Baltimore Mayor in hot water

Seems like Detroit has some competition!

Via the WaPo:

Mayor Sheila Dixon was indicted Friday on charges that she accepted illegal gifts during her time as mayor and City Council president, including travel, fur coats and gift cards intended for the poor that she allegedly used instead for a holiday shopping spree.
A grand jury indicted Dixon on 12 counts, including four counts of perjury and two counts of theft over $500. She was also charged with theft under $500, fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and misconduct in office.
The State Prosecutor’s Office, which has been investigating corruption at City Hall for nearly three years, said Dixon received holiday gift cards for four years from several people. Prosecutors said the gift cards were to be distributed to needy families, but were instead used by Dixon to buy electronics _ including an Xbox, a PlayStation 2 and a camcorder _ clothes and other merchandise and also handed out to members of her staff.
“I am being unfairly accused,” Dixon said in a statement. “Time will prove that I have done nothing wrong, and I am confident that I will be found innocent of these charges.”

Now where have I heard that before?

Oh, I remember!

Kilpatrick is now in jail. As is his former lover, who lied under oath.

Kilpatrick and Dixon are both, you guessed it, Democrats!

Others: Political Machine, NewsBusters.org, Towleroad, The Sundries Shack, Stop The ACLU, Hotline On Call, Macsmind , Hot Air, Democracy in America and RedState

B-Rod gets the A-OK from the Illnois Sec. of State

So says the Politico:

Following a decision by the Illinois Supreme Court, Jesse White, the Illinois secretary of state, has certified Roland Burris’ appointment to the Senate, removing a major roadblock blocking Burris’ ascension to the body.
According to his office, White has signed a certificate saying that Roland Burris’ appointment document is “true and accurate.”
The move came just hours after Illinois’ top state court ruled that White’s approval was not necessary for a valid appointment to the Senate for Burris by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The Illinois House earlier in the day had impeached Blagojevich by a vote of 114-1. Blagojevich has been indicted on a number of federal corruption charges, including allegations that he attempted to “sell” President-elect Barack Obama’s seat in the Senate to the highest bidder.
Burris’ attorneys argued White’s certification, following the earlier state court ruling, meant there was no reason that the Burris’ appointment should not be accepted by Democratic leaders.

Say what you want, call me racist all you want, I really do not care; but the fact remains is, that if Burris was white, he would be going to Chicago with his heart broken. But because Burris is black, he got a free pass. Just that damned simple.

B-Rod played the African-American community of Chicago, Illinois like a damned fiddle and they sat right there and let him do it. Quite frankly, I am surprised a few of them did not stand up and say “Hold up a minute!” 😮

Nope, they played right into B-Rod’s little fiddle dance. I found it most amazing. I mean, it pissed me off, and I ain’t even black!

Just my feelings on it…

Others: Agence France Presse, Associated Press, Reuters, Power Line, Bloomberg, TPM Election Central, Jack & Jill Politics, Patterico’s Pontifications and Ed Driscoll.com (Via Memeorandum)

Bambi's Mother-In-Law to live in the White House

I bet ol’ Bambi is just tickled pink over this one here.

Via the New York Times Blog, the Caucus:

It’s official: Marian Robinson, the 71-year-old mother-in-law of President-elect Barack Obama, will be moving into the White House, transition officials said on Friday.
In fact, Mrs. Robinson is already in town, helping to smooth the family’s personal transition as Mr. Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters prepare for new lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
“She is here to help them get up and running,’’ said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Obama. “She will determine in the coming months whether or not she wants to stay in D.C. permanently.”
In some ways, Mrs. Robinson’s decision to move – at least temporarily — is no real surprise. During the presidential campaign, Mrs. Robinson was a family mainstay, caring for the Obama girls, Sasha and Malia, while their parents were on the road.
She took them to school, to piano lesson and dance lessons, cooked their meals, ran their baths and got them to bed on time. She was a critical part of the family’s effort to keep the girls’ lives as normal as possible in the midst of extraordinary times.
But Mrs. Robinson is also deeply rooted in Chicago. She still lives in the house where Michelle Obama grew up. And she has often expressed ambivalence about the notion of moving to Washington.
“I’ve never lived outside of Chicago, so I don’t know,’’ said Mrs. Robinson, hesitating a bit as she considered last year whether she was willing to move into the White House. “In the end, in the end, I’ll do whatever. I might fuss a little, but I’ll be there.”

