Jack & Jill Politics

AFTERNOON OPEN THREAD IS UP

Just saw on yahoo today that Dubai is having financial troubles. It couldn't happen to a nicer country. That place is EVIL, peep this article....

The Dark Side of Dubai
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentato...

Great article

Wait till you read the one about prostitution in Dubai.

World economies assess fallout of Dubai debt crisis
PTI
Friday, November 27, 2009 20:41 IST

Dubai: World economies and global financial players have started assessing the fallout of Dubai's debt crisis even as the government there today pledged full support to its troubled conglomerate Dubai World.

While global agencies, including Standard and Poors, have downgraded the ratings of banks and financial institutions in Dubai, the government said it would work towards the success of the crisis-hit company, which had requested for deferment of debt of $59 billion triggering a global stock market crisis.

As the broad contours of the financial pressures being faced by Dubai became clear, global markets started correcting themselves but the central banks world over, including India, initiated impact assessments.

The governments and financial authorities expressed cautious optimism, saying the crisis would blow over as it was much less in magnitude compared to the global financial meltdown.

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_world-econ...

for all you DVD fans, amazon.com, has rolling fabulous deals...where you can check back every few hours to see what they've deep deep discounted.

technical question:

can you play BOTH types of DVD's on a BLUE RAY DVD PLAYER?

BLUE RAY and the regular DVD's?

Hundreds, if not thousands, of lobbyists are likely to be ejected from federal advisory panels as part of a little-noticed initiative by the Obama administration to curb K Street's influence in Washington, according to White House officials and lobbying experts.

The new policy -- issued with little fanfare this fall by the White House ethics counsel -- may turn out to be the most far-reaching lobbying rule change so far from President Obama, who also has sought to restrict the ability of lobbyists to get jobs in his administration and to negotiate over stimulus contracts.

The initiative is aimed at a system of advisory committees so vast that federal officials don't have exact numbers for its size; the most recent estimates tally nearly 1,000 panels with total membership exceeding 60,000 people.

Under the policy, which is being phased in over the coming months, none of the more than 13,000 lobbyists in Washington would be able to hold seats on the committees, which advise agencies on trade rules, troop levels, environmental regulations, consumer protections and thousands of other government policies.

Lobbyists pushed off advisory panels

---

Good news, one piece of the "shadow government" being severed. There are/were more lobbyists (60,000) involved in policy than members of Congress.

how this could be seen as anything OTHER than a POSITIVE, I don't understand.

Confidence in the Fredo is reaching a crescendo overseas. Mindful of the fact that much of this is coming from Asia where cultural norms are such that criticism is rarely public we have to keep in mind that one of the major air crashes in Asia took place because the junior pilot whom realized what was going on and began to correct the problem-unfortunately to late according to the black box. Speculation is that he deffered to his elders. When those types of cultural norms keep you from acting they magnify themselves when action is finally taken.

Before anyone discards this as another attack on the Obama Adminstration, this is a part of the whole article,
"This is not just a Democrat or Republican critique. Both political parties have failed the country miserably and both are seen as contributing to the mess, from the Asian perspective. Personally I agree. Our Washington leadership under this president and under the last one has proven to be impoverished. The money influence in politics seems to have overwhelmed any sense of centering ethics.

We come back from this trip more determined than ever that investors must protect themselves. The starting point for that defense is an old principle: diversification of risk. To do that they must take a global view. And Americans need to be very critical of US policy and distrusting of their politicians."

On Fredo
"In public there is quiet response when the Treasury Secretary of the United States utters words about a strong dollar. Asians have heard that for years and with the many different accents of the various Treasury Secretaries. Geithner would serve the country better by ceasing to mouth the same words that his predecessor Snow and others used. He is not believed. Frankly, in some circles he is actually seen as an incompetent political hack. He is blamed by some for the insufficiency of the New York Fed under his presidency to supervise the primary dealers that failed – Countrywide, Bear Stearns, and Lehman. And the ethics issues surrounding the NY Fed under his tenure are viewed as appalling; this continues to surface in private conversations. Some folks are puzzled about why Obama maintains his support for Geithner. Some just attribute it to the President’s inexperience as a leader.

My takeaway is that our present Secretary of the Treasury is seriously and sustainably injuring the image of the United States. He has lost credibility. His actions are real and they impact markets. My conversations with those who are attempting to market GSE securities to Asians and getting rebuffed are validation enough for me on this point. When the Fed stops buying GSE mortgage backed securities, this reality will hit the markets in a re-pricing of that asset class. Spreads are going to widen.

