Wednesday, December 31, 2008
2008 in Photos and Verse
LOL
© Janet Crain
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Angry Democrats: IT'S NOT ABOUT RACE
Huffington Post Image Credit
TOP STORY -- Chicago Tribune banner: 'A defiant pick,' by Rick Pearson and Ray Long: 'In a display of political bravado, disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday appointed former Illinois Atty. Gen. Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate, challenging national Democratic leaders to reject the appointment of an African-American to the seat that propelled Barack Obama to the White House. The defiant move tests the resolve of Senate Democrats who said they would not admit anyone appointed by Blagojevich, who is facing impeachment after being accused of trying to sell the Senate seat for personal gain. And it reveals to a nation celebrating Obama's victory the underbelly of Chicago's race-based political scene.'
Chicago Sun-Times cover: 'State of Disbelief.'
***Sun-Times editorial: 'The governor's defense now can argue that the governor never intended to sell the Senate seat. See for yourself -- he chose Burris. Nor does Burris' appointment hurt Blagojevich if there happen to be African Americans on Blagojevich's jury, according to traditional thinking among the defense bar.'
PUNDIT PREP – 1) If the appointment is certified, Senate Democratic leaders are likely to introduce a motion to withhold seating 'the gentleman from Illinois' until the outcome of an investigation by the Rules Committee, which will look into whether the choice was fair and proper, whether there was a quid pro quo, etc. 'That buys us 90 days,' an official said. That should be enough so they won't have to act. An official calls Blago's move 'a tantrum ... 'I am TOO the governor.' It inflamed Illinois legislators, speeding up the impeachment process. 'He will not be governor by Valentine's Day,' the official said.
cont. here:
http://www.politico.com/playbook/
UPDATE: http://radarsite.blogspot.com/2009/01/another-burris-memorial-in-chicago.html
© Janet Crain
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Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Who is Roland Burris?
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by Janet Crain
Adding to the circus like atmosphere of 2008 politics, beleaguered and discredited Chicago governor, Blagojevich, has pulled a rabbit out of his hat.
Told that the senate body would reject anyone he attempted to appoint, he chose a man it will be very hard for Harry Reid to reject without being called a racist. JC
Politico
by Ryan Grim
On Election Day in November, Roland Burris walked alone to his polling place and was greeted by a local news team working on a historical piece about African-Americans elected statewide in Illinois.
Back in 1978, Burris had become the first. But on Election Day 2008, only the older folks at his polling place recognized him.
“How soon they forget,” Burris mused then. “You get pushed to the side, when you’re no longer in office, quite easily.”
He must not have been enjoying the anonymity. Within weeks of Barack Obama’s election as president, Burris stood in front of the cameras, with Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn behind him, to announce his interest in the president-elect’s Senate seat.
The nascent campaign for the seat went positively subterranean when Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested for allegedly attempting to sell it. Burris, though, kept hope alive.
He is a persistent man. After winning statewide races for comptroller and attorney general — which straddled a losing 1984 bid for U.S. Senate — he set a course for the governor’s mansion. He failed to win the Democratic primary in 1994, and he followed that with a failed bid for the Chicago mayor’s office in 1995 and two more unsuccessful runs for governor in 1998 and 2002.
Burris has two children: Roland and Rolanda.
He now runs the lobbying and consulting firm Burris & Lebed Consulting. That might make him ineligible to work in the Obama administration, but it doesn’t rule him out of the Senate. Blagojevich declared him to be a man of “unquestioned integrity” in announcing his appointment Tuesday.
Before the governor’s presser, however, the Illinois GOP released a collection of old reports that questioned Burris’ integrity, noting that he continued to raise money for Blagojevich even after the governor came under a dark ethical cloud.
The questioning goes back further.
“He decries pinstripe patronage, but Burris' terms as comptroller and attorney general have been rife with contracts for contributors,” wrote a Chicago Tribune columnist in 1994 as Burris was running for governor. “In a petty complaint, he criticizes [an opponent’s] use of significant campaign loans from her husband, yet Burris accepts questionable contributions from nursing home operators regulated by the state and once sweetened his state pension with a loan from his own political fund.”
