Before she made it into a White House state dinner without an official invitation, Michaele Salahi made it onto the Redskins alumni cheerleading squad -- without ever having been a Redskins cheerleader.
Salahi performed at FedEx Field during halftime of the Redskins-St. Louis Rams game Sept. 20 with a group of 150 former Redskins cheerleaders. Salahi's rehearsals with the group were filmed by a crew that has been following Michaele Salahi and her husband, Tareq, for possible inclusion on a cable TV reality show, "The Real Housewives of D.C."
Several former cheerleaders said in interviews that Michaele Salahi's presence at a rehearsal drew attention because of the TV cameras, but also suspicion because no one seemed to remember her as a cheerleader for the team.
Their doubts were heightened when Salahi couldn't perform some of the basic cheerleader routines, including the standard choreography for the team's fight song, "Hail to the Redskins."
But it wasn't until stories about the Salahis' White House incident last week that the cheerleaders decided to follow up on her credentials as a Redskins cheerleader.
"She was never at an audition, never at a game and never performed" as an original cheerleader, said Sheryl Olecheck, a Redskins cheerleader from 1986 to 1996 who choreographed the team for seven years. "When I saw her, I had to ask around: 'Who is that?' "
Another former cheerleader said she asked Salahi who her choreographer was when she performed. "She couldn't answer," she said.
The Washington Redskins Cheerleaders Alumni Association lists Salahi on its membership roster and indicates that she was a cheerleader during 1991 season under her nickname and maiden name, Missy Holt. However, when asked by the group for proof of her participation, Salahi was unable to supply any.
The group's president, Terri Lamb, said Wednesday, "We have no record that she ever was a Redskins cheerleader. She was listed on our 1991 roster at Ms. Salahi's request and based on her misrepresentation to us."
That alleged misrepresentation enabled Michaele Salahi to become a dues-paying member in 2005 and to perform with the group at two other Redskins games at FedEx in 2005 and 2007. Neither of those appearances raised any concerns at the time.
Salahi didn't return calls or e-mails seeking comment Wednesday. A spokesman for the Redskins said the team was not aware of her participation in the cheerleader events.
A local video company, Half Yard Productions, showed up to film Salahi at the practice Sept. 18 and subsequently asked the cheerleaders to sign agreements granting their permission to appear on the "Housewives" program and binding them to confidentiality.
Salahi arrived late to the practice, and caused some disruption when a videographer scrambled into place to film her emerging from a Range Rover. At one point, a producer directed Salahi, who was wearing a wireless microphone during the rehearsal, to make small talk with members of the group in order to film the interaction.
At another point, a producer asked Olecheck, who was directing Salahi's group, if she could move Salahi to the front row in order to film her better. Olecheck declined. "I already had the formation, and besides, she was too tall and couldn't dance," she said.
"She came up to me, and asked, 'So, how many kids do you have now?' " said a former cheerleader, who asked not to be identified because the alumni group has asked its members not to speak to the news media. "It was really contrived and awkward." Some of the dialogue had to be reshot because Salahi wasn't facing the camera, she said.
At another point, a producer asked Olecheck, who was directing Salahi's group, if she could move Salahi to the front row in order to film her better. Olecheck declined. "I already had the formation, and besides, she was too tall and couldn't dance," she said.
The cheerleading group also turned down the crew's request to film the halftime performance that included Salahi. But photographs posted on some of the former cheerleaders' Facebook pages show Salahi on the field, often out of time with her line.
Olecheck said she was "unnerved" by the episode. "It takes a lot of time and heart and practice to be a Redskins cheerleader," she said. "It's really a privilege to wear the burgundy and gold. So I'm resentful. . . . For her to get out there and think she can just shake her pompoms is upsetting."
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Well, their friend managed to pull a much bigger one---we're still finding out how much bigger.
#6
Oh oh. Va. launches probe into business entity run by Salahis The state of Virginia today began a formal investigation into the America's Polo Cup, the business entity run by Michaele and Tareq Salahi that the couple says raises funds for their charitable organization.
Tareq Salahi told the Post last year that the 2007 event raised about $250,000 for charity.
But in paperwork he filed with Virginia regulators, the foundation reported it received $18,608 in 2007, and donated $15,000 to its stated causes. Amounts that low are not subject to detailed federal tax reporting. There is no documentation of any further donations.
The foundation failed to register with state regulators for four years, leading the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to warn earlier this year that contributions "to such an organization could be used for non-charitable purposes." The foundation registered two weeks ago.
Your 15 minutes of fame are up. Let the years of legal proceedings begin.
Posted by: ed ||
12/03/2009 17:40 Comments ||
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You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
Someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Or something like that.
Last week, we learned that the Department of Justice wants the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) to continue receiving taxpayer dollars in spite of ongoing criminal investigations into widespread fraud and other illegal activities on the part of ACORN officers and employees. Somehow the Department of Justice missed the fact that Congress overwhelmingly passed -- and the President signed -- unambiguous legislation to strip ACORN of its funding.