The American federal budget deficits are worrisome everywhere. Policy promises from Washington to reduce them are greeted with great skepticism. Often they are privately described as American arrogance. Publicly, Asians are very polite and do not often subject their guests to embarrassing criticism. Privately they are quite candid. In my view they are correct: America is arrogant and seems to pretend that it is still the best and most trustworthy financial and capital market in the world. There is no basis for the US to have such a view of itself. We have squandered our reputational capital as a financial center leader.

This recent financial crisis is quite different from its predecessors. In 1997-1998, the Asian currency crisis and Russian ruble collapse wasn’t viewed as America’s responsibility. We didn’t cause it. We didn’t cause the 1994 Mexican peso crisis either. And while we contributed to the tech-stock bubble, we weren’t the only ones to do so. But the last two years of Madoff scandal, federal agency failure, rating agency restatement, bond insurer demise, Fed primary dealer (Lehman) bankruptcy, and mortgage securitization deception (CDOs) are all Made in the USA. We led the world into crisis. We caused it. And we haven’t fixed it.

To Asian eyes it appears that this American-made tragedy continues to this day. Proposals for reforms in America are greeted abroad with skepticism and doubt. The political structure of America is seen as a weakness. And confidence abroad is falling, just as it is at home.

Some will view our conclusions as harsh. Maybe so. But the lists of American-made errors that have cost the world billions are factually correct. Say what you want, but Madoff WAS regulated by the SEC, Fannie IS a federal agency, and AAA used to be a respected rating that that has turned out to mean nothing."

the whole article: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/11/asia-trip-...

Geithner needs to spend more time with his family.

Dubai is rippling thorugh the economies and markets of the world right know. Everyone is looking for a tsunami they can see. It is more like Operation Chastise. The idea of busting the dams recognized taking a sledge hammer to them doesn't work but seismic waves vibrating throough a medium that amplifies them does real damage. That is what is happening now.

The financial panics occur because as financial institutions look for cash(liquidity) they sell everything anyone will take for cash. At some point the institutions run out of things to sell anyone will take and have to offer things that have cash value but the value is dubious. Given that cash is needed to meet regulatory mandates no one takes anything dubious because it will go down in value and create a need for more cash. To survive everyone stops doing anything.

The bomb magnifying the seismic waves are Credit Default Swaps(CDS). These are life insurance policies for bonds of any type. Unlike life insurance you buy for yourself once the insurance company has determined your value it is often highly improbable to buy more than that value(you can't be a 21 year old with an income of $12,000 who owns $250,000 in insurance to buy 20 more policies covering that amount of risk w/o a substantial increase in your value). With CDS thanks to President Bill Clinton, Sen Phil Gramm and CMA of 2000 one can own as many CDS contract as you can buy.

With US financial institutions probably still the largest issuers of CDS and no requirements for capital on CDS(CMA of 2000) despite CDS risks to the institution and the US economy(taxpayer) being the final provider of liquidity this is going to hit us hard as the shock waves go through the economy.

The couple who crashed a White House state dinner should not be punished for their audacious breach, their former lawyer has said.

Paul Morrison said Michaele and Tareq Salahi should not need his legal help.

"I'm unaware of any reason they need representation right now," he said. "They just went to a party. They didn't do anything wrong."

A security review is under way after the Salahis gained access to the dinner, which was hosted by President Obama for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

They did not have an invite to the event on Tuesday.

It has since emerged that the couple spent the earlier part of the day being filmed around Washington by a camera crew for a reality TV programme.

Bravo Media confirmed Michaele is being considered for a role in the upcoming show The Real Housewives of DC.

Spokeswoman Johanna Fuentes said no footage was captured on White House grounds.

But she confirmed Half Yard Productions - the producers of the programme - had filmed the couple preparing for the event.

She said the Salahis had "informed Half Yard that they were invited, the producers had no reason to believe otherwise".

The White House has refused to comment on the incident and instead referred all calls to the Secret Service, who are investigating the incident.

Their probe will help to determine whether the couple will face any legal ramifications.

But the main focus of the review is to determine how someone could attend such a high-profile event on the White House's South Lawn without an invite.

White House social secretary Desiree Rogers has confirmed none of her staff, who had full details of the 300-person guest-list, had been present at the entrance gate.

