Michael Steele selected RNC Chair

Congratulations, Mr. Lt. Governor! Let's get to work.

Bye bye, Blago! Illinois Senate votes 59-0 to remove their Governor

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/index.html

Michelle Malkin: ACORN still set to get more than $2 Billion in Obama stimulus package

http://michellemalkin.com/2009/01/29/obamacorn-payback-its-still-in-there/

Everyone's favorite subversive voter fraud organization, ACORN, could get more than $2 billion if the Senate passes the newly House-passed Obama stimulus package. Call your Senator and ask him how $2 billion of your money going to an organization plagued with embezzlement, FBI raids and multiple instances of voter registration fraud will boost your business, strengthen our economy or help you get or keep a job.

House Democrats reject tax cutting stimulus plan. Approve $850 Billion Obama plan

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090128/D960EHJ00.html

The Democrats in the US House of Representatives rejected a supply side economics centric plan designed to invigorate struggling businesses and put more money in the pockets of tax payers. The Republican-sponsored legislation was modeled after the historic tax policies of JFK, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush. In each of these cases, the national economy boomed and government revenue actually increased.

Instead the historically-large, $850 billion Obama stimulus plan was passed -- without a single Republican vote.

From the AP:

The party's leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, said the measure "won't create many jobs, but it will create plenty of programs and projects through slow-moving government spending." A GOP alternative, comprised almost entirely of tax cuts, was defeated, 266-170, moments before the final vote.

Focus now shifts to the upper chamber, where debate on the companion legislation could begin this week.

Top 10 rejected PR stunts by Illinois Governor Blagojevich

This week, the halls of the legislature in the Land of Lincoln have echoed with the FBI phone taps of their executive. Instead of defending himself at the impeachment trial, embattled Illinois Governor Blagojevich has taken his case to the airwaves.

The investigative wing of The Wit Hits the Fan has obtained strategic, top-secret public relations information from the Blago camp. Without further delay, we present:

Top 10 rejected PR stunts by Illinois Governor Blagojevich

10. Star in an independent film in which he plays an over the hill professional wrestler trying to relate to his estranged daughter.

9. Vow publicly to help OJ Simpson find the real killer.

8. File a legal request to have his impeachment trial held in front of the American Idol judges.

7. Introduce evidence that there may have been a second corrupt governor, selling the open Senate seat from behind a grassy knoll.

6. Save hundreds of airline passengers from immanent death by performing a complicated emergency splash landing in the Chicago River.

5. Announce to the press that he considered appointing Oprah Winfrey for Obama’s Senate seat – sorry, he actually did this one.

4. Offer to shave his head at a pep rally in the Illinois House Chamber if he is allowed to stay in office.

3. Leak a sex tape to the press and act outraged when it’s sold on late-night infomercials.

2. Accuse Illinois legislators of trumping up the charges because they oppose his “free puppy for every sick child” initiative.

1. Three words: Blame Rush Limbaugh.

Stimulus package debate begins today. Let's put the proposal in the light of day. Here's the searchable text

There's so much raw pork in this thing, it's suggested you wash your hands thoroughly after browsing.

http://senateconservatives.com/2009/01/27/searchable-text-of-the-stimulus-bill/

Warning: do not read while operating heavy machinery.

edit: Here's another really good site to check out what Obama and the Democrats are trying to push through:

http://readthestimulus.org/

Billions in stimulus dollars could go to ACORN? Republicans say no

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/01/27/republican-leaders-raise-concerns-acorn-stimulus-dollars/

...money was previously limited to state and local governments, but that Democrats now want part of it to be available to non-profit entities. That means groups like ACORN would be eligible for a portion of the funds.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., told FOX News Tuesday that the money could be seen as "payoff" for groups' political activities in the last election. ACORN generally supports Democratic candidates and actively backed President Obama last year.

Contraceptives for the poor may be cut from Obama's stimulus plan

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090127/D95V83N81.html

Nancy Pelosi's family planning provisions may be pulled from President Obama's $850 billion economic stimulus plan after Republicans and pro-family groups questioned if there would be any actual economic benefit.

According to the AP:

The provision has emerged as a point of contention among Republicans, who criticize it as an example of wasteful spending that would neither create jobs nor otherwise improve the economy.

Under the provision, states no longer would be required to obtain federal permission to offer family planning services - including contraceptives - under Medicaid, the health program for the low-income.

