Main Page

Who's the one "Palin' around with terrorists"?

2008-11-09T10:37:00.003-06:00

Sarah Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack Obama

Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.

The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.

The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling "terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.

But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks.

My question is, why didn't the Secret Service do their job and put a stop to this when it was happening instead of waiting until now to bring it up? I thought that inciting violence was a crime, especially when it involves inciting violence against a President or Presidential candidate. What would the Republicans label someone who did this against their candidate? Oh yeah....

Terrorist!

Stealing from the poor and giving to the rich

2008-11-09T09:07:00.003-06:00

Dubya's parting gift to his pals in big industry. Your stuff.

President Bush is making changes like easing regulations for industry in his last days. The White House says it's push to ease industry regulations is unfinished business, but others see it as controversial. Kimberly Dozier has more.

Remember, "Public Land" is YOUR land. Dubya is giving away your property to the oil and mining industries. We all know what great stewards of the land these industries are. Just ask the people in Prince William Sound in Alaska who are still clean up and recover nearly 20 years after the Exxon Valdez incident, or the people in Appalachia who have watched entire mountains leveled and dumped into valleys, streams and rivers by the coal industry.

When he's messing with medicaid, he is once again going after the poor. Now that the election has been decided, fuck the poor. They never donated to his or his buddies' campaigns anyway.

In essence, his last act is one of reverse Robin Hood, and is perfectly typical of his philosophy and his entire 8 year administration. Steal from poor American individuals, and give to mega-rich multi-national corporations.

This is Dubya's legacy. I suspect that this is how history will view him.

If you or I did something like this, you know what Dubya and his cabal would call us? Domestic terrorists.

Change may come sooner than you think

2008-11-09T08:53:00.003-06:00

Obama is apparently not wasting any time working to deliver at least one of his campaign promises - to look at Dubya's executive orders and reverse the bad ones. Hell, he didn't even wait until he was elected to start work on that project.

Obama Positioned to Quickly Reverse Bush Actions
Stem Cell, Climate Rules Among Targets of President-Elect's Team

Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.

A team of four dozen advisers, working for months in virtual solitude, set out to identify regulatory and policy changes Obama could implement soon after his inauguration. The team is now consulting with liberal advocacy groups, Capitol Hill staffers and potential agency chiefs to prioritize those they regard as the most onerous or ideologically offensive, said a top transition official who was not permitted to speak on the record about the inner workings of the transition.

"The kind of regulations they are looking at" are those imposed by Bush for "overtly political" reasons, in pursuit of what Democrats say was a partisan Republican agenda, said Dan Mendelson, a former associate administrator for health in the Clinton administration's Office of Management and Budget. The list of executive orders targeted by Obama's team could well get longer in the coming days, as Bush's appointees rush to enact a number of last-minute policies in an effort to extend his legacy.

The preelection transition team, comprising mainly lawyers, has positioned the incoming president to move fast on high-priority items without waiting for Congress.

Way to hit the ground running President Obama.

Change

A job offer she's qualified for

2008-11-08T08:16:00.002-06:00

Sarah Palin offered $2 million to appear in porn film

Husband Todd offered $100,000 and a snowmobile if he'll co-star, says Florida adult film producer

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has received her first job offer since failing in her bid to become vice-president of the United States, and it comes with a large cash offer. Florida-based porn director Cezar Capone has offered to pay Palin $2 million to appear in an adult film production.

Capone, who calls himself "the king of all MILF films," promises in an open letter on his website that the film would be distributed internationally, shot in high definition, and feature a "beautiful mother recognized by all of America ... as the most desirable woman over 40."

Palin hasn't publicly responded to the offer, which was sent to her administration office in Juneau, Alaska on Nov. 6.

Hustler Magazine recently released a spoof Palin porn video titled Nailin' Paylin, which was referenced in a now-infamous YouTube prank call made by Montreal shock jocks the Masked Avengers in the final days of the U.S. election campaign.

Hard Work

Imagine a Henhouse No Longer Guarded by Foxes

2008-11-08T07:47:00.002-06:00

Obama Eyes Consumer Activists for Agency Posts

FDA, EPA targeted as needing reformers to lead

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other government agencies that affect consumers, are likely to look very different under President Obama than they do under President Bush.

At EPA, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears to have the inside track to head the agency. The Washington Post quotes sources familiar with the process as saying Kennedy is a strong candidate, through several other prominent environmentalists are also in the running.