Plea Not To Punish White House Crashers

---

Also read articles claiming no laws were broken.

this needs to be a frontpage post. hope I can get it out later on today or tomorrow.

hate to 'GO THERE', but I will..

what if it was two BLACK FOLKS that had CRASHED A WHITE HOUSE DINNER?

would they be talking bullshyt about ' no laws broken'?

Yeah, I don't think so either.

Rikyrah,

You know I'm on your side nearly 100 percent of the time but I just find this incident hilarious. I wish that two black people had crashed this event. The idea that the President of the United States should be shielded from the People of the United States seems absurd to me. We have to get away from the notion that the White House is a military fort and that its inhabitants will suffer some cruel fate if not kept apart from the masses.

I see this incident as nothing more than a prank. I think it adds even more meaning to Bill Clinton's pithy observation that the White House is the crown jewel of the federal prison system. The fact that somebody actually broke into a jail and got out again is the plot line of dozens of movies and television shows. If the Secret Service and the security apparatus that is wrapped around our president can't take a joke then...

"The idea that the President of the United States should be shielded from the People of the United States seems absurd to me. We have to get away from the notion that the White House is a military fort and that its inhabitants will suffer some cruel fate if not kept apart from the masses."


You serious? So we should just let anyone run up on the President? Just let anyone in the White House? For real, are you serious?

Yes, I'm being as serious as a heart attack!

I am not arguing that anyone should be allowed in the White House. I am not even arguing that this particular couple should be allowed in the White House. The reality, however, is that they did get in the White House and they were screened, as was every other guest, for weapons or any other objects or devices that could have been used to cause harm to the President or anyone else.

In my view, this couple's, perhaps, boorish behavior amounted to no harm, no foul. It was a prank and when their 15 minutes are up they will fade again into obscurity unless they manage to pull off some other stunt that becomes widely publicized. All of this hand wringing over this alleged security breach seems more akin to a country ruled by a despot or military junta than an elected president.

I think that this is the height of disrespect...and again, this is a stunt that comes straight from Reality TV. Remember Balloon Boy and his sick fam? These idiots, rich or poor, would do anything to get on camera. "The Real Housewives of D.C."? I hope that the b*tch doesn't get it. The nerve.

The Salahi's can end up with the type of attention they weren't looking for.

Hope they're not behind on their taxes and that all their business dealings are legit.

YA DAMN SKIPPY. can't front on that.

Put them in a jail cell so they can have their own reality show:
"Tossing Salad In Prison".

LOL, I'd watch that. These idiots deserve that and more.

This is a page of websites. offering deals today on electronics.
Hat tip Ritholtz.com

Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal paid for the funeral of a 5-year-old North Carolina girl after being moved by national news coverage of the case of Shaniya Davis, who police say was kidnapped and killed.

The Cleveland Cavaliers player was touched by the stories he saw and got in touch with the family to see what he could do to help, a spokeswoman for O'Neal said Thursday.

More than 2,000 people attended the girl's funeral Sunday. Her body was found Nov. 16 beside a rural road.

Her mother, Antionette Davis, who had reported the child missing six days earlier, is charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution. Mario McNeill is charged with murder, rape and kidnapping in the case.

"I was sitting at home watching it on the news and the story brought a tear to my eye," O'Neal told The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.

Corey Breece, of Rogers and Breece Funeral Home, which handled the service, declined to tell the Fayetteville Observer newspaper how much it cost but added that a child's funeral "averages around $4,500."

Shaq & Shaniya Davis: Touched By NC Girl's Death, Sports Superstar Pays For Funeral

Nuff Respect for Shaq. He has been doing things like this for years anyway. I'm not surprised. I met him once in Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. One of the most down earth people(not just celebrity) I've ever met. Now if he could just stop sleeping with other men's girlfriends he'll be alright.

Word up. Good on the Diesel. But he needs to not be down with OPP.

ROTFLMBAO!!!!!!!!!!!
So you're saying Kobe wasn't talking out of turn.
Karma

Well, Kobe was out of line for even going there especially in front of cops but Shaq is no saint. Keep it real. Your wife isn't sleeping with the trainer for no reason.

