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POPSAdmirals, generals: Let gays serve openly The issue of gays in the military became a flash point early in the Clinton administration as Clinton tried to fulfill a campaign promise to end the military's ban on gays. His efforts created the current compromise policy — ending the ban but prohibiting active-duty service members from openly acknowledging they are gay. But it came at a political cost. The resulting debate divided service members and veterans, put Democrats on the defensive and provided cannon fodder for social conservatives and Republican critics who questioned Clinton's patriotism and standing with the military.
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POPSCould Bill Cost Hillary Cabinet Position?by
Wisco Yesterday 12:41 PM At issue are questions about the Clinton Global Initiative and possible conflicts of interest. " t could prove problematic for Obama if the former president continues to seek donations from foreign countries – at the same time his wife is asking them for diplomatic concessions as Secretary of State," Politico reports. "The Clinton Global initiative, which has raised more than $30 billion since 2005, has solicited major donations from a handful of foreign governments, including a $1 billion pledge from Norway in 2007." "The ball is very much in her court," a source told the website.
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POPS The Myths Of Clintonomics The media assume the Clinton tax hikes somehow stimulated the economy, and are cheering on Obama's plan. Obama would raise the top rate "back to where Bill Clinton had it at the time of the greatest bull market, the greatest economic growth in the history of the country," Best Life editor Jack Otter told CNN. "Bill Clinton's tax rate was not a punitive tax rate. It didn't harm the economy." In fact, the economy grew in spite of, not because of , the Clinton tax hikes. The bull market took off precisely when then-Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan took his foot off the brakes and hit the gas in 1995. It was also then that Republicans took control of Congress — further blunting the effects of the Clinton tax torpedo that had taken effect the previous year. Their "deficit-reduction plan" didn't create the surpluses at all. They were a direct result of a tidal wave of capital-gains revenues generated by the GOP-led stock boom.
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POPSClinton to Head State Dept.? Politico describes this as a "secret meeting," but it's got to be one of the worst-kept secrets ever. The tone of the piece is rumor, but the fact that there's a specific cabinet post being talked about suggests there's probably something more. Previous reports had Sec. of State as a contest between John Kerry and Bill Richardson. I liked Richardson for the post, but I would've been happy with either. To tell the truth, at this point in time, I've got nothing against HRC taking it either.
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POPSinteresting two minute video on destroying these weapons The headline is quite misleading. The biggest cluster bomb users aren't signing the treaty. The US has used them in every recent war: Yugoslavia in 1999, Afghanistan, and Iraq and has not renounced their continued use. Obama voted for an amendment that would have prevented the use of such weapons against civilians, but if these weapons are used in war, they inevitably will kill civilians. The only sure way to stop killing civilians with cluster bombs is to eliminate them. A Google search for "cluster bombs" on Obama's website came up empty; I didn't find any indication of what Obama intends to do about them. If Bill Clinton were back in office, you can bet he'd find a way to continue to use these God-forsaken devices, even as he convinced everyone of the opposite. We'll see if Obama is a president in the Clinton mold.
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POPSNewt Gingrich Offers To Chair RNC
Gingrich has operated best as a philosopher for the conservative movement, someone who can both capture the essence of conservatism and put it into action. Gingrich has the skill to communicate to a national audience and an emeritus status that will have people paying attention when he speaks. As RNC chair, his political baggage becomes irrelevant, allowing him to focus on party- and agenda-building instead of running for office. Most importantly, Gingrich understands the technological tools that escaped the GOP in 2008. American Solutions has established a very impressive grassroots structure for policy, which could easily be adopted and adapted to the RNC. As Patrick Ruffini has been arguing at Rebuild the Party, the RNC needs to close the technology gap with the DNC in a hurry. Gingrich could get the GOP to a terrific start in doing just that. Please let this happen. If so, we will be repopulating Congress with boatloads of true conservatives by 2010.
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POPSVoter Caging in Northern California Everyone who cares about voting fraud should read this. A copy of the letter is clipped and an audio interview is also available on the clip. Visit the source for the full article.
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POPSDemocratic Administration And A Cushy Media Job Senior Obama adviser Susan Rice (a former Clinton administration official) is married to Ian Cameron, the Canadian-born executive producer of ABC News’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” • NBC's David Gregory is married to Beth Wilkinson, a partner at Latham & Watkins in Washington and a former official in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration. • ABC's George Stephanopoulos hosts a show bearing his name and earlier served as a senior advisor to the Clinton administration. • Chris Matthews hosts MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews and served as a speechwriter for Jimmy Carter. • David Gergen is a political analyst for CNN and served as a special adviser to President Clinton. • Paul Begala is a CNN commentator (" a high-functioning moron") and a former senior adviser to President Clinton. • Bill Moyers is a journalist employed by PBS and was a press secretary for President Lyndon Baines Johnson. His son is a producer for CNN.
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POPSObama's Pick for Chief of Staff. . . . . . . . . . . .Tops Recipients of Wall Street Money . . . . . Emanuel, who is currently the No. 4 Democrat in the House, has also collected $136,640 from the lobbying industry during his career, making K Street his 13th most generous industry. Since being elected to the House six years ago, he has collected $1.5 million from the investment industry , with lawyers and law firms and the entertainment industry coming in at a distant second and third place ($682,900 and $376,100). As a member of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee--which has jurisdiction over tax legislation, Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs--Emanuel is a popular industry target. Private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners has given Emanuel more than any other contributor over his career at $93,600. Emanuel and Obama have more than just Chicago in common; investment bank UBS, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are among both men's lists of top donors .
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POPS Obama vs. Pelosi Barack Obama obviously has thought carefully about mistakes made by previous Democratic presidential winners who wrongly believed a Congress controlled by their own party would help make them a success. That may be one reason why Mr. Obama has chosen Rahm Emanuel, a respected member of the Congressional leadership, to become his new White House Chief of Staff. Mr. Emanuel has a reputation as a tough partisan, but he has also exhibited impatience with left-wing members of his party who have overly ambitious ideological agendas. To the extent Mr. Obama becomes a successful president, it will be because he remains his own man and trusts the brilliant political instincts that have gotten him this far, this fast.
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POPSObama Will Reverse Bush Executive Orders Mr. Podesta is John Podesta of the Center for American Progress. Another order being reviewed is the EPA's ruling on stricter emissions standards for California. Pretty much every president does this, but expect special interests on the right to howl anyway.
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POPSThe night we waved goodbye to America... I thought some of the hero worship would die down a little after the election. These two are being molded, shaped, characterized much like the mythical Camelot of the JFK years....only times 10! During those years we only had the likes of Walter Cronkite to give us the news we needed to know; now, well I can see why the Democrats are avid about the "Fairness Doctrine". FTA: "And now the US, like Britain before it, has begun the long slow descent into the Third World. How sad. "
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POPS Greater Islamosphere “Therefore, I hope that McCain comes to power, so that the motivation for jihad remains in our hearts, and so that we do not rely on the infidels - to be struck by the fire .” Sorry, not my fault. I wish you could rely on the infidels, too. OK, here’s some racist Iranian rag. In an editorial, the Iranian daily Jomhouri-ye Eslami stated: “The most that that black man can do in the White House is to replace some of the staff and change some ceremonial procedures. He will never manage to change the structure of the American regime, which was established by capitalists, Zionists, and racists.” in London. al-Hayat: “The U.S. elections afford a kind of change that does not occur in the Arab ‘democracies’… The faces change in a way that we find impressive. Quick. Which recent U.S. president brought more democracy to more Muslims?
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POPSThe Reign of Lame Falls Mainly on McCain The winner is Obama because now he can start hanging out in public with Bill Ayers and Rev. Jeremiah Wright again. John McCain is a winner because he can resume buying more houses. And for only the second time in her adult life, Michelle Obama was proud of her country. And we're all winners because we will never again have to hear McCain say, "my friends." After Bill Clinton won the 1992 presidential election, Hillary Clinton immediately announced that, henceforth, she would be known as "Hillary Rodham Clinton." So maybe Obama can now become B. Hussein Obama, his rightful name. For now, we have a new president-elect. In the spirit of reaching across the aisle, we owe it to the Democrats to show their president the exact same kind of respect and loyalty that they have shown our recent Republican president. Starting tomorrow, if not sooner.
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POPSThe Obama "Alinskyite" Realignment Watch what Michael Barone called the Obama "thugocracy" use the Justice Department to stifle dissent. Anybody who complains about vote fraud will be charged with "vote suppression." Anybody who complains about DoJ's actions will be charged with interfering with an investigation. Anybody who denies having interfered will be charged with perjury. Likewise, anybody who peacefully protests abortion clinics or the use of state-sponsored racial quotas will be charged with a civil rights violation. And the accused won't be able to look to the Supreme Court for help: Anthony Kennedy's "evolving standards" of justice will evolve to match the new zeitgeist, providing a 5-4 majority for the administration. Meanwhile, of course, Obama's other appointments will be filling up the rest of the judiciary at a rapid clip, with nobody able to stop them.
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POPSIt's Official: Emanuel is Obama Chief of Staff No surprise. This has been in the works for a few days, but now it's official. I suppose this should be the first position filled, since this is basically the guy who runs the cabinet. Emanuel wasn't on my wishlist, but you take what you can get. For Secretary of State, say it with me, "Bill Richardson, Bill Richardson, Bill Richardson..." There's been some talk of Robert Kennedy Jr. joining the team as head of the EPA. A good choice, but make him Attorney General and watch Dick Cheney shit his pants and run. See also; Obama Considers Stars for Cabinet .
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POPSObama's First Pick an Israeli for Chief of Staff This reported by Israeli press, in their words. What kind of foreign policy and war policy "change" does this forecast versus that of the neoconservatives of the Bush administration? the son of a Jerusalem-born pediatrician who was a member of the Irgun (Etzel or IZL), a militant Zionist group that operated in Palestine between 1931 and 1948.
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POPSMcCain comes out on top in Cambodia: The Phnom Penh Post, Phnom Penh Cambodia Kaing Monika, the external affairs manager for the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, suggested a Democratic candidate would likely have a more pro-trade policy, but was uncertain whether either president could rescue the world from a global recession. "When Bill Clinton was president, we were quota free and the garment sector from were promoted. But I don't know ... if McCain or Obama can end a big world crisis," he said.
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POPSFreepers See Conspiracy in Obama Gramdmother's Death A few comments from the right wing social news site Free Republic. These people believe Bill Clinton was everything from a serial killer to a coke smuggler, so this shouldn't come as any surprise. Consider this a preview. These are the fevered, psychotic, paranoid, and -- frankly -- cruel conspiracy theories we'll be hearing about for the next four years at least. That's right, these psychopaths actually believe Barack Obama would kill his own grandmother to win an election. These are seriously fucked in the head individuals.
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