From Iowahawk.
Check out Blago's deal on Durbin: "Illinoise Senator. Slightly retarded, still works."
CHICAGO - The ongoing corruption probe into Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich took a dramatic turn this evening, as federal agents working for US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald announced that they had seized the governor's eBay account. It is as yet unknown how the latest seizure will effect the outcome of the case.
From our February 2008 issue: Rod Blagojevich was something of a golden boy when he became the governor of Illinoisa young, charismatic champion of change with powerful backers and presidential aspirations. Now he may be the most unpopular governor in the country. A look at how things fell so completely apart.
#1
The electorate still has some quality standards, I guess. Auctioning off a seat in the US Senate is a no-no & goes far beyond the acceptable level of corruption. We still don't know whether or not massive solicitation of illegal campaign contributions is acceptable or not.
#2
Rod Blagojevich Barrack Obama was something of a golden boy when he became the governor Senator of Illinoisa young, charismatic champion of change with powerful backers and presidential aspirations.
#6
ION OBAMA CRISES TEAM, WORLD MIL FORUM > KMT CHAIRMAN WU PU-HSIUNG: DAOYU ISLANDS IS PART OF TAIWAN, NOT JAPAN; + JAPAN FEARS CHINA'S OFFICIAL DEFENSE OF DAOYU ISLANDS WILL INSPIRE CHINESE PATRIOTISM, ANTI-JAPAN HATRED AROUND THE WORLD, +JAPAN's YONAGUNI PEOPLES SEEK INDEPENDENCE - ASKS TAIWAN TO JOIN? [also involves Tsushima Island claims vee KOREAS], + JAPAN CONSIDERS TAIWAN AND DAOYU ISLANDS AS PART OF ITS EXTENDED/STRATEGIC REGIONAL AIR, MISSLE DEFENSE RING, + JAPANESE MEDIAS: JAPANESE SDF QUIETLY PREPARES TO DEPLOY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ARMY TROOPS, AIR-SEA ASSETS AS PART OF DAOYU ISLANDS CONTINGENCY PLANS.
* CHINA > PLA MUST BE ABLE TO QUICKLY PROJECT MILITARY POWER INTO THE CENTRAL PACIFIC AND INDIAN OCEANS BEFORE 2020.
* PHILIPPINES > PHILIPINE MILITARY DEFENSE OF SPRATLEY ISLANDS IMPORTANT FOR LONG-RANGE REGIONAL/NATIONAL SECURITY.
* SAME : US MEDIAS: DESPITE IMROVEMENTS INDIA'S ARMED FORCES IS STILL TOO WEAK TO STOP ANY MAJOR CHINESE OFFENSIVE AT BORDERS [includ LOC wid Paki, China].
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told NBC's Meredith Vieira in an interview taped Monday that Rep. Charles Rangel should not step down as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Pelosi said she didn't see "any reason" that Rangel should step down. Yes, now that I've fixed the Culture of Corruption, there's really no need for this anymore, Meredith.
She made her bed and she's sleeping in it ...
Tuesday, the House ethics committee said it's now expanding its investigation of Rangel. Pelosi said it's up to the ethics committee to decide if Rangel should surrender his chairmanship. Nope. Not my job.
"Until they make their decision, which I hope will be soon-- I think that he should stay as chair of the committee," Pelosi said. Pelosi added, "Mr. Rangel, he loves our country. He loves this Congress. He wants to do nothing but bring credit to it. And he'll be the first one to know what his course of action should be." ...and his condo in the Dominican is gorgeous!
The expanded ethics committee will investigate Rangel's role in preserving a tax loophole that benefited a company whose executive had pledged $1 million to a center named after Rangel. The Charlie Rangel Research Center for the Study of Convienient Memory Loss.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
Please note the Democrats do not have a "culture of corruption". They have an "alternative lifestyle of corruption". Only a racist would be against an alternative lifestyle.
Posted by: bruce ||
12/11/2008 7:17 Comments ||
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#3
Now some are becoming aware that the Donk's objection to the Trunks 'culture of corruption' was that there wasn't enough. The people of America deserve professionals, not amateurs, doing these things.