Maybe I'm wrong but it sure seems like times have changed. At the risk of sounding like one of those old-timers in the movie Barbershop, it seems that words like integrity, honesty and truth have lost their meaning. As the two major parties clash over everything from healthcare to Afghanistan to global warming, it seems that they can't even agree on the basic facts. We see this not just our leaders but everywhere around us. The other day when I was in my own barbershop, there was this older gentleman who had conspiracy theories involving the government, our preachers and, well, everybody. He had a lot to say. Unfortunately, a lot of what he had to say was devoid of facts. I don’t blame him. This is the way our society has been going for the last 30 years. Although “truthiness” (a term coined by Stephen Colbert which he defined as “truth that comes from the gut, not books.” In other words, stuff that we wish were true.) did not start with President Ronald Reagan, he brought it to the forefront. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, conservative columnist Ann Coulter and others have perfected this means of communication in which you start with something that is the truth and then segue into something that is almost true and end up with something that is completely false. To the unsuspecting observer, you made sense.

To say that the problems in the black community have been caused by the US government is laughable. Sure, maybe government programs like welfare did not help the black community, but it sure did not cause the problems with joblessness and lack of education and our youth growing up without fathers. It did not start with welfare or the Great Society. In The Philadelphia Negro, written back in 1897, W.E.B DuBois describes joblessness, black men fathering multiple kids and a lack of education in the black community. What we see now has been going on for over 100 years!

more on my blog.

Good post ethompson but I'll add one thing.

"Sure, maybe government programs like welfare did not help the black community, but it sure did not cause the problems with joblessness and lack of education and our youth growing up without fathers."

You are correct welfare and the Great Society didn't cause the problem but it definitely exacerbated it. The programs made a sizable portion of the black population dependent upon the government. Now it is instilled in some black people that being on welfare and living the projects is not only acceptable but they couldn't survive without it. When multiple generations of the same family live in government housing that's an attitude and mentality problem created by this "safety net" called welfare. Those programs have created a culture of dependence which has stifled hard work and marriage. If you make "too much" money you can't live in the projects or qualify for certain programs. To uneducated person why would they ever leave? And most devastating part of this is that "black leaders" and "elite" blacks have accepted this mantra as well. That black people need more government programs like welfare, food stamps and Medicaid. These programs have made the problem worse not better. Why is it the same black neighborhoods have been poor since I was in elementary school. One answer.........a culture of dependence. Take Hurricane Katrina for example. A lot of those folks have been living in government housing their entire lives as well as their parents. Katrina was in August 2005. That was four years ago. And some of those people are still in living in government subsidized lodging(trailers/apartments) and still looking for extensions. A lot of them don't know any different. Getting their own place is a foreign concept.

Note: When I talked about Katrina evacuees still residing in public housing I'm not talking about the disabled or the elderly.

I completely agree. WE have problems in the Black community. You assessment is 100% correct. Now, the big question is how do we fix our community?

Welfare, unemployment insurance, Medicaid, and subsidized housing(projects) are excellent short term safety nets. But as you say, they can create a multi generational culture of dependence and entitlement. I watched this happen in Detroit during the 1960s and 1970s. Mixed with a heady mixture of "free love", cultural revolution, rejection of "white education", and drug culture it created an explosion of illiteracy and illegitimate babies raised on the welfare.

If you really did see it happen in the 60's then you have to know that most, if not all of these "explosions" began to occur at least somewhat before Medicaid, and even the Civil Rights Act, and before the rise of any sort of "culture of entitlement", to extent that culture has occured. It began to happen even in places where there was no welfare to speak of, and it certainly was well on its way before the age of "free love" and "cultural revolution".

In Wayne county michigan (i.e. Detroit) welfare rolls increase about 200% during the 1960s. Wayne county used to have a safety net program (the name of which i cannot remember) in the 1960s and 1970s that paid a small stipend to the unemployed (fueled by property taxes on the auto companies) that could be collected ad infinitum. Wayne county also supplied subsidized housing to the poor and unemployed. The idea behind these safety nets was that people down on their luck needed a helping hand so that they could get back on their feet. Despite a booming auto industry in the 1960s, this did not happen. The projects became sinkholes of crime, poverty, and illiteracy.
The county and the state of Michigan eventually could not afford to continue paying people not to work and ended the county dole.

What is lacking here is the fact that on an economic basis the government has systematically worked against AA either threw the law Jim Crow or when removed the redlining of neighborhoods by the FED is directing loans to areas starting in the 50's.
It is why to me the argument of the conservatives is so hollow; their refusal to acknowledge what the government has done that has not been reversed and corrected.

I don't disagree with that at all and we know these things you mentioned ie redlining, Jim Crow etc. And that's why I don't understand why so many of us think the government is the answer to our problems. I don't trust the government.

"their refusal to acknowledge what the government has done that has not been reversed and corrected."