Almost as soon as Congress acted to defund ACORN, the whining of the liberal establishment commenced. ACORN helped poor people, we were told. ACORN's services were needed by tens of thousands of unemployed families facing immediate home foreclosure and job loss. ACORN was the lifeline for neighborhood assistance, political empowerment, and community stabilization for untold numbers of disaffected, disenfranchised, and downtrodden people.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/03/2009 00:00 ||
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"A World Without ACORN"
Would be a beautiful (and wealthier) place.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/03/2009 18:45 Comments ||
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The free corporate rewards gifts arrived by the dozens: $5,000 I.B.M. gift certificates, $500 travel coupons, Broadway show tickets, tickets to Met and Yankee games. The only problem was that, according to city schools investigators, it was all based on a fraud.
Investigators on Tuesday alleged that a Brooklyn-based bookkeeper and community organizer for the beleaguered antipoverty group Acorn improperly received $500,000 in merchandise for a corporate rewards program with Verizon, the telephone company, through a complex fraud scheme that went on for more than four years.
"She left no stone unturned," said Richard J. Condon, the special commissioner of investigation for the city's schools.
Investigators said the fraud began in 2004, when the woman, Donnett Davis, was working at the financial desk at a Brooklyn office of Acorn. She opened a corporate rewards program for Acorn's 10 to 20 phone lines with Verizon, but put her name as the recipient to get the rewards herself, she told investigators, according to a report submitted to Joel I. Klein, the schools chancellor, on Tuesday.
Shortly afterward, investigators allege, Ms. Davis added about 9,000 Department of Education phone lines to her rewards account. With millions of dollars in billings, the trickle of reward points became a roaring torrent of gift certificates, L. L. Bean merchandise and other free items, investigators said.
It is not known how Ms. Davis got access to the Department of Education numbers, but Mr. Cordon said he suspected that she may have had help from someone within the department or Verizon. "We're not alleging she did it alone," Mr. Cordon said. "Quite frankly, we would be surprised if she did."
New York Acorn terminated Ms. Davis's employment in April 2008, Arthur Schwartz, counsel for Acorn, said Tuesday. Shortly afterward, Ms. Davis went to work directly for the Department of Education, as the parent coordinator for an Acorn-affiliated school, the Acorn High School for Social Justice in Brooklyn.
There, the fraud continued, investigators said, until Verizon discovered the suspicious activity in October 2008 while auditing its accounts, and the Department of Education began an investigation. Ms. Davis resigned from her schools job in August, the letter to Mr. Klein said. The matter has been referred to prosecutors.
Ms. Davis could not be reached for comment on Tuesday; a man who answered the phone at her listed number said that it was the wrong number.
On Tuesday, Mr. Schwartz, the lawyer for Acorn, pledged to cooperate with investigation.
"During the investigation Acorn was made aware that Ms. Davis apparently used the names of seven current and former Acorn employees to perpetrate her fraudulent acts," he said in a statement. "None of these current or former employees were aware of her activity nor have they been accused of any wrongdoing."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/03/2009 00:00 ||
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The Obama administration declined to say Tuesday whether Republican U.S. Attorney George Holding will be allowed to complete his investigations into two of North Carolina's most prominent Democrats, former Gov. Mike Easley and two-time presidential candidate John Edwards.
Late Monday, the White House announced Charlotte lawyer Thomas G. Walker as Obama's choice to take over as U.S. attorney for the state's Eastern District - making him first out of the gate among the state's three U.S. attorney slots and in line to be confirmed as soon as February.
The announcement came despite a request last summer from Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan to let Holding finish his investigative work. Her office reiterated Tuesday that her view hasn't changed.
Hagan may get the last say, though. As a home-state senator, she retains the right to delay or block Walker's nomination through an arcane Senate maneuver known as the "blue slip."
Hagan and Republican Sen. Richard Burr will be asked to give the Senate Judiciary Committee their views on Walker in the coming weeks through a form known as the blue slip. Hagan could delay her response or not respond at all.
On the other hand, she might already have received assurance that the investigations will continue, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who studies the Department of Justice.
"If there's resistance, she could put a hold on it. But that's just awkward," Tobias said. "It's your president, and your suggestion for the nominee. But I think maybe the White House and the Justice Department would be flexible about that, if that's what she wants."
Hagan was unavailable for comment Tuesday. The White House does not discuss nominees and declined to comment for this article.
Walker is among the first third or so of the president's U.S. attorney nominees. Of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys, Obama has offered 34 replacements, 21 of whom have been confirmed.
It's unclear when Walker might be confirmed, but recent nominees have taken between 60 and 90 days from nomination to a Senate vote, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Holding, a Bush appointee, has spent months investigating Edwards and Easley. No charges have been filed, and both men have denied criminal wrongdoing.
Holding, in an interview Tuesday, would not acknowledge the investigations exist. Holding said he will stay until he is replaced but did not express alarm at the prospect of having to leave.
"It is the president's choice," Holding said.
Edwards attorney Wade Smith said he expects Holding's staff to finish its investigation of Edwards before the transition.
"I think they would try to finish my clients' case by the end of the year," Smith said.
Joe Sinsheimer, a Democratic consultant and government watchdog who has followed the Easley and Edwards probes, said it's too soon to say whether the move will be an acceptable one.
"Look, no one is trying to save Mike Easley or John Edwards here," Sinsheimer said. "What they don't want, I believe, and what there is great fear about in Eastern North Carolina is that the current Easley investigation will spread to other areas."
