This young man is gonna show Ted Cruz the damned door -- and I'm certainly gonna help him!

I left the Democrats and became an Independent when the Changeling ran, and was elected the first time.

Researching the Changeling's tenure as the senator from Illinois after his 2004 keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, told me all I needed to know about this lying, "deus ex machina" tool for white neo-liberals to secure the Black vote in particular, and the minority vote in general.

I learned a lot about the bullshit we've been fed and believed about politics in 2004. I learned that politicians are all liars in one way or another. I learned that you can't believe all, if any, of what they say until you see what the hell they do!!!

That said, I'm cautiously optimistic about Beto -- so much so, that I'll do whatever the f*ck I can to make sure he beats the hayell outta Ted Cruz in Texas during this 2018 mid-terms.

Listen to him family. Then watch what he does when he wins (cuz I'm sure he will!):





Do check out his comments on NFL players kneeling in the sidebar as well...

Related:
- Update: The Factual Reporting About Beto by David Sirota That Stirred Epic Freakout
- Updated: 'Draft Beto' Campaign Launches Just as O'Rourke Taken Off 'No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge' List
- John Cornyn picks fight with Beto, gets battle with Houston police chief instead
- Here Are 5 of the Most Laughable and Pathetic Moments in Ted Cruz’s Senate Campaign — So Far
- Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke tours Harris County jail during Houston visit
- O'Rourke makes town hall stop in Odessa
- Does Beto O’Rourke Stand a Chance Against Ted Cruz?

He was, who I thought he was...

I only have three things to say about the Changeling's, long-awaited and absolutely expected (by me) - "MORE WAR SIR!" speech:

h/t to Cinie (I think) for this photo

And - seriously and reverently:

'Nite now!

The Bible according to Cinie - and me too!

No one I know can put this whole debate over Gay Marriage versus Civil Unions more clearly than fellow blogger extraordinaire, Cinie - over at Cinie's World. If you've not been to her site - go!!!

Her May 28 post was one of the most succinct, tongue-in-cheek, splayings of the Bible-based opposition to gay marriage that I have ever seen. Rather than link to it, I asked if I could reprint it here in it's entirety (If her reference links don't copy here for some reason, you must follow the link below to her site and read them - particularly if you plan to question her research. But I don't advise it).