And they never will. This is spot on. That's why to correct problems in our community the government must be a small part of the equation. Blacks Americans have more resources and education as a group than other time since being in America. We can do it ourselves. The problem is too many us have bought into a "inferiority complex" programmed into our people over centuries.

"A lot of those folks have been living in government housing their entire lives as well as their parents."

Do some Googling and check out what the rate of home ownership among "those people" before Katrina hit.

"And most devastating part of this is that "black leaders" and "elite" blacks have accepted this mantra as well. That black people need more government programs like welfare, food stamps and Medicaid."

Well, I think the mantra, as such, is not that "black people" need those things but black people who need those things...need those things...when they need those things.

"What we see now has been going on for over 100 years!"

Yes, I have to look sideways at people in thier early Thirties who say "This kind of stuff didn't happen back when...". They did happen. Accurate assessment is critical to solving any problem. The failure to do so can lead to reactionary hysteria, which in trun can lead to things like calling for forced sterilization and even extermination...ahem.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. Someone is going to tell me this woman should still be living in Sec 8 housing. She couldn't convince Ron Ron to pay for some schooling to get herself a job to support herself and to not be on the government tit. She was on government subsidies. That's all she knows. Even with a rich brother she still doesn't get it.

Culture of Dependence SMH

http://www.mediatakeout.com/2009/37164-busted_n...

Do some Googling and check out what the rate of home ownership among "those people" before Katrina hit.

I was specifically talking about people who lived in public housing not homeowners Plant.

I was pointing out that there were a more homeowners, and fewer public housing residents among Katrina victims than you think there were, and more/fwere than the white rightist meme creators claim there were. It's just not than simple.

OT- Unless I bring this page up by clicking through from my Disqus page, I don't see any of the side bar. That includes recent comments, the blogroll, recent posts, the ads... all of it is just blank space.

I know about the home ownerships rates. Black home ownership went up under the Bush administration possibly fueled by the subprime loans. Stop taking my posts as slights against poor black people. I thought I made it clear. I was talking about people that resided in PUBLIC HOUSING NOT PROPERTY OWNERS.

...multi-generational home ownership.

Well, did Disney finally make a character, a black character, that does not shuffle and serve the white folks? After more than 50 years of poking and prodding Disney who gave us "almost black characters" (Aladdin, The Lion King) appears that they are serving us a real black character. In the new movie the Princess and the Frog we're going to get a real, honest-to-goodness, black heroine. I think I'm going to break down and cry.

Cry all you want, but I'm boycotting the first run of this flick. No black prince. Also, Tiana's not a princess for 3/4ths of this flick. She's a frog.

There's something wrong here.

Why can't the hero be a brotha, though? Yeah, he's a person of color, too, but why couldn't he be black like the princess? No problem with inter-ethnic dating (dated women who weren't sistas in the past), but the first Disney feature length cartoon in history to feature a black cast, but the male love interest couldn't be black?

I'll pass.

You have no idea how much of a problem I have on this issue on my blog, TBSP. Most of the people are all for an interracial prince, an Indian prince, a white Latino prince, but no black prince for Tiana. And I'm racist because I am insisting on it in this case.

SMH. These children are silly.

I find it funny that some folks get up in arms when it comes to healthy black relationships. Latinos can marry/date each other, Asians can marry/date each other, whites can marry/date each other, but black folks can't settle for other black folks.

I'm all for being with who you want, but for me sistas get first dibs. If I fall in love with a woman who's not black, cool. Can't help who you fall in love with. But I'm crazy about a beautiful sista who's got her shit together (as if ya'll can't tell by my crush on Michelle Obama).

it's sorta funny how much I'm looking forward to this movie.

If you have little children go and take them. I gave my passes to a woman who was able to take her daughters and a cousin. She thought, after all the trepidation + about what was going to be shown, it was very extremely positive. The girls loved it. AA boys need to see it too to work on the negative images they see of AA women.

Debs Delight in the Bal Crillon
by Amanda FitzSimons
Posted Tuesday November 24, 2009
From WWD Issue 11/24/2009

While their American peers will be spending the post-Thanksgiving weekend eating leftovers in sweatpants, 25 well-heeled young ladies will be involved in a decidedly chicer activity — making their debut at the Bal Crillon des Debutantes at Paris’ Crillon Hotel on Saturday night. Founded by Parisian public relations maven Ophélie Renouard, the Bal, now in its 19th year, attracts the daughters of global bigwigs from the worlds of entertainment, politics, literature, art and fashion. (Victoria and Vanessa Traina, Lauren Bush, Amanda Hearst and Lily Collins all have been participants.)

