professionally responsible thing to do would be to let the process resolve itself until you are vindicated. The behavior we're witnessing is nothing short of calamitous to the sanctity of the high office of Governor. It's a dis-service to the people of Illinois to allow such behavior to continue unabated because at this rate - we have no idea if Roland Burris paid, not paid or otherwise made promises to Blagojevich with strings attached. Only a moron would've done such a thing -- but then Blagojevich has proven anything but being a smart person in this process.
He's taken a wrecking ball to his party and to the people of Illinois and for that Mr. Burris -- for you to stand there and condone the process -- as a former Attorney General -- you should know better. It speaks volumes of your foresight for the people of Illinois and that is truly sad. Everything you have built over the last couple of decades is now washed in the same pond water that Blagojevich has been swimming in since the victory of the President Elect.
I'm sorry I gave you the benefit of a doubt Mr. Burris, but after last night's barrage of opportunities missed ... you simply do not see the forest for the trees.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Impossible Situation
As Blagojevich continues to shrug and disavow any potential wrong-doing ... he named a successor to President elect Obama's Illinois Senate seat: Roland Burris.
Let's keep in mind that Democrats and Republicans have been very animate towards Blago to resign and to relinquish any possibility he has to naming Barack's successor for the U.S. Senate -- which he refuses to even acknowledge. So while I can continue to blog about Blago -- I'm really feeling sorry for Roland Burris in this process.
We don't know much about Roland.
He was the Attorney General for Illinois and like so many people -- he gave Blago money when he was making his gubernatorial run. Roland and others clearly wouldn't have given Blago the time of day - much less invest in his future run for the Senate had they known how much of a crook he was going to be.
Hindsight is always 20/20.
But Roland is in the most impossible situation right now. He has come out against Blagojevich - publicly condemning the "seat for sale" approach to politics. And he now finds himself named for the seat any rational person would want in Mr. Burris' position. The seat has been tainted by Blago's antics and now Roland has to quietly walk away from the possibility of becoming the next Illinois Senator -- or he can choose to fight to keep what has been given to him on a heavily stained platter.
I have no doubt that Mr. Burris is a man of integrity - and that's why he has my most sincere condolences for being put in the position he's in. As Harry Reid pointed out -- this has nothing to do with Roland -- because it's entirely possible that Mr. Burris would have been the best possible choice to succeed the President Elect.
Blago has done everything he can to screw the Democrats in his state -- and the most likely scenario is that there would be a special runoff election being held -- and if that happens, the Democrats may find themselves in big trouble if they can't retain the seat because of one person's mired self-absorbed dreams of this mad man ... the effects could be felt nationally as well.
Instead of doing the right thing -- Blago continues to thumb his nose at the system while even self-admitting it was him in the recordings. This isn't what the democratic party stands for -- and Blago should be ousted as quickly as humanly possible. While I would expect this kind of nonchalant attitude from the Republicans ... I'm not afraid to call out the members on this side and telling them they need to step down.
And to Mr. Burris -- I'm deeply sorry for the situation you find yourself in. I do hope that it corrects itself and you can be the voice of reason for the people of Illinois.
Let's keep in mind that Democrats and Republicans have been very animate towards Blago to resign and to relinquish any possibility he has to naming Barack's successor for the U.S. Senate -- which he refuses to even acknowledge. So while I can continue to blog about Blago -- I'm really feeling sorry for Roland Burris in this process.
We don't know much about Roland.
He was the Attorney General for Illinois and like so many people -- he gave Blago money when he was making his gubernatorial run. Roland and others clearly wouldn't have given Blago the time of day - much less invest in his future run for the Senate had they known how much of a crook he was going to be.
Hindsight is always 20/20.
But Roland is in the most impossible situation right now. He has come out against Blagojevich - publicly condemning the "seat for sale" approach to politics. And he now finds himself named for the seat any rational person would want in Mr. Burris' position. The seat has been tainted by Blago's antics and now Roland has to quietly walk away from the possibility of becoming the next Illinois Senator -- or he can choose to fight to keep what has been given to him on a heavily stained platter.