Gary Pearce, a veteran Democratic strategist, said a new person appointed by Obama would have to take over at some point. He said the move could create a greater burden on that person, making it harder to dismiss the cases.
"If a Democrat comes in and prosecutes, that's going to have a lot of credibility," Pearce said. "Now, if a Democrat comes in and the cases are just dismissed, it's going to raise questions."
Republicans pounced Tuesday, asking Hagan to work with Obama to withdraw the nomination for now.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/03/2009 00:00 ||
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"It is the president's choice," Holding said.
Hey, wait a minute. I thought that the president was not allowed to replace US Attorneys. I mean, Congress was all over Bush when he fired a few attorneys.
Oh - I see now. Because Bush is a Republican (and thus evil incarnate), he is not allowed to fire attorneys (who serve at the pleasure of the President). But Obama (and Clinton) can do anything they want. OK. Nothing to see here. Move along.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/03/2009 19:55 Comments ||
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Surprise! Or not.
Putin should do like Nicaragua's Ortega and round up a few drinking buddies, declare them the supreme court for the next hour, and rubber stamp a President For Life decree as all legal and such.
Posted by: ed ||
12/03/2009 07:51 ||
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When PPP took a look at Delaware in March, Mike Castle led Beau Biden 44-36. Fast forward nine months and pretty much nothing has changed with Castle leading by a similar 45-39 margin.
Two major trends have shown up in both polls to give Castle the early advantage. The first is an overwhelming 52-23 lead with independents. That mirrors a national trend of strong Republican performance with that group, although Castle's edge is particularly large. The second is that he wins over far more Democrats than Biden does Republicans. Castle has a 79-10 lead within his own party, while Biden is up just 65-20 in his. Castle is winning more support from people who approve of Obama than any other Republican Senate candidate we've polled on nationwide this year.
Also working to Castle's benefit is that the state is not nearly as enamored with Obama as it was earlier in the year. Just 53% of voters now approve of his job performance, down from 63% in March. While he is relatively steady with independents his standing with Democrats has gone from 89% to 79% and with Republicans he's declined from 25% to 18%. By a 46-43 margin Delaware voters say they're opposed to the health care bill the House of Representatives passed last month, an indication that Castle may have actually been on the right side of public opinion on that issue even in a Democratic state.
Castle may get a bit of a challenge from Christine O'Donnell in the Republican primary because 30% of the party's voters think that he's too liberal. Compared to other Republican Senate candidates across the country Castle is unusually popular with Democrats, as 48% view him favorably, but also unusually unpopular with Republicans, just 61% of whom view him positively. It's unusual for the gap in favorability for a politician between the two parties to be so small.
Biden has little crossover appeal, as just 15% of Republicans hold a positive opinion of him. His 38% favorability with independents runs 22 points behind Castle's 60%.
This race is still close and Biden, if he gets in the race, will have a decent shot at winning. But Mike Castle looked like the favorite last winter and nine months later he stills does.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) continues to trail in her bid for re-election, a new Rasmussen poll (500 LVs, 12/1, MoE +/- 4.5%) finds today.
General Election Matchups
Hendren 46 (+2 vs. last poll, 9/28)
Lincoln 39 (-2)
Und 9 (-1)
Baker 47 (unch)
Lincoln 41 (+2)
Und 7 (+1)
Coleman 44 (+1)
Lincoln 40 (-1)
Und 9 (-2)
Cox 43 (unch)
Lincoln 40 (unch)
Und 10 (-1)
Lincoln's numbers have not changed dramatically since she cast a key vote to bring health care legislation to the floor of the Senate. But Rasmussen finds that 56 percent of Arkansans are strongly opposed to the Democrats' plan; 9 percent somewhat oppose, while only 32 percent strongly or somewhat favor it. Lincoln leads her potential challengers among voters who support the plan, but trails by more than 50 points among voters who strongly oppose it.
President Obama also fares poorly in the state, with just a 34 percent approval rating. A potential boost to Lincoln could be the strong performance of Gov. Mike Beebe (D) who'll be at the top of the ticket -- he has a 70 percent approval rating.
A top Democratic lawmaker predicted on Wednesday that the government will be involved in shaping the future for struggling U.S. media organizations. I fear that's gonna be so. It's the worst of all possible ideas, which is why I'm sure the current Congress will go for it.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, saying quality journalism was essential to U.S. democracy, said eventually government would have to help resolve the problems caused by a failing business model. Sounds like we're going to end up with a Ministry of Information. Maybe even a Ministry of Truth.
Waxman, other U.S. lawmakers and regulators are looking into various options to help a newspaper industry hurt by the shift in advertising revenues to online platforms. Maybe they could pool their resources with the buggy whip manufacturers.
Tweaks to the tax code to allow newspapers to spread losses over a greater number of years, providing a nonprofit structure to allow for public and foundation funding, and changes to antitrust laws are being considered by lawmakers and policymakers. "Eventually government is going to have to be responsible to help and resolve these issues," Waxman told a conference hosted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on the future of journalism. The next generation will likely see journalism restricted to those holding a license.
Free Press, a public interest group, said the search for solutions to the crisis in journalism should be premised on the idea that news-gathering is a public service, not a commodity. Government and prostitutes provide services. Businesses sell a product. When the product has been adulterated it's harder to sell. When new technology comes along the business either has to adapt, die, become a government service, or sell it on street corners.
