Open Thread for New Year's Night

This really was a pretty slow news day on the political front. But, it's going to start getting really busy over the next couple days. Really busy.

And, while I understand a lot of people were watching football today, I went to see "Slumdog Millionaire." Loved it. Very intense, but just loved it.

Just watched the "Dog Whisperer" marathon on National Geographic TV, too. I first learned about him in the way I learn about so many on things: From a South Park episode. Cesar was brought in to attempt to control Cartman:



Chris is away so we'll keep this thread going over night. I'll pick it up again in the morning. Read More......

Claiborne Pell, the Senator who helped a lot of students get through college, died today

Claiborne Pell's grants helped me get through college. Back when I started college (in the pre-Ronald Reagan days and before college costs really exploded), those grants made a bigger dent. Unfortunately, that's not so true now. A lot of us owe a big thanks to Senator Pell:

Claiborne Pell, 90, a six-term Rhode Island Democrat who rose to be chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, died Jan. 1 at his Newport, R.I. home. He had Parkinson's disease since 1994.

A Yankee Brahmin and former Foreign Service officer who was virtually unbeatable at the polls in a largely Catholic, blue-collar state, he was best known for his sponsorship of the 1972 program that has helped 54 million low-income and moderate-income students attend college. He also sponsored the legislation that founded the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities.

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Forty-four right whales spotted off the coast of Maine. Only 325 survive.

I love nature stories. I can watch endless hours of animal shows, especially about whales and bears. So, this article in the Portland Press Herald caught my attention. It shows some hope for the survival of the endangered right whale:

Federal researchers announced Wednesday that an unusually large number of right whales have gathered in recent weeks off the Maine coast in what appears to be a wintering ground, and potentially a breeding ground, for the endangered species. The discovery is expected to enhance efforts to save and restore the population, which now stands at an estimated 325 animals.

Forty-four right whales were seen Dec. 3 in the Jordan Basin area, which lies about 70 miles south of Bar Harbor and 100 miles east of Portland, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Forty-one whales were spotted just west of Jordan Basin on Dec. 14, it said. Bad weather has prevented more recent flights to the area, according to the agency.

For years, NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center has used small planes to monitor and track migrating right whales along the East Coast, but this congregation had not been seen before.

"We're excited because seeing 44 right whales together in the Gulf of Maine is a record for the winter months," said Tim Cole, who heads the aerial survey team, in the agency's written announcement. It's more common to see three or five whales at a time, he said.

These 44 whales comprise about 14% of the existing right whale population. Let's hope they're feeding and breeding well. Read More......

Obama, Pelosi will meet Monday to plot strategy for the stimulus

It's starting to become real. Congress is back in session next week. Obama is moving to D.C. over the weekend.

Today's Washington Post reports that the President-elect and the Speaker will be meeting on Monday to plan the strategy for passing the stimulus package:

Sources said Obama and Pelosi will discuss the scope and timing of the economic recovery package, which Obama has said will be his first priority upon being sworn into office. Pelosi has said her goal is to have the legislation on the new president's desk and ready to be signed on Jan. 20.

But that schedule appears increasingly likely to slip, as Republicans and conservative Democrats are raising concerns about the impact on the federal deficit of spending hundreds of billions on an array of projects with little vetting by Congress. Lawmakers now expect a spending package of between $675 billion and $775 billion.

And a top congressional aide said yesterday that Democratic leaders in the House are still waiting for a detailed proposal to be delivered by Obama's economic advisers before lawmakers can begin the process of turning it into legislation.

Ever so slowly, trouble is brewing. The Republican leaders in Congress, who aren't on the post-partisan bandwagon, would love to slow this thing down and cause problems for Obama right from the start. The leadership of the GOP is not concerned about the state of the nation's economy. After all, this mess festered under their "leadership" and based on their philosophy. Watch what the GOP does. They're masters at obstruction and distraction. And, it's all a game to them.

The biggest problem will, of course, be in the Senate. Mitch McConnell has already started making noises about obstructing the stimulus. And, the Democrats will probably be short a few members when the action begins:

Even if the House votes before Obama's inauguration, passage in the Senate is likely to be more contentious and take longer than in the other chamber. With an ongoing recount in Minnesota's Senate race and the process for replacing Obama in the chamber still uncertain, Democrats can be assured of holding only 57 seats during January, three votes shy of a veto-proof majority.

Okay, one quick note about this paragraph. I think the reporter means a filibuster-proof majority, not veto-proof. To break a filibuster, 60 votes are required. Overriding a veto requires two-thirds. But, either way, it begs the question of whether the GOP Senators are prepared to filibuster the economic stimulus package when the economy is on the brink of collapse.

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In Afghanistan, 2008 saw highest death toll for foreign soldiers

One major piece of unfinished business from George Bush is the war in Afghanistan. He had to invade Iraq instead of finishing the job. Now, he's leaving the deteriorating situation to his successor:

Foreign troops suffered their highest death toll in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2008, and with thousands more troops scheduled to be deployed, this year could be even worse.

Nearly 270 foreign soldiers, 127 of them Americans, were killed in combat in 2008, versus 169 foreign combat deaths in 2007, according to figures compiled by Reuters.

Hundreds more foreign soldiers were wounded in Taliban attacks last year, mostly involving roadside bomb blasts, which according to the U.S. ambassador, doubled to some 2,000 in 2008 from the previous year.

This is going to get worse before it gets better. And, it's not going to well for Afghan security forces either:

Taliban militants attacked police officers assigned to protect a senior district official in the southern province of Helmand on Wednesday, killing 20 of them, in one of the bloodiest attacks on the security forces in months, local officials reported on Thursday.

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Bush: I'm not done with you yet

January 20th can't come fast enough.

The idiot-in-chief issued a New Year's message to all of us:

"Earlier this year, I promised that I would sprint to the finish of my time as President," Bush said in the statement. "We are working hard to keep that promise. Despite the challenges we face, nothing encourages me more than the character of the American people, whose acts of courage and service sustain our free society and make this the greatest country on Earth."

Seriously, that's one promise he doesn't have to keep. His mantra for the next 19 days should be: Do no more harm. Read More......

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good morning and Happy New Year. I guess by now it's 2009 around the world.

19 days til Bush and Cheney are gone. The countdown is real. It's been a long, long eight years and I'm only beginning to accept the fact that their reign is going to be over.

Also, I do have one more New Years Resolution: I'm never going to read or link to the god-awful, painful, cartoonish website, The Page, which is written by the equally painful Mark Halperin. I do reserve the right to link to other sites that mock Halperin and The Page, especially any post from Jason Linkins at Huffington Post. He dissects Halperin better than anyone. (UPDATE @ 10:42 a.m.: Jed pretty much demolishes Halperin's sycophantic analysis of George Bush's presidency in a post over at DailyKos this morning.)

Let's get the new year started... Read More......

It's 2009 in DC

Happy New Year...if you're in my time zone or anywhere to the east, it's 2009.

In 20 days, George Bush and Dick Cheney will leave the White House. That will get 2009 off to a great start.

I couldn't find a good video of "Auld Lang Syne." The best one, with Aretha Franklin and Billy Preston, had the embed disabled. But, I did find Dan Fogelberg singing "Same Old Lang Syne":

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