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11 Nov 2010 20:52

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Politics: Three perks Nancy Pelosi will have to give up in January

  • one She’ll lose access to a ride home to San Francisco on a military plane, instead of flying coach like the rest of us.
  • two Her office budget – currently around $5.1 million – will cut by ten percent, and her staff of 50 will cut by nearly half.
  • three Her offices – currently in a plum location adjacent to the Capitol rotunda –will move to a much-less-sexy place. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Nov 2010 11:02

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Politics: Alaska Senate: Early write-in counts favor Lisa Murkowski

  • 98% of write-in votes favor Lisa Murkowski so far source
  • » And despite Joe Miller’s wishes: Murkowski misspellings are being allowed, making it so that she’s even more likely to win when all the votes are counted. It’s going to take five days to count every single one of the write-in votes.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Nov 2010 09:42

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Politics: Obama: Skip the politics, let’s listen to fiscal commission’s ideas

  • Before anybody starts shooting down proposals, I think we need to listen, we need to gather up all the facts. If people are, in fact, concerned about spending, debt, deficits and the future of our country, then they’re going to need to be armed with the information about the kinds of choices that are going to be involved, and we can’t just engage in political rhetoric.
  • President Barack Obama • Offering firm – but vague – support for his fiscal commission’s work. An early version if his report was released yesterday, and it specifically made Democrats very angry (and Republicans as well, over proposed massive defense cuts). Obama’s point? Let’s look at their ideas, avoid the politics and start talking about what makes most sense. That said, though, Obama’s not offering specifics until he sees the full report, which isn’t coming along until December 1. Plus, he’s in Seoul, not DC. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Nov 2010 21:53

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Politics: Obama’s fiscal commission: Outside groups have their fingers in it

  • Taxpayers fund the commission and they should work independently of Washington lobbyists and power brokers. This is the type of shenanigans that average Americans are so upset about right now – that money talks and everyone else is left out.
  • National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare founder Barbara B. Kennelly • Explaining why she’s upset about Obama’s fiscal commission. Simply put: it has a weird staffing structure. One out of every four members of its staff don’t get a paycheck from the government and instead get paid by outside groups. This has the effect of making the committee’s staff very diverse, but angers people like Kennelly, a former Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut. Democrats have been concerned the panel leans a little too close to the conservative side and influenced by special interests, something the group disputes. Either way, when it comes to cutting stuff, expect there to be constant debate and complaining. Lots of complaining. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Nov 2010 10:48

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Politics: WTF argument of the day: Murkowski misspellings “protest votes”

  • The new policy makes no provision for the many voters who cast protest votes.
  • A line from the lawsuit filed on behalf of Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller • Explaining that (stay with us, this gets confusing) write-in votes with Lisa Murkowski’s name spelled incorrectly are protest votes, intended to sabotage Murkowski’s widely-pushed campaign to get people to spell her name correctly on write-in votes. But Alaska doesn’t plan to consider them that way. “To the contrary,” the lawsuit states, “the state is indicating that it will now count a protest vote, deliberately cast with a misspelling as a vote for Murkowski. This effectively nullifies the protest and falsely inflates the vote for the write-in candidate. In short, the state has become a super-voter and will override voter intent and recast the votes for the candidate the state chooses.” Or perhaps people in fact aren’t as good at spelling as Miller’s lawyer gives them credit for. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Nov 2010 10:36

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Politics: Republicans fight amongst themselves over killing earmarks

  • agree House Republican leaders want a moratorium on earmarks in the next Congressional cycle. Jim “started the recession” DeMint and other Senators also want them.
  • disagree Many Republicans, however, disagree, arguing that it wouldn’t actually save money. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is one of those guys. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Nov 2010 01:12

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Politics: Fresh off (non-)victory, Alvin Greene wants Obama’s job in 2012

On the plus side, it’ll probably be cheaper for him to run. The filing fee for senate in South Carolina was $10,000; the fee for president in 2008 was $2,500. (Thanks Larry Crider) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

10 Nov 2010 00:53

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Politics: Ray LaHood to states: Keep building high-speed rail or lose money

  • no Newly elected governors in multiple Midwest states want to cancel in-progress high-speed rail projects they say their states can’t afford.
  • but … However, these newly minted Republican leaders want to keep the money already set aside for these projects to help fix the roads.
  • no Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says the states either have to keep the projects going or forfeit the money entirely. It’s war, guys. source
  • » Our take: Why is it that the first thing GOP leaders look to cut are public-works projects with potential long-term implications? The two projects in question here – a high-speed link between Milwaukee and Chicago and another between four of Ohio’s largest cities – would have a long-term positive effect on the state economies. Yet canceling them halfway through is a great idea. Have these guys even looked at the rising popularity of the Acela trains in the Northeast Corridor? Or how much these would help commuters? Milwaukee to Chicago, for example, is a very common Amtrak trip, and faster trains would make it easier for people who want to skip the traffic to make the trek. It’s not always about slimming down now, but planning for tomorrow.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Nov 2010 21:51

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Politics: Keith Olbermann’s “Countdown” return, complete with funny open

  • The audible buzzing at the beginning of this clip we imagine was a side effect of the guy taping the video, but it makes the effect of Keith coming back even funnier. It wasn’t a PR stunt, kids, but it sure worked like one, didn’t it? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Nov 2010 21:07

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Politics: Posted without comment: Keith Olbermann’s open letter to you guys

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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