Political Rantings
And HEEEERE we go…
Saturday, December 20th, 2008From FOX News:
Former President Bill Clinton’s foundation has raised at least $46 million from Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments that his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton may end up negotiating with as the next secretary of state.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gave $10 million to $25 million to the William J. Clinton Foundation, a nonprofit created by the former president to finance his library in Little Rock, Ark., and charitable efforts to reduce poverty and treat AIDS. Other foreign government givers include Norway, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Italy and Jamaica. The Dutch national lottery gave $5 million to $10 million.
Those bastards! Clearly, they anticipated that Mr. Clinton’s wife would someday hold a position of power, and in order to curry favor with her, they calculatingly donated millions of dollars to reduce poverty and treat AIDS. Damn – we should have seen that coming…
Sometimes, I wonder how far this can go before someone calls out the media on it. Isn’t it beneficial for the Secretary of State to have previous dealings with foreign governments (even if they are through her husband)? Wouldn’t it be logical for the people who design our national energy policy to have some practical expertise in the energy industry? Shouldn’t a guy like Henry Kissinger, one of the most experienced foreign policy experts in our country, be allowed to chair the 9/11 commission charged with understanding what happened on that horrible day?
When did past experience become a detriment to taking a job? When did prior dealings with those you’ll be working with in your new position become a potential conflict of interest, as opposed to an advantage that could lead to smoother transition and increased productivity?
With the Clintons, of course, it’s magnified even further. Not only can news organizations call her credibility into question before she even gets confirmed, but she and her husband have negotiated a deal that will lessen the flow of money to deserving charities as long as she’s in office:
[Bill] Clinton agreed to release the information after concerns emerged that his extensive international fundraising and business deals could conflict with America’s interests if his wife became Obama’s top diplomat. The foundation has insisted for years that it was under no legal obligation to identify its contributors, contending that many expected confidentiality when they donated.
According to the memorandum negotiated by the foundation and top Obama advisers, Bill Clinton agreed to publish the names of all past and future contributors to his foundation during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.
The former president also agreed to step away from direct involvement in the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual charitable conference where businesses and many foreign governments pledge donations to help ameliorate AIDS, poverty and other social ills. He will continue serving as CGI’s founding chairman but will not solicit money or sponsorships. The CGI will cease accepting foreign contributions and will not host events outside the United States.
So in order for Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State, we are willing to:
- Betray the trust of wealthy people who have donated millions to help good causes by revealing their names when we said we wouldn’t
- Refuse additional contributions from these people and others like them, simply because they are outside of the United States
- Rob Bill Clinton of what is perhaps his most productive role as an ex-President, that of champion fundraiser for causes that help people around the world
I assume, by the way, that Bill Clinton will be perfectly free to raise funds for Democratic politicians (including his wife) in future elections, right? No conflict of interest there…
None of this is necessary. It’s all done to avoid the appearance of impropriety, in order to stave off the media hounds. Notice how no one is drafting disclosure agreements or communication plans that would allow Bill Clinton to continue his good work while simultaneously proving that Hillary Clinton is acting independently as the Secretary of State. Because then there would
Categories: News and/or Media, Political Rantings | 1 Comment »
She just won’t go away, Part Two…
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008Sarah Palin pardoned a turkey this morning in Alaska, and then gave an interview about how good it is to be back in Alaska, where the media spotlight isn’t so bright, and people aren’t constantly looking over her shoulder to make her look stupid.
While she was discussing this, the guy over her shoulder was slaughtering turkeys with a grinding machine of some sort. The video is, of course, priceless:
(Hat tip: Wonkette)
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The First Presidential BlackBerry?
Monday, November 17th, 2008
From today’s Associated Press:
Obama May Have to Bury his Beloved BlackBerry
The president’s e-mail can be subpoenaed by Congress and courts and may be subject to public records laws, so if a president doesn’t want his e-mail public, he shouldn’t e-mail, experts said. And there may be security issues about carrying around trackable cell phones.
Obama transition officials haven’t made a decision on what the new president will or will not carry, but those who have been there say it’s unlikely he’ll carry his BlackBerry and he may be in for some withdrawal pains. President-elect Obama has often been seen avidly checking his e-mail on his handheld equipment. This past summer, news cameras recorded him checking his BlackBerry while watching his daughter’s soccer game, only to have Michelle Obama slap at his hands, prompting him to return the device to its holster.
“This is a decision President-elect Obama will have to face,” said former Bush press secretary Scott McClellan, who added that Obama’s legal advisers will probably recommend against an e-mailing president. “While he has pledged an open and transparent government, I doubt the president-elect is interested in subjecting his own personal communications to that standard,” McClellan wrote in an e-mail interview. He added, “He will have to think very hard about whether he wants to make his own words that subject to open records by having his own e-mail and his own BlackBerry.”
