Election Central Morning Roundup
Obama Holding Presser, Announcing Salazar And Vilsack For Cabinet
Barack Obama is holding a press conference in Chicago at 11:45 a.m. ET, at which he is expected to announce the appointments of Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) as Secretary of the Interior, and former Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA) as Secretary of Agriculture.
Today: Minnesota Sorts Through More Challenged Ballots
The Minnesota state canvassing board is meeting all day today for the Senate recount, as the five members sort through more ballots that were challenged by the Franken and Coleman campaigns during the manual recount. The board's judgments on these ballots will likely determine who is sitting as a U.S. Senator from Minnesota a month from now.
Minnesota Supremes Hearing Coleman Lawsuit To Stop Vote Count
Another important event today in Minnesota: The Minnesota Supreme Court is hearing arguments at 2 p.m. ET, for a lawsuit filed by the Coleman campaign to stop the review and counting of absentee ballots that were rejected because of clerical errors. These votes are expected to break for Al Franken if they are counted, due to pre-election polling that showed him solidly winning absentee votes overall.
Bush Administration Prepares Crisis Briefings To Help Obama
The Bush Administration has prepared special crisis briefings for the incoming Obama White House, a set of detailed memos for what to do in case of events like a terrorist attack or an outbreak of new hostilities in the Middle East. The contingency plans are an effort to fulfill one of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, of having a better transition process that lets a a new White House be well-prepared for problems that could arise early in the term
Becerra Turns Down Offer To Serve In Obama White House
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) has turned down an offer to serve in the Obama Administration as the U.S. trade representative. Becerra has a seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, earned through 16 years of seniority, and preferred to not give up the opportunities it presents.
D.C. (Just Barely) Revises Extended Bar Hours For Inauguration
The D.C. council has modified their recent legislation to allow bars to remain open for 24 hours a day in the run-up to Barack Obama's inauguration, a law that was designed to accommodate the rush of tourists and to stimulate the local economy. The original bill allowed bars to continue serving alcohol until 5 a.m., but that has now been rolled back to 4 a.m. -- a very slight concession to law-enforcement officials who oppose the idea entirely.
Obama Is Time's Person Of The Year
Barack Obama has been declared "Person Of The Year" by Time, an honor that is almost always given to a newly-elected president:
The real story of Obama's year is the steady march of seemingly impossible accomplishments: beating the Clinton machine, organizing previously marginal voters, harnessing the new technologies of democratic engagement, shattering fundraising records, turning previously red states blue -- and then waking up the day after his victory to reinvent the presidential-transition process in the face of a potentially dangerous vacuum of leadership.
Hey, who says you can't turn down the brand new President? I hear Harold Ford could even be up for the job. To say some would become enraged at the idea of that is an understatement.
December 17, 2008 9:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
No Harold Ford. Ever. He is the weakest, most ineffective, pandering "democratic" analyst on TV, worse than Alan Colmes. He's afraid of his own shawdow. What a wuss!
December 17, 2008 11:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
I guess that's the misunderstatement of the day...
* 4" of beautiful powdery snow this morning with another 7-14" expected tomorrow and Friday! Gotta love those Wisconsin winters :-) *
December 17, 2008 9:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
All our cold weather from yesterday is being pushed out by a warm front. That's Texas - it was 75 on Sunday and we had a high of 41 yesterday and by Friday it's supposed to be 80 and the by Sunday, back down to the 20s.
I'd give anything if it would just get cold and act like winter until winter is over.
I hate Christmas shopping in tee shirts and flip flops!
And I love President Awesome! :)
December 17, 2008 9:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
All our cold weather from yesterday is being pushed out by a warm front. That's Texas - it was 75 on Sunday and we had a high of 41 yesterday and by Friday it's supposed to be 80 and the by Sunday, back down to the 20s.
I'd give anything if it would just get cold and act like winter until winter is over.
I hate Christmas shopping in tee shirts and flip flops!
And I love President Awesome! :)
December 17, 2008 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Eric - I only hit submit once, then walked away to let it load. Didn't touch the computer again and it double posted.
I did not do that.
December 17, 2008 9:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Eric - I only hit submit once, then walked away to let it load. Didn't touch the computer again and it double posted.
I did not do that.
December 17, 2008 9:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
LMAO, what about this one?
December 17, 2008 10:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
I miss the WI snow. Of course, I never owned a car... :)
December 17, 2008 9:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
I miss WI winters (well, mostly) but now I am a transplant to Chicago so we still get the snow but it is so friggin flat here that there really isn't all that much to do for fun in it and all it does is make our already miserable traffic a nightmare.
*sigh*
December 17, 2008 11:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
The Holder battle is really gearing up. The GOP has designs at sullying him enough so he loses his moral authority to be able to come after them once he is eventually confirmed. They'll be able to frame everything as "Political payback" and "partisan politics".
Hopefully Obama has somebody else in mind.
December 17, 2008 9:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jonzey, quit worrying about the damn Repugs. They are the minority - who cares?
December 17, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
I understand that, but the Dems and Republicans don't seem to "know their roles" yet. Also I'm concerned that Obama's post-partisan/let's all work together pledge will be used against him by the GOP every time they don't like something.
Maybe Obama is just playing possum right now...