But Burris’ persistence paid off Tuesday with a Senate appointment. He beamed as Blagojevich trumpeted him and asked that he not be found guilty by his association with the embattled governor. When Blagojevich mentioned that the pair had previously been political opponents, Burris smiled wider.
Blagojevich, too, seemed to be making the most of the show. He told reporters that he had enjoyed his recent time in the limelight, but wanted to defer to Burris. Later, when Burris turned to Blagojevich to see if the governor wanted to answer a question, Blagojevich smirked, “You’re the senator.”
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Monday, December 29, 2008
Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston Welcome a Son
"We think it's wonderful," said Colleen Jones, the sister of Bristol's grandmother Sally Heath, who confirmed the news to People. "The baby is fine and Bristol is doing well. Everyone is excited."
The baby’s father, Levi Johnston is an apprentice electrician and has been dating Bristol for three years.
Congrats to the happy couple!
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Newsweek Uses Year-End Edition to SMEAR Sarah Palin
I have been so disappointed in Newsweek for so long. This past year has been one issue after another with nothing to offer but effusive gushing over Obama.
I think it is a sad day for journalism when a national news magazine of Newsweek's
I am a long time subscriber to the magazine but won't be renewing my subscription.
Here is a look at the last issue:
Newsweek Uses Year-End Edition to Take
Potshots at Palin
Newsweek sprinkled throughout its year-end double issue, with Barack Obama on the cover as the #1 member of "The New Global Elite," a bunch of potshots at Sarah Palin -- and even derided teen daughter Bristol too. In a list of those who committed "low behavior" during 2008 (which did at least also highlight John Edwards), the magazine accused Sarah Palin of a "smear" against Barack Obama, on another page Newsweek described her as an "ill-informed, inarticulate shopaholic" (while on the same page hailing MSNBC's Rachel Maddow as a "brilliant" woman who "gives libs a happy new voice") and deep in the December 29/January 5 edition the magazine ridiculed Bristol Palin: "For 30 years, the Moral Majority has promoted 'abstinence only.' Jamie Lynn Spears, Bristol Palin...how's that working out?" The specifics:
# Page 21, a list of "The Biggest Losers" of 2008 "who set the high-water mark for low behavior in 2008," featured Palin: "In a smear that sounds even worse in retrospect, Sarah Palin goes rogue and stirs up prejudice by accusing Barack Obama of 'palling around with terrorists.'"
# Ten pages later, in a full-page year in review version of the "Conventional Wisdom Watch" (not yet online in the posted CW), the newsweekly hit her and McCain, but admired Maddow:
- "Sarah Palin: Ill-informed, inarticulate shopaholic has ego bigger than Alaska -- and she's still the darling of the GOP."
- "John McCain: Hard to forgive the nasty end-game, and Palin pick was irresponsible. But classy concession speech and Letterman gig."
- "Rachel Maddow: Brilliant, ebullient, lefty lesbian gives libs a happy new voice. Will MSNBC be Obama's Fox?"
"Will"?
[This item, by the MRC's Brent Baker, was posted Friday on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]
Finally, page 79 has "The Power Index" (also seemingly not online) with a list of the magazine's arguments for whether figures in the news in 2008 were a "player or pretender?" Under "pretender," Newsweek discredited the Christian Right and Palin:
- "Christian Right: For 30 years, the Moral Majority has promoted 'abstinence only.' Jamie Lynn Spears, Bristol Palin...how's that working out?"
- "Sarah Palin: She seemed like McCain's silver bullet...until she opened her mouth. A 2012 contender if she starts boning up on issues. Now."
The "Biggest Losers" list: www.newsweek.com
Newsweek's "Conventional Wisdom" page: www.newsweek.com
The December 29/January 5 edition of the magazine: www.newsweek.com
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Why is Obama's House in Someone Else's Name?
Rezko attorney 'owns' Obama mansion
Lawyer at firm where Democrat worked receives tax bill
Posted: December 25, 2008
11:40 pm Eastern
By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
William Miceli |
William Miceli is a lawyer at the Chicago law firm Miner, Barnhill & Galland, which also formerly employed Obama.
