Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

Yipee eeee is it Meeeeee

A+
The more things CHANGE the more they stay the same.

Best day to all....

looks like we can add another senator to be appointed, colorado sen salazar possibly going to cabinet. how many non-elected will that make for the new senate?

You forgot to mention the selection of the nominee for president via the machinations of the DNC RBC, the superdelegates, and the rigged convention.

patd (responding to your post on the last thread)

The Madoff mess is more than I can wrap my mind around. His office complex had a floor that only three people had access to? The regulators were either in the tank or snoozing. The amount of money missing is staggering.

You forgot to mention the selection of the nominee for president via the machinations of the DNC RBC, the superdelegates, and the rigged convention.

Posted by: chezmadame | December 16, 2008 6:34 AM

well, yeah, there's that..........

here's a tidy overview and links on filling sen seats
http://www.tinmanic.com/archives/2008/12/10/us-senate-vacancies/

from 17th amendment:
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of each State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

Good morning all, if we couldn't have a Clinton dynasty, then why is Team O pushing for a Kennedy dynasty?

I would like to see a qualified woman appointed to the post. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney would be a great choice. Let Carolyn start in the House.

UMMM...I meant let Caroline start in the House.

(I'm foggy this am -- too many late nights.)

Politics never ends in VA -- a special election for Commonwealth Attorney in Fredericksburg, and a firehouse primary in Alexandria today. Special elections on Jan 13 and Feb 5.

Then were off to the governor's race, and all the other state offices.

"you've got nothing but politics as usual."

Change we can believe in!
.........

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-national-debt-rut.html#comment-182664

Patsi, I don't know how you did that on your own. I never could have.

The Cinderella Kennedy
"Why, after a lifetime of privacy and relative normalcy, would Caroline Kennedy want to jump with both feet into the family business? In one respect, Kennedy’s flirtation with the Senate isn’t totally out of character: Relatives say she’s always been politically astute and competitive, just quietly, and that she greatly enjoyed her campaign trips for Barack Obama. It’s also true that Caroline’s curiosity has been piqued by the decline of her Uncle Teddy, but not in the way conventional wisdom has rendered it. Yes, the man who became the closest thing to a father figure after JFK’s death is nearing the end of his days in office, but Caroline isn’t interested in a Senate seat because she thinks it is a family heirloom. She genuinely, cornily, wants to advance the ideas the family cares about, and she knows better than most that only so much can be accomplished through symbolism. An actual seat at the bargaining table is still more valuable. This is also the way in which her choice makes the most sense for New York, and elevates her candidacy beyond her thin résumé and mere sentiment: Kennedy’s Democratic patrician values and her power-elite connections are not negligible assets. And of course, there are all the sword-in-the-stone connotations, the political magic (fantasy?) that a new Kennedy in the Senate conjures."
http://nymag.com/news/politics/citypolitic/52917/

"The amount of money missing is staggering."

patsi, if he was doling out 5% returns to most of his investors without actually realizing those earnings, maybe that's where it went. that's why robinhood (taking from the rich to give to the rich) came to mind if he did not makeoff with the money for himself. kind of like musical chairs. eventually the music stops and you run out of chairs; but in the meantime you had a party and a lot of hustling and jostling among merry people going on. still think it could make a good movie.

No more appointments of people for open seats, special elections within three weeks. Appointments are anti-democratic, or should I say completely democratic (as in democratic party cronyism)

oldsea, is the prodigal daughter safe? and are you preparing the fatted calf for the happy reunion? but what an adventure for her. and you unfortunately.

Patsi, without checking, I wouldn't be surprised if he skirted requirements for regulation by claiming exemption under the same rule that exempts investment clubs where groups of people pool some of their assets and then invest them.

Philosophical question. When to people outside of one state have a legitimate, speaking out loud, interest in who the governor of another state appoints to fill a vacant senatorial seat?

When to = When do

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/a-royal-succession.html#comment-182693

Unfair accusation Bowman -- The GOPs do it too -- Remember former Alaska Gov. Frank H. Murkowski, who appointed his daughter, State Representative Lisa Murkowski, to fill his Senate seat after he was elected governor in 2002?

And how Jeb Bush delivered Florida for his brother George? That's kinda like an appointment. And how the GOP stacked SCOTUS went along with it all?

I do agree with you that the process of filling empty seats needs reform -- it's a state-by-state thing, even locality by locality thing.

Maybe unfair, but the point is that Obama and the democratic party ran on a message change and an end to politics as usual, if they meant it, then why would Caroline Kennedy move the the head of the line?

"...the democratic party ran on a message change and an end to politics as usual..."

No, I don't think the _party_ did, I think Mr Obama claimed that _he_ did. I think the party leadership is rotten to the core and, given the opportunity, will do the self-serving thing each and every time

Bowman -- We'll see what Gov. Patterson does. But to say the whole dynastic/nepotism appoint thing is a factor of the Democratic Party is a bit unfair, when the GOP does it just as well.

BTW, we agree that Caroline's moving to the front of the line is questionable. Some have said Hillary Clinton also made it into the Senate on her name -- but she ran for it and won.

And she also had the blessing of the seat's incumbent. Looking down from above, I don't think he would be disappointed in her performance.

Rotten to the Core, Flatus? That's a bit exaggerated, don't you think? Have you similar scorn for the GOP party leadership?

from musical chairs to musical salazars
http://coloradoindependent.com/17574/musical-salazars-ken-emerges-as-top-contender-for-secretary-of-interior

Fitzgerald the Pit Bull
"U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president. When he took office in January, 1993, Bill Clinton fired them all. Dozens of nervous Chicago Democrats pray Barack Obama will follow his lead."

"The Blagojevich affair may represent a tipping point in Illinois politics, when voters in the Land of Lincoln get sick of the corruption they've tolerated for so long."
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/12/fitzgerald_the_pit_bull.html

Of course I have the same scorn--but the Republicans make no claims about being holier than thou. Exaggerated? Maybe, but I prefer calling it hyperbole.

"from musical chairs to musical salazars"

Ha, around and around we go....

wasn't ken salazar himself an appointee to the senate?

republicans have been making claims of "more patriotic than thou" and "more american than thou" and "wiser than thou financially" for quite some time now. more thou's than that, but that's 3 for a start........

I agree with what you're saying Flatus, but think that maybe all politicians make claims about being holier than thou. Both parties share the blame, if there is any.

oh.....actually Republicans have also been making blatant claims of being literally "holier than thou" as well......it's one of their biggest claims.......

"made off" with a lot of money...........lol

This isn't about republicans, it is about what the governor of New York decides. MY question is, What will he do when the pressure is really on from Ted Kennedy and his minions?

How democratic is the democratic party when we have seen how the primary/caucus system was able to be rigged and gamed because the rules are so opaque.

"What will he do when the pressure is really on from Ted Kennedy and his minions? "

But Bow, Don't you already know the answer?

Hey Patd, thanks for asking. Haven't had any contact from the magical mystery tour rider yet today. I'm hoping she has survived DC. She gave me some song and dance about needing to be at Hershey Park tonight. I checked their schedule, I truly doubt she will be attending "The Mistle-tones at Christmas Candy Lane" I did receive an apology from her best friend who decided against taking a paid plane ride home (her father took the ferry and drove to Providence to meet her plane) to instead wait for Miss Emily to pick her up and party their way up the coast. Her father is a smart man, he got in the car and drove to DC that night to get his daughter! Honestly Patd I don't even know what I'll say to her once she gets home. For now I just want her home safe and sound, then I'll drop the boom! Her brothers put coal in her stocking!

"the primary/caucus system was able to be rigged and gamed because the rules are so opaque. "

You're supposed to have forgotten about that by now. What's wrong with you. :)

One thing I am thankful for is that Eliot "The idiot" is not going to make the choice, but then again I expect he would have been right in there with the power brokers.

Why isn't anyone talking about Andrew Cuomo? He may be a "legacy" but at least he has been elected to a political position.

I wish I had some minions.......

or millions....

Funny how it is many of the same people who are supportive of this appt. who were so vocal about Palin's lack of experience. The Dems have become not only undemocratic but real hypocrites too. I know there are those who will say that it has always been so. Well, I just didn't see it. My eyes are wide open now.

"I wish I had some minions.......or millions"

Ha! I don't even need to ask which you want more.

morinin' y'all.

Bowman, better ask David Patterson that question - he's the one with the power to appoint Caroline. Obama can recommend someone (Caroline, f'rinstance - after all, she was a highly visible big name supporter) but that's all he's got - the power of recommendation, and it doesn't look like that's so powerful for him - look at Blago's reaction to his list of acceptable candidates.

mornin' flatus. "Republicans make no claims about being holier than thou". Do what? Since when?

Oh, phooey, trapped by my own words. I suppose what I meant to say was that they are totally consistent in that their external message is the same message that they act on internally.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/a-royal-succession.html#comment-182722

weird I had thought of that.....

pogo......did you see my post about the floating panels?

"Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney would be a great choice."

That's my big disappointment at the turn of events. Maloney deserves it, and would have been wonderful in the job.

"I suppose what I meant to say was that they are totally consistent in that their external message is the same message that they act on internally."

Ok, I think I get it. They're doing what they say they'll do?

Sea, I meant to say weird I 'hadn't' thought of it. That was a good post you made.

"if he was doling out 5% returns to most of his investors without actually realizing those earnings, maybe that's where it went."

You're probably right, pat -- a new take on redistribution of wealth.... :)

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-national-debt-rut.html#comment-182571

Bob, I thought that stuff smelled funny ....

Sturg, I just did see the panels post - thanks. I kinda figured as much. Guess I'll buy a set of router bits and try my hand at it.

Essentially, yes. They don't say "this is how we are going to nominate our candidate" publicly then, behind closed doors, adopt a completely different policy to the detriment of certain candidates. Like what the Dems did at the Rules Committee meeting where they effectively gave Mr Obama the nomination through sleight of hand.

flatus, "they are totally consistent in that their external message is the same message that they act on internally" - so their external message is that kickbacks, political gifts, prostitution and soliciting gay sex are OK? I don't recall that being the external message of the GOP. I musta been reading something else.

the reason the panels float is that if they're fixed the natural swelling and contracting could separate the frame joints ......once you have the bits it's fairly easy to make doors......

