Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

good morning all you happy (and unhappy just to be fair) trail mixers. and welcome aboard to lesak who was wondering a moment ago about ak differences. it's not just the time difference that sets you apart, you know.

pogo, be sure to check out spytalk today and the case re
"the Constitutional question of whether Congress' interference with a lawyer's attorney-client relationship constitutes a compensable taking under the Fifth Amendment"..... "Put another way: What's the government doing setting fees for lawyers and clients?"

Hope they don't do it like it's done here in South Carolina--like, one guy on a shovel and three guys watching him.

looks like lawyers won't run out of work, at least not in the uk.
"People affected by worsening storms, heatwaves and floods could soon be able to sue the oil and power companies they blame for global warming, a leading climate expert has said."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/dec/09/oil-business-climate-change-flooding

The last link is the link.
Fix the Pot Holes in Congress and make sure they clean up their act !

Now the AP reports on the obvious !! Thanks Dodds, Franks, Pelosi, and OBAMA

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/THE_INFLUENCE_GAME_FREDDIE_MAC?SITE=CONGRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

today's pirate fix in philipines
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/09/content_10478602.htm

Does anybody really want Congress to run GM? Look what a good job they did for the last 2 years.

So why not bail the media that helped?

Is the NY Times next.
Obvious just like the Auto industry our news entertainment media does not deliver a good product - that is why I LOVE CQ !!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-tribune0908dec09,0,7875790.story

potholess in seattle.
"Our goal is to repair potholes within 48 hours (two business days) of receiving a report. Currently our success rate is 94%."
http://www.seattle.gov/Transportation/potholereport.htm

good morning gang....

CBob...
I remember what Craig said about creating this place..... it was at the end of his subbing for a vacationing Ron Reagan on MSNBC's "Coast to Coast".....

Monica Crowley asked him "so what are you going to do now, Craig?".....
he replied he was going to create a blog..... he thought it was important to find out what regular citizens from all perspectives think about things...... he wanted to create a national dialogue on the issues of the day..... particularly concerning politics and the media....

and while I agree we don't always talk about the issue he's posted on(like now)..... we do always discuss some kind of issue..... even if it is only a figment of our own imaginations.....

so maybe inadvertently Craig has baked a pie....... chaos pie....

donchya just love it!

Regarding C-Bob's comments last night:

I work with a woman named Pam. She told me that most people do not like her, they think she is a bitch. I get along with her fine. Last night, she had to work off-line. Meaning: She wasn't doing her normal and had lots of free time. This drove her nuts. She said, "Most people work off line and go talk to people. I don't like to do that. I don't have social skills!" Funniest thing I've heard in awhile.

Patd -- and more pirate news....cruise ship evacuated...

http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/business/2008/12/09/D94V53281_piracy/index.html

Instead of a 'chicken in every pot" we will have "asphalt in every pothole".

"chaos pie....

donchya just love it!"

Absolutely!!! Chaos pie...perfect!

for pix of chaos pie, scroll down from cheesecake pix.
http://www.roudigans.com/desserts.html

"Food policy is not something American presidents have had to give much thought to, at least since the Nixon administration -- the last time high food prices presented a serious political peril. "

http://articlesofhealth.blogspot.com/

The Beatles had "Flaming Pie"...we have "Chaos Pie".

BTW, for you music lovers out there, Universal Music has released a 202 #1's of Motown compilation. I have been plucking a few songs from it on iTunes.

Free bubble up, Rainbow Stew and Chaos Pie for desert.................okiedoke.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_2UScthu6Q

the real Hag......

ct.....yes, very familiar with Lucinda's work.....

mawnin'.

Thanks, patd, I'll do that.

Flatus - you guys have the same DOH rules we do. What has 4 weels and sleeps 6? A WVDOH Ford F-350 crewcab pickup.

Ping, can be able to sue and will are 2 different things in jolly ole England where they have aq "loser pays" legal system. Takes real cajones to step up and try to sue when acts of god are involved and your own money is at risk for the other side's legal fees if you lose.

Bowman - oversight don't necessarily mean running anything. Remember - the government will be providing the oversight. Look at what a great job they've done with intelligence.

btw, craig, it's experience, not expericence.

patd - i didn't see that at spytalk - how about a link?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/business/media/09leno.html?_r=1&hp

Leno's new show should take some of the oomph Conan probably expected when he took the 11:35 slot on. How many hours will people actually watch late night TV, even if it starts an hour and a half earlier anyway?

pogo
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/spytalk/
look to the left of this page in column named cq politics blog network

pogo, maybe this explains craig's spelling:
"he wanted to "experisense" it (this was how he had often put it, and when asked what he meant by "experisense" he would reply: "I want to experience the countryside with all my senses, touch it, smell it, taste it."
[from Hausaufgaben (Homework) by Jakob Arjouni]

patd, thanks. Takings clause cases are usually pretty run of the mill and hinge on whose expert the court believes has presented the right number for the value of the property taken, but this one has an interesting twist and it seems to me he has a good point. Here's my question - what would keep the Mukaches from paying him the additional $466,666 out of their cut?The legislation's language might help but the link to it doesn't work. There's another angle here, though. I haven't looked at this since law school, but I have a vague memory of a proscription against congress passing private bills that favor only one or two individuals. BTW, he's likely to lose in the Court of Claims - they have very limited jurisdiction and I doubt that they could overturn an act of congress on constitutional grounds.

Or it could just have been a typo.

The dangers of Obama's public-works juggernaut
"Obama is betting heavily that massive government spending will create millions of new jobs. Still, it must be asked: Why does Obama prefer a fiscal policy geared toward increased spending rather than the tax cuts he promised ad nauseam during his campaign?

The answer is painfully simple – and illustrates the Bush-crafted box Obama finds himself in. Beleaguered consumers would probably not spend any new tax cuts but rather pay off debts – or stuff them under the figurative mattress.

That's why Obama is taking a cue from Franklin Roosevelt and planning to invest massively in public-works projects, such as repairing the nation's crumbling roads and bridges, expanding broadband access, and creating "green" jobs.

Yet even this ambitious plan – a product of the Keynesian belief in government efforts to induce spending and investment – may not achieve its intended result.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1209/p09s01-coop.html

"one guy on a shovel and three guys watching him."

Ha Flatus, Used to see that a lot in California, not as much here.
.....

"Does anybody really want Congress to run GM?"

A scary thought Bow.
I know you were joking, but this isn't such a bad idea: "Instead of a 'chicken in every pot" we will have "asphalt in every pothole"" (as long as three guys on standing around watching) :)
......

CBob, Thanks for posting that SmashMouth song, I really like it and hadn't heard it in a while.

Ping, I think Chaos Pie is just what the doctor ordered - but my doctor would have a heart attack just knowing I was going to eat Chaos Pie (question is, whose HA would occur first - his or mine?)

aren't , as long as three guys "aren't" standing around

"I think Chaos Pie is just what the doctor ordered"

isn't that what 'brain storming' is?

