Deccan Mujahideen claims responsibility

MUMBAI, India (AP) — A media report says a little-known group, the Deccan Mujahideen, has claimed responsibility for the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

The Press Trust of India news agency said Thursday the group sent emails to several media outlets.

Teams of heavily armed gunmen attacked a crowded train station in southern Mumbai and Leopold's restaurant, a well-known Mumbai landmark, along with the two hotels and a police station.

Officials say at least 78 people were killed and another 200 wounded. In addition, the attackers were holding hostages Thursday morning.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

MUMBAI, India (AP) — A top police official says gunmen are holding hostages at two luxury Mumbai hotels after opening fire on a crowded Mumbai train station, hotels and a restaurant popular with tourists.

A.N. Roy, a senior police officer in Mumbai, says the hostages are being held at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels.

Teams of heavily armed gunmen attacked a crowded train station in southern Mumbai and Leopold's restaurant, a well-known Mumbai landmark, along with the two hotels and a police station.

Washingtonienne Jessica Cutler Engaged

Remember Washingtonienne Jessica Cutler? She was the young oversharing blogger who got fired from Capitol Hill because she blogged up a storm about her after-work sexual exploits—much of it with older, well-known politicos, some of it paid. Sample blog excerpts: "W = a sugar daddy who wants nothing but anal. Keep trying to end it with him, but the money is too good." She got famous on Wonkette and outed. She turned the debacle into a respectable-selling novel, The Washingtonienne, posed for Playboy, went broke, and inked an HBO deal. Then there were a bunch of rumors that she was working as an escort—or at the very least, was buddies with a madam who provided girls to Eliot Spitzer. But love is to make an honest woman out of her—she's engaged now, reports Wonkette via Reliable Source, to a dude named Charles Rubio. He's a lawyer! Let's learn more about him.

Here he is! He's 28 and an associate at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in New York. It says here that Charlie got his JD in 2007 from NYU, and got his BBA and BS at the University of Texas. A nice Southern boy. Cutler, 30, told Reliable Source that they met "randomly in a bar."

Update from Jessica: We e-mailed Charles, but she responded:

"Charles is working and I'm about to go do my Thxgiving shopping, [but] I want to respond! We met in March of this year. We sort of did everything backwards: He asked me if I wanted to have kids with him before he proposed. After asking my Dad for his blessing, we went to Cartier and he bought me a Love bracelet instead of a ring (because I tend to lose things). On the way home from the store, he formally proposed in Grand Central about a month ago.

Most Important Election in Venezuela

On Nov. 23 in Venezuela will be the most important vote of its political history.

The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) wants, with the support of President Chavez, to introduce to Venezuela a neo-communist regime that is called "Socialism of the 21st Century." Opposition groups are united with the aim of fighting for a political system known as the Social Democracy.

This is the only opportunity open to Venezuela to introduce a multiparty political with the goal of seeking a balance of power in a country where supporters of President Chavez have all the powers (executive, legislative and judicial branches) and control in 20 States Country and in most municipalities.

With only one day for these important election. The national newspapers and TV are reporting on their political predictions.

The Venezuelan political system is fully automated and these elections are more complex than the previous ones, because everyone has to vote for five or seven choices at a time limit of three minutes.

Venezuelans are hoping that this activity is transparent and there is no fraud as in previous ballots. The Electoral Council has invited 170 people to observe this political process.

Then I will report forecasts for this important election.

Forecasts of journalists are very different. For example, the editor of Las Truths of Miguel believes that the ruling party would win six governorates safe and the opposition would win five governorates safe. Miguel believes that the governorates that could earn the government are: Vargas, Anzoategui, Apure, Cojedes, Falcon and Monagas and the governorates that could win the opposition are: Nueva Esparta, Zulia, Portuguesa, Sucre and Guarico. And immediately pointed out that in the remaining 11 governorates there is a technical tie.


The Journal Fifth Day 52 journalists from around the country have predicted the election this way:

In the CENTRAL REGION: Caracas, Miranda, Carabobo, Aragua and Guarico, the forecasts are:

CARACAS: The specialist's El Universal that the Mayor of Caracas may have a final "picture" between Antonio Ledezma and Aristobulo Isturiz. And the thought that in the Liberator municipality win Jorge Rodriguez to beat the opposition Stalin Gonzales.

The specialist of VEA Journal said that Aristobulo Isturiz and Jorge Rodriguez is the winner with 8 percent over their contenders from the opposition (Ledezma and Gonzalez).

The specialist for the newspaper El Nacional predicts: Aristobulo win in the Mayor and the municipality of Chacao the opposition win with Emilio Grateron and in the Libertador municipality win Jorge Rodriguez. In the municipality of Sucre there is a technical tie between Carlos Ocariz and Jesse Chacon.

MIRANDA: The El Universal believes that will win Governor Diosdado Cabello as though it has a high percentage of rejection he can win with a 36 percent. But Miguel said that there exists a technical tie. In contrast, the editor of the Journal Progress also says he believes that there is a technical tie. El Nacional said that the fighting is tough and may win Governor Diosdado Cabello of PSUV.

CARABOBO: In this state Henrique Salas Feo he has tops polls as Mario Silva (PSUV) does not have a high convening power and Acosta Carles want to repeat with his excellent publicity "we are together, so good ". The Daily Evening News said that polls taken for a winner Salas Feo, but Acosta Carles could win. The editor of La Costa believes that Salas Feo win and Mario Silva has a lot of rejection in Carabobo. Miguel also believes that Salas Feo win.

ARAGUA: The newspaper the Aragueno believes that there is a technical tie between Rafael Isea (PSUV) and Henry Rosales (which would be continuity of the Current Governor Didalco Bolivar). While it appears that ISEA is the first choice as candidate of the PSUV with 37 percent against 32 percent for Rosales. It's a very tough fight.

GUARICO: The editor of the newspaper Antenna thinks Lenny Mannuit should win and the loser would be William Lara (PSUV). It's a tough choice but Mannuit has many chances of winning said Miguel.

In the western region, comprising by states: Falcon, Lara, Cojedes, Barinas, Apure and Yaracuy, the forecasts are as follows:

FALCON: The candidate of the opposition Goyo Graterol has the potential to 5 percent on Stella Montilla. Miguel said that Stella's ruling coalition would win the governorship.
LARA: It seems that the candidate's PSUV Henry Falcon could win. Miguel says the same thing.

COJEDES: The choice is tough but the PSUV Teodoro Bolivar could win in front of Alberto Galindo. Miguel also believes that Bolivar will win.
BARINAS: it seems that Julio Cesar Reyes can win and Rafael Simon Jimenez may lose (unitary candidate of the opposition), but Adam Chavez's brother President Chavez will not win.

