Special Interest Politics v. Reality

If the Supreme Court strikes down Obamacare, I would like one card-carrying member of the left -- just one -- to admit that this is about the Constitutionality of the law; not health care.

After admitting that, I would then like that one honest member of the left to admit that the Obama administration royally fucked up by forcing through a health care bill that was unlawful; and instead of advancing the cause of health coverage for all, the Obama administration set this cause back by decades because they fucked up.

This is no longer about idealism, this is about reality. The time for cheerleaders, pom-poms, rah-rahs and sis-boom-fucking-bahs is over. We may vote for a politician, and we may generally like a politician, but if they royally fuck up then it's about time we hold them accountable.

Just saying.

Dancing through the news on Iraq

[Cross-posted from The Middle Everything]

The Guardian:

A wave of at least 14 bombings ripped across Baghdad on Thursday morning, killing at least 60 people in the worst violence Iraq has seen for months.

Radio Free Europe:

The fear now is that today’s attacks, which have occurred amid a rapidly unraveling political situation and the withdrawal of U.S. military support, could signal a return to that sectarian strife.

How pervasive is this sectarian strife?

Russia Today:

Tariq al-Hashemi [Iraqi Vice President] is accused of paying his bodyguards to target government officials in 2006-2007, and was banned from leaving the country on Sunday. But by Monday, when the warrant was issued, Al-Hashemi had already moved to Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region. The move provided the VP with significant immunity to the arrest warrant, given the region’s special status.

Let’s backtrack for a second to put this into perspective. Tariq al-Hashemi is a leading Sunni politician in Iraq’s central government that seeks to bring together the country’s majority Shia Muslim population with the minority Sunni Muslims and Kurds.

Before World War I, “Iraq” was three provinces within the Ottoman Empire: Sunni, Shia, and Kurd. After becoming a country and being forced to live together, a strongman Sunni ruler named Sadaam Hussein came to power and committed massacres against both the Shia and Kurd populations. The Kurd’s still want their own country (hence the “semi-autonomous Kurdish region” in northern Iraq); the Shia and Sunni always seem to have trouble living together.

Iraq’s current Prime Minister, Nouri al-Malki, is a Shiite. And the Sunni VP al-Hashemi apparently contracted out hits on Shia politicians. After al-Malki issued an arrested warrant for the country’s vice president, al-Hashemi fled for safe haven in Kurdistan, which is supposed to be part of Iraq and, BTW, is also part of Iraq’s central government in Baghdad.

So, besides issuing an arrest warrant for a sitting member of that government, what else is happening with Iraq’s central government? Glad you asked.

The Guardian:

The claims about Hashimi, made on state television, which aired the alleged confessions of three of his guards, have inflamed already high tensions between Sunni politicians and the Shia-led government of Maliki, which last week ordered a second prominent Sunni figure, deputy prime minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, to stay away from parliament.

The Sunni-dominated Iraqiya bloc, which has 91 seats in the 325-seat parliament, has flagged a boycott from the legislature by many of its members. Three Sunni provinces have made unilateral declarations of autonomy.

And, of course, massive bombings — right after the last US troops pulled out of Iraq. The timing of all this is peculiar, because…

Russia Today:

The scandal follows the departure of the last remaining US troops from the country, leaving behind what US President Barack Obama called a “sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq.”

Looks like that $808 billion spent on the Iraq war — instead of infrastructure repairs, improving the US economy, and social services — was a complete and total waste.

The Trillion Dollar Sellout/Bailout

Matt Taibbi has a must-read article with a great rundown of the “Armageddon” of lawsuits banks face from states, counties, and investors due to their sale of fraudulent Mortgage Backed Securities [MBS].

[I]f you add up all of the MBS-related liability out there, the banks as it stands are facing an Armageddon of claims from all sides. It can’t possibly be less than a trillion dollars, and it’s probably much, much more.

This is important to know because, in Washington, Obama is busy working on a deal to sell us out to the bankers.

