• Ted Stevens

    Bye Bye Senator Ted Stevens – Finally

    stevens

    Senator Ted Stevens, R-Alaska

    Good riddance to the corrupt and convicted felon senior Senator from Alaska.

    Tuesday’s vote count showed the convicted Alaska Senator trailing Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by 3,700 votes– more than the 2,500 overseas ballots still uncounted.

    And, go out with some class, would you? And concede.

    Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska was defeated in his bid for re-election on Tuesday.

    Mr. Stevens, a Republican and a 40-year incumbent, was trailing his Democratic challenger, Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage, by 3,724 votes out of more than 315,000 cast after state election officials on Tuesday counted more than 35,000 absentee and other outstanding ballots.

    Only an estimated 2,500 ballots remain to be counted next week, according to Gail Fenumiai, the state elections director.

    “I am humbled and honored to serve Alaska in the United States Senate,” Mr. Begich said. “It’s been an incredible journey getting to this point, and I appreciate the support and commitment of the thousands of Alaskans who have brought us to this day.”

    Mr. Stevens did not immediately concede the race. Presuming the results are certified, the senator could request a recount, but he would have to pay for it.

    Time to retire, Senator and serve your sentence.

    Bye Bye……


    Technorati Tags:

  • Al Franken,  Norm Coleman

    The Coleman – Franken Recount Has Started

    Norm-Coleman-and-Al-Franken

    Senator Norm Coleman, R- Minnesota and Democrat contender Al Franken

    Flap a little over an hour ago got off the phone with a California-based attorney working for the GOP regarding the Minnesota recount and…..

    The recount has started in the Minnesota U.S. Senate race between incumbent Senator Norm Coleman and Democrat challenger Al Franken.

    The recount plan has been approved.

    In a meeting that lasted less than an hour today, the state Canvassing Board unanimously approved a plan to hand recount, beginning tomorrow morning, nearly 3 million ballots to determine who won the U.S. Senate race between Republican Norm Coleman, the incumbent, and Democrat Al Franken, the challenger.

    The five-member panel also unanimously decided to take at least a few days to determine what to do about requests by the Franken campaign to review rejected absentee ballots and count any that were improperly voided.

    Coleman leads by such a slim margin that a hand recount is mandatory. Coleman’s unofficial lead is now 215 votes, after results from audits — mini-recounts to determine voting machines’ accuracy — are counted.

    The recount is slated to begin tomorrow morning, essentially resetting the race to 0-0, and will last at least though the beginning of December.

    Stay tuned……


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Barack Obama,  Eric Holder

    Eric Holder To Be Obama’s Attorney General?

    ericholder
    Former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder and Pardon Attorney Roger Adams testify on the pardon that former President Clinton gave to Marc Rich during a Senate Judiciary Hearing February 14, 2001 in Washington DC

    Another Bill Clinton administration retread for Barack Obama?

    Apparently so.

    Washington attorney Eric Holder is President-elect Barack Obama’s top choice to be the next attorney general and aides have gone so far as to ask senators whether he would be confirmed, an Obama official and people close to the matter said Tuesday.

    Holder, a former U.S. attorney who served as the No. 2 official in the Justice Department under President Bill Clinton, would be the nation’s first black attorney general.

    An Obama official and two Democrats in touch with the transition team confirmed that Holder is Obama’s top choice but the Obama official said the decision has not been finalized.

    PLUS CA CHANGE and Marc Rich…….


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Gay Marriage

    The Crocodile in the Bathtub for the California Supreme Court – Proposition 8

    Yes on California Proposition 8 Television Ad featuring California Supreme Court – “Whether You Like it Or Not”

    The Crocodile in the bathtub?

    “It is a time of lots of crocodiles in the bathtub,” said Santa Clara University law professor Gerald Uelmen, who has followed the court for decades. “Their oath requires them to ignore these kinds of political threats. But the threat of having to face a contested election is a significant one.”

    Uelmen used a metaphor coined by California Supreme Court Justice Otto Kaus, a Democrat who served on the court after voters recalled Chief Justice Rose Bird and two other justices who had voted against death sentences.

    Kaus later said that, as hard as he tried to decide cases impartially, he was never sure whether the threat of a recall election — “the crocodile in the bathtub” — was influencing his votes.

    “It was like finding a crocodile in your bathtub when you go to shave in the morning,” Kaus said. “You know it’s there, and you try not to think about it, but it’s hard to think about much else while you’re shaving.”

    You bet.

