• Gay Marriage

    Day Without A Gay Protest FLOPS

    Day-Without-Gay

    Just like Flap said it would FLOP yesterday.

    A daylong work stoppage for which people were encouraged to call in “gay” to express support for same-sex marriage drew spotty participation Wednesday, with some gay rights activists praising the event and others questioning its value.

    People who opted to take the day off from their jobs as part of the national “Day Without a Gay” were encouraged to perform community service, and charitable organizations across the country said they had volunteers showing up.

    David Lang, 44, a San Francisco gymnastics coach who said he conceived of a similar idea right after the election, said he thinks a coordinated job action would have been more successful if organizers had enlisted support from sympathetic employers, labor groups and industries.

    “If we are going to make a huge impact and not be laughed at, then we have to take the time and make the time to communicate with all the parties. We could have shut down a lot of the hotels,” Lang said. “In theory it’s a great idea, but it’s being done wrong and now that it’s been done wrong, I don’t think it will be done again.”

    These type of confrontational protests won’t be done again because there is NO support for them. Gay Marriage is not a burning issue for most California voters and the homosexual lobby is doing a great job of pissing off people they wish to persuade to support them.

    Previous:

    California Proposition 8 Aftermath: Mormon El Coyote Restaurant Manager Quits

    Los Angeles Film Festival Director and California Proposition 8 Supporter Richard Raddon Resigns

    Gay Marriage Proponents Boycotting Lassen’s Natural Foods & Vitamins Over Proposition 8?

    El Coyote Mexican Cafe Bullied Into $500 Donation to Homosexual Advocacy Group – JIZYA

    El Coyote Mexican Cafe Bullied Into $500 Donation to Homosexual Advocacy Group


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  • Barack Obama,  Rod Blagojevich

    Hot Rod Blagojevich Ignores Obama’s Calls for Him to Resign

    Federal investigators arrested the governor of the central state of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, and his chief of staff, John Harris, on Tuesday, alleging they tried to personally profit from appointing a replacement for President-elect Barack Obama in the US Senate

    Well, Blagovejich DARED the Unites Sates Attorney to tap his phone (in the video above) and he did. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald tappped Blagojevich’s home phone for over eight weeks. God knows what is on all of those tapes, including contacts with President-Elect Obama’s staff.

    But, the Illinois governor is DEFIANT and reportedly will not resign.

    His career in shreds, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich clung defiantly to power Wednesday, ignoring a call to step down from President-elect Barack Obama and a warning that Senate Democrats will not let him appoint a new senator from the state.

    “Everyone is calling for his head,” said Barbara Flynn Currie, a leader in the Illinois Senate and, like the governor, a Democrat.

    One day after Blagojevich’s arrest, fellow Illinois politicians sought to avoid the taint of scandal-by-association.

    Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. said at a news conference in Washington that he was Senate Candidate 5 in the government’s criminal complaint — a man Blagojevich was secretly recorded as saying might be willing to pay money to gain appointment to Obama’s vacant Senate seat. Jackson said he had been assured by prosecutors he was not a target of the investigation, and he emphatically said he had not engaged “whatsoever in any wrongdoing.”

    Other Democrats in Washington edged away from calls for a special election to fill Obama’s place in the Senate, hoping that Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn would soon become governor and fill the vacancy on his own. That would assure the party of holding the seat, and on a far faster timetable than any balloting would allow.

    Ensconced in his downtown office, Blagojevich gave no sign he was contemplating resigning, and dispatched his spokeswoman, Kelley Quinn, to say it was “business as usual” in his 16th-floor suite, situated a few blocks from Obama’s transition headquarters.

    “At the end of the day, the top priority for our office is to serve the people, and we have not lost sight of that, nor will we lose sight of that,” Quinn said.

    Who knows what is going on behind the scenes with a plea deal. But as Flap said this morning, time is running out for Blagojevich.


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  • Bill Clinton,  Hillary Clinton

    Bill Clinton to Testify at Hillary’s Confirmation Hearing?

    ramireztoon111607web

    Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

    Think GOP Senators do NOT relish the opportunity to make Bill Clinton squirm under oath answering questions about his foreign fundraising?