December 17, 2008 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jonzey, quit worrying about the damn Repugs. They are the minority - who cares?
December 17, 2008 9:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
...are you gonna be doing this all day?
December 17, 2008 10:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
What happened to the baseball avatars?
December 17, 2008 11:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm trying on new ones...seeing what fits...
December 17, 2008 1:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
(1) I've never understood asking to not count votes. Didn't understand it in 2000, don't understand it now. Except to understand that it always seems to be the Repubs who don't want to count votes.
(2) The BUSH administration is preparing crisis memos?????!!!!! After 9/11, Katrina/Rita, Ike, et. al.? You've got to be kidding me!
December 17, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Me neither.
I makes no sense. I said this the other day but it seems to me that it would be far better to let a few votes through that maybe weren't eligible than to keep out hundreds if not thousands of eligible votes.
I thought the point in a democracy was to let as many vote as possible.
December 17, 2008 9:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
The Bush Administration has prepared special crisis briefings for the incoming Obama White House, a set of detailed memos for what to do in case of events like a terrorist attack or an outbreak of new hostilities in the Middle East.
Who needs a briefing on how the president should react to a terrorist attack? Just keep reading the book to the kids, then get on the plane and spend the next 12 - 16 hours fleeing from one undisclosed location to another.
December 17, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Then, round up a bunch of people from the Middle East, send them to Gitmo, torture them, spy on Americans without a warrant and tell everyone it's what we have to do to keep our country safe.
December 17, 2008 10:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, I am double posting every time and Eric - are you there? I'm not doing it - comments is doing it all on its own.
I only hit submit one time every time. I don't reload, I don't touch the computer again and it's posting double regardless.
December 17, 2008 9:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, I am double posting every time and Eric - are you there? I'm not doing it - comments is doing it all on its own.
I only hit submit one time every time. I don't reload, I don't touch the computer again and it's posting double regardless.
December 17, 2008 9:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Double the pleasure, double the fun. . .
:-)
December 17, 2008 9:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's driving me crazy.
Comments has not been broken for weeks. It started slowing down yesterday and hanging again and now this.
I may get off -
December 17, 2008 9:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's driving me crazy.
Comments has not been broken for weeks. It started slowing down yesterday and hanging again and now this.
I may get off -
December 17, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, I gotta big laugh out of your posts. Very funny. I know its frustrating, but it was really funny. Thanks.
December 17, 2008 10:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
There's a friggin echo in here!!
ECHOOOOOOO!
December 17, 2008 9:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, Tena, we believe you. That reporter in Iraq only threw one shoe, too. Eric can explain the other one or we can blame it on the mythical "Comments" whoever he or she might be.
December 17, 2008 10:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
My friend Jonze just isn't Jonze unless he is worrying.
Before Obama nominated Holder he made sure he had the votes, he had his team go to Capitol Hill and when he found out he had more than enough votes he nominated him.
December 17, 2008 10:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Testing
December 17, 2008 10:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
"President Elect Obama, I believe you will find as I did that My Pet Goat is very calmifying readering during times of crisis. Its positive effecteness served me well after the horrriblness of flying above New Orioles following Johnny "Big Loser" McCain's birthday party during that Katrina thing."
GWB
December 17, 2008 10:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
Has Obama done his homework on this guy???
"Vilsack has said the state could have a bright future in developing genetically engineered crops for the pharmaceutical industry."
SOURCE: Associated Press, by Mike Glover edited and sent by Agnet, Canada DATE: Oct 24, 2002 ------------------ archive: http://www.gene.ch/genet.html ------------------
December 17, 2008 12:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
A Choice Only Republicans Can Love
Senator Ken Salazar, who is reportedly President-Elect Obama's choice for Secretary of Interior, is a choice that Republicans can celebrate. As a western Rancher with a ZERO Humane Animal Scorecard from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and apparently with support from the oil and gas industry, he would have fit nicely within the current Bush Administration or that of Reagan's James Watt-led Interior Department.
As a man who supported Lieberman's bid for remaining Chair of the Homeland Security Committee and introduced Alberto Gonzalez to Congress, he has shown he will be able to represent the Republican viewpoint in Obama's Cabinet.
BLOODY HALL OF SHAME: ZERO HUMANE SCORECARDS
109th Senatorial Democrats Congressional Final Scores
Only 4 Democrats
Only four Democratic Senators have earned a zero on the HSUS Humane Scorecard, and among this ignominious count was a vote to torture and put downed animals in your food supply, and a separate vote to slaughter equines (which are flight animals) in slaughterhouses designed for short necked, docile bovines (cows). Senator Ken Salazar distinguishes himself by being among this sad group.
Senator Salazar (Rancher) Colorado
Senator Bingaman New Mexico
Senator Lincoln Arkansas
Senator Rockefeller West Virginia
(Bingamen is Chair of the committee that is blocking the Anti-Horse Slaughter bill)
Democrat vs Republican Scorecards: MIRROR IMAGES
Humane Society * Scores of 100 Scores of Zero (0)
Democrats Senate 18 4
Republicans Senate 4 15
Democrats House 64 7
Republicans House 8 30
December 17, 2008 12:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.gene.ch/genet/2002/Oct/msg00057.html
December 17, 2008 2:22 PM | Reply | Permalink