The controversy began when a website called News and Commentary for Thinking People published a 48-page document that lists Miceli as the owner of the Obama home at 5046 S. Greenwood.
Miner, Barnhill & Galland was Obama's employer when he did extensive legal work for Rezko, who awaits sentencing after he was convicted in June of fraud, money laundering and bribery-related counts.
Miceli, as a senior attorney at the firm, supervised Obama when the future president wrote letters on behalf of Rezko urging public authorities to award him new public properties to rehabilitate, notes the "Barack Book" website maintained by GOP.com.
WND asked for comment from Obama's transition team and the Democratic National Committee but did not receive a response.
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Sarah Palin Calendar is number one best seller
Sarah Palin Calendar is the number one best selling office product at Amazon.com
Some pictures from her calendar:
*****Update: Readers are encouraged to persuse the hate-filled customer reviews at Amazon. Honestly, why does this woman scare liberals so much?
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Friday, December 26, 2008
Country Mouse or City Mouse?
Ruben Navarrette says Sarah Palin's critics challenged her because of prejudices about small-town values.
SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- During the presidential election, some Democrats demanded to know how I could defend Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Simply put, Palin is my people. She's small-town folk who wound up in the big leagues.
Because I grew up in a small town with a population of less than 15,000 people, I was disgusted by the insults and condescension coming from those who think of themselves as the enlightened elite. Meanwhile, in small towns, I detected great affection for Palin. People talked about how she was "a real person" who "reflected their values."
The most significant divide in America isn't Red State vs. Blue State, it's rural vs. urban. The country mouse and the city mouse are still slugging it out.
In 1982, New York Mayor Ed Koch ran unsuccessfully for governor of New York. Some say the deciding factor was when Koch described life in upstate New York as "sterile" and said he dreaded living in the "small town" of Albany, if elected. That didn't play well in rural areas.
Now comes Colin Powell. During a recent appearance on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS," Powell attempted an autopsy on the Republican Party's failed presidential bid. He went after Palin, accusing her of pushing the party so far to the right that it went over a cliff.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
The Slimmest of Resumes
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© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Belated Service Held for Madelyn Dunham
By CAROL E. LEE 12/24/08 10:29 AM EST
HONOLULU - President-elect Barack Obama paid tribute to his grandmother, one of the central figures in his life, in a private church service Tuesday afternoon, before scattering her ashes in the Pacific.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16833.html
http://www.wargs.com/political/obama.html
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Winter Wishes
'Twas the night before Christmas & out on the ranch
The pond was froze over & so was the branch.
The snow was piled up belly-deep to a mule.
The kids were all home on vacation from school,
And happier young folks you never did see-
Just all sprawled around a-watchin' TV.
Then suddenly, some time around 8 o'clock,
There came a surprise that gave them a shock!
The power went off, the TV went dead!
When Grandpa came in from out in the shed
With an armload of wood, the house was all dark.
"Just what I expected," they heard him remark.
"Them power line wires must be down from the snow.
Seems sorter like times on the ranch long ago."
"I'll hunt up some candles," said Mom. "With their light,
And the fireplace, I reckon we'll make out all right."
The teen-agers all seemed enveloped in gloom.
Then Grandpa came back from a trip to his room,
Uncased his old fiddle & started to play
That old Christmas song about bells on a sleigh.
Mom started to sing, & 1st thing they knew
Both Pop & the kids were all singing it, too.
They sang Christmas carols, they sang "Holy Night,"
Their eyes all a-shine in the ruddy firelight.
They played some charades Mom recalled from her youth,
And Pop read a passage from God's Book of Truth.
They stayed up till midnight-and, would you believe,
The youngsters agreed 'twas a fine Christmas Eve.
Grandpa rose early, some time before dawn;
And when the kids wakened, the power was on.
"The power company sure got the line repaired quick,"
Said Grandpa - & no one suspected his trick.
Last night, for the sake of some old-fashioned fun,
He had pulled the main switch - the old Son-of-a-Gun!