    Yes on 8 proponents will NOT say it because they do not feel it is in their best interests to attempt to intimidate the California Supreme court but Flap will. Those Justices that vote to overturn Proposition 8 WILL be recalled and stand for election in June 2010 (a primary election where the turnout is lower and decidely more conservative).

    Difficult to do, you ask?

    No, the million of signatories of the original Proposition 8 petition will be rounded up and the donors will pony up again for the campaign. Flap does not doubt there will be additional California Constitutional amendments restricting the jurisdiction of the California Supreme Court as well.

    Stay tuned……


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Hannah-Beth Jackson,  Tony Strickland

    Tony Strickland Extends Lead in California State Senate Race – The Fat Lady Sings

    strickland-and-jackson

    Former California Assembly Members Tony Strickland and Hannah-Beth Jackson candidates for California State Senate District 19

    Ventura County has updated its vote totals yesterday whereas Santa Barbara County and Los Angeles County Elections  did not for the California State Senate District 19 race.

    Republican Tony Strickland inched ahead of Democrat Hannah-Beth Jackson by an additional 70 votes in the latest round of ballot-counting, leaving Strickland with a lead of 2,258 votes Monday.

    The two candidates for the 19th state Senate District seat have been neck-and-neck since election night, although Strickland has pulled ahead gradually as more late absentee and provisional ballots are counted. He now has 50.3 percent of the vote to Jackson’s 49.7 percent.

    On Monday afternoon, the County of Ventura released the results of 14,934 more ballots, bringing the total counted to 318,603. That means that about 95 percent of the ballots cast in the Nov. 4 election have been counted, according to county Elections Division estimates of how many votes were cast in the county.

    The votes left to count are absentee ballots that were turned in on Election Day, or provisional ballots. Both take longer than standard ballots to count because they have to be checked against the voter rolls.

    According to Flap’s math Republican Tony Strickland has extended his lead to 2,211 votes versus 1,560 votes last Wednesday.

    The raw figures:

    Santa Barbara County:

    • Hannah-Beth Jackson: 70,098
    • Tony Strickland: 56,744

    Los Angeles County:

    • Hannah-Beth Jackson: 11,611
    • Tony Strickland: 15,806

    Ventura County:

    • Hannah-Beth Jackson: 112,771
    • Tony Strickland: 124,141

    As Flap said before, this race is over and Tony Strickland has been elected. There will be a recount but Hannah-Beth Jackson would need a miracle to pull off a win.

    But, stay tuned for more ballot counts as they are released.


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Barack Obama,  Missile Defense

    Video: 33 Minutes – America’s Missile Defense in a New Missile Age

    The HD film will be released February 2009, and will outline what immediate steps need to be taken to protect America and its citizens

    Coming from The Heritage Foundation – 33 minutes and why it is important in this new missile age.

    In the Winter of 2009, The Heritage Foundation will release a high-definition documentary that tells the story of the very real threat that hostile nations and rogue dictators now pose to every one of us. In 33 minutes or less, life as we know it in America could end. That’s the time it would take for an enemy’s ballistic missile to hit the United States.

    Aptly named, “33 Minutes: Protecting America in the New Missile Age”, our documentary will be a key component in exposing our vulnerability to moms, dads and citizens across the country. The time has come to revive the strategic missile defense system that America uniquely can develop, maintain and employ for its own defense and the peace-loving world’s security. Stay tuned for a complete site launch within the next few weeks which will include much more detailed information related to the film and why 33 Minutes is so important.

    It is reported that Barack Obama will continue national missile defense “if it works.” Well, it works but will Obama succumb to many members of his Democrat Party like Senators Carl Levin and John Kerry, plus vice President Joe Biden who have voted to gut the program over the years?

    Previous:

    Will Barack Obama Continue Missile Defense?

    The Missile Defense Archive


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Barack Obama

    Video: How Obama Got Elected – Interviews with Obama Voters

    www.HowObamaGotElected.com by John Ziegler looks at how media coverage of the 2008 election impacted what Obama voters knew (or thought they knew) about the campaign.

    Ed Morrissey has a summary of some of the stats.

    • 57.4 could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)
    • 81.8 could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)
    • 82.6 could NOT correctly say that Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)
    • 88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)
    • 56.1 % could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).And yet…..
    • Only 13.7% failed to identify Palin as the person their party spent $150,000 in clothes on
    • Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter
    • And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her “house,” even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!
    • On the last point, though, Palin was the only candidate from Alaska.  Palin did state that one could see Russia from the state as an answer to an interview question about her foreign-policy credentials.  I don’t believe that the survey gave Fey as a choice, so Palin would have been the obvious answer from those provided.

    Well, we now know where many Americans receive or don’t receive their news, now don’t we?

