ThinkFast: December 3, 2008
ThinkFast: December 3, 2008
The Labor Department reported this morning that 533,000 jobs were lost last month, and unemployment surged to 6.7%. The job losses are much higher than the 300,000 losses that analysts predicted. This is the 11th straight month of job losses and the largest monthly decline since 1974. Nearly 2 million jobs have been lost this year.
Yesterday, the Interior Department “unveiled a new rule that challenges Congress’s authority to prevent mining planned on public lands.” Congress has “emergency power to stop mineral development, and has used it six times in the last 32 years” but Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne “has ignored that Congressional directive, saying it was procedurally flawed.”
New financial disclosures show that the RNC spent “a total of about $180,000 for clothes and various accessories for the family of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin,” including expenses at outlets like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Toys R Us and Victoria’s Secret. The McCain campaign paid Palin’s traveling makeup artist $68,400, “and her hair stylist received more than $42,000 for roughly two months of work.”
55 percent: The share of Americans who back President-elect Barack Obama’s plan to move U.S. troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey. Sixty-three percent oppose the war in Iraq, whereas 52 percent “favor” efforts in Afghanistan.
At a farewell ceremony yesterday, the 55-person contingent of Marines from Tonga became the latest member of the “coalition of the willing” to end its mission in Iraq. With the UN mandate ending on Dec. 31, “most of the remaining 18 countries are shutting down their operations swiftly and heading home.” The U.S. held exit ceremonies for troops from Azerbaijan and South Korea earlier this week.
The Supreme Court plans to meet today to decide whether to hear a case challenging President-elect Barack Obama’s right to be president based on his citizenship at birth. Justice Clarence Thomas picked up the petition to hear the lawsuit “after it was denied by Justice David H. Souter.” Thomas “referred it to the full court, which decided to distribute the case for the judges’ conference.”
Between 2004 and 2007, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) steered $79,560 in campaign cash to an Internet company run by his son, Steven Rangel, for a pair of “poorly designed” political Web sites. “This is probably legal but is definitely wrong,” said Meredith McGehee of the Campaign Legal Center.
The Blackwater Worldwide guards who shot and killed 17 Baghdad civilians in 2007 could face a mandatory 30-year prison sentence. Prosecutors, who could issue charges as early as Monday, might use a 1988 drug law that “calls for 30-year prison terms for using machine guns to commit violent crimes of any kind, whether drug-related or not.”
Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) asked Attorney General Michael Mukasey to clarify statements he made suggesting that Bush administration officials who authorized torture were within the law because they were acting in good faith. “Conyers and Nadler said they were ‘troubled’ by the ‘breadth’ of the statement, especially because there was significant opposition at many levels of the federal government.”‘
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz is being rumored as a possible nominee for Obama’s cabinet. But he is coming under fire from a coalition of labor and activist groups who argue he has not done enough for working people. ”Manny Diaz’s track record is he’s ignored the middle class,” said Fred Frost, president of the South Florida AFL-CIO.
And finally: Lately, Barack Obama has been reaching out to congressional Republicans, sometimes with hilarious results. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) also recently heard from the President-elect, although he was shopping with his wife and four-year-old grandson when he received the voicemail. King was uncomfortable talking to Obama from the toy department, so he went outside to a police car and asked if he could call him from there. “‘The guy in the car looked at me like he got the first psycho of the night,’ King said. But there were other police on the scene as well and King even offered to play the message. They let him in the vehicle to make the call and he reached a voice-mail.”
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New financial disclosures show that the RNC spent “a total of about $180,000 for clothes and various accessories for the family of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin,” including expenses at outlets like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Toys R Us and Victoria’s Secret.
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I’m not sure I even want to know what kind of wardrobe “accessories” had to come from Dick’s Sporting Goods and Toys R Us…
December 5th, 2008 at 9:07 amBill O’Reilly has formally confirmed he’s giving up one of the most successful syndicated radio shows in the country, saying he has just run out of hours in the week.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:14 amincluding expenses at outlets like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Toys R Us and Victoria’s Secret.
