Breaking News – Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says that Roland Burris has got to go!

I knew this was coming, but it is a slow news day and I’m going with it:

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said Friday that Roland Burris should resign from the United States Senate and the vacancy should then be filled by a special election.

Quinn joins a chorus of state legislators and two Democratic House members in calling on Burris to resign, saying his Jan. 8 answers before a state legislative committee defied the public’s trust about the appointment.

via Governor calls for Burris to resign – Politico.com.

Calling Bobby Rush! Time to run interference for the fellow Brother!

Bobby?

*crickets*

Oh, Wait. Roland has been kicked to the curb.

Regarding the New York Post's apology

Regarding the New York Post’s Apology and the other stupidity.

I dunno, what ya’ll think?

Family Resemblance?
Family Resemblance?

So, like Michelle said; Sue me.

Other likemided people: Michelle Malkin, Gateway Pundit, Pat Dollard and JOSHUAPUNDIT

Yeah, I know what I wrote here. I still feel that way too. But this is not about Racism, this is about the Liberal Democrats controlling Conservatives right to free speech. The, ahem, chimps Liberal Black Democrats want to control what we honkey White Conservatives write, and I think it is a bunch of bullshit.

So, bring it on, there Mr. “Interloper”.  I dare ya.

Chris Muir also weighs in here:

CNBC's Rick Santelli goes off on a rant about the Bailouts and the Stimulus

Sometimes I just wuv BreitBart. This has to be one of the best things I’ve ever seen on MSBC/CNBC.

Exit Question: I just wonder how long it is before Rick Santelli gets terminated for not embracing the politics of hope and change?

Rat in the mouse house?

Well, something like that:

You’ve heard a lot about the astonishing spending in the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, signed into law this week by President Barack Obama. But you probably haven’t heard about a provision in the bill that threatens to politicize the way allegations of fraud and corruption are investigated — or not investigated — throughout the federal government.

Photographers take pictures of the economic stimulus bill after President Barack Obama signed the document during a ceremony at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Denver, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The provision, which attracted virtually no attention in the debate over the 1,073-page stimulus bill, creates something called the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board — the RAT Board, as it’s known by the few insiders who are aware of it. The board would oversee the in-house watchdogs, known as inspectors general, whose job is to independently investigate allegations of wrongdoing at various federal agencies, without fear of interference by political appointees or the White House.

In the name of accountability and transparency, Congress has given the RAT Board the authority to ask “that an inspector general conduct or refrain from conducting an audit or investigation.” If the inspector general doesn’t want to follow the wishes of the RAT Board, he’ll have to write a report explaining his decision to the board, as well as to the head of his agency (from whom he is supposedly independent) and to Congress. In the end, a determined inspector general can probably get his way, but only after jumping through bureaucratic hoops that will inevitably make him hesitate to go forward.

When Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, a longtime champion of inspectors general, read the words “conduct or refrain from conducting,” alarm bells went off. The language means that the board — whose chairman will be appointed by the president — can reach deep inside a federal agency and tell an inspector general to lay off some particularly sensitive subject. Or, conversely, it can tell the inspector general to go after a tempting political target.

via The RAT hiding deep inside the stimulus bill – www.dcexaminer.com.

Sounds like Communism to me. One must report the fuhrer before he can exercise his authority. Hope and change? I hardly think so. More like control and tyranny.

Others: JustOneMinute, Riehl World View, Hot Airprotein wisdom, Wizbang, Cold Fury and Sister Toldjah


uh-oh – Nearly One-Forth of the House got donations from corrupt firm connected to Murtha

I suspect there will be some sort of fallout from this here:

More than 100 House members secured earmarks in a major spending bill for clients of a single lobbying firm — The PMA Group — known for its close ties to John P. Murtha , the congressman in charge of Pentagon appropriations.

“It shows you how good they were,” said Keith Ashdown, chief investigator at the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. “The sheer coordination of that would take an army to finish.”

PMA’s offices have been raided, and the firm closed its political action committee last week amid reports that the FBI is investigating possibly illegal campaign contributions to Murtha and other lawmakers.

No matter what the outcome of the federal investigation, PMA’s earmark success illustrates how a well-connected lobbying firm operates on Capitol Hill. And earmark accountability rules imposed by the Democrats in 2007 make it possible to see how extensively PMA worked the Hill for its clients.

In the spending bill managed by Murtha, the fiscal 2008 Defense appropriation, 104 House members got earmarks for projects sought by PMA clients, according to Congressional Quarterly’s analysis of a database constructed by Ashdown’s group.