APURE: It is possible to win Jesus Aguilarte ( PSUV) and Miriam Montilla may lose. It's the same prognosis of Miguel.

YARACUY: seems to win Julio Leon Heredia (PSUV) and opposite Edward Capdevielle may lose.

In the Zulia Region: Gian Carlos Di Martino's PSUV lose in front of Pablo Perez that would be the Governor of Zulia.

In the Andean: consisting of the States Tachira, Trujillo and Merida forecasts are:

TACHIRA: Everything points to the possible candidacy of unitary Cesar Perez Vivas, although Leonaldo Salcedo appears to have the first option that is the candidate of the PSUV.

MERIDA: There is a technical tie between William Davila of the opposition and Marcos Diaz Oreland's PSUV, but Davila has a better chance.

TRUJILLO: A hard-fought contest between the PSUV Hugo Cabezas and Octaviano Mejias (Patriotic Alliance) and Enrique Catalan of the Opposition has no strength.

In EASTERN REGION: consisting of the States Anzoategui, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Bolivar, Delta Amacuro and Sucre, the forecasts are:

ANZOATEGUI: Tarek William Saab's PSUV, has a chance to repeat as governor, with 30 percent on Gustavo Marcano of the opposition.

MONAGAS: It is possible that the PSUV Jose Briceno is the new governor of that state. A front Moncho Fuentes.

NUEVA ESPARTA: Can repeat Morel Rodriguez the current governor of the opposition and William Farinas (PSUV) will lose.
BOLIVAR: A very confusing choice but Rangel Gomez is leading the polls in front of Andres Velasquez, who has sounded much.

SUCRE: it seems that won the independent Eduardo Morales Gil.

DELTA AMACURO: Pedro Santaella of PSUV will win.

ABSTRACT:

WELL THIS IS THE SUBJECT OF ELECTIONS. IN SUMMARY, according to those forecasts:

The governing would win with the official party PSUV (United Socialist Party of Venezuela):

Vargas, Yaracuy, Bolivar, Monagas, Anzoategui, Tachira, Caracas, Miranda, Falcon, Lara, Cojedes, Apure, Barinas, Delta Amacuro (14 states and Caracas)

The Opposition win: Trujillo, Merida, Carabobo, Guarico, Zulia, Sucre, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa (eight States), and losing in Caracas.

This is the start of searching for a better political balance in the country and to combat intolerance and unacceptable fact of political prisoners and waste the money of the people in political campaigning in the country and in other countries such as Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua.

Desiree Rogers named special assistant to the president

Hopefully this isn't another Monica in the making. At least if it is then she Desiree Rogers is better looking than Monica. So that at least would mean that he has higher standards.

Chicagoan Desiree Rogers is expected to be named special assistant to the president.

White House social secretary, sources said.

In her new job, Chicagoan Desiree Rogers would be in charge of social functions at the White House for Barack Obama. She would be the first black to hold that job.

Will Obama's plan pay off? Obama to name Geithner to economic post Richardson to be commerce secretary Read Lynn Sweet's blog Special section: 44 | Barack Obama

Rogers is currently president of social networking for Allstate Financial, a unit of the Northbrook-based insurance firm.

In her new job, Rogers would be in charge of social functions at the White House for Barack Obama.

She would be the first black to hold that job.

In her current position, Rogers is to build a social network to help Allstate's middle-income customers gain more insight into investing and saving for retirement. She started that job this summer.

Rogers, a longtime Obama supporter, previously had been the first female African-American president of Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas.

Obama Appoints Christina Romer to Chair Council of Economic Advisers

Another one for the cabinet. Looks like it is a good choice too, since Romer wrote for the Encyclopedia Britannica On the Great Depression. Of course times have change, but as the old saying goes, those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Hopefully she knows what not to do and can help us get out of the economic decline.

Christina Romer, of UC Berkeley, has been appointed to Chair President Elect Obama's Council of Economic Advisers. Romer wrote, if not the book, at least the chapter for Encyclopedia Britannica, The Great Depression. News of her appointment should make liberals and women who opposed the appointment of Lawrence Summers, who many predicted (including today's Wall Street Journal) would get this job, somewhat happy, though it looks like Summers will be named White House economic director.

Professor Romer and her husband David were both advisers to the Obama campaign and they hold two seats on the committee which decides when the U.S is officially in a recession.


The Romers are macroeconomists, who study the big picture in economics. They've also studied the way tax cuts affect the economy and government spending. A UC Berkeley article reported,

What they found about both issues surprised them. Tax cuts provide powerful short-run stimulus to the economy, but there is little evidence that tax cuts restrain government spending.

"It turns out," Christina explains, "that tax cuts have led, eventually, to tax increases. Basically, something has to give. What we thought gave when you cut taxes was spending, but we seem to find that in postwar U.S. history what actually gives is the tax cut itself. A substantial fraction of a tax cut is typically undone in the subsequent five years."

The appointment may telegraph Obama's intentions regarding Fed Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke. Romers wrote a paper, Choosing the Federal Reserve Chair: Lessons from History. Like Bernanke, she has a history of a connection to Princeton University, where she was an assistant professor from 1985-1988.

Romer graduated from College of William and Mary in 1981 and from M.I.T., with a Ph.D., in 1985. In 1994, she co-authored, with her husband, a paper, "What Ends Recessions?"

It's clear, Obama is appointing someone smart, with strong academic credentials. Unlike Treasury Secretary appointee Geither, who is overflowing with experience, Romer is an academic who's specialized in "getting" the big picture.

Obama Names Pro-Choice Ellen Moran Communications Director

President Elect Obama sure is choosing his cabinet to suit his agenda. I have not paid attention to the other presidents, but it looks like Obama really is getting to rev up to try and change this country. Now that change could be for the better or worse. It remains to be seen, but obviously I hope it is for the better because it would make the country stronger if he made it better duh.

President elect Barack Obama has named abortion activist Ellen Moran as communications director. Moran is currently the executive director of the Washington group EMILY’s List – the group that backs female candidates that support abortion rights.

Ellen Moran has a long history of strategic organizational direction. Previously she was with the AFL-CIO where she put together Wal-Mart’s corporate accountability functions and served in the Political Department. As an abortion activist, surely Obama will take heat from the left on this appointment.

Her curriculum vitae includes: taking a leave of absence in 2004 from the AFL-CIO to manage independent expenditures for the Democratic National Committee. The abortion activist maintained the placement of presidential advertising and directed TV, radio, mail and telephone efforts in 20 states. As communications director for Obama she will have at her disposal Dan Pfeiffer, who is currently the communications director for Obama’s presidential transition team. Dan Pfeiffer will become deputy communications director under Ellen Moran.