"The Case Against Gay Marriage"
Gay people should not be allowed to marry each other. That goes without saying. They cannot breed, and the things they do in their bedrooms, and in public restrooms, and under gaudy mirror balls on sweaty dance floors, are unnatural, and, just plain icky. Therefore, they should be forced to marry straight people or be banished to the fringes of society. If not, and they are allowed to marry each other, and worse, adopt, or otherwise have and raise children, they will soon infect our society with their depravity, and open the door to those who wish to marry children, animals, multiple partners, and even whole families.
Everybody knows this. God’s Holy Rule Book and Instruction Manual for Humans is very clear on this. Why, on its very first pages it clearly states that God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, or Adametta and Stephanie. There is no ambiguity whatsoever in that story. One must consciously, and deliberately, reject God’s word to argue otherwise. Got it?
The sanctity of one man, one woman marriage is constantly reiterated in the Bible, with rules for proper behavior within the institution clearly delineated. All holy humans profiled in its pages behave in a manner mandated by God with regards to marriage and childbearing. Take, for example, Jesus, God’s Only Begotten (pp. beget, i.e, the Begats) Son. Though he was not married, per se, according to the Bible, history has proven beyond all doubt that He was, because, since all Jewish males of His day were, He must have been. The evidence strongly suggests that His wife was most likely Mary Magdalene, who was either a demonically possessed, former prostitute, or, an apostle, and the true inheritor of His mission, and, it is only a matter of time before definitive proof is uncovered that there is indeed a young Caucasian descendant living in Britain, or L.A., as portrayed in the Da Vinci Code. Those who suggest that God’s not marrying Mary, Mother of Jesus, wife of Joseph, before the Child’s birth invalidates the marriage sanctity argument are merely heathen heretics, or just being silly. Either way, they are unworthy of debate or entry into Heaven, not to mention Starbucks.
The case for marriage between one man and one woman is more clearly made in the Old Testament, however, as is the burden of propriety borne by women. Let’s face it, women are by nature, temptresses (sluts) and unclean, (nasty) and must be made pure before God’s Chosen Gender deigns to dally with them and sully themselves in the first place. Thus, isn’t it better for a man to limit his exposure to them one at a time? Unless of course, he is a soldier in battle and not required by God to kill the women along with everybody else. In that case, he may have as many of those conquered virgin females as he wishes, and do with them as he pleases. The Bible is very clear on this.
Adultery is an abomination before God, this too is clear. A woman is only allowed to engage in sex outside of marriage if she and her sister are convinced there are no available men of their kind with which to procreate. They are then allowed, nay, required, to get their father drunk and rape him in his sleep on successive nights. If a woman’s husband dies, her brother-in-law is required to impregnate her; if he refuses, or only pretends to do so, she is free to fake out her father-in-law by pretending to be a prostitute and become pregnant that way, and insure her and her child’s inheritance. Unmarried women are to be offered as substitutes for unwilling visiting males to Sodomites, with no stigma attached, if the visitors claim to be angels. If the Sodomites reject the offer, they are to be blinded by the visitors so that they may not find the door to enter into their host’s home. This is clear.
A man is allowed to marry his half-sister as long as they are related only on their common father’s side. It is then okay for him to offer his wife to foreign heads of state, only to have an angel beat the king about the head to prevent relations, or reveal the truth to the king in a dream, or, for the couple to reveal their true relationship by having public relations within the foreign head of state’s view; the goal being to extort funds from the transgressing king’s coffers, or, save one’s hide. The Bible is very clear on this.
Men who win wrestling matches with other males by touching their shrinking “sinew” are God. The loser’s resulting limp is proof. “He who pisseth against the wall” is granted many other privileges and rights in regards to marriage/sex. If a man who enjoys dancing with abandon in the streets, clad only in a linen apron in celebration of his God. has his fancy taken by a bathing foreign temptress, he may take her, impregnate her, and have her husband killed. Though this sort of behavior is apparently frowned upon, if the man repents, the couple’s child will die and his other children from other marriages will one day rise up against him. However, he may then marry the new widow and one of their next offspring will become king.
If a man becomes enamored of the younger sister of an unmarried woman, her father may trick him into marrying his firstborn first. After having children with her, he may later marry the woman he truly loves and have children with her, too. Sometimes, if a woman’s husband dies, she is encouraged to follow her mother-in-law into the land of her birth and seduce a rich man as per her mother-in-law’s instruction, in order to marry and carry on the family line. Women are also allowed to tempt rulers to capital punishment on the advice of their mothers.
While some may quibble with my Biblical interpretation, I have made every effort to insure that each incident is Biblically documented. For example, though Moabites, descendants of Lot and his daughters, were indeed considered infidels, it is worthy of note that it is through Ruth, the converted Moabite who secured her inheritance through the seduction of a wealthy man at the instruction of her Hebrew mother-in-law, that Jesus is said to be descended of David, nearly naked dancing celebrant. Also in the line are Tamar, the woman driven to pretend to be a prostitute, Rahab, supposedly an actual Caananite prostitue, and Bathsheba, foreign (Hittite) wife of David and mother of Solomon. I have tried to find reputable references, pro and con, whenever possible, in this post, and have avoided linking to sites like this one, which is not to be viewed by the faint of heart. I have also purposely avoided skeptics and other atheist sites to the best of my ability, though one or two may have snuck in. The devil, you know?
With these few examples it is no mystery why Christians and other true believers must denounce gay marriage as a threat to their sacred institution. I mean, come on, clearly, the Bible has always intended for marriage to be a union of one man, and one woman, most of the time. Though the Bible mentions the word “adultery” waaaay more often than “homosexuality,” and “thou shalt not commit adultery” is the seventh commandment, while there is no commandment against homosexuality, that’s easily explained since, throughout history there must have been far more lying, cheating spouses to throw stones at, than deviant, depraved queers.
No follower of God’s most sacred rule could ever accept marriage equality for homosexuals. That’s just silly. Almost as silly as believing that I could ever buy into such nonsense. Or, believe that anybody else does. Like, most people, I just believe the parts of the Holy Human Owner’s Manual that I like. Unlike most people, I’ve actually read most of it.
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? {26} He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? {27} And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. {28} And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. (Luke 10:25-28)
TAPPER: You oppose same-sex marriage.
OBAMA: Yes.
TAPPER: Do you think that the fact that this is now going on in California, does that cause you to re-think your pledge to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act?
OBAMA: No. I still think that these are decisions that need to be made at a state and local level. I’m a strong supporter of civil unions. And I think that, you know, we’re involved in a national conversation about this issue.