House Republicans seem to be leading the charge on this:

"How you can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives how does that stimulate the economy?" House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio said on Friday after congressional leaders met with Obama at the White House. "You can go through a whole host of issues that have nothing to do with growing jobs in America and helping people keep their jobs."

To be honest, the idea of economic benefits of birth control is kind of growing on me. Just think how much better the economy would be if Pelosi's parents practiced contraception.

Just sayin'.

Contrite tax-cheat, Timothy Geithner, confirmed as Treasury Secretary

By a vote of 60-34, Timothy Geithner was confirmed by the Senate.

The vote broke down this way:
http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00015




Here's the thing: I'm trying to give President Obama an open mind. But when such a double standard exists between the treatment given to average citizens and to the "privileged" as well as what is acceptable in a Republican administration and in a Democrat administration, it's hard not to speak out.

Geithner was negligent on his Federal taxes for four separate years, despite numerous reminders and notices. To make things worse, he was actually given the money by his employer (the IMF) to pay those taxes -- and he didn't. When the IRS discovered two of these years, he paid the back taxes for only those years, knowing full well he was in default on the other two. Does that sound like an honest mistake?

Geithner did pay the remaining taxes due -- without penalty or interest -- the exact day before he was nominated as Secretary of Treasury. Now he has been confirmed after apologizing. Would any average citizen get the same non-penalty courtesy from the IRS? Would this same Senate confirm a Republican under the same circumstances?

Perhaps under the new administration, the IRS will waive all penalties and interest to anyone if a simple IR475-A apology form is filled out and corroborating tears are enclosed.

What network does Obama choose for his first TV interview? The Arabic network Al-Arabiya, of course

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090127/D95VFH581.html

How do you say "tingly feeling up my leg" in Arabic?

McCain gettin' all mavericky on Obama's stimulus plan

McCain actually speaks out against Obama and Congressional Democrats on Fox News Sunday. He says he won't vote for the current stimulus plan as written, calling it just another huge spending spree.

It's hard not to like this guy. Blago shuns impeachement trial for big-time media blitz

http://wcbstv.com/cbs2crew/blogejevich.impeachment.trial.2.917537.html

The embattled Governor of Illinois is taking a break from reciting poetry, telling cowboy stories and jogging through the snowy streets of Chicago in order to tell "his side of the story" on national television.

In addition to the appearance on "Good Morning America," Blagojevich also was scheduled to appear on "The View" and "Larry King Live." An interview he did with NBC's "Today" show also aired Monday morning.

How long before he's the featured guest on Saturday Night Live?

News you may have missed -- because nobody's reporting it: Top Obama staffers served subpoenas in the Blago case

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/01/media_averts_eyes_from_subpoen.html

It's just an oversight, I'm sure. Top Obama staffers get served orders, compelling them to testify in a government corruption trial and you can't find the story anywhere but the conservative blogosphere.

Among the subpoenas served by Patrick Fitzgerald:

David Axelrod, Obama's "Karl Rove" and the biggest surprise on the list. Obama's team issued a report in December that said his staff had no "inappropriate contact" with Blago, so the inclusion of Axelrod is a bit of a shock.

Valerie Jarrett, Blago's "Senate Candidate 1", a real estate management executive and political hack of the first order. Her ties to failed and fraudulent real estate deals in Chicago were the subject of numerous investigations and should have instantly disqualified her for any public office.

Rahm Emanuel was already deeply involved in the case with some reports describing as many as 21 conversations with Blago's office during the period in question.

Tony Rezko, Obama's first advocate, fundraiser and adviser, was convicted last year on numerous charges related to kickbacks, is awaiting sentencing. Rezko is "cooperating with authorities, FBI Agent Daniel Cain said in an affidavit."

George Bush's staffers couldn't incur a late fee on a DVD at Blockbuster without it being front page, above the fold. This isn't news?

Poor President Obama upset with reporter for asking him questions

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/01/22/obama-suprises-white-house-press-corps-visit-briefing-room/

Can we get a collective "awwwwww"?

When The Politico's Jonathon Martin asked the newly re-oathed President about his appointment for deputy secretary of defense during a surprise visit, Obama reportedly stared down the reporter.

According to Fox News, the president said, "I came down here to visit. I didn't come down here -- this is what happens. I can't end up visiting you guys and shaking hands if I am going to grilled every time I come down here."