Waxman's "indication that government has a role to play is both bold and soberly sensible," said Free Press Policy Director Ben Scott on the sidelines of the FTC conference.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Government muckulation in the press by definition abridges the free exercise thereof. As soon as the word "fairness" dribbles from between a politicians lips you know he's talking about his side getting pumped up at the expense of the other side. National Public Radio was a government enterprise and it's less "fair" in its treatment of issues than even such bastions of political hackery as the New York Times. Once the government runs an organization it's going to set the policy. Count on it.
At the Federal Communications Commission, officials are embarking on a quadrennial review of the state of U.S. media. The study, which is mandated by Congress, seeks to determine whether current rules should be changed to allow for a more vibrant media industry serving a diverse audience. The most "vibrant" media industry we've got going is the internet. There's no government involvement as yet in the wonderful world of blogging.
As advertising sales shrink and more people get information and entertainment online, media companies want more freedom to merge and own multiple outlets in particular locations. I consider most mergers admissions of failure. Organizations gain the benefit of economies of scale at the expense of flexibility and quickness of reaction. But small industries don't produce the dollar flow big ones do, so size is considered an advantage.
Sentiment also is growing that the Internet and other technological advances have rendered media regulation debates obsolete, industry observers say. The Stanley Steamer rendered the buggy whip obsolete, too...
The FCC rules have come up for review before, but the stakes are higher now, with broadcasters and publishers like Tribune Co in bankruptcy. U.S. media ownership rules generally prohibit a company from owning a television broadcaster and a newspaper in the same market but exemptions have been granted over the years. That's already an obsolete rule. A television station and a newspaper owned by the same company will still in most cases be a losing proposition.
Waxman was wary of such cross-media ownership structures. "Even greater consolidation of the business has not helped," Waxman said. What's worked has been the eruption of thousands of shoe-string operations that are more interested in news than in their usually non-existent bottom lines.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/03/2009 00:00 ||
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"Government and prostitutes provide services. Businesses sell a product. When the product has been adulterated it's harder to sell. When new technology comes along the business either has to adapt, die, become a government service, or sell its ass on street corners."
#2
So this past election was a media freebie? A taste of the type of personal service media whores can provide, for the right fee.
Posted by: ed ||
12/03/2009 6:58 Comments ||
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#3
It's classical post-modern liberalism. You don't use your own money to operate 'worthwhile' projects, you use other people's money to run them even though the 'people' don't believe it is 'worthwhile' enough to justify expending the product of their labor and skills. We're not talking the traditional functions of a American government. This is so Euro.
Regular readers of this column know that I've been rating the most vulnerable House seats - open and incumbent - for years. It's that time again, and since there aren't yet enough competitive open seats to rate by themselves, this list includes the dozen most vulnerable seats in the House.
There are two caveats that go with the list. First, there are strong arguments for including at least half a dozen other districts on the list. So, not being on this list doesn't mean a contest is not extremely competitive. Second, since the midterm elections are still almost a year off, this list is likely to change significantly before November.
Louisiana's 2nd: Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, the only Republican to vote for the House's health care reform bill, had no business winning this majority-black district. He won only because of the timing of the 2008 elections and the unique problems of then-Rep. William Jefferson (D). This time, Democrats are likely to have an unindicted nominee, which should end Cao's service in Congress at one term. Two state Representatives have already announced they are running. Expect a turnover.
Delaware's At-Large: Rep. Mike Castle's decision to run for Senate was great news for the National Republican Senatorial Committee but bad news for House Republicans. Former Lt. Gov. John Carney (D) was already running when Castle made his announcement, so Democrats have a serious candidate in the race. Since the state leans Democratic, Republicans will need to find a formidable nominee even to contest the seat seriously.
Louisiana's 3rd: With Rep. Charlie Melancon (D) running for Senate, this open seat gives the GOP an excellent takeover opportunity. The district gave President Barack Obama only 37 percent of the vote in 2008, so the Republican nominee should benefit from normal midterm dynamics. Of course, with a late August primary, the race won't shake out for months.
Virginia's 5th: Freshman Rep. Tom Perriello (D) seems more interested in doing what he thinks is right than getting re-elected. That's the only way to explain his votes supporting House Democrats' cap-and-trade and health care reform bills. State Sen. Robert Hurt (R) is expected to challenge Perriello, and the Congressman is in deep, deep trouble. Obama's 48 percent showing last year in this district understates Perriello's challenge next year.
Maryland's 1st: Unlike Perriello, Rep. Frank Kratovil (D) has voted as if he is trying to be re-elected. But he barely scraped by Republican Andy Harris in an open-seat contest last time, and the midterm electorate will make his re-election bid more difficult. He has a chance to win another term, but the odds aren't in his favor. Obama drew only 40 percent of the vote in the 1st in 2008.
Kansas' 3rd: When Rep. Dennis Moore announced his retirement last week, Democratic prospects tanked. While Obama won this district with 51 percent, it generally leans Republican, and the open seat during a midterm election looks like a juicy GOP target.
Ohio's 1st: Rep. Steve Driehaus (D) knocked off then-Rep. Steve Chabot (R) last year, and now Chabot is trying to return the favor. Expected lower turnout among Democratic core groups, especially younger voters and blacks, places this district at great risk even though Obama won it with 55 percent.