    Answer: SNL and Comedy Central

    John Ziegler interviewed last night on Hannity and Colmes

    Technorati Tags:

  • Barack Obama,  Day By Day,  Hillary Clinton

    Day By Day by Chris Muir November 18, 2008 – Obama Power Bling

    Day By Day 111808

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    Symbolism over substance – like Obama’s meeting with John McCain yesterday. Will womanizer/adulterer John Edwards be next?

    No, allowing Hillary and Bill to do the heavy lifting and become de facto Co-Presidents. Then, “The One” can shift the blame if his Democrat dominated federal government screws up.

    Previous:

    The Day By Day Archive


    Technorati Tags: , ,

  • Del.icio.us Links

    links for 2008-11-18

    • Many gay-rights activists are wary of the current Supreme Court, but five of the justices who formed the majority in Romer vs. Evans remain on the bench. As with so many cases, a ruling likely would hinge on the views of Kennedy, and there is no reason to believe that his judicial opinion has changed in any fundamental way. Besides, any constitutional challenge will take years to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. By that time, the broader political change that swept over the nation Nov. 4 may have reached the Supreme Court as well.

      But even if it hasn't, this 12-year-old precedent from a conservative high court could be the key to reaffirming that fundamental civil rights must be available to all citizens, regardless of race, sexual orientation or other intrinsic human qualities.
      +++++++
      Then, the federal constitution will be amended. 30 states have already signed onto a ban. Need just a few more.
      And….the two issues as presented here are quite different

      (tags: gaymarriage)
    • Now David Frum, a prominent conservative writer who enmeshed himself in a minor dustup during the campaign by turning negative on Governor Palin, is leaving, too. In an interview, he said he planned to leave the magazine, where he writes a popular blog, to strike out on his own on the Web.

      “The answers to the Republican dilemma are not obvious and we need a vibrant discussion,” he said. “I think a little more distance can help everybody do a better job of keeping their temper.”
      ++++++
      Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, Frum.

    • Had the protesters organized a march and sought the proper permits, Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LAPD chief William Bratton, the city council, the police commission, indeed the entire municipal apparatus, nearly all of whose members are left-leaning and sympathetic to the same-sex marriage cause, would have moved heaven and earth to accommodate them, bringing large sections of the city to a halt if necessary, just as they have done to facilitate large-scale marches on behalf of another politically favored group, illegal aliens.
      (tags: gaymarriage)
    • PROPOSED INTERVENOR CAMPAIGN FOR CALIFORNIA
      FAMILIES’ PRELIMINARY OPPOSITION TO PETITION FOR
      EXTRAORDINARY RELIEF
      (tags: gaymarriage)
    • San Francisco, CA – Today Liberty Counsel filed its preliminary opposition summarizing its position regarding why the California Supreme Court should not consider petitions seeking to overturn the California Marriage Protection Act (Proposition 8). The Court has asked each party to provide these today. Liberty Counsel previously filed a motion to intervene on behalf of Campaign for California Families, and Liberty Counsel is submitting its preliminary opposition proposed by interveners.
      For the second time in eight years, more than 50 percent of California voters have confirmed that what has been true for thousands of years still remains true today: Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. And, for the second time in eight years, same-sex marriage advocates are seeking to thwart the will of the people by asking the California Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8.
      Liberty Counsel argues that the Court should dismiss the petitions, because Proposition 8 is an amendment
      (tags: gaymarriage)
    • You've gone to the dentist for some needed oral maintenance. But after the drill's whirrrrr has quieted and you're out the door, the anesthetic lingers on in your unfeeling cotton mouth.

      Talking is very difficult while the mouth is anesthetized. Safety is also a concern —- without the warning sense of pain, some patients are prone to bite their tongues.

      A new drug from Novalar, a Carmel Valley-based dental pharmaceutical company, solves this familiar problem. Called OraVerse, it's due to reach the market in October, coinciding with the American Dental Association's annual meeting in San Antonio.

      OraVerse speeds the time for recovering normal sensation by more than 80 minutes, as measured in human clinical trials, reducing the recovery time by about half. The drug was approved for sale in the United States in May.
      ++++++++
      Routinely used – probably not…..