(see other video on original post placed here, because even though she gave me the link - I can't make it work!!)




Much like issues affecting the Black community, the Changeling has side-stepped Gay community issues as well. But then again, he never promised them much of anything either.

Bill Moyers, a rare and dying breed of journalist - on Gaza

"Bruised but not Broken" - Blagojevich a media joke or Rahm's worst nightmare?

For countless media outlets, Gov. Rod Blagojevich was the joke of the day as he responded to his impeachment by the Illinois House today. Seems no one was really listening to what he actually had to say - too busy laughing and asking, "What is this guy talking about?"

He said a lot. To a few people. And in their continued unbalanced, "Obama love" - the media missed it all. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but here's some of what I heard:

Click :38 - "Let me tell you what I'm not going to do. I'm not going to do what my accusers and political enemies have been doing and that is talk about this case in 30 second soundbites on "Meet the Press" or the TV news." (emphasis his) Direct hit - Sen. Harry Reid.

Click :59 – “And I want to assure everyone who’s here and everyone who’s listening, that I intend to answer every allegation that, uh, comes my way. However, I intend to answer them in the appropriate forum – in a court of law.” (emphasis mine) Direct hit - Obama & Co. on that first part. He let them know that he plans to tell it all (unless of course, in requisite Chicago-style, they do something to get him out of this mess). The second part, direct hit - Illinois House. He told them to kiss his behind. He didn't show up to their kangaroo court because a court of law is the finder of fact - not them.

Click 1:46 – "Now I know there are some powerful forces arrayed against me. It’s kind of lonely right now. But I have on my side the most powerful ally there is. And it’s the truth." (emphasis his) Direct hit - Obama & Co. Just a reminder, if it comes down to it, he's tellin' the whole truth.

Click 1:05 - "From the very moment of my reelection, I've been engaged in a struggle with the House to get things done for the people...The House has stood in the way...In my view, those of us who make the rules ought to be able to uh, follow a simple lesson that I was taught to believe in in Sunday school. It's called the Golden Rule. That you do unto others as "you would have them do unto you." That sounded like a veiled threat to e-e-erbody!

When he entered, I said, "Now why did he bring all these people up there?" He answered, here:

Click 3:09 - 4:43 " So the House's action today and the causes of the impeachment (emphasis his) are because I've done things to fight for families who are all with me here today. Now I'm gonna talk about some of the examples that I'd like you-to share with you and some of the counts that the House is actually choosing to impeach me on. For example, The "I- Save" Prescription Drug program is among the things the House said I should be removed from office for. That was a program we began, I believe it in late 2002, or early 2004. That was a program brought to me by then-Congressman Rahm Emanuel (emphasis his) who suggested that since the big pharmaceutical companies had a tremendous amount of sway with the FDA (emphasis his), that too many senior citizens were being forced to ration their medicine or couldn't afford to buy their medicine...that maybe we should try somethin' different and go to Canada. And Go to the place where ya' make the exact same medicines, for the exact same companies only if you have free and open trade (emphasis his) and go to Canada you can help our senior citizens save up 30-40-50 percent on the cost of their medicines. We did that in Illinois, being the first state in America to defy (emphasis his) the FDA and the big drug companies. And I'm happy to say we were joined by the state of Wisconsin, the state of Kansas and the state of Vermont and a lot of senior citizens in Illinois have had the benefit of being able to afford their medicine at prices they can afford. The house is impeaching me for that. Is that an impeachable offense?"