Ohio's 15th: Freshman Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D) has many of the same problems - and the same challenges - that confront Driehaus in the state's 1st district. Unlike Driehaus, Kilroy faces a rematch against an opponent who has never won district-wide. But former state Sen. Steve Stivers (R) should be a formidable foe.
Florida's 8th: Rep. Alan Grayson (D), another freshman, has gone out of his way to be partisan and inflammatory. That's a good way to raise money and attract the fawning admiration of liberal activists, but it isn't the best way to get re-elected in this Republican-leaning district that went for Obama with 52 percent. The GOP doesn't yet have a "name" challenger, and the party may never get one. But given Grayson's recent behavior, they may not need one to take back this district after a single term.
New Mexico's 2nd: Rep. Harry Teague faces former Rep. Steve Pearce (R), who gave up his seat in 2008 to run for Senate. Teague has tried to vote his district, but he isn't being helped by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Obama, who drew 49 percent of the district's vote in 2008. Definitely a midterm problem for Democrats.
New Hampshire's 2nd: The Granite State has swung strongly Democratic of late - probably too strongly considering the state's fundamentals. This open seat, and the likely candidacy of former Rep. Charles Bass (R), should give Republicans at least an even money chance of winning back the district during the midterm elections. But attorney Ann McLane Kuster, the early favorite for the Democratic nomination and the daughter of a former liberal Republican state legislator, should be a formidable standard-bearer for her party.
New York's 23rd: Special election winner Rep. Bill Owens won his seat with less than 50 percent of the vote, and if Republicans find a nominee who can appeal to both conservatives and moderates, Owens will find himself in trouble. His first vote was for the House health care reform bill.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/03/2009 00:00 ||
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There's something about these big events that cause MSNBC "Hardball" host Chris Matthews to go off script and say something seemingly ridiculous.
Matthews has publicly admitted President Barack Obama has given him a thrill up his leg after a campaign speech in Feb. 2008, and uttered "oh God," earlier this year after an Obama address to Congress, prior to the Republican response from Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal earlier this year. And on Dec. 1, he referred to West Point as "the enemy camp" in coverage following a speech from Obama announcing his intentions to increase troops in Afghanistan. And, later that night - Matthews took a shot at former Vice President Dick Cheney (emphasis added).
"The president said tonight that we're fighting in Afghanistan because al Qaeda is in Pakistan," Matthews said. "Is that what this is all about? Is that why we're fighting and some are dying in Afghanistan? To deliver the message to the government over in Pakistan to fight harder against al Qaeda. It sounds more Rube Goldberg than 'Remember the Alamo.' Also try tonight to workout whether the president's goals in Afghanistan are achievable. Are they? And of course, there's always Dick Cheney who jumped it from under his bridge to bite the president's ankle even before he made the speech tonight."
Later in the broadcast, in a segment with Mother Jones reporter David Corn, Matthews backtracked on the claim he made earlier in the evening - the West Point was the "enemy camp" (emphasis added).
"He went up there to West Point, okay, and maybe earlier tonight I used the wrong phrase, 'enemy camp,' but the fact of the matter is that he went up there to a place that's obviously military. People in the voluntary army that - and you have officers up there, people who have been tough," Matthews said. "McChrystal, Petraeus identified with the Bush strategy, much tougher, more hawkish. He went up there, it was almost like he telegraphed the fact that he was going to, what, change sides on the issue of dove versus hawk."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/03/2009 00:00 ||
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ION WMF > "CHICAGO TRIBUNE" US MEDIA: CHINA CAN WIN AN ECONOMIC "THIRD WORLD WAR" AGZ THE USA.
#5
I can't get out of my head the image of Chris Matthews having a 'tinkle down my leg moment' and then sharing it with his audience. Is there ever any reason for anyone to watch this guy - except for humor, that is?
A new measure on the public option will be unveiled next week, which Senate Democratic leaders hope will break the logjam on healthcare reform.
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who has been tapped by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to come up with a Plan B approach to the public option controversy that has divided Democrats, has been working closely with liberal and conservative Democrats, as well as Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).
In an interview, Carper acknowledged that Reid's "opt out" public option bill does not have 60 votes necessary for passage, even though it cleared a procedural hurdle last month.
If it attracts widespread support, the Carper measure could be added to Reid's bill, which is expected to be debated on the Senate floor over the next several weeks. Sensing that his bill may need changes, Reid recently called on Carper and Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) to come up with new legislative language on the hot-button issue of the public option.
Carper indicated that significant progress has been made and it is a question of when, not if, the new healthcare plan will be unveiled. Carper initially said an outline of his measure could be issued later this week, but later said it is more likely to emerge next week.
Legislative text may not be available next week, Carper said.
"I expect early next week we'll have something to share -- not just with our colleagues, but with the broader community," Carper told The Hill.
The 62-year-old former governor said he is trying to "thread the needle" between conservative Democrats such as Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) and Independent Joe Lieberman (Conn.), who oppose a public option, and liberal senators such as Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Roland Burris (D-Ill.), who are insisting on it.
Carper, a junior member of the Finance Committee, was tight-lipped on the details of his plan, but noted that he has been talking extensively with Snowe. He pointed out that he served with Snowe, and her husband, former Maine Gov. John McKernan (R), in the House.