His career in shreds, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich clung defiantly to power Wednesday, ignoring a call to step down from President-elect Barack Obama and a warning that Senate Democrats will not let him appoint a new senator from the state. "Everyone is calling for his head," said Barbara Flynn Currie, a leader in the Illinois Senate and, like the governor, a Democrat.
He'll resign on Friday afternoon. Ev'rybody knows you resign on Friday and put the bad news into the Saturday newspaper ...
One day after Blagojevich's arrest, fellow Illinois politicians sought to avoid the taint of scandal-by-association.
Blago's got the federal version of 'cooties'. No one knows him, no one is friends with him, no one ever had dinner with him, no one ever got anything from him, and no one owes him nuttin'. The man is a political leper ...
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. said at a news conference in Washington that he was Senate Candidate 5 in the government's criminal complaint -- a man Blagojevich was secretly recorded as saying might be willing to pay money to gain appointment to Obama's vacant Senate seat. Jackson said he had been assured by prosecutors he was not a target of the investigation, and he emphatically said he had not engaged "whatsoever in any wrongdoing."
Other Democrats in Washington edged away from calls for a special election to fill Obama's place in the Senate, hoping that Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn would soon become governor and fill the vacancy on his own. That would assure the party of holding the seat, and on a far faster timetable than any balloting would allow.
Probably will hold for them, too, since the Illinois Republican Party, the party that begat Dirksen, Thompson and Edgar, is now a joke and a running sore ...
Ensconced in his downtown office, Blagojevich gave no sign he was contemplating resigning, and dispatched his spokeswoman, Kelley Quinn, to say it was "business as usual" in his 16th-floor suite, situated a few blocks from Obama's transition headquarters. "At the end of the day, the top priority for our office is to serve the people, and we have not lost sight of that, nor will we lose sight of that," Kelley Quinn said.
One day earlier, federal prosecutors released a thick document that included excerpts of wiretapped conversations in which the governor allegedly schemed to enrich himself by offering to sell Obama's Senate seat for campaign cash or a lucrative job inside or outside government. Blagojevich, whose 52nd birthday was Wednesday, is charged with conspiracy and solicitation to commit bribery, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and 10 years, respectively.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Personally, I hope he does NOT resign. Innocent until proven guilty, right? Rod needs a mental review, hospitalization. He's a sick man (or so some say). And then there's Potty-Mouth Patty and the kids. It's Christmas, come on people. The taxpayers are Paying, so lets PLAY! Draaaaaaaaag it out please. Full MSM specials, photos, interviews, etc, Lets get ALL the vermin, all the connections, payoffs, bribes, candidates 1 thru 5. We surivived 8 years of Clinton denying a BJ. This should be no problem at all.
Reading the transcripts of those wiretaps, that's how they talk. They're all like that. I lived in Chicago for a while, and my alderman, Toni Precwinkle (still alderman), had a mouth that could strip paint when needed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/11/2008 9:39 Comments ||
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#3
They'd so like to be done with Blago. Put him in a straight jacket, gagged and put into a dark hole. The Machine is deathly afraid he'll start chirping away, just like Rezko apparently is. The mountain of shit is so high and foul that if the cover is thrown off, the entire city of Chicago will die of the stench. Fortunately, Bambalooza and Axelrod never met Blago. Welllll..., at least they didn't like him. They knew a rotten turd when they stood next to one. Ahh, lessee, what else ? Yeah, never went to any functions where Blago appeared......
#6
Breaking crystal by singing isn't about loud, mom, it's about singing high.
'Course, Fitzgerald's got him by the b*lls, so.... ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/11/2008 11:53 Comments ||
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#7
Blago can only interest Fitzgerald in one of three people: Durbin (won't happen, he doesn't need to be dirty), Daley (won't happen, he's too smart to leave fingerprints) and Bambi (won't happen).
Fitzgerald is hunting elk, and he's not interested in coming home with a squirrel pelt.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/11/2008 14:04 Comments ||
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#8
We surivived 8 years of Clinton denying a BJ.
We surivived 8 years of Clinton lying to a grand jury.