Before I go finish my work, I'll add a dash of controversy to the mix. It's got a very nice picture of Obama as a child, his baby sister Maya, and his mother.

The Tinfoil-Hat Brigade vs. Obama
President Alien, and Other Tales From the Fringe
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120803446.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Just think of all the energy that could be saved by putting solar panels on all the homes in the sun belt, or winterizing all the older homes in the snow belt, planting trees throughout what is now a slum, etc.

The list is almost endless, very unsexy and would leave us with a more energy independent and better looking country.

Maybe the politicans could get a little name plaque on "their" tree. ... It worked for Israel. :-)

Illinois Governor taken into custody on corruption charges...

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-180577

Really good ideas Jamie.

And you could implement a lot of them with tax credits (or at least encourage them to move in the right direction). The federal government could encourage the states, and the states could encourage their citizens.

chloe, good point about Obama's Bush box. One thing to remember - he's stuck with Bush's budget through '09, so any massive tax cuts for the MC would impact routine programs' funding, and I am not at all sure congress has the stomach for that. I think that there would be plenty of interest in the economic stimulus the PW funding would provide. I see block grants to the states for infrastructure improvements, who would fund the improvement projects, and the other spending priorities Obama has suggested he's interested in for their stimulus value providing a quick job producing effect. Consumer spending certainly creates jobs if it's sufficiently large, but it only creates US jobs if what is being spent is being spent on US goods. So saving, paying down debt or buying at Walmart - which is where consumers are flocking - pick your poison - they all have similar effects on the economy in the short term, i.e. not very big ones.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-180564

A long, long time ago in a place far, far away, "Prime Time" used to start at seven and ended at eleven because the whole center of the country went to bed at a decent hour.

With the longer commutes and longer work hours, even the coasts are calling it quits before the eleven o'clock news.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-180576

Chloe,

How come the WaPo got the comedy team of Schulz and Berg and we got stuck with Gordo?

For those complaining that Obama referred to the White House as "the People's House", here is an interesting quote:

2006 - President Bush:

THE PRESIDENT: "Thank you. Thanks for coming. The White House is the people's house, and I'm here to talk about the people's money."

Here is another snippet I found: "

The White House
1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20006
Traditionally called "the people's house,"

jamie, I used to like living in the central time zone. I could catch the first half of the tonight show and still be asleep befor e11:30. Now, it doesn't start in the eastern zone until 11:35 - so if I want to catch the monologue and Headlines (last night f'rinstance) I'm up til midnight - then up again at 6 to get LP up, fed & off to school. The one benefit I got out of moving to EDT & EST states was getting to see the first hour of Today before work - but I don't watch it any more because of LP's schedule, so all I get out of the lousy deal is an hour less sleep. I suppose I COULD Tivo Leno, but ...

Watching the promo for "MILK". If the movie is even half as good, this could well be the Oscar movie of the year. Sean Penn looks phenominal in the role.

http://www.fandango.com/milk_v425182/cast

Good morning all- Just wanted to give you all a heads up , just heard this on the news. Pretty weird. Ill. Gov. arrested in scheme to sell Senate appt.. Should be online soon. Will try to find it.

Bush couldn't craft s**t

ET, it was just another excuse for some looking to criticize.

pogo, is this what you were thinking of?
"BILL OF ATTAINDER, legislation, punishment. An act of the legislature by which one or more persons are declared to be attainted, and their property confiscated.
2. The Constitution of the United States declares that no state shall pass any bill of attainder.
3. During the revolutionary war, bills of attainder, and ox post facto acts of confiscation, were passed to a wide extent. The evils resulting from them, in times of more cool reflection, were discovered to have far outweighed any imagined good. Story on Const. Sec. 1367. Vide Attainder; Bill of Pains and Penalties." [free dictionary]

Ill. governor arrested on corruption charges
Feds: Blagojevich sought to profit from choosing Obama's Senate successor
Here's a link
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28139155/
I'm still stunned.

The "senate seat for sale" story is amazing...

wasn't he already under suspicion for doing stuff like this
I wonder who turned him in

"remember - he's stuck with Bush's budget through '09"

Pogo, Excuse my ignorance, but is that budget not open to any modification?

Big fin squid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95I25CATMx8

"How come the WaPo got the comedy team of Schulz and Berg and we got stuck with Gordo?"

jamie, our gordo is a gentleman, links rather than throws verbal firebombs.

My contribution to today's topic---is that the money for the pot holes should go for just that ----and not be diverted for some other projects and or city cash shortages (emergencys) this is how less pot hole will be repaired,,and $ lost in the never ending merry go round of quid-pro-quo----about city workers ----private contractors are the way to go,,,,but with a few sity worker in the mix-----I had some part time on the weekends and they will work---if they know that they are expected to work and are properly supervised ---other than that Flatus is right on.,,,,,,,If the small contractor are given financial help with pay roll, they could also gain from the pot hole projects---as it is now,,,they can't participate cos they don't have money for 90-120 day's that it takes for them to get paid from the city-----this is done on purpose to keep them out,,,IMO

Off subject---
I t would be rude not to thank you--- PATSI--- for your post last night---thank you.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/obama-wants-faster-morgage-fix.html#comment-180526

Patsi,,,met my wife when I was 16-17----she was 13-14,,,and too young for me at the time-----but thats another story---kinda cool but for another slow weekend night.

On the subject, on off subject-----I can, and do appreciate the effort of C-Bob --and Sturg----I for one like the quality of those post and efforts, that is a part, of why Im. here------but it would also be restrictive to not be able to speak to others , off subject----and I have thought about keeping my post short---this is off subject but should---calling another poster a ----HAG---- an acceptable post --that is short but??? later-

"I can, and do appreciate the effort of C-Bob --and Sturg----I for one like the quality of those post and efforts, that is a part, of why Im. here--"

I agree with you. Solar, we're not required to stay 'on subject'. We're not required to do anything. Talk about anything you want, whenever you want. If Craig has a problem with us, I'm sure he won't be shy about telling us directly.

another thing about giving money to fix potholes, there'll always be some clever soul who figures a way to create more holes in order to make more money to fill them. the vicious circle of corruption.

The Gov,,of Il is a Democrat ---------and looks like a Rep, when they are cought doing the same things -----Pot hole cash for them would be hard to follow, just as it would be when it is given to the R's---if thing like this doesn't convince people that we need a third party,,,than we do deserve the ones that are there!!l--

"there'll always be some clever soul who figures a way to create more holes in order to make more money to fill them. the vicious circle of corruption."

around and around we go.
I found Solars point worth think about. ",they can't participate cos they don't have money for 90-120 day's that it takes for them to get paid from the city-----this is done on purpose to keep them out,,,IMO" You may be right Solar....although I don't know.