Dan Pfeiffer began working with the Obama presidential campaign in January 2007 as the traveling press secretary. Pfeiffer later went on to manage the press operation as Communications Director. Before working with Obama, Pfeiffer worked as Sen. Evan Bayh’s Communications Director as well as Tom Daschle’s Deputy Campaign Manager in 2004. Dan Pfeiffer has also worked for the Democratic Governors Association and the Gore-Lieberman campaign bringing years of experience with him.

Today Obama also named Robert Gibbs as his press secretary. Gibbs began working for President-Elect Obama in April 2004 in the role of Communications Director for the Illinois Senator during the senate race there. He remained in that capacity until Obama tapped him to become Senior Strategist for Communications and Message during the general election. In addition Robert Gibbs has served as press secretary for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and worked for Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign.

Obama Picks Tim Geithner to Head Treasury

This is one of those things that is going to turn out to be really really good or really really bad move. It will surely be interesting to see what Tim Geithner's first move will be once he is active in his role to turn around the stumbling economy. After watching what the market has been doing for the past few weeks, he will surely have one of the toughest jobs in the country. But if he can turn it around he can probably be elected president after Obama has had his term.

U.S. stocks rallied and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rebounded from an 11-year low after President-elect Barack Obama picked New York Federal Reserve Bank chief Timothy Geithner to head the Treasury.

“This news could really give the stock market a badly needed shot in the arm,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, wrote in an e-mail to clients. Geithner is a “fantastic choice to help lead the financial markets out of the wilderness.”

Citigroup Inc. pared a 35 percent slide and JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed a 16 percent tumble in the final hour as a Democratic aide said Obama will name Geithner to replace Henry Paulson. National-Oilwell Varco Inc. and Chesapeake Energy jumped more than 20 percent as oil rose for the first time in six days. The rally came after this week’s rout dragged the S&P 500’s price-to-earnings valuation to the cheapest since 1995.

The S&P 500, which capped a third-straight weekly decline, surged 6.3 percent to 800.03. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 494.13 points, or 6.5 percent, to 8,046.42, while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 5.2 percent to 1,384.35. Almost five stocks gained for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

Benchmark indexes swung between gains and losses earlier as growing concern over the survival of Citigroup, the second- largest U.S. bank by assets, offset a rally in commodities producers. Some 2.4 billion shares changed hands on the floor of the NYSE in the busiest trading session since Oct. 10. Citigroup accounted for about 11 percent of all trading volume of NYSE- listed stocks.

2008 Slump

The S&P 500 extended its 2008 slide to 49 percent yesterday and was poised for the worst annual decline in its 80-year history after economic reports depicted a deepening recession and lawmakers postponed a vote on a plan to salvage the auto industry. Citigroup, which has about $2 trillion of assets, has fallen for nine of the last 10 days on concern more companies and consumers will default as the economy worsens.

The benchmark index for U.S. equities trimmed its yearly loss to less than 46 percent today, which would still make 2008 the worst year since 1931. The S&P 500 tumbled 8.4 percent this week. The Dow average declined 5.3 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 8.7 percent.

Chesapeake, a producer of oil and natural gas, jumped $2.99 to $16.97. National-Oilwell, which makes crude production equipment, added $3.66 to $21.52.

Energy Rally

Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest U.S. oil company, climbed $7.30, or 11 percent, to $75.81. Crude oil rose as OPEC members cut production and governments stepped up efforts to revive economic growth. Gasoline futures climbed for the first time this week as U.S. buyers took advantage of low prices and a weaker U.S. dollar increased the lure of dollar-denominated commodities. Oil for January delivery rose 46 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $49.88 a barrel.

S&P 500 energy companies rose 12 percent collectively for the top gain among the index’s 10 main industries. The advance came after the group’s valuation slid to 5.6 times reported earnings, the cheapest since Bloomberg began tracking the data.

Citigroup pared declines, falling 94 cents to $3.77 after sinking as low as $3.05, and the S&P 500 Financials Index erased a 7.5 percent tumble to climb 3.4 percent on word of Obama’s pick for Treasury secretary.

Geithner has helped lead U.S. efforts to combat the deepest financial crisis in seven decades, helping oversee the decisions this year to intervene in American International Group Inc., rescue Bear Stearns Cos. and leave Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to fail.

‘Fresh Face’

“The market is relieved that it’s Geithner,” said Tim Hartzell, managing director and chief investment office at Sequent Asset Management in Houston. “It’s important to have a fresh face come in who has also been in the mix and has been at the pinnacle of everything that has been going on.”

Citigroup’s earlier slide came as Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit said he won’t break up the company after the stock market rout erased more than 80 percent of its value this year. Pandit and Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden, speaking on a worldwide conference call, also said they don’t expect to sell the Smith Barney brokerage unit, according to two people who listened to the call and declined to be identified because it wasn’t open to the public.

Citigroup will probably get rescued by the U.S. government after a crisis in confidence erased half its stock-market value in three days, investors and analysts said. The stock climbed 6.1 percent to $4 in trading after the close of U.S. exchanges.

JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by market value, pared a drop of $3.69 to close down 66 cents at $22.72.

Gap Surges

Gap Inc. rallied $2.59, or 27 percent, to $12.10. The largest U.S. clothing retailer said third-quarter profit climbed 3.4 percent as the company reduced markdowns of sweaters, jeans and khaki pants. The owner of the Old Navy and Banana Republic chains reiterated its forecast for profit of $1.30 to $1.35 a share for the year ending Jan. 31.

Sprint Nextel Corp. climbed 25 percent to $1.71 and earlier soared 36 percent, the most since at least 1980. Barry West, chief technology officer of the third-largest U.S. mobile phone company, bought 50,000 Sprint shares, marking the biggest investment at the company in the past five years, Barron’s reported.

Microsoft Corp. jumped $2.15, or 12 percent, to $19.68 after Oppenheimer & Co. raised the world’s largest software maker to “outperform” and said the stock has fallen too far. The shares trimmed their yearly decline to 45 percent.

Alcoa Jumps

Alcoa Inc., the biggest U.S. aluminum producer, surged 23 percent, the most since at least 1980, to $8.44. Newmont Mining Corp. jumped 25 percent to $28.79. Copper and aluminum rebounded from three-year lows on speculation mine shutdowns will help erode supply surpluses caused by reduced demand.

All 10 industries in the S&P 500 advanced at least 3.3 percent and 28 of 30 stocks in the Dow average rose.