    Senate Republicans are considering asking Bill Clinton to testify at his wife’s confirmation hearing about potential conflicts of interest involving his worldwide charitable enterprises.

    “There are concerns about his international work across the board,” a Republican aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Politico. “Seeking donations from foreign governments is definitely concerning. … It has been discussed, and it will be discussed.”

    They should insist that the former President provide the Senate with a list of donors to his Presidential Library and his William J. Clinton Foundation. A list of all of them.

    Then, the GOP should insist that Bubba testify about Attorney General nominee Eric Holder and let them both explain the pardon to Marc Rich.


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  • Barack Obama,  Mike Ditka,  Twitter

    Draft Mike Ditka for Obama’s Senate Seat – Going to Twitter?

    draft-mike-ditka

    DraftMikeDitka Twitter Home Page

    Flap hypothesizes that someone is thinking Mike Ditka would make a good GOP candidate for the now open Barack Obama Illinois Senate seat.

    Geraghty worries about a celebrity ad being run against Ditka and frets about Caroline Kennedy, Chris Matthews and/or Jerry Springer in the Senate.

    Flap warns that celebrity candidates have not been so good lately (well since, Reagan who was a quasi celebrity, anyway). Look at Al Franken, Jesse Ventura, Arianna Huffington and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

    The real pause is when they win the election and have to govern – sometimes disastrously.


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  • Barack Obama,  Health

    Shocker Poll: Most Voters Say Leave MY Health Insurance Alone

    Emeergency room

    Not really a shock, is this Rasmussen poll?

    Health care reform is near the top of the list for incoming President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, but a majority of U.S. voters (58%) oppose any kind of government-controlled health plan if it means they have to change their own insurance coverage.

    Twenty-five percent (25%) say they would support such a plan even if they had to change their own coverage, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Sixteen percent (16%) are undecided.

    With all of the bailouts and increased spending planned by the Obama Administration, does anyone really expect universal healthcare?

    No, we don’t and thank goodness.


  • Barack Obama,  Rod Blagojevich,  SEIU

    Was the SEIU an Obama – Blagojevich Intermediary for the Senate Seat?

    Obama and hot rod
    Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and President-Elect Barack Obama

    Fox News is now reporting that Obama wants Hot Rod to resign. A little late, huh?

    But, what about the Service Employees International Union and the Barack Obama connection?

    An SEIU Official Acted As “An Apparent Intermediary Between The Governor And Barack Obama’s Camp.” “Among the revelations contained in the complaint brought against Illinois Gov.  Rod Blagojevich yesterday was the description of an official with the Service Employees International Union acting as an apparent intermediary between the governor and Barack Obama’s camp in discussions over Obama’s Senate seat.” (Alec MacGillis, “Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team,” The Washington Post, 12/10/08)

     

    • Negotiations Were Underway To Appoint Obama’s Close Confidante Valerie Jarrett To His Vacant Senate Seat. “Blagojevich and his chief of staff wondered aloud about a ‘three-way deal’ in which he would appoint Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett, a Chicago businesswoman believed to be the woman identified in the complaint as ‘Candidate 1,’ to Obama’s Senate seat…” (Alec MacGillis, “Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team,” The Washington Post, 12/10/08)

    Blagojevich Believed That The SEIU Official Was An Emissary From Obama To Discuss Jarrett For The Senate Seat. “The complaint also states that on Nov. 12, Blagojevich spoke by phone with an “SEIU official” who was in Washington and with whom Blagojevich had met a week before on the understanding that the official was an emissary to discuss Jarrett’s interest in the Senate seat.” (Alec MacGillis, “Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team,” The Washington Post, 12/10/08)

    And, there is more:

    Obama Picked A Former SEIU Official To Be His Political Director And Has Close Ties To SEIU Officials In Illinois:

     

    “A Former SEIU Official, Patrick Gaspard, Was Named Obama’s Political Director.” (Alec MacGillis, “Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team,” The Washington Post, 12/10/08)

     