Those House members, plus a handful of senators, combined to route nearly $300 million in public money to clients of PMA through that one law (PL 110-116).

And when the lawmakers were in need — as they all are to finance their campaigns — PMA came through for them.

According to CQ MoneyLine, the same House members who took responsibility for PMA’s earmarks in that spending bill have, since 2001, accepted a cumulative $1,815,138 in campaign contributions from PMA’s political action committee and employees of the firm.

via CQ Politics | Firm with Murtha Ties Got Earmarks From Nearly One-Fourth of House.

I will simply say this, that ALL of the members of the House and Senate involved with this should resign immediately. This is a disgrace to the political system and should be dealt with harshly; that goes for Democrats AND Republicans.

Update: Here’s the list of people with their hands in the cookie jar:

Bold = Member Did Not Receive PMA Money between 2001 and 2008
* = No Longer Serving in the House
# = Member of House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in the 110th Congress

Democrats

Requesting MemberState$ Secured Solo$ Secured w/OthersTotal CreditedPMA campaign $ since 2001
Peter J. Visclosky#Indiana$21,400,000$2,400,000$23,800,000$219,000
John P. Murtha#Pennsylvania$31,705,000$2,400,000$34,105,000$143,600
James P. Moran#Virginia$8,400,000$2,400,000$10,800,000$125,250
Norm Dicks#Washington$11,330,000$800,000$12,130,000$91,600
Bill Pascrell Jr.New Jersey$2,400,000$2,400,000$73,200
Mike DoylePennsylvania$1,600,000$1,600,000$69,400
Loretta SanchezCalifornia$3,200,000$3,200,000$60,118
Tim HoldenPennsylvania$3,200,000$3,200,000$57,275
Tim RyanOhio$1,000,000$1,000,000$54,250
Michael E. CapuanoMassachusetts$2,000,000$800,000$2,800,000$54,000
Chet EdwardsTexas$6,040,000$6,040,000$48,734
Silvestre ReyesTexas$800,000$800,000$42,300
Christopher CarneyPennsylvania$5,900,000$5,900,000$38,500
Paul E. KanjorskiPennsylvania$1,600,000$3,200,000$4,800,000$37,150
Marcy Kaptur#Ohio$1,600,000$1,600,000$34,500
Carolyn McCarthyNew York$1,000,000$1,000,000$31,500
Patrick J. MurphyPennsylvania$1,600,000$1,600,000$29,250
Allyson Y. SchwartzPennsylvania$800,000$800,000$25,000
Jason AltmirePennsylvania$2,600,000$2,600,000$24,500
Brad ShermanCalifornia$1,600,000$1,600,000$15,500
Susan A. DavisCalifornia$800,000$800,000$13,750
Allen Boyd#Florida$6,400,000$2,200,000$8,600,000$12,000
Sanford D. Bishop Jr.#Georgia$1,200,000$2,400,000$3,600,000$10,500
Jane HarmanCalifornia$2,400,000$2,400,000$10,500
Jim MathesonUtah$2,400,000$2,400,000$10,000
Steve IsraelNew York$1,600,000$1,600,000$8,500
Jerrold NadlerNew York$1,600,000$1,600,000$8,500
Joe SestakPennsylvania$1,280,000$1,280,000$8,500
Jim MarshallGeorgia$2,400,000$2,400,000$7,000
Mark Udall*Colorado$2,000,000$2,000,000$6,533
Michael H. MichaudMaine$800,000$800,000$6,500
Tom Allen*Maine$1,800,000$1,800,000$5,750
Danny K. DavisIllinois$295,000$295,000$5,500
Robert E. AndrewsNew Jersey$1,500,000$1,500,000$5,000
Gene TaylorMississippi$800,000$800,000$4,750
Nancy PelosiCalifornia$2,000,000$2,000,000$4,500
David E. PriceNorth Carolina$800,000$800,000$4,000
Steven R. Rothman#New Jersey$800,000$2,400,000$3,200,000$4,000
Brian HigginsNew York$3,400,000$3,400,000$3,000
Brad MillerNorth Carolina$1,000,000$1,000,000$2,250
Brad EllsworthIndiana$1,600,000$1,600,000$2,000
Ed PerlmutterColorado$1,600,000$1,600,000$2,000
Phil HareIllinois$6,800,000$6,800,000$1,500
Martin Meehan*Massachusetts$2,800,000$2,800,000$1,500
Howard L. BermanCalifornia$800,000$800,000$1,000
Carolyn B. MaloneyNew York$3,200,000$3,200,000$1,000
Ben ChandlerKentucky$2,400,000$2,400,000$250
Shelley BerkleyNevada$2,400,000$2,400,000
Dan BorenOklahoma$2,000,000$2,000,000
Leonard L. BoswellIowa$1,650,000$1,650,000
Baron P. HillIndiana$1,600,000$1,600,000
Gwen MooreWisconsin$400,000$400,000
Christopher S. MurphyConnecticut$400,000$400,000
Mike ThompsonCalifornia$1,000,000$1,000,000

