Jack & Jill Politics

EVENING THREAD IS UP

I'll bet.

Chuck Todd, who I used to admire for astuteness, just said on NBC Nightly News that it looks like Obama was less 'hands off' than he initially said. Plus he said that there's a smell around Valerie Jarrett, too.

WTF?

I guess his being promoted to NBC White House correspondent (taking over from the tainted Mrs. Alan Greenspan) must have gotten to him.

Dont forget the voiceover that preceded Chuck Todd, which intoned that Obama was laying low in Hawaii and leaving Joe Biden to answer all the questions.

EVERYONE HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY WEEK!! I am now off to my folks where there is NO internet access so I will be bonding.....thank goodness I really like my family! LOL!!
Smooches!!

Byeeee!! Enjoy Miranda...happy happy holidays!!

Well Can I go with you? I don't like all my family so much! :-)

ARP: LOL!! :>) :>)

**shakin' my head!:>)****

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR to you & yours!! :>) :>)

C'mon! YOU just ENJOY them!! :>) :>)

That's funny...but it's not! So stop making me laugh!

I tend to like the traditional christmas songs, so I made up a christmas cd that has a heavy rotation of Linda Eder's songs.
http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Stays-Same-Lind...

You can have a small listen but you must hear her Do you Hear what I hear? which has the cast of The Lion King as the choir, her Silent Night invokes the sounds of angels and her Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas is downright heartelt. I am not a fan of the new songs but others are.

This cd was an impulse buy and I loved it so much I wasted a lot of money trying her other cds, though her Somewhere Over the Rainbow is my absolute favorite rendition.

Beautiful voice.

Lilytiger: HeeeeeeY!!! :>) :>) :>) I like the "traditional ones" 2!! :>) :>)

THANK YOU for ALL your work on this "special music!" :>) :>)

U R A "jewel!" :>)

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Gloria (In Excelsis Deo) + lyrics (Mariah Carey)

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!! :>) :>)

God Bless YOU & YOURS!

Report: Cheney Admits Crucial Role In Valerie Plame Leak
Exclusive: Cheney’s admissions to the CIA leak prosecutor and FBI
http://murraywaas.crooksandliars.com/2008/12/23...

OK can we arrest him now? Didn't GW Sr. say outing an agent was treason? Let's do a two-fer and swing by and pick up Karl while he's at Fox News too.

JJPers: Back to my original post. :>)

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Ledisi )

As we come to the close of 2008, I want to tell you what a PLEASURE it has been ta MEETCHA'LL!! [Thanks for my "new" language skills 2! :>)]

***extending my right hand to shake yours*** :>) :>)

Gotta "raise up" for most of the day! One thing that I have to do is to take gifts to the clients in a "nursing facility." This will be a JOY!! :>)

See ya when I return! :>) :>)

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!! :>) :>)

GOD BLESS!! YOU & YOURS!! :>)

Jonathan Capeheart continues to parrot GOP talking points.

Jonathan Capeheart just told Andrea Mitchell that we should take the conclusions of the Obama report with a "grain of salt" because its "only" an internal investigation. No one else on MSNBC has been quite so dismissive today. He also found it "convenient" that the report will be released at 4:00 p.m. I'm not sure what he's insinuating with that comment.

He's a Handkerchief Head.

Plain and simple.

that serpentine reptile needs to slither up under a rock and stay there

JJPers:

OOPS! Just saw this on MSNBC - - 11:00pm PST. Madoff Investor commited suicide! Did this JUST HAPPEN??

Here's more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/23/thierr...

Lord have mercy.

Miranda: THANK YOU! I thought that they were still doing a "REVIEW of the EVENTS of 2008!" WOW!!

Reportedly, 3/4 of the money Villehuchet managed was in Madoff's fund.

REALLY, Lord have mercy! on this whole situation - including the investors he worked for/with!

***shakin' my head***

I sympathize with that man's family, I really do...but how do you get to the point you would take your life over this? Yeah, its a billion dollars that his investors no longer have and he was responsible....whatever, it wasn't worth his life.

I've seen this one on Law and Order. Prosecutor Jack McCoy seeks an indictment against the swindler for reckless homicide. Can't tell you the outcome.

rikyrah: **jammin'*** :>) :>)

Chris Brown’s This Christmas Music Video

ENJOY!!! He is soooo TALENTED!! :>) :>) Loved the movie 2! :>) :>)

Verrry nice, GLH

that young brother ain't got nothin on Barack, though with his fine self, lol lol

I was impressed that Chris did his video with everyday folks in homes like most people have ...that was a very nice touch....instead of the blink blink thugged out stuff

whiterosebuddy: Co-sign! :>) :>)

rikyrah: Gotta "bring THIS":

The Christmas Song sung by Nat King Cole

ENJOY!!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Kenny G

Annnnnnnnd a Happy New Year (ABBA)

GOD BLESS YOU Annnnnd YOURS!! :>)

Obama wants Bush war team to stay

The more interesting thing here isn't the story-which makes sense-but the title used for it.

D: I remarked about this B4. --The dissonance Btween the TITLE & the STORY!!

VERY DISTURBING!! AArrgg!

Topic #2:

YOU & YOURS have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS & a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

***CALMLY*** :>) :>) :>)

News of the Weird:

LaBruzzo considering plan to pay poor women $1,000 to have tubes tied

Worried that welfare costs are rising as the number of taxpayers declines, state Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie, said Tuesday he is studying a plan to pay poor women $1,000 to have their Fallopian tubes tied.

I thought the GOP types wanted women to choose life?

Funny how they want Bristol to choose life but urge Shenaynay to shut life down.

Town, white babies are worth saving. I thought you knew that!!!

Kinda off subject, but I've been meaning to ask.....

Why is the left so concerned with Bristol Palin? In the grand scheme of things, who cares who she marries, when she has her kid, what she names him, etc.? We're supposed to be celebrating the birth of Christ, yet people are drooling over the Palin birth.

Is it really that important to y'all?

But, to answer your question....the GOP is against abortion, which is the taking of a life already in existance. Technically speaking, this wouldn't be "shutting life down;" rather, the prevention of life. I don't see a conflict along those lines, as it's not the same argument.

But why are we preventing life? And why are all these life prevention measures always aimed at black, brown and poor people? Don't they deserve a chance to "choose life?"

The left isn't obsessed with Bristol Palin; she is merely a symbol of the hypocrisy of the right. Pure, white, "middle class" Bristol Palin is 17, knocked up and unwed, and she is celebrated for "choosing life."