Why would she buy a fishing pole, action man and crotchless kn…
Oh, okay.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:14 amThe Supreme Court plans to meet today to decide challenging President-elect Barack Obama’s right to be president based on his citizenship at birth.
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Souter laughed at it, but Thomas picked up the football and is running with it. Is there no end to this idiocy? Obama was born in the United States, which is enough. Even if it wasn’t, his mother was an American citizen. Would the court be wasting their time in this manner if Obama was a white Republican?
We’ve been down this road before — although not all the way to the Supreme Court. Barry Goldwater’s eligibiliy to be president was questioned because he was born in Arizona three years before Arizona became a state. And even in this last election, McCain’s eligibility was a subject of discussion because he was born in Panama (although to American parents).
Perhaps this should be the time to amend the constitution to eliminate the “natural-born citizen” requirement. When we decide who should lead the country, we should make the decision based upon a candidate’s qualifications, skill set, patriotism, positions on the issues, and similar criteria. We should not fuss about the circumstances of their birth — something no candidate had any control over.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:18 amLittle Clancy Thomas is just following in GDumbya’s footsteps . . . he realizes that he has no legacy and is scrambling to create one.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:20 amThe Blackwater Worldwide guards who shot and killed 17 Baghdad civilians in 2007 could face a mandatory 30-year prison sentence.
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Waitaminnit — Blackwater guards are actually being held accountable for their actions?
December 5th, 2008 at 9:20 amOT, but the ad on the side bar from Credo, “Switching is easy” with a picture of Lieberman – well, that’s enough to keep me from ever considering Credo….
December 5th, 2008 at 9:21 amAnd we can add 3 million to the grim totals unless Obama finds his “presidential voice” and forces Bush and Congress to push through a Big Three/union bailout.
http://www.sunstateactivist.org/ssablog/
December 5th, 2008 at 9:23 amWe had Tongan troops there?
Almost two-thirds of the 101,991 inhabitants of the Kingdom of Tonga live on its main island, Tongatapu.
WTF? How many, seven?
December 5th, 2008 at 9:23 amwell, that’s enough to keep me from ever considering Credo….
And note to Credo, when seeking a “celebrity” endorsement, ask them to look happy about the endorsement (maybe even ’smile’?)
December 5th, 2008 at 9:24 amThe Supreme Court plans to meet today to decide challenging President-elect Barack Obama’s right to be president based on his citizenship at birth.
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Great idea… overturn the election…riots in the streets…there haven’t been any good riots in 40 years…drill baby drill???..be more like burn baby burn..Sounds like fun…
December 5th, 2008 at 9:24 amWorst-case scenario: the Supreme Court invalidates all votes cast for Obama/Biden and McPain and Palin are annointed King and Queen.
So, what are the odds the Supreme Court will hold that Obama cannot be president? 5/4 or 0/9? Is Vegas running a line on this yet?
December 5th, 2008 at 9:29 amLungman424 Says:
The Supreme Court plans to meet today to decide challenging President-elect Barack Obama’s right to be president based on his citizenship at birth…
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The idiocy knows no bounds…
December 5th, 2008 at 9:33 amUm…It’s December the FIFTH?
December 5th, 2008 at 9:34 amsmall detail here… today is dec 5th, not dec 3rd.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:35 amMaybe Justice Thomas is just pissed off at Obama for pretty much stating that Clarence Thomas is an idiot and that if he were President at the time, he would not have nominated him during the first Presidential forum at Saddleback in August. He also went on to say that he doesn’t agree with many of Thomas’s interpretations of the Constitution.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:36 amhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/16/obama-i-would-not-have-no_n_119366.html
JINX!
December 5th, 2008 at 9:36 amYa know, a better designed website can AUTOMATICALLY generate the correct date…
December 5th, 2008 at 9:37 amThink fast December what?
December 5th, 2008 at 9:42 amEven children born to ILLEGAL immigrants are granted citizenship – full citizeship ya’ll!
However, in light of today’s trend of passing ex-post-facto laws, better get yer guns ready just in case…
December 5th, 2008 at 9:42 amOver half-a-million jobs lost last month alone. Is it a Depression yet…?