#10
Bigger potential "harm" to pols comes from Blago's charged chief of staff, who "coincidentally" was Daley's chief of staff and the alleged architect of the midnight renovation of Meigs Field. I can hear the carols now.
#11
He'll try for victim status. You know, problem with alcohol, prescription pain killers, Twinkies, etc. then he'll check himself into a rehab center.
A spokeswoman for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says one of his top aides has resigned. Spokeswoman Kelley Quinn on Wednesday said Deputy Gov. Bob Greenlee resigned. The reason for his resignation wasn't immediately clear.
No clue, huh?
Greenlee's resignation comes a day after Blagojevich was arrested on federal corruption charges.
There's a clue ...
Greenlee was promoted to be a top aide to Blagojevich in June, replacing former Deputy Governor Sheila Nix. Greenlee had been a top administration aide previously. State records indicate the 33-year-old Greenlee lives in Chicago and earned $149,000 a year.
Merry Fitzmas, Bob!
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
That's Deputy to the Governor.
Dwight: I'm the assistant Regional Manager.
Bob: No. Your assistant to the Regional Manager.
Dwight: Its the same thing.
Bob: No its not.
The momentum for a special election to replace President-elect Barack Obama ran into a major hurdle late this afternoon in the form of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) who penned a letter today to scandal-tarred Gov. Rod Blagojevich making clear he would prefer the incumbent step aside and let Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn make the appointment.
If there's an election the voters might go with a Publican, rather than a Sinner. Sometimes it happens in the immediate wake of a big time scandal.
See the most recent Senatorial election in Alaska for details ...
"It is within the authority of the Illinois legislature to remove your power to make this appointment by providing for a special election," wrote Reid in a letter obtained by The Fix. "But a decision by you to resign or to step aside under Article V of the Illinois Constitution would be the most expeditious way for a new Senator to be chosen and seated in a manner that would earn the confidence of the people of Illinois and all Americans."
Reid adds that his preference for an appointment by Blagojevich's successor rather than a special election is driven by his belief that it is "imperative" that a new senator from Illinois be seated as soon as possible. An appointment by Quinn, a Democrat, also avoids the possibility that Democrats could lose the seat in a shortened special election campaign.
I don't know why they're worried, the Illinois Pubs can't put up anyone who'd win. Durbin just won re-election last month with 63% of the vote. Blago beat Topinka for the governorship in '06 at 50-39%.
The timeline being floated in Illinois political circles would be for party primaries to take place on Feb. 24 with a general election on April 7 -- a schedule that would leave the Senate seat vacant for at least three months.
And we all know how ineffective the Senate is when it has but 99 Senators ...
In the letter, which Reid is circulating among the Senate Democratic Caucus for signatures, the Majority Leader also makes clear that if Blagojevich sought to name a Senate replacement, which remains within his legal right to do, the Senate would not necessarily seat that pick.
"Please understand that should you decide to ignore the request of the Senate Democratic Caucus and make an appointment we would be forced to exercise our
Constitutional authority under Article I, Section 5, to determine whether such a person should be seated," wrote Reid. (The Senate has ultimate decision making power over seating its members.)
Reid's desire for an appointment rather than a special election puts him at odds with Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) who proposed the idea of a special just yesterday, as well as Illinois state House Speaker Mike Madigan and Illinois state Senate President Emil Jones Jr.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Let the IL legislature remove the governor's power to appoint a replacement Senator & take it that power on themselves. If the IL electorate doesn't like the choice of the legislature, they can vote them out in the next election (as if that'll ever happen)
Among the hundreds of hours of conversations involving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich secretly recorded by the FBI since Oct. 29, one phone call is drawing particular scrutiny among politicos, journalists and others in Washington. It was a marathon conference call on Monday, Nov. 10.
The call lasted about two hours. On the phone were Mr. Blagojevich, his wife, his general counsel, an unnamed adviser, and John Harris, the governor's chief of staff and his co-defendant in this week's case.
But what's drawing the most interest is who was on the line from Washington, and the sequence of political events that followed that same night and in the ensuing days regarding Barack Obama's close friend and adviser, Valerie Jarrett.
According to the FBI, there were "various Washington, D.C., based advisers" on the call with Mr. Blagojevich & Co., although the Washington callers are not named. The FBI also said participants popped on and off the line throughout the conversation.