Autodesk Inc. fell $2.45, or 15 percent, to $14.37. The largest maker of engineering-design software said fourth-quarter earnings excluding some items will be as much as 34 cents a share. That missed the 54-cent average estimate by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

This year’s tumble in the S&P 500 dragged down 97 percent of its stocks and all 64 of its so-called level-three industries, groups such as “distributors” and “leisure equipment,” as of yesterday’s close. More stocks decreased in the current bear market than in the 49 percent rout after the technology bubble burst in 2000.

‘Irrational Exuberance’

Alan Greenspan can stop worrying about “irrational exuberance” in the U.S. stock market, 12 years after he warned investors that share prices were rising too fast. The S&P 500 fell below 744.38 today, its closing level on Dec. 5, 1996, the day then-Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan used the phrase in a speech on “The Challenge of Central Banking in a Democratic Society.”

The S&P 500 was trading for 20.7 times earnings when Greenspan gave his warning and its valuation climbed to as high as 62.9 in March 2002, according to Bloomberg data. The index was valued at 16.3 times reported profits of its companies at yesterday’s closing level, the cheapest since 1995.

Sarah Palin pardons turkey

You can find the videos of this by searching it up on youtube. It is kinda weird that Palin is doing this since the old photos of her holding the rifle. So Palin will kill a moose, but save a turkey that has been so genetically modified that their life span is less that 3 years anyways.hmm

by Frank James

Gov. Sarah Palin's turkey-pardoning photo op was not the kind you'd see at the White House, to say the least. Here in Washington, the idea of these annual events is to leave everyone feeling warm and fuzzy.

But we're talking Alaska here. And we're talking Palin, so you expect things to be a little different. And they were. This may be the only turkey-pardoning photo-op where you actually see turkeys slaughtered.

MSNBC had video of the actual pardoning ceremony on its Countdown show last night.

This photo op is so bizarre it makes you wonder if it's a hoax, if two videos were actually edited together.

How any politician's staff would allow their boss to do an "availability" against a backdrop of turkeys shuddering as their necks are snapped is really about as mind-boggling as it gets.


There's something to be said for keeping it real, for showing people the way turkeys get to Thanksgiving tables.

But politicians' availabilities are meant for getting their message out. It's hard to do that when people are distracted by turkeys doing death kicks in the background.

Obama's Mug on D.C. Subway Cards for Inauguration

Well this can go a few ways. It kind of scares me too. If it is for only one day then it might not be so bad, but if it stays up for awhile there is a few things that can happen. One of the more obvious ones is that people graffiti the sign and put racial slurs all over the sign. But in a more conspiracy theorist view, which I actually thought of which is weird was that all the past dictators of the world had their photo plastered all over the place. Could this be the beginning of that?

The subway system in Washington, D.C., is making fare cards featuring President-elect Barack Obama's image to commemorate his inauguration as the 44th president.

SmarTrip cards with Obama's smiling face will be available in January, Metro spokesman Stephen Taubenkibel told DCist. Regular fare cards marking the Jan. 20 inauguration will be available in late December.

Images of the Obama card were shown at a recent Metro Board of Directors meeting.

Waxman Defeats Dingell in Race for House Energy Committee Chair

Well change is always good. Especially when the person in charge hasn't been noted on doing anything of real value. We will see what happens. It might be more of the same or they might get someone in there who actually cares about this country and does something about it.

By Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 20, 2008; 12:36 PM

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) today won the backing of the Democratic caucus to become the new head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, defeating longtime chairman Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) in a vote Waxman's backers said would signal strong support for the agenda of President-elect Barack Obama.

On a 137-122 vote, Waxman dethroned Dingell from a post he has held as either chairman or ranking Democrat since 1981. He is the most prominent supporter of his home state's auto industry and has feuded with junior committee members, including Waxman, over efforts to impose fuel efficiency standards on cars.

"Seniority is important, but it should not be a grant of property rights to be chairman for three decades or more," Waxman told reporters after the vote.

The powerful committee, which has jurisdiction over health care, energy issues and telecommunications policy, will play a significant role in Obama's agenda in the 111th Congress, a point that Waxman's campaign drove home in the last two weeks. He argued that Dingell would be an impediment to all kind of legislation the new White House wants to push.
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"It's the mantra of the Obama election. People want change," said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), who rallied support for Waxman. "He'll work best with the new administration."

Obama made energy independence and building the next generation of hybrid cars a hallmark of his campaign, often saying during the campaign that he went to Detroit to deliver this message. Obama's top liaison to Congress is Waxman's former top aide.

Senior Democrats were stunned by the Waxman victory, which seemingly dealt a blow to the party's long-held principle of seniority. "It's just been buried," Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said of seniority.

Despite House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's public neutrality in the race, Rangel accused her of tacitly supporting Waxman because her closest allies in the House ran his campaign and she did not intervene to stop Waxman, a home-state colleague, from running a campaign that exposed ideological fissures among Democrats.

"I assume that not playing a role is playing a role," Rangel said.

Moderate to conservative Democrats viewed the vote as a rebuke by the caucus's liberal wing, which has accused Dingell of not supporting global warming legislation.

"I cannot believe we did what we just did," said Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.), incoming chairman of the Blue Dog caucus of fiscally conservative Democrats. She disputed the notion that Dingell would not support Obama's legislative agenda.

"Mr. Dingell's always worked for change, starting before some of us were born," said Herseth, who is 37.

Dingell, 82, who was first elected in 1954, will become the longest-serving House member in history in February. His battles with Waxman date back to the 1980s, but they eventually worked together to help pass the Clean Air Act of 1990. Dingell also helped congressional Democrats pass mandatory fuel efficiency improvements on the auto industry last year.

He has often clashed publicly with Pelosi, who made an end-run around Dingell last year by creating a temporary committee chaired by Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), a close Pelosi ally, to oversee global warming issues.

Dingell, who recently had knee-replacement surgery and has been in a wheelchair, did not speak to reporters after losing the vote. Pelosi named him chairman emeritus, an undefined title. It is unclear what actual authority he will have.

Waxman, who represents Beverly Hills and other parts of Los Angeles, hails from the party's liberal wing.

The chairman's contest comes as Detroit's Big Three automakers are pleading with Congress to approve a $25 billion rescue package. Dingell's wife, Debbie, is an executive at cash-strapped General Motors.

Georgia and Tennessee Senators oppose Auto Bailout

I have to agree with them, and this is my main points. What did the banks do with their bailout? They gave it to their ceo's and presidents as bonuses and thing like that. Also how did the auto makers come to Washington to beg for a bailout. They flew in on their private jets that belonged to their respective companies. You think they could of saved some money. Yeah they are really hurting for money.