If it turns out not to be Kennedy, the sources tell the Post that former Sierra Club president and environmental activist Lisa Renstrom is under consideration, as is California Air Resources Board chair Mary Nichols. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty and Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles also reportedly have a shot at landing the post.

Among the names surfacing this week for FDA Commissioner in the Obama Administration are Dr. Steven Nissen, a cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic and an outspoken consumer advocate; Susan Wood, a former director of the FDA's women's health office; and public health advocates such as Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore's chief health officer.

Oversight!

"Mutts Like Me"

2008-11-08T07:21:00.003-06:00

Obama shows ease discussing race

It popped out casually, a throwaway line as he talked to reporters about finding the right puppy for his young daughters.

But with just three offhanded words in his first news conference as president-elect, Barack Obama reminded everyone how thoroughly different his administration - and inevitably, this country - will be.

"Mutts like me."

...

The message seemed clear - here is a president who will be quite at ease discussing race, a complex issue as unresolved as it is uncomfortable for many to talk about openly. And at a time when whites in the country are not many years from becoming the minority.

I don't know why this should surprise anybody. I have plenty of mixed heritage friends who have been calling themselves mutts since I can remember. Maybe that comes from my upbringing in Chicago, a very ethnic city - with "neighborhoods" galore, ethnic festivals going on all Summer long. Ask a Chicagoan "what are you?" and you're likely to hear an answer like "Italian" or "Irish" or "Nigerian" or "Half Japanese, half German" or for those, like my wife, who are a mix of a half dozen heritages, you might hear "I'm a mutt". That being said, when I heard this coming from Barack, also a long time Chicagoan, I didn't think twice about it. It seemed perfectly natural.

And why not? Is this nation not the great "melting pot"? Are we not all in some way a mix of every culture, race, creed that has crossed our path and influenced our lives in some large or small way? Of course there is still WAY too much racism, bigotry, and hatred in this country. There is no way that Obama, or anyone, will be able to heal centuries of history in a few short years. But if a simple comment like "mutts like me" can even start to make a dent in the hatred, if a small, unconscious, offhand deprecating comment can make people laugh about race in a positive way, then at least that's a start. You have to start somewhere.

(By the way, I'm a purebred 3rd generation Polack)

Who let the dogs out?

He's not done screwing up the country yet!

2008-11-08T06:42:00.003-06:00

This is still dubyaD40.com, and while we temporarily shifted the focus off of that lame duck loser, we never completely took our eyes off of him.

He may only have 73 days left in office, but that's plenty of time for him to fuck up plenty of shit before he leaves. He has a "legacy" to think about don'tcha know. A legacy of gifts to his good friends in the oil and mining industries. A legacy to keep his pockets lined with dirty money, at the expense of the rest of us.

Which leads us to this.

Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? If not, find a way to get there. The first time I went, which was way too late in my life, I thought I had a pretty good idea what I was in for. Boy was I wrong. It is unimaginably spectacular.

Ever been to the mountains of Appalachian? If not, get there too. Our good friend Bob Kincaid can tell you all about that part of the world.

Get out to these and other wild, beautiful, natural places and National Parks while you still can. Decide for yourself whether they are worth protecting, of if they should be destroyed and exploited just so Dubya's buddies can get even richer, while our children's heritage is lost forever.

Bush officials moving fast to cut environmental protections

In the next few weeks, the Bush administration is expected to relax environmental-protection rules on power plants near national parks, uranium mining near the Grand Canyon and more mountaintop-removal coal mining in Appalachia.

The administration is widely expected to try to get some of the rules into final form by the week before Thanksgiving because, in some cases, there's a 60-day delay before new regulations take effect. And once the rules are in place, undoing them generally would be a more time-consuming job for the next Congress and administration.

The regulations already have had periods of public comment, and no further comments are being taken. The administration has proposed the rules and final approval is considered likely.

It's common for administrations to issue a spate of regulations just before leaving office. The Bush administration's changes are in keeping with President Bush's overall support of deregulation.

Full Story

As Bill Maher said "I don't think this man will be happy until he leaves the White House smoldering behind him as he walks back to Texas."

Nothing is safe or sacred with the Bush admin

Don't forget...

2008-11-07T15:26:00.001-06:00

Monday is the day!

Until then, have a good weekend. Drink a few for us!

More Lieberman...