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December 5th, 2008 at 9:43 amBriseadh na Faire Says:
So, what are the odds the Supreme Court will hold that Obama cannot be president? 5/4 or 0/9? Is Vegas running a line on this yet?
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What really weird and annoying here is if the Supes do actually act on this, and even if Obama wins yet another round of voting, IF the vote isn’t unanimous for Obama, the wingnuttery will latch onto that split vote as “proof” and be wetting themselves endlessly for years to come.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:45 amThomas “referred it to the full court, which decided to distribute the case for the judges’ conference.”
If the Supreme Court allows this lawsuit to go ahead, since it is based solely on rumors with zero proof of it’s merit, then we are truly in trouble as a Nation.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:50 amThis is the main reason I will never forgive those of you who voted 3rd party in 2000, You are responsible for this.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:51 amYesterday, the Interior Department “unveiled a new rule that challenges Congress’s authority to prevent mining planned on public lands.” Congress has “emergency power to stop mineral development, and has used it six times in the last 32 years” but Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne “has ignored that Congressional directive, saying it was procedurally flawed.”
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Procedurally flawed? I’d ask if Dickie was kidding, but… so what’s next, mountain top mining in the Grand Canyon?
Dickie, do the saner MAJORITY of the country a big favor and just LEAVE, NOW. Go… pack up, get out, split, vamoose… go, go go, go…
December 5th, 2008 at 9:52 amThe Republic of Stupidity Says: What really weird and annoying here is if the Supes do actually act on this, and even if Obama wins yet another round of voting, IF the vote isn’t unanimous for Obama, the wingnuttery will latch onto that split vote as “proof” and be wetting themselves endlessly for years to come.
I’m actually a little bit nervous about what could happen. These are the same group of people who told a high school student that his First Amendment rights to free speech weren’t actually free when he was at a school function (the “Bong Hits of Jesus” case).
December 5th, 2008 at 9:52 amThis ridiculous claim has already been debunked by The Annenberg Political Fact Check, which is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
December 5th, 2008 at 9:53 amThomas is probably the worst SC justice in recent history.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:54 amEven the despised Scalia in all his arrogance at least has a brain (a paartisan one, but nonetheless a brain). Thomas has remained nearly silent all these years, but he apparently holds a grudge against Obama who once criticized him.
The Blackwater Worldwide guards who shot and killed 17 Baghdad civilians in 2007 could face a mandatory 30-year prison sentence.
Anyone want to bet that Blackwater has high tailed anyone involved in this massacre out of Iraq and reach of the Iraqi government. I’m betting there is going to be an exodus of contractors from Iraq starting NOW. Now that they can be held responsible for their actions. they are not going to chance staying there. Then what will our military do? Who is going to feed them and provide them with the services we have been paying billions to private companies to do?
December 5th, 2008 at 9:55 amThe “Bush Depression”
December 5th, 2008 at 9:56 amFred Says: Justice Clarence Thomas picked up the petition to hear the lawsuit.
But they rejected hearing Michale Newdow’s legitimate case of the pledge of allegiance violating the Constitution…
And then they took Anna Nicole Smith’s case over her inheritence claim….
I wish I were just even a little bit surprised. But after 2000, it’s clear they are not unbiased.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:57 amunbelievable Says:
I wish I were just even a little bit surprised. But after 2000, it’s clear they are not unbiased.
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Unbiased??? Isn’t “competent” the word you were really looking for?
December 5th, 2008 at 9:59 amThe “Bush Depression”
as originally posted…..ana_lysts kicked it….
December 5th, 2008 at 9:59 amImpeach Clarence Thomas
December 5th, 2008 at 10:01 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
And even in this last election, McCain’s eligibility was a subject of discussion because he was born in Panama (although to American parents).
The truth is that McCain was the one who was technically ineligible. He was born in Panama three years before the law took affect saying that any child born to US citizens, no matter where they were born, were automatically citizens. And, the bill WAS NOT retroactive. But, did you see the Democrats kicking up a fuss and challenging his right to run for the Presidency? Nope, that kind of pettiness is reserved for the Republicans.