Man, do those reporters have nerve -- asking him questions during hand shake time.

This comes just one day after a White House press briefing about his executive order to close Gitmo in which Obama had to turn and ask White House Council Greg Craig about the specifics of the order (transcript taken from Rush Limbaugh.com):

OBAMA: (chiseling in marble sound effect) In order to effect the appropriate disposition of individuals currently detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo, uh, and promptly to close the detention facility at Guantanamo consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and interests of justice, I hereby order. And we then we will then, uh, provide the process whereby Guantanamo will be closed no later than, uh, one year from now. We will be... Uhhh.... Ummm.... Is there a separate executive order, Greg, with respect to how we're going to dispose of the detainees? Is that it, eh, uh, what we're doing?

CRAIG: We'll set up a process!

OBAMA: We will be, uh, setting up a process whereby this is going to be taking place.

Mr. President, we're not off to an impressive start.

Liberal Dem's not happy with Hillary's replacement

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01232009/news/politics/dave_picks_gillibrand_as_liberal_dems_ho_151502.htm

New York Governor David Patterson has appointed an NRA-backed, moderately conservative upstate Congresswoman to replace out-going Senator Hillary Clinton. Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand has gotten the nod and brings with her a voting record that includes opposition to the TARP bailout.

The New York Post is reporting left-leaning Democrats are unhappy about the appointment. Some are even threatening a primary challenge in 2010. So much for party unity.

Congressional Pro-Life Republicans ask President Obama to reject FOCA

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is legislation pending in both chambers of Congress that will remove all limitations that individual states have signed into law. Partial birth abortion bans, parental notification laws, mandatory counseling/waiting periods and any other state laws that stand in the way of unlimited abortion on demand would be wiped off the books by this one piece of federal legislation.

In 2007, then Presidential candidate Obama pledged before a pro-abortion group, "The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. On this fundamental issue, I will not yield. And Planned Parenthood will not yield."

A letter signed by 80 pro-life Congressional Republicans was sent to Obama in hopes that he will back down from his FOCA pledge. Here is a link to the letter and its signers:

http://republicanleader.house.gov/UploadedFiles/01-21-09_FOCA_Letter.pdf

On this January 22, please pray for the unborn and for an end to abortion

Demonstrating for the rights of all -- regardless of race, gender, born or unborn.

Obama executive order expected on Guantanamo Bay, CIA interrogation. Anyone feel safer?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/01/21/obama-closing-gitmo-year/100days/

Torture is always wrong and the US should never have any part in it. Sleep deprivation, temperature fluctuation and piped-in country music are not torture. Now, if we're talking Kanye West, however, that may be cruel and unusual.

Things moving fast in Obamaland: Tax-cheat could be confirmed Treasury Secretary after apologizing

So much for that superior vetting process of potential Obama appointees. I guess as long as he is sorry, we can overlook the fact that the nation's chief tax administrator didn't pay his fair share.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123254915519002447.html

President Obama has to retake oath after botching it in front of millions.

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=86729

Because the US Constitution is specific with the exact words that must be used in the Presidential Oath of Office, President Barack Hussein Obama had to retake the oath in the White House.

From World Net Daily:

According to a Fox News report, Roberts went to the White House late today and administered the oath, correctly, to Obama. Also present were a pool reporter and a White House photographer.

The Associated Press reports, "The president said he did not have his Bible with him [for the second oath], but that the oath was binding anyway."

Josh White of the Washington Post said the oath of office is required of a new president "before he can execute his power."

And he noted, "the Constitution is clear that its 35 words must be spoken exactly."

You stay classy, Obama supporters.

Obama supporters mock the outgoing President with boos, singing "na na na na, na na na na, hey, hey, hey -- good bye."

First Impressions of the Obama Inauguration Speech

The moment was overwhelming. The speech was not.

What a poignant and moving event it was. It speaks volumes to me about our country. Half a lifetime away from the blight of segregation, rampant racism and government-backed injustice, we have a black man taking the Presidential Oath of Office. Only the hardest heart would not take away something moving from what today's ceremonies meant.

The speech, however, left me underwhelmed. I expected a vibrant, enthusiastic, optimistic call to action. What I took was negativism and pessimism. The problems we face were articulated well, but I kept waiting for the "Yes We Can!" moment of how we are going to attack those problems.