This year’s lineup is no different: The ball’s first legitimate Indian princess, Adishree Singh, will make her debut alongside Francesca Eastwood, the 17-year-old daughter of Clint, and Lady Kitty Spencer, niece of the late Princess Diana. Each girl will be coupled with an escort (called a “cavalier”), many of whom have a similarly notable pedigree. (Organizers are particularly proud of tapping Alessandro Belmondo, son of French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, for this year’s bash.)

What’s more, each girl also has paired up with a fashion house to design her gown for the big night, while Adler, the ball’s official jewelry sponsor, will provide the debs with baubles.

.............

Autumn Whitaker

Age: 17
Hometown: Hollywood
Bloodline: Dad is actor Forest Whitaker; mom is actress and model Keisha Whitaker.
Education: Senior at Los Angeles’ Pilgrim School.
Wearing: Jason Wu
Escort: Friend William Bellingham, who can trace his ancestry back to Sir Anthony of Bellingham, 8th Baronet of Castlebellingham.
Party girl: Whitaker’s rock ’n’ roll-themed sweet 16 was featured in Teen Vogue last year.

http://www.wwd.com/lifestyle-news/debs-delight-...

Six Women Most Likely to Entertain the Obama Family
by WWD Staff
Posted Tuesday November 24, 2009
From WWD Issue 11/24/2009

The six women mostly likely to have Barack and Michelle Obama, or one of their five closest confidantes, to their homes.

Teresa Heinz: A longtime fan of couture fashion and especially of Chanel, Heinz, 71, has ideas about how to fix everything from the environment and a struggling economy to a perfect green salad. At least five key aides in the Obama administration are former recipients of the Heinz Foundation award. It doesn’t hurt that her husband, Sen. John Kerry, is chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and her late husband, John Heinz, was a moderate Republican.

Ali Wentworth: The city’s new social “It” girl, Wentworth, 44, learned a lot from her mother, Mabel “Muffie” Cabot, who served as Ronald Reagan’s social secretary. Case in point: “Seating is important — making everyone feel important and integral to the event.” But she disagrees with her mother when it comes to working the room with her husband, ABC chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos. “I’ve always been a big fan of the host and hostess moving seats, so everyone feels part of the party in the same way,” she says.

Capricia Marshall: Former White House social secretary for the Clintons, now chief of protocol, she’s a longtime pal of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and fast becoming the diplomatic corps’ best buddy. Marshall, in her 40s, organizes parties at Blair House for ambassadors to meet Obama insiders such as chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

Madeleine Albright: Having resided in Washington since the Sixties, the 72-year-old former secretary of state has seen the city change from a place where women traded recipes for béarnaise sauce to a hub for women determined to run the world. She can still give a dinner party when the time is ripe.

Debra Lee: President and ceo of BET Holdings Inc., Lee is building a huge new home in the most prestigious part of town, hoping to attract the Obamas.

Katharine Weymouth: Granddaughter of legendary hostess and publishing mogul Katharine Graham, Weymouth, 43, is tough, just like her grandmother. The ceo of The Washington Post Media Co. and publisher of The Washington Post pulled the plug when Politico broke the story of an in-house brochure offering to charge lobbyists $250,000 for the privilege of dining at her home with top Post journalists.

http://www.wwd.com/lifestyle-news/eye/six-women...

Most-Wanted Guests

Desirée Rogers: She’s the designated hitter when it comes to mixing with the social set both in Washington and Chicago. The 50-year-old White House social secretary graduated from Wellesley College and Harvard Business School. She is always at Michelle Obama’s side. Her best friend is Valerie Jarrett, the President’s best friend and senior White House adviser.

Valerie Jarrett: White House senior adviser and the best friend of both Obamas, Jarrett, 53, loves high fashion and hitting the social high spots almost as much as Desirée Rogers.

Eric Holder: Married to obstetrician Dr. Sharon Malone, Holder, 58, is a big catch for any hostess —the best-looking Attorney General since Robert F. Kennedy.

Penny Pritzker: Former national finance chairman for the Obama campaign, she is the richest of the Obamas’ friends — worth more than $1 billion — and is also among the most socially active. When she comes to town, Pritzker, 50, stays at her family hotel, the Hyatt. She has more clout with the President than anyone in the White House, aside from the First Lady.