It’s going to be interested to see if any of the justices agree to allow this lawsuit to happen. If any do, we will know that particular justice is hopefully partisan.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:01 amMaybe if dana perino had debunked it the media would accept it.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:02 amimpeachcheneythenbush Says:
This ridiculous claim has already been debunked by The Annenberg Political Fact Check, which is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
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Yeah, but the Annenbergs gave money to Bill Ayers in the past, so that just proves they’re in the tank for Obama…
Snark/off…
December 5th, 2008 at 10:02 amunbelievable Says:
I’m actually a little bit nervous about what could happen. These are the same group of people who told a high school student that his First Amendment rights to free speech weren’t actually free when he was at a school function (the “Bong Hits of Jesus” case).
I’m not nervous. Because even if they do say that there is no proof he was born in the US, how is the Supreme Court going to get around the fact that his mother was a US citizen? I think that alone is grounds for rejecting the suit. Even if Obama was born in Kenya, he would still be a natural born US citizen unless they could prove that his mother was not a citizen.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:05 amThe Republic of Stupidity Says: Unbiased??? Isn’t “competent” the word you were really looking for?
That too… :)
December 5th, 2008 at 10:05 amIt’s all they have……they are a dysfunctional party and that is why they have been banished.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:08 amYankeluh Says:
Think fast December what?
December 5th, 2008 at 9:42 am
I needed another day in this week. :-D
December 5th, 2008 at 10:11 am00mpp00 Says:
And we can add 3 million to the grim totals unless Obama finds his “presidential voice” and forces Bush and Congress to push through a Big Three/union bailout.
So, please tell us how someone who isn’t the President can FORCE Bush and Congress to push for a bailout? Bush and the Republicans are going to do what they damn well please and there is nothing we can do to stop them until January 20.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:11 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says: Even if Obama was born in Kenya, he would still be a natural born US citizen unless they could prove that his mother was not a citizen.
And Al Gore won both the popular vote and the independent Florida recount… Facts, like reality, don’t seem to matter to the cons.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:12 amJustice Clarence Thomas picked up the petition to hear the lawsuit
How this lunacy made it to the supreme court before far more important cases tells me all I need to know about the supreme court. I understand further why David Souter has been contemplating resigning since 2000.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:14 amBilbo at 36. I think that you meant to write “hopelessly.”
December 5th, 2008 at 10:15 amIt’s clear to me that racism is at the core of the ridiculous concern that Obama was not born in the United States. After all, I never heard a single peep from these nutbags about the fact that McCain was born in Panama.
They’d be going frickin’ nuts if we were challenging the citizenship of President-elect McCain.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:16 amOops, I didn’t see Bilbo’s post saying the same thing. :|
December 5th, 2008 at 10:17 ambeware…
Koobface Virus Still Making The Rounds On Facebook
December 5th, 2008 at 10:18 amWashington Post – 43 minutes ago
Yesterday, reports started circulating about a virulent piece of worm spreading through Facebook. The malicious code isn’t exactly new (it started surfacing in August), but has now been altered to strike social networking websites only and is currently …
‘Koobface’ Virus Attacks Facebook Wired News
The Labor Department reported this morning that 533,000 jobs were lost last month
Nixon “V” salute!
December 5th, 2008 at 10:19 amBilbo: “Bush and the Republicans are going to do what they damn well please and there is nothing we can do to stop them until January 20.”
That’s right, Bilbo. Let’s not forget that we still have the current Congressional split to contend with until January as well.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:20 amDaschle Suggests Decking Halls With Health Reform
December 5th, 2008 at 10:20 amWall Street Journal Blogs – 1 hour ago
What will be the main topic of conversation at your holiday party this year? If you take the advice of former Sen. Tom Daschle, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for Health and Human Services Secretary, it’ll be health-care reform.