-anonymous
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Snowzilla rises from the dead
Anchorage Daily News
Published: December 23rd, 2008 09:39 AM
Last Modified: December 23rd, 2008 10:25 AM
Snowzilla, the giant snowman city officials tried to prevent from being built this year, appeared suddenly this morning at his usual winter home in East Anchorage.
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Monday, December 22, 2008
Oprah Reportedly Planning Move to Washington DC
Perez Hilton writes:
Oprah Winfrey is such a big fan of Obama that she wants to move in next door to him!
The Queen of the Universe is considering blessing Washington, D.C. with her goddess presence.
She's reportedly looking into a 9-bedroom mansion in Georgetown with a price tag of
Click Here:
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
David Spade donates $100,000 to Phoenix police to buy AR-15 rifles
David Spade helps Phoenix police buy rifles
AP Photo/Isaac Brekken
Watch Related Video
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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Phoenix Police Department has gotten some high-powered goodies courtesy of actor David Spade.
The one-time Phoenix resident donated $100,000 so that the department can buy approximately 50 AR-15 rifles.
Spade said he wanted to make the donation after seeing a TV news report about Phoenix officers having to buy their own rifles.
"These guys need to be able to do their jobs and I am just happy I could help," Spade said in a statement released by his publicist.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Merry Christmas to All!!!
Just click on song title for a little nostalgic music
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Much Ado About Governor Palin's Daughter's Future Mother-in-Law
So Levi Johnson's mother apparently has made some bad choices in her lifestyle. Where is the compassion that would be showered upon a Hollywood celebrity? Her addiction to the prescription painkiller Oxycontin and subsequent arrest has seemingly been reported in every newspaper in the world. Why are the MSM and leftist liberal bloggers practically foaming at the mouth over this story?
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Friday, December 19, 2008
Sarah Palin's Family
Dec. 19, 2008
UPDATED: Surprising to some, but not to genealogists, Sarah Palin is related to both McCain and Obama, all of them sharing descent from several of the nation's colonial era founding families. Since most Americans with ancestors in the Colonies in the 1600's share multiple progenitors this is actually quite common. She is a 12th cousin to McCain and probably of a simular degree to Obama.
The 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate descends from founding forebears; the Capens, Chipmans, Curtises, Freemans, Gilberts, Gorhams, Lothrops, Sears, Strongs, Welles and Willard, all prominent New England families.
Palin’s Mayflower ancestors include William Brewster, John Howland, Stephen Hopkins, Joan (Hurst) Rogers, John and Elizabeth Tilley, and Richard Warren. She also descends from Thomas Prence, an early governor of Plymouth Colony.
President Bush, Barack Obama and Sarah Palin all descend from Samuel and Sarah (Soule) Hinckley. Sarah's uncle was George Soule, Mayflower passenger and signer of the Mayflower Compact. Samuel and Sarah's son, Thomas Hinckley (1618-1706), held several governmental posts in the Plymouth Colony and served as its last governor from 1681 to 1692.
Palin, Obama and McCain all claim William 1, King of Scots, as an ancestor. Her descent in this Carolingian line is via ancestor Edmond Hawes (1612-1693) of Yarmouth, MA, who held many local offices.
She also descends from Henry III of England by way of ancestor Edward Raynsford who died in 1680 in Boston. Henry III was a Plantagenet descendant of Charlemagne, his parents were King John and Isabella of Angoulême and his grandmother the indomnible and beautiful Eleanor of Aquitaine. Wife of both a French and English king and mother of two kings of England, Eleanor was without doubt the most intriguing woman of her time.
She also descends at least two ways from Empress Matilda, granddaughter of William the Conqueror and the first female ruler, although uncrowned and for a brief time, of the Kingdom of England.
One of Matilda's descendants was the Rev. John Lathrop/Lothrop, a 1605 Cambridge University graduate who was ordained an Anglican priest in England, but joined the dissenters, heading a secret congregation in London who was caught and imprisoned. He was fortunate enough to be released on the condition that he and his family immediately leave for America. He may have gotten off lucky because he came from a family with a noble background.