Trailer park Jamie Lynn Spears is 17, knocked up and unwed, and she's just trash.

Sarah Palin is celebrated as a mom who's supporting her troubled daughter in these trying times.

Lynne Spears is blasted as a trifling, bad, poor excuse of a mother and Jamie Lynn getting knocked up is the proof in the pudding.

And let's not be stupid, here. If Malia Obama were a 17 year old pregnant, unwed high school dropout whose baby daddy's momma was arrested for dealing crack, we wouldn't have heard about how great is was that Malia Obama "chose life." We'd be hearing about how typical and pathological Malia Obama was. Shoot, as it was, Malia's mother who is and has been married to Malia's father for 16 years was castigated as a 'baby momma'.

But are they? I don't know enough about the guy's district to know how it breaks down around racial lines.

Keep in mind, though, that I'm not completely in favor of this one. I don't think it's that smart.

On Bristol: well, knowing how one of the Obama daughters would be treated if they were in this situation, is turnabout fair play-or in that case, even justified?

Come on, now. Let's not play stupid. He says stuff like this:

"We're on a train headed to the future and there's a bridge out, " LaBruzzo said of what he suspects are dangerous demographic trends."

and this:

"LaBruzzo said he worries that people receiving government aid such as food stamps and publicly subsidized housing are reproducing at a faster rate than more affluent, better-educated people who presumably pay more tax revenue to the government. He said he is gathering statistics now."

and this:

"It also could include tax incentives for college-educated, higher-income people to have more children, he said."

We KNOW which demographic the article is talking about. Otherwise they wouldn't have taken such pains in the article to point out that he was white and his district was David Duke's district. He knows who he's targeting, otherwise he wouldn't have to cover his ass by claiming "well more white people are on welfare than blacks" and "my proposal isn't racist."

The "dangerous demographic trends" homey is talking about is the DECLINE in the births of WHITE babies and the INCREASE in the births of black and latino (but especially LATINO) babies.

These 'DANGEROUS DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS" mean the USA is getting less and less white, which doesn't bode well for the GOP.

Why do you think he's trying to get tax credits for "college educated higher income (white) people" to have MORE babies?

Why would he encourage MORE babies regardless of race to be born, when he claims that resources are dwindling? Wouldn't more children = needing more resources?

As far as Bristol, Hypothetical Malia and Jamie Lynn are concerned,if you're going to treat Malia and Jamie Lynn like pieces of diarhea doo doo shit for being pregnant and unwed, then you need to treat Bristol the same way for making the same choices as Hypothetical Malia and Jamie Lynn.

I don't think it's as serious-or as racially motivated-as you're suggesting. I think it's a stupid idea...and would be no less stupid if a state representative from Montana suggested it.

Palin/Obama: so the argument is basically because it would happen to the Obamas, that makes Bristol fair game. What does that accomplish, besides being spiteful?

If you celebrate Bristol Palin "choosing life," then you should also celebrate Jamie Lynn Spears or Hypothetical Malia Obama for also "choosing life."

BUT, if you bash Jamie Lynn and Hypothetical Malia for making the same choice Bristol did (unprotected unmarried sex but choosing to bring the child to term), then YOUR motives need to be examined and brought into the light.

Bristol did the same thing Jamie Lynn did. Neither girl will have to rely on welfare or will be living in a trailer park. Both of them have the money and resources to raise their children --- yet Jamie Lynn was described as a piece of trash for getting knocked up while Bristol was the new face of "choosing life." Why?

Didn't Jamie Lynn also choose life? Couldn't Jamie Lynn have EASILY gotten an abortion and continued her TV career? Jamie Lynn Spears has many more opportunities to make it out of her situation than Bristol does because even though Jamie Lynn is also a HS dropout she has her own money and doesn't need to rely on welfare or even her parents for support. Bristol does, but JAMIE LYNN'S the drag on the system?

We don't even need to discuss how Hypothetical Malia would have been treated because we all know that Hypothetical Malia and her baby would be described as typical black trash and drains on the system.

The funny thing is if you're a welfare person only popping out kids for the money, it damn sure wouldn't be economically sensible to take a one-time $1000 sterilization payout when there's more money to be had by popping out kids.

I'll say it here: if people are going to bash black teens for getting pregnant out of wedlock and bash lower class white teens like Jamie Lynn Spears for getting pregnant out of wedlock, then people SHOULD bash Bristol Palin all day, every day (as if Bristol was to the manor born, please!). Damn straight.

But instead of bashing Bristol, Jamie Lynn or any other pregnant teen, how about NOT bashing any of them?

Bash none of them. I agree with that.

Start here.

Because it is all hypocrisy on the part of the GOP 'values' crowd. A woman parading her unmarried pregnant teen on the national stage just doesn't seem to match up with the moral majority values.

It was unseemly and immoral. Immorality paraded on the national stage by those who proclaim to hold morality dear and as their exclusive right to impose on the rest of the nation.

I wonder what he will do with this ass-hat plan when more white women start showing up for the check.

We live in perilous economic times - there may be as many white women with their hands out as there are the women for which this is aimed at - SISTAS.

This plan was first tried out in Oakland, California - I know, because I'm from Oakland and I saw the billboards in mostly Black and Latino neighborhoods. They were cheap, too - they only offered $200 as opposed to $1000.

Another way to sterlize Black women - and we're not reproducing at the same rate as white or Latino women, either.

I so agree. Remember what happened in North Carolina?

You do not need to wonder what he will do. In our race conscious society, those white women will be given the checks withOUT tying their tubes! The rationale for that will be they need to keep reproducing so whites will have some hope to be the majority in 2012

Yup, and the POC women will get suckered into sterlization for a grand that will be spent by this time next week, with the economy the way it is.

I'm halfway surprised that something like this is legal.

Why? Some winger a few years back was paying crackheads to get their tubes tied out in California. Those are your folks, D. You need to keep up ;-)

What I don't understand is where the Rethugs think they're going to get their housekeepers, auto mechanics, detailers, dry cleaners, gardeners, baristas, bank tellers, etc. if they eliminate the working class. There's a class war going on, but it's top down.

I've been focused on the war, so things like this catch me by surprise when they're said publically.

rilyrah: ****Saaaaaa-lap!!!****

Di'int SHE get the MEMO!!! IT is Mr. President-Elect Obama's WORLD! She ONLY lives in it.!!!