WASHINGTON, With Democrats pushing a bailout of the automobile industry, Tennessee and Georgia Republican senators appear unlikely to support such a measure, though they said they would wait to see what specific proposals are unveiled today.

"This economic crunch is difficult for the auto industry, just as it is for most Americans, and the auto industry is especially important to Tennessee," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. "I am closely monitoring proposals that affect auto jobs and will be ready to work on those proposals this week as the Senate reconvenes."

Democrats have proposed taking $25 billion from the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package that passed last month as aid for struggling domestic automakers. Democrats say the funds, which automakers could tap as a short-term loan, could help save millions of jobs. A vote is expected Wednesday.

"We are seeing a potential meltdown in the auto industry, with consequences that could directly impact millions of American workers and cause further devastation to our economy," said Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "If ever there were a time for bipartisan solutions, this is it."

Many Republicans instead want automakers to tap into a $25 billion loan program that was part of last year's energy bill. That money has been designated to help car manufacturers improve their auto mileage standards, and Democrats say the money should not be used for any other purpose.

All four Tennessee and Georgia senators voted for the bill to raise auto mileage standards.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said he opposes using the Wall Street rescue package to help automakers. Once the $700 billion plan is given time to unlock credit markets, all industries will benefit, he said.

"I would oppose giving the auto industry or any other manufacturer funds from the economic stabilization bill," he said. "I believe easing the credit markets will allow the markets to work and that consumers will regain confidence."

Representatives from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, along with the head of the United Auto Workers Union, are scheduled to testify today before the Senate Banking Committee.

"Generally speaking today, I do not believe an equity infusion into these companies is an appropriate course of action," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a member of the committee.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., locked in a runoff election against Democrat Jim Martin, has said he is opposed to an automaker bailout and that the industry's woes cannot be patched by an infusion of money.

"To just provide funding for the auto industry without significant restructuring on their part, that's not going to solve their problem," Sen. Chambliss said.

Mr. Martin, through a spokeswoman, said some help for automakers is needed, but any bailout should include measures that hold company executives accountable.

"The auto industry is in crisis and some action is necessary," said Kate Hansen, Martin campaign spokeswoman. "Jim does not, however, believe we should simply hand a blank check to auto executives without addressing the root causes of this crisis and ensuring that this won't happen again."

Tom Daschle Accepts Obama's Offer

I wonder how much the guy gets paid. That's what I really want to know. If Obama tried to do with healthcare as what he is saying he wants to do then this guy has his job cut out for him. Everyone is going to be looking at him expecially if all the promises go unfulfilled. He will take all of the heat for it. Which he should be since he is going to be head of the department. Obama's cabinet keeps on growing.

Daschle, a former Senate majority leader, would head the agency that will handle the incoming administration's efforts to expand health insurance coverage, a Democratic source says.

By Janet Hook and Noam N. Levey
11:34 AM PST, November 19, 2008
Reporting from Washington -- President-elect Barack Obama has asked former Sen. Tom Daschle to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services, and the South Dakota Democrat has accepted the offer.

Daschle, if confirmed, would head the agency that will handle the new administration's signature initiative to expand health insurance coverage, a Democrat familiar with the process said.

The source said that Obama was expected to officially name Daschle and other Cabinet nominees early next week, although that timetable may be accelerated.

Daschle, who this year published a book on the healthcare system, was an early supporter of Obama's bid for the presidency. Obama's campaign and transition teams have been heavily staffed by former Daschle aides.

Daschle won election to the Senate in 1986 after eight years in the House of Representatives. He was Senate majority leader in 2001-03 while Democrats controlled the chamber. But he was defeated in his 2004 bid for reelection after Republicans ran a bitter campaign targeting him as a national Democrat out of step with his home state.

But Daschle remains popular among his former colleagues and would be likely to face little challenge to his qualifications and character. However, Daschle had expressed some concern about going through the confirmation process because of questions likely to be raised about his wife, who is a registered lobbyist.

Hook and Levey are writers in our Washington bureau.

janet.hook@latimes.com

noam.levey@latimes.com

Dick Cheney indictment

I think this is a great thing. Sure there is something to be said for all sides, but I personally believe that this guy is pure evil. If we didn't have him or any oil powered lobbyist politicians do you think oil prices would be what they are today? NO of course they wouldn't, but that is what makes the world go round i guess.

A Texas grand jury has thrown the book at Vice President Dick Cheney. And for good measure, they are stomping the boot on Alberto Gonzales as well. The ambitious prosecutor for this charade is District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra of Willacy County, Texas, who’s good character is betrayed by a felony arrest in 2007 for evidence tampering, theft, and abuse of power. Abuse of power? This honorable public servant has served jail time twice.

The dubious charges will unfortunately not satisfy the Obama partisans however. No mention of Guantanamo. No illegal wiretapping. No blood for oil, Haliburton, Iraq conspiracies, or grassy knolls.

Rather, this indictment is about the mundane topic of prisoners in Willacy County’s federal detention centers, which are located in South Texas. Cheney abused them, don’t you see. Gonzales too. Cheney’s connection is that he has a mutual fund investment in the popular public investment fund, Vanguard Group, the world’s largest mutual fund holdings owned by millions of us. Vanguard, in turn, bought common stock in the prison companies operating the jails along with thousands of other companys’ stocks. Scandal!

Folks, this is nothing new and is just the beginning of a wave of political prosecutions. Obama has already signaled an intention to investigate the former government, stating in August that he would “immediately review” wrongdoing as one of his first priorities in office. Which is something that I think needs to happen. But I also think it should happen after every president to make sure that our rights as citizens weren't undermined without us knowing about it.

Obama Wants Eric Holder

Looks like Obamas presidential cabinet continues to grow. It looks like Obama wants to choose eric holder as his attorney general. What is kinda weird about this is that he is a republican. Which is also another person he chose for his cabinet. I always thought that the two parties are growing to be the same anyways, but maybe this is a step to make it one. Or he just wants all sides of an argument when it comes to national matters so he can make a better informed decision. Only time will tell.

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama would like to nominate former top Justice Department official Eric Holder Jr. to be his attorney general, and his transition team is now trying to gauge whether there is sufficient bipartisan support for him in the Senate, sources close to the transition confirmed Tuesday.

Those sources said that the internal vetting process for Holder is still being completed and that top transition team members and Democratic allies of Obama are working to make sure that he would not face any significant obstacles during the Senate confirmation process. One source close to the transition team said Holder has been offered the job ``conditionally."