Republicans

Requesting MemberState$ Secured Solo$ Secured w/OthersTotal CreditedPMA campaign $ since 2001
David L. Hobson*#Ohio$3,500,000$3,500,000$70,050
Jerry LewisCalifornia$4,000,000$4,000,000$8,000,000$34,649
Rodney Frelinghuysen#New Jersey$2,500,000$4,800,000$7,300,000$29,129
Ander CrenshawFlorida$1,000,000$1,000,000$27,300
Zach WampTennessee$2,800,000$2,800,000$23,900
Todd Tiahrt#Kansas$5,000,000$2,000,000$7,000,000$21,250
Tom Reynolds*New York$1,000,000$1,000,000$12,000
Jack Kingston#Georgia$4,000,000$2,400,000$6,400,000$11,500
H. James Saxton*New Jersey$2,000,000$1,500,000$3,500,000$11,500
Jo Ann EmersonMissouri$1,000,000$1,000,000$11,000
C.W. Bill Young#Florida$16,000,000$4,400,000$20,400,000$10,750
Howard P. “Buck” McKeonCalifornia$1,000,000$4,000,000$5,000,000$9,500
Heather Wilson*New Mexico$6,500,000$6,500,000$9,000
Jim Walsh*New York$2,400,000$2,400,000$8,500
Mark Steven KirkIllinois$390,000$390,000$7,750
Todd AkinMissouri$1,000,000$1,000,000$7,500
Ray LaHood*Illinois$7,800,000$7,800,000$7,450
Jeff MillerFlorida$1,600,000$2,200,000$3,800,000$7,000
Duncan Hunter*California$15,200,000$15,200,000$6,500
Chris Cannon*Utah$1,600,000$1,600,000$6,000
Kay GrangerTexas$3,600,000$3,600,000$6,000
Joe Knollenberg*Michigan$2,800,000$2,800,000$6,000
David DreierCalifornia$3,000,000$3,000,000$5,000
Jim GerlachPennsylvania$1,000,000$1,000,000$4,500
Tom LathamIowa$5,150,000$5,150,000$4,500
Joe L. BartonTexas$2,400,000$2,400,000$4,000
J. Dennis Hastert*Illinois$1,600,000$1,600,000$3,500
Roscoe G. BartlettMaryland$400,000$400,000$3,000
Peter HoekstraMichigan$3,700,000$3,700,000$2,500
Howard CobleNorth Carolina$1,000,000$1,000,000$2,000
John T. Doolittle*California$2,400,000$2,400,000$2,000
Kenny Hulshof*Missouri$1,600,000$1,600,000$2,000
Steve Pearce*New Mexico$6,500,000$6,500,000$2,000
Bill ShusterPennsylvania$1,600,000$1,600,000$2,000
Frank A. LoBiondoNew Jersey$1,500,000$1,500,000$1,500
Rob BishopUtah$2,400,000$2,400,000$1,000
Geoff DavisKentucky$6,800,000$6,800,000$1,000
Virgil H. Goode Jr.*Virginia$2,400,000$2,400,000$1,000
Doug LambornColorado$1,000,000$1,000,000$1,000
Kenny MarchantTexas$2,400,000$2,400,000$1,000
Christopher Shays*Connecticut$1,600,000$1,600,000$1,000
John SullivanOklahoma$2,000,000$2,000,000$1,000
Tom Tancredo*Colorado$1,600,000$1,600,000$1,000
Michael C. BurgessTexas$2,400,000$2,400,000$500
Ralph M. HallTexas$2,400,000$2,400,000
Doc HastingsWashington$1,600,000$1,600,000
Sam JohnsonTexas$1,200,000$1,200,000
Todd R. PlattsPennsylvania$4,400,000$4,400,000
Rick Renzi*Arizona$2,400,000$2,400,000
Pete SessionsTexas$1,600,000$4,800,000$6,400,000

Wow. Can’t wait for the fallout.