Hillary Clinton plans a more powerful State Dept: NY Times


December 23, 2008 ·

Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to build a more muscular US State Department, with a bigger budget, high-profile special envoys dispatched to trouble spots and an expanded role in dealing with the global economic crisis, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

The Times cited an unnamed Hillary Clinton adviser as saying her push for a more vigorous economic team stems from her belief that the State Department needs to play a part in the recovery from the global financial crisis, while economic issues also are at the heart of key diplomatic relationships, notably with China.

The former first lady also is reportedly likely to name several high-powered envoys to world hotspots.

The daily reported that Clinton and Obama have not yet settled on specific envoys or missions, although the name of veteran diplomat Dennis Ross has come up as a possible Middle East envoy, along with diplomatic trouble-shooter Richard Holbrooke and Martin Indyk, a former United States ambassador to Israel.

The Times wrote that the New York senator — President-elect Barack Obama’s pick for Secretary of State — is recruiting Jacob Lew, the budget director under her husband former president Bill Clinton — to be one of her two deputies. Lew would be tasked with handling economic matters, the report said.

Another Bill Clinton aide, former deputy national security adviser James Steinberg is to be Hillary Clinton’s other chief lieutenant, subject to Senate confirmation.

AFP

DANG!!! "WHAT THE FLICK???!!" HRC - - please meet MS. HUMILITY at some point in your life!! ***shakin' my head*** LAWD ---- HA'-----MERCY!!! WHEW!!!

O.K. ima do this again - - ***Saaaaa-lap!*** GET A GRIP!!! **shakin' HER shoulders***

rikyrah, please calm down. it's not that serious

chenna: HEY! :>)

O.K. Here's my point - - "WHYCOME! she always "gotta B startin' somethin'?"

JUST DO HER JOB that WAS/WILL B assigned by HER BOSS! - - -

Mr. PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA! :>) :>)

****CALMLY*** :>) :>)

sorry, comment should be directed at greenladyhere

chenna: GOT IT!! :>) :>)

BUT, I re-iterate: SHE DOES NOT SET THE AGENDA!

Annnnnd, it IS SERIOUS that HER PEA-BRAIN CONTINUES to TRY to BULLY - MR. PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA!

NOT gonna happen! :>) :>)

***calmly****

I couldn't help myself! LOL!

Living Colour: Cephus and Reesie Christmas Album

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXscFeF9hf4

spirit: LOL!! :>)

Do you know that I remember this clip soooo well!! :>) :>) I "rolled" when I was watching it - - THEN!! :>) :>) :>)

Thanks for da memories!!! :>) :>)

Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Christmas Song

ENJOY!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY NEW YEAR! :>) :>)

GreenLadyHere, right back atchooo!!!! Holy guacamole!!!! I love me some Alvin and The Chipmunks!!!!

Many Blessings to you, GreenLady and your family.

Have the Merriest of Christmas' and the Happiest New Year!!!

With oodles of luv!!!!! Spirit

Ahhhhh damn.........now I feel guilty too..........I'm about to go to my folks for the holidays.....DAGNABIT!! I REFUSE TO FEEL GUILTY FOR WHAT I'M GOING TO DO THERE!!! I'm GONNA EAT....A LOT! DAMMIT I'M GONNA EAT A LOT!!!!

Miranda: Just "HOLD YOUR ABS IN while eatin' as much as you want!! :>) :>)

BLACK MAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE - GROOVE JUNKIES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH0FZkPZSDg

dj: WOW!! GREAT ART/WORDS!!! :>)

THANK YOU 4 "bringin' this!" :>) :>)

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR to YOU & YOURS!!

Harvey Fierstein on the Rick Warren brouhaha:

"A couple of boys were calling my best friend a faggot one unhappy day at summer camp. Courses of action seemed slim to my adolescent mind. I could stand up for Jack branding myself a fag as well and insuring myself a miserable summer, or I could join in with the name callers, lose my closest friend, but assure my standing with the majority. I sacrificed my friend on the altar of popularity. I don’t think I need to tell you that political expediency was a terrific short-term solution but a long-term nightmare. My summer concluded uneventfully but none of those boys became my friend or did me any favors. And forty years later I still feel the loss of Jack along with a piece of my self respect that I can never win back. Mine was an act of cowardice and betrayal.

"It seems Obama is now maneuvering through the summer camp of his political adolescence and is about to make the same bad choice as I. He can call the placing of a hate monger like Rick Warren on the world dais political healing or inclusiveness or any other nicety he’d like, but I call it pandering to the lowest instinct of the worst kind of politics.

"President Elect Obama, your victory was made possible in no small part to the votes and wallets of the gay and lesbian community along with our supporters. Turning your back on us does not make you more mainstream American. It just makes you a coward." -

BAB,

It is being reported on HuffPo that Rick Warren has scrubbed a previous page on his website that denied membership to Gays at his church.....now of course, this doesn't mean his heart has changed, but I think it is significant because of the heat being placed on leader like him. Warren is realizing that there is passion about Gay rights...and people are willing to raise hell about it. That's important. You know the saying "A closed mouth does not get fed."

The dialogue is opening up across the country and whether we agree with each other or not, the topic is being discussed. So maybe there is a bright side...and the fight is finally being brought to the forefront, instead of only being reactionary. There may actually be a bright spot from this after all.

Monie, I agree the fight is being brought to the forefront.

That is what Barack Obama has done from the time he stood in front of the podium at the 2004 DNC.

He's a powerful symbol to the USA and the World. He's a big honking mirror for all us to take a real hard look at ourselves. Some of us have got to dig a little deeper than others; and it's painful.

PEO didn't get where he is by taking on nobody's shyt. Folks are going to have to do the inner work themselves, and stop reaching outward for validation by blamming and not taking responsibility for their choices.

What astounds me is the level of silence, absent Jasmyn Cannick, coming from the Black LGBT Community specifically and the African American Community generally in defense of PEO. The white LGBT Community, like white liberals generally, have talked down to us, at us or simply patronized us. And now they want to blame PEO and us by extension for their political failings. They think PEO is an easy target b/c we aren't putting up much of a defense. Just yesterday the Pope said we have to save humanity from homosexuality. Do you see them going after the Pope and angering white catholics? Hell no!

I guess in some respects it's better to ingnore them given their limited political influence, but it infuriates me to no end that they are disprespecting PEO in way they never did with white presidents who where far less vocal in their support of gay rights or outright indifferent.

Apparently b/c the media told them they were Obama's base, they believe it. Name me a state he won that he wouldn't have won without their support? They damn sure didn't help him win VA, NC, FL, OH and IN. He won in spite of them.