“There are two things that are important in politics,” he once said. “The first is money, and I can’t remember what the second one is.”
Marcus Alonzo “Mark” Hanna

"“The first is money"

and there lies the problem.

wow, wiki works fast. already got the appt for sale story.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Blagojevich
"On December 9, 2008, FBI special agents came to Blagojevich's home and arrested him on federal corruption charges. [51] According to the reporting of the Associated Press he is charged with attempting to benefit financially from his power as the person who will name Barack Obama's replacement in the United States Senate.[52] The governor has also been accused of pressuring the Tribune Company by threatening to withhold state funds in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field unless they fired certain members of the editorial board who were critical of the governor."

The latest scandal is nothing new with Chicago politics.....there's an extensive history of this kind of thing. My guess is that the media (Trib) drove this investigation.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-180598

Gentleman maybe. Goes to all caps and screams about the stupidity of people who don't understand. Most of the time just boring.

Trib posts criminal complaint:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/acrobat/2008-12/43789434.pdf

oh yeah..... the subject is potholes....
well you can all come up here to the NorthEast in March..... that's when we have ourselves something called "frost heaves"...... after you've experienced them, you won't care so much about the damn potholes......

Solar....
the only person who has a right to ask you to stop posting anything is Craig....
and he has stated many times that he enjoys our chaotic musings...... just put your flea collar on and ignore it.....

while googling politics for sale issue, i found an interesting piece from last year re contributions altering the focus of politicians' actions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/15/AR2007071501037.html

btw, wonder what the defense will be: standard "pay for play" for campaign donors, political business as usual, or entrapment and illegal wiretap?

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-180589

Rez, obviously I agree. I would be more concerned if Obama started saying "this is MY house and I'll do what i want" or some rot like that.

But, it is also true that in the Congress, the "People's House" is often used to refer to the House of Representatives, which makes sense really because in the early days of our country, citizenry could only vote for Representatives. Senators were chosen by state legislatures...

Looks like "candidate #5" is also in trouble....

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/charges_blago_discussed_cash_f.php

cillizza on appt story:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/12/blagojevich_arrested_a_fundame.html?hpid=topnews

he left out the option of what would happen if gov blag'h appointed himself. he doesn't have anything to lose by doing that since it looks like he's toast anyway.
guess this brouhaha will take up msm space for awhile. move over bad economy, defunct automakers and allergy-free doggies.

Patsi you got THAT right ! LOL..." And now Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to introduce Illinois Senate candidate NUMBER 5..."

Looks to me like Blagojevich is either the dumbest rock in the entire box, or he is a complete wack job. He knew he was under investigation, fer Chrissakes...

ET,
Surely you realize by now that corruption and dishonesty are in place in both parties. It gets frustrating to me when people think one is more so than the other.....they are constantly keeping score....
I'm sure there are some that lean right that will be happy about this but in reality they should feel as disgusted as anyone....

DC is pothole city. You wonder why all these federal desk jockeys are driving around in 4WD SUVs with winches on the front and fat tires? It's because the streets have the texture of washboards and axle-breaking potholes big enough to take out the entire front end of sedan. One time when I was driving down East Capitol Street near the old RFK Stadium, I was forced to drive into a pot hole that was so deep it broke the front axle of my Toyota Corolla.

When Mark Warner was Governor of Virginia he called for a 72 hour pothole blitz every spring when all the VDOT crews were put on pothole duty.

Hit the sack early last night so missed this reply

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/obama-wants-faster-morgage-fix.html#comment-180502

Jack,

It's the best bed and breakfast in the nation. You have to figure it would be expensive. :-)

Patrick Fitzgerald is the same prosecutor in the Scooter Libby trial. He's known for being a straight-up guy.

Sheesh. I'm with you Patsi -- this IL Gov. is either stupid or a complete whack job -- goes for his Chief of Staff as well. God I hope Obama wasn't mixed up with this. Uuuuuugly.

Blogojevich was supposed to be a reformer. Why to DEMs always F--- things up so badly when we're ahead?

Sickening.

Patrick Fitzgerald is the same prosecutor in the Scooter Libby trial. He's known for being a straight-up guy.

Sheesh. I'm with you Patsi -- this IL Gov. is either stupid or a complete whack job -- goes for his Chief of Staff as well. God I hope Obama wasn't mixed up with this. Uuuuuugly.

Blogojevich was supposed to be a reformer. Why do DEMs always F--- things up so badly when we're ahead?

Sickening.

No--No

I did not take C-bobs---Sturg's post's or anyone else's saying that they want to restrict me or anyone to not post what they want to post-----I took it in the spirit in what I think it was given----and that is to maintain the quality of this blog----I agree with the premise of keeping this blog on a much better plane than all the others----so while I do agree that we should post what we want, what we want is ok,,,we should ballance it with quality...hope that I sense---I think both are important!!!

Pogo - Chaos Pie..... I think I will stick with Pumpkin !!

Wow -- CHANGE but only in name.

So Barack is not even in office and the home state Dems are taking the news headlines .....

The more they change the more they stay the same...

Barack - Keep moving Right and quickly

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122883415161091395.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

Is Blagojevich a Greek dish?

not to worry folks, the country's in the very best of hands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eow041tUPBA&feature=related

just hope someone is paying attention to what the current occupant is up to during this latest diversion

According to the criminal complaint, Obama offered nothing but his "appreciation" for the appointment of Valerie Jarrett to the Senate seat. To which Bloggo called him a M-Fer and let off a number of F-him's.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/1209081rod1.html

So hopefully this keeps Obama in the clear.

hope that I sense=hope that I made some sense-----have to slow down a little.

live blogging the Illinois scandal prosecutor's press conference welcome back Fitzmas

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/09/press-conference-of-fitz-liveblog/

"Did you notice when you flew over Iowa during the campaign how the land was completely bare -- black -- from October to April? What you were seeing is the agricultural landscape created by cheap oil."

http://articlesofhealth.blogspot.com/

"After World War II, the government encouraged the conversion of the munitions industry to fertilizer -- ammonium nitrate being the main ingredient of both bombs and chemical fertilizer -- and the conversion of nerve-gas research to pesticides. The government also began subsidizing commodity crops..."

ps - Did you see that Saudi so & so on 60 Minutes?

I guess Blagojevich will be the first name on Obama's list of folks to pardon.

First Ryan--and now Blagojevich ---one republican,,,and one democrat

We need a third party ----you can make fun of ,,,Ron Paul, Nadar,Kucinch,etc, as being air heads ,,,but you would never see them is this position of corruption -I think that Blagojevich is a smart as they come-----but just thinks that he is too smart for the rest of the people--and that is what is appalling to me,,,and offensive -----Mayor Daley ( the father ) is still admired in chicago ---Mayer Daley (the son ) say's that ---it is ok to help family and friend to get contracts, and jobs,,,,,,,I imagine that's ok ----but goes a little far when , unqualified people get to run our state---just saying??? Chicago the City that works---nice slogan-----but not for all.

I think that all the other cites ( politicians) are the same---but not with the brazen attitude like Chigago

3 ex-Ill. governors have served time since 1970s

By The Associated Press

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

(12-09) 07:30 PST , (AP) --

Three former Illinois governors have gone to prison in the past 35 years.