During the call, Mr. Blagojevich and those closest to him allegedly detailed virtually every one of their ideas for turning Mr. Obama's open Senate seat into something valuable. Specifically, the governor asked "what he can get from the President-elect for the Senate seat," the FBI alleged, adding later that callers talked about how to "monetize" Mr. Blagojevich's connections.
Mr. Blagojevich also bemoaned what he called his financial struggles, although his post reportedly pays about $177,000 per year. "The immediate challenge," the governor allegedly said, "[is] how do we take some of the financial pressure off of our family."
Callers discussed the possibility of ambassadorships, which are made by the president. They talked about an appointment for Mr. Blagojevich as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, also made by the president. They explored the idea of getting Mr. Obama to use his clout to put the governor's wife on corporate boards. And they discussed a deal involving the Service Employee International Union, which would be asked to install Mr. Blagojevich over one of its top political groups in exchange for the union getting to tell Mr. Obama that it was delivering the open U.S. Senate seat to his favorite candidate.
That candidate, Mr. Blagojevich believed, was Valerie Jarrett, according to sources familiar with this part of the probe.
There is no inference that Mr. Obama knew about or encouraged any of this alleged scheming, and he has explicitly denied it. But the big question is today is this: Were any members of his transition team among the "Washington advisers" on the line during this marathon conference call, or did one of the participants fill them in about these wild ideas?
Mr. Obama's people are not commenting on details about the case. But the reason that question is on so many minds today is because of what happened that very same Monday night.
At 7:56 p.m. Eastern Time, CNN reported that "two Democratic sources close to President-elect Barack Obama tell CNN that top adviser Valerie Jarrett will not be appointed to replace him in the U.S. Senate."
That was an abrupt turnaround. While we can't vouch for CNN's reportage, the network had reported that same weekend that Ms. Jarrett was Mr. Obama's top choice. (Ms. Jarrett herself confirmed that she was out of contention two days after it was reported by CNN, and two days after the marathon conference call. She told the PBS show The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, "Well, you know what? I`m actually not interested in the Senate position.")
At a bare minimum, the timing of Team Obama's decision to remove Ms. Jarrett's name from contention, or at least to remove her name from the public speculation about the post, seems extraordinarily lucky. It came on the very same day the FBI secretly recorded Mr. Blagojevich telling a huge conference call loaded with politicos, in Illinois and Washington, that he wasn't about to give Senate spot away for nothing.
It's also the same recorded conversation in which Mr. Blagojevich uses an obscenity to refer to Mr. Obama, before the governor makes clear he won't give the president-elect the seat for free. "F-- him. For nothing? F-- him."
Look for everyone to continue focusing on this call, and who from Washington was on the line.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"Mr. Blagojevich uses an obscenity to refer to Mr. Obama"
At least he didn't threaten the family jewels. Cause he knew Jesse has called dibs on that. Nice to know that Bambalooza is so highly regarded be his fellow criminals.
#2
I'm more interested in why the arrest was made when it was. Blago had not yet done anything really bad. And he can claim he was exaggerating, his staff knew to discount his rants, they were just bounding ideas around. But all they've got is stuff like conspiracy, soliciting, etc. The same kind of soft core crime they got on Martha Stewart, Frank Quattrone, etc.
Why didn't they let him cut a deal and then bust him?
#3
NS - that's the exact unanswered question I've had, and I live here and have yet to see a detailed reply. Most of the commentary echoes USA Fitzgerald's comment that the crime was imminent, and part of a "spree" that had to be stopped.
What I wonder is if anyone has looked at the Gov's schedule for Tues. morning - recalling that he met with Jesse Jr. Monday afternoon, and the feds showed up at 6 am the next day - was the announcement set for a few hours later?
Or - did Fitz feel he had enough info on the Gov., and wanted to freeze everyone else in place and make them race in to see him and confess before they got ratted out by the others in on the dealings?
I trust Fitz that the Tribune forced his hand to some extent (and all properly done as an aggressive news outlet) and the time to strike was opportune before the defenses were built by all the others aside from the Gov..