January 20th, a Black man will be taking the oath of office in front of the Capitol that our ancestors built. For the first time in this country's history, a Black man will be walking through the front doors of the White House to run it not service it. But let these white liberals tell it, that will all be dimished b/c some white preacher who opposes gay marriage, like vast of majority of Americans, will be speaking for 2 minutes.

I guess I could ignore them, but I'll be damned if I allow them to diminish what has been 400 years in the making, paid for by the worse human atrocity in the history of mankind. Our ancestors gave their lives for this day, and I'll be damned if they ruin it!

You're so on point. I'm yelling PREACH IT as I read this.

Thank you! I agree 100% with EVERYTHING you typed. This is our moment.

NMP writes:
"Apparently b/c the media told them they were Obama's base, they believe it. "

Just like the fields of art and theatre the media is predominately gay. They write the biases and project them into the mainstream of political thought. So, of course gays beleive they are indispensible becasuse primarily gay newsreporters told them so!

Let's look at just how disproportionate their population is in terms of not just newscasts but entertainment and how that results in shaping and molding American opinions of how prevalent homosexuality is due to the mainstreaming of the deviant sexual conduct by journalists and network executives.

First, according to the most reliable data, homosexuals make up LES THAN ONE PERCENT of the total population.The 2000 census sheds even more light on the subject. The overall statistics from the 2000 Census Bureau revealed:

* The total population of the U.S. is 285,230,516.
* The total number of households in the U.S. is 106,741,426.
* The total number of unmarried same-sex households is 601,209.

Thus, out of a population of 106,741,426 households, homosexuals represent 0.42% of those households.

That is less than one half of one percent!

But since most people are not mathematicians, I would like to make this point in a way that most individuals will be able to better comprehend. If we were to start a new television sitcom, and wanted to accurately portray homosexual ratios in society, we would need 199 heterosexual actors before we finally introduced one homosexual actor.

And yet modern television casts of three or four often include one or more homosexual actor(s). The statistics from the 2000 census are not figures grabbed from the air and placed on a political sign or Web site to promote a particular agenda. These were census data that were carefully collected from the entire United States population,

And given that you know that homosexuals represent less than one half of one percent of the population. It is not difficult to discern how extremely disproportinate it is to have not ONE but TWO cable network anchors who are gay in primetime,

And that is not even considering the predominace of gays in the print media.
Which is what accounts for Time allowing a writer to call Obama a bigot!

Jasmyne does not speak for the Black community. I'm actually disappointed in the level of silence that has come from non-gay corners. Warren's selection is totally indefensible. In this case, we need to separate the historical racism of the gay rights movement and pay attention to the defense offered of Warren's selection. We really have to be careful here of only seeing it as a "gay issue" when it really is about more than that.

And I'm surprised at the number of people telling gays to STFU. That alone tells me people are not serious about engaging in dialogue.

chenna,

Please share how or why you thing this is more than a 'gay issue'. What does that mean? In what way is it more than a 'gay issue'?

Word, great question WRB!

If gays are going to blame Black people for their ills, that might be the reason why they're being told to drink cans of STFU.

Blacks are going to be silent because gays automatically believe because we led the charge on civil rights, we should automatically get behind them when they haven't taken the pains to educate people as to why they shouldn't be homophobic.

They didn't do that. And rather than accept responsibility for their failure to do research, outreach and education, it's easier to blame POC for their failure to make inroads in obtaining and protecting their civil rights.

They want Blacks to do the heavy lifting while they ascend and shut US out of those same gains. We said NO, THANK YOU, and unless they invite us to the table, we'll keep saying NO, THANK YOU.

jon stewert brought up a good point when debating with mike huckabee about gay rights. he said that the real tragedy is that anyone should have to "make a case" in order to qualify for equal rights.

i agree that the No on 8 campaign should have done more outreach, but does that excuse homophobia?

You're on point too.

Thank you.

CPL, say that AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN!

It's Gay POCs I'm thinking about, because the White Gay establishment has literally told y'all to put a sock in it, too, until they decide you're worth parading around as a point of "inclusion".

If they wanted POCs' support, who better to utilize to go into the churches, synagogues, temples and cathedrals to educate and marshall support than the gay POCs? The white gays run thangs and want to blame POCs for THEIR screw-ups. So, I'm not singling out or forgetting gay POCs, but it sure as hell looks like the white gays don't even think about y'all unless it's Jasmyne or Pam Spaulding getting in their grills. I will make that distinction from here on in, because I tend to type ahead of my thoughts, and I meant no disparaging by not making that distinction.

It's Gay POCs I'm thinking about, because the White Gay establishment has literally told y'all to put a sock in it, too...

Excuse me, but y'all? I am not gay or bisexual; I am straight.

If I sound as if I am a "fellow traveler," understand that my life has been a bit more eclectic than some typical black folks.

And I am sure that gays of color would if they could come out to their fellow parishioners...if there wasn't old homophobia in the black, Latino and Asian communities already, starting with some of the denizens of this website whooping and hollering as I said before about so-called sin and repentance.

As I said before, it is not always about race politics with black gays and gays of color. That does not mean that they are waiting for orders from white massas either.

as a black gay man, i wholehearted agree with you. when i express outrage at obama's pick of pastor warren, it is not about racial politics. i just find it disturbing that he would pick such a divisive figure. the president-elect is not above reproach.

it also seems as if some are excusing homophobia. that can't be the case, right?

I could not have said this better. Thank you so much.

AND?

Gays go to church and refuse to repent and claim their Christian too...so?

Folks say they are Buddhist and celebrate Christmas, too.

So, what is your point?

Women of color have to choose all the damn time. But we smart enough to know we black first.

I am sick and tired of gays playing the victim card for conduct they willingly indulge in to achieve, as you so eloquently put it ...'a state of grace'

Quit all the whinning and kvetching.

It is UNimpressive.

And quite unbecoming for individuals who claim that their sexual desires make them such a unique breed of individuals they wanna demand rights no one else has, based on what they do with their genitals. Genital rights they want based on what they do with theirs. arrgh!!

If you think we didn''t understand there are poor gays and rich gays, ugly gays and pretty gays, closet gays and flaming gays, bottom gays and topper gays..and bisexual gays and lesbians that love fisting while other gays like rimming to achieve a state of grace...you are WRONG.

We simply choose to ignore all that deviant sexual conduct so that we too can achieve a

State of GRACE!!

Oh, barrrother...

Gays go to church and refuse to repent and claim their Christian too...so?

Repent of what? Having sex with someone they love? That's what it boils down to.