_Otto Kerner, a Democrat who was governor from 1961 to 1968, served less than a year of a three-year sentence after his 1973 conviction on bribery, tax evasion and other counts. He was convicted of arranging favorable horse racing dates as governor in return for getting horse racing association stock at reduced prices. Kerner died in 1976.

_Dan Walker, a Democrat who was governor from 1973 to 1977, served 1 1/2 years of a seven-year sentence after pleading guilty in 1987 to bank fraud, misapplication of funds and perjury. The charges were not related to his service as governor.

_George Ryan, a Republican who was governor from 1999 to 2003, was convicted of corruption in 2006 for steering state contracts and leases to political insiders while he was Illinois secretary of state and then governor. He is serving a 6 1/2-year prison term.

In addition, William Stratton, governor from 1953-1961, was later indicted but was acquitted on charges of income tax evasion.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/12/09/national/a073042S96.DTL&type=printable

must be something in the drinking water

Blago went to Pepperdine Law School. Same place that Ken Starr is teaching? Oooh this is rich.

CNN just ran a clip of Blago visiting the workers at National Door last night -- challenging people to wiretap him. (!)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/08/blagojevich-im-lawful-fee_n_149441.html

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-180591

patd. no. The case that you referenced is undoubtedly proceeding under the Takings clause of the Constitution. And no, there is some clause somewhere that precludes private legislation - if I recall correctly. I'll take a minute and see if I can find something on it. Like I said, it's been since law school.

chloe, the budget can be changed with addititional budget bills, but the budget that was passed stays in place. The cat gets skinned by additional appropriations bills and by failing to spend appropriated money.

"God I hope Obama wasn't mixed up with this. Uuuuuugly. "

I'd be willing to bet that Valerie Jarrett is the reason the feds planted those bugs. Remember Valerie took herself out of the running for that appointment quite a while back. From the news stories, it appears that she was approached about the pay for play scam. (An idiotic move, since she's known to be a very straight shooter.)

Also according to the news I read, she turned it down flat, and all of a sudden her name was off the table. She is so close to the Obamas, you know she'd have told them, and I think he would have been horrified by it. And I think Jarrett alerted Fitzgerald's office.

Just my theory....

Actually, patd, you would be right - if the private bill were punitive. In this case is was not - it awarded money to the recipients, on ly less than the lawyer wanted for himself.

"In the United States, private bills were common between 1817 and 1971. Now federal agencies are able to deal with most of the issues that were previously dealt with under private bills as these agencies have been granted sufficient discretion by the United States Congress to deal with exceptions to the general legislative scheme of various laws. The kinds of private bills that are still introduced include grants of citizenship to individuals who are otherwise ineligible for normal visa processing; alleviation of tax liability; armed services decorations and veteran benefits.

"In the United States Constitution, the same concept — when applied punitively — is covered by the term bill of attainder."

Thanks to the font of all knowledge. (Wiki) Now I've got to see what the significance of 1971 is.

Solar....
ahhhhh..... I get it now.... and I agree.... civil discourse has been called for many times by many people on this blog...... sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't..... I myself had a few lapses last week..... trying to be better this week.....

Diva.... I almost put an aside on my post about not giving a damn about the potholes of....... except for those potholes big enough to swallow a truck.....
I do know DC is famous for it's potholes..... sorry to hear you found one of them...

and yes..... isn't it a shame that every time the Dems come into power they always seem to manage to screw it up...... then the Repubs come back into power and they too always manage to screw it up..... politics and the Keystone Kops have much in common

OK, I stand corrected.

http://www.rules.house.gov/archives/98-628.htm

Private bills are allowed under House rules. Some are not, but apparently one like this is.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-180625

diva - Blago's apparently been under investigation for 3 years. He predated Dems being ahead. And with him I'd wager it's not an iether/or question, but rather a BOTH answer.

Ahhh, yes Reneee, I fondly (?) emember frost heaves. And potholes - we don't bother to fill them here - they'll just come back next year anyway.

have to go ---but I want you all to know that I live in cook county il-----it is now going to be called crook county--

I like the 'potholes and pavement' plan. Being originally from the Smokey Mnts. my father,(who lived through the Depresstion) would point out that all the roads that go through the National Park system were a product of WPA. And that goes for many of the other National Forrest and State Parks. Like Craig said, it isn't glamorous but it is basically a win/win type of situation. People work, infrastructure is repaired and expanded.

good grief.

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/pregnant-at-70/?hp

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-180640

Very interesting theory Patsi. You could be right -- I think the feds were already investigating Blago before the Senate seat came open, but Jarrett very well could have been the clue that let the feds into the Senate seat sell-off.

Since reading the full report, I'm relived that Obama wasn't in on it since Blago was so virulent in his name-calling after Obama told him that he would just receive his appreciation -- and nothing else -- if he appointed Jarrett.

Blago could still appoint someone to the Senate seat. He's still the Governor.

Wide stance back in the news.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28140563/

Sorry Ted, nice try, though.

Diva - yup, you're correct.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28142769/

I thought this is an amazing number, in the last 100 years 20% of the governors in IL have been convicted of corruption.
LOL

That is just the stupid ones that got caught.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Gov-Blagojevich-joins-long-line/story.aspx?guid=%7B893F1077%2DBD10%2D4FED%2D9C26%2D39E8392FFA63%7D

Jack

According to the reports..it is candidate number five --who blew the whistle...an unnamed state legislator

Oh, god, I think I just peed myself.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-bush9-2008dec09,0,4145069.story

RFLMFAO

"I think the feds were already investigating Blago before the Senate seat came open, but Jarrett very well could have been the clue that let the feds into the Senate seat sell-off. "

Yes, Alicia -- Blago was a'ready under investigation.... I have to believe from everything I've read about Jarrett that she blew the whistle if someone approached her. I think she's smart and tough and not likely to be amused by an attempted bribe.

It just isn't fair!!! First we get an extra day of Bush due to the leap year, and now we get an additional second because the earth is slowing down. Things really are slower when you are watching the clock.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-science/20081208/SCI.Extra.Second/

HuffPo says it was Rahm-bo who turned Blago in.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/09/rod-blagojevich-indictmen_n_149608.html

Well, Pogo -- because of your warning -- I ran to the bathroom before I used the link! Thank God -- because this would have done it:

"The document presents the Bush record as an unalloyed success.

It mentions none of the episodes that detractors say have marred his presidency: the collapse of the housing market and major financial services companies, the flawed intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war, the federal response to Hurricane Katrina or the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib."

Yes, jamie - having Dumya get an extra 24 hours and one minute in office just goes to show that if there is a god, it's the spiteful, angry god of the old testament.

yep, patsi, andit left out that chicken episode, too. ;-)

ooops ...candidate number 5 is not the whistle blower but someone who apparently was willing to pay to play

Smoking Gun has some of Senate Candidates identified. Says #5 is IL state legislator Emil Jones.

What is wrong with The Governor's Mansion in Illinois ?
I can see Illinois electing corrupt Governors . It's that they all turn completely stupid once they move in .