#5
the timing of Team Obama's decision to remove Ms. Jarrett's name from contention, or at least to remove her name from the public speculation about the post, seems extraordinarily lucky.
#6
"And they discussed a deal involving the Service Employee International Union [SEIU]..."
Hmmm...the SEIU? Now where have I heard of them before? Oh yeah...now I remember...they're the single largest financial donar to the Obama campaign. But I'm sure everything is on the up and up. I mean...Chicago...Unions...fawgettaboutit.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich knew for months he was under investigation, so why was he caught on tape making so many incriminating statements? Some are wondering if there's something wrong with his mental acuity.
As CBS 2's Jim Williams reports, right after the feds announced the charges against Blagojevich, there were angry shouts across the country. "disgusting" and "arrogant" is what many called him.
However, after some reflection, there is the serious question people like Marian Cassler of Chicago are asking: "When you know you're being watched, why would you do something like that? You have to have something wrong."
"Well, we think he's nuts, that he has some kind mental problem that he would have the audacity to do such a thing," said Chicago resident Meg Olsen.
Could it be that Blagojevich has a mental illness that has impaired his judgment?
Dr. Daniela Schreirer is a forensic psychologist at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and she does not see any sign of mental illness in the public Blagojevich, but believes he does have sociopathic traits. "We're just talking about traits. We're not talking about full-blown diagnosis. But certainly, there's the same sense of entitlement, the same sense of thinking I am superior. I can do whatever I want. I am not going to be caught," Schreirer said.
Could a claim of a mental illness be the Blagojevich's best defense in court? "There's a difference between being crazy and being legally insane," said CBS 2's Legal Analyst Irv Miller.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2008 00:00 ||
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"but certainly, there's the same sense of entitlement, the same sense of thinking I am superior. I can do whatever I want. I am not going to be caught,"
Sounds like typical donk/librul traits to me. And, it reminds me of another sociopath. That one is better at grasping the whole of "not being caught" and creating that reality by not only internalizing it, but also by diligent externalizing by any means of the least resistance.
#4
Simple greed and gross ignorance mistaken for a mental condition? I think that defense has been attempted before. Blago is little more than a YouTube reality clip of the Chicago machine that brought us "The One." The Italian and Sicilian gansters of the prohibition era were supplanted by the Poles and others who moved into the "legitimate" business of Cook County politics. If you would like to donate, driving south from Wisconsin simply take Interstate Highway-90 and pitch in a few coins every 17 miles at the tollbooths. Expect more frequent stops as you enter Cook County. Welcome to Illinois, The Land of Lincoln.
#5
I said it above but I'll say it here: Blago is not sick and he's not mentally ill.
He's a Chicago pol.
Reading the transcripts of those wiretaps, that's how they talk. They're all like that. I lived in Chicago for a while, and my alderman, Toni Precwinkle (still alderman), had a mouth that could strip paint when needed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/11/2008 9:41 Comments ||
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#6
Lost in all this is the fact that Barry tried to push Val on Blago. Blago resisted and the rest is now on it's way to being history.
Seems to me like Barry started this latest round of pay-to-play when he tried to get his player her payola in the form of a senate seat.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/11/2008 9:48 Comments ||
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#7
Senate Candidate # ?. A most interesting piece of trivia HERE:
Excerpt: Val Jarretts story starts in Iran, born in Shiraz, the daughter of Americans, Barbara Taylor Bowman and James Edward Bowman. Her father, a doctor who specialized in genetics and pathology, helped found the first hospital in that city. When Jarrett was five, the Bowmans and their only child moved to England and a year later to Chicago. The Bowmans bought the home they still live in on South Greenwood Avenue in the Kenwood Historic District a block away from the Obama house.
#17
With reference to Rod's eyes...photo #14 (above) has his right eye looking at The One and his left eye looking at the camera. How does one accomplish something like that?
Chicago Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., is the anonymous "Senate Candidate No. 5" whose emissaries Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich reportedly offered up to $1 million to name him to the U.S. Senate, federal law enforcement sources tell ABC News.
The politician says he is not a target of the Blagojevich investigation.
According to the FBI affidavit in the case, Blagojevich "stated he might be able to cut a deal with Senate Candidate 5 that provided Rod Blagojevich" with something "tangible up front."
Jackson said this morning he was contacted Tuesday by federal prosecutors in Chicago whom he said "asked me to come in and share with them my insights and thoughts about the selection process."
Jackson said, "I don't know" when asked whether he was Candidate No. 5, but said he was told "I am not a target of this investigation."
Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats ||
12/11/2008 8:36 Comments ||
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#3
but said he was told "I am not a target of this investigation."
Sorry Junior. Not being the target of an investigation doesnt mean squat. All it means is the DoJ doesnt have an indictment ready to be served. If Jackson is indeed candidate #5 you can bet he is a subject in this investigation.
Posted by: ed ||
12/11/2008 14:44 Comments ||
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#6
You guys miss it by a mile.
"I am not a target of this investigation."
That doesn't mean he's not the target of a DIFFERENT investigation, along with his old man.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/11/2008 15:55 Comments ||
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#7
The beauty of it is that Jackson's chances of ever getting that Senate seat have been effectively reduced to nil. Even if they don't indict him or jail him, the House is as far as he'll ever get.
#8
Besoeker, you hit the nail on the head, without knowing it. Who other than the extortionist-in- chief could engineer appointments for Patty B to corporate boards???
#9
RGR RGR Eagle. Always look for the one's who aren't in the news or are keeping very quiet. Seen Jesse Jackson or Michelle in the news lately....? This may all go down as a girly-girly thing between Potty-Mouth Patty, Michelle, and Val. Maybe The One was truthing after all when he said..."no one on my staff was involved in pay for play deals." He said today "he's still looking into who said what to whom." You have to know his and the Raum's boxers are bunched big time. The only thing that will put Rod's daughters through the University of Illinois in ten years will be his upcoming tell-all book deal. Look for him to start singing very soon.
#10
So where does Jesse Jackson Jr. get a million bucks to buy the Senate seat? Is he a chip off the old block? His old man never had a real job his entire life other than strong arming people for money by playing the race card.
#11
I was very wrong about Obama. This guy has done what everyone has failed to do: Clean up chicago politics. What makes me wonder is how many associations or friendships has he denied since seeking office?
#12
To be honest I'm somewhat surprised how sloppy the whole thing was. If I were selling Senate seats I'd have gone to Jessie Jackson Jr personally and gotten a check within the hour.
The three-headed, serpent-tailed dog Cerberus was the offspring of Echidna and Typhon. In Greek mythology, parents didn't necessarily resemble their offspring.
Cerberus was a fierce, pitiless, flesh-eating watchdog, stationed by the River Styx, from which post he would keep the living from entering the land of the dead. Even the gods feared Cerberus, but Hercules (Heracles), for his 12th Labor, had to kidnap the three headed dog and bring him to King Eurystheus. Vergil included in his Aeneid a trip to the Underworld, in which it was necessary for the Roman hero, Aeneas, to get past Cerberus. In Book VI of the Aeneid, the Sibyl threw tranquilizers to each of the three heads of Cerberus so Aeneas could pass in safety.
Orpheus and Psyche were two other mortals who managed to get by Cerberus.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill Wednesday to lend up to $14 billion to the three struggling U.S. automakers, General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC. The bailout proposal would extend taxpayer-funded loans or lines of credit to the Detroit Three and create a federal government post of "car czar" to oversee the industry.
Maybe they'll revive the Pontiac Aztec and the AMC Pacer ...
