Happy New Year

3 Democrats — 2 senators, 1 governor — to retire

I'm happy to see Dodd go. He's pretty much useless. Would that he could take the other totally useless Senator, Lieberman, with him.

Longtime Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told The Associated Press on Wednesday morning that he will run for Dodd's seat. Blumenthal, a Democrat, is seen as one of the state's most popular politicians. He planned to publicly announce his candidacy later Wednesday.

Considered by many insiders to be the most endangered Senate Democrat, Dodd planned to announce his retirement Wednesday, according to Democratic officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly pre-empt the senator's remarks. Dodd told Democrats of his plans late Tuesday and scheduled an announcement on Wednesday.

I'm not sure what I think about Blumenthal. I think it's been a given for years he'd be after a bigger stage, and frankly I've been surprised he hasn't done more movement before this. My guess is CT will send him to DC. I'm not sure that's a good thing.

2010 is going to be an ugly year.

The only nice thing I can say about Chris Dodd is that

he isn't Joe Lieberman.

Is that an example of damning with feint praise?

Hm.

In any event, Time has an article on Senator Dodd: Connecticut's Chris Dodd Faces a Backyard Rebellion by Jay Newton-Small.

On this point Dodd says he too is frustrated in waiting for responses from the leadership on requests for more staff. "We're jammed," he says. "I think we'll need some more people, and we're bringing more people on ... I'm really exhausted. It's overwhelming the amount of work and trying to stay on top of it and listening to people about their ideas and trying to figure out what the solutions are."

Poor man. Perhaps Connecticut should take pity on the Senator and allow him to retire. But please, Connecticut, not Kudlow or Simmons... we have enough problems in this state.

Global Economic Crisis

Icelanders knit crafty response to global crisis

"At least there's a silver lining," says Sara Eysosdottir, owner and head designer of the psychedelic clothing store Naked Ape. "Because of the exchange rate, more foreigners are coming here, and they're buying what we've got in the stores: local design.

"And in a sense, the financial collapse has gotten young people busy," Ms. Eysosdottir says. "They have realized that they can't just be on Facebook all day; that if they want to survive, they're going to have to use their creativity and start making things to sell."

The upside to the current economic crisis is that people are getting crafty - not only finding new ways to save money but digging into old skills to make new money. I don't think there fortunes to be made here but some things are more precious than gold.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Obama: greatest wealth destruction ever

It's been an interesting media week. Rush Limbaugh is being targeted by White House/Democratic insiders and they are, basically, acting like bullying school boys. Limbaugh brought this on himself, but the childishness is reaching new lows. Now Cramer has done an about-face on his Obama-worshipping of last year and has declared that the President has “basically put a level of fear in this country that I have not seen ever in my life.”

Hm. I would argue that was the previous administrations gift to America.

Will the media ever engage in worth-while debate? Are they ever going to get past mud-slinging and deal with real-life issues?

Probably not.

The Politics of Snow Removal

Remembering a Snowstorm That Paralyzed the City

In the end, Mr. Lindsay won re-election in the fall of 1969, though his political career — including his switch to the Democratic Party in 1971 and his failed run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972 — remained troubled.

Equally important, perhaps, the terrible snowstorm of 1969 highlighted how the handling of severe weather is a crucial test for politicians. It is a test that mayors in other cities would fail again and again.

Long time no post

Real life gets in the way.

Let see, what's new... survived Thanksgiving and Christmas, though I had the stomach bug from Hell the week before Christmas. Not fun. My godson turned four on the 5th; the twins will be 15 on the 26th (gawds I'm so old!) and it's colder than sin outside right now

Mr. Obama got elected in November. Let's see where this leads. I wish him well. It can't get any worse, right?

Right?

Ah well... I'm not going to complain about Bush, the economy, the war, politics...

crickets

only in this cold snap all the crickets are dead.


Ah, weather! One can always complain about the weather!

Not much point though, huh?


Good news: "Miracle on the Hudson" - everyone survived, with some injuries, from the plane crash yesterday. NYT follow-up story this afternoon: Left Engine Missing From Downed Plane

“The left engine is not there; it’s somewhere,” Ms. Higgins said. "We’ve got to go find that.”

Birds are now and have always been a severe problem for airports and it's amazing there aren't more crashes attributed to birds.

Since 2000, at least 486 commercial aircraft have collided with birds, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Of those incidents, 166 led to emergency landings and 66 resulted in aborted takeoffs.