The 11th Article of Impeachment reads, "The Governor's actions with regard to, and responsibility for, the I-SaveRx Program, as more fully detailed in the Final Report at Section IV-F and in the Committee Record as a whole."

The House Committee on Impeachment's report , upon which the articles were based, is a detailed accounting of the governor's alleged, illegal activities involving the I-SaveRx program (Pgs 39 - 42). And Rahm was right there with him. So why is Blagojevich headed to federal court, while Rahm is headed to the White House "Court" to sit at the Changeling's right hand? Will anybody in the mainstream media ask that question? Particularly since there's this pesky, little thing over at the Illinois state government site.

"Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-Chicago) were joined by Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle for the launch of the new I-SaveRx prescription drug importation program -- the first program in the nation to allow Illinois and Wisconsin residents to purchase lower cost, safe prescription drugs from Europe and Canada."

I don't know if it's an impeachable offense or not but, Direct hit - Obama & Co., Senate Dems, Illinois legislature and especially, Rahm Emmanuel! Blagojevich made sure we knew that he and Rahm had been "talking" way before his "President-elect Advisor" status popped up in Fitzgerald's complaint (not indictment as I'd said previously - shame on me for picking up the media's terminology).

And if the President-select's right-hand man was "talking," with the governor for all that time, I'd venture a guess -he was not alone in doing so (no wonder he's all but blended into the background since the story broke. I guess they figure if he draws no attention to himself, no one will ask the important questions). People, we are fiddling while Rome burns.

(Blagojevich - 5/Democratic leadership - 0)

"Open up and let the wind blow through..."

This wonderfully written example of humanity ran in counterpunch.com's Weekend Edition, January 2 - 4, 2009. It was so thoughtful, so honest, so true - I wrote the author for permission to reprint it here in it's entirety and she said yes. I'm glad. It's a decidedly different, first-hand account of what is happening in Gaza - one our media rarely, if ever portrays. Enjoy!

~#~

Hearts Are Made to Be Broken Shiv'a in Gaza, December 2008 By DEB REICH

"My heart has been broken so many times, writes Alice Walker somewhere, that it feels like an open suitcase with the wind blowing through it" … But maybe, she muses, hearts are made to be broken, and what is required of us is simply a steadfast acknowledgment: Open up and let the wind blow through; that's what hearts are for.

If so, Gaza 2008 is good cardiac training.

I am an American-Israeli Jewish woman of 60 living now in an Arab town in Israel and working for Jewish-Palestinian-Arab-Israeli reconciliation. I have two friends in Gaza and I will tell you how we came to be acquainted.

The first step was simply refusing to be enemies. There are thousands of Palestinians and Jews like me, in the Middle East and worldwide, who refuse to be enemies. We rarely make the headlines in your local paper, but we are here. One day we will prevail - not over anyone, but with everyone together. We are creating a new reality together and the paradigm, sooner or later, will shift decisively. Meantime, people needlessly bleed and suffer and die and mourn; the scenarios are endless but the outcomes are identical: death, injury, pain. What distinguishes Gazan suffering at the moment is that the noncombatants have nowhere to run to. The borders are sealed. The bombs fall. The world watches.

* * *

In 2006, one of my several informally adopted children, business consultant and "business for peace" activist Sam Bahour of Al Bireh, Palestine, started an Arabic-English-Arabic translation service, AIM Word Factory. A key goal was to provide employment for underemployed Gazan translators. To have the honor of being one of the first customers and helping that great idea launch, I sent him, for translation into Arabic, an anti-war story I wrote many years ago called "Dudu in Heaven," about an Israeli woman who loses her brother in the 1967 Six-Day War. The translator in Gaza was a young professional named Maha M., and the shared literary mission led to some email exchanges, all conducted via Sam. "Maha says the story is too sad," Sam reported at one point. "She likes it very much, but she says you ought to write a happier one next time."