I had high expectations for the speech and was disappointed. Let's hope his Presidency doesn't follow suit.

Tap the keg and raise a glass! It's time for the Obama Inauguration Speech Drinking Game!

Can we play it? Yes We Can!

I know the historic address will be taking place just after noon Eastern Time and that most people will be at work or in school. I also know alcohol in the workplace is generally frowned upon on a Tuesday, but these are historic times. Besides, this drinking game is AA, Al Anon, MADD, SADD, and Tea Totalers of America-friendly.

The rules are very simple. Listen closely to President Obama's historic Inauguration Speech. When he utters the following words or phrases, take the appropriate number of drinks from your beverage of choice.

Phrase

"Deficits of more than $1 trillion are harmful to the future of our country." -- take 1 drink

"I pledge to put the full weight of the FBI upon the investigation of the shady practices of ACORN." -- take 1 drink

"As the dramatic supply-side policies of JFK, Reagan and GW Bush have shown, the only way to truly increase government revenue is to dramatically slash tax rates on everyone who pays taxes." -- take 1 drink

"The mortgage meltdown was caused by liberals in Congress, like me, forcing banks to take on billions of dollars in questionable loans." -- take 1 drink

Bonus Phrases

"Now that I've had a chance to think about it, I've changed my mind. Government is not the solution. It's actually the problem. We will cut government spending 65% by the end of my first term." -- drink 1 complete glass

"We will end all abortions in American by the year 2012." -- drink 1 complete pitcher

"I hold here in this hand my original birth certificate, my college transcripts, my complete medical history and the contact information of every 60's radical I have met with in my life. I enter all this into the public record for your perusal." -- do a keg stand

Enjoy this historic day.

Please spend some time with King's "I Have a Dream" speech today.

Delivered August 23, 1963. This is the verified text transcribed from the audio, courtesy of Americanrhetoric.com.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.

No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Message to Democrats--enjoy yourselves now. It's all down hill from here.

It's not a threat. It's not pessimism. It's the truth.

January 20 will bring bejewelled ball gowns and stiletto heels (and I'm not just talking about Barney Frank). Hollywood will endure their 15 minutes in our nation's capital (D.C. is dangerously close to flyover country. Can you even get a respectable tuna roll and spring water there?) And an estimated $125 million will change hands for the one-day festivities.

Springsteen and Obama will share the stage, singing "Born in the USA" and the Supreme Court will recognize it in lieu of an original birth certificate. Jessie Jackson will find more cameras to cry in front of. Chris Matthews will have so many tingles traveling up his leg, he'll need a motorized wheel chair. It will be an event so stocked with romance and emotion, there is talk that Bill and Hillary Clinton may even leave the party in the same limo.

But January 21 looms on the horizon like that cheap tequila hangover, intestinal distress and signed Girls Gone Wild legal waiver you wake up with after a spring break night south of the border.

January 21 brings an economy in the doldrums on one side and an aggressively spending legislative branch on the other.

January 21 brings a still echoing promise to close the terrorist holding facility in Gitmo on one side and a ravenous body of extremists on the other.

January 21 brings the confirmation hearings of a tax cheating Treasury Secretary and an Attorney General who pushed Bill Clinton's questionable pardons for terrorists and tax frauds.

January 20 will be a pretty good day to have a (D) after your name. Your Presidential candidate won. He is entering office with a 70 percent approval rating. You can buy commemorative dinner plates of him on the Home Shopping Network.

Enjoy the moment, Democrats. You've won control, but lost your scape goat. The time is coming when you will either have to make it all better or it will be all your fault.

Breaking News @ 11:30 Eastern Time: ILL Senate has overwhelmingly voted to impeach Gov. Blago

The process will now continue to a trial before the Illinois Legislature to determine if he should be removed from office.

Something to remember when the President-Elect talks about his stimulus package

A $1 trillion annual budget deficit= spending $1,000,000,000,000.00 in tax dollars more than we have in the account -- and doing it all in one year.

Another ACORN worker indicted in MO voter fraud case

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/E0AE03DE0BF8A88786257536000EF7E2?OpenDocument

Despite the claims from ACORN that they are the "victims" here, the so called non-partisan community activist group has proven that they are either extremely inept and flippant when it comes to protecting the integrity of our votes or flat out corrupt. Either way, there is no way they should be funded by our tax dollars.