    • In 2004, Patrick Gaspard Served As National Field Director For 527 Organization America Coming Together. “The Kerry effort will be aided by America Coming Together, an independent group working to get out the Democratic vote. The group plans to stage marches before Election Day to polling stations that open early in key states to put ‘peer and community pressure’ on low-propensity voters, said Patrick Gaspard, the group’s national field director.” (Jo Becker, “Voters May Have Their Say Before Election Day,” The Washington Post, 8/26/04)
    • The SEIU Helped To Coordinate America Coming Together, With SEIU Members And Staff Doing Much Of The Management Of The GOTV Effort. “Despite Stern’s criticism of labor’s relationship with the Democratic Party, he does understand the importance of political work. Last fall, SEIU generously lent its clout, helping to coordinate America Coming Together and America Votes, an alliance of Democratic interest groups that included the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters and women’s organizations. Much of the management of this joint get-out-the-vote effort was done by SEIU members and staff (like me) in a massive union campaign effort without recent precedent.” (Clayton Nall, “Gompers’s Ghost And Labor’s New Look,” The Washingt on Post, 9/4/05)

    Tom Balanoff, Head Of SEIU In Illinois, Is Obama’s Closest Tie To SEIU. “But the SEIU official with the closest ties to the Obama team is Tom Balanoff, head of SEIU’s Illinois chapter.” (Alec MacGillis, “Union Official Allegedly Liaison Between Governor, Obama Team,” The Washington Post, 12/10/08)

    The stonewalling by Barack Obama is not going to play here. There WILL be staff resignations because it is very likely somebody is on tape talking to Blagojevich or his staff about the Senate seat.

    Who will be the first body thrown over the side for Team Obama? Who will take the fall?


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  • Barack Obama,  Rod Blagojevich

    Who On Obama’s Staff Talked to Hot Rod Blagojevich About The Senate Seat?

    Barack Obama’s senior adviser David Axelrod’s appearance on Fox Chicago Sunday. (November 23, 2008). In the video Axelrod contradicts today’s Barack Obama statements that he had no contact with the Governor or his staff regarding the appointment of a replacement U.S. Senator for Obama’s former seat that he vacated when he won the Presidency

    Ok, now Obama’s staff is saying that David Axelrod misspoke about Obama talking to the Governor Blagojevich but what about Obama’s staff?

    Obama leaves this question open with an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

    Q: Have you ever spoken to [Illinois] Gov. [Rod R.] Blagojevich about the Senate seat?

    O: I have not discussed the Senate seat with the governor at any time. My strong belief is that it needed to be filled by somebody who is going to represent the people of Illinois and fight for them. And beyond that, I was focused on the transition.

    Q: And that was before and after the election?

    O: Yes.

    Q: Are you aware of any conversations between Blagojevich or [chief of staff] John Harris and any of your top aides, including Rahm [Emanuel]?

    O: Let me stop you there because . . . it’s an ongoing… …investigation. I think it would be inappropriate for me to, you know, remark on the situation beyond the facts that I know. And that’s the fact that I didn’t discuss this issue with the governor at all.

    Q: Could you talk to the point of whether an appointment by Gov. Blagojevich would taint whoever your successor would be, given what we know?

    O: I think what the people of Illinois deserve is somebody they can trust, somebody that’s going to fight for them and, you know, I think we’ve got to make sure that whatever process emerges gives them that assurance. I haven’t examined all the options that are out there at this point.

    Jim Geraghty points out that Obama knows about the scandal and did NOT speak directly to Hot Rod Blagojevich. But, what about his other staffers? How about Obama’s soon to be Chief of Staff and former Illinios Congressman Rahm Emanuel?

    And, who does United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald have on tape? What did they say and when did they say it?

    Update:

    Maybe it was Axelrod since he does not seem to have a problem with pay to play Chicago style.

    “The democratic process is often messy,” Axelrod wrote in the op-ed. “Diverse constituencies fight fiercely for their priorities. Their elected representatives use the influence they have to meet those needs, including sometimes the exchange of favors – consideration for jobs being just one.

    “When a congressman responds to the president’s request for support for a judicial nominee or a trade deal by replying that he’d like the president’s backing for a new bridge in his district, he’s fighting for his constituents. If the money for that bridge is approved over a worthier project elsewhere, should the deal between the two officials become a crime?” Axelrod wondered, questioning whether a “system free of political influence … is really desirable.”


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