I have no doubt that Mr. Burris is a man of integrity - and that's why he has my most sincere condolences for being put in the position he's in. As Harry Reid pointed out -- this has nothing to do with Roland -- because it's entirely possible that Mr. Burris would have been the best possible choice to succeed the President Elect.
Blago has done everything he can to screw the Democrats in his state -- and the most likely scenario is that there would be a special runoff election being held -- and if that happens, the Democrats may find themselves in big trouble if they can't retain the seat because of one person's mired self-absorbed dreams of this mad man ... the effects could be felt nationally as well.
Instead of doing the right thing -- Blago continues to thumb his nose at the system while even self-admitting it was him in the recordings. This isn't what the democratic party stands for -- and Blago should be ousted as quickly as humanly possible. While I would expect this kind of nonchalant attitude from the Republicans ... I'm not afraid to call out the members on this side and telling them they need to step down.
And to Mr. Burris -- I'm deeply sorry for the situation you find yourself in. I do hope that it corrects itself and you can be the voice of reason for the people of Illinois.
Friday, December 26, 2008
How did we miss it??
Thankfully someone did some more reading and actually caught this:
"7. 32 Important Words The Media Missed
Back when Henry Paulson wrote up the proposed $700 billion bailout package, it contained this part called "Section 8," whose thirty-two words basically precluded any or all efforts to hold anyone involved in the disbursement of these monies accountable:
"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.""
link
WHAT?!?!?
You mean that Paulson actually managed to skirt around the wishes of the Democrats who called for oversight -- and snuck in this kind of language that all but guaranteed that he could do whatever he wanted with the funds??
I understand that the initial bill grew exponentially to get the attention of the Republicans who voted against the trimmed down -- just get to the facts part of the bill. It took a lot of "sweet sprinkles" before the GOP signed up -- being the wasteful electorate they are....
So how did Paulson keep in play? Especially now that we know that banks have refused to reveal how they're using it despite the fact that they were the ones begging for money for this supposed bailout.
Something stinks royally -- and it's coming from the Bush and his prized Paulson. This should've never been included in the final passage and whoever included it -- should be held completely responsible. I wish this got a lot more airplay in main stream media because someone lied in the process and it's OUR money and should have some say in it...
"7. 32 Important Words The Media Missed
Back when Henry Paulson wrote up the proposed $700 billion bailout package, it contained this part called "Section 8," whose thirty-two words basically precluded any or all efforts to hold anyone involved in the disbursement of these monies accountable:
"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.""
link
WHAT?!?!?
You mean that Paulson actually managed to skirt around the wishes of the Democrats who called for oversight -- and snuck in this kind of language that all but guaranteed that he could do whatever he wanted with the funds??
I understand that the initial bill grew exponentially to get the attention of the Republicans who voted against the trimmed down -- just get to the facts part of the bill. It took a lot of "sweet sprinkles" before the GOP signed up -- being the wasteful electorate they are....
So how did Paulson keep in play? Especially now that we know that banks have refused to reveal how they're using it despite the fact that they were the ones begging for money for this supposed bailout.
Something stinks royally -- and it's coming from the Bush and his prized Paulson. This should've never been included in the final passage and whoever included it -- should be held completely responsible. I wish this got a lot more airplay in main stream media because someone lied in the process and it's OUR money and should have some say in it...
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Republicans and conservatives continue their spiral...
I came across an op/ed piece about the Sacramento Bee cartoonist who also capitalized on the shoe-flinging experience that Bush had in Iraq recently. (read here)
As Rob points out the comments were nothing more than humorous if not completely out of touch:
"Conservative readers have dropped it in droves. Young liberals don't read, and thus can't pick up the slack."
Young liberals don't read??