      (tags: dentistry)
    • Let's see if I got this straight: Hundreds of supporters of gay marriage, opponents of California Proposition 8, have picketed a Mexican restaurant in L.A. and shouted vulgarities at innocent customers just because one employee – a daughter of the owner – gave a modest $100 donation in support of the measure protecting traditional marriage. Opponents of Proposition 8 have threatened and harassed several other businesses – including a radio station, a theatre, and a chain of health food stores – because employees gave money in support of Prop 8. Opponents of Prop 8 have knocked a cross from the hands of an elderly woman and stomped on it during a demonstration in Palm Springs. Suspicious white powder has been sent in an envelope to a Mormon temple in Westwood. (Mormons were big supporters of Prop 8.)
      +++++++
      And, the Yes on 8 folks won an election.
      (tags: gaymarriage)
    • Everybody, all together now: "All statements from Barack Obama come with an expiration date. All of them."
      +++++++
      Bet so…..
      (tags: barack_obama)
    • The official proponents of Proposition 8 and the campaign committee responsible for its enactment by voters today urged the California Supreme Court to accept original jurisdiction of three cases challenging the measure's validity and have petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene in the cases as Real Parties in Interest. Expressing confidence that the Supreme Court will uphold the validity of Proposition 8, the authors of the measure urged the Supreme Court to deny requests to stay implementation of Proposition 8 pending resolution of the legal issues.
      (tags: gaymarriage)
    • 1. The Republican Party suffered a death blow.
      2. A wave of black voters and young people was the key to Obama's victory.
      3. Now that they control the White House and Congress, Democrats will usher in a new progressive era.
      4. A Republican candidate could have won the presidency this year.
      5. McCain made a huge mistake in picking Sarah Palin.
    • You may remember the document widely circulated during the weeks leading up to November 4th entitled, “The Six Consequences if Proposition 8 Fails”. It was used by Prop 8 supporters to remind voters that changing the definition of marriage would have far-reaching consequences. It wasn’t a simple vote about giving a group equal rights. Well, look where we are now! Twelve days after the election (Can you believe it’s only been twelve days?) and even though Proposition 8 passed, it feels like we’re in worse shape than before. Let’s review “The Six Consequences” in light of recent events:
      +++++++
      And Proposition 8 passed!
      (tags: gaymarriage)
    • An unreleased, experimental track by The Beatles could be made public 41 years after it was recorded at Abbey Road studios, ex-member Paul McCartney has said.

      McCartney, one of two surviving members of arguably the most successful pop band in history, told BBC Radio that "Carnival of Light" was The Beatles at their most free, "going off piste."

      "I said it would be great to put this on because it would show we were working with really avant-garde stuff," McCartney told Radio 4's Front Row culture show in an interview to be broadcast on Thursday.

    • That’s what happens when a depression begins on your watch and when you can’t offer a coherent explanation of how and why it occurred and what you are going to do differently. That’s what happens when instead of having such an explanation, you spend decades in quarrels between pragmatic but unimaginative moderates who seek to be better tax collectors for the liberal welfare state, and principled but fanciful conservatives who hope for a wholesale rejection of that welfare state. And the fact that there were many successful Republican governors in those years didn’t much change the party’s status nationally.
      ++++++
      The GOP needs to find a coherent economic message and deliver it quickly
    • "It used to be that a handful of editors could decide what was news-and what was not. They acted as sort of demigods. If they ran a story, it became news. If they ignored an event, it never happened. Today editors are losing this power. The Internet, for example, provides access to thousands of new sources that cover things an editor might ignore. And if you aren't satisfied with that, you can start up your own blog and cover and comment on the news yourself. Journalists like to think of themselves as watchdogs, but they haven't always responded well when the public calls them to account."
    • The speakers and panels are of course the principal attraction. Moderated by NR regulars such as K-Lo and John Miller, who asked good questions and got out of the way, the panels were outstanding. One of the best was the final panel on assessing the Bush administration, featuring John O'Sullivan, Bill McGurn, Shannen Coffin, Senator Thompson, Pat Toomey, Mona Charen, Ed Whelan, and Deroy Murdock. As you might expect, the assessment was mixed.
      +++++++
    • Now the onetime front-runner for the Republican nomination is schmoozing influential party insiders on the National Review's annual cruise — a gathering of 700 conservative activists and the same forum where Palin wowed the movement's media elite last year, beginning her meteoric rise from obscure governor to vice presidential nominee.

      But even as Romney publicly declares he has no intentions to run again, several former aides said they believe he will, and this week's get-together with leading conservatives is only the latest sign the man who spent more than $50 million of his own money to vie for the party's nomination last year is itching to do it again.
      +++++++
      California Governor in 2010 first? Or the US Senate?

      (tags: mittromney)
    • Obama's days of walking on water won't last indefinitely. His chroniclers will need a new story line. And sometime after Jan. 20, they will wade back into reality.
      ++++++++
      And, the harder the fall when the media realizes he is not the second coming.