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-18062

Whoa Solar.
I wasn't talking about CBob or Sturge. I don't think that's what they were getting at all. This is one of the rare times we're not seeing things the eye to eye. :)

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-180626

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-180662

Well, they're all speculating- like here. It could be Jesse Jackson Jr.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-180662

My favorite corrupt act by a governor of Illinois was the selling of CDLs to illegal immigrants.

Classy.

one thing about the work of the WPA years ago, most of it is still standing. they built very well during that time, with no short cuts in material. there's plenty of walls etc. as a memorial attribution to the WPA here in pittsburgh, pa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6ZIHbFQAzU

goldieshouse.piczo.com

Thought for the day :
" Let he who takes the plunge remember to return it by Tuesday. "

1886 Clarence Birdseye frozen vegatable king (Birdseye)
1911 [William] Broderick Crawford Philadelphia PA, actor (All the King's Men, Highway Patrol, Hunter, Liar's Moon)
1918 Kirk Douglas [Issur Demsky] actor (Gunfight at the OK Corral, 7 Days in May)
1930 Buck Henry New York NY, screenwriter/comedian (Saturday Night Live, Get Smart)

1793 Noah Webster establishes New York's 1st daily newspaper, American Minerva
1961 SS Colonel Adolf Eichmann found guilty of war crimes in Israel
1965 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" premieres
1974 Dow Jones index hits 570.01
1978 Pioneer Venus 2 drops 5 probes into atmosphere of Venus
1992 Operation Restore Hope - US Marines land in Somalia

Rich, indeed they did. Some of the nicest bridge and trail work in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was WPA and CCC.

Those WPA buildings are still in use and many are now on the National Register of Historical Buildings.

Here's one that I've been in many times:

http://historicfresno.org/photo/memaud2.htm

"right - if the private bill were punitive"

pogo, sounds punitive to me

"At the outset, Zaid, now 41, had expected to receive the standard one-third contingency fee that he and the Makuches had agreed upon, or $666,666.

But someone had managed to get inserted in Rep. Reynolds's bill a stipulation that the Makuches's lawyer would receive only a 10 per cent payday, or $200,000 -- a big difference, especially for a public interest lawyer.
The prime suspect: A muckamuck in the intelligence netherworld." [spytalk]

Pogo,
Didn't take you for one to use stupid nicknames for our elected leaders.......you learn something everyday....

In looking for that old building, I came across this Fresno Bee editorial from last March.

We Need A New WPA

http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/31349

There's one item that will make all this click. (Green Energy)
It's the reason that Texas has more holes in it than any other place on the planet. So we know it works. It's a bit of tax policy that gives people the incentive to take risks. That is a 10 year production tax credit for wind, solar, hydro, bio.

"having Dumya get an extra 24 hours and one minute in office just goes to show that if there is a god, it's the spiteful, angry god of the old testament."

pogo..... yeah..... or god is actually a blog troll......

been watching the Blago stuff on CNN...... it get's more stunning by the minute...
they reported that he told the Tribune Co. he'd help with the sale of the Cubs if they fired an editorial reporter...... wow.....

Gee, pogo, where'd I hear that about the Smokey Mnts. before :p

Hey Jax.

I saw your earlier post where you pointed out that corruption and dishonesty are in place in both parties. I like your sense of what's fair evaluation and what's not. We need to look at things straight on.

But how can we call the Reps. the 'party of corruption' if we have Dems. doing the same thing?

Chloe,
That's why I don't get too caught up in all of the specualtion. It'll all come out soon enough and I don't really enjoy dwelling on what I see as a national disgrace....I don't care which party you support....actions like these and the tolerance of them put our way of life at risk....

Renee,
First thing this morning, I saw that story on Drudge about Blagojevich visiting that company where the employees won't leave until they're compensated. I was thinking it was good that he was taking an active interest and pushing BofA to do the right thing. Then, shortly thereafter, all of this happened. What a turnaround form what had thought about the guy a little earlier.

Republic Sit-In: Leaders Vow To Never Give Up
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/republic.factory.sit.2.883072.html

"..actions like these and the tolerance of them put our way of life at risk...."

A crook is a crook, and they come from both side of the aisle,

jax, I've referred to Bush as Dumya since at least the '04 elections, riffing off of Dubya. He may be an elected official, but his stupidity has astounded me. I started using the moniker for hm when he dropped his more articulate speech patterns to try and sound all Texan and plainspoken. My lack of respect for this president knows practically no bounds.

Rosie, I think you said it. ;-) Great minds and all that jazz. (I've been known to steal good ideas without attribution).

ptd - it's only punitive from the lawyer's perspective. I'd call it more spiteful than punitive. It does after all award both the plaintiffs and the lawyer money. I believe that punitive in the sense of bills of attainder is as defined here - punishment without a trial.

http://www.techlawjournal.com/glossary/legal/attainder.htm

renee - or god is actually a blog troll. LOL

this is in two parts because of length (my apologies)

Railroad tracks.
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number.
Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the US railroads.
Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.
Why did 'they' use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?
Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England , because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (and England ) for their legions The roads have been used ever since.
And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a Specification or Procedure or Process and wonder 'What horse's ass came up with it?' you may be exactly right.
Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. (Two horses' asses.)

Now, the twist to the story:
When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRB's. The SRB's are made by Thiokol at
their factory in Utah . The engineers who designed the SRB's would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRB's had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the
mountains, and the SRB's had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds.
So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass.
And you thought being a horse's ass wasn't important? Ancient horse's asses control almost everything...and CURRENT Horses Asses are
controlling everything else.

[above by unattributed, unknown blogger]

BofA ponies-up :

CHICAGO, Dec 09, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Bank of America today sent a letter to Republic Windows & Doors LLC indicating that the bank is prepared to provide a limited amount of additional loans to Republic to help fund a comprehensive resolution of Employee Claims.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Bank-America-Offers-Republic-Funds/story.aspx?guid={355A9E05-EA1C-43E4-A4BA-EB8113B8C498}

Yep - neither party is immune from corruption, and Illinois politics is famous for it. The party in power is the one that tends to draw the most attention. It was the Reps' turn for a while, andnow it will be the Dems' turn. Of course IMHO the Dems are relative amateurs,except for those like Bob Byrd and Bill Frist who avoided corruption per se but made enriching their own an art form.

Pogo,
I've not been on that long ...but it's disappointing....

"it's disappointing...."

Jax, Pogo is a good guy. This is just one little thing and I hate to see you judge him on that. He's always fair. (and a lot of people have a lot of reasons to hate Bush).

patd

That is a really funny story and I'm sure two horses' asses have invented almost everything. Unfortunately, this funny story doesn't have the benefit of being true:

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/r/railwidth.htm

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- A Minnesota appeals court rejected Senator Larry Craig’s bid to withdraw his guilty plea in a bathroom sex sting case, ruling that his rights weren’t violated.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a9GzA1OyLj8k&refer=home

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, in politics and elsewhere. And after two straight cycles of congressional pickups, outgoing DNC chair Howard Dean is no longer a boogeyman for his Republican counterparts -- he's a template for success.