I do believe some music here would be most helpful…

Now Me and Jack Moss are think along the same lines. Who is paying for all of this? Most likely, you and me. 🙄

I also wonder about his half brother and aunt? (you know the one who’s here illegally?) I mean seeing liberals want amnesty illegal immigrants anyhow, what’s the difference? 🙄

It’s going to be a long four to six years.

Update: AllahPundit over at HotAir also has a humorus take on it as well. 😀 😛

Others: The Moderate Voice, TBogg, Papamoka Straight Talk, CBS News, Political Machine, Macsmind, Hot Air, TIME.com and Riehl World View

BlagoGate Continues

Sorry gang for the lack of posting. Just another one of those days where I just didn’t really feel like repeating myself over and over and over…. Hopefully, After the weekend, I might feel a bit more in the mood to blog about politics.

—-

Picking up on the scandal of the year, today the Chicago House of Representives voted today to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The Story via Chi-Town Tribune:

In a historic vote, the Illinois House has impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, directing the Senate to put the state’s 40th chief executive on trial with the goal of removing him from office.
The vote by the House was 114-1 and marks the first time in the state’s 190-year history that a governor has been impeached, despite Illinois’ longstanding reputation for political corruption.
Rep. Milt Patterson (D-Chicago) was the lone vote against impeaching the governor. Patterson, from Chicago’s Southwest Side, said after the roll call that he didn’t feel it was his job to vote to impeach the governor. He declined comment on whether he approved of the job Blagojevich is doing.
A Blagojevich spokesman said the governor will not resign. A 2 p.m. news conference with the governor is scheduled for the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago.
The actions of the House–approving an article of impeachment maintaining Blagojevich had committed abuses of power–represents the equivalent of an indictment.
The impeachment resolution covering Blagojevich’s actions “show a public servant who has betrayed his oath of office, who has betrayed the public trust, who is not fit to govern the state of Illinois,” said Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, the Chicago Democrat who headed a special panel that recommended Blagojevich’s impeachment a day earlier.

This now paves the way for the for the Senate of Chicago to start the process of starting an impeachment trial. I would tend to believe that the President-Elects camp just wants this little problem to simply go away. But it looks like the Governor is not going to resign and this process will be dragged out. Which makes me wonder, what would Al Capone do in a situation like this? 😉

Related to this story comes this little nugget of information via Chi-Town Sun-Times:

A potentially troublesome new detail emerged about Roland Burris’ controversial U.S. Senate appointment Thursday after a state House panel voted unanimously to recommend Gov. Blagojevich be impeached.
For the first time, Burris indicated that he asked Blagojevich’s former chief of staff and college classmate, Lon Monk, to relay his interest in the Senate seat to the governor last July or September.
“If you’re close to the governor, you know, let him know I’m certainly interested in the seat,” Burris said he told Monk.
That testimony appears to differ from an affidavit Burris submitted to the impeachment panel this week in which he stated he spoke to no “representatives” of the governor about the Senate post prior to Dec. 26.
Federal prosecutors, who identified Monk as “Lobbyist 1” in their criminal complaint against Blagojevich, indicated they tapped Monk’s phone in November as Blagojevich moved to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat.

Um, I believe when Barack Obama said, Hope and….Um, Change, this is NOT what he had in mind. 😮

I think it is safe to assume that this little soap opera is NOT going away anytime soon. Should be interesting to say the least. 😀

Others: Chicago Breaking News, BBC, The Gun Toting Liberal, Fox News, WBBM-TV, Sister Toldjah, TIME.com, Democracy in America, KFVS-TV, Scared Monkeys, Balloon Juice, Fausta’s Blog, Michelle Malkin, RBO, D-Day, The Huffington Post, Real Clear Politics, Progress Illinois, The Reaction, Chicago Breaking News, Progress Illinois, ArchPundit, Michelle Malkin, Washington Wire, Taylor Marsh, Crooks and Liars, The Capitol Fax Blog, Hot Air and FiveThirtyEight.com (Via Memeorandum)

Zo breaks it down about Hollywood and Liberals!

…and takes a shoe to the side of the face, twice, in the process! 😆

Zo’s Homepage

Rep. John Conyers says "No go" to Dr. Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General

Here we go, with the blatant Identity Politics!