Folks say they are Buddhist and celebrate Christmas, too.

In Japan and other Asian countries where Buddhism is one of the dominant religions, they also celebrate Christmas--as a winter holiday only. There are holidays in which the solstice or the end of the year is celebrated, and Christmas is one of them. Lots of people do here as well--without the baby Jesus. They have the trees. They have the eggnog, They have the cards.

So, what is your point?

My point is for you--and others--to delineate between the behavior of gays you don't like from those who are trying to carry out their lives the best way they can, whether or not they are Christian or even spiritual.

Quit all the whinning and kvetching.

Pot, meet kettle. If I ever was.

And quite unbecoming for individuals who claim that their sexual desires make them such a unique breed of individuals they wanna demand rights no one else has, based on what they do with their genitals. Genital rights they want based on what they do with theirs. arrgh!!

The same can be said about how some people set standards about what blackness is, how proud they are to be black to the point of chest thumping and then making other black folks' lives miserable because they don't come up to their standards. To be proud of self, and to enable others to be proud regardless of who they are, is enough.

I don't think gays are unique, just different. Some may think their d@cks are magic wands or their vaginas are honeypots for the general population; but they should not be considered speaking for the entire gay population. Some are just celebrating being alive, others are just being idiots. If they have their own equivalent of the amen corner, the same rules apply. I once knew a co-worker who was raising his kids out in the suburbs and who was gay. He had his own friends, but he was pretty adamant about not going to Castro Street, or Polk Street or gay resorts at all. He did not entertain anyone overnight. Should he come in for your...ahem?...criticism?

If you think we didn''t understand there are poor gays and rich gays, ugly gays and pretty gays, closet gays and flaming gays, bottom gays and topper gays..and bisexual gays and lesbians that love fisting while other gays like rimming to achieve a state of grace...you are WRONG.

Oh, you thought I meant you? Oh, I am so sorry if it appeared that I included you in what I said.

Like I said before, I don't have a vested interest in finding out what holes which penises are entering 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Furthermore, it's been proven through the centuries that one way to the divine has been through sexual union. It's not the only way to me or to many other people, but for some, this is a way of self-expression. I will say, how would anyone get anything done on earth if that's all they did. In other words, gays are more than just their d*cks and vaginas.

Seems like you are making a hellalot of noise about ignoring them that is more about self-aggrandizement than attaining that state of whatever you are seeking. And I don't think 'the gays' are keeping you from that attainment--or heaven--at all.

O please.
'Repent of what? Having sex with someone they love? That's what it boils down to.'

WRONG. Can you be a Buddhist and not practice THE LAW? How the can anyone claim they are Christian and live in sin. That is against the Christian faith it is real simple. For everyone that is except homosexuals who want to insist they get to fornicate in sin in perpetuity without repenting. Well, they can do so, but they can't claim to be Christian.

"In Japan and other Asian countries where Buddhism is one of the dominant religions, they also celebrate Christmas--as a winter holiday only."

In America, people who celebrate Christmas are celebrating the birth of Christ. Which means non-Christians have no reason to celebrate it.

"The same can be said about how some people set standards about what blackness is, how proud they are to be black to the point of chest thumping and then making other black folks' lives miserable because they don't come up to their standards."

Totally false. Blacks demanded rights on the basis of being human beings. They want to have all the inalienable rights granted in the Constitution as human beings. NOT because of some SEXUAL conduct. Gays want rights based on what they do not who they are. It was completely different for blacks. It is not analogous.

"I don't think gays are unique, just different"

The world knows they are not unique. They are human beings like the rest of us. But homosexuals want to claim they are a special group based on what they do for sex.
That is what makes their entire argument baseless. No one is discriminating against them as human beings. But society does have the right to determine what behaviors create the most civil society and role model for developing human beings.

What has been proven through the ages is that the sexual union achieves divinity as the route of reproduction. There is no divinity without the possibility of reproduction because reproduction is in God's image and spirit. Which is why there is nothing whatsoever divine about homosexual sex acts...it leads to nothing but lascivious desire. It is an empty quest. Never can it create another human being which is the divinity of the union. That is why it is a state of grace. It is God's grace. Not man's deviant sexual desires.

No noise, just a rational response to how you have twisted the Christian tenets as being about rejection when it is gays who reject the Christian faith by insisting they can live lives of sin and be Christians. Just doesn't work that way...no self=aggrandizement about that at all.

The world according to WRB:

WRONG. Can you be a Buddhist and not practice THE LAW?

WRB, don't make the mistake of equating the Law with god, Jesus or the trinity. It is not the same. You tried this before, and it just shows your ignorance (and intolerance) about other religions and what they offer.

How the can anyone claim they are Christian and live in sin.

Again, I say, you equate them choosing to have sex--or making love--with another gay person as a sin. I don't think of it as a sin, and neither does my religious organization, which seeks to bless gay marriages in California.

That is against the Christian faith it is real simple.

YOUR interpretation of Christian faith, that is.

The United Church of Christ, the Unitarians--they certainly don't think so, either.

For everyone that is except homosexuals who want to insist they get to fornicate in sin in perpetuity without repenting.

Oh, yick! Straight from out of Elmer Gantry or Carrie or something.

Tell me something. How many times do you squeeze your legs shut per day? It's a wonder you're not knock-kneed.

As I said before, I am soooooo glad to be liberated from this kind of oppressive faith and spirituality. I just wonder why some gays, especially blacks and gays of color, would want to go through such self-abnegation and abuse to be a part of such churches. But people have their own needs, so...

Blksista,
I did not equate TheLaw to any deity. I asked could you be a Buddhist and not practice THE LAW? If not, how can anyone think they can be Christian and not practice the Christian tenets. Very simple question. Not complex at all.Not ignorant either. Instead, it is very enlightened unlike the replies to the query. Where you are obfuscating and misconstruing what was said to say whatEVER you like. Classic shotgun approach to see what will stick. Not buying it.

I, personally am not saying homosexuals are living in sin. (even if I think so) The Christian faith says that and anyone who practices the Christian faith and says otherwise, is setting up a sham. The bible is not vague at all about it. There are those who want to beleive it is not a sin, but then folks who steal, lie, cheat and committ adultery also FEEL the same. Doesn't make it true. It simply means they live in denial and choose not to be accountable under the tenets of Christianity. It does not mean it is not a sin in the Christian faith.

What makes you think I squeeze my legs shut EVER? Just because I have a discussion with you doesn't mean you know my personal sexual conduct. For the record, I think sex is wonderful and have no problem consumating my relationship with utter joy and uncounted frequency..