Quite possibly Sarah Palin has multiple Royal ancestral lines and possibly trumped the other candidates in this regard, though McCain is said to do alright himself. McCain descends two ways from Edward I, King of England, who died in 1307. These descents are through his ancestors Ann (Coddington) Fenner and Anne Hampden. Both lines are documented in The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants, by Gary Boyd Roberts (2008: Baltimore), as is Obama’s descent from Edward I.
The late Harold Brooks-Baker, who was the publisher of Burke's Peerage, posited the theory that the candidates most likely to be elected were those who had the most royal lineage in their ancestry. Sarah Palin has two separate so-called "Gateway Ancestors" who are directly descended from kings of England and Scotland. So much for this theory. But maybe the candidate has to be on top of the ticket, in which case, we shall see in 2012.
Additionally Palin has ancestors who emigrated from the East Anglia county.
According to family tree website ancestry.co.uk the vice-presidential candidate's great, great, great, great, great grandfather Robert Gower was baptised in Norwich in 1723.
Gower is responsible for taking the family on the perilous journey across the Atlantic to begin a new life in America.
As well as the Norfolk connection, the governor of Alaska also has roots from across Europe, with two maternal great grandparents born in Germany - Mary Scholmtz, born in Frankfurt in 1860, and Charles Mueller, who travelled to the USA with his wife.
Sarah Palin shares ancestor John Lathrop with presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin D. Roosevelt and both Bush presidents. Lathrop descendants include Revolutionary War traitor Benedict Arnold, Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon religion, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dr. Benjamin Spock, financier John Pierpoint Morgan and the original fuller brush man, Alfred Fuller, also; Adlai Stevenson, John Foster Dulles, Thomas Dewey and one time presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.
What a mixed dinner party on some astral plane, these interesting cousins could make.
Cont. here:
http://sarah-palin-2008-cont.blogspot.com/2008/09/plantagenet-ancestry-of-edward.html
References:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/palin.htm
http://www.nltaylor.net/ancestry/royaldescents/raynsford.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Matilda
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soule
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Scott F. Conroy and Shushannah Walshe Accept Salin Palin Book Deal
EXCLUSIVE – Scott F. Conroy of CBS News, one of our favorite new voices from this cycle, reports: 'Shushannah Walshe (who you'll remember as the Fox embed who covered Romney and Palin with me) and I are excited to report that we've been offered a book deal with PublicAffairs, which we accepted [yesterday]. The working title is 'Sarah From Alaska.' While we're obviously going to use our experiences on the trail to report a lot of new information on how the Palin campaign was run, the book is also going to be forward-looking. There's a long list of unsuccessful VP nominees who've faded into obscurity, but what we think is so interesting about Palin is that even in defeat, she was able to win the hearts of the GOP base, and love her or hate her, she'll be back on the national scene.
Politico's Mike Allen
http://www.politico.com/playbook/
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Paul M. Weyrich, "Father of Conservatism" Dead at 66
Heritage announced this morning: 'Paul M. Weyrich, chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation and first president of The Heritage Foundation, died this morning around 1 a.m. He was 66 years old. Weyrich was a good friend to many of us at Heritage, a true leader and a man of unbending principle. He won Heritage's prestigious Clare Boothe Luce Award in 2005. Weyrich will be deeply missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, including son Steve, who currently works at Heritage.'
GROVER NORQUIST of Americans for Tax Reform e-mails us a tribute: 'Paul Weyrich created institutions and networks that incubated new and old powerful policies and strategies to advance liberty. ... He brought leaders of various freedom impulses together. Most of the successes of the Conservative movement since the 1970s flowed from structures, organizations, and coalitions he started, created or nurtured. Paul also lived a balanced life with work, family and his faith. We will miss his puns and wisdom and hard work.'
Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review Online, who had the first word of his passing, called Weyrich 'a Washington conservative institution' and 'a patriot who lived a long life serving his nation.'
In 1996, Weyrich was diagnosed with a spinal injury. From 2001 until his death in 2008, his injury left him in a wheelchair and in constant pain. Complications from a fall in September 2004 required the amputation of his legs in July 2005.
Quotes by Paul Weyrich:
Source:Wikipedia
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts