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Blagojevich names Burris to Obamas Senate seat
By David Edwards
In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced that he had chosen former Ill. Attorney General to take Barack Obamas Senate seat.
RAW STORY has more details here.
This video is from CNN.com, broadcast Dec. 30, 2008.
Barney Frank has been called the "smartest guy in Congress," which is lucky for us since he works on some of the thorniest issues around.
The 14-term, 68-year-old Harvard-educated Democratic congressman from Massachusetts is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which means his portfolio includes banks, housing and now the auto industry.
He has been at the center of both the $700-billion dollar rescue for financial institutions, and the bailout attempt for the car companies that failed in the Senate.
He worked on both this past week: pressuring Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to deal with home foreclosures, and negotiating with the White House on the loan for GM and Chrysler. True to textbook liberalism, Barney Frank worked hard to keep the carmakers out of Chapter 11.
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Axelrod on Morning Joe Posted: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 11:29 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: States, Democrats, Obama WH Transition
From NBC's Ashley Codianni and Mark Murray
Earlier today, we noted Obama senior adviser David Axelrod's appearance on Morning Joe, where he parried questions about Obama's and Rahm Emanuel's ties to embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Video: Sr. White House Advisor David Axelrod discusses the latest questions surrounding whether or not White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had any inappropriate conversations concerning the Ill. Senate seat.
"[T]here isn't a person involved in Chicago politics who would tell you that Barack Obama and Rod Blagojevich had any kind of close relationship," Axelrod answered. "They never did. They weren't from the same political factions in Illinois politics, and they weren't close."
A Grammy Award-winning rapper and music producer originally sentenced to 14 years in prison for smuggling cocaine is one of 16 people receiving pardons or reduced sentences from President Bush.
John Edward Forte of North Brunswick, N.J., a graduate of the elite Phillips Exeter Academy prep school who later became a producer for the rap group The Fugees and released two albums on his own, was caught in 2000 at Newark International Airport with two briefcases filled with $1.4 million worth of liquid cocaine, according to court documents.
WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush has granted pardons to 14 individuals and commuted the prison sentences of two others convicted of misdeeds ranging from drug offenses to tax evasion, from wildlife violations to bank embezzlement, The Associated Press learned Monday.
The new round of White House pardons are Bush's first since March and come less than two months before he will end his presidency. The crimes committed by those on the list also include offenses involving hazardous waste, food stamps, and the theft of government property.
Bush has been stingy during his time in office about handing out such reprieves.
Including these actions, he has granted a total of 171 and eight commutations. That's less than half as many as Presidents Clinton or Reagan issued during their time in office. Both were two-term presidents.
Bush also commuted the prison sentences of John Edward Forte of North Brunswick, N.J., and James Russell Harris of Detroit, Mich. Both were convicted of cocaine offenses.
Under the Constitution, the president's power to issue pardons is absolute and cannot be overruled.
Some high-profile individuals, such as Michael Milken, are seeking a pardon on securities fraud charges. Two politicians convicted of public corruption — former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., and four-term Democratic Louisiana Gov. Edwin W. Edwards — are asking Bush to shorten their prison terms.
One hot topic of discussion related to pardons is whether Bush might decide to issue pre-emptive pardons before he leaves office to government employees who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Some constitutional scholars and human rights groups want the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama to investigate possible war crimes.
If Bush were to pardon anyone involved, it would provide protection against criminal charges, particularly for people who were following orders or trying to protect the nation with their actions. But it would also be highly controversial.
At the same time, Obama advisers say there is little — if any — chance that his administration would bring criminal charges.
November 24, 2008
All smiles here!
Bush, speaking on the steps of the Treasury Building, said he talked to his Treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, about the Citigroup rescue on Sunday night as Bush flew back from a Pacific Rim economic summit in Peru. He also talked to Obama about the decision, and Paulson is working closely with the president-elects transition team, Bush said.
Sen. Harry Reid (D - Neveda) Majority Leader, decided to keep Joe Lieberman in his chairmanship on HomeLand Security after the major fiasco he caused by supporting John McCain as opposed to his Democratic counter-part President Elect Barcack Obama this presedential race.
This upsets some, but water-cooler conversation indicates Harry Reid decided to keep Lieberman on so there can be yet another democrat to vote in the favor of the left in the house to get laws passed.
Hank Paulson testified in Congress today about how our "bail-out" money is getting spent after his Press Conference last week in which he indicated he doesn't plan on using a majority of the money to help home owners with their mortgages and instead wants to use it towards purchasing stocks in banks.
That of course, caused of riff in congress, most of whom are Democrat now, that originally voted to pass on the bill based on AIDING THE MORTGAGE CRISIS.
The videos posted are from most of today's events.
There are a couple of favorites who were in attendance, notably Ron Paul
Paulson pisses away more US taxpayer money, still won't tell us who got what and now he wants to change the rules. This dude makes shit up as he goes. Paulson went so far as to say the Treasury and Federal Reserve may set up a new program to provide funding to consumer finance companies.
Now the Treasury Secretary says he doesn't want to buy troubled mortgage assets. So it's now time for a strategy change.
"Although the financial system has stabilized, both banks and non-banks may well need more capital given their troubled asset holdings, projections for continued high rates of foreclosures and stagnant U.S. and world economic conditions," Paulson said.
Discussion get heated about the secrecy and arbitrariness of the TARP bailout. Now the plan changes!! Game changes keep confusing market investors.
MSNBCs Mike Viqueira reported that Sen. Harry Reid has asked Sen. Joe Lieberman to step down as chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.
This video is from MSNBCs News Live, broadcast November 7, 2008.
Ok, let's get the political shit out of the way. This is really the first chance I'm getting to absorb the fact that Barack Obama is our president because yesterday I had a very emotional funeral I had to attend.
I know aside from myself one man that has to be over-joyed by Barack's victory is my wigga Bill Maher. He was on Larry King yesterday, always an interesting/ un-filtered perspective.
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