So it is not my interpretation, it is the bible. It is not some silly made up religious denomination creed that says you can't dance or wear red ...it is stated in the bible. If it is stated in the bible, it is clear and not some person's whim. Those who disregard the bible and attempt to assert otherwise are lieing. Folks, do not get to have their own version of Christianity. It is not multiple choice. There is one creed, and it is written in the bible. I take no ownership for it.

I am quite liberated spiritually and unoppressed by any faith. Nor am I in denial about what Christianity means and what the sins are.

I did not equate TheLaw to any deity. I asked could you be a Buddhist and not practice THE LAW?

Again, your ignorance is showing.

You don't even know what The Law is.

I, personally am not saying homosexuals are living in sin.

So you say...

What makes you think I squeeze my legs shut EVER? Just because I have a discussion with you doesn't mean you know my personal sexual conduct....

Boy, you really don't get it, do you?

(Shakes head.)

Yes, CPL
The glaring truth here is that the phrase 'gay is the new black' didn't resonate with me as a POC as the dog whistle that it was. You see, as a POC, I thought they meant ...the gay STRUGGLE was the new black.

It took a non-POC, to have the perspicacity to hear the real dog whistle. It was not about gays demanding not to be mistreated so much as it was a call for white racial solidarity where they are being challenged, to not treat gays, who are white, AS BAD AS they treat blacks.

They are saying...you won't treat us like 'nig##s will you, when we are white....the same white entitlement that females had during the primaries for HRC.

So, blacks are not being asked to do the heavy lifing so much as the gay community is seeking solidarity on the basis of their WHITE skin to not be treated BLACK!! Which makes sense why they are so visciously attacking Obama.

You are not being asked to come to the table at all. As a matter of fact they are telling the world they don't want to sit with your black gay or not self at all

It took a non-POC, though to break down what was REALLY being said.

Gay is the new black is the same as STATE's Rights and affirmative action and welfare...racist code words.to engender collectively racial solidarity vs. blacks.

This was deep when I first read it, and it still is.

rikyrah,

it was a real lightbulb moment for me. I woke up realizing I had misunderSTOOD what Gay is the new black meant. My experience as a POC and their constant attachment of their 'discrimination' to the struggle blacks had to achieve civil rights is how I took it.

When I understood,, that it was a racial solidarity call...I was like ..OMG...this is a dog whistle.

Then I had to sit back and reflect on that, y'know...to wrap my mind around it based on the other things I knew about racism in the gay community and it just CLICKED!!
bada BING!!
ding, ding ding!!

I already knew from other gays how they are very derisive and demeaning to blacks in the gay community. They have an entire structure of 'separate but equal' WITHIN the homosexual community. The gay network is racist as can be. So, is the ability to get jobs and in entertainment it seems the bar is that if you want a job, you have to at some point agree to get dressed up like a woman on TV if you are a black male. That is no coincidence. It is deliberate, cuz the black male is suppose to be the ultimate sign of masculine virility and so he must agree to portray himself as a woman to be emasculated in front of the entire world, IF he wants to climb the entertainment ladder in film and TV.

Denzel refused to. Which is why it took so long for him to get an Oscar and it is also why Jamie Foxx had immediate entree...he did a lot of female roles on InLivingColor...for that he was beloved by the gay community.

And everrrry body and they momma know ...you can't get Oscar UNLESS the gays are backing you. The casting couch is not just for females in hollywood and TV.

Look how they did Eddie Murphy, even though he has been in a dress several times...they refuse to give him one cause they do like how he has made all this money as a fat caricature and so they dissed him for his excellent dramatic role in Dream Girls and gave it to that ol white man in that movie I can't even call the name of right now, something about Savannah or whatEVER.

And you do not even what me to get started on the racist involved in AIDS research and drug therapy treatments. Cause the gay white establishment are all in the upper eschelons of government and industry in the closet. They do not want a black face on AIDS but they want to scare the public into believeing it is transmitted by heterosexuality and it is not. The primary mode of transmission has been since the very first case was diagnosed ...anal receptive sex. If you ain't doin it ..your chances of getting AIDS are like less than one-half of one percent. But you not gone hear that cause gays want heteros scared to get funding. AIDS is funded at 6X the rate of heart disease and cancer, even though AIDS does kills far far less folks. Funding is disproportionate.

You just don't want to get me started. Let me just sum this up.

Bottomline..the gay world is RACIST as the Jim Crow South in 1960.

whiterose, you are soooo on point. Please REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT!

Preach.

Could you please post the link to Jasmyne Cannick's remarks?? I missed them. Thanks in advance! :)

EUR published it today.
http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur49557.cfm

Thanks Shazza!

Peace & Love, Tawra

She. Did. That.

She really came with it, that needs to be put up on dkos with a pic of a middle finger as the title.

LOL!

Here are some links to protests against The Vatican

http://www.dignityusa.org/

http://www.365gay.com/news/protest-denounces-va...

http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com/2008/12/ga...

Bull.

Obama is not manuering through no damn summer camp of political adolescence. Obama has told THE WORLD his political stance on gay issues and it is far more pro-gay than any President to occupy the WH.

Fierstein, is the coward and he needs to STFU about his yellowbellied action that he now wants to project onto Obama as some means of personal salvation. He better go to church, synaogue or mosque and work out those issues cause Obama ain't a reflection of his lack of moral conviction. Obama stood up when it was time to and he went to Saddleback church and stood up in front of evangelicals. Which is more than Fierstein ever can say.

Obama's political stance has been shouted from pulpits and lecturns all over this nation. No one is unclear where he stands when it comes to gays and their political agenda. Cause he has stood UP. Obama has NOt stood cowardly on the sidelines nor betrayed anyone.

Which is what makes the actions of those with a pro-gay agenda so reprehensible.

They are willing to tar and feather those who are their staunchest supporters knowing full well no other candidate running in 2008 was willing to repeal DOMA and who support civil unions. Neither Kerry, Clinton, Gore nor Edwards or Biden were as strong advocates for gay issues as Obama.

Yet, he is the one they choose to write endless stories of betrayal, cowardice and bigotry about?

Obama has turned his back on no one. Far more Americans voted for Obama than the gay&lesbian community and they have no more priorty than any other special interest groups. You think they would have learned from Blagoyevich, Obama offers you his appreciation, for what your support. He is not beholden to your community and he will likely lose far more votes from mainstream America should he choose to kowtow to your demands.



We know what time it is....RACE time!

what she said!!!