But the Obama administration’s current plan [the foreclosure settlement deal] is to let them all walk after paying a few shekels apiece into a $20 billion kitty.

That’s $20 billion combined from all the big banks, by the way — not $20 billion from each.

At a bare minimum, the Obama administration needs to push for strong regulations to stop this kind of Wall Street excess from happening again. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing big banks broken up into smaller, not-too-big-to-fail banks so this ridiculous merger graph can, again, be seen in reverse:

Indeed, going back to Taibbi:

If the Obama administration was serious about helping actual human beings through this settlement, then it would be fighting for homeowners to get the same bailout the banks would get. If the banks are getting a trillion or more dollars of legal immunity, why shouldn’t homeowners get that much debt forgiveness? Or, half that much? A quarter?

For anyone who wonders why activists are occupying Wall St., and dozens of other locations, look no further. And who anyone who wonders if this movement will benefit the Obama administration, again, look no further.

And for anyone who accuses common sense proposals like regulation and antitrust actions against the current banking system is somehow “socialist” or even from the political left, screw you. Get a couple brain cells to fucking rub together.

The Investors Strike Back

One of the paradoxes of the Great Recession (I do not recognize this "double dip" phrase because I never saw the first recession end) was that corporations were swimming in profits -- and stock prices were sky high. We almost grew used to seeing the Dow Jones index above 12,000 points. All of that changed in the past few days, since the debt ceiling was raised -- the Wall Street ceiling has fallen. Nobody knows when it will land.

Despite investors placing money in corporations by purchasing their stock, American employment has been stagnant -- companies didn't want to hire, despite having the cash to expand. Companies argued that markets for new goods didn't exist since, well, none of them were hiring new people.

That negative feedback loop perpetuated itself until Obama was elected, passed a historic stimulus bill that spent a few hundred billion on needed infrastructure repairs around the country, put people back to work, created markets of employed workers who would purchase more goods, and prompted private companies to start hiring again to cash in on the new prosperity.

Hah! Just kidding. Obama's "stimulus" bill spent $26 billion on highway infrastructure projects, while allotting $116 billion for a tax credit. Fat lot of fucking good that did -- Obama added that to get Republicans to vote for the stimulus deal, which none of them did. Corporations awash in investors money still didn't hire, and now investors finally realized that corporations tied to their stock portfolios weren't going to expand, so they fled.

Lesson to corporations: If you don't spend the money when you have it, then you lose it.

Lesson to Obama: Stop fucking around with Republicans on useless bullshit like deficit cutting when, right now, we need deficit spending like crazy -- and that doesn't mean spending on tax cuts. Raise those. And if you can't sell this policy to the American people, sit aside and let a candidate who will do the right thing run for president.

The Debt Ceiling reflects on GOP's complete lack of economic or world view

Right now, the euro currency is in deep shit. As if debt problems in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal weren't enough, this week's Economist reports on the newest candidate in the Euro Zone's game of "Which country will default first?!", Italy:

Consider the stakes. Italy has the biggest sovereign-debt market in Europe and the third-biggest in the world. It has €1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion) of sovereign debt outstanding, 120% of its GDP, three times as much as Greece, Ireland and Portugal combined—and far more than the €250 billion or so left in the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the currency club’s rescue kitty. Default would have calamitous consequences for the euro and the world economy.

Indeed, if Italy helped caused the euro currency to crash, the world economy would reel. But what countries would have a leg up in amassing capital from such a mess? There are trillions of dollars out there that investors want to use to purchase safe bonds with, and if the fates of strong European economies like Germany and France are tied into Greece and Italy, do you think investors will say "Oh yeah, those German government bonds are an awesome deal right now"? Fuck no.

In other words, investment in American bonds stands to benefit from the woes of Europe's actual debt crisis ... Except the Republicans are insistent upon manufacturing a default here.

Meanwhile in the background [in Italy] is the absurd pantomime of Barack Obama and congressional Republicans feuding over how to raise the federal government’s debt ceiling to stave off an American “default”.