It's poison like this that conservatives continue to dish out, but have absolutely no basis for. Given that most conservatives are in those "red states" that have a lower education rate. Unlike the coward that posted such trash -- I can at least back it up with substance:
- Look at the top 10
- Look at the bottom 10
1.) Vermont (OBAMA)
2.) Mass. (OBAMA)
3.) Conn. (OBAMA)
4.) New Jersey (OBAMA)
5.) Maine (OBAMA)
6.) Virginia (OBAMA)
7.) Montana (MCCAIN)
8.) Wisconsin (OBAMA)
9.) Iowa (OBAMA)
10.) Pennsylvania (OBAMA)
as opposed to:
41.) Georgia (MCCAIN)
42.) Hawaii (OBAMA)
43.) New Mexico (OBAMA)
44.) Louisiana (MCCAIN)
45.) Alabama (MCCAIN)
46.) Alaska (MCCAIN)
47.) California (OBAMA)
48.) Mississippi (MCCAIN)
49.) Nevada (OBAMA)
50.) Arizona (MCCAIN)
So it would seem that our uninformed midget of a poster would rather mud-sling with lies and fact-less bull crap, than to address the reality that Bush deserves the tainted marks in history. This entire process of trying to make sure he can walk away unscathed is nothing less than criminal -- not after how the Republicans filleted and crucified Clinton for what he done. Oh no, my little elephant friends -- you don't get the pass you're trying to create.
Because the shoe flinging episode is completely appropriate given the symbolic meaning and social implication it carries in the Middle East. Now Republicans conveniently dismiss anything this President has done -- assuming that there's absolutely nothing wrong with killing innocent people in a baseless war in the wrong country. It's horribly unreasonable to have this President trying to re-write his own history that paints the world he wanted to leave, but simply couldn't because he messed it up so incredibly bad.
And that's what the Anonymous mouse doesn't understand or get. Instead of realizing the meaning behind the cartoon - and commenting on the validity of relevance of how this is going to be in history -- he would rather tout some phony line that "young liberals don't read" as some boldface lie in order to deflect and dodge the overriding issue.
It's the standard Rush Limbaugh approach to the conservative party -- and I'm thankful for Rush for having the lack of intelligence to see what it ultimately did to his party of choice. Americans are incredibly pissed off with Republicans and how they've guided our nation into one of the biggest messes most all of us have never seen. They've seen through his smear and factual irrelevancies to really see how much the Republican party cares about the nation.
They'd rather tend to their profits at the cost of American lives than see any of the resounding reasons that led us down this sordid path that we've been on. It started a lot earlier than the Democrats taking control of the Congress -- but that's not what your Republican Faithful will say. They seem to glaze over the fact that the economy was already in trouble with a skyrocketing national debt and unthinkable tax cuts for the rich having any effect except how much it was going to line their portfolios.
Look where that got us.
...and thankfully Americans saw the light as well.
I refuse to let this President "save face" so that any form of his legacy is protected. A real President, a real man -- doesn't care so much about his ego, but cares about every single decision he makes so that it serves his country at its best. That's what makes Obama much more appealing because you get the sense he really does care and can see the big picture.
Bush has been a failure - and he has a lot of fingers to point to -- but it has to start with himself and I don't see that happening anytime in the rest of his lifetime.
As Rob points out the comments were nothing more than humorous if not completely out of touch:
"Conservative readers have dropped it in droves. Young liberals don't read, and thus can't pick up the slack."
Young liberals don't read??
It's poison like this that conservatives continue to dish out, but have absolutely no basis for. Given that most conservatives are in those "red states" that have a lower education rate. Unlike the coward that posted such trash -- I can at least back it up with substance:
- Look at the top 10
- Look at the bottom 10
1.) Vermont (OBAMA)
2.) Mass. (OBAMA)
3.) Conn. (OBAMA)
4.) New Jersey (OBAMA)
5.) Maine (OBAMA)
6.) Virginia (OBAMA)
7.) Montana (MCCAIN)
8.) Wisconsin (OBAMA)
9.) Iowa (OBAMA)
10.) Pennsylvania (OBAMA)
as opposed to:
41.) Georgia (MCCAIN)
42.) Hawaii (OBAMA)
43.) New Mexico (OBAMA)
44.) Louisiana (MCCAIN)
45.) Alabama (MCCAIN)
46.) Alaska (MCCAIN)
47.) California (OBAMA)
48.) Mississippi (MCCAIN)
49.) Nevada (OBAMA)
50.) Arizona (MCCAIN)
So it would seem that our uninformed midget of a poster would rather mud-sling with lies and fact-less bull crap, than to address the reality that Bush deserves the tainted marks in history. This entire process of trying to make sure he can walk away unscathed is nothing less than criminal -- not after how the Republicans filleted and crucified Clinton for what he done. Oh no, my little elephant friends -- you don't get the pass you're trying to create.