This past weekend, a candidate for RNC Chair, Michigan Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzi, said the Grand Old Party would do well to follow the example set by the former Vermont Governor.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/09/gop-turns-to-howard-dean_n_149577.html

Chloe,
I know he's a good guy....I wouldn't even bother if I didn't like him

thanks jamie, i tho't it would lighten the discussion on public works (or non-works) here today. too bad the jester couldn't at least put a smiley face at the end and take credit for a better than average shaggy dog story.

jax, would it make a difference in your name-calling disappointment if w had been impeached?

Well, he is a likable guy. :)
But don't we all do little things that others don't agree with.
I don't like the name calling either. But still hear myself do it in private.

Best headline today :

Malaria Vaccine Effective in Latest Trials

MONDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) Results from two phase II trials in Africa show that a new malaria vaccine is effective at preventing both infection and the mosquito-borne disease itself in infants and children.

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2008/12/08/malaria-vaccine-effective-in-latest-trials.html

Pogo, I don't know about you.
But when I see two people on the blog discussing me, I usually want to say: 'I can hear you'. :)

Chloe,
I do it all the time under my breath. But half of the time I'm calling myself an idiot so I don't know if that counts....:)

LOL Jax. Me too!

patd

You might be able to catch this on HBO, but it is worth the video as well. Assume the Position is absolutely hilarious. There is a preview on the site.

http://www.hbo.com/events/rwuhl/

patd,
I didn't and don't call Clinton anything but President and he was inpeached......

"would it make a difference in your name-calling disappointment if w had been impeached?"

Patd,
None of my business, but I really don't see that as the point.
In actuality, I agree with Jax. Name calling bothers me too. But I also agree with Pogo. And with you. I think we're all right.

patd....
ROFL!..... the horse's ass story reminds of that Brit show on tv many moons ago called "Connections".....

Jax..... relax..... it's just a blog....
we all snark from time to time..... you should hear what some of us call some in the media.... in my book, people in the limelight are fair game...... but I try my darndest not to call any blogger a name...... although, I am human and sometimes I slip..... :0)

Chloe,
The day we're all right this becomes pretty boring....laughs

This is something Ping Pong said the other day, and I like it soooo much, that I made note of it:

""I do love this little window to the world that seems to only look to the left......
But I have a few more vantage points..."

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/12/our-pothole-recovery.html#comment-180705

Ha, but you know what I mean. (we're right, at least in each of our own minds) :)

".. relax..... it's just a blog.."

True, but still think what we say here is important in some way.
And think it's good that Jax aired this if it bothered him. That's also what this place is for. To work things out.

Renee,
you're probably right.....I'm confident that when I get snarky it'll be pointed out...:)

I've noticed that this little bus turns left alot but every now and then I pick up something useful.......at least as often as I do when I visit the little righty buses

Turns left a lot?
This bus is due west, and anyone that tries to change that, heaven help you. :)

No other reason than I like the song.

Kid Rock Featuring Sheryl Crow "Picture"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpFI1S_BDfo

later

Since I haven't actually comment on Craig's thread I'll do it now that I'm leaving.....While there's no doubt that public works projects can temporarily be good for employment and are no doubt needed there is always the real possibility that they compete with private activity for labor and materials......Many public projects and their associated bid processes are inefficient and bureaucratic. It creates a false market and hinders private recovery. I have difficulty seeing this as the stimulus answer.........

"Many public projects and their associated bid processes are inefficient and bureaucratic."

I posted this a couple years ago...... my hubby works for HP.... which bought out Compaq... which bought out Digital Corp...... where he was first hired in technology....

Digital sold a lot of computers to our federal government..... Rick one time told me that the process went like this...... first the government asked for a price.... they were given one..... that had to work it's way through legislation to get accepted..... by the time the price was accepted, Digital was making better computers at a cheaper price..... but they had to sell the older clunkier and more expensive version to the government...... they had a whole division that kept older stuff alive just to sell to our government.....

chloe, LOL. I can hear you ... now (my computer was down for the past half hour or so while they were changing it out.) BTW, I appreciate the words.

Jax, when the president's campaign, run by an unindicted criminal designates him with a dopey nickname, I feel a bit of license to mimic it. And I have never hidden my disdain for the current resident of the WH. Nixon killed any unqualified respect I might have had for the instant resident of the WH simply because he garnered more electoral votes than his opponents. Bush has attacked the constitution and our rights under it, which makes him no better in my view than Nixon. The president must earn my respect - this one has not.

jax, sorry if my open disdain for Bush disappoints you, but at least I'm not dishonest about it. And since patd brought it up, Clinton''s impeachment was the nakedly vindictive action of an opposition house of representatives who brought dishonor to their offices, led by the shining examples of virtue such as Newt Gingrich. It did not change my view of Clinton - whose actions as a husband and family man I did not respect, but whose policies and politics were just fine with me. I don't really care that much about his diddling Monica as long as he was doing a decent job of steering the ship of state. Bush has been a decent husband as far as I know, but has been a dismal president who as a captain of the ship of state has emulated Wrongway Peachfuzz and who has done more damage to the country than Clinton could have even dreamed of IMHO. So I don't know about you, but as for me, no, had Bush been impeached it would not have changed my view of him - it reflects on the House more than the president. The fact that you didn't hold disdain for Clinton is a father in your cap from my perspective, but that unqualified support is not something I could begin to give Bush.

And now, I must run. I have a side trip before LP's guitar lesson. Everyone have a good one.

oh.... and I forgot to mention....

the above post wasn't only about desktop office computers.....
it also went for computers in things like atomic submarines.....

ROFL -- Blago's Greatest Hits:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16377.html

Has anybody posted this? Bush shoots Fundamentalists the bird!

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Bush_Bible_probably_not_literally_true_1208.html

Illinois governor arrested by the FBI! He was planning to sell or trade Obama's vacant senate seat to the highest bidder.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/ap_on_re_us/blagojevich_corruption_probe;_ylt=AlCH3sQ.zqb2vkhIViMgrJuyFz4D

Cruise ships flying passengers past the pirates

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-world-europe/20081209/Piracy/

Don't forget to "Call in Gay" tomorrow.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/ap_on_re_us/calling_in_gay

John Sununu, the elder, is coming out of retirement. He is going to head the New Hampshire Republican party. He is alarmed by the inroads that the democrats have made in this traditionally conservative state.

Personally I think that corruption is where ever there is power, and that means politics among other places.
The thing with Illinois is that it has become institutionalized, a real organization, a way of life,a habit.

It was formed with organized crime and its big heyday was in Chicago. I suspect the mob itself doesn't run things so much as it set up the apparatus. The politicians have learned how to run things even without breaking the law. Obama went thru too fast to become encumbered with it - I bet he's clean of this stuff as it seems he called Blagojevich's bluff. I wonder if the racial factor helped him, kept him from the middle of it.