Snowe favors a trigger proposal, where a public option would go into effect if the private health insurance market falters. The trigger has been soundly rejected by some liberals in Congress.
Carper has been working on variations of the public option for months. Recently, he has touted a so-called hammer public option that he believes answers centrists' criticisms that the public option in Reid's bill is government-run and government-funded. The public option would kick in for states where insurance companies fail to meet standards of availability and affordability of plans.
Carper's proposal would establish a national public insurance program founded by the government but managed by a non-governmental board. In addition, the plan would be unable to access any taxpayer dollars beyond its initial seed money. This public option would operate alongside private insurance and, potentially, the nonprofit healthcare cooperatives and state-based public plans authorized by Reid's bill.
This plan is fluid and final details are expected to be ironed out in the coming days.
A final vote on the underlying Senate bill "must" happen before the end of the month, Carper said, adding that the upper chamber has been tackling healthcare reform throughout 2009.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/03/2009 00:00 ||
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After Plan B comes Plan C, then Plan ...
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
12/03/2009 4:11 Comments ||
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Naming it after the "morning after pill" may not be a good idea, guys. We know you screwed things up one Saturday night, but, really....
In which Rantburg quotes the Daily Kos. Life is strange ...
By Markos Moulitsas
Democrats had known there was an "intensity gap" between angry conservatives in the Republican Party and the unexcited Democratic base, and in a midterm election, base turnout often determines who wins the night. Yet no one suspected it was this bad.
Nonpartisan pollster Research 2000 conducts a large-scale weekly poll for Daily Kos measuring voter sentiment toward key Republican and Democratic leaders and the parties (2,400 respondents, for a margin of error of 2 percent). Last week's edition featured the typical generic congressional ballot test, and Democrats held a 37-32 advantage, not atypical compared to most other polling on that question. In its most recent polls, CNN had Democrats up 49-43, while Pew was at 47-42. And while Gallup bucked the trend, with Republicans up 48-44, those exact generic congressional numbers aren't as important for the 2010 midterms as precisely who will turn out. And right now, it's looking brutal for the Democrats.
For the first time, I had Research 2000 ask, "In the 2010 congressional elections, will you definitely vote, probably vote, not likely vote or definitely will not vote?" The results were nothing short of cataclysmic.
Among Republican respondents, 81 percent said they were definitely or probably going to vote, versus only 14 percent who were definitely or not likely to do so. Among independent voters, it was 65-23. Among Democrats? A woeful 56-40: Two out of every five Democrats are currently unlikely to vote.
A look at key Democratic constituencies shows how demoralized the party's base currently is. Among African-Americans, just 34 percent are likely to vote, versus 54 percent unlikely to do so. Republican-leaning white voters clocked in at 66-29. Only 41 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds, a key constituency for Democrats in both 2006 and 2008, are likely to vote, compared to 49 percent likely to sit things out.
If these numbers hold for the next year, it won't matter what those generic congressional ballot questions say, nor will it matter whether Democrats can increase their performance with independent voters. If base Democratic voters don't turn out, like what happened in New Jersey and Virginia this year, Democrats will suffer at the ballot box.
Thus far, the progressive base doesn't have much to be excited about. Promised real reform in healthcare, the environment, labor, the wars, civil liberties and gay rights, actual accomplishments have been decidedly thin. The healthcare debate dragged on far longer than necessary as Obama and some Democrats engaged in a fruitless and unnecessary search for "bipartisanship" while taking such options as reconciliation off the table. The end result may saddle people with costly insurance mandates without any mechanism to control ridiculously high rates -- great for insurance industry profits, but not what progressives worked for the past two cycles. Progress on card-check and climate change legislation is stymied, while Obama doubles down on the Afghanistan quagmire. Institutions that were "too big to fail" got rich bailouts, while the rest of America continues to bleed economically. While there are 96 vacancies in the federal courts (over 10 percent of the 876 total), the Obama administration seems in little hurry to make an impact on a judiciary that took a significant turn to the right the last several decades; only 16 replacements have been nominated.
It's not too late -- yet -- for Democrats to fire up their base, but it will require delivering on lofty campaign promises. And if party leaders themselves need inspiration, they need look no further than that magic number of 40 percent of moribund Democrats who plan on avoiding the ballot box in 2010.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
" but it will require delivering on lofty campaign promises"
Like Gitmo and Saving the Whales. And um....hopeNchange. ( and what part of the "Stimulus" did you get?)
A city councilwoman says she plans to seek a recount in Atlanta's tight mayoral runoff.
Former state Sen. Kasim Reed led by 620 votes over Mary Norwood after Tuesday's runoff with all precincts reporting, but with hundreds of provisional ballots still uncounted. Elections officials say the provisional ballots will be tallied Thursday.
Reed is claiming victory, but Norwood said Wednesday she would seek a recount, saying she came within a razor-thin margin and that her message of change and inclusion resonated with voters across the city.
Reed and Norwood waged a hard-fought battle across the city and over the airwaves in the month leading up to the runoff. Norwood is trying to become Atlanta's first white mayor in more than three decades.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/03/2009 00:00 ||
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A handful of House Republicans did their best on Tuesday to shame Democrats and the Obama administration for its supposed connections to the controversial anti-poverty group ACORN.