Holder, a well-regarded prosecutor-turned corporate lawyer in private practice, would be the nation's first African-American attorney general. He did not respond to calls and e-mails seeking comment, and the Obama transition team declined to discuss the matter, except to say that he had neither been offered the job nor accepted it.

Holder, 57, has been a trailblazer through much of his career. He became the first African-American to serve as deputy attorney general in 1997, in the Clinton administration, and as acting attorney general, in the first few weeks of the Bush administration. He has also been a Superior Court Judge in Washington, D.C. and the top prosecutor in the high-profile U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C.

In recent years, Holder has been a litigation partner in the Washington office of the law firm Covington & Burling LLP, handling, among other matters, complex civil and criminal cases, domestic and international advisory matters and internal corporate investigations. He has been an Obama campaign supporter, and was a leader of Obama's vice presidential search committee.

He also has one very unusual family qualification. Holder's wife, an obstetrician, delivered incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel's daughter, the Associated Press reported.

The biggest issue in any confirmation hearing, Holder's supporters and critics say, would be that as deputy attorney general he failed to oppose a presidential pardon for then-fugitive financier Marc Rich on the last day of the Clinton administration. Rich's wife, Denise, was a top campaign contributor to Democratic causes.

On Tuesday, some Democrats on Capitol Hill said that the pardon issue might cause Holder some trouble among certain Republicans, but that his role in it was far outweighed by his many positive attributes and accomplishments. Holder, they said, enjoys a broad level of support among senior political leaders and law enforcement officials in both parties.

Holder was described by supporters as someone capable of engineering the kind of swift and significant course corrections that Obama has pledged to make at the Justice Department, which has been beset in recent years by one political controversy after another.

``He wanted the next attorney general to make broad reforms at DOJ, someone that has a broad enough basis of support that they can do it," said the source close to the transition team, speaking on the condition on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for Obama. ``It's pretty damn close to a deal. They've done the sounding out and gotten good response back."

Several Senate Republican leadership aides, however, said that neither they nor their senators had been contacted yet, and some expressed surprise that Holder would have been chosen without their input.

``Some will have concerns with his involvement in the Marc Rich pardon. It seems to me odd that they would want to go through something like that with the first nomination," said one of the Republican leadership aides. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) told reporters that he had not been consulted.

Asked if he would support Holder, he said, ``Too soon for me to say. I'd have to take a much closer look at his record and talk to him and think about it."

Specter said the Rich pardon ``would be a factor to consider. I wouldn't want to articulate it among the top items but it's worthwhile to look at."

The Justice Department's inspector general, Glenn Fine, noted in a report recently that restoring confidence in the Justice Department should be a top priority, given all of the controversies under the leadership of former attorneys general John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales, including politically motivated hirings and firings of prosecutors and other Justice Department officials.

The new Attorney General will also have to help execute Obama's pledge to shut down the war crimes tribunals currently underway at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and try accused terrorists elsewhere, as well as deal with other politically contentious issues such as warrantless wiretapping and what constitutes torture in the interrogations of terror suspects.

Holder is perhaps best known as an aggressive prosecutor while in the U.S. Attorney's office who tackled political corruption cases, including one that led to the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski of Chicago's Northwest Side.

Following a lengthy investigation, in which Rostenkowski lost his longtime House seat, the former Democratic congressman agreed in 1996 to plead guilty to two counts of mail fraud and spend 17 months in prison as an outgrowth of an investigation into misappropriation of tax dollars.

Frances Fragos Townsend, a former top Bush administration counter-terrorism official, worked closely with Holder in the Clinton administration Justice Department, and said Tuesday that he has been criticized unfairly for what was a minor role in the pardoning of Rich, whose wife's significant campaign contributions to Democratic campaigns raised questions of political influence-peddling.

Townsend praised Obama's selection of Holder, which she said she confirmed in a conversation with a top transition team official. ``I really think he is a tremendous, tremendous start for the new administration. In a time of war with these difficult legal issues, he is going to have many, many tough issues to face. But they couldn't have picked a person better suited or more qualified to address them."

The Washington Bureau's Janet Hook and Tribune reporter Rick Pearson in Chicago contributed to this report.

How obama got elected

I found this article, and I have to disagree with it. I do understand though after someone is elected everyone who didn't vote for them say that someone went wrong with the election. I know I did when Bush won the election. I said the voting was rigged in Florida in 200 and Ohio in 2004. But I wanted to put this up because I don't beleive in only covering one side to any story. I think every story should be covered that way.

Now I know that our liberal bloggers in South Dakota are more informed than the folks in this video (our lib bloggers at least know who most of the players are), so don't think I'm poking fun at you, liberal bloggers.

But you know as well as I do that this is almost certainly all-too-typical of the Obama voter profile.

The website How Obama Got Elected put together this video and their website features some interesting information gathered by Zogby polling on Obama voters:

97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates

Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions

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 Barack 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).

You might recall that I wrote a few weeks ago about the Case Against Clueless Voting. You probably thought I was being mean and unfair. This video proves I was not; I was probably being overly gracious.

A vote is a sacred thing, not to be exercised lightly. It is also a potentially dangerous thing when used indiscriminately, and in concert with other indiscriminate and poorly-aimed votes.

Note where most of these mindless zombies got their vast ocean of political information: NPR, PBS, CNN, Bill Maher, New York Times, BBC (which, incidentally, for you fellow zombies out there, is the liberal British Broadcasting Company), MSNBC, Jon Stewart. All Leftist propaganda mouthpieces, most of which try to pass themselves off as "objective." However, I think the only folks they're fooling into believing that are the type in this video.

I wish they had asked these Obama voters their number one reason for voting for Obama. Given the level of ignorance here, I think it would be a pretty safe bet to guess it would be something like "Because he's gonna stick it to the rich!" or maybe "He'll pay for my health care" or some such envy-driven drivel.

You know, if I ran for office and had this many complete ignoramuses vote for me, I think there's a good chance my sense of integrity would compel me to step down for the good of the country.

By the way, I suppose these Obama voters at least deserve credit for recognizing there are not 58 states in the United States (as Obama said).

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

http://www.dakotavoice.com/2008/11/how-obama-got-elected-zombie-voters.html

Obama, on '60 Minutes'

I didn't watch the episode myself. I probably should have though since Obama is going to be the most important president that I can remember since Obama has one of the toughest jobs in recent memory with trying to turn around the economy and bring home the troops in Iraq. It will definetly be interesting what happens after Jan 20 when Obama is sworn in as the new commander and chief of the United Stated of America to say the least. I hope everyone who watched the episode of 60 Minutes can give some insight.