Canada geese, a frequent visitor to golf courses and open spaces in the metropolitan New York area during the winter, pose a particular danger to planes because of their size. The impact of a 12 pound bird hitting a plane traveling at 150 miles per hour is equal to that of a 1,000 pound weight dropped from a height of 10 feet, according to experts on bird strikes.

Ostrich, meet sand

Financial Crisis Is Absent From Agendas of Parties, Candidates

Many Democrats shy away from tackling the credit crisis because of the party's historical support for Fannie and Freddie. The Republicans, for their part, are reluctant to draw attention to a crisis that occurred on their watch. The subprime meltdown isn't the only item missing from the parties' agendas. The list also includes the Democrats' failure to set out a strategy for countering Russia's assertiveness and the Republicans' silence on income inequality.

I LOVE Schumer's condescending quote:

Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said conventions aren't the place to discuss detailed plans for dealing with the markets.

``The conventions are aimed at the average voter,'' he said Aug. 25 in Denver. ``You don't go into Quinlan's bar and ask them what to do about the'' Securities and Exchange Commission.

Of course his job is secure for four more years and then he can retire on his huge pension.

My second favorite quote is:

``We feel like we've taken a big step to stabilize the situation,'' said Senator Tom Carper of Delaware, a Democrat on the Banking Committee.

Seriously? Oy! Senator, you've done jack-all to "stabilize the situation".

``We are in the midst of the worst financial crisis since World War II,'' Stanley Fisher, governor of the Bank of Israel and a former IMF official, told central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Aug. 23.

Not that anyone inside the United States is listening. It's an election year and no politican will listen to, let alone accept, the truth about anything. As the article mentions towards the end, this situation is very similar to the 1930's.

History repeats itself people. I don't think either McCain or Obama have what it takes to deal with what is to come.

Silly Season 2008

So Hillary and John won in New Hampshire.

Big. Freakin'. Deal.

The press is acting like it's election day - it's only one caucus and one primary down folks. Chill, please.

All day yesterday the political press is burying Hil in Iowa and proclaiming Obama as God's Second (and favorite) Child.

I've been sick of political theatre since Pelosi took impeachment off the table but it is now nearly impossible to avoid the insanity.

And it's only January. May the Great Cosmic Muffin have mercy on what's left of my soul.

I don't even want to address Bushies trip to Israel. With his BFF Condie. Don't they look cute together?

~ ~ ~

Heart-breaking and horrifying news out of Alabama: Man tells cops he tossed four children off Ala. bridge

"Lam Luong, 37, will face four counts of capital murder, prosecutors say. "That's as bad as it gets under Alabama law," District Attorney John Tyson Jr. tells the Press-Register.

Lt. Richard Cayton of the Mobile County Sheriff's Office tells the paper that searchers on boats and helicopters haven't found any signs of the children, who ranged in age from 4 months to 3 years old."

Apparently it was an act of revenge against his wife but so far no reason is given as to what he was getting even with her for. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been bad enough for this. No doubt there will be a diminished capacity plea, eventually.

~ ~ ~

From the Who Gives A Shit File, we have a story on Worst Dressed Of the Year.

Victoria Beckham, in case you're wondering.

In a huge act of charity Mr. Blackwell left Britney Spears off the list this year. The man should get a humanitarian award for that.

Frankly I find his stupid list incredibly mean-spirited most of the time - and utterly pointless. Who the hell cares what he thinks?

Rats abandoning the ship

Rovie wants to spend more time with his family.

He has a family?

"He's a great colleague, a good friend, and a brilliant mind. He will be greatly missed, but we know he wouldn't be going if he wasn't sure this was the right time to be giving more to his family, his wife Darby and their son. He will continue to be one of the president's greatest friends."

White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said.

I'm still hopeful for indictments and orange jumpsuits.

Karl Rove at Wiki.

Winter has finally arrived.

We're not having any snow but it's gotten quite frigid in these parts. It's a normal January day for a change.

So Senator Clinton is 'In'. Who the heck isn't in the race for 2008? Just me and my cats?

The Idiot in Chief is going to talk to the Nation tomorrow night. Do I watch? I might have to get a perscription for tranks first. It's already out there that he's planning a tax increase. He's really gotten into pissing off the Republicans, hasn't he?

The death toll in Iraq is out of control -- the deficit in the US is out of control -- his approval rating is in the low 30's. According to an article in the Washington Post, only 26 percent of Americans polled believe the country is headed in the right direction; 71 percent believe the country is seriously off track -- the worst ratings in more than a decade.