I'm glad The Economist described our current budget battles with the words "absurd pantomime", because I can't think of anything else to describe it without various creative uses of the f-word. Here's a couple other f-words to describe the debt ceiling battle: It's a fallacy, the premise is downright false, and America defaulting on its debt should be a fantasy.

Europe is going through an actual debt crisis right now -- nobody wants to invest their money in European bonds. If the Republicans had any modicum of intelligence on world economic issues, they would understand that Europe's actual debt crisis means that America can cash in by selling low interest bonds. Which means we don't have a "debt crisis" since investors want to lend us money.

But don't expect our media to report this fact, they are hoodwinked by Republican talking points. It would be nice if our president told us we weren't facing a debt crisis, but he's apparently hoodwinked as well.

Question of the Night

Could Obama have handled the Afghanistan war better?

I admit, this is a bit of a trick question. During the 2008 election, I felt bad for whoever was handed this shit sandwich after winning in November -- I didn't think there were any good choices then, and I still don't now. Maybe the best choice would have been to pull troops out immediately starting in 2009, but Republicans would have hammered Obama for that choice until Kingdom Come. And while I could criticize Obama for playing politics by setting timetables for troop withdrawls to be completed after the 2012 election, it's not like he had this other, obviously better option to go with.

In fact, any time I try thinking of what Obama is responsible for in Afghanistan, I keep circling back to the Bush Administration. It was Bush who ignored Afghanistan to wage a needless war in Iraq. It was Bush who installed the ineffective Karzai, who has delusions of dictatorship. It was Bush who never built up Afghanistan's defense forces to secure the country before he left office. Bush had six years to do this and he didn't get past square one. Indeed, one has to question how much of a united polity Afghanistan is -- as opposed to a loose federation of tribes who aren't friendly with each other under an arbitrary national border -- yet it was Bush who convinced that we could go "nation building" in Afghanistan. It was also Bush who oversaw a corrupt national rebuilding effort in Afghanistan where the military gave money to contractors, who took a cut and hired other contractors, who took a cut and... Well, you get the picture. Who knows how many pennies were left to build a school after this process, all to have that school destroyed by the Taliban because we never built up Afghan's security forces to protect the country.

And now... Well, Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, and we're in "peace talks" with the brutal Taliban regime our military pledged to defeat; yet cannot defeat because, like bin Laden, the Taliban take refuge in Pakistan. So we're fighting a war we're not sure we can even war in the wrong place.

This is the definition of a "clusterfuck". Obama's crime lies in continuing the Afghanistan war, and he didn't have much choice in the matter when he entered office.

So the blame for this mess lies solely with former President Bush. This $429 billion mistake, funded after Bush's $1.35 trillion tax cut in 2001, must be considered a major reason for why our country is broke and discussing austerity measures right now. Indeed, this is how Bush's shameful legacy will effect us for years to come.

"Obamabots", the "Professional Left", and total fabrications

Lately, I've contemplated returning to political blogging. (I haven't told Michael Hussey this, and I'm sure my return would be much to his chagrin because it means I'd end up causing a lot more trouble here.) For some reason, I find the Left's current split between Obama partisans and detractors intriguing and I wanted to spend a few months, during the beginning of the 2012 campaign cycle, exploring this issue.

Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Obama and much of my criticism would be viewed under the light of me being a member of the "Professional Left". I don't think Obama is a fighter, and he doesn't have the vision to use the bully pulpit provided to him by the Presidential Office to change the job description of that office; as well as public opinion.

Many of those called "Obamabots" deride my opinion, and claim that the Presidential bully pulpit does not have the power to influence Congress. I'm not sure what rock these people lived under during the Bush Administration, but it must have been a really, really large hunk of granite -- Bush (or Bush's cabinet, if you opt not to give the man credit) knew how to use the Presidential office to display leadership, influence the public, and eventually get their agenda rammed through weakened Democrat opposition in Congress. The Obama Administration, quite frankly, is clueless on how to use the bully pulpit to achieve progressive victories.