2008-11-07T15:17:00.002-06:00

Lieberman Resists Giving Up Homeland Panel as GOP Recruits Him

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman wants to stay in the Democratic caucus, but not give up his plum chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee as some Democrats want, an aide said Friday.

In a closed-door meeting Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., asked the Democrat-turned-Independent to give up his gavel for "a lesser committee," according to a Lieberman aide.

Democratic leaders have been mulling a way to punish Lieberman for campaigning against President-elect Barack Obama on the campaign trail. Lieberman stumped for Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona instead.

Republicans meanwhile have publicly encouraged Lieberman to join their caucus, but it's unclear whether they have anything to offer that he might want.

Give 'em hell, Harry!

From Steve Benen of The Washington Monthly:

Let's cut the nonsense. Reid offered Lieberman a chance to stay in the Democratic caucus, keep his seniority, and become the chairman of some other committee. Lieberman thinks that's "unacceptable" and reportedly "begged" to stay on as chairman of Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Bayh thinks this is about "revenge or retribution." It's not. For that matter, it's only partly about holding Lieberman accountable for his betrayals. This is actually about a specific power Lieberman is intent on keeping for a specific reason.

This seems to be routinely overlooked, but take a moment to consider what the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs actually does: it's the committee principally responsible for oversight of the executive branch. It's an accountability committee, charged with investigating the conduct of the White House and the president's administration.

As chairman of this committee for the last two years, Lieberman decided not to pursue any accusations of wrongdoing against the Bush administration. Lieberman's House counterpart -- Rep. Henry Waxman's Oversight Committee -- was a vigilant watchdog, holding hearings, issuing subpoenas, and launching multiple investigations. Lieberman preferred to let his committee do no real work at all. It was arguably the most pathetic display of this Congress.

And yet, now Lieberman acts as if keeping this chairmanship is the single most important part of his public life. Why would he be so desperate to keep the gavel of a committee he hasn't used? I'll let you in on a secret: he wants to start using the power of this committee against Obama.

Go Jo Go!

2008-11-07T13:17:00.003-06:00

McConnell reaches out to Lieberman

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has reached out to Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) about the prospect of joining the Republican Conference, but Lieberman is still bargaining with Democratic leaders to keep his chairmanship, according to Senate aides in both parties.

"Sen. Lieberman's preference is to stay in the caucus, but he's going to keep all his options open," a Lieberman aide said. "McConnell has reached out to him, and at this stage, his position is he wants to remain in the caucus but losing the chairmanship is unacceptable."

A Republican Senate aide said Friday morning that there was little McConnell could offer in terms of high-ranking committee slots, which is why Lieberman is resisting overtures from the Republican side.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Lieberman met Thursday, yet Reid is waffling over whether to revoke Lieberman's chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee and may instead hold a secret vote among Democratic members on whether to kick Lieberman out of the caucus.

Senate aides from both parties caution that Lieberman's state is still truly up in the air and Reid could still craft a scenario where Lieberman keeps his chairmanship.

Traitor

Suck it, Kyl!

2008-11-07T13:15:00.001-06:00

Kyl issues warning to Obama on Supreme Court appointments

Jon Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate, warned president-elect Barack Obama that he would filibuster U.S. Supreme Court appointments if those nominees were too liberal.

Kyl, Arizona's junior senator, expects Obama to appoint judges in the mold of U.S Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and Stephen Breyer. Those justices take a liberal view on cases related to social, law and order and business issues, Kyl said.

"He believes in justices that have empathy," said Kyl, speaking at a Federalist Society meeting in Phoenix. The attorneys group promotes conservative legal principles.

Kyl said if Obama goes with empathetic judges who do not base their decisions on the rule of law and legal precedents but instead the factors in each case, he would try to block those picks via filibuster.

We have the MANDATE now!

Getting right to work.

2008-11-07T07:24:00.002-06:00

You gotta love this. Obama is not wasting any time taking the reins. Unlike Bush who would be on his 100th vacation...

Obama meeting Friday with economic advisers

President-elect Barack Obama was tackling the struggling U.S. economy as his first order of business, meeting Friday with leaders of business, government and academia before he holds his first press conference since the election.

Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden were to meet with 17 members of their transition economic advisory board. Members include former presidential Cabinet officials and executives from Xerox Corp., Time Warner Inc., Google Inc. and the Hyatt hotel company. Investor Warren Buffett was participating by telephone.