Not long ago, I discovered that Maha's nephew Mohammed, 14, is the boy whom Sam has been helping for some years now in a very personal struggle with a rare inherited immune disease, CGD. Sam donates and helps raise money from private donors for Mo's treatment and medication and has been successful in assisting Maha to get the necessary "permits" from Israel to enable her to accompany Mo for his treatment. Mo became a patient at the Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, an excellent Israeli facility near Tel Aviv. ("Everyone on the medical staff will go straight to heaven someday," says Sam.) Mo and Maha recently spent two and a half months at the hospital and the nearby Bet Hayeled ("Children's House"), the hostel for young patients and their families on the hospital grounds; their "permits" do not permit them to leave the campus and their travel documents are deposited with the guard at the hospital entrance. This is the reality of Israel and Palestine, so far; the change we are struggling to midwife is not yet. In November, Mo underwent a bone marrow transplant at Tel Hashomer.

I only discovered that our Gaza-based translator of "Dudu in Heaven" was in Israel toward the end of their stay, early in December when Sam mentioned it by chance. I got organized fairly quickly and went to visit them, accompanied by Abdalla, the 22-year-old son of my landlord upstairs. I figured Mo would enjoy an Arabic-speaking visitor and Abdalla was happy to oblige. We invested in an enormous basket of chocolates - "the absolutely correct gift to bring to a Palestinian child in the hospital," according to Abdalla - chocolate being one of those things that evidently transcend cultures. Also for the young patient, Abdalla's mom Faryal contributed some never-worn boy's jeans and sweatshirts that her sister Shadya in New Jersey sent recently for Abdalla's kid brother, who is too big to wear them. For Maha, I raided my bookshelf and selected Garrison Keillor's anthology, "Good Poems for Hard Times," and a couple of other books I thought she might enjoy.

We drove to the hospital and found Maha and Mo and a parking space, and had a wonderful visit, everyone bonding instantly after the first hug. Maha is a writer-editor-translator type just like me, only a couple decades younger. She and Abdalla took a bunch of digital photographs and I prayed inwardly - even though some ghastly crisis in Gaza was already clearly imminent - that all four of us would be back together again one day soon for a reunion. Mo is a great kid: undersized, on account of the illness, but with a smile like a lighthouse and a passionate interest in airplanes. His dream to become an airline pilot someday is not the most realistic dream for a seriously ill Palestinian child from Gaza in 2008, but insofar as our dreams keep us going, maybe it's very functional. The boys talked soccer and other guy topics and there was a lot of laughter. The chocolates were a big hit.

Abdalla was rather subdued afterwards and I saw that the experience had deeply affected him. We talked mostly of inconsequential things during the drive home.

* * *

Around the time of that visit in early December, after a battery of tests, Mo's bone marrow transplant was declared a guarded success and he was discharged the week before Christmas to make room for the next young patient, despite the iffy situation in Gaza and the near-impossibility of obtaining "permits" to return to the hospital for the required twice-monthly follow-up treatment. There are never enough beds, apparently, for the sick children in this world.

Mo's prospects soon took a dramatic turn for the worse with the Israeli assault on Gaza launched last week - two days after Christmas, on December 27, 2008. Not even the indomitable Sam Bahour can get a child out of Gaza right now. The date for Mo's first post-op intravenous treatment at Tel Hashomer - December 30th - came and went. The treatments are - how shall I put it? - not optional. As I write this, cosy at my desk with a fresh cup of coffee and plenty of everything, Mo and Maha are sitting in Gaza in the dark, in the cold, with little fuel and no reliable supply of food and water, along with Mo's parents and six siblings. Right about now, the family are surely thinking of Mo's seventh sibling, Nora, who died four years ago of CGD at the age of 16, in a hospital in Egypt, before the doctors were able to diagnose her. Mo has a good chance to manage his illness, if only he can somehow get back to Tel Hashomer. I think of them sitting there, listening to the bombs whistle in flight and waiting for the planned Israeli ground assault, while tanks mass along the Gaza perimeter. In the lethal game of mindless violence and counter-violence playing out in Israel and Palestine lo these many years, Mo and his family are innocent bystanders. His innocence will not get Mo to his IV treatments, however.