Article Below.

By John McCormick
November 17, 2008

Reporting from Chicago -- President-elect Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast Sunday that he was assembling his national security team as quickly as possible because there potentially could be "times of vulnerability" to terrorist attacks during White House transition periods.

In a wide-ranging interview on the CBS News program "60 Minutes," Obama also said that capturing or killing Osama bin Laden remained a "critical aspect" of the war on terrorism.


"He is not just a symbol," Obama said. "He's also the operational leader of an organization that is planning attacks against U.S. targets."

Barack and Michelle Obama also reveled in achieving some level of normalcy again after the election, even as the president-elect confessed feeling a little overwhelmed as he prepared for the enormous challenges ahead.

"There are times, during the course of a given a day, where you think, 'Where do I start?' " he said during a session taped Friday in Chicago at the Ritz-Carlton hotel.

He said he had already felt, like other presidents before him, that "there is a certain loneliness to the job."

Obama and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) are scheduled to meet today in Chicago. They are expected to be joined by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close friend to McCain, and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago Democrat selected to be Obama's chief of staff.

Obama refused to be pinned down about when he would make his first Cabinet appointments, responding "soon." He also said there would be Republicans in the Cabinet but declined to say whether he would appoint more than one.

On Sunday, Obama also formally resigned his Senate seat, sending a one-sentence letter to Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, who will select a replacement to serve through the 2010 election.

The president-elect's transition team also announced several new appointments.

Pete Rouse, a Capitol Hill veteran who ran Obama's Senate office and helped craft the foundation for his White House bid, was named a senior advisor, and Mona Sutphen and Jim Messina were selected as deputy chiefs of staff.

The Associated Press reported that Obama was also expected to name Greg Craig, who was President Clinton's impeachment lawyer, as White House counsel. In Obama's debate practice sessions, Craig played the role of McCain.

Asked by CBS' Steve Kroft whether he planned to put political enemies in his Cabinet, as Abraham Lincoln did, Obama responded by saying the first president from Illinois was a "very wise man."

With the economy struggling, the president-elect said the nation had little choice but to boost government spending, something he said conservative and liberal economists agreed on.

"We have to do whatever it takes to get this economy moving again," he said. "We're going to have to spend money now to stimulate the economy."

Besides Lincoln, Obama said he had been reading about the Great Depression and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first 100 days in office. He said he hoped his team could emulate that administration's confidence and willingness to experiment.

The Obamas said the full realization of their new roles had yet to sink in. The president-elect, however, said he felt the historical significance on election night when his mother-in-law grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"You had this sense of, well, what's she thinking? For a black woman who grew up in the '50s, you know, in a segregated Chicago, to watch her daughter become first lady of the United States," he said. "There was that sense across the country."

Obama said he thought his victory revealed that race had been overcome as a stumbling block for most.

"It was a sign of the enormous progress that we've made in the core decency and generosity of the American people," he said. "That felt good."

The Obamas described a personal life that seemed more normal after the election than during the campaign.

"There seem to be more people hovering around me," the president-elect said. "On the other hand, I'm sleeping in my own bed."

Michelle Obama said she was looking forward to her husband having a "big office at home" at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

"Now we get to be together under the one roof, having dinners together," she said. "I envision the kids coming home from school and being able to run across the way to the Oval Office and see their dad before they start their homework. . . . And he'll be there to tuck them in at night."

She said the future first dog would not be part of the White House until late winter or early spring.

The interview ended on a question about creating a college football playoff system for the national championship, with Obama calling for three rounds and potentially three more weeks to the season.

"I don't know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this," he said. "I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it's the right thing to do."

McCormick writes for the Chicago Tribune.

Presidential Records Act - Lose the Blackberry Obama

Well this sucks. You can't even have a blackberry now if your the president because there are so many hackers out there, they can potentially compromise the entire nation. I have an idea if hackers are better than the current people you are employing, then I think you are employing the wrong people. We should have the smartest people in the white house working for the people of this great nation. Instead we have those people working on it's destruction everywhere you turn. And if they keep doing this then we are going to continue to lose our rights as a citizen of the USA. Sure I am sure they are freedoms that we really didn't need anyways.

Advisers are afraid the hand-held device could be compromised by hackers and will also put him at the mercy of public scrutiny rules.

During his campaign, Mr Obama made unprecedented use of the internet to organise his network of grassroots supporters, raise money and communicate with his staff.

He was seldom without his BlackBerry, often strapped to his waist, which he would tap away on in his limousine or at the front of his plane.

But concerns about email security and the Presidential Records Act, which requires all his correspondence to be put on the official record, mean the first truly computer-literate president might have to log off.

According to The New York Times, Mr Obama has not changed his email address in years. On election night, he replied to a friend's congratulatory email with: "How about that?". On other occasions he would send messages like "Sox!" when the Chicago White Sox won a game. His emails were generally brief, correctly spelt and punctuated and unadorned by abbreviations such as "LOL" or smiley-faced emoticons.

David Axelrod, Mr Obama's campaign chief strategist, told the newspaper: "His BlackBerry was constantly crackling with emails.

"People were generous with their advice – much of it conflicting."

Eight years ago, George W Bush sent a sad farewell email to 42 "dear friends" and relatives, telling them: "My lawyers tell me all correspondence by email is subject to open record requests.

"Since I do not want my private conversations looked at by those out to embarrass, the only course of action is not to correspond in cyberspace. This saddens me. I have enjoyed conversing with each of you."

Bill Clinton never sent emails during his presidential term, though Vice-President Al Gore used a government email address and a campaign address in his 2000 battle for the White House against Mr Bush.

Mr Obama has made clear, however, that he intends to be the first president to have a lap top on his desk, currently the Resolute desk presented by Queen Victoria in 1880.

He sent fewer and fewer emails as the long campaign wore on. One possibility is that he could keep in touch by receiving read-only emails, to which he could respond by phone.

Anne E. Dunwoody Becomes First Four-Star General in U.S. Military History

You may not think this has nothing to do with politics, but you can honestly sit there and tell me that the military, especially that high doesn't involve a lot of politics. Not only that if she didn't know how to play the politics that she would of gotten that high. Not to say she didn't deserve it, but she didn't hurt herself knowing what she was doing.

Anne E. Dunwoody has climbed the Army chain of command to become the U.S. military’s first woman to ever achieve the rank of four-star general.



Speaking at a promotion ceremony on Friday Dunwoody reflected on her time in the Army and accomplishment achieved saying, “Thirty-three years after I took the oath as a second lieutenant, I have to tell you this is not exactly how I envisioned my life unfolding. Even as a young kid, all I ever wanted to do was teach physical education and raise a family.”