The revealing thing is the "marvelous" campaign he ran - it was organized with razor-sharp discipline, and wasn't afraid to to use some tactics that were legal but still breath-taking. That's what I hate to see come to the national level. I don't mind seeing politicians fumble-butt - it's better than seeing them get so sharp they can get away with anything.

I know some of you don't really buy the idea of the Chicago machine, but it's there and you can see it.
The government may be corrupt, but when it becomes corrupt Chicago-style, it'll be a whole new ball game.

bethy...
I have to run off to a meeting.....
but before I go.... I want to say thank you for that post..... it does give one food for thought..... at least it does for me....

Renee - I'm glad you see some possibility in the thought. I don't want to be absolute in my statements, but growing up on the Missouri side of the river, even I heard the names like Frank Buster Wortman.

I love watching real skill in just about everything - digging ditches, making adobe bricks, painting, playing the piano, purforming surgery. I just flat love it.
But skill in using power is terrifying even if it does leave me in awe. That's one reason, I guess, why I don''t get upset when a politician makes a mistake or goes bad. You have to wonder what they were thinking, but at least they got caught.

It's another reason why I am content with Obama's picks for his cabinet - they are not reliant on him and he knows it. It shows good faith on his part, too.

Conservatives are rarely forward thinking. Maybe there should be a new political movement: The Preservative Party, there are so many possibilities.

pre⋅serve (from Dictionary.com)

1. to keep alive or in existence; make lasting: to preserve our liberties as free citizens.
2. to keep safe from harm or injury; protect or spare.
3. to keep up; maintain: to preserve historical monuments.
4. to keep possession of; retain: to preserve one's composure.
5. to prepare (food or any perishable substance) so as to resist decomposition or fermentation.
6. to prepare (fruit, vegetables, etc.) by cooking with sugar, pickling, canning, or the like.
7. to maintain and reserve (game, fish, etc.) for continued survival or for private use, as in hunting or fishing.

Hence your party's staggering losses in the last two elections

Not my party dude, go back and check, in New Hampshire Independents are known as "unenrolled" . I am not a member of either democratic or republican party. I frequently split my ticket when voting. I vote for the person and what they have identified as their positions, not the party line.

Bowmanc

Why bother, he can't read.

Jack

whskyjack,

It is the holiday season, even the trolls need to have a morsel thrown their way every now and then.

Bowmanc

For those of you who can read. A great article in Vanity Faire buy Nobel laureat, economist Joseph E. Stiglitz.
A history on how we got here. From Reagan to the present.

"The truth is most of the individual mistakes boil down to just one: a belief that markets are self-adjusting and that the role of government should be minimal."

http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2009/01/stiglitz200901

Jack

It's beginning to look a lot like christmas......

LOL

And I can't spell nor use spell check.

Jack

To get all of us in the proper holiday spirit. My most pervasive earworm.

ding fries are done

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFQyib5ZQZY

more music for the holidays

The Twelve days of Bailout.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55xJnIqq9ZI

Fixing potholes? There is a rest area just outside of Zeeland that was torn down completely and a new one is being built in it's place. Some friends of my sister said they had an excess amount of money here and they needed to do something with it, so they decided to use the money to build a new rest area. Bowman and Whiskey, you'd be surprised at just how many people on this blog have been "outed" as Repblicans!

Jack , thanks for that Joseph E. Stiglitz -

Stiglitz is a steely eyed missile man.

December 08, 2008

"The high court today denied a request to listen to arguments in a case, Donofrio v. Wells, from New Jersey that addressed the issues. But literally within minutes, the court's website confirmed that another conference is scheduled for Friday on another case raising the same worries.

The new case, Cort Wrotnowski v. Susan Bysiewicz, Connecticut secretary of state, also makes a dual citizenship argument.

Donofrio, whose case was rejected today, said he's hopeful Wrotnowski's complaint will find a more receptive panel.

"It includes a more solid brief and a less treacherous lower court procedural history," Donofrio writes on his Natural Born Citizen blog. "I must stress that [Wrotnowski] does not have the same procedural hang up that mine does."

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=83113

I heard a great Parker line this morning ;
" This isn't plain lousy, this is fancy lousy, this is lousy with raisins in it."

Potholes You aren't talkings about thoses times when there is a decrease in the availability of marijuana? Guess not.

Also I would like to mention that what I like/appreciate about this blog is the eclectic quality of it. Besides politics there is history, geography, religion, environment, humor( I used a joke someone shared last night at work today), finance, movie/book reviews, pet care, animal husbandry, recipes, music, conspiracy theories etc, etc. Very educational. It is better than any magazine I could read and it's free.

oh, but the ghost of ms dorothy would be one to meet up with in a lonesome bar..............

Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea;
And love is a thing that can never go wrong;
And I am Marie of Romania.
---Dorothy Parker

Writing is hard, even for the best wordsmiths. Ernest Hemingway said the most frightening thing he ever encountered was "a blank sheet of paper." And Winston Churchill called the act of writing a book "a horrible, exhaustive struggle, like a long bout of painful illness."

Joe the Plumber advised not to quit his day job

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/391188_egan09.html?source=mypi

one mor, por favor......from Dory.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4zsJAPsNp8

How to Sleep (1935) - Robert Benchley's Oscar-winning short

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZO68-2mDIE

Schneller v. Cortes: PA Supreme Court Case

"I’ve filed a petition for review No, 199 MM 2008, to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, seeking a writ of mandamus and an immediate injunction ordering the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth to demand proof from Senator Barack Obama of his sworn statement, filed with his application for placement on the ballot, that he is qualified as a natural born citizen under the United States Constitution.

It is astounding that no official has demanded proof of this gentleman’s eligibility under what is a most simple and basic requirement for the Presidency."

http://www.therightsideoflife.com/?p=1751

Update on the Rahm story. He says "It's not true."

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/12/09/rahm-blago/

I mean, a source close to Rahm says 'It's Not true....just some overzealous reporting."

"... South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Carol Fowler FAXed him a self-ascribing certification of eligibility (meaning that he certified himself to be eligible) from Barack Obama."

PDF document:

http://www.therightsideoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/south.pdf

http://www.therightsideoflife.com/?p=1763

Shaken and Stirred: a tribute to Dorothy Parker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gabaYzNJ_68

Good news!! Just received some exercise shirts that I ordered from the Air Force. They came in plastic bags printed in red, white and blue proclaiming that the shirts were 100% Made in the U.S.A..

I thought that was pretty darn good because the domestic garment industry is pretty much a thing of the past.

The bubble burst when I kept on reading and saw that the shirts were made by Federal Prison Industries--a captive company of the U.S. Government.

"Dottie, you must stop this silly suicide business; you're going to ruin your health......"

--Benchley, at the table.

Bailout Wars -

According to Democratic aides, the White House also resisted a bid to hold Chrysler's owner, private equity group Cerberus Capital Management, liable for repayment if the auto company defaulted on any government loan.

"We want Cerberus on the hook," one aide said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSL947124720081210

With all the bailouts, my favorite Parker quote of the moment:

If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.

