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Daily News Round-Up: He’s Good Enough!

Friday, December 19th, 2008

The election’s not over! In Minnesota, Al Franken has eeked out 250 more votes than Rep. Norm Coleman. The vote-counting and challenging is going on now! You can watch every fascinating minute here.

Clinton the Former (that would be Bill) has released his foundation’s donation records. Unsurprisingly, lots and lots of money from Saudi Arabia, a fair amount from Dubai and other Emirate states, but also Barbra Streisand, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, and Bloomberg LP made the list. The whole thing is available here, broken down not by country of origin, date of donation, or even exact amount given, but by donation range.

Some hilarious end-of-days news: the Italian government purchased 100 thousand wheels of authentic parmesan cheese, which will be donated for charity. Media outlets are calling it a cheese bailout, since parmesan producers have to adhere to strict guidelines which mean the cheese is more expensive to produce than it can command at the market. Sort of like American cars, I guess…

If this doesn’t make your uterus shrivel up in terror, I don’t know what will. Michelle Duggar of Arkansas gave birth to her 18th child on Thursday. Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar, delivered by Caesarian section, weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. The Duggars have 10 boys and, now, eight girls. Proud papa Jim Bob Duggar told reporters: “We both would love to have more.” Excuse me while I go hug my cat.

Warming the cockles of my Maine-grown heart, the Ford F-150 has emerged as the top selling vehicle of 2008, followed by the Chevy Silverado (sing it with me here: “Like a rock…”) Good Lord, I love me a pick-up truck. Apparently, millions of others do, too. The whole list of winners and losers, (mostly compacts and SUV-minivan bastards, respectively) is here.

And, finally, Blago speaks! The villified governor held a press conference this morning, making more outrageous statements along the lines of “I have done nothing wrong” and “I will be vindicated.” (Yes, in the court of DNR, Blago has already been tried and hung. We are nothing if not judgmental.)

Get going, kids! Only FIVE more shopping days!! Spend now or forever hold your peace! The economy is counting on you!

Or, here is a list of 50 homemade gift ideas… in case you had all your money with a hedge fund in Palm Beach…

Tags: arkansas, bill clinton, blago, cars, cheese, christmas, christmas gifts, clinton foundation, election, Illinois Governor, italy, lots of kids, Minnesota, parmesan
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Daily News Roundup: Racial Slurs and Cabinet Rumors

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

In a message that appeared Wednesday on Islamist web sites, al Qaeda’s second-in-command warns President-elect Barack Obama about the “heavy legacy of failure and crimes that await him.” He also urged Muslims to keep up the attacks on the U.S. Perhaps in an attempt to anger and insult America’s next president, the terrorist leader, Al Zawahiri, also called Obama, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, the “direct opposite of honorable black Americans” like Malcolm X. Zawahiri even went as far as to call them “house slaves” or the racial slur of “house Negroes.” The buzz is surrounding Obama’s current picks for several key members of his cabinet. Sources tell CNN that Sen. Tom Daschle is being considered for the Secretary of Health and Human Services job. Daschle, the former Senate Majority Leader, is expected to take the position if offered. And for the Attorney General job, Eric Holder, who was Clinton’s Deputy Attorney General, is the top choice for Obama. Holder, who co-chaired Obama’s vice president selection process, is also expected to accept the position. History could be made again because “if confirmed, Holder would be the first African-American to lead the Justice Department.” And Bill Clinton is trying to help his wife get the Secretary of State position in Obama’s cabinet. Clinton has offered to allow ethical reviews of his philanthropic and business work to ensure there isn’t a conflict of interest. Unlike Holder and Daschle, Clinton is reportedly unsure whether she will take the position. She will have to choose between remaining in the Senate or accepting the new position. “The question is where she can be of best service,” said a Clinton adviser. More dismal news on the economic front. The U.S. cost of living fell by the most since the records began in 1947. The fewest number of homes (known as housing starts) were constructed last month. And the consumer price index (CPI) has slide backwards, which means deflation. Yes, this recession is the worst once for at least a quarter of a century. And Xbox 360 gamers may be rejoicing worldwide. On Wednesday, Microsoft unveiled a revamped Xbox gaming console. The new internet-connected setup includes an updated dashboard, the ability to purchase movies and games from Xbox.com and streaming HD Netflix movies with membership. The “New Xbox Experience” (NXE) is available to Xbox Live members.

Tags: al qaeda, Al Zawahiri, attorney general, Barack Obama, bill clinton, Colin Powell, condoleezza rice, cost of living, CPI, deflation, economic news, Eric Holder, hillary clinton, house servants, housing starts, Malcolm X, Microsoft Xbox 360, Netflix, New XBox Experience, Obama cabinet, President Elect, racial slur, recession, Secretary of Health and Human Services, secretary of state, Tom Daschle
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Right Wing Response: Pirates, Terrorists, and Terrible Appointments

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

Should we take these Somali Jack Sparrows seriously? John Hawkins at Right Wing News finds the recent prevalence of pirates in the news almost laughable and argues the U.S. shouldn’t get involved (but not without first taking a few jabs at President-elect Barack Obama’s policy of talking to the enemy without preconditions). Mark Steyn, blogging for National Review, has a more serious take on the rise of piracy.

