"The slobbering... this guy... Folks I'm telling you, he, if he keeps this up throughout the G20, Gordon Brown will come down with anal poisoning and may die from it."
Cardinal Francis George is urging Catholics "to call, to e-mail, to write letters" about the "extreme embarrassment" the University of Notre Dame has caused by inviting President Barack Obama to speak at its commencement next month.The Catholic Cardinals and Archbishops kissed George Bush's ass for eight years. They never held him accountable. Ever.
But George acknowledged, at a weekend conference on human dignity and infertility, that the South Bend university is "not going to disinvite the president ... no matter what you do."
I think it's great. There isn't any reason he shouldn't. The church should put more time into helping people and get over it. I'm just happy that Notre Dame isn't stopping him.I trust my mother's instincts on this more than any Catholic bishop. Read More......
According to sources inside the room, President Obama just played peacemaker in a spat between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China....No souls involved. Read More......
"China tends to have a problem endorsing the documents of organizations like the OECD that they're not a party to," the senior administration official said.
But Mr. Obama, according to this account, stepped between the two men, urging them to try to find consensus, and giving them a "pep talk" about the importance of working together.
The senior adminstration official said that Mr. Obama pulled Mr. Sarkozy aside, took him to a corner, "and discussed possible alternatives," the senior official said.
Once they arrived at one, President Obama "sent a message to the Chinese" that a counter-offer was on the table. The Chinese spent some time considering the offer. But they took a few minutes.
So Mr. Obama, with the assistance of translators, suggested that he and Mr. Hu have a conversation as well. They, too went to the corner to talk. After a few minutes, Mr. Obama called upon Mr. Sarkozy to join them.
"Translators and sherpas in tow, they reached an agreement," the official said. "There was a multiple shaking of hands."
The longer Coleman pushes out the legal fight over the 2008 election, the more he risks alienating Minnesota voters who have already begun to care less about the last race and are ready to move on with their lives.Read More......
All the way back in December, Survey USA conducted a poll in which 40 percent of the sample said that the candidate on the losing end of the recount (it hadn't been concluded at that point) should file a legal challenge to the results while 55 percent said the losing candidate should not challenge the results in court.
Since 2002, even before he was first elected governor that November, and continuing until he was arrested on Dec. 9, 2008, former Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and a circle of his closest aides and advisors allegedly engaged in a wide-ranging scheme to deprive the people of Illinois of honest government, according to a 19-count indictment returned today by a federal grand jury.Read More......
Blagojevich, 52, of Chicago, was charged with 16 felony counts, including racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion conspiracy, attempted extortion and making false statements to federal agents. He allegedly used his office in numerous matters involving state appointments, business, legislation and pension fund investments to seek or obtain such financial benefits as money, campaign contributions, and employment for himself and others, in exchange for official actions, including trying to leverage his authority to appoint a U.S. Senator, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
Also charged as co-defendants in the same indictment are:
John Harris, 47, of Chicago. Blagojevich’s chief of staff from late 2005 until last December after he was arrested along with Blagojevich. Through his attorney, Harris, who is charged with a single count of wire fraud, has authorized the Government to disclose that he has agreed to cooperate with the United States Attorney’s Office in the prosecution of this case;
Alonzo Monk, 50, of Park Ridge, Ill. A lobbyist doing business as AM3 Consulting, Ltd., and a long-time Blagojevich associate who served as his general counsel when Blagojevich represented Illinois’ Fifth Congressional District, and later managed his 2002 and 2006 gubernatorial campaigns, was his first gubernatorial chief of staff from 2003 through 2005, and later chairman of his campaign fund;
Robert Blagojevich, 53, of Nashville, Tenn. Blagojevich’s brother, who became chairman of his campaign fund in August 2008;
Christopher Kelly, 50, of Burr Ridge, Ill. A businessman and a principal campaign fundraiser who also served as chairman of Blagojevich’s campaign fund from early 2004 until August 2005. The indictment alleges that with Blagojevich’s knowledge and permission, Kelly at times exercised substantial influence over certain activities of the governor’s office; and
William F. Cellini, Sr., 74, of Springfield, Ill. A businessman who also raised significant funds for Blagojevich, in part through his role as the executive director of the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association. Cellini had longstanding relationships and influence with trustees and staff members of the Teachers Retirement System of Illinois (TRS), and he was associated with Commonwealth Realty Advisors, a real estate asset management firm that invested hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of TRS, the indictment alleges.
To put it nicely, Governor Sanford is being destroyed, annihilated, and figuratively tarred and feathered for his stance against taking stimulus money to help education.Today's editorial in The State is titled "The state of South Carolina vs. Gov. Mark Sanford: A chorus of opposition":
I don't think that I have ever seen an editorial page take such as vocal position. Other than one letter to the editor and a some comments, Sanford has absolutely NO support.