Because the shoe flinging episode is completely appropriate given the symbolic meaning and social implication it carries in the Middle East. Now Republicans conveniently dismiss anything this President has done -- assuming that there's absolutely nothing wrong with killing innocent people in a baseless war in the wrong country. It's horribly unreasonable to have this President trying to re-write his own history that paints the world he wanted to leave, but simply couldn't because he messed it up so incredibly bad.
And that's what the Anonymous mouse doesn't understand or get. Instead of realizing the meaning behind the cartoon - and commenting on the validity of relevance of how this is going to be in history -- he would rather tout some phony line that "young liberals don't read" as some boldface lie in order to deflect and dodge the overriding issue.
It's the standard Rush Limbaugh approach to the conservative party -- and I'm thankful for Rush for having the lack of intelligence to see what it ultimately did to his party of choice. Americans are incredibly pissed off with Republicans and how they've guided our nation into one of the biggest messes most all of us have never seen. They've seen through his smear and factual irrelevancies to really see how much the Republican party cares about the nation.
They'd rather tend to their profits at the cost of American lives than see any of the resounding reasons that led us down this sordid path that we've been on. It started a lot earlier than the Democrats taking control of the Congress -- but that's not what your Republican Faithful will say. They seem to glaze over the fact that the economy was already in trouble with a skyrocketing national debt and unthinkable tax cuts for the rich having any effect except how much it was going to line their portfolios.
Look where that got us.
...and thankfully Americans saw the light as well.
I refuse to let this President "save face" so that any form of his legacy is protected. A real President, a real man -- doesn't care so much about his ego, but cares about every single decision he makes so that it serves his country at its best. That's what makes Obama much more appealing because you get the sense he really does care and can see the big picture.
Bush has been a failure - and he has a lot of fingers to point to -- but it has to start with himself and I don't see that happening anytime in the rest of his lifetime.
Monday, December 15, 2008
The GOP continue to disintegrate
The lull in posting here doesn't mean that I haven't been keeping up with the political pot stirring that has been going on. However, there hasn't been much stirring of the pot -- even with all of the news. How come? Because over 70% of Americans think that Obama is doing a great job and he's NOT even President yet!!!
When you cycle those numbers next to the current President dodging shoes in Iraq -- well, let's just say that the Republican Party continues its downward spiral.
Palin continues to try to take the headlines -- but when you read the quotes from other Republicans BESIDE HER and they really don't take her seriously. That's rather astounding when you consider that she almost became the Vice President -- "a heartbeat away" from the Presidency. Even McCain has been quoted recently as to saying that he's not going to automatically fall in line in support of her potential bid in 2012. It speaks volumes in a way - because while she may have been seen by some on the right as being their "savior" - she's proven that she doesn't have a lot of substance. Charisma gets you in the door, but if you can't make the pitch strong and clear -- people are still going to shut you out. She has 3 years to craft that -- and it would be very foolish to write her off.
The delusions by this administration continues to impress. The past couple of weeks have been marked by certain quotations that are supposed to be designed to solidify the legacy left by this Presidency. What makes this delusional is how both Bush and Cheney have declared that Obama has inherited a safer country and he will appreciate what we've done here ... all completely absent of reality. Unless there is some gigantic encyclopedia of classified info that we don't know about regarding the "successes" of this administration, I don't think their resumes are particularly strong. In fact, I think history is going to judge them extremely harsh in the coming years.