Friday's press conference will be Obama's first public appearance since he trounced Republican John McCain in Tuesday's election to become America's first black president.

.....

The selections are telling for Obama, who campaigned as a nontraditional, almost "post-partisan" newcomer. People close to him say the selections show he is aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and knows what he needs to be successful as he shifts from campaigning to governing.

Unlike Bush's cronies

I just watched this again

2008-11-06T23:26:00.002-06:00

And I'm sure I'll watch it again, and again, and again.
Barack spoke of Change. The first "Change" is already apparent. We finally once again have a President who can speak English. Who can pronounce big words. Who can complete whole, grammatically correct sentences (unlike the ones I'm writing). Who can string them together to form paragraphs, and then join the paragraphs in a logical progression to build and communicate complex thoughts. A President who can Think. Who can Speak. Who can LEAD!

Traitor Joe must go!

2008-11-06T14:29:00.001-06:00

Lieberman Has 'Options' to Consider in Senate

Sen. Joe Lieberman had a high-speed, short-duration press conference in the Capitol today in which he said very little about the meeting he'd just had with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Reid has been widely expected to yank the committee chairmanship gavel from the independent Connecticut senator, who runs the committee on homeland security and government oversight. After this week's election, Lieberman has returned to a Hill whose Democratic side isn't happy with his loyalty to Republican Sen. John McCain and criticism of then-Sen. Barack Obama.

Lieberman put a sunny spin on his talk with Reid, calling it "a very good conversation between two colleagues and friends." Lieberman said he would spend the next couple of days thinking about "options." He didn't make those options clear.

And of Reid, Lieberman said, "He promised me he'd do the same."

Lieberman again explained why he'd supported the candidate who opposed the party he served through most of his political career. He chose to do, he said, "what I believe was best for our country." Then he said, "But the election is over," and he'll work "in support of our new president."

Once a cheat, always a cheat

Last Tuesday's election......in 4 simple pictures:

2008-11-06T13:23:00.002-06:00

Credit

Think of your ex-girlfriend...

2008-11-06T13:18:00.001-06:00

McCain Aides Say Sarah Palin Refused Help, Threw Tantrums

Multiple top McCain aides, say Palin refused help from campaign staffers and others preparing her for interviews with ABC's Charles Gibson and Katie Couric.

Aides say Palin frequently lost her temper and threw tantrums when her press coverage was negative.

However, Palin says that's simply not true.

"Regardless of how much face time Senator McCain and I had together, we have a great relationship. I have nothing but admiration for him. I love him. And, regardless of how much face time we had together, the American people have spoken."

"Well, as a politician, to tell you the honest goodness truth you guys - media folks - I've come away, unfortunately, with a little bit of disappointment in the world of the media."

Several insiders say McCain was aware of the infighting.

2012 should be fun

A note from Wally and Dookie

2008-11-06T11:31:00.005-06:00

Hey all,

Just wanted to remind you we're still planning on launching the new web site now that the George "dubya" Bush presidency is coming to a close. After the week we've had, we thought about delaying the launch or terminating it all together. But if Clyde were still here, he's say launch it! So that's what we're going to do. We worked so hard for a whole a year on it that Clyde would force us to do it.

So for our readers and friends, we hope you enjoy the new site. We built it so it would be 100% driven by you! Yes you! That has always been our goal and now it's our future. It will help us to connect easier with you and allow us to grow even larger than we are today.

So in honor of Clyde, we invite you to help us launch it on:

Monday, November 10th

If you are a brand new reader or don't know what we're talking about, read our original announcement here: Coming soon: Something old, something new (10/08/2008)

Thanks,

Wally & Dookie

Another thing from Fox I believe

2008-11-06T07:13:00.001-06:00

Fox News: Colmes Nails Joe the Plumber for Being on Welfare

Alan Colmes nails Joe the Plumber who just hates that spreadin' around the wealth for being on welfare.

We NEED this seat. Go Franken!

2008-11-06T07:03:00.003-06:00

Al Franken's Razor-Thin MN Senate Race Counted on Flawed Optical-Scan Systems

But just a few quick facts on the Al Franken (D) / Norm Coleman (R) U.S. Senate race in Minnesota, which we noted last night (with some updates today) stands at some 700 votes currently between them. More hopefully after I've figured out how to sneak in some rest.