On the one hand, I hope he keeps it, because a) it will help him maintain that “everyman” image that he’s got nailed so well right now, and b) because, over time, it will redefine real-time personal communication as a necessity that the law will need to deal with rather than something that would otherwise be useful , but is foregone to avoid legal issues. After all, if a law is discouraging people from legal, productive behavior, then we should change the law, not the behavior, right?
On the other hand, the point of a blackberry is to remain in real-time contact with those who need to reach you the most. The President’s entourage serves that purpose for him, in that people who need to reach him can contact one of the people that travel with him constantly. In that sense, they’re like those people in the Verizon Wireless commercials, and they obfuscate the need for a blackberry entirely.
Separate, but somewhat related note – Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush also did not use e-mail:
A few days before Bush took office in 2001, he sent an e-mail to a few dozen close friends saying he would no longer use e-mail: “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.”
Bush was unhappy about losing his e-mail and mostly used the phone to talk to friends, McClellan wrote, adding, “I am sure the president looks forward to being able to communicate with them via e-mail again come January 20, 2009.”
Note that back in 2000, Bush wasn’t worried about legal ramifications, but about the tabloid press. Also note that the BlackBerry was invented in 2002.
Categories: Political Rantings, Tech Talk | 9 Comments »
The Onion Takes Aim at Obama Supporters
Sunday, November 16th, 2008This gave me a chuckle:
Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are
(hat tip: Kushol Gupta)
Categories: Political Rantings, Random Acts of Blogging | Comments Off on The Onion Takes Aim at Obama Supporters
Bar(ac)k the Vote!
Saturday, November 8th, 2008Yes, it’s my sixth post in a row that has to do with the election, but at least this one is relatively cute.
Categories: Political Rantings, The World Wide Weird | 1 Comment »
Proud? Yes, but…
Friday, November 7th, 2008
I knew that when Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, there would be a great deal of excitement in the country.
Categories: Political Rantings | 5 Comments »
She just won’t go away…
Friday, November 7th, 2008The folks over at Powerline Blog point out an interesting irony in the Alaskan senate race.
At this moment, according to CNN.com, incumbent (and convict) Ted Stevens is leading his Democratic challenger, Mark Begich by 3,353 votes (results still being processed, whatever that means).
Categories: Political Rantings | 1 Comment »
Liveblogging the 2008 Election
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008Everyone was doing it with the debates, right? What the heck…
7:48pm – McCain has won Kentucky, Obama has won Vermont. The current electoral college tally is McCain 8, Obama 3. It’s a landslide! McCain has almost three times the votes Obama has. The McCain party is probably going crazy. Of course, we don’t know for sure because his party is private, by invitation only. Obama’s party, on the other hand, seems to be encompassing all of the public land in the city of Chicago.
7:50pm – New Hampshire is currently leaning toward Obama 32 to 16. That’s not percentages, that’s a total of 48 voters and how they voted. In 2012, a yet-to-be-launched cable channel will list individual New Hampshire voters’ names prior to 8pm.
7:54pm – McCain has won South Carolina, making the total McCain 16, Obama 3. McCain is definitely well on his way on the march to 27. Wait, what? 270? Oh, well, I guess I better turn the TV back on then…
7:58pm – NBC has Luke Russert reporting live from a room full of young voters. It’s equal parts touching and creepy.
8:01pm – Obama has won the entire east coast plus Illinois and Pennsylvania (the first state that was even close to being a surprise, but not really…). McCain won Tennessee and Oklahoma. Electoral College is now Obama 103, McCain 58.
8:30pm – NBC is now taking applications for pundits to fill the hour between 8pm and 9pm, when absolutely nothing changes.
9:01pm – Obama takes Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. McCain gets some more southern and mid-western states. Electoral College is now 175 to 70. Good news for McCain: Florida is still to close to call. Bad news: So is Arizona.
9:07pm – McCain takes Bill Clinton’s home state of Arkansas. Of course, Hillary Clinton has two home states, and neither of them are Arkansas, saving her some embarrassment this evening. 175 – 76, Obama.
9:10pm – Governor Patterson of New York is explaining how Barack Obama won the election. He also referred to Obama as the descendant of “those who enslaved and those who were slaves.” Brian Williams is carefully reminding everyone that it ain’t over until it’s over, or at least until the networks call it over with 2% of the votes counted. Also, that the Governor of New York is a little bit crazy.
9:13pm – McCain advisor to NBC: “Tonight, we need a miracle.” NBC immediately seeks out new ways to maintain some sense of drama, even though everyone knows what’s about to happen.