Yep, because when the LGBT community can explain why Clinton got a free pass with that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" bullshyt, they will have a valid reason to go after Obama.

And they wonder why they're being told to drink cans of STHU. <<<eye roll>>>

Actually CPL, Clinton didn't get a free pass. As a matter of fact, it was that very issue which derailed the Clinton administration and cause WJC to use up too much political capitol, right out the gate.

The result was a conservative backlash as both the military and most reasonable Americans were put out at the very idea! That outrage fueled the moral majority and galvanized them into action so that Gingrich and Delay were able to gain a GOP majority for the first time in FOURTY years.

Obama does not need to listen to the GLBT group. In fact, he needs to take a page out of the GOP book and create a LoG Cabin group for these individuals and not pay them any mind. Let them stew in the closet. Just like they do for the Republicans.

Why should Democrats accede to the demands of what is clearly a unwarranted protest for rights based on sexual conduct the majority of society deems repulsive and repugnant..if not plain downright deviant?

As far as white gays are concerned WRB, Clinton isn't catching half the grief Obama is...and Obama hasn't even been sworn in yet.

Clinton unveiled his deviousness after he was sworn in. He strung the LGBT community along until he was inaugurated.

I'm just sick of the LGBT crowd who thinks Obama is supposed to jump when they holler, but they tell US to STHU because they still got that "privilege" thang going on.

Yep...white entitlement is a bytch.

The LGBT Community want to bully him because he's a black man! From jump street, the reason they voted for him is because they thought he'd be a push over.

This issue was put on the ballot because they knew it was going to be a heavy turnout of African American voters. When prop 8 didn't pass, blame was laid at the feet of black people because the turnout was there...so, in their mind, it had to be black folks that killed prop 8.

Tell it! They want Barack to be their Benson

this is too funny.

Oh no you didnt...................Benson.....

BWA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

YEP!!!

Benson is exactly it!!

Hers, you went there. LOL!!! PEO's got that winning smile, but he like Benson is no push over.

Tell it. Tell it!

Folks need to be reminded that bullying is a hallmark of the so-called GLBT movement. That is the tactic they have used the most often to achieve their political goals. Lies, smears, defamation of character etc....the leading gay activist group is not called ACT UP for no reason!!

This is their history.

You get better and better!

No kidding! WRB's a d#mn good debater! And she/he doesn't resort to personal name calling either. When one resort to name calling it's a sign of weakness that shows that person has no argument! Name calling is all they have.

thanks Justice, that was really kind of you to say

California going broke.

More here.

And if they think unions will go along mutely with this shyt, think again.

The hatred continues in a season of joy.

Lesbian viciously gang-raped in San Francisco Bay Area.

This happened in Richmond, CA. One of my uncles lives in Richmond. If it happened in Richmond, that victim may have been black or a woman of color. This woman was left naked and for dead after being tortured (that's the word I would use) for 45 minutes; news of this has gone all over the grapevine there. AP is making it national.

The perps--four of them--were described as black and Latino. Police are offering a $10,000 reward for any information on their whereabouts. From an earlier account:

Detectives say the 28-year-old victim was attacked Dec. 13 after she got out of her car, which bore a rainbow gay pride sticker. The men, who ranged from their late teens to their 30s, made comments indicating they knew her sexual orientation, said Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan.

"It just pushes it beyond fathomable," he said. "The level of trauma _ physical and emotional _ this victim has suffered is extreme."

Authorities are characterizing the attack as a hate crime but declined to reveal why they think the woman was singled out because of her sexual orientation. Gagan would say only that the victim lived openly with a female partner and had a rainbow flag sticker on her car.

thanks for posting this. it seems as if a lot of posters here don't think that gays need to fight for equality.

My prayers go out to the victim....this is a damn shame.

That's a shame. Richmond is my home town; I grew up there. But in the late '70s, our family left because of the increase in crime. How ironic.

A vigilante team punishes someone for the double crime of being Queer and Black. An extreme manifestation of the hatred, fear and misunderstanding GLBT folks of every color face every day.

So wrong. So wrong. Thanks for reporting.

rikyrah: IT'S getting closer: :>) :>)

Look what MUDFLATS is doing:

Bedtime in Alaska - 11th Day of Christmas!

On the eleventh day of Christmas,

My new Gov gave to me:



11thday



Eleven moose a-stewing,

You gotta love this!! :>) :>)

Please see the other days! :>) :>)

P.S. NO Little Grandchild Palin - - YET!! Do ya think that they're waiting for DECEMBER 25?? Eewww!

GreenLady, hillarious! ewwww, moose stew.

spirit: :>) :>)

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR to YOU & YOURS!

God Bless!! :>)

rikyrah: WOW!! Does any JJPer have DETAILS about this situation?

As Debts Mount, Morris Brown College Will Not Reopen Next Semester

Well before city officials shut off the water at Atlanta’s Morris Brown College last week, the 127-year-old college was already buckling under the weight of $32-million in debt.

Now, without the money to pay $380,000 in water bills dating back to 2004 — let alone faculty and staff salaries and other key operating expenses — the historically black college will not reopen next semester and may soon close permanently, officials told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this weekend.

Campus officials were scheduled to meet with bankers today to negotiate short-term loans as Morris Brown tries to work out its financial situation, Rhonda Copenny, a trustee, told the newspaper. Without such bridge financing, she said, the college could shut its doors for good in three weeks.

This is only the latest struggle for Morris Brown, which in recent years has suffered from plummeting enrollment, financial corruption, and a revolving door for presidents.

In 2002 the college lost its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools because of heavy debt and a criminal investigation into the financial dealings of a former president, Dolores E. Cross. Four years later, Ms. Cross (who resigned from the college in 2002) pleaded guilty to embezzlement, admitting that she had fraudulently obtained millions of dollars in federal student loans and grants to cover the college’s expenses, which increased sharply during her tenure.

This week officials of Morris Brown pleaded for another chance to right its sinking financial ship. “The institution has been a major part of the landscape of this community,” said the acting president, Stanley E. Pritchett. “It certainly deserves to remain a viable part of the community.”

Libby Sander, Chronicle of Higher Education

THIS IS VERY SAD.

Please comment. THANK YOU. :>)

Green Lady, what I remember about this is one of the reasons that Morris Brown is having problems was a series of College Presidents who acted like the budget was their own personal ATM. I need to Google the article where I read that, and I'll post it when I find it.

CPL: THANK YOU! "WHYCOME" I'm not surprised!! ***sigh***

Annnnnnnd, I'm believin' that the "UN-WISE MEN" (unless a woman was one of them) are feelin' no shame for what they did to their "OWN PEOPLE!"