Here are three quick, bullet-point facts that Franken may want to know, since his was the only show on Air America which never had me on as a guest, as he simply refused to discuss serious issues concerning Election Integrity, now-ironically enough.

While all of Minnesota votes on paper ballots, thankfully. Though all of those ballots are scanned, rather than counted, on proprietary optical-scan systems made by either ES&S or Diebold. Both companies produce systems that regularly fail to count and/or record ballots correctly.

The majority of counties use the ES&S M-100, precinct-based optical scanner. As we noted on Monday, that same scanner was found, according to a letter sent to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) by a county in MI, to have failed pre-election "logic and accuracy testing". The M-100, according to the letter from county officials, "reported inconsistent vote totals", such that "The same ballots run through the same machines, yielded different results each time." Public Record has more details tonight.

BradBlog

One thing from FOX I can believe

2008-11-06T07:00:00.001-06:00

Palin Didn't Know Africa Is A Continent, Says Fox News Reporter

Now that the 2008 election is over, reporters are spilling all the juciest, and previously off the record, gossip from the campaign trail. Much of it is about the infighting between Palin and McCain's staff, as Newsweek's treasure trove of post-election gossip reveals.

However, perhaps one of the most astounding and previously unknown tidbits about Sarah Palin has to do with her already dubious grasp of geography. According to Fox News Chief Political Correspondent Carl Cameron, there was great concern within the McCain campaign that Palin lacked "a degree of knowledgeability necessary to be a running mate, a vice president, a heartbeat away from the presidency," in part because she didn't know which countries were in NAFTA, and she "didn't understand that Africa was a continent, rather than a series, a country just in itself."

Palin was apparently a nightmare for her campaign staff to deal with. She refused preparation help for her interview with Katie Couric and then blamed her staff, specifically Nicole Wallace, when the interview was panned as a disaster. After the Couric interview, Fox News reported, Palin turned nasty with her staff and began to accuse them of mishandling her. Palin would view press clippings of herself in the morning and throw "tantrums" over the negative coverage. There were times when she would be so nasty and angry that her staff was reduced to tears.

Almost VP

He'd have it no other way.

2008-11-05T12:46:00.001-06:00

Our friend and brother, Clyde.

My second favorite part of last night

2008-11-05T08:31:00.001-06:00

Obama win sparks celebrations outside White House

As tens of thousands of people cheered Barack Obama's presidential victory at his home base in Chicago, Illinois, others were celebrating near his future house.

At least 1,000 people gathered on Washington's Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House late Tuesday night, shouting "Obama! Obama!" and "Yes we can!" Uniformed Secret Service officers were overheard, saying they'd never seen anything like it.

In Boston, Massachusetts, thousands of people -- many of them college students -- hit the streets to celebrate the election of the country's 44th president. The sound of car horns could be heard across the city, CNN affiliate WCVB reported.

Start packing!

My favorite part last night.

2008-11-05T08:25:00.001-06:00

MSNBC makes the call at 11pm EST then shows reaction across the country:

OBAMA ELECTED 44TH PRESIDENT

2008-11-05T07:12:00.001-06:00

Barack Obama, a 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, shattered more than 200 years of history Tuesday night by winning election as the first African-American president of the United States.

A crowd of 125,000 people jammed Grant Park in Chicago, where Obama addressed the nation for the first time as its president-elect at midnight ET. Hundreds of thousands more - Mayor Richard Daley said he would not be surprised if a million Chicagoans jammed the streets - watched on a large television screen outside the park.

"If there is anyone out there who doubts that America is a place where anything is possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," Obama declared.

"Young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans have sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of red states and blue states," he said. "We have been and always will be the United States of America."

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America," he said to a long roar.

Yes We Did!

Cheers:

YES WE DID!!!!!!!

2008-11-04T22:06:00.004-06:00

We'll post more later. Now is time to CELEBRATE!!!!

After all, what's more important to celebrate than Sarah winning second in the beauty contest again?

You know who would have loved this? Clyde. He would have REALLY loved this.

It's a bittersweet victory for us at dubyaD40.com, because this sonofabitch isn't here to celebrate with us. So when you're having a beer or 8, or a shot or 4, or the cocktail of your choice or 11 (or all of the above). Have one more for Clyde. We are. He fought for this, and now we can truly say, mission accomplished. Thank you Clyde. Thank you everyone who volunteered. Everyone who worked for this. Everyone who VOTED!!!

Thank you all! YES WE CAN AND YES WE DID!!!