And her reply to Benchley

If wild my breast and sore my pride,
I bask in dreams of suicide,
If cool my heart and high my head
I think "How lucky are the dead.

let them eat sponge cake and foreign fish eggs......

Naturally she came up with one that describes my particular mania:

The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.

I wonder what she thought about melba toast.

Don't be too hard on Chrysler. I make parts for Chrysler!

"Joe the Plumber advised not to quit his day job"

C-Bob -- That article would be funny if Joe the Plumber had written the book....but it was written by a guy named Thomas Tabback. What interests me would be to know how Joe and Tabback got together....Tabback has written one novel which appears to be a quasi-religious thing....I suspect that it came from the Nashville-based managements and PR deals Joe signed. Oddly, this makes me mildly interested in what the book actually says. But I don't want to put any money in Joe's pocket to know...lol.

"And Winston Churchill called the act of writing a book "a horrible, exhaustive struggle, like a long bout of painful illness."

I understand that perfectly....

I've never had a chrysler.......friend of mine had one of those old huge ones and it had a jesus sticker on the back and so it became his jesus chrysler.......and the way it kept running was a miracle........

I never said anything about quality...LOL! Off to work! Bye!

"And Winston Churchill called the act of writing a book "a horrible, exhaustive struggle, like a long bout of painful illness."

Considering how productive he was, he must have been a genuine masochist. And, in his spare time he painted.

"I understand that perfectly...."

Patsi, after you do your research and interviews and drafts and rewrites, how long do you reckon it takes to write 100-pages?

" became his jesus chrysler......."

I love that concept....so much better than Jesusmobile....

'Jesus was born in June', astronomers claim

"If the team is correct, it would mean Jesus was a Gemini, not a Capricorn as previously believed."

Thx the Lord.! Gives me a little more time to shop.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/3687843/Jesus-was-born-in-June-astronomers-claim.html

"after you do your research and interviews and drafts and rewrites, how long do you reckon it takes to write 100-pages?"

Hmm...I don't know if I could separate those things...I write and rewrite as I go...

But I will say that the first 100 pages are the easiest....once you get past actually starting.

"But I will say that the first 100 pages are the easiest..."

Easy for you to say. :)

I see Fitzgerald's still around. What was the governator of IL thinking?

I think we just got a look at what most of all politician think and do.

I don't trust a one of 'em.

tt

Ct - nicely said indeed! This place is high class eclectic!!!!!

""But I will say that the first 100 pages are the easiest..."

Easy for you to say"

I don't mean the first third is particularly easy -- but things change as you get further into it...and that's where it can get tough.

"See, water does seek it's own level. "

And insecure people will always try to find someone to look down upon.

"http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002995226"

Auto bailout unsure: If those clowns were willing to hand over tax money to banks with no questions asked, and then allow the auto industry to go down....then we are one f-ed up country.

*Checks mirror to see if tongue is bleeding after biting it really hard*

It certainly was a crazy day...huge headlines at the Sun-Times, smaller at da Trib, but a helluva day.
Fitzpatrick has a flair, does he not? He had some classic lines yesterday that will make the history books, about "new low", Abe Lincoln "turning over in his grave"...
Don't worry...Blagojevitch knows it's over...if he appoints a Senator, Reid won't seat him...a special election costs $50 mil...outta the question in this economy.
This will be interesting.
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I always say my birthday-based-doppelganger is Bruce Springsteen because he was born when I was 5 days old and I am a huge fan and have been since 1975.
Really, though , it’s Prince Charles…he’s ten months older than me and I remember seeing pictures of him all my life, Life and Look magazines, Time and US News and World Report, teevee and radio. I remember looking at the young Charles in what I considered “sissy-boy” shorts and “girly” hats and ridiculing the photos with a classmate. I grew up with across-the-pond -Charles , who recently turned 60, and truly seems in his element now. He only appears to be goofy to me now when Craig Ferguson breaks out the English teeth.
My other boy, Bru-u-u-u-uce , was rumored to have dumped Patti Scialfa last year; I read it and sighed as it appeared that Bruce must have got that old urge again…but no…Bruce & Patti are happy as clams and living large, coming into NYC and spending lotsa cash, enjoying each other’s company.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was not overly surprised that Caroline expressed interest in the Senate seat in New York. I guess Bobby Kennedy , Jr. would rather fish beer cans and trash out of the Hudson (credit for that to Ron Bennington of Sirius197-XM202) than even being considered for the US Senate. You ever see Kennedy on an interview show? Think Bob Newhart playing Major Major Major Major in “Catch 22″—very nervous, jumpy…odd, even.
I sort of thought Rory Kennedy might be a good senator…maybe not enough pizzazz?
I guess Caroline was above the fray in the Bush wars with Al and John, 2000 and 2004…
Maybe she is tired of the Park Avenue life and wants to get her hands dirty, probably not like Madonna did in Malawi with the orphans or Sean Penn and Brad Pitt did in N’Orleans…but mayb

Politico has a story about how the Blago BS (and Charlie Rangel) will be a huge "test" for Obama...and I just loved what one of the people leaving a comment had to say...perfect:

"The media cycle is very slow right now and I really can't stand the media at times because of the way you shape perception with deception!"

I usually don't turn on the home laptop until most of you are sound asleep, but have read the blog top to bottom since mid Oct. when I found it.

Quesion/request for Jamie or Craig - would it be possible to put a link, maybe under Blogroll, to a reference page for New Bloggers Tips & Hints?

I have never blogged before in my entire 66 years so don't know a thing about it. I do remember you telling someone how to cut & paste a link from outside, but don't remember how to do it now. And how do you post a link from the previous post into your post when you reply. And how do you avoid these side scrolls (most irritating)

Patd - Thanks for the welcome.

*Right-click* on the link you want and then click *copy*. Then click in the comment box on this page and then *right click* again and click *paste*. Should do it for you. Welcome!

Hi Corey
That is instructions for bringing in a link from another source, correct?
Now how do you put a link to a prior post into your post when you reply?

Dexter - Craig Ferguson's Prince Charles is one of the funniest things I have ever seen!!!!! Added to that is the fact that I am not a monarchist, especially of the British caliber.

One comment on the original thread - Pothole Recovery.
There are so many projects in every state that are ready to go, except for the funding that could be started the day money came in from feds. That is almost instant employment, which translates to instant spending. Even if some of the money goes for paying down old debt, some will go for food and other necessities and/or just plain 'wants' also. It should put money into the economy quickly and get some people off unemployment and/or food stamps. Not to mention getting some of these projects done! Most of these are very needed things, school repairs and yes, potholes.

Good night to all. Thanks for welcoming me.

Good Morning all,

I have to say, the BIg BO is making quite the effort to keep the voting mob happy.... The first signs are not bad though....

"Instead of building new schools, bridges and the other long-range projects, the imperative is to repair what's already there. And guess what, that's exactly what most voters are likely to personally experience and appreciate the most. For making voters happy, there's nothing like fixing the neighborhood potholes."

Isn't this what Senators do? I mean he is going to be President of the Country NOT Senator of the Country.