And as well he shouldn't. He was elected to be the guardian of the citizens of South Carolina. And how can you be a guardian if you choose your political future over the needs of those you are elected to serve.
THAT FAVORITE conservative punching bag, The New York Times, handed Gov. Mark Sanford a fabulous gift Monday when it chastised him for refusing to request $700 million in federal stimulus funding that our state so clearly needs. That let the governor frame this as his battle against “the left-leaning media.” But that ignores the near-unanimity of media opinion here in South Carolina — from the conservative Upstate to the hometown paper that has been Mr. Sanford’s most consistent supporter.The Governor is at war with his constituents just to score cheap political points with the hard-core GOP nuts who will pick the party's presidential nominee in 2012. The people of South Carolina are onto Sanford.
The Aiken Standard begged the governor to request the funds. The Rock Hill Herald’s opinion editor, James Werrell, wrote that “anyone who would consider turning down federal help in getting this state back on its feet should be tarred and feathered.” The Anderson Independent-Mail argued that “Not accepting the money does nothing for South Carolina except perhaps enhance the governor’s image as the conservative’s conservative in the national arena with regard to fiscal matters.”
And on and on across the state, editorial pages echo most of the state’s Republican officeholders and the public (in the past week, our letters to the editor have been running 4-to-1 against the governor’s position).
According to the American Bankers Association, which represents most large U.S. banks and credit card companies, the percentage of consumer loans at least 30 days late rose to a seasonally-adjusted 3.22 percent in the October-to-December period from 2.9 percent in the prior quarter.The good news is that in early trading on Thursday, the markets have ignored the bad news. Read More......
The ABA said the fourth-quarter rate was the highest since it began tracking the data in 1974, with delinquencies rising in nearly every category. It said these credit trends are unlikely to improve before 2010. Many consider the deep recession the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
"Job losses have really hurt the economy and will continue to inflict pain for several months," James Chessen, the ABA's chief economist, said in an interview. "The greater the losses are, the more severe an impact it has on all credit markets."
After careful review, I have concluded that certain information should have been provided to the defense for use at trial. In light of this conclusion, and in consideration of the totality of the circumstances of this particular case, I have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial.As soon as I saw that quote yesterday, it sure sounded to me like Holder was saying "Stevens is old, he's already paid a price at the ballot box, it's time to let him sail into the sunset even though he still may be guilty." I don't think for a minute that Holder said Stevens was exonerated. He was being nice by letting Stevens off the hook and not saying explicitly that he still thinks the man may be guilty.
“As far as Rush, Rush has got ideas. He’s got following. He believes in the conservative principles that many of us believe in –- of lower taxes, of making sure that we turn back towards a focus on entrepreneurialism in this country, to promoting innovation and not stamping that out by over-reacting, if you will, which this town often does, to crisis.”I know Joe posted on this earlier, and mentioned Limbaugh, but it didn't hit me until now, looking at the transcript, that Cantor, the minority whip, THE NUMBER TWO REPUBLICAN IN THE HOUSE, said he prefers Rush Limbaugh's solutions to the economic crisis over what the Democrats are offering because THE DEMS ARE TOO CONCERNED ABOUT THE ECONOMY. It's bad enough to suggest that the economic crisis isn't that important a problem, but in the same breath - the same sentence - to say that you prefer Rush Limbaugh's solutions? Are these guys nuts? After a month debating whether Limbaugh was the intellectual leader of the party, the number 2 Republican in the House confirms that Limbaugh is the guy inspiring their solutions to the economic crisis? Read More......
GOP Whip Eric Cantor thinks his party can retake the House in next year's midterm elections -- and accused Democrats of "overreacting" to the economic crisis by embarking on a federal spending spree.If Eric Cantor ever took one step outside of the Capitol Hill bubble, he'd know that people are suffering -- and want their government to act.
The Virginia Republican, speaking to reporters at the Christian Science Monitor breakfast Thursday morning, praised Rush Limbaugh for his "ideas" and for avoiding the Democratic error of "overreacting, as they often will, to crisis."
On the day we learned that jobless claims rose to their highest levels in 26 years, Eric Cantor's charge that anyone is 'overreacting' to this economic crisis typifies the Republican just say 'NO' approach. Whether it's because they are simply out of touch with the pain American families are feeling, or they understand but are choosing to play politics instead, the lack of urgency shown by the Republican party at this time of crisis is appalling.It is appalling.
Having Scott lead the charge against healthcare reform is like tapping Bernie Madoff to campaign against tighter securities regulation. You see, the for-profit hospital chain Scott helped found--the one he ran and built his entire reputation on--was discovered to be in the habit of defrauding the government out of hundreds of millions of dollars.Scott has made himself, with his own money, the leading spokesperson opposing health care reform. He wants things to stay the same. Today, Scott gets front page treatment from the New York Times. Seems even his supposed allies are worried about Scott taking a lead role:
Some former allies are more hostile toward Mr. Scott, painting him as counterproductive to their efforts for compromise.The leader of the health care reform campaign thinks Scott is actually the perfect spokesperson:
“I just don’t understand why he would be a messenger people would listen to,” said Charles N. Kahn III, who was a senior executive with the insurance industry group that ran the “Harry & Louise” advertisements credited with helping to kill the Clinton plan 15 years ago but who is working for a deal now. “I don’t think people are waiting to hear from him.”
Mr. Kahn, a Republican, is now the head of the Federation of American Hospitals, a private-hospitals group.
“He’s a great symbol from our point of view,” said Richard J. Kirsch, the national campaign manager for Health Care for America Now. “We cannot have a better first person to attack health care reform than someone who ran a company that ripped off the government of hundreds of millions of dollars.”Says it all. So when you see this guy, don't believe a word he says:
Read More......
The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose to its highest level in over 26 years last week and so-called continued claims jumped to a record high in March, according to data that underscored the labor market deterioration.Read More......
The Labor Department said on Thursday initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 669,000 in the week ended March 28, the highest since the week ending Oct. 2, 1982, from an upwardly revised 657,000 the week before.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 650,000 new claims versus a previously reported count of 652,000 the prior week.
Despite calls for unity from Mr. Obama and the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, the host of the Group of 20 meeting that will formally begin Thursday, a rift intensified over Anglo-American calls for greater fiscal stimulus spending and French and German demands for more intrusive global regulation of financial institutions.Read More......
While President Nicolas Sarkozy of France did not repeat an earlier threat to walk out of the conference — “I just got here,” he joked — he made it clear he would reject an agreement that puts off stringent new regulations on banks, tax havens, and hedge funds.
“The decisions need to be taken now, today and tomorrow,” he said. “This has nothing to do with ego. This has nothing to do with temper tantrums. When it comes to historic moments, you can’t circumvent them.”
A special government program to improve worker safety in hazardous industries rarely fulfilled its promise, a Labor Department audit concluded yesterday, and over the past six years, dozens of deaths occurred at firms that should have been subjected to much tighter federal safety enforcement.Read More......
The report was the first detailed appraisal of a highly touted Bush administration initiative that called for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to devote attention and resources to improving safety at companies with a troubled history of job-related fatalities. The study found that officials failed to gather needed data, conducted uneven inspections and enforcement, and sometimes failed to discern repeat fatalities because records misspelled the companies' names or failed to notice when two subsidiaries with the same owner were involved.
Last year, the administration also changed the program's rules, sharply reducing the number of companies eligible for special attention. Proper enforcement might have "deterred and abated workplace hazards at the worksites of 45 employers where 58 subsequent fatalities occurred," Assistant Inspector General Elliot P. Lewis wrote in the report.
In a case which will affect scores of claims brought by slump-hit millionaires, the appeal judges refused to cut an £11m divorce settlement agreed by financier Brian Myerson with his former wife, Ingrid. The judges described the financial crisis as a "natural price fluctuation" rather than a truly unforeseeable economic event that would justify a change in the terms of the divorce settlement.Read More......
"When a businessman takes a speculative position in compromising his wife's claims, why should the court subsequently relieve him of the consequences of his speculation by rewriting the bargain at his behest?" said Lord Justice Thorpe, one of the judges hearing Mr Myerson's appeal.
But the 50-year-old tycoon, who claims he is £500,000 worse off because the value of his assets had fallen, said he would now go back to court to try to use the original terms of the settlement to cancel further payments to his ex-wife.
The testimony by investigator Edward H. Seidle on Tuesday came as a Connecticut judge froze the funds of Madoff and several of his business associates as part of a lawsuit filed for members of a city's retirement fund who say they invested with companies linked to Madoff.Read More......
In his affidavit, Seidle said Madoff's associates -- specifically the so-called "feeder funds" that handled money for Fairfield, Connecticut's retirement plan -- should have known that he was cheating his clients.
"It is my opinion ... that [the funds and their principals] were all aware that Bernard L. Madoff was engaging in illegal conduct in connection with his purported money management operations and intentionally chose to participate and support Madoff's illegal conduct in order to reap enormous illicit financial benefits," he stated.
March sales fell sharply for General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler, but not as much as industry analysts had feared for any of the companies. Sales of Japanese automobiles also fell, though less steeply than they did for U.S.-based automakers.Read More......
In other automotive news Wednesday, GM's financing arm, GMAC, said it will resume making loans to subprime borrowers.
GM executives, echoing comments from other major automakers, said there were some signs that industry-wide auto sales were starting to stabilize after a brutal decline over the past year and a half.
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