"No more appointments of people for open seats, special elections within three weeks."

I agree, Bow.

I haven't forgotten any of that stuff either Flatus.

the other shoe has yet to drop on this country...and perhaps one of the 'chosen' or the 'powers that be' will lead us out of the cyclical and global feng shui disaster.

Oh, I see. We're ONLY talking about nominating candidates. That clears that up.

"people outside of one state have a legitimate, speaking out loud, interest in who the governor of another state appoints to fill a vacant senatorial seat?"

Very interesting thought, Flatus. I do think the whole nation has a big stake in the senate seats....more than congressional elections.

"Bob, I thought that stuff smelled funny ..."

LOL Pogo

yeah, and it tasted like crap.............

Blonde, How was your Birthday?

"it tasted like crap...."

That'll teach you Sturge..

Yes, Pogo, mostly. But, looking at the laundry list of aberrant conduct that you provided earlier, do you believe that the insiders in either party agree, behind closed doors, to tolerate those types of conduct?

"That's a bit exaggerated, don't you think? Have you similar scorn for the GOP party leadership? "

I can't speak for Flatus, Alicia -- but my confidence in our leadership across the board is at an all-time low. Until the last couple of years I didn't "get" the depth to which so many Dems were in the banking and credit card industry tank. And that's just the beginning.

I guess I look at it that you end up having to pick your poison....but what the Democrats serve up will only make you sick, whereas the GOP poison will kill you.

Democrats serve up will only make you sick, whereas the GOP poison will kill you.

That is the truth, Patsi

C-Bob...thanks for the birthday update and chloe, I partied late like a teenager and woke-up with headache.

Pogo,

You have to remember the reason we were critical and still complain about some of the actions of the Democratic party is because they were 'our' party. When I say something about them, I'm not 'comparing' them to the Republican party, because I have nothing good to say about them either.

When we complain, it's because we want favorable changes. Because we want the party to be the best they can and should be. We want to say, this is unacceptable. And in doing so, let them know what we expect.

"I partied late like a teenager"

good for you..:)

sturge...I have posted this before, but

life is a crap sandwich and the more bread you have, the less crap you have to eat.

BW, I thought I had sent your birthday card, but now I realize I didn't. Happy birthday! And here are a couple of cyber alka-Seltzers.

thanks, Flatus...otherwise I am enjoying my new demographic....I am now part of the 55 or older crowd.

"..I am now part of the 55 or older crowd."

You're eligible for a 10 percent discount at Ross, and a senior citizen meal at Denny's! Congratulations!

Enjoy BW, we are a distinguished group deserving of a special respect bordering on reverence.

blonde......reminds me of that other little gem from my youth, lo those many years ago.......

"I took up for you the other day.......somebody said you ate crap sandwiches and I told them you didnt like bread......"

Are Ross and Denny's still in business? I have to check the long list of failing companies.

LOL Blonde....they are in Texas.

sturg...I have never really eaten crap, but I understand I drink it with regularity from both bottled and tap water.

Blonde, as you know, I'm just kidding. But I really can think of a lot of advantages to being over 55, if I worked hard thinking about it. :)

chloe, I like to think I'm a critic at large - I criticize either party for what I see as hypocrisy. I was one of the biggest "change" skeptics here and remain so - but I'm willing to give Obama plenty of rope and wee whether he ties up the loose ends or just hangs himself with it.

flatus, I think that behind closed doors they do tolerate that behavior, but then I'm not behind those closed doors. I am more concerned that a party that on the one hand preaches freedom from government and supports legislating freedom away, while tolerating among its members - and very prominent ones I might add - behavior that violates those laws that take the freedoms away. That is more important to me than how vacant seats are filled. And one thing I do not call foul on is the exercise of influence (internal, not external) by party leaders in political decisions generally. And I applaud those that deign to defy that influence. The line gets crossed when the politicians demand and accept favors that are prohibited. Apparently Obama wouldn't play in IL, and Blago Fed him as a result (well, verbally at least).

see, not wee

Craig.

I say you jump to conclusions today and want some rangling of your own here on Trail Mix.

Change comes for the ground up. Nothing changes in the blink of an eye for us mear mortals. So its up to us to push for the change. Roll up your sleaves!

Because if we don't do it and all this Dynisty Building continues, we'll never get fresh blood and ideas in our government and that will be our fault.

"I'm willing to give Obama plenty of rope "

Wasn't talking about Obama Pogo.
I'm giving him all the rope he needs or wants.
Nothing but good things to say about him.

birthday song for jolie blon.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMNYXnXva6s

BW, welcome to the club - it's taken me a couple years to get used to it (and I have to admit that I don't usually order off the seniors' menu). Denny's is still in business and their food still ahs the grease content it has always had. My kid's friend went there with me and LP one day when we were wandering around and I acted agains tmy better judgment and let them go there. He ordered fires with cheese and gravy. I thought he'd have a heart attack while we were there. Bob Evans also has a 55 & over menu. Of course none of the things I eat there is on it. Figures, no?

sturg...miss the accordian...I can't travel to Juarez anymore...too dangerous. Unfortunately, the cartel is throwing bullets instead of zapatos.

OSH -- Your story about the wayward traveling daughter reminds me SO much of what I was like at 18...God, my parents were driven to distraction.

Pogo's right about Denny's Blonde....not good. And I don't order off the senior menu either (although I could). I guess I just have a weird sense of humor.

btw, Craig, I agree with you rpost - of course politics entering into political decisions? I'm shocked. As for Jefferson and Rangle - they know better and deserve whatever fallout follows.

Laughs....I love how in just 40 some odd days the discussion has gone from euphoria over replacing a corrupt unpopular administration to one of " well our guys aren't any worse than the last guys......hilarious...

I gotta start previewing - my fingers aren't doing what my brain is telling them to do today.

BlondeW -- You have made my day with this line:

"cyclical and global feng shui disaster."

Excuse me for being cynical, but "politics as usual" has always been "politics as usual". If the powers that be aren't sitting in the chairs, they are deciding who gets to sit in the chairs.

Trying to untangle some of these dynasties is almost impossible, and the case could be made that the Senate like the British monarchy helps keep things stable because the rabble may rouse in the house, but the Senate is the historical memory of the country and they get to blow on the hot tea in the saucer to keep things calm.

Sure there is some rising up from the streets to finally attain the upper house that can then be ruled by heredity until the blood gets too thin and then another group comes up from the ranks.

Here's to Massachusets
Home of the bean and the cod
where the Lowells speak only to the Cabots,
and the Cabots speak only to God."

Every state has its political families ... nothing new here folks move along.

well, jax, that's not exactly right. You are right about the first part, though.

Patsi, I gave my parents some headaches too (worst was when I took the car out one night, got in some trouble,had a friend tow it home, told my mother I hit a rock on the beach but when the mechanics looked at it they found seaweed in the engine), but I think she's got me beat!

keep your eyes out for Strom Thurmond, Jr..........

Pogo,
Its just kind of comical. It does show you that very few on this blog actually possess principles. Instead its mainly a fan club like rooting for your favorite football team....laughs

I guess Craig's post is not a surprise...we live in a country where the SCOTUS picks the President. And no one holds them culpable for delivering the worst prez of the new millenium.*

* only prez of the new millenium, heh-heh. One misleading stat.

"Its just kind of comical. It does show you that very few on this blog actually possess principles. Instead its mainly a fan club like rooting for your favorite football team.."

This time, you're not being very nice Jax.
You're right of course, but still.....

Chloe,
I've finished my coffee. I'm better now.....sorry all.

Jax, couldn't you call it loyalty?

coffee always helps me too. :)

jax...how does one possess principles? Mine keep escaping.

I dont know what scruples are but if YOU have them, I bet they belong to someone ELSE......

--Tatum O'neill's character to Ryan's in "Paper Moon"

jax, I hope I'm in that former category.

Well, BW, SCOTUS did that onece in my lifetime - and it ranks as one of their worst decisions IMHO.

I got a kick last night of coverageof the Bush legacy tour on Rachel Maddow's show. 52 weeks of uninterrupted job growth, no attacks against US soil since 9/11 - now that's funny considering the JOB LOSSES of the last year and the fact that WE'VE BEEN AT WAR for the past 6 years and almost 100 more Americans have been killed since than were killed on 9/11.

I'm pulling for Fran Dreschher.

Jax,

The truth be known, I don't disagree with what you said.
I also think it's good to say what you think. (as Patsi would say, (paraphrasing) say what you mean and mean what yousay).

The only part I think you 'could' have left out was the part about principles. But that is none of my business and anytime you say what you're thinking, and are honest about it, to me that is a good thing. Call it what it is.

Make that, Fran Drescher.

"It’s actually not such a stretch to think of Drescher as a politician. She’s got a clean record, for one.

"I won’t get arrested!" she says, referencing
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, busted for trying to sell Barack Obama’s seat. "I’m glad he got caught. We need to hold people in office accountable."
Since Drescher’s diagnosis with uterine cancer almost nine years ago, she has also become an avid women’s health advocate. In September, she was appointed public diplomacy envoy for the State Department." - Madeleine Marr

jaxtrader

There is plenty of room for principles even while acknowledging practicality. An appointment of Carolyn Kennedy might be something of a popularity contest based on political power, but there is the view that she has been raised and has worked with strong convictions and noblesse oblige.

Her main focus in private life has been women and children and the charities and civic groups that support them. Add the organizational ability of the various foundations in arts and literature, and she has a record as a hard worker , or at least someone who was able to get others to do the hard work.

When you top that off with 50 years of constant exposure to political animals, then you have someone with a set of skills and values better than most that might run for the office.

pogo...35 miles from my house they are murdering people at a higher rate than the war in Iraq and Afganistan combined. The wounded are being flown into El Paso to the cost of US tax payers. There is a war on our border. Has Bush noticed on his travels to Crawford?

Chloe,
I suppose....if it was loyalty to a principle....absolutely...but actions by either party that are contrary to our democratic process are wrong and should be universally condemned by all....

"actions by either party that are contrary to our democratic process are wrong and should be universally condemned by all...."

Yes!