Can you feel that wind blowing right through your heart?

* * *

While Abdalla and Mo were talking sports at the hostel that day in early December, Maha and I were chatting about the things women talk about. She told me about her shopping, at the minimarket on the hospital grounds, in preparation for their expected return to Gaza. "My sister-in-law told me to buy us a lot of candles," she remarked, "because, you know, there's no electricity most of the time now." We contemplated this bleak picture together in silence for a few moments.

"So I asked the clerk at the shop to sell me some candles that will last a long time," Maha continued. "And he showed me these fat, tall ones that are encased in a solid glass container…" I could feel the hair lifting on the back of my neck. "He said they would burn for a week, so I bought a whole bunch of them," concluded Maha, oblivious, as I sat there, dumbstruck. She was describing the traditional Jewish shiv'a candle - the candle of bereavement lit by Jewish families all over the world for the seven days of mourning on the death of a loved one.

As this ghastly December drew to its grim close, Maha still had enough fuel left to run a small generator for an hour every day or two, so she could get online and do some emails or charge her mobile phone. I got an email saying they are OK ("bombs falling nearby but not on us, so far") and I sent my love and prayers for the family. As of New Year's Eve, I knew they were still alive because I got an e-card from Maha yesterday. Her message said: Dear Deb, I wish you and your children a Happy New Year and a long, happy, healthy and successful life. May every day of the New Year glow with good cheer and happiness for you and your family… Love and best wishes, Maha.

(Deb Reich is a writer and translator in Israel/Palestine, at debmail@alum.barnard.edu)

The Fourth Estate...

"Power never concedes anything without a demand.

It never has and it never will."

Frederick Douglass

I found this at once amusing and interesting today. I just wanted to share. Earlier, while reading through the list of blogs I follow, I read this headline at Lynn Sweet's blog:

Burris Enters Capitol peacefully; media hordes greet him." No comment had been posted yet, I left this: Hey Lynn, What did you expect a fight? You do Mr. Burris and Blacks a disservice by using these code-laden words. Just now, after signing in, I went back to Lynn's blog hoping to engage in some intelligent discussion. Instead I found my comment was never posted but now, the headline reads: "Burris Enters Capitol; media hordes greet him." The post is the same, only the headline changed. I left this: Lynn, Since you didn't print my comment (it was the very first one on this post too!) about your "FIRST" headline - "Burris Enters Capitol peacefully; media hordes greet him" - I probably shouldn't expect this one to printed either. But it's worth a shot. I see you DID delete the "peacefully." That's a start I guess. Now, we just have to work on owning our mistakes and asking ourselves why we did them in the first place. What do you think? I'm not telling anyone what they should, or should not do on their own blog, but I have to say -I'm disappointed. I've been reading Lynn Sweet at least since the Changeling threw his hat in ring. I read her because she seemed to be doing what journalists should be doing according to their code of ethics:

• Seek truth and report it
• Minimize harm
• Act independently
• Be accountable (includes admitting mistakes and correcting them promptly and invite dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct)

(Yes I was paying close attention in class!).

Lynn Sweet knew the territory better than anyone else I'd read out of Chicago. Often I would read background information about him in her columns that I hadn't seen anywhere else. She was fair, and gave the reader as balanced a look as possible no matter the player or the issue. And working in the land of Capone, I'm sure that was no mean feat. I liked the fact she'd been around for awhile - "seasoned" as it were.

But since the President-select was selected, I've seen a change and again, I have to say I'm disappointed. I will not stop reading her because of what happened today. It will just be with a more critical eye that I do so.

The Emperor Strikes Back!

Not 43 seconds in, and David Gregory brings up the "defied" word. That just has such a master-subject, elite-commoner, parent-child, unequal connotation to me. This man hasn't even raised his voice, hasn't "performed" like a lot of us say. Gotta keep that Angry Black Man image out there I guess. Now that the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy has their approved-version of a Black man (A "white man" too, as it relates to Blagojevich! Kitty over at Aroo wrote this nail-on-the-head piece about that dynamic), seems there's no intent to suffer any of us fools gladly who don't match those requirements.

