Clinton starts year $6 million in debt
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rang in the new year still saddled with $5.9 million in debts left over from her unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign, according to records filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission.
Frank Rich: Herbert Hoover Lives As The GOP Goes AWOL
ERE’S a bottom line to keep you up at night: The economy is falling faster than Washington can get moving. President Obama says his stimulus plan will save or create four million jobs in two years. In the last four months of 2008 alone, employment fell by 1.9 million. Do the math.
Merle Haggard’s breathing easier now
The country music legend, 71, is up, around and touring again after a bout with lung cancer.
Back in 1973, the country was in the grip of economic woes. A beleaguered Republican president was overseeing an unpopular war abroad and gradually had lost the support of the American people.
Alfalfa Dinner Obama Speech: TEXT
<p>Below are the excerpts of Obama’s Alfalfa Club Dinner remarks, as released by the White House. More info about the dinner can be found <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090131/obama-alfalfa/”>here</a>.</p> <blockquote>I am seriously glad to be here tonight at the annual Alfalfa dinner. I know that many you are aware that this dinner began almost one hundred years ago as a way to celebrate the birthday of General Robert E. Lee. If he were here with us tonight, the General would be 202 years old. And very confused. <p>Now, this hasnâ¿¿t been reported yet, but it was actually Rahmâ¿¿s idea to do the swearing-in ceremony again. Of course, for Rahm, every day is a swearing-in ceremony.</p> <p>But don’t believe what you read. Rahm Emanuel is a real sweetheart.</p> <p>No, it’s true. Every week the guy takes a little time away to give back to the community. Just last week he was at a local school, teaching profanity to poor children.</p> <p>But these are the kind of negotiations you have to deal with as President. In just the first few weeks, Iâ¿¿ve had to engage in some of the toughest diplomacy of my life. And that was just to keep my Blackberry. I finally agreed to limit the number of people who could email me. Itâ¿¿s a very exclusive list. How exclusive?</p> <p>Everyone look at the person sitting on your left⿦ Now look at the person sitting on your right⿦ None of you have my email address.</blockquote></p>
Local Police Want Right To Jam Wireless Signals
As President Obama’s motorcade rolled down Pennsylvania Avenue on Inauguration Day, federal authorities deployed a closely held law enforcement tool: equipment that can jam cellphones and other wireless devices to foil remote-controlled bombs, sources said.
Former Bush Chief Of Staff Criticizes Obama For Disrespecting The White House
<p>Former Bush White House chief of staff Andrew Card complained to right-wing talk-show host Michael Medved that President Obama is insufficiently respectful of the presidency. Apparently, one demonstrates respect for the presidency by their choice of attire:</p>
Reid: Stimulus Bill Going To Be “Long, Hard Slog”
Democrats admit it’s going to be a tough fight to get President Obama’s economic stimulus plan passed with bipartisan support, but they are optimistic it can be done.
On Thursday night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said it is going to be a “long, hard slog” with “late nights” after the $900 billion bill comes to the Senate floor Monday night. “It is up to us how long this takes,” Reid added. “We hope we can work things out.”
George Obama arrested on drug charge
George Obama, the half brother of U.S. President Barack Obama, has been arrested by Kenyan police on charges of marijuana possession and resisting arrest, police said today. “They took me from my home,” he said from jail. “I don’t know why they are charging me.”
Jackson Williams: I’m Sorry
<p>David Letterman <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://blogs.courant.com/roger_catlin_tv_eye/2009/01/bill-hicks-on-letterman-finall.html”>apologized</a> last night for ordering that a stand-up routine by the late comic Bill Hicks be edited out of a “Late Night” episode 16 years ago. Dave had Bill’s mom on the show, and ran a tape of the performance as a way of closing the circle.<br /> <br />
In Super Bowl Sunday’s <em>NY Times</em> Arts and Leisure section, Bruce Springsteen <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/arts/music/01pare.html?_r=2&pagewanted=3&ref=arts”>admits</a> that cutting an exclusive deal with <strong>Wal-Mart</strong> to sell a “Greatest Hits” package was in error, given his reputation as a hero to the working man and the company’s history of anti-union practices. “It was a mistake,” the Boss now says. “Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be.”<br /> <br />
It’s a new day in America. President Barack Obama is restoring honor and decency, and suddenly it’s a time that calls for doing the right thing.<br /> <br />
Along those lines, former White House strategist Karl Rove has privately contacted House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers to express regrets over his failure to testify about various scandals during the Bush presidency.<br /> <br />
“I did the wrong thing,” <em>Bush’s Brain</em> writes bluntly in a three page confessional obtained by this blogger. “I orchestrated the entire scheme of firing the U.S. Attorneys, and good people were tarnished in the process. I was so full of myself after having successfully outed a covert CIA officer that I simply couldn’t see straight.”<br /> <br />
No confirmation yet of rumors that George Bush and Dick Cheney have decided to forgo their lifetime, taxpayer-funded pensions, as partial atonement for the economic meltdown that occurred on their eight year watch.</p>
Somalia lawmakers elected moderate Islamist as president
Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the former chairman of the Islamic Courts Union, is seen as someone who might be able to unite Somalia’s warring clans.
A moderate Islamist leader was elected as Somalia’s president today, spurring street celebrations in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, and raising hopes for improved security in the Horn of Africa nation.