Republicans also voiced complaints that Democrats are not moving forward with investigations into the organization that is alleged to have committed widespread voter fraud to support Democratic candidates, in violation of the group's tax-exempt status.
"ACORN is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said at Tuesday's two-hour long partisan forum attended by eight Republicans but no Democrats.
Another source of frustration for Republicans is a legal decision from the Justice Department, made public last week, that says officials at Housing and Urban Development can honor its existing contracts with ACORN despite a recently passed law forbidding federal funds from going to the group.
Congress banned federal funding to ACORN after members of the group were caught in an undercover video offering advice on how to evade tax laws to a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute.
"The White House will do everything it can to make sure ACORN will continue to get federal funding," Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., exclaimed.
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who was dubbed the "ACORN king" because of the bucket of acorns displayed prominently by his side, said he's convinced that any investigation of ACORN will reflect poorly on the Obama administration. "These roads will lead to the White House," King asserted.
But one of the panel's guest speakers said there's no evidence to suggest there's an ongoing FBI or Justice Department investigation. Hans von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation suggested that if the allegations made against ACORN were lodged against a mortgage company, there'd be great fanfare from Attorney General Eric Holder.
A Justice Department spokesman simply said "we decline comment" when asked about plans to investigate ACORN.
The lawmakers also heard from Anita MonCrief, a former ACORN worker-turned- whistleblower who said she saw organized illegal activity in what she described as a "culture of dishonesty." She talked about how ACORN was armed with a list of "maxed out" Obama campaign donors who were solicited for funds to help voter registration efforts.
MonCreif also discussed how the voter registration workers were pressured to meet daily quotas and even threatened with prosecution if they failed to keep pace. "The poor will be better served when ACORN is no longer the go-to place for the poor," Issa declared.
Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita blamed ACORN for producing hundreds of bogus registration in just one Northern Indiana County.
Rokita, a Republican, said the problem of intentional fraudulent voter registration threatens to undermine the democratic process. "This is an American issue," he said. "This is a constitutional issue. Americans should be mad."
Representatives from several House Democratic offices did not immediately respond to Fox News' questions about the Republican forum.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/03/2009 00:00 ||
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So many new developments: which story do we pick? Maybe best to summarise, instead. After all, it's not like you're going to find much of this reported in the MSM.
1. Australia's Senate rejects Emissions Trading Scheme for a second time. Or: so turkeys don't vote Christmas. Expect to see a lot more of this: politicians starting to become aware their party's position on AGW is completely out of kilter with the public mood and economic reality. Kevin Rudd's Emissions Trading Scheme -- what Andrew Bolt calls "a $114 billion green tax on everything" -- would have wreaked havoc on the coal-dependent Australian economy. That's why several opposition Liberal frontbenchers resigned rather than vote with the Government on ETS; why Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull lost his job; and why the Senate voted down the ETS.
2. Danes caught fiddling their carbon credits. (Hat tip: Philip Stott) Carbon trading is the Emperor's New Clothes of international finance. It was invented by none other than Ken Lay, whose Enron would currently be one of the prime beneficiaries in the global alternative energy market, if it hadn't been shown to be (nearly) as fraudulent as the current AGW scam. It is a licence to fleece, cheat and rob. Still, jolly embarrassing for the Danes to get caught red handed, what with their hosting a conference shortly in which the world's leaders will try, straight-faced, to persuade us that carbon emissions trading is the only viable way of defeating ManBearPig.
3. Hats off to The Daily Express -- the first British newspaper to make the AGW scam its front page story.
The piece was inspired by another bravura performance by Professor Ian Plimer, the Aussie geologist who argues that climate change has been going on quite naturally, oblivious of human activity, for the last 4,567 million years.
4. BBC finally gets round to reporting -- sort of -- that Climatic Research Unit at University of East Anglia may have been up to no good. It's true that this report on their website is so hedged with special pleading for the temporarily suspended director Phil Jones the man might have written it himself. But on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning, I did hear the newsreader reporting it as more than just a routine theft story. Which is a start.
5. Legal actions ahoy! Over the next few weeks, one thing we can be absolutely certain of is concerted efforts by the rich, powerful and influential AGW lobby to squash the Climategate story. We've seen this already in the "nothing to see here" response of Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the jet-setting, troll-impersonating railway engineer who runs the IPCC and wants to stop ice being served with water in restaurants. This is why those of us who oppose his scheme to carbon-tax the global economy back to the dark ages must do everything in our power to bring the scandal to a wider audience. One way to do this is law suits.
At Ian Plimer's lunch talk yesterday, Viscount Monckton talked of at least two in the offing -- both by scientists, one British, one Canadian, who intend to pursue the CRU for criminal fraud. Their case, quite simply, is that the scientists implicated in Climategate have gained funding and career advancement by twisting data, hiding evidence, and shutting out dissenters by corrupting the peer-review process. More news on this, as I hear it.
Lord Monckton has written an indispensible summary of the Climategate revelations so far.