The last nail in this "legacy" talk has to be about the economy Bush let sour on his watch. It's convenient that he was one of the leading advocates that we need to further deregulate certain industries and businesses -- and yet we're witnessing a catastrophic collapse of our economy that enjoyed incredibly lax regulations and oversight. Even when the fabled "bailout" of the banks was approved -- the administration and the GOP balked at the idea of providing any sort of oversight into these bailout programs....
Well now it would appear that Bush actually sought to preserve the CEO spending sprees -- while thousands of workers are being forced from their jobs. Where does it make sense that CEO salaries should continue unabated, without oversight -- when hundreds of thousands of Americans are unemployed and businesses are having a tough time pulling it together.
It's ironic that the GOP casually blindly ignored that oversight over $700 billion, but are making such grand overtures about bailing out the auto industry for a paltry 3.5% of the total bank bailout -- where the banks are hoarding the cash instead of making loans like was intended to do in the first place.
Way to go GOP.... As if the sugar sprinkles weren't enough -- you should be ashamed of yourselves and exposed for the frauds you've become. If Americans are going to bailout anyone then sufficient oversight and FOLLOW-THROUGH isn't unreasonable. It's MY money and if they aren't going to be using it wisely -- then I want it back -- thankyouverymuch.
The hypocrisy of the GOP will be its eventual undoing. Obama's crest is just starting to emerge and he has a lot of momentum following him .... is this something you're really ready for, Republicans?
When you cycle those numbers next to the current President dodging shoes in Iraq -- well, let's just say that the Republican Party continues its downward spiral.
Palin continues to try to take the headlines -- but when you read the quotes from other Republicans BESIDE HER and they really don't take her seriously. That's rather astounding when you consider that she almost became the Vice President -- "a heartbeat away" from the Presidency. Even McCain has been quoted recently as to saying that he's not going to automatically fall in line in support of her potential bid in 2012. It speaks volumes in a way - because while she may have been seen by some on the right as being their "savior" - she's proven that she doesn't have a lot of substance. Charisma gets you in the door, but if you can't make the pitch strong and clear -- people are still going to shut you out. She has 3 years to craft that -- and it would be very foolish to write her off.
The delusions by this administration continues to impress. The past couple of weeks have been marked by certain quotations that are supposed to be designed to solidify the legacy left by this Presidency. What makes this delusional is how both Bush and Cheney have declared that Obama has inherited a safer country and he will appreciate what we've done here ... all completely absent of reality. Unless there is some gigantic encyclopedia of classified info that we don't know about regarding the "successes" of this administration, I don't think their resumes are particularly strong. In fact, I think history is going to judge them extremely harsh in the coming years.
The last nail in this "legacy" talk has to be about the economy Bush let sour on his watch. It's convenient that he was one of the leading advocates that we need to further deregulate certain industries and businesses -- and yet we're witnessing a catastrophic collapse of our economy that enjoyed incredibly lax regulations and oversight. Even when the fabled "bailout" of the banks was approved -- the administration and the GOP balked at the idea of providing any sort of oversight into these bailout programs....
Well now it would appear that Bush actually sought to preserve the CEO spending sprees -- while thousands of workers are being forced from their jobs. Where does it make sense that CEO salaries should continue unabated, without oversight -- when hundreds of thousands of Americans are unemployed and businesses are having a tough time pulling it together.
It's ironic that the GOP casually blindly ignored that oversight over $700 billion, but are making such grand overtures about bailing out the auto industry for a paltry 3.5% of the total bank bailout -- where the banks are hoarding the cash instead of making loans like was intended to do in the first place.
Way to go GOP.... As if the sugar sprinkles weren't enough -- you should be ashamed of yourselves and exposed for the frauds you've become. If Americans are going to bailout anyone then sufficient oversight and FOLLOW-THROUGH isn't unreasonable. It's MY money and if they aren't going to be using it wisely -- then I want it back -- thankyouverymuch.
The hypocrisy of the GOP will be its eventual undoing. Obama's crest is just starting to emerge and he has a lot of momentum following him .... is this something you're really ready for, Republicans?
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