Obama laying the groundwork for US health reform Reuters
HHS Will Be Shepherding Health-Care Washington Post
Wall Street Journal – Medical News Today – TheMedGuru – Kaiser network.org
all 67 news articles »
http://news.google.com/?ncl=1277355089&hl=en&topic=m
Canadian leader suspends Parliament to stay in power
CNN International – 52 minutes ago
(CNN) — Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Canada’s governor general has allowed him to suspend Parliament, postponing a no-confidence vote from his opponents that he was likely to lose.
don’t get any ideas, duby…
December 5th, 2008 at 10:21 amI’m going with Mary Maxwell for Labor secretary. I hope the labor dept. is an important voice of the economic team. And if Geithner starts crying to the president, I will waste no time calling for the ouster of baby face.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:24 am3 charged in boy’s death at Massachusetts gun expo
Los Angeles Times – 8 hours ago
AP Reporting from Springfield, Mass. — Three men, including a small-town police chief, were indicted Thursday on involuntary manslaughter counts in the death of an 8-year-old who accidentally shot himself in the head with an Uzi at a gun fair.
no charges against his father, i heard… fair enough…
December 5th, 2008 at 10:24 amVeterans’ long-term problems linked to traumatic brain injuries
December 5th, 2008 at 10:25 amLos Angeles Times – 6 hours ago
An Institute of Medicine report says even mild brain injuries seem associated with problems such as seizures, aggression and dementia reminiscent of Alzheimer’s disease.
Panel Urges More Screening of Brain Injury in Troops New York Times
Defense Department Told To Study Brain Injuries In Troops RedOrbit
Houston Chronicle – ABC2 News – TopNews – Washington Post
all 335 news articles »
http://news.google.com/?ncl=1277508640&hl=en&topic=m
Between 2004 and 2007, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) steered $79,560 in campaign cash
Rep. Rangel, you’re a great representative but a conflicted leader. Please give up your chairmanship and keep the democratic majority out of muddled waters from the get-go.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:29 am“…11th straight month of job losses and the largest monthly decline since 1974…”
December 5th, 2008 at 10:30 amWay to go, HooverII. What else ya got planned for your final seven weeks?
Justice Clarence Thomas picked up the petition to hear the lawsuit “after it was denied by Justice David H. Souter.”
retribution? that guy’s a case of his own…
December 5th, 2008 at 10:40 amDr. Hussein Matt Says:
Another reason why every shillary supported should be deported to the bottom of the ocean. F**king losers.
You’re just itching for a rhf tirade, aren’t ya?
December 5th, 2008 at 10:53 am:-)
Obviously Rangel’s son designed TP. lololololol
December 5th, 2008 at 10:56 amunbelievable Says:
I’m actually a little bit nervous about what could happen.
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Just the fact that that nattering imbecile Thomas picked up on this gives the suit an “aurau” of legitimacy it doesn’t deserve. Thomas CANNOT not be aware of this. He did it on purpose, just for that reason.
Even if it does die at this point, the wingnuttery will be pointing to this moment alone for years to come as “proof” that there was something “tainted” about Obama’s presidency.
I’ve read in the past that the real motive behind the Clinton impeachment was payback for Nixon’s resignation. Is this ridiculous lawsuit being heard at the SCOTUS level payback for pointing out the dubious circumstances surrounding Botch’s ‘appointment” to the WH in 2000?
This alone – merely being taken up for further discussion – no doubt has the entire wingnut universe chattering away madly this morning, like a enormous chorus of castrati chipmunks…
December 5th, 2008 at 11:30 amTRoS says:
Is this ridiculous lawsuit being heard at the SCOTUS level payback for pointing out the dubious circumstances surrounding Botch’s ‘appointment” to the WH in 2000?
i’m guessing it has more to do with obama’s statement about thomas at the saddleback forum (i think that’s where)…
December 5th, 2008 at 11:46 amremember that?
see here:
December 5th, 2008 at 11:48 amhttp://www.google.com/search?q=saddleback+forum%2C+judge%2C+thomas&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
Am I in a time warp?
December 5th, 2008 at 12:55 pmExit Stage Left Says:
Am I in a time warp?
C’mon everyone… sing it… just sing it…
“Let’s do the time warp again…”
December 5th, 2008 at 1:48 pmCould someone explain to me why the same folks who got so worked up over John Edwards’s pricey haircuts–for which he personally paid–are so silent on Palin’s costly, Republican Party-funded couture, coiffure and cosmetics? Just your average hockey mom, indeed, and this at a time when record numbers of Americans are losing homes, jobs and hope. Marie Antoinette would have been proud of her.
December 6th, 2008 at 12:33 am