Regardless though, when push comes to shove in November, 2012, I'll likely give Obama my vote again. I remember the mantra on the Naderite hard left in 2000 that there wasn't a difference between Bush and Gore, and, well, they were wrong. I'd rather have a weak Democrat in office than a Republican of any stripe.

But I would not like to get involved with political writing again because I can't take the stupidity and dishonesty of politics. Case in point, let's look at a tweet from Dan Choi -- who would be one of my allies if I chose to go back into political blogging and throw my lot in with the "Professional Left":



Perhaps this tweet was sarcastic -- Choi doesn't mention such in the tweet, nor does he note the intent of this tweet elsewhere on his Twitter feed -- but that doesn't matter. Choi attributed a quote to Obama that the President never said. In case you missed this class in first grade, this is called a "lie". And people who willfully tell lies to defame their opponents are "dishonest". And you should not trust a dishonest person.

I no longer trust Mr. Choi.

Whenever I express my opinions about our president's actions, and how disappointed I am during his occupancy of the Oval Office, I do my best to stick to the facts. And when I say "our president", this counts for both Republicans and Democrats -- I defended Bush from lies, too. And I fucking hated the guy. But when you build a case against a politician, if you veer away from facts and base your opinion on fabrications, then you really need to step back, assess your actions, and ask yourself if you're a fucking asshole.

I don't trust fucking assholes.

Unfortunately, the political game is full of frustrating fabrications. Choi's statement is a small drop in the ocean of dishonest politics. So, regarding the future of my career as a political blogger, I'm still opting out of it because I don't want to spend countless hours countering the endless parade of lies. There is nothing gained intellectually from this charade. Personally, instead of returning to political blogging, I'd rather expand my base off knowledge by researching other topics.

But, while pondering a return to the blogging realm, I thought it best to highlight the dishonesty of one who I should naturally be allies with to tell myself that, you know, perhaps it's best not to return.

Blast From the Past: Sen Obama On Going After OBL

Remember when John McCain and Hillary Clinton said Barack Obama was foolish for saying he would order action against Osama bin Laden. Regardless of whether or not he had the permission of the Pakistan government. McCain attempted to portray Obama as experience since McCain was so right about Iraq.

Budget Bitching Open Thread

I know it's the 100th anniversary of Reagan's birthday, but I think Obama took the celebrations overboard when he offered a budget that was Ronnie's wet dream. And for anyone who didn't think social service programs would stare down massive cuts after we elected a "progressive" to office, Uncle Barry's just said "SURPRIIISSSSEEE!"

I think the worst thing about this administration is Obama's willingness to take so much off the table before anteing up. Obama's budget is supposed to be the first bargaining chip in a battle where his Republican opponents will be huge crybabies no matter what he does. Obama could give Republicans everything they want -- no taxes ever again, a huge military that uses nuclear weapons during invasions, Christianity mandated by law with government subsidies for forced conversions of the unwilling, deathrow for abortion doctors and anyone deemed a "faggot", and Rush Limbaugh gets all the teenage sex and OxyC pills he wants -- and the Republicans would still say Obama is a Muslim socialist who wants to place us under shari`a law and make man/woman marriage illegal. I don't know if Obama has been asleep for the past 25 years, but THIS IS WHAT THE REPUBLICANS DO! This is the same party that led impeachment hearings over A BLOWJOB! A FUCKING BLOWJOB!!!

You know those things teenagers get in a Burger King bathroom? Apparently, they're unconstitutional! Oh, BTW, "Burger King" is not in the Constitution either, so they're also unconstitutional.

So, why in God's name would Obama offer up a budget that gives the Republicans what they want when EVERYBODY AND THEIR FUCKING MOTHER knows how the Republicans will react? Why take all your bargaining chips off the table before negotiations have begun? Why? Is Obama stupid, fucking stupid, of fucking sheep?

Sigh...

I vented. Your turn.

Quote of the Day

"We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage, whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma.We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was president... "

Barack Obama, accepting the Democratic nomination.