Introduced by Democrats, the bill is nearly identical to one pending in the Senate, where Republican opposition was making its chances for passage look uncertain.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
Why is the American tax payer paying for the American auto industry's refusal to change with the times. The rest of the world was trying to make more efficient vehicles and our American auto industry stood stubborn as a mule. Shouldn't they learn from their mistakes. Let that 8 Billion dollars be spent on education especially post highschool and grad school. That's what will make our world a better place in the future. Not some big ass vehicle that eats to much petroleum
Posted by: b. luis grey ||
12/11/2008 8:40 Comments ||
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The rest of the world was trying to make more efficient vehicles
The American car companies are making much more efficient vehicles, too, b. luis grey. Mr. Wife's first car got 7 mpg on a good day back in 1980. (I'm not sure how much the cracked engine block periodically bursting into flames affected that, although to be fair he'd bought it used from his father for one dollar.) The problem is legacy costs: UAW workers cost significantly more than auto workers anywhere else in the world, which severely cuts into profitability when prices are constrained due to competition. The other thing that must be remembered is that in general Americans like big, comfortable vehicles, and in general they are willing to pay higher running costs to have them... so the American auto manufacturers were responding to customer demand. When we moved back to the States in 1996, Mr. Wife and the trailing daughters insisted that I get a minivan, even though I would have been happy with something considerably smaller. I was only permitted by them to downsize to a Toyota RAV last year, once the tds gave up soccer with all that entails.
#9
Why not spend that money on cars? Buy $15 billion of them, and sell them for scrap. At least that way the US Taxpayers will get some of the money back.
Posted by: Ebbusoter Darling of the Brontosaurs5211 ||
12/11/2008 10:35 Comments ||
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#10
I wish I had the time and talent to do this cartoon:
Joe Taxpayer strapped to a stone altar, blue jeans pocket ripped open, gasping in terror. Standing behing the altar would be reid in senatorial garb, brandishing a sacrificial knife in one hand and in the other holding a wallet above his head with coins/change falling off the wallet and dribbling onto and down the altar. In the background, frank and pelosi sitting in comfy chairs looking astute. Perhaps a figure bowing down with a GM hat or shirt on, giving thanks.
#11
Any chance we can get the bot-driven astroturfer replaced with that picture of the kind officer?
Maybe one of the other mods...
I say leave him up for a chew toy. Apparently he has no clue about economics, the circus that is the US auto industry, or all the problems currently caused by money being thrown at higher education.
#12
The $14B is just a down payment until Obama and the new Dem congress can write up another bill. The bailout figure I have read tossed about is $70B.
Even that is only dressing a deep wound. There is no will to staunch the sources of internal bleeding, declining sales and huge UAW legacy costs. GM alone lost almost $40B in 2007 and now auto sales have dropped another 40% from 2007. The Big 3 will burn through the $70B and come begging or demanding for more in a year.
Posted by: ed ||
12/11/2008 13:53 Comments ||
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#13
"Senator Corker has proposed an amendment that would go a long way toward improving this bill," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, a foe of the Democratic plan.
Corker would require U.S. automakers to cut wages for union workers to levels of those paid by nonunion foreign competitors in the United States. The proposal seemed certain to be a hit with plenty of resistance from pro-union Democrats.
With Corker's amendment I wouldn't be quite as hostile to a Detroit bailout. After all, the UAW is one of the biggest problems Detroit faces. Another problem is the mortgage meltdown which prevents the automakers from getting the credit they normally would. As far as I can tell the blame for that problem lies directly at the feet of congresscritters.
Contrary to what seems to be the popular opinion these days, I still don't think American cars are all that bad. I kinda like my Pontiac. As TW says, it is big and comfortable. That's what I want when I'm rolling down the freeway. I sure don't wanna be in some rolling tin can that's gonna crumple if it gets hit by an SUV. My car has over 100,000 miles on it and it still rolls pretty well. I like trains and buses better but I don't see cars going away any time soon so we might as well have American made. I do NOT want to end up driving a Chinese car.
#14
Thank you, Ebbang Uluque6305. You make my point better than I. :-) Another point about American vs. foreign vehicles: at almost 5'0" tall, I am limited to vehicles designed for the less tall driver... but Americans tend toward the taller half of the human range, for which many foreign cars are not designed (Saabs, Volvos, BMWs and Mercedes notwithstanding).
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
His career in shreds, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich clung defiantly to power Wednesday, ignoring a call to step down from President-elect Barack Obama and a warning that Senate Democrats will not let him appoint a new senator from the state. "Everyone is calling for his head," said Barbara Flynn Currie, a leader in the Illinois Senate and, like the governor, a Democrat.
Chicago Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., is the anonymous "Senate Candidate No. 5" whose emissaries Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich reportedly offered up to $1 million to name him to the U.S. Senate, federal law enforcement sources tell ABC News.