Have a great day, all...I have to get rid of this headache.

jax, who could disagree with that? Of course there is some disagreement about where the lines that define the borders of our democratic process are (Tom Delay was an artist when it came to moving those lines around). Actions contrary to our democratic process come in many different guises.

Practicality is appointing someone who has the experience, then let the voters decide who they want at the next election. Patterson has a responsibility to the voters of NY and to appoint someone who has NEVER held a political office is the height of being responsible to someone other than the voters. Sorry but listing Caroline's set of skills and values as a valid resume is a strange rationalization.

Ibuprofen BW, Ibuprofen . . . go ahed and take 3.

"Actions contrary to our democratic process come in many different guises.

Come on Pogo. You know what he's talking about.

Blonde Wino

My neighbors just got back from a river trip along the border area and they remarked on the tension and heavy presence of the border patrol.

Hey, What am I thinking. I learned a while back not to argue with an attorney. :)

Have a good day everyone.

sure, chloe - and jax knows what I'm talking about. I'm not defending the practice of filling senate seats through insider political wrangling - if it were practical to leave a seat vacant until an election could be held, I'd support hat. The voters would speak and their will might be heard. Of course in this case we'd be talking about more than a couple of senate seats being vacant for perhaps 6 months or so while woud-be replacements queued up and the states got their election machinery dusted off. And it would be a god awful expensive burden on the states to fill seats for 2 or 4 years. And not to make too much of a point about it, but the governors filling vacant senate seats conforms with the 17th amendment (is that right? If so, thanks patd) and the state laws passed pursuant to it, so to say that process is "actions contrary to our democratic process" because people who have political power are trying to influence the governors to do what they want them to is not an argument that is particularly compelling IMHO.

OSH, well put.

Gov D Paterson (D) NY If it exist we can tax it...So this is the man who is handing out Senate seats?

http://monicamemo.typepad.com/weblog/2008/12/put-down-the-mountain-dew.html

Monica Crowley

"...I love how in just 40 some odd days the discussion has gone from euphoria over replacing a corrupt unpopular administration to one of " well our guys aren't any worse than the last guys...."

"It does show you that very few on this blog actually possess principles. Instead its mainly a fan club like rooting for your favorite football team."

Pogo, I'm outta her, but....

The two quotes above are what I see that Jax had to say. I think he was talking about our discussion group and the princilples 'we' follow. I didn't read into that all the other stuff you're talking about.

Maybe we should ask Jax.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2008/12/16/world/AP-EU-France-Nude-Models.html

Film at 11?

Of the people I know about, Bod Kerrey would be my choice as an experienced caretaker of the seat.

have a good day chloe -

jax started the discussion with those quotes - we stayed with them for a bit, then went on from there - it's what we do instead of doing something productive. ;-)

If Monica Crowley says it it's on a RNC talking points memo somewhere.

Before I leave for the day....KGC reminded me of the Pecos River Christmas tour....

http://www.christmasonthepecos.com/

The only thing we have to fall back on is the process of government envisioned by the Founders. I thought they planned for numerous safeguards to protect us from the venality of others and from out own ethical shortcomings. I believe they thought that if they provided for transparency in the process of government, that we would have a solid basis for our Noble Experiment.

Thanks Pogo, been a life long supporter of the whole Kennedy clan, but even I can see that this appt. would make their detractors cringe.

Blagojevich has muddied the waters, but appointment by the Governor is the current due process. Governor Paterson will feel pressure from all sides, and I'll trust him to make a good decision for my state and the Democratic Party in New York State.

If Caroline is his choice, that's fine with me. At least she's been a New York state resident for more than the five minutes that both her uncle and Hillary were before they got the Democratic nominations.

My best recollection is that neither of them had held prior elective office either, and both did well enough on their first foray that they were seriously considered as presidential timber.

Whoever the Governor chooses will have to run again in 2010 and 2012 if they want to keep the job. If Ms. Kennedy-Schlossberg is up for that challenge, she'll have my support.

The only down side for Caroline that I've seen is today's Schenectady Gazette. They've inserted a head shot of Caroline that I'd swear looks like Maureen Dowd. I looked a second time and it's really Caroline, but even a slight resemblance to Mo is going to create problems for her.

with reason.

" keep your eyes out for Strom Thurmond, Jr.......... "

AAAA HHHHHHH ................. NNNOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!

Sturg, why do you think Jr would want to be a big player. I kinda sensed that he got out of his U.S, attorney sinecure as soon as he could. And I also felt he was profoundly embarrassed by the family's ill-thought-out, but short-lived, challenge of the birth-right of his half-sister.

Flatus mentioned Bob Kerrey. I agree he'd be a great choice, and no one should question his credentials, but I'd hate to see him leave The New School at a time when a handful of faculty members are trying to push him out.

Thought for the day :
" When forced to choose between two evils, try the new one. "

1485 Catherine of Aragon Spanish princess/1st wife of Henry VIII
1917 Arthur C[harles] Clarke sci-fi author (2001, 2010, Childhood's End)
1949 Billy Gibbons Houston TX, jazz guitarist (Moving Sidewalks, ZZ Top)
1952 Elayne Boosler comedienne (Night Court)
1962 William "The Refrigerator" Perry (Chicago Bears)

1653 Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England, Scotland & Ireland
1773 Big tea party in Boston harbor-Indians welcome (Boston Tea Party)
1811 Most violent & prolonged quakes in US begins in Midwest region; 8.0 earthquake shakes New Madrid MO
1835 Fire consumes over 600 buildings in New York NY
1913 Charlie Chaplin began his film career at Keystone for $150 a week
1915 Albert Einstein publishes his "General Theory of Relativity"
1944 Battle of the Bulge begins in Belgium
1971 Don McLean's 8+ minute version of "American Pie" released
1976 Liberian tanker stranded at Nantucket, 180,000 barrels oil in sea
1997 President Clinton names his Labrador retriever, "Buddy"

Ed, I haven't put my $.02 worth in on Caroline - mainly because I only know what i've read here and in the Times. Frankly, I have no idea whether she'd make a good senator, but I'd bet, based on the reports about her work on boards and with nonprofits, she'd actually work at it. While I suppose it may be better to have some experience in government at lower levels before becoming a Senator, I do not know that it makes the office's occupant any better than they would be without it. I'd prefer an inexperienced nonideological occupant with a decent mind to an experienced pol who's forgotten how to think for herself any day. The new senator comes in at the bottom of the seniority ladder, gets a couple of lightweight committee posts and learns the ropes from the old hats. She at least would have one fairly decent lion to oversee her advancement through the body if she's there for a while. Think she'd be the only senator with no experience to speak of, or the worst? I'd rate that as unlikely. Plus - it ain't my state.

Bob, LOVE today's thought - I think I will.

Horsey -

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/horsey/viewbydate.asp?ID=1876

Pogo -
That's the first time I ever saw that quote, but I guess it's always been my policy as well.

A malignant security flaw found in all versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser has yet to be fixed, and the problem is spreading. Microsoft detailed the flaw in a security update blog post six days ago. Since then, the problem has spread across the globe, hitting at least 2 million computers.

Unlike other computer exploits, this one does not require users to click on fishy links or download mysterious software: it plagues computers that simply open an infected Web page.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/155551/internet_explorer_is_unsafe_still.html

" The easiest way to keep your computer safe is to stop using Internet Explorer. Even Microsoft offered that advice. And while other browsers aren't entirely devoid of bugs, they are a better alternative in this case. "

I think Caroline Kennedy will be the best to serve the people of New York State as the next Dr. Who.

Hi Bob. Hard to ruin high quality leather... even when it's human.

"Though it's always wise to keep your antivirus software updated, it may not protect you in this case, as most antivirus software does not monitor Internet traffic. The easiest way to keep your computer safe is to stop using Internet Explorer."

Who knew that antivirus software doesn't monitor internet traffic (whatever that means)? Wonderful.

But the flourishing of the transplants didn’t come without significant taxpayer help. Shelby’s Alabama, for example, secured construction of a Mercedes-Benz plant in 1993 by offering $253 million in state and local tax breaks, worker training and land improvement. For Honda, the state’s sweetener surrounding a 1999 deal to build a mini-van plant was $158 million in similar perks, adding $90 million in enticements when the company expanded the plant three years later. A 2001 deal with Toyota left the company with $29 million in taxpayer gifts.

Alabama is hardly alone. Corker’s Tennessee recently lured Volkswagen to build a manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, offering the German automaker tax breaks, training and land preparation that could total $577 million. In 2005, the state inspired Nissan to relocate its headquarters from southern California by offering $197 million in incentives, including $20 million in utility savings.

In 1992, South Carolina snagged a BMW plant for $150 million in giveaways. In Mississippi in 2003, Nissan was lured with $363 million. In Georgia, a still-under-construction Kia plant received breaks estimated to be $415 million. The list goes on.

http://washingtonindependent.com/22236/cars

mornin, 9/11. Welcome back to the swamp.

Pogo,

Yeah, I figured I'd weigh in just because I do live here. I understand people reacting to anyone moving to the head of the line, but that happens in business and life all the time. I guess all those who felt Hillary moved into New York and took a job they wanted, thought maybe they'd have a clear shot this time.

I believe you're right that Caroline would work at it. To me that's more important than how someone got to their position in life.

Speaking of working at it, I'd better get back to what they're paying me for here.

Hi Pogo,

It's moonin' in America again.

Well, at least for a few minutes today.

9/11 survivor (sort of) -

Oh how sweet , my I.Q. has slipped to gerbil levels.
Please write something I don't understand, but enjoy completely.

Bob, state officials are a lot less jingoistic when it comes to jobs than us mere mortal bloggers who criticize them for giving tax breaks to foreing auto makers. I suspect the folks who fill the jobs at those plants aren't writing to the editors of the local papers to complain about the lack of patriotism of the governors and legislatures that approved the tax incentives. They might wish they were building a Chevy instead of a Toyota, but as long as they're paid to build a Toyota instead of drawing assistance, I suspect they're happy enough to do so.

Well, good to hear from you again. Don't be a stranger (or at least not any stranger than you usually are).

Craig,

If the states in question have electorates that are too lazy to demand another system of replacing office holders, then they deserve the results they get.