Via HuffPo:

I join in opposition with respected Noble Peace Prize award wining economist Paul Krugman, who has very serious concerns with having Dr. Gupta be the nation’s Surgeon General. […]
Also, there are highly experienced medical professionals who question whether Dr. Gupta has the necessary experience or even the medical background to be in charge of some 6,000 physicians or more who work in the United States Public Health Service. Gerard M. Farrel, Executive Director of the Commissioned Officers Association, stated in the January 7, 2008 Washington Post that Dr. Gupta will certainly face a “credibility gap” because he never served in the National Health Service Corp, and furthermore, does not have the “experience or qualifications to be the leader of the nation’s public health service.” Clearly, it is not in the best interests of the nation to have someone like this who lacks the requisite experience needed to oversee the federal agency that provides crucial health care assistance to some of the poorest and most underserved communities in America.

Translation? He is not a black man. So, he won’t serve our interests. Plus, he had the gall to question Michael Moore. So, no go on this man.

The Democrats make it so easy anymore. You all see why I left that bunch of psychopaths?

Others: NO QUARTER

Israeli/Gaza Conflict: Monday Morning Quarterbacking

I must say this crap is most pathetic. 🙄

First off, we have terrorist supporter and America’s worst former President and Commie Liberal traitor, Jimmy Carter in the WaPo:

I know from personal involvement that the devastating invasion of Gaza by Israel could easily have been avoided.
After visiting Sderot last April and seeing the serious psychological damage caused by the rockets that had fallen in that area, my wife, Rosalynn, and I declared their launching from Gaza to be inexcusable and an act of terrorism. Although casualties were rare (three deaths in seven years), the town was traumatized by the unpredictable explosions. About 3,000 residents had moved to other communities, and the streets, playgrounds and shopping centers were almost empty. Mayor Eli Moyal assembled a group of citizens in his office to meet us and complained that the government of Israel was not stopping the rockets, either through diplomacy or military action.
Knowing that we would soon be seeing Hamas leaders from Gaza and also in Damascus, we promised to assess prospects for a cease-fire. From Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who was negotiating between the Israelis and Hamas, we learned that there was a fundamental difference between the two sides. Hamas wanted a comprehensive cease-fire in both the West Bank and Gaza, and the Israelis refused to discuss anything other than Gaza.
We knew that the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza were being starved, as the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food had found that acute malnutrition in Gaza was on the same scale as in the poorest nations in the southern Sahara, with more than half of all Palestinian families eating only one meal a day.
Palestinian leaders from Gaza were noncommittal on all issues, claiming that rockets were the only way to respond to their imprisonment and to dramatize their humanitarian plight. The top Hamas leaders in Damascus, however, agreed to consider a cease-fire in Gaza only, provided Israel would not attack Gaza and would permit normal humanitarian supplies to be delivered to Palestinian citizens.
After extended discussions with those from Gaza, these Hamas leaders also agreed to accept any peace agreement that might be negotiated between the Israelis and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who also heads the PLO, provided it was approved by a majority vote of Palestinians in a referendum or by an elected unity government.
Since we were only observers, and not negotiators, we relayed this information to the Egyptians, and they pursued the cease-fire proposal. After about a month, the Egyptians and Hamas informed us that all military action by both sides and all rocket firing would stop on June 19, for a period of six months, and that humanitarian supplies would be restored to the normal level that had existed before Israel’s withdrawal in 2005 (about 700 trucks daily).
We were unable to confirm this in Jerusalem because of Israel’s unwillingness to admit to any negotiations with Hamas, but rocket firing was soon stopped and there was an increase in supplies of food, water, medicine and fuel. Yet the increase was to an average of about 20 percent of normal levels. And this fragile truce was partially broken on Nov. 4, when Israel launched an attack in Gaza to destroy a defensive tunnel being dug by Hamas inside the wall that encloses Gaza.
On another visit to Syria in mid-December, I made an effort for the impending six-month deadline to be extended. It was clear that the preeminent issue was opening the crossings into Gaza. Representatives from the Carter Center visited Jerusalem, met with Israeli officials and asked if this was possible in exchange for a cessation of rocket fire. The Israeli government informally proposed that 15 percent of normal supplies might be possible if Hamas first stopped all rocket fire for 48 hours. This was unacceptable to Hamas, and hostilities erupted.
After 12 days of “combat,” the Israeli Defense Forces reported that more than 1,000 targets were shelled or bombed. During that time, Israel rejected international efforts to obtain a cease-fire, with full support from Washington. Seventeen mosques, the American International School, many private homes and much of the basic infrastructure of the small but heavily populated area have been destroyed. This includes the systems that provide water, electricity and sanitation. Heavy civilian casualties are being reported by courageous medical volunteers from many nations, as the fortunate ones operate on the wounded by light from diesel-powered generators.
The hope is that when further hostilities are no longer productive, Israel, Hamas and the United States will accept another cease-fire, at which time the rockets will again stop and an adequate level of humanitarian supplies will be permitted to the surviving Palestinians, with the publicized agreement monitored by the international community. The next possible step: a permanent and comprehensive peace.

Disgraceful. The old bastard ought to be charged for Treason and sent to a reeducation camp, along with the rest of Liberal America. 😡

I mean, just who the hell does that old duffer think he is? This is the same damned President who economic policies were a complete disaster. If it had not been for Ronald Reagan this country would have went into a full scale depression back in the 1970’s. Luckily Reagan made some very much needed changes and rid the country of some of the waste, which in turned staved off a depression and thankfully, we only experienced a slight recession. Again that recession was due to the disastrous polices of Carter. Hell, even Bill Clinton could not stand the old man, Clinton refused to meet with Carter at all. Which caused a major problem during his administration.

On the other hand, Marvin Hier makes some very valid points in a Wall Street Journal in an opinion piece:

At the U.N., no surprise, this double-standard is in full force. In response to Israel’s attack on Hamas, the Security Council immediately pulled an all-night emergency meeting to consider yet another resolution condemning Israel. Have there been any all-night Security Council sessions held during the seven months when Hamas fired 3,000 rockets at half a million innocent civilians in southern Israel? You can be certain that during those seven months, no midnight oil was burning at the U.N. headquarters over resolutions condemning terrorist organizations like Hamas. But put condemnation of Israel on the agenda and, rain or shine, it’s sure to be a full house.
Red Cross officials are all over the Gaza crisis, describing it as a full-blown humanitarian nightmare. Where were they during the seven months when tens of thousands of Israeli families could not sleep for fear of a rocket attack? Where were their trauma experts to decry that humanitarian crisis?
There have been hundreds of articles and reports written from the Erez border crossing falsely accusing Israel of blocking humanitarian supplies from reaching beleaguered Palestinians in Gaza. (In fact, over 520 truck loads of humanitarian aid have been delivered through Israeli crossings since the beginning of the Israeli counterattack.) But how many news articles, NGO reports and special U.N. commissions have investigated Hamas’s policy of deliberately placing rocket launchers near schools, mosques and homes in order to use innocent Palestinians as human shields?

Many people ask why there are so few Israeli casualties in comparison with the Palestinian death toll. It’s because Israel’s first priority is the safety of its citizens, which is why there are shelters and warning systems in Israeli towns. If Hamas can dig tunnels, it can certainly build shelters. Instead, it prefers to use women and children as human shields while its leaders rush into hiding. – Read the Rest

I suggest you go read that entire piece. It is filled with truth. I mean, people sure have short memories when it comes to Israel, Gaza and Palestine. Some people must have forgotten that Israel totally pulled out of the Gaza Strip, gave the Palestinians that land, that was rightfully Israel’s and let them live there. So, what does Gaza do? Elects a terrorist organization to govern and then they whine and cry when Israel invades that land! Fata was at least honorable enough to uphold a peace agreement, more than I can say for Hamas. The people in Gaza had better be glad I am not running that war campaign for Israel. They think the human toll is bad now? Ha! I’d bomb gaza into the damn stone age. Which is what Israel should rightly do, and take back their damn land from those arab scumbags.

Others on the right side of this conflict: QandO, , A Blog For All,protein wisdom, Don Surber, Little Green Footballs, Pirate’s Cove, Macsmind, Gateway Pundit, Riehl World View, Yourish.com,Jules Crittenden, neo-neocon and Jihad Watch

(Via Memeorandum)

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The Late Night Music Express Presents… Johnny Cash

As a rule, I detest country music. Especially that “Young Country” horse shit that Nashville is hellbent on passing off as the real thing. Although, I must confess that I have an odd love for the old school, “Classic Country”.

One the people whom I have the uttermost respect for; is Johnny Cash. His message is timeless, that voice; no one could ever replace him.

Johnny’s life was, shall we say; interesting. His drug addiction, his fight to get sober, his remarriage, his everything.

One of the biggest tragedies is that because of Johnny’s personal life and problems, one of the sweetest things that is often overlooked, and that was his positive message that appeared in much of his later music, and in some of his earlier work too.

Johnny Cash also for me was the embodiment of the Southern Conservative Christian or if you will, Baptist way. With all of it’s hangups, hypocrisy and nuances. I do not mean that as a slam either, it is hard to put into words the feelings I get when I listen to Johnny’s music. You know, that lump in the throat kind of nostalgia. Put simply, Johnny Cash is the sound of America, The Sound of Appalachia, I could go on here; but I think you know what I mean.

Another thing that I really admired about Johnny was that he was one the very few, that came down off the “I’m better than you” country music mountain in the 1960’s and sat down, broke bread and talked with the counter culture of the hippy generation. Instead of an snide attitude towards them, he had the nicest attitude towards them, he did something that not many people would; he sat and listened to them. He also made music with Bob Dylan, something that just did not happen in that era. The Conservative political world could learn much from Johnny Cash. I think that the world would be much better served if those in politics; bloggers, pundits, and the politicians themselves, would listen to one another, instead of hating, yelling and fighting amongst one another.

Besides, who the hell else could stand on a stage with a backing band and say the Words. “My Name is Sue! How do you do? NOW YOU GONNA DIE!” and have everyone in the audience not have a problem believing that the ol’ boy means business?

We might not have Johnny Cash anymore, but we do have the music as one hell of a great legacy.

Okay enough of the yammering here. Here we go with a few of Johnny’s songs, that I like.

Man in Black:

Boy Named Sue:

God’s gonna cut you down:

Trackposted to , The Pink Flamingo, A Newt One/ American Truth Warriors, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Leaning Straight Up, The World According to Carl, and DragonLady’s World, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

The Obligatory Roland Burris might be seated in the Senate posting

It seems that the race baiters won.

Via Chicago Breaking News:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid opened a potential path to seating Roland Burris in the Senate after a 45-minute meeting with the former Illinois attorney general at the Capitol this morning.
After days in which Senate leaders had demonstrated determined resistance to Burris’ appointment to the Senate by scandal-tainted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Reid praised Burris as “candid and forthright.” And he suggested the testimony Burris is to give Thursday before the state legislature’s impeachment committee could be crucial to his prospects of gaining the seat.
“He’s going to go answer any other questions they might have. He’s not trying to avoid any responsibility and trying to hide anything,” said Reid (D-Nev.) “Once that’s done, we’ll be in a different position and see what we are going to do.”
One Democratic aide said the Senate leadership’s attitude toward the appointment had now “thawed.”
Still, citing a Senate rule, Reid said the Senate would not seat Burris until his certificate of appointment is signed by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. White has declined to sign the certificate but Burris has gone to court to seek an order requiring White to certify the governor’s appointment.
Reid said he still would ask a Senate committee to examine the circumstances surrounding the appointment before Burris is seated but said he hoped the process would move swiftly.
“There’s going to come a time when the entire Senate is going to have to act on this, and that day I hope would come sooner rather than later,” Reid said.
Burris said at a news conference in Washington this afternoon that he expects to join the Senate “very soon.” A Burris advisor said his camp’s understanding is that the Senate will move to seat him swiftly if Burris’s testimony before the Blagojevich impeachment committee goes well.
Burris’ appearance at the opening of the Senate session and the refusal to seat him stirred saturation media coverage, eclipsing efforts by Democrats to promote their economic stimulus plans.
On Tuesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), an influential Democrat, broke with the Senate leadership and urged them to seat Burris.

Yeah, I’ve been following this. I wanted to wait and see what happened before I Blogged about it.

I just find it very interesting that this joker got seated or will get seated. Ol’ Rocking Rod Blagojevich played the Blacks in Chicago like a damned fiddle; and they just went along with it! Unbelievable! Say what you wish, but if this guy had been a White Man, he would be turned away and this would all be over with. But, because he is black, he gets this special free pass. Kinda like our soon to be “President”.

Sorry Democrats; but sometimes, you just make it too damned easy. Do you all see now why I refused to ever vote for another Democrat? 🙄

There’s a word I thinking of here…. Oh, right! It’s called Identity Politics. Bobby Rush played that hand, very well.