As expected, Coleman files suit in Minnesota Senate recount

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D95HSIU00&show_article=1

Incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman has filed suit over gross inconsistencies in the way the Minnesota Canvasing Board dealt with voting problems. Due to Minnesota law, the seat cannot be filled if there are legal challenges on the outcome.

According to reports, two counties experienced differences in the hand counted and computer counted results. Remarkably, the Canvasing Board used two different standards in recognizing the official count, to the benefit of Coleman's challenger, alleged comedian Al Franken.

The Canvasing Board allowed the computer count (which meant a net gain for Franken) in one county and the hand count (which meant -- you guessed it-- a net gain for Franken) in the other. The board's decision to pick and choose which method (and ultimately which result) to recognize in different counties is questionable to say the least.

update:

Under Minnesota law, election officials are required to make a duplicate ballot if the original is damaged during Election Night counting. Officials are supposed to mark these as "duplicate" and segregate the original ballots. But it appears some officials may have failed to mark ballots as duplicates, which are now being counted in addition to the originals. This helps explain why more than 25 precincts now have more ballots than voters who signed in to vote. By some estimates this double counting has yielded Mr. Franken an additional 80 to 100 votes. Last month, Mr. Franken's campaign charged that one Hennepin County (Minneapolis) precinct had "lost" 133 votes, since the hand recount showed fewer ballots than machine votes recorded on Election Night. Though there is no proof to this missing vote charge -- officials may have accidentally run the ballots through the machine twice on Election Night -- the Canvassing Board chose to go with the Election Night total, rather than the actual number of ballots in the recount. That decision gave Mr. Franken a gain of 46 votes. Meanwhile, a Ramsey County precinct ended up with 177 more ballots than there were recorded votes on Election Night. In that case, the board decided to go with the extra ballots, rather than the Election Night total, even though the county is now showing more ballots than voters in the precinct. This gave Mr. Franken a net gain of 37 votes, which means he's benefited both ways from the board's inconsistency.

(From the Jan.5 Wall Street Journal)

Ann Coulter banned from NBC for being "too critical" of Obama?

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=85422

It's only fair. After all, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews were so supportive of George Bush.

The "Today" show source told Drudge the network is "just not interested in anyone so highly critical of President-elect Obama, right now."

The source goes on:

It's such a downer. It's just not the time, and it's not what our audience wants, either," the source said.

Since when is NBC concerned with what the audience wants? Weren't they the ones who brought us the "Rosie O'Donnell Variety Show" and the Knight Rider remake?

So... I've been away for a couple of weeks. Anything going on?

I just ended a self-imposed news exile which began a few days before Christmas. I've only casually kept an eye on current events and my web usage has been limited to football and basketball scores.

Having expelled the unhealthy remnants of 2008 from my system, I'm ready to look forward. I just have a couple of questions.

-Now that GM and Chrysler were granted their bailout money, the economy has been saved, right? Prosperity and optimism is abound, right? Unemployment is back in the 4% range, I'm sure.

-With the bank bailout having been given a number of months to shake out, I can drive on down to the bank and pick up my check to buy a house, car, boat and take a cruise, right? I better call ahead. I'm sure there will be a line.

-By now Illinois Governor Blago has got to be in jail and the Chicago political corruption machine has finally been broken, right? That brilliant, ethical, non-partisan pit bull of an independent counsel obviously pulled the plug on that investigation at the perfect time to ensure all involved parties will be prosecuted and justice will be served, right?

-Minnesota's unblemished record on clean elections and their Secretary of State who just happens to be a Democrat and closely tied to ACORN has found an uncontroversial resolution to that Senate Seat, right? I'm sure that's the case.

-Barack Obama's historic election to the American Presidency in November has ushered in a time of global peace, right? Traditional enemies in the Middle East have blissfully embraced each other with giddiness as the policy of "change" has triumphed in the United States, right?

-And I'm sure Caroline Kennedy has by now demonstrated her worthiness to represent the second-most populated state in the country in the Senate. Certainly she has proven she deserves a seat in the same chamber Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and John Quincy Adams, demonstrated their eloquence, right?

Now that I'm out of the sensory deprivation chamber, I'm ready to hit the ground running. Since I'm sure all December's loose ends have been tied up, I can spend some time on legitimate issues like cow flatulence and man-made global warming.