Rahm Emanuel: Hard to land since his family moved to town, especially because his wife, Amy Rule, a stay-at-home mother, is known to be shy. “The best place to catch him is in the morning at the House gym,” said one social insider of the 49-year-old Emanuel.

$1 billion? Is Penny single? ;-)

Affairs of State: The Obama Family in D.C. Society
by Susan Watters
Posted Tuesday November 24, 2009
From WWD Issue 11/24/2009

Yes we can!

It’s a mantra tailor-made to soothe the nerves of edgy Washington hostesses as they

angle to propel their names onto the Obama White House’s social A-list. As the First Couple prepares for its maiden State Dinner tonight for India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, behind the scenes, smart socialites are keeping their powder dry. No one would ever turn down an invitation to a state dinner, a poetry reading or a music performance at the White House, not to mention next month’s reception for the Kennedy Center Honors Gala. But aspiring Washington hostesses aim for even bigger stardom. For them, the real question is: Which one will be standing at their door when the Obamas make their first house call?

“The Obamas haven’t started to go out to private events,” says Debra Lee, president and chief executive officer of BET Holdings Inc., the parent company of Black Entertainment Television.

“People are speculating where they’ll go first. They’ve gone to Valerie Jarrett’s house, but that was a family affair,” says Lee, referring to the home of the President’s closest senior White House adviser. “And the President went on his own to George Will’s for dinner,” she adds, referring to the conservative columnist who was also the first to entertain Nancy and Ronald Reagan when they came to town. “But so far, the Obamas haven’t started to go out together to private events.”

The challenge isn’t lost on Democratic insiders, who know an uphill battle when they see one. Mandy Grunwald, the Democratic political consultant who worked on Sen. Al Franken’s long-contested Minnesota election race, points to the Obamas’ summer holiday on Martha’s Vineyard. “They kept to themselves,” says Grunwald, whose family members have been regulars on the Vineyard for years. “No dinner parties given or gone to.”

For the moment, the attention of Washington society is focused on tonight’s State Dinner. But for the smart crowd of new social divas, those with tough egos, long-term goals and plenty of patience, that’s just the latest leg in the ultramarathon of luring the Obamas — a process that started almost from the moment he was elected.

http://www.wwd.com/lifestyle-news/eye/affairs-o...

I am a huge fan of GLEE. Every week they seem to find some number that just makes me want to hit the rewind button repeatedly. Last week, it was Puck doing Neil Diamond. This week it was 'Imagine' with the deaf choir.

I saw that too rikyrah. Wasn't it beautiful? I like Rachel, but man they gotta let Mercedes sing more...that girl can blow!

I know RobM pointed it out yesterday, but, DUBAI is on the brink of bankruptcy? this new beacon of unfettered capitalism?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/26/dubai-...

I do not think the current Dubai situtation represents "unfettered capitalism". I think that Dubai represents Meglomania, both the country and the yacht. It also represents what happens with unfettered central planning without the market forces of capitalism injecting reality into the equation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai_(yacht)

GREED AND ALL LEVERAGED BY DEBT.

Hey baby, do you want to ride in my Lambo? Don't worry I don't have to take it back to the rental company until 12 o clock.

Well. Well. Well. (Shakes head) I was in Dubai in 2003 and HAD multiple job offers to work there before the economy tanked. The infrastructure and the landscape is absolutely amazing. I remember being in my hotel room and reading about the diversification of their economy. And how their financial services sector exploded. The articles were saying they were unlike their Arab neighbors and weren't wholly dependent upon oil exports. They were the darlings of region. I have never seen so many luxury cars in one small area in my life. The truth is rearing its head. And it was all based on one thing......DEBT. And personally, I think all this was calculated. It's just like guy that makes 100,00 dollars. He buys a million dollar house and leases a Lamborghini. A flashy lifestyle attracts money. That's why so many people invested there and wanted to be there. I hope they don't collapse like Iceland. This reminds of a saying my grandfather bless his soul used to always tell me when I was growing up.

"Boy, don't ever envy anyone for what they have because you don't know how they got it."

How a letter from 1964 shows what's wrong with the Senate today

One of the challenges in arguing about the use of the filibuster is that the filibuster has changed drastically in recent decades, but it's done so quietly. Quietly enough that people don't really understand that it's changed at all. That leads to an understandable complacency: If we've always had the filibuster, and we've done pretty well thus far, then maybe the filibuster isn't worth mucking with.

