links for 2009-01-26

Throughout the campaign, Palin was kept under wraps by staff, and her appearances were carefully orchestrated in the failed hope of protecting her from ridicule. Frequently when she did engage the media, she appeared ill prepared at best and hopelessly naive at worst. Her comments on Russia and politics were a steady diet for late-night comedians.

During the campaign, there were charges that Palin tried to censor books at the Wasilla, Alaska, library when she was mayor of that community. Though the reports turned out to be overblown (she did ask the librarian about removing some books and then dismissed her along with other officials), the ink stuck to her, helping with conservatives and hurting with other voters.
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The piece is driping with media bias H/T Patterico

Article XVIII, Section 2, of the state constitution allows the Legislature, by a two-thirds vote, to ask voters whether they want to call a convention to revise the constitution, and if voters agree, "the Legislature shall provide for the convention."

The last time California held a constitutional convention was in 1878. It produced the basic document we use today, albeit with many voter-approved amendments. Californians voted to have another convention in the early 1930s, but the Legislature refused to call it.

The notion of calling a new convention to overhaul California's arguably dysfunctional system of governance is gaining strength, at least among those who don't occupy the Capitol. During his brief State of the State address this month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger acknowledged the idea's currency as he pleaded to lawmakers for action on the budget and other issues.
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Arnold has been the worst Governor in recent California history.

President Obama on Monday will direct federal regulators to move swiftly to grant California and 13 other states the right to set strict automobile emissions and fuel efficiency standards, two administration officials said Sunday evening.
The directive makes good on an Obama campaign pledge and marks a sharp reversal from Bush administration policy. Granting California and the other states the right to regulate tailpipe emissions is one of the most dramatic actions Mr. Obama can take to quickly put his stamp on environmental policy.

The presidential orders will require automobile manufacturers to begin producing and selling cars and trucks that get higher mileage than the national standard, and on a faster phase-in schedule. The auto companies had lobbied hard against the regulations and challenged them in court.
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More Regulation and more cost for California drivers – all in the time of recession. Not a good move for the California economy, one of the worst in the nation.

Google is to launch a service that would enable users to access their personal computer from any internet connection, according to industry reports. But campaigners warn that it would give the online behemoth unprecedented control over individuals' personal data.

The Google Drive, or "GDrive", could kill off the desktop computer, which relies on a powerful hard drive. Instead a user's personal files and operating system could be stored on Google's own servers and accessed via the internet.

Karl Rove, one-time Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush, spoke to a jam-packed Storer Auditorium at the University of Miami Thursday night.

After a brief opening speech, Rove transformed the event into an open forum during which audience members could ask him a question or engage him in a debate.

The “campaign architect,” as he is commonly called, built a case against President Barack Obama’s order to close Guantanamo, an overseas CIA detention center where terrorists and other “enemy combatants” are held. Obama’s order could enable terrorists to be tried in U.S. courts, to be given undeserved rights afforded American citizens and could cause damaging long-term effects, Rove said.

“One year from now, Gitmo won’t be closed,” Rove said. “If it is, there will be an uproar in the U.S. about where to put these people.”
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Agree, Obama will not ultimately close the base. Where would he put them all?

The U.S. Navy is conducting covert operations aimed at intercepting Iranian ships carrying weapons to rearm Hamas in the Gaza Strip, informed defense officials told WND.

The setup, which has already halted a vessel carrying Iranian munitions in recent days, acts on intelligence information provided by Israel, Egypt and Cyprus, the defense officials said.

The U.S. Navy refused to comment, but informed sources said the U.S. last week intercepted an Iranian-owned vessel found to be carrying weapons, including rockets, mortar and artillery shells. It is suspected the ship was attempting to reach the Egyptian Sinai area. If successful, the delivery would have represented a major escalation by providing Hamas with artillery, something the terrorist organization is not thought to possess.
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The anti-Israel LEFT won't be happy with Barry

At 12:38 p.m. this afternoon, the RNC attempted to post the Weekly Republican Address by Leader Boehner as a "video response" to President Obama's address on YouTube. More than six hours one day later, the GOP video response is still waiting to be "approved by" the President's Internet team.

While we applaud the President for utilizing popular video-sharing websites like YouTube, the central purpose of these tools is to do just that: share videos and engage in conversation. We hope the President’s Internet team will quickly approve Boehner's response and allow that conversation to take place.

The Gallup Poll on Saturday released the first job-approval rating for President Obama, based on interviews during his first three full days in office: 68 percent.

Now that he’s in office, Obama’s approval ratings are starting to normalize, as partisan back-and-forth picks up. Just a week ago, Gallup found an astonishing 83 percent approval of how he has handled his transition, showing he had even won over most Republicans.

The new job-approval figure puts him at the upper end of opening poll numbers for presidents, but doesn’t set a record.

Gallup’s initial job approval ratings were President John F. Kennedy, 72 percent; Dwight Eisenhower, 68 percent; Jimmy Carter, 66 percent; Richard Nixon, 59 percent; George W. Bush, 57 percent; and Ronald Regan and George H.W. Bush, 51 percent.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday shrugged off Republican suggestions that the federal government reopen Alcatraz prison in her San Francisco district to house detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

President Obama this week signed an executive order calling for the closure of the prison at Guantanamo within the year. Republican Rep. Bill Young then suggested to White House counsel Greg Craig that the prisoners who could not be released back to their home countries or sent to a third country be put up in "the Rock," the famous military installation and prison that closed down in 1963 and is now part of the National Park Service.

Asked whether that was a serious proposal, Pelosi said, "It is — no."

"Perhaps he's not visited Alcatraz," Pelosi said of Young while displaying little sense of humor. "Alcatraz is a tourist attraction. It's a prison that is now sort of like a — it's a national park."
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But, funny nonetheless

With both the state and the Turnpike Authority are in tough financial shape, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is talking about adding tolls at the state's borders.

Right now, drivers riding to and from Massachusetts from New Hampshire can coast along with no major problems, but Gov. Patrick says he's interested in the idea of implementing tolls on major highways crossings into the Bay State from New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island.

This proposal is not sitting well with commuters. "I think people who are doing it everyday it would certainly affect them," said Sheryl Crawford of Lowell.

n the '90s, many conservatives referred to CNN as "The Clinton News Network" due to its obvious biases towards the 42nd president.

Years later, just days after the inauguration of the 44th president, one of that network's on-air hosts officially labeled MSNBC "The Obama Network."

You gotta love it.

During Sunday's "Reliable Sources," when the subject of MSNBC came up, Kurtz said:

Since he mentioned MSNBC, let's play a clip from Inauguration Day, Chris Matthews getting a little excited over the festivities and talking about the role of his network, which as you know has been accused of being favorable at least in its opinion shows toward Obama.
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No, not shocking – just the way it is.

Perhaps more importantly, the slow process could be a sign that the shrunken Republican Party — with its core of determined conservatives intact — won't be a pushover for the new president.

"We're always going to exercise our prerogatives," said Don Stewart, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.). "We want to make sure we're part of the process."

But former Sen. Tom Daschle hasn't even been scheduled for a confirmation hearing as Health and Human Services secretary, a key position as Mr. Obama tackles health care in the budget due next month. Democratic Finance Committee aides say the holdup is in part because the committee has been hashing out the tax provisions of a stimulus package likely to exceed $825 billion. They are also working on the Senate's version of an expanded State Children's Health Insurance Program.