So, what's he going to talk about? He's spent two weeks trying to rally public opinion in favor of his troop increase in Iraq and that hasn't worked. Is he going to talk about how he's made the country safer since 9/11? 55 percent of Americans already believe that he has not made the country safer. His waving the bloody flag of 9/11 yet again isn't going to help that. So, what's left? He's going to ask Congress to renew the No Child Left Behind law... because that's been such an amazing success. He's also going to discuss balancing the budget in five years - that must be the comdedy relief section.

Bit 'o trivia - the only President less popular than Bush on the eve of the State of the Union address was Richard Nixon, eight months before he resigned.

The Silly Season is finally over

Lieberman defeats Lamont to hold Senate seat.

Not a huge surprise. CNN kept stressing last night that Lieberman has promised Connecticut that he will work with the Democrats. Wolf sending a message? Perhaps.

Connecticut knows Joe only works for himself. He'll take the ripest plums the Republicans offer him and do what ever the hell they want him to do.

Six more years of this crap.

Independents and Republicans voted for him in droves. Thanks folks - you are responsible for this. Hope you're happy.

If Schlesinger had not been in this race I'm not sure Lamont would have received his votes. Lamont lost it after winning the primary. Schlesinger's numbers are mostly attributed to his good showing in the debates - goodness knows the Republican machine abandoned him . For Lieberman. That's gotta leave a bad taste in his mouth.

It's depressing that voters in seven states have decided to amend their Constitutions to define marriage as a union between one male and one female.

The conservative Concerned Women for American said it "rejoices with the American people on these important victories."

Depressing. It looks like only Arizona will not pass one of these marriage amendment issues.

Good news? Six states voted to raise their minimum wages; Santorum lost to Bobby Casey (whose Dad once dated my Mother back in the dark ages :) ); South Dakota’s law banning abortion was rejected 55 - 45; Webb might win Virginia - it's really close; the removal of Republicans wasn't just Federal - it was on the state and local level as well.

Not sure how I feel about Madam Speaker, the individual, but Madam Speaker... sweet.

Get the message Mr. Bush?

~ ~ ~

In Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega won his presidential bid after Eduardo Montealegre conceded yesterday.

On the campaign trail, Ortega traded his olive-green military garb for white and pink shirts and ran on a center-left platform. Once an atheist, he has made peace with an old enemy, the Catholic Church. His running mate, Jaime Morales, is a former Contra commander whose Managua home Ortega confiscated as president and still lives in.

Tiger changing its spots? Perhaps. I wonder how long it will be before Bush declares Nicaragua one of the "Axis of Evil" nations.

~ ~ ~

Britney Spears is divorcing her husband. This is news, apparently. Comes under the header "who gives a shit" for me... but then, that's me.

However... it's just fine for some foolish person, ala Miz Spears, to "marry" some equally foolish person during a drunken... well orgy might be too strong of a word… for 55 hours and get it... was it annulled or were they divorced? In any case, this child makes a complete mockery of marriage and that's just fine and dandy. Then she goes off with some other equally foolish person, whose girlfriend had given birth to their second child just a few months prior, and marries this clown. This is just peachy-keen. They have two more children who will now not have a full-time Father in their lives, just like his other two children don't. No problem, apparently.

But two people who love each other, have been committed to each other for some long period time in most cases, who wish the world to know and accept them as loving spouses/partners, and congratulate them as such, welcome them as such, just like the Spears-Fed "marriage" - that can't happen. Two people who just run rough shod over others lives, doing whatever the hell they feel like doing and making a joke out of what marriage is supposed to be about, can get away with this behavior - but two loving, committed adults cannot get married if they are of the same sex.

This makes sense? How? How can this possibly make sense to anyone? It's a sick joke. The State has no right to say who can and cannot marry beyond very basic guidelines such as age and mental health - this simple fact seems to allude most people. Amending the state Constitutions to give the State that power is the worst kind of insanity - if they can tell you that you must marry someone of a different sex, next they will tell you what color, what religion, what nationality your spouse must be.

You don't think so?

Think about it some more.

Today is a good day for civil liberties - the Democrats have taken back the government from Republican control. But only one of eight states rejected the notion of a state Constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between one male and one female. In 2004 11 states voted the same way - that's 18 states looking to amend their Constitutions to declare that marriage is between one male and one female. It’s not a huge stretch of the imagination that this could get much, much worse. Did you see this coming six years ago?

Four years ago?

I know I didn’t.