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12 Feb 2010 09:44

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Politics: Richard Shelby apparently the antithesis of bipartisanship

  • “We were stuck. I just feel like we weren’t getting anywhere.” Sen. Christopher Dodd has had enough of Sen. Richard Shelby’s crap, apparently. Shelby, a.k.a. the guy who held up 70 of Obama’s appointees to win pork for his state, has been holding up Dodd’s plans for a financial industry reform bill. So, instead, Dodd’s going to work with freshman Sen. Bob Corker, which should make things interesting for the Senate Banking Committee. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Feb 2010 09:24

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Politics: Apparently, the Senate Democrats are a bunch of pansies

  • Grassley and three to four Republicans would have voted for it, but all the other Republicans would have beaten the living ^&%$ out of us [during the 2010 midterms], claiming the bill was too bloated.
  • A random Democrat who supported Harry Reid’s decision • Regarding the jobs bill that was cut by $70 billion. You guys are @(&@(@(. Get a backbone and call us later. Do you think FDR would’ve done something like this, knowing how badly the country needed it? It’s a jobs bill. $15 billion does not help create jobs. $85 billion does. What’s the point of having a majority if you’re not going to use it? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Feb 2010 10:56

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U.S.: Senate Democrats say screw the snow, release their jobs bill

  • Remember, it’s just a bill right now. The Democrats’ big plan for jobs? Business tax breaks and construction projects. That’s right, we have a jobs bill coming, and it’s everything you’d expect a jobs bill to be. Will it pass a harshly divided Senate? Will it actually cut that godawful unemployment rate? We’ll find out. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Feb 2010 12:09

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Politics, U.S.: Richard Shelby turns the Senate into his personal gridlock

  • 70 Obama nominees blocked over an Air Force tanker deal source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Feb 2010 23:47

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U.S.: Blago has a few more charges to answer to over that Senate thing

  • 16 number of charges Rod Blagojevich was indicted for last April
  • 24 number of charges Blago faces in an expanded inquiry
  • Why the change? Blago’s former charges had a lot to do with what’s referred to as “honest services fraud,” a statute that allows lawyers to nail corrupt politicians who get a few too many perks for white collar crimes. This law, passed by Congress in the ’80s and responsible for nailing Conrad Black, Jack Abramoff and fellow former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, is likely to get struck down by the Supreme Court in a few months, so they needed something else to nail him on. The eight new charges don’t rely on the law. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Feb 2010 20:43

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Politics: Is Demon Sheep Carly Fiorina’s political suicide? Maybe not

  • Insane concept. Insane execution. But somehow, we’re convinced at the end of the day it worked. Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, running for the California Senate, has an unintentionally awesome hit on her hands in the form of “Demon Sheep,” which is a much more interesting tagline than “Fiscal Conservative In Name Only” (or FCINO), the one they came up with. Here’s why we think, somehow, it works:
  • A new approach The dadaist attempt at smear campaigning, probably inspired by Adult Swim, has never been tried before. It’s been hinted at (see Kinky Friedman’s ads for Texas governor), but it hasn’t been taken quite to this degree. And we think they knew how absurd this ad was when they put it out. Don’t think they didn’t. That’s why it’s viral.
  • A clear message The techniques used in this ad are extremely blunt. The repeated imagery of the sheep, the printed money, the pigs, the sheep, the pigs, the Ken Burns effect, the signs, it rams the images into your head. Even the haters can admit that Fiorina got her point across in this insane ad in a way where you must watch.
  • A memorable mascot Ultimately, though, the reason why this ad works is because of Demon Sheep. Why? See Leahy’s Law (related to Murphy’s Law): “If a thing is done wrong often enough, it becomes right.” There’s no reason why Demon Sheep should work. But it’s brow-beaten to the point where you can’t turn away. She can make this work. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

02 Feb 2010 09:07

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Politics: The GOP isn’t very creative with its Illinois senate tactics

  • This is not Obama’s seat, it’s the people’s seat!
  • Republican Illinois Congressman Mark Kirk • Regarding Obama’s old Senate seat in Illinois, which he’s likely to win the primary for today. … Anyway, back up. This line is a total rip-off of Scott Brown’s effective campaign line during the Massachusetts Senate campaign. Obama held this seat for one term. A term he didn’t even finish because he was elected president. Ted Kennedy held his seat for two generations. How is this the same thing? Seriously, this line is beyond stupid. Obama didn’t even get the seat warm! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

28 Jan 2010 20:17

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U.S.: Ben Bernanke reconfirmed because he recovers well after a fall

  • Chairman Bernanke’s performance in addressing the economic crisis and his current efforts to significantly enhance financial regulation to help prevent future crises outweigh his past mistakes.
  • Michigan Sen. Carl Levin • Discussing why Ben Bernanke was worthy of getting reconfirmed as Federal Reserve Chair, despite populist sentiment against a guy seen as one of the main causes for the financial crisis. Ultimately, it was his inventive solutions to tough problems that saved his job. While not always graceful, he did successfully help get the economy back on track. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jan 2010 10:49

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U.S.: Don’t expect Beau Biden to follow in his dad’s footsteps

  • He’s not running for his dad’s old Senate seat. Despite probably having a better chance than any other Democrat in Delaware of winning the seat, Vice President Joe Biden’s kid Beau has chosen to remain Delaware’s Attorney General, claiming he still has lots to do there. “Therefore I cannot and will not run for the United States Senate in 2010. I will run for re-election as attorney general,” said Beau. Let’s just hand the seat to the GOP now! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

22 Jan 2010 16:46

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Politics: Will Ben Bernanke get reconfirmed in the Senate? Neither party knows

  • There is bipartisan support and there’s bipartisan opposition. But you need 60.
  • Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s spokesman, Don Stewart • Regarding whether or not Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will have the 60 votes needed in the Senate to get himself a second term. Finding trouble reaching that mark in his own party, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reached out to McConnell’s people to see if they could find 60 votes between the two of them. Considering how vitriolic things have been between the two parties of late, it’s interesting that they’re working together on anything. Neither McConnell nor Reid will commit to supporting Bernanke themselves. Bad sign. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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