Perhaps this is an instance where your non voting stance should be damned?

Pogo,

What's the coin of the realm around here these days?

The joy of being stranger... or the endless business of estranging others?

Former youth wants to know.

I am back! Type Key just decided to let me in. Glory be!

American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco is happening this week. The first headline out of it ain't good.

Over 2T tons of ice melted in arctic since '03

Scientists studying sea ice will announce that parts of the Arctic north of Alaska were 9 to 10 degrees warmer this past fall, a strong early indication of what researchers call the Arctic amplification effect. That's when the Arctic warms faster than predicted, and warming there is accelerating faster than elsewhere on the globe.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501ap_sci_arctic_ice.html

Dr. Dooty -
Ya whooo !

Best headline today -

Man accused of stealing fridge with urine samples

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120ap_odd_stolen_urine_sample.html?source=mypi

CBob.

The thief is clearly a wannabe astronaut training for life on the ISS

Dooty! It's about time you showed back up! You were missed.

Same with you, 9/11 -- and Bear has been MIA some lately.

sturge,

Gary Kamiya on The Wind In The Willows at 100...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2008/12/16/wind_in_the_willows/

By the way -- I know someone who has worked with Arne Duncan in Chicago over the years...she is a tough critic -- but she has nothing but rave reviews for him. Looks like another very good cabinet pick.

"Man accused of stealing fridge with urine samples"

ROFL -- you gotta love the idea of going back to jail for stealing your own pee.

Is it me or is the indignation from MSNBC about their lack of responses from the Obama transition akin the mob being upset when their mark doesn't fix the game for them?

Bear,

There's a Ms. NBC? Does she date Mr. Universal?

Bear -
When it comes to naval gazing one must pick every nanometer of belly button lint.

are you guys eating acid tinged fortune cookies today? lol

An animation of the 2008 hurricane season as measured by rainfall -

http://www.nasa.gov/mov/296767main_west_atlantic_2008_tc_rain.mov

Bear -
It's the "flash back" we always prayed for.

THIS is the real face of Cleopatra -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1095043/Sorry-Liz-THIS-real-face-Cleopatra.html

CBob,

That only makes me recall that ever so many blessings may first be experienced as curses...

CBob,

Good.

Now let's see a composite made from accumulated images of Pamela Anderson.

Then Madonna.

Then Al Pacino. (Including both pale Bronx and spray-on orange skin tone.)

Then Ashlee Simpson.

Then David Gest.

Then Greta van Susterin.

Then Nancy Pelosi.

Craig -

Jane Hampshire is out with her needle as well, popping Caroline's party balloons :

" I'm certain Caroline Kennedy is an otherwise fine person who probably shares more of my own political beliefs than anyone else who is likely to get the job. But people felt like they "knew" OJ, too. The point is, people think they "know" celebrities just because they see them all the time in the media.

They don't. "

Crazy Benny -- He's Giving It All Away!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121502728.html?hpid=topnews

(With Treasury notes going down, I wonder how the Chinese government's gonna find any money for its fancy schmancy Christmas presents. Also its military. And roads. And everyone's new cars. Hmm. Anyone want to invest in the return of Chinese bike maker stocks?)

CBob,

I hate that we're getting in the way of the new season of TV Celebrity Reality Political Shows.

I just hate it.

Really I do.

CBob,

Just tell me... is that needle she's using Cleopatra's?

Is There A Bigger Story Behind Spitzer's Downfall?

And via Corrente, something even more interesting from Michael Isikoff's Newsweek story about the FISA whistleblower:

[Under the secret and illegal "Stellar Wind" program of domestic warrantless surveillance,] NSA was also able to access, for the first time, massive volumes of personal financial records—such as credit-card transactions, wire transfers and bank withdrawals—that were being reported to the Treasury Department by financial institutions. These included millions of "suspicious-activity reports," or SARS, according to two former Treasury officials who declined to be identified talking about sensitive programs. (It was one such report that tipped FBI agents to former New York governor Eliot Spitzer's use of prostitutes.) These records were fed into NSA supercomputers for the purpose of "data mining"—looking for links or patterns that might (or might not) suggest terrorist activity.

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/there-bigger-story-behind-spitzers-do

Dear former youth,
The two are not necessarily exclusive. Revel in the first, accept the last.
signed,
Dear Abby

(and feel free - I can't open it, but others will enjoy it)

Pogo,

Was that Dear Abbie Hoffmann?

My idea of a REAL political animal remains the Yippies' Pigasus.

As POP might have said -

The amount of fecal matter entering the rotating device, threatens the pitch of the props.

CBob,

What on earth did Spitzer actually accomplish in his two terms worth of "attacking" Wall Street?

Other than publicity for his poifect self, of course.

Nuttin'. Or less!

CBob,

Perfect description of every political operation ever.

I wonder what those NSA computers think about all the guitar stuff I've bought for LP and paid for by credit card, combined with my posts here - I expect I've been tagged as some sort of subversive left leaning ex hippie rock and roll Bush hater. (If only I could play half as well as LP I could go on tour - sigh).

CBob,

Of course, that shit always hits the Fanboys, too. And they looooooooves it!

Pogo,

Nah. They're just amazed LP jumped over the hurdle of Guitar Hero and went for the real thang.

Got a question -- did your son start on an acoustic?

A guitar teacher I know told me recently he'd be out of business if he didn't accept kids just HAVING to start on their three quarter electrics instead of a cigar box with a broomstick and strings.

Mount St. Helens

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/
--------
A clear day with fresh snow.

Wrong Abbie

Dear former, dear former you have no complaint, you are what you are and you ain't what you ain't; so listen up buster and listen up good; stop wishin' for bad times and knockin' on wood.

Signed, Dear Abby.

For those of you with more time than sense, here's a link to your afternoon Prine.

http://www.cowboylyrics.com/tabs/prine-john/dear-abby-2723.html

Pogo,

Well, I save my patience for my fellow patients.

So may the fallow wallow in their hollows, I guess.

Got an old pair of shoes lying around, waiting to be used in a ritual gesture of disrespect? Send 'em to the GW Bush liberry so they can put them on the My Pet Goat shelf.

George W. Bush Presidential Library
c/o SMU
6425 Boaz Lane
Dallas TX 75205

http://boingboing.hexten.net/2008/12/15/send-your-old-shoes.html

9/11, I'm afraid he started on a full size PEavey Predator (strat copy) he saw at the local mall music store - and he heard his instructor peeling the paint off the walls with one of his students, and the rest, as they say, was history. He has developed a little interest in the acoustic guitar - mainly because of Randy Rhoades' song to his wife, which is a beautiful tune. He also has a nylon string classical to use in his school's instrumental ensemble. I encourage it because anything I can do to make the likelihood that I'll hear Hot Cross Buns on recorders one more time less is worth every penny.

Iraq Shoe Tosser Guy: The Animated Gifs

http://boingboing.hexten.net/2008/12/15/iraq-shoe-tosser-guy.html

Actually 9/11, LP did get into GH for a while there - kind of a parallel track. His problem with being a GH god is that he doesn't get guitar face unless he's playing the real thing. His teacher and he were discussing the new GH Aerosmith disc after one of his other students was talking about getting it, and his instructor said something like - what do you care, you can play all that stuff on the real thing.

"I encourage it because anything I can do to make the likelihood that I'll hear Hot Cross Buns on recorders one more time less is worth every penny."

1) What a good father you are. And what a motivated son is yours.

2) Keep it up. Even the NSA knows that spending money to STFU any school making kids play Hot Cross Buns is saving the universe.

CB, fantastic link.

Pogo,

Guitar Face is among the finest expressions between any potential heaven and hell.

Cannot be faked. Fake Guitar Faces are not transcendent and stay stuck on the level of constipated grimacing.

John Fruciante now has a blog. He makes me very happy in ways I never expect. Here he is on YouTube, free of the Chili Peppers:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=john+frusciante+solo&search_type=&aq=1&oq=john+fru

Miss Birdies recommends everything including his Cat Stevens, Simon & Garfinkel and Abba covers. His covers are better than anything on any bed I've slept in.

9/11, I do what I can (I think in this case it is no more or less than enlightened self interest).

Actually back to LP & the Guitar - I really believe that what got him beyond the go to the lesson, practice a couple of times for 15 minutes, go to the lesson cycle was listening to the songs on GH and loving them. I believe that Jessica was the one, although he never really learned much of it. Then he heard Randy Rhoades on Ozzie Ozbourn's stuff and he was hooked.

On that last GIF of the shoes...

Curly: Moe! Larry! Sleeze!

I don't see the point of Caroline Kennedy going for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. She has absolutely no governmental experience.

I don't really have much to add.

Pogo,

Why does that make me reminisce about playing air guitar while listening to multi-hour, commercial free (as they had few advertisers) sets on WNEW-FM?

cbob, there were other interesting tidbits in that link you posted. e.g.

"I have yet to see this reported anywhere, but an anonymous commenter named trademonster on an investment forum said this (notice the dates):
01-09-06 06:49 AM
I've heard that SEC is going to shut down Madoff financial and all of their hedge funds for SEC violations. Can anyone confirm this?
And this:
01-14-06 02:52 PM
I actually got some update and found out that it's Spitzer's office doing the investigation not SEC. But I don't know what the scope of the investigation is.

.... No matter how sanctimonious or egomaniacal you may find him, Spitzer understands the financial system. If these posts are true, somebody in power was more interested in the the details of Eliot Spitzer's transactions than Bernard L. Madoff's. They were obviously more interested in killing the watchdog than in catching the billionaire burglar."

http://crooksandliars.com/tags/madoff

LP doesn't know Frusciante, but from his RHCP work, I know he'd appreciate his playing. I'm forwarding that to th' home computer (can't open it here - filters, ya know). He's up to his ears in paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai right now (with a tad of Billy Joe Armstrong and Eric Schnkman thrown in for good measure), but he's pretty open to any guitar player who can play fast and clean. Thank VB for me - I'll report back.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/a-royal-succession.html#comment-182883

I don't know - but as they say, been there, done that, got the t-shirt (only the station was WUOA).

Dr. Dooty -
Ya whooo !