~#~

Now Senator Reid, I'm going to be one of the ones to go out on a limb here and suggest there is some very, inherent racial bias, not only in the Burris instance (seeing as you've not offered any reason other than what someone else may have done), but in quite a few things you said. And I assure you, I'm not part of the Blagojevich anything! Just a few examples:

• Click 4:15 - "We are the ones that determine. Democrats and Republicans, determine who's going to sit in the Senate. It's been that way f-f, since before 18(inaudible)." Sounds eerily familiar to "I'm the Decider!" don't you think? And by the way, the "we" looks decidedly different than Burris, or did you miss that?
• Click 6:02 - "We determine who sits in the Senate and the House determines who sits in the House. So there's clearly, legal authority for us to do whatever we want to and this goes back for generations." Exactly the issue, on both counts.
• Click 7:40 - A picture's worth a thousand words, eh??
• Click 9:20 - "I went to the Clark County District Attorney's office to find a nobody, s-s-s-people thought was a nobody to become a federal judge, Johnnie Rawlinson." That'd be the "nobody" on the left of course.

(Judge Johnnie Rawlinson (9th Cir.) (photo left) looks on as Justice Sandra Day O’Connor thanks participants at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference last month for the gift of a box of flies. O’Connor is an avid fly fisher. Photo Credit: Ninth Circuit, Office of the Circuit Executive)

And he did that himself ya'll! Please!!!

And Senator Reid? Don't rip your arm out of its socket pattin' yourself on the back there, M-m-mkay?

(Blagojevich - 3/Democratic leadership - 0)

Slipped, Tripped and Fell??

**Correction: There was a complaint not an indictment against Gov. Blagojevich**

After running a tightly controlled, very well-financed and some would say - flawless campaign, it seems Obama & Co., in their hubris, may have loosened the reins a little too soon and now, somebody's about to slip, trip and fall knee-deep into a whole heap of trouble - maybe.
And wonder of wonders, someone in the mainstream media seems to have been awakened from their Obama-love induced slumber long enough to slip in a relevant question or two about this Changeling/Blagojevich, "somethin' in the milk ain't clean" drama going on. ABC's Jake Tapper at least stuck his toes in the water with "Questions Arise About the Obama/Blagojevich Relationship."
Along with a little background information on the - according to the Obama camp -"non-relationship," he raises the same two questions I did when I read the indictment:

1. How did Blagojevich know the Changeling wasn't willing to give him anything in exchange for the Senate seat -- who told him?
2. Did that person report Blagojevich to the authorities?"

And if the answer to question #2 is "No," were it you or I, wouldn't we be looking at some kind of charges right about now for failing to report the overture? I'm just sayin'.

Let's see just how long it takes Obama & Co. to come up with something a little more believable than his little-boy-caught-doing-something-wrong, Shaggy sounding, knee-jerk response of :

"I had no contact with the governor or his office, and so we were not — I was not aware of what was happening, and as I said it is a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment."

Especially since, basking in the glow of his selection, he made sure it was all over the damn news that he WAS meeting with the governor on November 5th. I read "Ill. governor meeting with Obama today" by Carol Stowers at ConnectTristates.com. myself!! I'd saved the link in one of the many drafts started, but not finished - but when I linked to it (as you can see), it was "unavailable."

But that's okay, Not only did I find the text, but got this screen shot.
Man! I guess information about this guy being "disappeared" so often from the internet sure has taught people to quickly capture whatever's online hasn't it? I'll have to remember that. Oh, and after the shit hit the fan, ConnectTristates.com quickly ran this about the "disappeared" article. Sounds like somebody's ass got chewed!!

People, people, people!! We are asleep at the wheel, yet again, when it comes to politicians and the press. By the time we wake the hell up, we'll find ourselves with a genuine government-run media with no pretense at all about being unfair and unbalanced.

The RNC may have paid for this, but they're right - "Questions Remain":

"Obama 2 + 2 = 5 " - Gotta Love it!

Courtesy of Flineo. Pretty interesting don't you think?