9:15pm – Rudy Giuliani becomes the first Republican to say, “after all this is over, we all become Americans.”
9:18pm – The Senate is “Net + 4” for the Democrats.
9:30pm – Ohio to Obama. “No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio.” I think it’s over now, but of course, NBC’s sponsors prohibit NBC from saying so. Louisiana to McCain, new Mexico to Obama. 200-85, Obama. at this point, I just want it to end by 10pm, so I can watch John Stewart and Steven Colbert in peace…
9:33pm – NBC has admitted that if Obama wins California, Oregon and Washington, he passes 270. But keep watching! Maybe we’ll catch bin Laden in the next 15 minutes!
9:39pm – NBC is now explaining how green screens work. Also, West Virginia to McCain. 200-90, Obama.
9:47pm – Anne Thompson: Obama won Ohio because “God, Guns, and Gays” were not on the ballot this year. where do they find these people? Also, Ohio seems to have figured out how to conduct an election this year – no voting troubles, long lines, etc. reported this time around.
9:53pm – When you’re in the New York area, the cut to the local news looks really silly. They leave Rockefeller Center, run a cool graphic, and then return to Rockefeller Center, where they repeat the same news we all just heard from the national guys.
9:57pm – New Jersey senator Frank Lautenberg, who retired from the senate years ago, had a local train station named after him, then took over the race from Robert Torricelli in 2002 when Torricelli resigned after admitting to illegal activity, has won a fifth (non-consecutive) term. He’s 84 years old now, and will be 90 when his term ends.
10:00pm – Texas for McCain, Iowa for Obama, Utah for McCain. No surprises there. 207-129, Obama.
10:12pm – DVR’ing the actual election and watching the previously DVR’ed John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Me like funny man. Ha Ha Ha. Funny man funny…
10:18pm – Steven Colbert has just announced that South Carolina is this year’s “bonus state,” which triples your Electoral College score. This changes everything…
10:22pm – Checking back with reality. The McCain headquarters have got a country singer singing to what is apparently an empty room. Meanwhile, Obama’s party in Grant Park, Chicago is celebrating the Phillies’ World Series win, since they’ve got roughly the same number of people Philadelphia had. Also, Mississippi went for McCain. 207-135 now. Oooh….getting closer. Yeah, right…
10:25pm – NBC gives Luke Russert another shout out to represent the “youth vote.” Basically, he’s standing in a room at Indiana University, filled with a bunch of people roughly his age. They are all very, very excited to be on television.
10:30pm – Arizona is still too close to call. You’ve gotta believe that all McCain wants right now is to take Arizona and go home…
10:36pm – John Oliver of the Daily Show: The financial crisis has reached such proportions that the Chinese are now legally allowed to own us as pets. The next step is when Americans begin e-mailing Nigerian princes asking for money (Note to Nigerians: don’t do it. It’s a scam). Funny man is funny…. Oh, look! A tree!!!
10:42pm – Another check with reality – McCain gets Nebraska. 207-142. Also, now that McCain has Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota, he has successfully connected Mexico to Canada. Reports from Phoenix are that McCain tragically thought he was playing a game of Block Busters, hosted by Bill Russell in 1974. News that these six states do not give him the presidency has, apparently, hit him very hard. In a related story, Sarah Palin is reported to be winking uncontrollably and is being seen by doctors. More later….
10:54pm – Local news break. Six minutes until California’s results come in and everyone goes crazy.
11:00pm – It’s over. Obama wins the presidency after taking California, Oregon and Washington State (284-146). Grant Park is now celebrating like the Yankees just won the World Series. Chants of “Yes, We Did!” Tears and smiles all over. I bet Obama’s thinking about his grandmother right now. And I bet Hillary feels cheated, although she’d never admit it to anyone.
11:07pm – NBC has an African-American congressman on air listing famous African Americans. In the meantime, Obama took Virginia. At any rate, we’re at 297-146.
Categories: Political Rantings | 2 Comments »
My Presidential Endorsement
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008Well, it’s that time again. Time to throw my support behind one of the candidates for President of the United States. I’m sure many of you are of the opinion that the many celebrity endorsements of late are totally ineffectual. I’m here to show you that something can be even less convincing than celebrity endorsements. I expect to convince no one with this – only to perhaps start a (small?) discussion about my selection process.
Categories: Political Rantings | 8 Comments »
Things Ain’t Lookin’ Good for McCain/Palin
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008From our recent trick-or-treating trip:
I’m not sure if these people are enthusiastic about both McCain/Palin and Halloween, or if they’re Obama supporters sending a subtle message. Either way, I think the picture will prove apropos by this evening…
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