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Steve King and Rod Blagojevich face off in the Something Deeply Wrong With That Guy Cage Match!

About the SOTU, did Bush announce he was just not going to do it and I missed the coverage of this? WTF? He totally should have had to stand up there and face the music. Did he blithely explain that he was going to fulfill the constitutional SOTU requirement by making the next guy do it or what? What did he say?

Politico reports: "Asked how he could reconcile a strict ban on lobbyists in his administration with a deputy defense secretary nominee [William J. Lynn III] who lobbied for Raytheon, Obama interrupted with a knowing smile on his face."

Well, did Lynn just "lobby" as a verb in the course of other actions (such that almost any key employee "lobbies" for his company etc. when talking to the Government) or was he a "Lobbyist" capital L as a career? It seems it should be relevant and to what Obama meant by his promise. I do want him to keep it, but realize that never having even engaged in the other L word as an "activity" is hard to come by.

Still, hope and change over fear and greed ...

Bush "burrowers" are going to be a problem for years.
Burrowcrats! Yet "Bushocrats" is more directly descriptive ...

The blurb on Rep. King has the following comment that is priceless:

"I can deal with terrorists getting asylum. This is a free country, and like Rep. King, believe that judges will do what they do. But the children of terrorists getting medical care? That is too horrible to contemplate."

ROTFL, indeed.

Did he blithely explain that he was going to fulfill the constitutional SOTU requirement by making the next guy do it or what? What did he say?

"Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union..."

Bush did do that from time to time. It doesn't have to be in January. Obama can do a state of the union speech whenever he wants, too.

********

I've been to the crown of the Statue of Liberty. It's a good experience. My question is when will they open the torch part up again?

I (hope) might be wrong, but aside from the threat of a Geithner delay, Republicans have held up only minority and women candidates.

Old Dogs Old Tricks.

I think Bush Burrowers could provide a public service be being relegated to the most demeaning tasks possible while serving as the court jester (much like Dwight of The Office) for their respective departments. That could provide additional entertainment value to those actually contributing toward's department goals.

Is Obama listening on "Get Afghanistan Right"? His comments during the campaign indicate he most definitely was NOT listening to such ideas, from people like Juan Cole on down, and probably still isn't listening right now.

Okay, so Haik provided the constitutional wording, which was less specific than I'd thought it was (I'd wrongly remembered it referring to an annual or at least once per year sharing of information), but didn't answer my question about the announcement.

Required or not, the recent custom has been for presidents, including outgoing ones, to give a SOTU in January. Did Bush ever say why he wasn't going to? Did any of the media bother to ask?

I (hope) might be wrong

I think they're making noise about Daschle, too.

Just wanted to let any bloggers out there know that I'm hosting the Carnival of the Liberals bi-weekly carnival at my place on the 28th, so send in your submissions (and bribes) by the 26th:
Carnival of the Liberals Submission Request: Inaugural Edition

There must be something wrong with me but I fail to see a real distinction between killing 20 or so al Qaeda members via a drone in Pakistan versus say shooting 20 al Qaeda Guantanamo prisoners.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against killing enemies, but ever since WW II we somehow assume killing enemies from afar is more justifiable than killing enemies up close.

Perhaps I need to read up on international laws.

I'm no expert rbf99, but once you have "custody" of potential or real enemies they are by long tradition in your "care" to some extent. It's alsokind of like sportsmanlike hunting versus shooting fish in a barrel.

Ah, very interesting. Following Blago's train wreck of a press conference this afternoon, Ed Genson is withdrawing as Blago's criminal counsel. I really like these bits:

"I have practiced law for 44 years. I never require a client to do what I say, but I do require clients to listen to what I say," Genson told reporters. "I intend to withdraw as counsel in this case."

and

"His action, what he's doing, isn't controlled by me," Genson said. "I'm not privy to it. I should be, but I'm not."

Translation: Y'all are right. The governor's batshit crazy.

How is it possible that republicans can block a nominee just because they don't support or side with republicans on a specific policy.

If your for what we are against then we will not approve your nomination???

King is really insane. When did they take his sign away...you know the one that says "the world ends tomorrow" we are doomed. These guys are so desperate to spread fear that they are actually praying for a terrorist attack. No one is safe if a terrorist is walking around somewhere...they have superhuman powers...one of them can destroy a nation of millions...we're doomed.

Dept of Justice will need to be de-Bushified, but we're off to a good start once we get buy the Bush supporters in the senate.

btw...I want Bush in prison for life for the death and destruction he brought on the earth...Cheney and the rest of his administration included. They deserve hell and misery for their crimes. To be haunted by the dead and disabled for life and forced to watch Friedman suck on a red hot poker along with the enabling press and other media darlings who covered their lies with more lies. They wrecked all that America valued.
Closure will only come after accountability and consequences have been established, else the 'move forward' will be dragging the shameful weight of the recent burdens of the past on our backs. Too much has happened to just let it pass. The entire world demands justice...after which we will 'know' it won't likely happen again.

bjobotts:

high five!

There must be something wrong with me but I fail to see a real distinction between killing 20 or so al Qaeda members via a drone in Pakistan versus say shooting 20 al Qaeda Guantanamo prisoners.