SAD!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR" to YOU & YOURS!! :>)

God Bless. :>) :>)

Same to you, Green Lady - have a happy and blessed holiday season.

CPL: ***raisin' right hand*** I promise!! :>) :>)

Almost all HBCUs devloped during and because of segregation. MOrris brown is owned by the AME church. But the church in Georgia and the USA can not afford to rescue the school. Some HBCUs will dissolve. It is sad, but it is the cost of an open society. I attended Michigan State and graduated from Howard. I send money to Howard, but I care for the succes of both schools.

Rule of thumb, adapt or succumb.

Nardwilly: Thank you for this information on the "origin" of this college.

It is true that some HBCU's, like other colleges/universities will not be able to maintain their existence.

It's sad, but management MUST be a priority for survival. **sigh***

Merry Christmas/Happy New Year/Happy Holidays. :>) :>)

Since Morris Brown only has about 400 students, maybe Clark Atlanta, Morehouse and Spelman can absorb most or all of them. (?)

RonnieB: THANK YOU for da DATA! :>) :>)

This perspective is viable! :>)

Yes, there are other places to go. It was a shock to me to read the HEADLINES.
Soooo, thanks for your "calming" statement! :>) :>)

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!! to YOU & YOURS!!

God Bless! :>) :>)

I thought they were still closed from a few years ago. Didn't they loose their accreditation a few years back? Maybe they should take this time to revamp the structure of the college because the system they have now isn't working.

On the TJMS it was said they owe the water company $380,000.

They aren't bringing in enough money OR they're spending too much. That's the restructuring I was referring to. I know they reach out to the alumni but I guess its not enough.

nichwah22: Gotta be one o' dem!! :>) THANK YOU! :>)

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!! to YOU & YOURS!!:>) :>) God Bless!

rikyrah: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2008, DAY -28 On His "JOURNEY TO JANUARY!

1. WORD(s) of the DAY: TRANSITION TRAIL (BLAGO RPT)/VACATION

2. HEADLINE(s):

a) Vice President-elect Biden to lead briefing on Economic Recovery Package

Washington DC – Tomorrow, Tuesday December 23, 2008, Vice President-elect Joe Biden will be briefed by Larry Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, and other White House economic advisors on new economic developments and the upcoming economic recovery package that Congress is set to begin debating next month.

There will be a pooled spray at the top of the meeting to cover opening remarks. Jonathan Weisman of the Wall Street Journal will be the print pooler. CNN will be the network pool.

WHO:
Vice President-Elect Joe Biden
Larry Summers, Director of the National Economic Council
Melody Barnes, White House Domestic Policy Council director
Carol Browner, Assistant to the President-elect for Energy and Climate Change
Phil Schiliro, Assistant to the President-elect for Legislative Affairs
Jared Bernstein, Chief Economist and Economic Advisor for the Vice President-elect

WHAT:
Briefing and discussion on the economy and upcoming economy recovery package

WHERE:
Presidential Transition Team Office - Washington, D.C.

WHEN:
Tuesday December 23, 2008 at 10:45 AM EST

b) Emanuel report out Tuesday

President-elect Barack Obama’s aides plan to release a report Tuesday absolving incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel of any impropriety in his contacts with the disgraced Illinois governor’s office, Democratic sources tell Politico.

The report has been delayed at the request of federal prosecutors but now will come out Tuesday, the sources say.

The complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose conversations had been secretly taped by federal investigators, tested the smoothly running Obama transition, with some Democrats fretting that the case presents a distraction that could last into the new administration.

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, host of “This Week,” said during the roundtable on his program Sunday that the Obama legal team's review of contacts with Blagojevich found that Emanuel had only one phone conversation with the governor, and it was a “pro forma” conversation.

“I have been briefed on the review that Obama has done,” Stephanopoulos said. “The sources I talked to say that what it will show is there were actually far less contacts than we had heard — that Rahm Emanuel only had one phone call with Gov. Blagojevich. It wasn’t even really about the Senate seat.”

Stephanopoulos elaborated in a blog posting: “Most of the discussion concerned Emanuel's congressional seat (which had previously been held by Blagojevich), with only a ‘passing reference’ to the Senate vacancy, according to these sources. No deal for the Senate vacancy was discussed. …

“[T]he report will show Emanuel also had four phone calls with Blagojevich chief of staff John Harris. During those conversations, the Senate seat was discussed. The pros and cons of various candidates were reviewed, and the sources say that Emanuel repeatedly reminded Harris that Blagojevich should focus on the message the pick would send about the governor and his administration. Sources also confirm that Emanuel made the case for picking Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett during at least one of the conversations. In the course of that conversation, Harris asked if in return for picking Jarrett, 'all we get is appreciation, right?' 'Right,' Emanuel responded.”

THERE IS MORE.

3. Obama Transition Breaks Speed Records

(Newser) – Barack Obama has moved so fast to set up his administration that he’s on a pace to blow past all previous presidents, reports the Wall Street Journal. By the eleventh week of their transitions, George HW Bush and Richard Nixon had made 26 and 25 appointments, respectively. As of week seven, Obama had made 69. The process has been hastened by a 2004 law that allowed the transition team to be pre-cleared for classified briefings, and unprecedented cooperation by the Bush White House.

THERE IS MORE, BUT I OMITTED IT[NOT 2 POSITIVE] hrmf!!

4. Hawaiians capitalize on Obama fame

HONOLULU – Hawaiians are peddling their native son the best way they know how – with bus tours, a Barack Obama-inspired ice cream flavor and a “Barry Slept Here” map.

But even the nation’s first black president has trouble competing with Pearl Harbor and Waikiki Beach.

In fact, if the seven weeks after the election are any testament, there will be no Crawford-ization of Oahu, the island where Obama grew up and returns for vacation. Entire livelihoods were built on President George W. Bush vacationing at his ranch near Crawford, Texas, with stores selling trinkets and press hang-outs flourishing.

On Oahu, Obama is a niche market.

Air conditioned mini-buses full of tourists wind around the narrow streets of Makiki, his old Honolulu neighborhood. They breeze past the school Obama attended and the apartment building where his grandparents raised him. Some guides let tourists hop off to snap photographs in the lobby of the hospital where Obama was born.

THERE IS MORE.

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW! :>)

OOPS! ERROR.

rikyrah: THANK YOU for the "oldies!" They were , kinda, "newies" when I heard soma them!! :>) :>)