I wonder if Obama still measures progress by that same standard.

Exporting Obama's Future

[This essay, about Obama's future, is the second essay I've published about the president today. The first essay is about Obama's past, and you can read it on Comments From Left Field.]

Some people think the timing of President Obama's economic trip to Asia, right after his spanking in the 2010 midterms, is too much of a coincidence. It has been insinuated that Obama is trying to avoid the news media, but the president timed his trip with India's Dilawi holiday -- which "is considered lucky for investments and business deals." So we can remove "fear of media" as one cause for the trip.

There's another coincidence of timing that hasn't been mentioned, though.

Just as Obama took off for his trip, the Federal Reserve is creating $600 billion out of thin air. Nominally, we've been told that the Fed is afraid of price deflation. This $600 billion is meant to insure that prices stay at their current levels, as well as flood the economy with so much money that business want to borrow, and banks have to lend. Getting banks to lend again has been the crux of our economic concerns. I'd argue that the fact they haven't been lending, despite being able to borrow money from the Fed at practically no interest for years now, makes banks pretty unpatriotic -- but that's another post for another time.

The Fed's intentions stand a chance of backfiring on the economy because $600 billion of new dollars is going to weaken the value of the dollar. We're already seeing the commodities market adjust to price inflation, and I don't even want to know what a gallon of gas will cost 2-3 months from now. Inflation, after all, raises prices -- but what happens if inflation rises faster than salaries? Americans are already pissed off, so why undercut the value of a dollar at a time when the economy is slumping?

For the answer, read President Obama's op-ed piece about his Asian trip in Saturday's New York Times. In fact, go read it now. I'll wait.

Finished? Great, now it's quiz time! How many times did Obama mention "China" in his op-ed piece? Can't recall? Once, maybe twice.. Hey, shouldn't a piece about American economic ambitions in Asia be all about our relations with China? You would think, but Obama didn't mention China by name once in his op-ed piece. You'd think the country somehow fell off the Asian political map.

But Obama's Asian trip is all about China, even if he won't mention it. For months now, the Obama administration has complained that the Chinese government deflates the value of its currency to make its exports cheap. In effect, the Chinese government undercuts global competition by letting the wholesale price of its goods rest on a currency that should be stronger if not for Chinese government manipulation.

So when you can't beat'em, join'em. When an high value dollar doesn't allow US exports prices to compete with Chinese goods, then why not have our government artificially decrease the price of our currency? Then when President Obama times his Asian economic trip during India's Dilawi holiday to open up new markets for US exports in Asia, he can point to the Feds actions and say, "Look guys, the price is right."

If this Federal Reserve Stimulus gamble revives the American manufacturing sector, then Obama will look pretty smart. But the president is taking a risk here, one that has less than two years to produce results. The rise of the cost of living in America will start taking its toll in 2011, and artificially inflating prices won't make Americans happy.

Obama's ardent supporters can talk all they want about how the president has lowered taxes for the middle class, but if the Health Care overhaul causes health insurance prices to spike next year, nobody's going to notice the difference between lower income taxes and whatever else the government just did to maul their paycheck. Obama's ardent supporters will also claim that his Health Care overhaul will not allow for an increase in coverage rates, but on a personal note, I'll tell you one thing: the Human Resources department where I work is afraid. They have no clue what's going to happen to health insurance prices next year, and projecting such prices is their job.

As for the possibility of a second stimulus bill, it's not going to happen with the GOP at the helm in the House of Representatives. Obama needed to get stronger stimulus passed at the beginning of his administration, but instead he watered down the stimulus bill with a lot of tax cuts in order to reach a bipartisan consensus with Republicans. Looking at last Tuesday's elections results, I don't think that whole consensus thing worked. Neither did the stimulus bill. We can all agree that stimulus helped the American economy avoid another depression, but it wasn't enough.

With more stimulus off the table, flooding the economy with billions so the value of the dollar dips, making our exports cheaper, is Obama's last hope of reviving American businesses. But lowering the dollar means increasing the cost of living. American workers must be able to find better paying jobs within the next 3-16 months for this plan to work -- hence why Obama is trying to open up export markets in Asia.