Dooty! It's about time you showed back up! You were missed.

¡Hola, amigos! ¿Como te va? ¡Estoy alegre estar detrás!

ET,
The experience requirement is increasingly becoming a thing of the past. Now its name recognition and fundraising capability that rules......it's not new just increasingly prevalent and accepted.

Pogo,

You got a t-shirt?

Yay!

By the way... Miss Birdies calls him John Fruity Chianti.

Happy belated Birthday Blonde Wino -- I hope your special day was well-spent celebrating. I have a friend who isn't quite 55, but her hair is 100% gray. She told me whenever she's asked is she'd care for the senior discount, she always says "Yes!" Makes me wanna rethink my hair coloring options.

Patsi -- I had to laugh! I do feel a little sick already -- but at least I'm not dyin'! http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/a-royal-succession.html#comment-182746

OSH -- I just caught up the thread about your DD and her rooty-toot. My wish is that she make her return to you safely in one piece. Children sometimes need extra angels watching out for them -- especially when they are in their adventurous stages. Mothers of adventurous children need extra patience, courage and wisdom. A little booze and chocolate doesn't hurt either! Blessings.

jaxtrader,

George W. Bush, f'rinstance?

Pogo -
In case LP starts up with the harmonica -

R.L.Burnside - it's bad you know

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzC_rGX-XyM

Divalicias -
If you can't be good , you better be lucky

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/a-royal-succession.html#comment-182810

Flatus, Would that be the same founders who actually elected Adams and Adams Jr. to the presidency? Or do you prefer a demoractically elected former exterminator such as Tom Delay being preferrable to an aristocratic Tom Jefferson?

After all:

I tell you, John, with pride
God leans a little on the side
of the Lees
The Lees of old Virginia

All political systems can produce great or good men and women just as they can produce tyrants and those of evil purpose. Our system seems to have a better track record than most, but we waver among the well known, the famous, the idealistic and the experienced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f74hv69aSw

He fits the Republican model - "executive" experience. JMc used that guv'ner thing as his dodge when asked about supporting Palin in '12. Apparently the idea is that if you can run a state - where you are constitutionally required to balance your budget - you can run the country - where you aren't. I don't get it, but there it is. Th' dems have apparently gotten away from that idea.

And if you can't be either, we'll all just have to wait for Malcolm Gladwell to tell us all what that means in Book Number Three.

R. L. Burnside - Rollin and Tumblin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgsC1WlAzWE

Pogo,

Considering that the governor of Texas has the least power of any in the union... that's some winning argument.

That Bush's size ten-ure should end with bailouts is beyond appropriate.

There is not one business he ran that didn't end with someone bailing him out financially to earn political favor with his daddy. Man never learned about consequences (so his biz experience suits his dry drunk temperament).

And, yeah, the Texas Rangers didn't crash financially when he ran 'em only because... he didn't run 'em. He was just the purty face in the political store window.

But he may do it to 'em yet.

Arena Football's a monetary joke for certain. Yet I wonder what will happen with expensive corporate stadium sponsorships, cities and states shoveling public monies (Hello Bloomie!) into stadia and whether advertising will not stop with NASCAR for taking sports as a given to brand success.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2Tiar8FqXU

Better clip of Lees of Old Virginia

Bob Dylan - Shelter From The Storm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HJdnOnWK_A

CBob, 9/11, Lardo, and Sturgeone all posting in the past few days .... Someone pinch me. Have I died and gone to heave?

Oh, Jamie, please don't tell me that last word is a typo.

Please, please, please!

LOL - really.

9/11, I went and read Frusciante's blog. Obviously a deeply bright guy. Damn, that guy can see patterns. It was interesting seeing him discuss varying note emphases in a short finite note sequence - Paul Gilbert does a similar thing in his Extreme Guitar instructional series. LP gets it - me, well, I get it at a sort of basic level.

Bob, thanks for those links - I expect one day LP'll hear a song he likes with a harp solo in it and buy one and learn that song. Could be worse - it could be a piano.

CB - because you tend to like these things.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/science/space/17dark.html?hp

Pogo,

Both OSH and you lead me to wonder... which is saner for a parent... to have a prodigal or a prodigy?

My answer? To think about anything/everything else I can...

Jamie -
That's gotta be a sublimible op-ed.

9/11, I expect I'll have both (if he thinks he can afford it). I'll let you know.

"... which is saner for a parent... to have a prodigal or a prodigy?"

How about a combo?

Jamie -- have you changed positions? I thought you despised the entitled rich? :):)

Jamie,

Someone posted the complete incomplete Harold Prince movie of Sondheim's A Little Night Music on YouTube.

Yeah, the flaws are there (like taking it out of a land of the midnight sun where the summer night smiles three times... once for the lovers, once for the fools/clowns and, finally, for the aged and the sick).

But so much goodness to wonderfulness is as well.

While the Hugh Wheeler Count Carl-Magnus must be more of an operetta caricature than Bergman's brilliant unexpected philosopher was in the original Smiles of a Summer Night, Laurence Guittard's performance is so nuanced here compared to his stage performance.

I think sent you a link to his taking over the Egerman role a decade ago in the Judi Dench as Desireee version.

Anyway... it is emotional, the songs which are lost (along with the chorus are missed) and the songs which Sondheim revised or completely reimagined have become even better assets in subsequent stagings.

Really... it's something wonderful... and/even though it doesn't end with Lawyer Egerman's throat flooding a bottomless sea of blood onto the corpse of his beloved Desiree after he nearly slices open his daughter Fredericka's gizzard...

"And, yeah, the Texas Rangers didn't crash financially when he ran 'em only because... he didn't run 'em. He was just the purty face in the political store window."

W was the mouth piece of the organization back then. Of note, it can be said that during the time when he and his ownership group were in charge, was the only time in the 35 or so year history of the Texas Rangers that the club has won the American League West. The Texas Rangers before and since have not even sniffed the West title. They only won one game in the playoffs also. A truly a pathetic team.

And, well -- duh --

Here's the link for the first part...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx2b3WYhElk

Oh and when the GWB owners sold the team GWB collected a 14.5 million dollar payday for a $600,000 investment. Not a bad return.

The Pirate Report -

Somali pirates seize 2 vessels in Gulf of Aden

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081216/ap_on_re_mi_ea/piracy

My feeling about Caroline Kennedy isthat if she wants it, of course, she'll have it. No question there. I'd like to have seen Carolyn Mahoney named but what the hell? It ain't my state and I don't really have a dog in the fight.

One thing I did notice was that a consideration is that Caro would be able to easily raise the 70 million needed to run races in both 2010 and 2012.

Think about that....70 million....not much room for the Paul Wellstones of the world anymore.

Senor Dooty --

What can escape his influence -- even BEFORE he got there?

Pogo -
Every time I try to read about dark energy, I get a really creepy feeling. Like the world will un-zip in front of me, and a Hieronymus Bosch painting will come spilling out.

Death of the Reprobate -

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/BoschDeathOfTheReprobate.jpg

Bob, that stuff is so theoretical that I'm not sure whether I even believe it should exist as a construct for the purposes of models. Hell, I'm not sure I even believe in alternating current, but i know the stuff from the wall outlet feels different from the stuff from the coil wire.

Speaking of Hieronymus Bosch paintings come to life -

TVNewser has learned John Gibson will be replacing Bill O'Reilly on FOX News Talk beginning January 19.

Seeing that Bosch painting makes me want to take a tab and stare at it for a few hours.

Then there's the "real" world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/business/economy/17fed.html?hp

9/11,

I tried to tell everyone I came in contact with about W but did they listen? Hell NO!

With he and the wife moving to Dallas, that now gives me one more reason NOT to drive the 35 miles toward the east.

The founding publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Amon Carter Jr, used to say that he would rather carry his lunch to Dallas than spend any money there. I think he was a pretty wise man.

Pogo -
I saw a program a while back about the 20's. A big seller back then were caps for wall sockets to keep the electricity from leaking out.

TVNewser has learned John Gibson will be replacing Bill O'Reilly on FOX News Talk beginning January 19.

I can't decide which I would rather NOT listen to. John Gibson is equally disgusting as Bill O'Reilly. What a choice.

CB, remember Lazlo Toth? That is similar to one of the recommendations he put in his letter to Jimmy Carter about efforts to save energy - unplug all lights and appliances that aren't being used to keep electricity from leakingout - along with toilet cloths (think handkerchief).

Pogo,

After some months of unplugging the cable box, the modem, any appliance (like an iPod speaker) I wasn't using... the electricity bill keeps looking better all time. (Couldn't get no worse...)

Big Oil Projects Put in Jeopardy by Fall in Prices

According to research analysts at the brokerage firm Raymond James, domestic drilling could drop by 41 percent next year as companies scale back.

“We expect operators to significantly cut their activity in the coming weeks due to the holiday season, and many of these rigs will not come back to work,” the report said.

As scores of small wells are shut down, analysts at Bernstein Research have calculated that oil production in North America could decline by 1.3 million barrels a day through 2010, or 17 percent, to 6.14 million barrels a day. This decline, rather than cuts by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, “will be the catalyst needed for oil prices to rebound,” Neil McMahon, an analyst at Bernstein Research, said in a conference call this month. The United States remains the world’s largest oil consumer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/business/16oil.html?pagewanted=1&em

---------------
Drill Baby Drill

Is Bill O really going to be replaced? I though he was still doing fairly well in ratings.

9/11 there's actually a term (is it parasites?) for electrical things (like cell phone chargers and the like) that use energy when they're plugged into the wall but not into the device that they service. I'm bad about leaving stuff like that plugged in. I've noticed that quite a few things I have that I never unplug - most associated with a tv or the computer - happily blink at me whether they are turned on or not.

Well I have finally received a non-expiring Belgian Identification Card. They are now convinced that I am staying. I am happy.

9/11, I beg to differ with your "couldn't get no worse" comment - try adding to the mix a kid and wife who haven't figured out that the switch that turns a light on will also turn it off. I love them both, but . . . damn.

Congrats, ET. They right?

you would save a lot of electricity if you unplugged those things when you were finished with them, or use a power cord you can shut off Pogo... I've given up with even using my clothes dryer anymore... it's an energy vampire and I can hang my clothes on clothes racks and let them dry when my heater is warming the place (though I rarely go above 16 degrees... which is... around 63 degrees fahrenheit. The living room heats well enough and the rest of the damn apartment can stay cold...

i would love to claim that I am motivated by my concern about energy usage, which I am, but mostly it is economic. I don't want to waste money on overuse of energy. I even use a bucket to fill with water as I wait for the warm water to reach the shower. I use that bucket for cleaning and watering plants, what have you... Water on, get wet.. water off, shampoo... water on, rinse... water off, wash wash wash, water on for rinse... and finito. saving water and electricity... It's green and it means I won't have to pay so much high bills in the future.

Drop in consumer prices is most since 1932

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/drop-consumer-prices-most-since/story.aspx?guid={45513693-102D-4A67-8859-C73778BF4777}&dist=msr_19

More of that "record breaking" stuff in the headlines.

----------
It's all "Dark Matter's " fault .

Yeah I am staying here... but I am going to apply for Belgian nationality as well... I will have to visit the American Embassy to declare that I am not planning to surrender my American nationality, but will hold dual nationalities...

Pogo,

I have a daughter who is a true visionary -- at all hours of the day she SEES THE LIGHT.

Now she sees the Con Ed bill as well!

Euro Tom -

Water Diverter or "Harvester"

A device to collect rain water from the down spouts of rain gutters. Made from Schedule 40 PVC fittings.

http://water-diverter-harvester.blogspot.com/

9/11,nothing motivates a person to conservation more than finally realizing they have to pay the utility bills !!

Bob, something that might appeal to you.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/15/gumbrechts-green-pit-vipe_n_151114.html

Now I must be moving along. LP has a basketball game against his buddies.

CB I am not that good yet... but I am planning to catch clothes wash water as it shoots out of the hose into my shower which I can then use to clean the balcony of my apartment and also the toilet I guess... though I confess I still use bleach... I have this obsession about clean toilets...

is LP an athlete?

CBob,

Little of that deflation is visible/palpable here in Manhattan.

Despite those wild drops in soy and wheat prices both soy and wheat products keep climbing in price. Is it the jobbers? Is it stores whose prices cannot drop due to their utility bills and rents?

When I walk along any street or avenue in the evening I find few restaurants (whether upscale, hole in the wall locals or diners) with enough customers to support them. People are not ordering in anywhere near as much as they once would do without a thought.

And more and more storefronts are emptying out.

The only neighborhood where most places still teem where I turn up is the Columbia University area. To go there takes a lot of money (as does living there)... the students fill up ever diner/deli/Chipotle/hip dive or scenemaker they can.

Even so... a very popular sushi place is planning to close because its landlord refuses to not only negotiate down the rent, he is raising it. So they will close a place they had even nearer to Columbia and move this one there where it may have a chance of returning to some small profitability.

You sound like my Dad, Pogo. He was always asking questions such as: "What's the light on in the kitchen for if there's nobody in there?" "What's the tv on for, if there's nobody in the living room?" The funny thing was that he would always look over our phone bill to see where we were making long distance calls to. Sometimes he would say, "Who the hell called Clayton, MI. and talked for 20 minutes?" We'd say, "Doesn't your friend McNeil live in Clayton?" Then he'd remember that HE was the one who called Clayton and apologize. Too funny, sometimes.

ET,

As always it is good to say hi to you.

I've got a silly question. I spend a lot of time with a friend whose dog is a Brussels Griffon. Are they popular in Belgium??

The only Belgian dog about which I ever knew prior to this one was the eponymous one in A Dog of Flanders...

And he was created by an English writer!

"I get a really creepy feeling. Like the world will un-zip in front of me, and a Hieronymus Bosch painting will come spilling out."

I can't be sure, Bob -- but I fear that vision will haunt me for a long, long time.....

ET, I'm sure you're right - I think I'll have to get a few extension cords with switches - the surge protectors already have them, of course. Yep, he's an athlete - soccer, basketball, swimming and golf.

Corey, I sound like my dad, too. sigh - but I guess he was right.
later, dudes, etc.

I saw a Jon Stewart re-run this afternoon....Huckabee was parsing language on gay marriage....finally Stewart says, "You're talking semantics, and semantics are cold comfort when dealing with humanity."

Any Roosevelts still living here in NYS?

Roosevelts?

Any Roosevelts?

What about the excellent pianist Peter Duchin? He was raised by Averell Harriman!

Didn't John Lindsay have one kid who didn't die young?

Hey! How about some Rockefellers? (Real ones, not Rhode Island based psychotic ersatzies.) They should have SOME money left. They would have an uncle/cousin in the Senate already, too.

And what about Matilda Cuomo?

Ask Mario about her -- she precedes God in all matters.

9/11 I have many canines visiting my shop with their owners. I always greet the dogs, scratch them... play with them... there is one doberman "Tara JR' who comes in everyday just to get scratched by me... LOL...

The dog you referred to is also popular... heck all dogs are popular, but a neighbour lady had a baby version of that dog, but he had to be put to sleep this week. His name was BoBo.. and everytime Bobo would come up to me he'd get so excited and jumping around, that he'd start to pee...

But probably THE most popular dog in Belgium AND The Netherlands is this one:

http://lambfam.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/636px-jack-russell-terrier.jpg

Patsi -
Yep I know , I mulled the metaphor, but Velcro just didn't work.

----------------

HUP PA TARD, THAILAND – The dragon millipede has come out as the first openly gay insect in the world!

The millipede was just discovered last year by scientists in the Greater Mekong area. It is most notable for its bright pink coloring, which was originally thought to act as a warning to predators.

But Weekly World News has the exclusive scoop: pink is actually his choice of self-expression! The teenage arthropod exclaimed, “I’m here! I’m queer! I’m a Desmoxytes purpurosea! Get used to it!”

http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/headlines/dragon-millipede-comes-out-of-closet/

Thanks, ET. I love Jack Russells and have no idea why the AKC seems to have changed the breed's name. (The AKC ain't my place of worship.)

This one's name is Sono. And lawdy I know that excitement. Also the peeing: it is not so much a matter of when they start to pee but if they ever stop.

He also is a vigilante. Any sound outside my friend's apartment is met by his fusillade of barking. While he is terrified of anything with wheels (toys to garbage trucks) and crowded streets, in the park he goes after borzois and Russian wolfhounds with fear.

But mainly... he goes after squirrels. Who have teeth that endlessly grow unlike his with stopped when he was a zygote I'd guess.

Oh, well. Nothing enlivens a walk in the park like the prospect of a rabies attack.

" We'd say, "Doesn't your friend McNeil live in Clayton?" Then he'd remember that HE was the one who called Clayton and apologize. Too funny, sometimes."

That IS funny, Corey -- I love it. My kids played "gotcha" with me all the time...and they were usually spot on. Ha!

If it ain't ad hominem, it's a non sequitor.

"you anti Caroline people"

Nobody demonized her...just tossing around pros and cons. Can nothing be discussed now?

off to bed, goodnight all

In 1980, a vacationing Rod Blagojevich camped in front of Richard Nixon's home, with a friend, until the pariah ex-president emerged and this picture was taken. What the hell is wrong with this guy?

http://gawker.com/5111090/blago-a-huge-nixon-groupie

Yeah give Caroline Kennedy the Senate seat because her marriage is in trouble and she needs a distraction

That's the ticket!

Daily Routines
How writers, artists, and other interesting people organize their days.

http://dailyroutines.typepad.com/daily_routines/

Patsi,

There would be very much the same discussion if Chelsea Clinton or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Rosanne Cash or Maureen Dowd or Keith Olbermann or William Kristol announced they would like to be appointed to the United States Senate.

None of the questions would be AGAINST them. It would be one of who can best serve NYS -- not necessarily the Democratic Party as a fundraiser (which both Schumer and HRC excel at in different ways) -- as a legislator and as someone with a history of running for office, addressing their constituencies and having a record of effective public service.

Anyone I mentioned without experience would do well to wait until an election were held for that office.

And they would do well to study either the Schumer/D'Amato approach or the HRC approach to how to not only campaign but to connect to a variety of local needs and potentials.

I'm glad for Ms. Kennedy-Schlossberg that she has had an awakening of an urge to be a politician. As a school fundraising volunteer I know how strong, bright and effective she can be.

But that is not all there is to consider.

The Kennedy family legacy of her generation increasingly has weakened in dealing with elections and serious issues. There is no guarantee that some inheritance will cash itself in whether in office or on the campaign trail for anyone.

And anyone who believes that a celebrity candidate or a well-intended but far from effective office runner can do it for the Democrats only has to look to Minnesota and Georgia to see the tepid results.

If Patterson (a funny guy but not the most ethical of NY pols on a few public and private levels) sees CKS as a fundraising miracle for him (which he will need very soon in a dreadful economy)... he will be doing less for the people of NYS than Spitzer did in choosing him as his running mate -- a lifelong legislator with little executive experience or temperament.

The only good thing about Blago is that he puts Patterson's motives under scrutiny. And a whole bunch of other governors who will be appointing Senators as Obama culls his Cabinet from that house.

There are many parts to the Kennedy Family DNA which have truly hampered CKS' generation as well as the one before it.

" the endless business of estranging others "

Store Refuses to Make Cake for 3 Year Old Adolf Hitler Campbell

"... it’s indeed the name on his birth certificate — turns 3 today ..."

http://www.allamericanblogger.com/5702/store-refuses-to-make-cake-for-3-year-old-adolf-hitler-campbell/

Red Buttons is singing, "Estrange things are happening..."

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/a-royal-succession.html#comment-182817

CBob, As you know I suffer from an entertaining obsession of wanting to know everything about everything. Today it was the Chaplin bit about joining Sennett so went hunting for trivial oddities.

You've hear of six degrees of separation. Did you know you can get from Charlie Chaplin to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in three? Happy hunting.

Jamie,

When I was ten and had the mono which led to this stupid cancer, among the books I read more than once was Chaplin's memoir which was for years my favorite mid-19th century book written in the mid-20th.

And then over time I learned how much of what he claimed to be his inventions (including the much derided all at once invention of The Tramp) came from work Stan Laurel created but then had suppressed by Chaplin when they both worked for Karno.

That includes the origin of the Tramp.

Now Chaplin was a genius. And most public geniuses are synthesists of the work of others.

Laurel was a far more modest man whose childhood was spent as the son of a music hall staple of a dad. He had seen exactly what happened between artists so none of this was a surprise.

Before he wound up meeting his creative partner and literal bff Hardy, you could see the intense ferocity of his creative mind in his shorts from the 20's... which were intensely brilliant, funny parodies of the bigger hits of the day. In it he really pushed the limits of comic film technique in bits and pieces... not like Keaton's amazingly integrated modernism into post-modernism of the twenties.

While Laurel was a producer and not a director... he recognized some of the great ones from the get go -- he was the first to really give the reins to Leo McCarey, George Marshall and George Stevens.

So I am convinced without being against Chaplin a bit of what he took from Laurel.

He continued to do that here and there (usually improving what he took beyond recognition) during the teens until he slowly moved into a slower production schedules where he could develop over as much time as he chose to take.

One of the valid things in life is that politics may be remembered for the outcome but what makes the outcome possible is the process.

The Hillary Clinton campaign in which by her own endless trips to every town there (and every neighborhood downstate) she turned the ultra-red upstate into Democratic voters has been very much copied and applied by many candidates nationwide.

By doing that she overcame a lot of dislike/resentment and distrust with which upstate and midstate voters regarded both Clintons.

I always loved Stan Laurel and the history of all of the early movie days in Hollywood is fascinating. Recently I used this wonderful clip of a Laurel and Hardy musical number

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72qZZapTHFo

Laurel was the source that many have drawn upon for decades. Dick Van Dyke does a wonderful imitation. You are right that some of Laurel's work off the screen was even more important and long lasting than even the wonderful pieces he left for us on film.

9/11 - you're back finally. Now, stay.
Bear - you too.

Jax - I think it is a vile canard to state that few here have any principles. Even the people I really disagree with have principles, I think, and that causes some of the fights. I disagree with you strongly on this.

I am not anti-Caroline at all, but I do agree with Craig's post. Why? It bothers me that I know that if anyone else who was supremely qualified wouldn't have even a small chance against Caroline, even if Caroline was not qualified.

I think Caroline has some good qualities for being a senator and suspect she'll do a good job. It's just that she will be named anyway, even if she were functionally iliterate, and yes, I know she's smart etc.

That's the nature of political parties - they really are clubs whose rules you have to follow. They make the decisions based on their own values, and the DNC values the Kennedy's above all others.

That's also why I'm an independent. I like my own rules for me.

Actually, I'm waiting for Chelsea to high tail it back to England, marry a Brit, and run for Parliament. Why limit yourself to just one country?

bethyboo,

I'm not anti-Caroline either. My limited direct experience of her was based in work which a big old bunch of volunteers were doing: she was the leader and truly effective -- more effective than just the Kennedy name would provide. (I used to work with her cousin Sydney in the first ad agency job I had at 22. I regarded my main responsibility as picking up the fur coat she'd always leave on the ladies' room floor after arriving. A fun, smart girl who'd show up in sunglasses she'd rarely remove, even in January.)

My perception of my state's needs gets stronger the more than people like Geithner and Summers are given power and influence. I am relieved that a relative of mine who was a major Clinton financial appointee isn't among the returning members: he let a lot slide including Madoff along with approving of derivatives and subprime issues that my brother and I opposed openly.

My perception of someone like Suozzi is that he worked in a largely corrupt environment in a failing major NYS county which had been Republican and business dominated since the great Judge Eugene Nickerson left office as County Supervisor.

Whatever future Caroline Kennedy may have in elected office -- if any -- I'd rather have Suozzi at this time. I admit I am less sanguine about my Representative Caroline Maloney because I see her as more of a member of a contingent than a leader. Gillebrand is too much of a Blue Dog for my kennel... but Patterson may need her supporters more than he needs Kennedy's money and acclaim.

I'd love to see Nadler in the Senate but that ain't gonna happen.

I don't know how long I'll stay. Treatment and insurance are ungainly right now and work seems to have modeled itself on a half dozen episodes of Lost In Space.

But it is good to be here.

Jamie,

Given the losses in stocks, equities and real estate, no one knows what anyone's actual financial worth in public life is.

Mort Zuckerman admits he has lost at least $30 million via Madoff alone. I have heard people make miserable estimations about the current worth of his real estate and publishing businesses. Fred Wilpon and Steven Spielberg won't acknowledge how much they lost to Madoff. And Madoff is known to have courted and seduced political figures and foundations as well.

Ed Schlossberg has an expensive but limited "creative" consulting business. Caroline has had a number of successful books, some of which remain in print by virtue of her name. But there is no ancillary income through sales to Hollywood.

But the Kennedy family has had only investments and no major income generating businesses since Father Joe several generations back. Even John Jr's George Magazine was a much publicized loss leader.

I would assume Bloomberg would back her and that his fortune is more intact than others. But I wonder whether she would choose to fund her own campaign a la Hillary in an environment where even a Kennedy would have a hard ride getting debts repaid.

I get the feeling the campaign we just saw may have been what the Roaring Twenties were. The next ten or so years of politicking may be more like the thirties in terms of campaign fundraising and financing.

9/11

I think that the next 10 years may be more like the 1930s in a lot of areas other than politics.

Jamie,

Except for Hollywood which doesn't have the proper mix of bright and stupid it needs to get audiences out.

However I just saw a promotional film about Jim Carrey's new movie. I'd bet it will be the first wildly successful feel great movie of this period -- sharp, anything but cynical and hilarious.

Joan Crawford?

Or Bette Davis?

Rolando Villazon?

Or Juan Diego Flores?

PC?

Or Mac?

Hillary Clinton?

Or Caroline Kennedy?

Either/Or... the perfect (and only) choice in lifestyle for some but not for others.

9/11

Historically entertainment is recession or even depression proof, but that might not be the case now. In this age of TIVO, Big Screens, Digital, DVD, cable channels etc., going to the movies with their horrendous prices for admission and even more for the concessions is an actual hardship.

I honestly think that Hollywood has finally priced itself out of the market. There are several movies right now that I would like to see in the theater, and I truly value the theater experience.

But why pay $25 for the priviige when I can wait three months an see them for $4 each on pay per view or wait six months and see them all for the $10 a month HBO costs me while getting all the HBO films and series thrown in for good measure.

Coming from an era of double features, two cartoons, newsreel, and short documentary for a dollar, even taking into consideration costs over time, the current prices are outrageous.

This holds true for all the other forms of entertainment. They need to cut costs dramatically to make money from volume again, and give people a darn good reason to get out of their homes and offices and mingle with other human beings.

Does anyone know what Madoff's sons are worth? I wonder how long they have known how he was working this. I haven't much sympathy for people who stay rich after this, but anybody who lost everything - it's hard to imagine.

Just popping to post breaking news from my little corner of the world.

Sources: Vilsack to be tapped for agriculture secretary

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081216/NEWS/81216033

Former Hillary backer and DLCer plus a great guy who will do a great job. Now, off to celebrate.

wanna know why caroline could get her wish? here's a sneak preview from me and helen's upcoming book (we're 70 percent finished -- hoohah!):

"While nearly all politicians since Kennedy strive to emulate him -- his style, his cadence and his vision -- the nation’s 44th president, Barack Obama, has inspired more comparisons than any of JFK’s successors.

None who compared Obama to Kennedy had more influence than the slain president’s own daughter, Caroline. In a rare endorsement so early in a Democratic presidential race, she boosted Obama’s fortunes with no-holds-barred support.

In a January 27, 2008, op-ed for the New York Times -- entitled “A President Like My Father” -- Caroline Kennedy endorsed Obama with words that would have to be the envy of any politician since JFK’s time:

'Over the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.'

Caroline, who was only five years old when her father was assassinated, poignantly noted that, 'I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them.' But in Obama, she wrote, 'I believe I have found the man who could be that president.'"

Jamie,

I just get the feeling that deflation will occur for suppliers but not quite be in sync with the consumer prices they will continue to increase to cover their debts and other costs.

Today Governor Patterson announced a welter of sales taxes on ordinary citizens. My favorite? Cable TV which in two months will become a more mandatory service for many with the new digital TV laws.

Can you tax your way out of a recession? No but I am sure he can tax his way out of an office he really should not be in.

DVD prices will drop as inventories are rising. The Blu-Ray changeover ain't happening yet: perhaps it will as HDTVs get their prices more slivered than slashed. But again.... the tendency among American businesses today is to meet its greed (and shareholders) rather than market realities.

There already is a more limited number of movie screens for new releases than ever before. (Indies are practically finished and foreign films that get some showings in Manhattan most often are already on DVDs or pay-per-view.)

In the 30s there were so many dead vaudeville houses which were easily converted to movie theaters... with double and triple bills, cartoons and shorts, plate nights, bingo nights, live entertainment, etc.

The breaking point today for whether movie theaters and restaurants survive will be the banks and the landlords. If rents can be decreased... there is a chance for survival.

But only with a lot of creative and marketing invention along the way.

The main objective for Hollywood is to reach out to audiences beyond the video gamer demographic. There are other audiences... quite often the ones who hand the money over to the gamers... but who would rather watch something they'd like if it existed.

The kids who run Hollywood really don't know how to do that.

Or so far want to.

The talk on Broadway at last is "creativity" over production values and presold adaptations of movies. It would be nice if Shrek was a farewell to all that.

I wonder if Hollywood will do the same. My own experience of them... well, it takes me to Canada.

bethyboo,

My reigning definition for A Load Of Massive Endless Crap is Madoff's canard that his son's knew nothing and were the ones to turn him in to the authorities.

One of the things the talking heads on CNBC will say is that Wall Street needs confidence, all the markets need confidence --

Rather than a manageable, sane reality.

And that is why that whole world is made of con men and women... even the ones who sincerely feel they are honest.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/a-royal-succession.html#comment-183004

yep it does, as well as proving how she "earned" it

You know... I know this ten year old boy.

He is LOADED with wild and ignorant pronouncements -- always judging in absolutes, always making declarations.