Eric Holder is the worst possible pick for Attorney General right now, according to the editors at National Review. He’d be softer on terrorists, and he helped push through several questionable pardons and commutations of sentence on behalf of former president Bill Clinton. Moreover, the editors write, he massages statistics to portray police as racial profilers, supports affirmative action, wants to stop the detention of enemy combatants at Gitmo, and “favors income redistribution to address the supposed root causes of crime.”

The Right is finding new hope in…Hillary Clinton? Noemie Emery, writing for The Weekly Standard, calls Clinton “The Great Right Hope” and traces how campaign 2008 transformed the former first lady into a social conservative champion of middle-America. Meanwhile, Right Wing News blogger John Hawkins simply can’t see how Obama supporters could be happy with a White House reprise for the Clinton clan.

Obama and Clinton have smeared Reaganomics; it’s time to get real about taxes. So argues Peter Ferrara in The American Spectator. Data from the IRS and the Congressional Budget Office actually show that the bottom 40 percent of income earners pay negative 3.8 percent of taxes, in fact drawing money out of income tax revenues, he writes. The real middle class, only have to pay 4.7 percent of all federal income taxes…and the whole system a result of Reagan’s Republican supply-side economics.

McCain seeks a fifth term in the U.S. Senate, and that’s not good for Republicans. McCain’s term is up in 2010. News of his intent was leaked and hasn’t been publicly confirmed, but already bloggers are reacting. Right Wing News’ John Hawkins calls McCain “uniquely destructive to conservatism and the Republican Party” and goes on the record saying he’d rather have a Democrat. So much for the Maverick.

Tags: attorney general, Barack Obama, bill clinton, Eric Holder, Guantanamo Bay, hillary clinton, John McCain re-election, pirates, Reaganomics, supply-side economics
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Daily News Roundup: Obama’s pooch and Clinton in the cabinet

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Hillary Rodham Clinton may be the next secretary of state. Obama’s team has begun to scour former president Bill Clinton’s financial ties for signs of conflict of interest, signaling to some Democratic insiders that the new administration is considering his wife for the cabinet post.

President-elect Barack Obama appeared on 60 Minutes yesterday to discuss the transition to the White House from both political and personal standpoints. He stressed the need to quickly assemble a national security team to prevent vulnerabilities to terrorist attacks during the transition, and he said it would be his job to restore confidence in the financial and consumer markets. Of course, he also had to address the issue of picking the presidential pooch. Also yesterday, Obama officially resigned from the U.S. Senate.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Democratic National Convention protesters are being vindicated. Seven of the first nine defendants to face trial for participating in “anarchic demonstrations” have been cleared. One was convicted, and the other faces a retrial after the jury deadlocked. In all, 106 people were arrested in Denver on the opening night of the convention, and 50 of those eventually pleaded guilty. Defendants and their attorneys are calling the acquittals an embarrassment to Denver and are calling for the remaining cases to be dropped.

Dan Rather’s quest to clear himself may be paying off. The former CBS Evening News anchor had been pushed out after it came out that an investigation on 60 Minutes relied on false documents to show that President George W. Bush was given special treatment by theTexas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. Rather has invested $2 million of his own money into a lawsuit against his former employer, and he has uncovered some documents that suggest CBS actively sought G.O.P.-approved panelists to investigate how it handled the Bush segment, apparently so the network could stop Republican criticism.

MTV’s Total Request Live had its final show on Sunday, but not without a three-hour star-jammed celebration featuring live performances by Beyoncé, Ludacris, Nelly, Snoop Dogg, Backstreet Boys and 50 Cent. Many other stars attended. Eminem and Christina Aguilera called in their congratulations. The show spanned a decade and 2,500 episodes.

TRL – MTV Shows

Tags: 50 cent, 60 minutes, Backstreet Boys, Barack Obama, beyonce, bill clinton, Bush's Vietnam War record, CBS News, Christina Aguilera, dan rather, Democratic National Convention protesters, Denver protesters, economy, Eminem, george w bush, hillary clinton, Ludacris, mtv, national security, Nelly, Rather lawsuit, secretary of state, Snoop Dogg, Total Request Live, White House transition
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Election 08: The Way We Were

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

The election isn’t yet over but a look back at the last two years and the most defining moments seemed to be in order. After tomorrow, they’ll feel like they happened a lifetime ago.

January 2007: Hillary: “I’m in it to win it”