If time is on Obama's side by November, 2012, then Obama will have survived his ignorance of the Old Deal by uniting Americans behind a cause the left, right, and mighty middle can all agree upon: Battling the new economic giant, China, for global position of the world's greatest superpower.

Eating words is Rich

Frank Rich, 2/14/2009:

The G.O.P. doesn’t recognize that it emerged from the stimulus battle even worse off than when it started. That obliviousness gives the president the opening to win more ambitious policy victories than last week’s. Having checked the box on attempted bipartisanship, Obama can now move in for the kill.

Frank Rich, 9/12/2010:

NO, he can’t. President Obama can’t reverse the unemployment numbers by Election Day. He can’t get even a modest new stimulus bill past the Party of No, and even if he could, there would be few jobs to show for it until (maybe) 2011. Nor can he rewrite the history of his administration. Its signal accomplishments to date are an initial stimulus package that was overrun by the calamity at hand and a marathon health care battle as yet better known for its unseemly orgy of backroom wrangling than its concrete results. While that brawl raged, the White House seemed indifferent to the mounting number of Americans being tossed onto the Great Recession scrapheap.

Oh Frank, Frank, Frank...

How to tell when they've got nothing

One headline now running at Satan Malkin's bloggegeddon:

President Glistening Pecs laughs at Jessica Simpson’s weight problem

Generally the more pathetic wingnut headlines are, the less of an actual story they have. I would say this is rock bottom, but we've still got (at least) four more years for Satan Malkin and her ilk keep digging -- and keep us laughing.

Questions on questions

Here's the cover of the latest issue of Foreign Policy magazine, featuring a darkened photo of Obama looking distressed with the caption "Yes, he did -- But what if he can't?"

I just checked Foreign Policy's archive to see if their covers from November 2000 - January 2001 had a similar theme, questioning Bush's ability to lead and govern. They didn't.

Foreign Policy magazine is hardly the only entity that pitches such questions of Obama; this cover symbolizes a seeming anti-Obama mindset among some in the media. And I understand that Obama starts his presidency during perilous times, which plays a role in desperation-themed covers him -- his policies needed to be questioned right from the get-go because his decisions right now may effect us for generations to come. Whereas when Bush came into office, what's the most important things we were thinking about? I remember tax cuts, stem cell research, and yet another sex scandal were in the news before 9/11. That's certainly small potatoes compared with the problems Obama faces (cleaning up Bush's mess).

But the fact still stands that in early 2001, outside of the pages of such not-exactly well read magazines like Mother Jones (though they should be taken more seriously, especially for their investigative reporting), and websites like Common Dreams and MoveOn, the media mindset of questioning Bush (like they are of Obama right now) didn't exist. Given the problems our country faces now, maybe it should have.

Regardless, I can't help but find it a mite offensive that Obama is subject to such criticism. "But what if he can't?" This, in effect, implies that Obama can possibly do a worse job then Bush; a man they didn't apply such questions to. I've got an easy answer to this question: We're fucked if he can't. Stop asking stupid questions. If you want better questions, here's a few to whet your inquisitive appetite: Why couldn't Bush do it?; What did Bush do wrong?; Why didn't the media question Bush enough? And how about Why are we treating Obama like a child when he's not representative of the people who fucked up, and by all accounts are still taken seriously as some sort of brainiacs?

I know the usual suspects will point to his lack of government experience, but Obama sure demonstrated a hell of a lot more aptitude to solve today's problems then McCain or Palin did -- and if the latter team were elected, I doubt magazines like Foreign Policy would run cover stories critical of them.

So cut the shit. Actual adults are in charge now, and it's about time some stopped acting like children.

Keep It Cool

Saturday Night Live did a skit on how Barack Obama does let his political enemies get under his skin. The skit isn't far off from the truth. Obama and Hillary Clinton had a heated debate in Pennsylvania. At a campaign rally, Obama made his now famous Jay Z reference.