He loves to be liked by his "friends" -- but hates all girls, hates anyone who isn't his nervous idea of what is cool and describes himself to his mom quietly as a follower and not a leader.

His mom has a great description of his state just now --

"My son does not know how very little he knows."

We all hope that passes quickly and doesn't last until middle age or beyond.

Craig,

It would be sad if one day CKS would find a bewildered version of her self on the board of the Barack Obama School of Government at Harvard... wondering the eff her dad's legacy went.

The principal of historical displacement is a very real one. Sometimes it takes decades or a century. Other times it takes an over the top, kind of naive op-ed piece by an inheritor by blood to start a long process of disinheritance by zeitgeist and new events, from the good to the tragic.

Diva-
Thank you for your kind words. Fortunately I live right across the st. from the packy and am up to my elbows in chocolate. Blessings to you sister!
9/11- I think I'd opt for the prodigy right about now!

thanks for the sneak peck Craig!

OSH,

I'd rather every kid felt they were loved truly.

Particularly when they truly are.

That would eliminate so much pain and disbelief.

OSH,

A sneak peck from Craig -- ?

What a flirt he is!

Very true 9/11 and yes he seems to be a tease!

OSH,

Why, he'd make a great Senator... well, at least if a) D.C. had one of those and b) had a governor to appoint him.

9/11-LOL

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/a-royal-succession.html#comment-183003

9/11

I find myself scrolling through all the "On Demand" movies to find the Indies, British Movies, Non English Language films etc.

The shame is that it is so difficult for them to get the message out about how good some of the "little" films really are.

Boston Legal just had an episode with a suit based on discrimination against people over 50 who just wanted something to watch.

Next season on the networks are to be more and more of the cheaper reality and game shows. Real shows with actual scripts and actors have now priced themselves out of the networks and the dumbing down of America continues even deeper into the dregs.

jamie,

Well... there's always BBC America which has the originals the networks just buy the rights to and mess up...

There's a new Doctor Who ahead with a new producer who was the best of the recent writers...

There's Mad Men (even though AMC has yet to re-sign -- as far as I know -- creator Matt Weiner perhaps in the hope that Ryan Seacrest will replace him).

There's Two and a Half Men which is just plain sad and funny (even though Ken Levine in his blog wishes they would take "the high road" more often -- does that mean more doobies and less Scotch?).

And, of course, there's Split Ends and What Not To Wear (hosted by Stacy London, daughter of ultra right wing economist and politico Herb).

And I always will hope that VH-1 will take one of its celebreality shows and turn it into Political Rehab... starring Dr. Bill Cosby.

9/11

I'm completely addicted to Dr. Who and Torchwood, but we won't get the new ones here until middle of next year. Many of the British comedies are big favorites as long as the US doesn't try to remake them. Viva Blackpool was a lot of fun. Viva Laughlin ... not so much. PBS is good for reruns of funnies like the Vicar of Dibley.

I used to watch Two and a Half Men regularly now only off and on as it is starting to seem too dysfunctional.
TNT is good with The Closer and Saving Grace but they have ended until summer. True Blood is off for the season. It got me through my Moonlight withdrawal. :-)

Jamie,

You want TV that works?

I just want the producers of The Deadliest Catch to make the exact same series -- same tone, same videography, same narrator -- about 1) preschools (teachers as captains, tots as crews, 2) dry cleaners, 3) playgrounds and 4) people who prefer Tylenol to Motrin or Aleve to Advil.

In between those I'd show LOTS of programs about Taylor Mead and Brigid Polk.

I'd never leave my writing desk -- ever.

Madoff scheme hits Jewish charities hard.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9543FDO0.htm

This is just incredible. What is happening now is making the Bonfire of the Vanities seem like a sparkler in comparison.

Osama Bin Laden must be bouncing off the walls of his cave in joy when he reads this stuff.

Bowman --

Greatest Jewish fraud since Shabtai Tzvi.

Off to the races.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/a-royal-succession.html#comment-182997

"Caroline is a fine choice for you New York State folks but she's no Hillary Clinton!!"

Ok ,when I praised Caroline earlier I didn't break out the over sized disco fan,consider this, I turned off my ceiling fan and I'm disco fanning all around the room at the prospect Of Caroline as Senator of NY(Donna music playing). Caroline Kennedy is still no Hillary Clinton,of course IMO....

9/11 I had to Google that one. But do you really think Madoff was on par with claiming to be the Messiah? I guess $50 billion might put you in a rather inert gaseous atmosphere that seems closer to God than earth.

Bowmanc

I read about the Boston chairity yesterday not only did the charity go under but all the people that worked there lost their 401K's

Jack

When I read the paper every morning, with the regularly disheartening news, I wonder if President Elect Obama is having some remorse. It will be nothing short of a miracle for him to turn this mess around.

Of course after January 20, any slight improvement in the economy or the international situation will be trumpeted by the fawning media as a result of Obama's omniscience, regardless of what he does. In a sense, that is good, because any restoration of confidence in our financial markets and our political system will benefit the country and its citizens.

Since Spielberg was among the defrauded, I wonder if his Shoah Foundation was injured as well.

Fitzgerald renews interest in Rezko-Obama deal

"Since arresting Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has renewed interest in convicted fundraiser Tony Rezko's part in the purchase of Barack Obama's Chicago mansion, according to a former real estate analyst who says he was interviewed by the federal prosecutor in the past 10 days.

Connor previously confirmed to WND that he told the FBI, months ago, when he initially was fired, that the bank and the Rezkos were engaged in "fraud, bribes or kickbacks, use whatever term you want," to benefit the Obamas. "

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=83760

Tony Rezko sentencing delayed, Judge St. Eve delays again, December 16, 2008, Rezko Blagojevich and Obama linked, Rezko contributions to Obama, Obama indictment next?

"Apparently Rezko has been talking and revealing
corruption links to Blagovich and other lawmakers. Obama’s name
was mentioned during the Rezko trial and Patrick Fitzgerald has
recently been investigating a real estate deal between Rezko
and Obama."

http://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2008/12/16/tony-rezko-sentencing-delayed-judge-st-eve-delays-again-december-16-2008-rezko-blagojevich-and-obama-linked-rezko-contributions-to-obama-obama-indictment-next/

Let's HOPE that there's NO cover-up when it comes to the Obama team and Rod Blagojevich.

Someone must have talked to him.

Aarrgghh...

tt

LOL

TT looks like your the center of attention tonight, welcome to the club.

Jack

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/a-royal-succession.html#comment-183034

lol
everytime you turn around another Clintonista.

Obama I is looking more and more like Clinton III.

Must be rough on all the Clinton haters.

Jack

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/a-royal-succession.html#comment-183034

I wonder how often President Elect Obama feels embarassed by the tactics taken of some of his supporters?lol......

Obama’s Mansion, Saddam’s Money

"Barack Obama appears to have personally benefited from funds originating in Saddam Hussein’s regime. It’s a complicated connection ...

Two similar figures, Nadhmi Auchi and Antoin S. “Tony” Rezko, served as the intermediaries.

Summing up: Barack Obama’s house purchase depended on favors from Rezko, flush with a “loan” from Auchi, whose fortune derived in part from Saddam Hussein’s favor."

http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/pipes-obamas-mansion-saddams-money/

For all you Mac users, it doesn't look like you are as important to Apple as you used to be.
The world she is a changing.

"Apple says 2009 Macworld Expo will be its last"

"Apple Inc. stunned investors and the technology industry Tuesday by announcing that it's withdrawing from the annual gathering in San Francisco where the Silicon Valley icon has unveiled, often in dramatic fashion, its most successful products."

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Apple-says-next-years-Macworld/story.aspx?guid=%7B6029853E%2D9D08%2D41E6%2D8F42%2DBA6B2750510F%7D

Jack

colombo is really confused.

Gordo

A job for you,

From the press pool report tonight

"The president-elect made a brief stop in the Hyde Park-Kenwood neighborhood, dropping off an unidentified person a few blocks from his house.
He arrived at his residence about 8:05 p.m."

Who was this mysterious person who can't be named and who is an Obama neighbor.
That will take more than your usual search the junk blogs but i sure you can dig around for us. Do some real reporting instead of your usual cut and paste.

I look forward to your report.

Jack

Former Iraqi official bankrolled Democrat's financier Rezko

"Just 23 days before a crooked fundraiser helped Sen. Barack Obama buy his Chicago mansion, a billionaire bagman for Saddam Hussein wired millions into the crook's account.

Former Iraqi official Nadhmi Auchi bankrolled his longtime friend and business partner, Syrian immigrant and Chicago slumlord Tony Rezko, who in turn bankrolled Obama's political career before being convicted this year of fraud."

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=79390

"According to Michael Sneed of the Chicago Sun-Times, Rahm Emanuel was not recorded in one, two, three, four or five conversations captured by the feds; he participated in TWENTY-ONE conversations recorded by Fitzgerald’s team.

Remember the number 21, for this number is on the minds of Emanuel and Obama."

http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/12/16/21-a-number-emanuel-and-obama-will-remember-on-fitzmas/

if anyone wants to throw shoes

http://bushbash.flashgressive.de/

Investigator casts doubt on Obama's birth residence

"A private investigator has released to WND an affidavit that casts doubt on whether Barack Obama's family lived at the address listed in the published notice of his birth in 1961.

Baro's affidavit documents an interview his staff conducted with Beatrice Arakaki, who has lived at 6075 Kalanianaole Highway in Honolulu since before Obama was born.

Arakaki told Baro's investigators she had no recollection of Obama being born or of the family living next door having a black child born to a white mother."

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=83851

BTW,

If you homeowner's on here haven't considered refinancing your mortgages...I would look to pull the trigger now if you have the equity because rates are at all time low levels...

If you need help figuring out if it makes sense, contact me and I can do some numbers for you.

Thanks for the link, Jamie.

Iraqi WMD's

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/tiptoe221/wmd-1.jpg[/IMG]

tt

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/tiptoe221/wmd-1.jpg

??

tt

Oh, and AP, the keeping america safe is apparently Ping's new morning greeting. It's a rehash of yesterday's.

Bear, did you see that article in yesterday's Journal about USDA mortgages? Might be a viable alternative for some of the people here.