Others: The Swamp, NPR, Outside The Beltway, The Washington Independent, Liberty Street, Right Wing Nut House, Betsy’s Page, Hot Air, Wizbang, Taegan Goddard’s …, Riehl World ViewSister Toldjah, Michelle Malkin and QandO

New AG Eric Holder is nothing more than a race baiting shill for the left

Maybe it is just me. But am I the only person that see’s a alarming similarity between this video here:

….and this video here: (Content Warning)

Just sayin’

Others: Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin, Riehl World View, The Campaign Spot, Cold Fury

Grim Local News – GM, Chrysler seek more money and will cut more jobs…

Kind of a depressing local story for me:

Video:

The Story:

Billions of dollars in government loans to prop up General Motors and Chrysler won’t be enough. The companies, which have received $17.4 billion so far, filed plans with the government more than doubling that request to a staggering total of $39 billion.

The requests, made in government-required restructuring plans filed Tuesday, were accompanied by plans for thousands more job cuts, slashing of models and brands, union concessions and the prospect of even further expense cuts.

In a dramatic acknowledgment that conditions in the U.S. auto industry have grown significantly worse in just two months, GM alone said it would cut 47,000 jobs globally by the end of the year — 19 percent of its work force. It also said it would close five more U.S. factories, although it did not identify them.

Chrysler said it will cut 3,000 more jobs and stop producing three vehicle models.

The grim reports came as the United Auto Workers union said it had reached a tentative agreement with GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. on contract changes. Concessions with the union and debt-holders were a condition of the government bailout.

GM said it could need up to $30 billion from the Treasury Department, up from a previous estimate of $18 billion. That includes $13.4 billion the company has already received. The world’s largest automaker said it could run out of money by March without new funds and needs $2 billion next month and another $2.6 billion in April.

“We have a lot of work to do,” General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said. “We’re still going at this with a great sense of urgency.”

via The Associated Press: GM, Chrysler seek billions more, to cut more jobs.

I think I’ll just refrain from public commentary on this one. There’s family, my family involved here; so, I’m totally biased. I just do not think those Conservatives who opposed this money to these companies really get it. All I am going to say. Anyone that’s read this Blog, or wants to know what I think. Do a search on “Tarp Loans” and you’ll see why I feel the way that  I do.

Burris in the hot seat

This is just too rich:

U.S. Sen. Roland Burris said today he is open to a Senate ethics investigation into how he got the Senate seat from ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and that he has reached out to a Sangamon County prosecutor who is reviewing Burris’ sworn testimony before Illinois lawmakers.

Burris comments came less than 24 hours after he acknowledged he sought to raise campaign funds for Blagojevich at the request of the governor’s brother at the same time he was seeking the appointment to the Senate seat previously held by President Barack Obama.

It was the first time Burris has publicly admitted trying to raise money for Blagojevich. Previously Burris has left the impression that he always balked at the issue of raising money for the governor because of his interest in the Senate appointment.

In comments to reporters after appearing at a Democratic dinner Monday night the senator several times contradicted his latest under-oath affidavit that he quietly filed with the Illinois House impeachment panel earlier this month. That affidavit was itself an attempt to clean up his live, sworn testimony to the panel Jan. 8, when he omitted his contacts with several Blagojevich insiders.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan called for the Sangamon County prosecutor to investigate Burris’ testimony at the statehouse in Springfield, and today her father, House Speaker Michael Madigan, forwarded Burris’ testimony and affidavits to State’s Atty. John Schmidt.

In a brief statement to reporters today in Peoria, Burris said an aide had reached out to the Sangamon County state’s atttorney, who is reviewing testimony Burris gave last month to House lawmakers in Springfield about his contacts with allies of the ousted governor.

“I have made an effort to be as transparent as I can, and I’m willing to take a further step as I have nothing to hide,” Burris said.

via Burris open to ethics probes, will cooperate with perjury review | Clout Street .

Hmmmm… I wonder where Bobby Rush is? I’m surprised that he’s not there playing the race card, like last time.

Update: One of my friends on the left, The Gun Toting Liberal is shocked that I agree with him; He snarks:

SHOCKINGLY ENOUGH — Even some bloggers from the “right” seem to largely agree with we “lefties” on this issue, including: Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey; Political Byline’s Paleo Pat; Patterico’s Pontifications

Hey, just because I’m a Conservative does not mean that I’m an idiot. If the dude lied, He should go, does not take a rocket scientist to figure that out…..at least not with me.

