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21 Dec 2010 21:04

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Politics: Yo Obama: Congress just gave you another triangulation opportunity

  • Remember how in 1995 when the government shut down? Well, guess what we just set ourselves up for in March? See, as a stopgap to avoid a massive omnibus spending bill from getting through the pipe with a crapload of earmarks, Congress agreed to set up a temporary spending bill that gets us into late Winter. (Obama should sign it before he heads off to Hawaii to be with the fam.) Which means that if Obama and the GOP are at one another’s throats come the Ides of March, the government could shut down 1995-style. Or Obama could switch parties and weird everybody out. Et tu, Brute? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Dec 2010 20:40

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Politics: No, we’ll be fine! Seriously: Democrats fight against Census claims

  • Democratic communities and constituencies have grown in size in states like Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and Washington. In states that will lose a seat, the number of Republicans who will be competing with each other creates opportunities for House Democrats.
  • Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel • Fighting against claims that today’s census numbers are very bad for Democrats. But let’s face it – they’re going to be very challenging for Obama, and Democrats overall, to fight. The only real Democratic stronghold that gained any seats was Washington, and Obama banked his victory on many of the states that lost electoral college votes. The amount we’re talking about wouldn’t have been enough to hurt Obama’s in 2008, but if the 2012 race is closer, it could hurt. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Dec 2010 10:59

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Politics: Haley Barbour’s not feeling the love over civil rights comments

  • There’s nothing in his past that shows that. If you pick out a sentence or a paragraph out of a fairly long article and harp on it, you can manipulate it.
  • Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s press secretary, Dan Turner • Criticizing the coverage of comments Barbour made to The Weekly Standard about living during the Civil Rights era. Liberal organization Media Matters, which obviously would want to make political hay out of something like this, promoted the comments, in which Barbour praised the White Citizens’ Councils (a late-’60s group that opposed integration of different races) as “an organization of town leaders” that were a positive force in the community. As for the civil rights struggle in his hometown, Yazoo City, Mississippi, he simply said: “I just don’t remember it as being that bad.” Barbour, who’s been suggested as a presidential candidate more than once, has been one of the party’s most successful figures in recent years, so if something like this stuck, it could hurt his chances. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Dec 2010 10:31

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Politics: NPR’s Nina Totenberg: Sorry for saying “Christmas party,” guys

  • If you were looking for an exact point where political correctness has gone too far, this one probably works. See, NPR’s Nina Totenberg actually apologized for saying the phrase “Christmas party,” as if that’s going to offend people. The only people it will actually offend are the far-righties that will see this as another reason that NPR shouldn’t exist. Bad idea. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Dec 2010 22:08

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Politics, U.S.: McConnell explains Republican approach to legislating

  • There’s much for [Democrats] to be angst-ridden about. If they think it’s bad now, wait ’till next year.
  • Senator Mitch McConnell • Salivating at the prospect of continuing to make life unpleasant for Democrats in the next Congress. McConnell stated in November that the “single most important thing” for Senate Republicans to accomplish was defeating Barack Obama in 2012. Not to overstate the obvious, but man, this guy really gets a kick out of antagonizing Democrats. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Dec 2010 22:03

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Politics: Free, with a catch: N.Y.’s David Paterson fined over World Series tix

  • $62,125 in other words, market value source
  • » Why was he nailed? Simple. The five tickets, which were given to him by the Yankees, represented a conflict of interest, due to the fact that the state does business with the Yankees in multiple ways. Oh, also, he lied about intending to pay the Yankees back for the tickets, something which was widely refuted by others, including members of his own staff. Basically, if you’re a politician, you probably shouldn’t take free tickets for anything.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

20 Dec 2010 21:35

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Politics: Democrats and Republicans strike deal to expedite judicial nominees

  • 19 judicial nominations will be finally confirmed by the Senate GOP after months of hold up, as part of a deal between party leaders
  • four judges’ names will be withdrawn from nomination (including the controversial Goodwin Liu), as a means of placating Republicans source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

20 Dec 2010 00:24

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Politics: Max Headroom: MSNBC gets slam-dunk chance to mock Fox News

  • Like shooting fish in a barrel: As you might guess, MSNBC had a bit of a field day with the University of Maryland’s study that suggested that Fox News leaves viewers more misinformed. Let’s face it, if MSNBC couldn’t do an entertaining report on this story, why do they even exist? To give Contessa Brewer work? To make Rachel Maddow sound like the voice of reason? So Dylan Ratigan can make randomly awesome speeches? Let’s face it, as objective as they like to pretend to be on the surface, they live for stories like this one.
  • imaginary friends = Unhealthy This Fox News clip just makes us laugh. Father Jonathan Morris, who moonlights as a Fox News contributor, discusses why we need prayer to get through our toughest times. Hilariously, the study also suggests that atheists could benefit, too, with the help of an imaginary friend, a suggestion he pooh-poohs. And then, from there, it gets weird.
  • Larry King’s last stand “Instead of goodbye, how about ‘so long’?” We admit that we greatly enjoyed the comfort food that Larry King put on our plates for most of our adult lives. There’s nobody like him – those suspenders, those glasses, those ties, that hair – and Piers Morgan won’t be a good substitute no matter how many British tabloids he edited before becoming minorly famous.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Dec 2010 21:22

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Politics: FYI: The 20th Amendment was meant to stop lame-duck sessions

  • problem Throughout history, Congress has actually tried to get things done during lame-duck sessions, which was always controversial.
  • solution The Depression-era 20th Amendment changed the end date of Congress from March to early January to stop lame-duck sessions.
  • problem The amendment, however, didn’t account for the proliferation of airplane travel – meaning that Congress could meet in December. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Dec 2010 21:06

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Politics: South Carolina’s OTHER GOP Senator makes a lame-duck excuse

  • If you really want to have a chance of passing START, you better start over and do it in the next Congress, because this lame duck has been poisoned.
  • Sen. Lindsey Graham • Trying to make an argument that Congress shouldn’t be working on passing the START treaty right now because it’s a lame-duck Congress. WAITWAITWAITWAITWAIT. Are you sure this duck is really all that lame? Seems like they’ve gotten a lot of stuff done in just a couple of weeks. A tax compromise. A major food-safety bill. A repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” a piece of major social legislation … and a bunch of other stuff. Now, Lindsey Graham is one of the more level-headed Republicans in the Senate, but this just feels like a different spin on the whole “it’s Christmas” argument his South Carolina counterpart, Jim DeMint, was trying to pass off last week. Stop whining guys; it’ll be a lot less painful when it’s over. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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