6. Watch out Green Dave! The Independent reports on the growing backlash within the party to Cameron's libtard-wooing greenery. Turning to the Independent for a balanced report on environmental matters is a bit like consulting Der Sturmer for a sensible, insightful view on the Jewish question. Still, for once, the house journal of eco-loonery seems to have got it right and the point made by Tory backbencher David Davis is well made:
"The ferocious determination to impose hair-shirt policies on the public -- taxes on holiday flights, or covering our beautiful countryside with wind turbines that look like props from War of the Worlds -- is bound to cause a reaction in any democratic country."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/03/2009 00:00 ||
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The ferocious determination to impose hair-shirt policies on the public combined with the public losing what few shirts they have in the economic crisis may be the end of global warmism.
#2
D *** NG IT, well clearly only eeveerrryyyyttthhhiiinnnnnggggg and aaaaannnnnnyyyttttthhhhiiiiinnngg in US-World Govt-Society needs SOCIALISM = GOVT. CONTROL + SUPER/HYPER REGULATION!
The ARMY-POLICE RECCE STATE, NOT merely the NANNY STATE.
#8
I think this should be a classic, too. (Glaciers to melt in 2350, not 2035) I didn't read it until yesterday, however:
That was a 1996 study, well before the cooling trend seemed to appear out of nowhere (the last ten years). Then I went to the original report, cited in the article, and found it was dated Moscow, October, 1991, and was about hydrology the effect of runoff from melting glaciers. Somebody was cherry picking old, old data, taking it out of context, and mis-quoting it, to boot. Figures dont lie, but clever people can abuse them.
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/03/2009 6:03 Comments ||
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I still expect this to get buried by the national news. It's not important like a male members' only golf club.
Posted by: ed ||
12/03/2009 7:09 Comments ||
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Latest news: major lawsuit in the works against GISS, for refusing to turn over FOIA data. The deadline is now the end of December. Because the scientist behind the lawsuit sent in his FOIA request early, any destruction of data will be a criminal offense.
Oh my goodness yes, Alan. Not only that, but it is perilously easy for even honest investigators to find the answer they hoped for either by asking poor questions or by not probing deeply enough into the answers obtained from good ones. This is how good companies make costly business mistakes, which cost is an instant indication that one of the above has occurred. Basic research does not have the same kind of quick feedback mechanism, and must rely on reproducibility... which relies on the open sharing of raw data and methods, as we here all know.
#14
perhaps its all a farce, what isnt a farce is that we still need to stop buying oil from the insane muslims of the middle east thereby fueling their madness and ability to get at us. just a thought....
#15
It'll help if we could drill (and dig) here - oh and fire up a few CO2 belching coal plants - and not a few Nuclear plants instead of waiting for a 'green' solution which they will never allow anyway.
#17
Grunter, maybe he found out that people were shelling out $1200+ not to meet him, but to challenge him.
Or maybe to punch him in the nose. (Not that I am recommending that, of course, Fred.)
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/03/2009 19:50 Comments ||
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...maybe he found out that the Blood Eagle wasn't another spiffy award for him to pick up in Copenhagen.
ACORN, the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now, is in the process of changing its name and has already transferred many of its resources to several other left-wing advocacy and political groups, according to a report released Tuesday by Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
While the Justice Department has said that federal housing funds should continue to flow to ACORN, several congressmen, in a joint hearing of the House Oversight Committee and the Judiciary Committee, said they want a special prosecutor to investigate the group's use of taxpayer dollars.
Several weeks back, Congress included in the Continuing Appropriations Resolution for 2010 a provision that bars federal funds to ACORN and its affiliates, subsidiaries or allied organizations.
President Obama signed the resolution. But the Justice Departments opinion issued last week cleared the way for funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to continue going to the organization, a group that many House Republicans have called a criminal enterprise.
Former ACORN employee-turned-whistleblower Anita Moncrief told the House panel of eight Republicans and no Democrats that the organization continually got federal block grants but did not use the grants for helping the poor as promised. Rather, ACORN used the money to fund the political machine, Moncrief said. ACORN makes money off the poor...Poverty is big business for ACORN...
The House Oversight report claimed otherwise, saying, ACORNs own training manual reflects a business model in which money is taken from poor people and then funneled into partisan political efforts.
ACORN is currently in the process of changing its name and has already transferred resources to several chapters of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and possibly Data and Field Services, the Working Families Party, Change to Win and the Council for Unity, said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee.
The federal government has awarded at least $53 million to ACORN and its affiliates since 1994, according to an analysis by the House Republican staff..
The Justice Department is not doing a nationwide investigation as it should, said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. He also thinks the close ties between ACORN and President Obama, going back to Obamas days as a community organizer in Chicago, create a conflict...
The presidents ties to ACORN taint any conclusion that the Justice Department may reach with regard to whether or not to investigate and prosecute ACORN employees, Smith said. Thats why I request that the attorney general appoint a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation into ACORN.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
By Darrell Issa 
The Obama administration declined to say Tuesday whether Republican U.S. Attorney George Holding will be allowed to complete his investigations into two of North Carolina's most prominent Democrats, former Gov. Mike Easley and two-time presidential candidate John Edwards.
A new measure on the public option will be unveiled next week, which Senate Democratic leaders hope will break the logjam on healthcare reform. 
A handful of House Republicans did their best on Tuesday to shame Democrats and the Obama administration for its supposed connections to the controversial anti-poverty group ACORN.