The GTL’s picture:

The Gun Toting Liberal
The Gun Toting Liberal

I dunno ’bout you, but I would not want to meet him in dark alley… Ol’ fella needs to learn to smile! 😛 😉 😀

Others: Washington Wire, The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room, Chicago Breaking News, CBS News, The Politico, The Capitol Fax Blog, Patterico’s Pontifications, Think Progress, Chicago Sun Times, The Swamp, Hot Air, MyDD, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Commentary, Washington Monthly, The Raw Story, PoliticalBase.com Blog, PoliGazette, The Aristocrats, Scorecard’s Blogs, Moe Lane and Sunlight Foundation and Memeorandum

Republicans now supporting nationalization of banks

It looks like the party of Freedom is selling the American people up the river:

Nationalization, long regarded in Washington as a folly of Europeans, is gaining rapid ground among US opinion-formers. Stranger still, many of those talking about federal ownership of banks are Republicans.

Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator for North Carolina, said that many of his selloutcolleagues, including John McCain, the defeated presidential candidate, agreed with his view that nationalisation of some banks should be “on the table”.

Mr Graham said that people across the US accepted his argument that it was untenable to keep throwing good money after bad into institutions such as Citigroup and Bank of America, which now have a lower net value than the amount of public funds they have received.

“You should not get caught up on a word [nationalisation],” he told the Financial Times in an interview. “I would argue that we cannot be ideologically a little bit pregnant. It doesn’t matter what you call it, but we can’t keep on funding these zombie banks [without gaining public control]. That’s what the Japanese did.”

Barack Obama, the president, who has tried to avoid panicking lawmakers and markets by entertaining the idea, has recently moved more towards what he calls the “Swedish model” – an approach backed strongly by Mr Graham.

via FT.com – Bank nationalisation gains ground with Republicans.

Nationalization is nothing more than Communism. We are being sold up the river. Remember this come 2010.

(H/T Drudge)

Obama signs the Generational Theft Act and Promises Another, Markets Tank…

I figured this was coming:

The Story:

President Obama has not ruled out a second stimulus package, his press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said on Tuesday, just before Mr. Obama signed his $787 billion recovery package into law with a statement that it would “set our economy on a firmer foundation.”

The president said he would not pretend “that today marks the end of our economic problems.”

“Nor does it constitute all of what we have to do to turn our economy around,” Mr. Obama said at the signing ceremony in the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. “But today does mark the beginning of the end, the beginning of what we need to do to create jobs for Americans scrambling in the way of playoffs.”

Mr. Gibbs, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Denver, said, “I think the president is going to do what’s necessary to grow this economy.” While “there are no particular plans at this point for a second stimulus package,” he added, “I wouldn’t foreclose it.”

Mr. Obama began the first leg of a two-day trip, using the museum ceremony to spotlight the bill’s clean-energy provisions. The president will also visit Phoenix, where he will unveil his new housing plan on Wednesday.

After a bruising legislative battle on the stimulus bill, which drew only three supporting votes from Republicans in the Senate and none in the House, the White House is trying to recapture the debate over the economy. Mr. Obama’s message is that the bill will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years.

While the bill has been criticized by conservatives as bloated with pork-barrel spending, it has also been criticized by the left as too tepid and not bold enough to jumpstart the economy. Mr. Gibbs’s remarks on the plane seemed to echo that concern.

In describing the package, the press secretary called it “a strong start towards economic viability” and “the beginning of getting our economy back on track.”

via Signing Stimulus Bill, Obama Does Not Rule Out Another – NYTimes.com.

I figured Obama would do this, sign one porkus bill into law and say, “This is not the end, but just the beginning of the pork!”

Meanwhile, the markets basically tanked, even more so than last week: (Via the New York Times)

From Hong Kong to eastern Europe to Wall Street, financial gloom was everywhere on Tuesday.

Stock markets around the world staggered lower. In New York, the Dow fell more than 3 percent, coming within sight of its worst levels since the credit crisis erupted. Financial shares were battered. And rattled investors clamored to buy rainy-day investments like gold and Treasury debt.

It was a global wave of selling spurred by rising worries about how banks, automakers — entire countries — would fare in a deepening global downturn.

“Nobody believes it’s going get better yet,” said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor’s. “Do you see that light at the end of the tunnel? Any kind of light? Right now, it’s not there yet.”

At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 297.81 points or 3.7 percent to 7,552.29 points as losses in General Motors, Bank of America and American Express dragged the blue chips lower. The only Dow stock in positive territory was Wal-Mart, which rose after reporting better-than-expected profits.

“If we get substantially below 800 then look out below,” said Marc Groz, chief investment officer at Topos, a risk-advisory firm in Greenwich, Conn.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index slid 3.7 percent to drop below 800, which analysts said was an important trading threshold.

Investors know what this is, it is basically nationalization of our Economy, our banks, everything. They are just not going to invest money in a Government owned banking system. I believe this drop is just the beginning. Wait till it totally collapses and the world is thrust into chaos. It will be an interesting time, indeed.