Dunwoody continued, “It was clear to me that my Army experience was just going to be a two-year detour en route to my fitness profession. So when asked, `Ann, did you ever think you were going to be a general officer, to say nothing about a four-star?' I say, `Not in my wildest dreams.”



The 55-year-old Dunwoody spoke as a standing-room only crowd at the Washington auditorium witnessed history. Among those in attendance were Dunwoody’s father, Hal Dunwoody, who served in WWII, the Korean War and Vietnam and her husband, Criag Brotchie, who spent 26 years in the Air Force.



High-ranking members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines were also in attendance.

Hillary Clinton Secretary of State?

I don't think so, but crazier things have happened. I wouldn't think so just because of how much mud slinging the two threw at eachother. Also when Obama won the nomination everyone in the party wanted him to choose her for Vice President. We all know he didn't. Why would he now choose Clinton to be apart of his cabinet?

Officials with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team said late Thursday that Sen. Hillary Clinton would be an asset to the new administration, but declined to confirm reports she was under consideration for secretary of state.

Aides to Clinton had little to say about the news reports, including one that said she was in Chicago where Obama is holding daily transition planning meetings. Clinton's office would only say that the New York Democrat had no public schedule on Thursday. Her office said any speculation about appointments is for Obama's transition team to address.

The Associated Press and NBC both reported Clinton was under consideration for secretary of state; NBC also reported Clinton was in Chicago.

But until something is confirmed it is all here say.

Republican Governors Association

Looks like Palin is refusing to go silent into that Alaskan night. But you can;t blame her. She has to strike while the iron is hot. McCain is done for and the republicans need to find their political footing after getting floored with the last election. I guess that is what you get with Bush and Dick in the White House.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Thursday the Republican Governors Association is committed to returning to the bedrock values in a weakened state across the nation.

Palin states "Let us resolve not to become the negative party, too eager to find fault or unwilling to help in this time of crisis and war," she told the gathering Thursday. "Losing an election does not have to mean losing our way, and for governors, the way forward leads through our own state capitals in reforms we will carry on or begin anew."

Palin, whose vice presidential nomination led to her being cast as one of the GOP's rising stars, told reporters ahead of the group's plenary session that she's not thinking about her personal ambitions but putting the country back on the conservative track.

"I can assure you, she's just getting started," said Texas Gov. Rick Perry who introduced her.

Palin on Ticket in 2012?

I don't know about this myself, but Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Wednesday that a woman would be good for the Republican ticket in 2012, but was coy about whether that woman might be her.

If that were true don't you think that Mrs. Clinton would of been on the democratic ticket in 2008? But I don't think she was on this ticket because of her brains. Then again she might surprise everybody and could be the best president in history if she is elected.

"It would be good for the ticket. It would be good for the party. I would be happy to get to do whatever is asked of me to help progress this nation," Palin told reporters at the Republican Governors Association meeting.

Now, she is indirectly but unmistakably putting her name in play as a potential presidential candidate, saying she'll "plow through that door" if it's God's will and conditions are right.

If Palin were to run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination she will likely face tough competition from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who failed in his candidacy this year; Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, among others.

Cindy McCain Cheating????

Wow how the mighty have fallen. A little over a week ago McCain was running to be the oldest president of the United States. And now he might have a cheating wife. Well that sucks. Maybe Palin was more than his running mate.

The National Enquirer is reporting that they've caught Cindy McCain cheating. I wonder if it was with Palin. The proof they have comes in the form of a grainy picture taken at a Music Festival. A witness caught them making out at a Moody Blues concert.

The Enquirer reports, "That's the stunned reaction of an eyewitness who says he watched in shock - and snapped photos - as the former presidential candidate's wife romantically kissed a long-haired man who resembles 'a washed-up '80s rock musician.'" That's awesome...I guess hair does matter. She got tired of looking at the glome dome every morning. But how many of these politicians are married because of love? More likely they are their to advance their careers.

A McCain spokesperson declined comment.

McCain on Leno

Maybe McCain is now looking to get into the movies with his first interview since losing the presidential election. His interview was with of course Leno.

"'I knew I had a headwind. I can read the polls,' he said, We just got back from the woodshed,' he said." I am surprised he just didn't blame his lose on Bush. Since he is the one who has killed the party.
He defended his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, who some of his own aides, speaking anonymously, have blamed for his defeat.If anything he got more voted because of her. I know one person who voted for him just because she was pretty.

Also: “When Mr. Leno asked Mr. McCain about a run in 2012, when he would be 76, he responded: ‘I wouldn’t think so, my friend." But I thought that he said that last time in 2000 when Bush beat him for the nomination.

More: “Ms. Palin is trying to turn to television to restore her tarnished image,start a 2012 presidential bid, or both.

Presidential Dog Watch

When president-elect Obama mentioned that his kids are getting a puppy, everyone around the world have been waiting with anticipation to learn what kind of dog will become first dog.

Obama, who described the decision as a "major issue," is on the hunt for an Hypoallergenic dog, since daughter Malia is allergic.Now the Fido frenzy has gone international.

Peru has suggested its native Peruvian hairless dog, a bald, toothless breed, which actually looks cuter than it sounds. Nicknamed "Ears," the four-month-old has been offered formally to the future first family in a letter sent to the U.S. Embassy. If the Obama girls reject the Peruvian pup, Hopefully it won't create an international incident.

But if the Obamas want to go American, there are a lot of allergy-free dogs to choose from. In fact, Yahoo! searches on "list of hypoallergenic dogs" surged over 3,000% as the curious researched on their own. Lookups on "goldendoodle," another low-allergy breed, increased 200%, As Obama mentioned himself, the family's preference is to adopt a dog from a shelter. A dog from a shelter would likely be, as he joked, "a mutt, like me."

updates coming soon

Updates coming soon

Obama looking for a puppy for daughters

While US President-elect Barack Obama is still getting his cabinet together, there is another important decision he's working on--choosing that puppy that will accompany the new first family to the White House.

Obama had made this promise to his daughters, Malia and Sasha, during his election victory speech. So what kind of pooch will join the long line of White House pets?

Reports suggest that because daughter Malia has allergies, the Obamas may be considering a "hypoallergenic" breed that sheds less hair.

The options could include a labradoodle, a cross between a Labrador and a poodle; a schnoodle, which is a hybrid of a schnauzer and poodle; a cockapoo (cocker spaniel and poodle).

Malia, however, is rumoured to favour a goldendoodle, a poodle crossed with a golden retriever.