Obama Haters At the Supreme Court

It is common knowledge that Barack Obama was born Honolulu, Hawaii. Being born is the United States gives the rights of citizenship and to run for the presidency. 20 protesters feel that Obama should not serve because his father was a British citizen, at the time of his birth. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has taken a strong interest. The other Justice appear to be less inclined. Jonathan Stein and Tay Wiles of Mother Jones has more.

Short legal answer: the citizenship of Obama's father is meaningless. The real importance is was Obama was born on American soil. Justice Thomas is only taking this up because he puts ideology above the law.

Final Obama Fundraising Report

President-elect Barack Obama raised $745 million for his presidential campaign. John McCain came in a distant second with $320 million. Factor what the DNC and RNC raised for their canidates and )bama had a 4400 million advantage.

Sunday, and the winner is: Martini Revolution

So, did anyone see that video of Palin being interviewed in front of some moron slaughtering Turkeys?  It's pretty damned awful.  What was she thinking?  Oh, I know, ... she wasn't.

Acephalous' students, channel, Shatner.   

Ya know, I got every pick Obama made for his cabinet correct.  And now I am right about this:  Infrastructure 

This year for the holiday gift giving extravaganza - there won't be one.  My brother lost his job last month.  My other brother just bought a cool house he can't afford.  My neice just bought a 5,000 SF house and found out she was pregnant - unexpectedly.  My nephew quit his job at IBM to go to law school at University of Houston and they are living off his wife's teaching salary.  My other niece just started a new job in sales and is on commissioned pay.  So, about the only one with money right now is me and my parents.  So, we usually do a gift exchange each year, but that is out.  So, we are going to give our selected person a favor, something we will do for them, a craft or artwork we do ourself, a poem - basically whatever invests the giver into that person being gifted.  Problem is I already bought my usual cool group gifts, which I do every year.  They are getting the carbon offsets anyway.  I bought the parents a group gift which is so cool I want one for myself.  All I really want is their company and some chocolate martinis.  Oh,yeah, the little ones still get gifts.

This is hilarious, (and a testimony of too many kids & parents today which is decidedly sad):  (bear with me here, and watch the whole thing)

Bush reflects?  I didn't know he was capable of such a thing.  I'm pretty sure I don;t believe it. 

This greed and administration absolutely are to blame for this mess we are in.  Absolutely to blame.

Obama himself has become a merchandisers heaven.  I know, I've bought my fifth Obama t-shirt from Rolling Stone, no less. (The one with red foil.)  I'm even getting one from Obama's campaign based on their last pre-election donation drive.  

Cool.  The Columbus Crew wins the 2008 MLS Cup. 

Go listen to this video of Shearwater (an Austin band I like).  It is beautiful.  I particularly like the third song.  

Check out Austin Cline's Mike Huckabee: The Smiling Happy Face of Theocratic Fascism over at Jesus' General.

Martini Revolution is a must read.  You won't believe it!  Hinderaker hard on for semi-literate Bush unabated

Straight White Guy Eric is a serial Christopher Lee fan as well as the movie, The Hounds of the Baskervilles  

What a great way to end Sunday.  I think I'll go have some dessert and see if I can find it on the tube.

Hillary Up For Sec. of State

The Barack Obama transition team has leaked to George Stephanopoulos and other ABC News reporters news that Hillary Clinton is being seriously considered for Sec. of State. The Obama team leaked the same story to MSNBC reporter Andrea Mitchell. Senator Clinton's office is referring media questions to the Obama transition team.

This may be Obama repaying Clinton for her general election endorsement. The fact is Bill Richardson is the more qualified candidate. Richardson is former Ambassador to the United Nations and Secretary of Energy. He also served as a staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and State Department. Clinton could do the job well. Richardson would perform like a chess master.

The Obama Campaign Team

60 Minutes interviews Barack Obama campaign staffers David Axelrod, David Plouffe, Robert Gibbs and Anita Dunn about their historic campaign.