You can argue battlefield vs. not battlefield, plus there's the fact that shooting at them with a missile is not the same thing as marching them out of their cells, lining them up against the wall, and shooting them.

Not to mention the little detail that killing prisoners is a war crime.

I don't know what reporter Martin was thinking. Obama was making a simple argument: if you allow me to drop in and talk to "you guys" without having to feel like I'm Britney Spears, I might do this again...but dudes, I can avoid your ugly ass, unlike Ms. Spears!

Mr. Martin: you have no power in this situation, and trying to exert it will only diminish it. But good try!

Should have sent this a while ago.

Which version (below) is true? It doesn't matter - the advice does.
It's time to pick up the pieces, and we need all hands on deck.

VERSION 1
"...the Deep Throat retrospective season would not be complete without a mention of the finest
of the many fine examples of leadership that Ben Bradlee has given at The Post over the years.
Many of us have probably begun to forget some of the details of the scandal, which broke while I was overseas for The Post. But I still remember Bradlee's first orders to the news staff as the big Watergate heads started to roll.
"Don't gloat," this brilliant editor instantly ordered. "Do not gloat." And so not even my mother - whom I happened to be visiting and who happened to be weeping at the news - ever saw a smile cross my face on Aug. 9,1974, the day that Nixon quit..."

VERSION 2
"...In their letters of resignation, Haldeman and Ehrlichman promise to cooperate with the Justice Department investigation of Watergate. [Washington Post, 5/1/1973]
Reaction at the Washington Post - Knight Newspapers reporter James McCartney later writes an article for the Columbia Journalism Review on the Post's Watergate coverage, which describes the reaction in the Post offices to the news: "For a split second [executive editor] Ben Bradlee's mouth dropped open with an expression of sheer delight.… 'How do you like them apples?' he said to the grinning Simons [managing editor Howard Simons]. 'Not a bad start.'" As reporters and employees begin gathering around, Simons murmurs: "Don't gloat. We can't afford to gloat." [Bernstein and Woodward, 1974, pp. 310]

Deep question

Excepting Kucinich, would any of the other presidential contenders have ended torture so quickly, and with such moral suasion?

Forbes magazine has a list of the so-called 25 most influential liberals in the media.

Steve Benen is not on the list, so obviously that list is wrong. Take a look at it, there are some seriously questionable people on that list.

but then again, from a conservative magazine's perspective everybody to the left of an arch conservative is automatically a liberal. That's they only way to understand 'liberal bias' in the media.

Kevin Costner, for me, played an excellent roll in “Dances with Wolves�. Actually much of my blogging is modeled after Costner’s narrative style. For sure I have a lot of work to do to develop that talent, that type of writing is most excellent.

The movie delivers a powerful electrifying story of America’s cultural systems working with the Cowboy Western coupled with the then “Big Government�. Our military Calvary that wacked the hell out of than, Wild Indian Terror in the Wild West. So one can argue American’s have a huge history of dealing in terrorist problems way before Al Qaeda. The legacy of Bush can definitely redeem such atrocities, inconstancies and moneyed corruption.

For those who saw the movie know what I am talking about, and also likely what Governor Blagojevich was trying to describe, though crude, in making his personal analogy on Hate Radio this last Friday on the Don and Roma show. Then again on the Hannity Hour, this leads me to believe that a new FCC chairman must in there offering equal time or the fair play in radio time. For me, Don and Roma should have been dumped years ago for if anything the corruption in Illinois was here way before Blagojevich along with them. Anyway Don and Roma have been in Chicago far too long, for me I am sick of their show.

Surprise Fox news actually said some thing supportive about Blago. But Hannity with all the confusing intensity he has now is trying to describe the wrong move in closing Gitmo, mixing the so called crazy actions of Blago with Gitmo stuff. So is Joe in the morning Scarbough defending Gitmo yet know full well on MSNBC sports analysis convincingly shows America that simple rant about Victory for anything “can not� be obtained with "OUT" honor. The Gitmo era is loaded with no honor there fore no Victory. No wonder they are both spitefully and furiously angry to be wrong.

But, in his ruff way, Blago can see something the average citizen cannot and this is the reason why, for me, it will be interesting to observe an open public impeachment political wrestling trial on sensationalized cable. Please understand I have no political connection no big money or am not anything like a lobbyist I am just an ordinary citizen that has a deep interest in understanding the workings of Government. We the people government.

Because I am tired of this Republican rhetoric about big government is wrong. “We the people are the Government� and the more we the understand how the government works in a big way We the people may just understand how to be a Real Conservatives, not Hannity Hate types, but those that want real honest government built for citizens, especially the poor to save money and understand who is profiteering the America tax dollar. Then address them appropriately.

Go get em Blago

The complaint about Republicans not passing teh first 300bill sooner is off the mark.

The key criticism is that they should have passed it earlier, but the key problem was the fact that there were no safeguards to insure that the 300billion was used to melt liquidity in the market. The banks used it for mergers to stifle competition. I opposed the bill then and I was right. That the GOP didn't pass it for the wrong reasons (it costs too much) was helpful at the time except that all Harry Reid did was load it with pork to persuade enough Republicans to vote for the new crummier bill the second time.

The best you could say is that we would have proven the first corporate giveaway was a total loss earlier. The fact that the condemnation glosses over this far more important point and lets Reid off the hook is lamentable.