But though we've long had the filibuster, we have not long had a Senate that used it to impose a 60-vote requirement on all controversial legislation. Dramatizing the difference between the filibuster that was used to express opposition and filibuster that is used to impose a supermajority voting requirement is a bit difficult. But David Broockman, a senior at Yale, sent along a letter he came across in the LBJ presidential library that does it better than any document I've seen.

The letter was written by Mike Manatos, who served as Senate liaison for Johnson, and addressed to Larry O'Brien, who directed Johnson's campaign. It was written Dec. 8, 1964, just days after the election. Manatos is giving O'Brian an overview of how the Senate elections improved the chances of passing Medicare. He writes:

Of the 49 votes cast on behalf of Medicare (Gore amendment) on September 2, 1964, we lost two supporters in the last election -- Senators Keating and Salinger.

However, we picked up five new supporters -- Senators Bass, Harris, Kennedy (Robt.), Montoya, and Tydings.

We also had three supporters who missed the vote this year -- Senators Bayh, Hartke, and Kennedy (Ted).

Thus if all our supporters are present and voting we would win by a vote of 55 to 45.

Of course, if we could persuade Senator Russell (who is on the brink) to support Medicare this year our margin should be even greater.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/200...

Why the Greg Craig debacle matters
By: Elizabeth Drew
November 19, 2009 11:58 AM EST

President Barack Obama is returning from his trek to Asia Thursday to a capital that is a considerably more dangerous place for him than when he departed.

While he was abroad, there was a palpable sense at home of something gone wrong. A critical mass of influential people who once held big hopes for his presidency began to wonder whether they had misjudged the man. Most significant, these doubters now find themselves with a new reluctance to defend Obama at a phase of his presidency when he needs defenders more urgently than ever.

This is the price Obama has paid with his complicity and most likely his active participation, in the shabbiest episode of his presidency: The firing by leaks of White House counsel Gregory Craig, a well-respected Washington veteran and influential early supporter of Obama.

The people who are most aghast by the handling of the Craig departure can’t be dismissed by the White House as Republican partisans, or still-embittered Hillary Clinton supporters. They are not naïve activists who don’t understand that the exercise of power can be a rough business and that trade-offs and personal disappointments are inevitable. Instead, they are people, either in politics or close observers, who once held an unromantically high opinion of Obama. They were important to his rise, and are likely more important to the success or failure of his presidency than Obama or his distressingly insular and small-minded West Wing team appreciate.

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=0D5...

Politico?

My bullshit radar is on high alert.

rikyrah, this tired essay is full of speculation and gossip and judgment. It reads like fiction. Perhaps it is. It's an editorial, not a piece of journalism, but then again, consider the source.

When was the last time Politico got something right about the inner workings of the Obama campaign or administration?

If people want to write hit jobs on the administration, that's their prerogative, but they should try not to be so obvious about it and sure as hell shouldn't call themselves journalists in the process. The writer betrayed her bias with this paragraph here:

"Maybe there’ll be enough examples of grace that will make people forget this period of pettiness. He’s been lucky before; maybe he’ll get lucky again. Meanwhile, serious people who had a lot of hope about him and who defended him are more worried than ever, and in this if anything over-communicative society the White House can’t write them off as “a bunch of Washington insiders.”

Talk about pettiness. And piss-poor writing. Perhaps the writer considers herself a "serious" person. But she's not fooling me.

Elizabeth Drew is a very good reporter regardless the article is published in Politico.

Then she's have a terrible spell.

Before today, as far as I know, I've never read a word of hers, Micheline.

My first impression is exactly what it is.

Craig, I've known about Liz Drew since her days on Agronsky & Company and her political column in The New Yorker. From the get-back. Maybe she sounds like gobbledygook to you, but not to me. I think it's the lack of first person sources. Nobody wants to be quoted, so it looks like hearsay. She's 74 now, and almost rates the same kind of longevity respect as Helen Thomas.

"Politico?

My bullshit radar is on high alert."


Yup, my Spidey-sense is tingling.

Politico?

Red Alert!
Shields up!

LMBAO!

This line is the most telling of the article.

"many people who had defended Obama against charges that he wasn’t what he’d been cracked up to be were now becoming concerned themselves"

Don't let none of these smoke screens fool you. A lot of these people supposedly "stepping away" from Obama is about one thing. SAVING THEIR OWN ASSES. Some of these people didn't even support him until they believed he was going to win the election. Now that unemployment is still high, additional troops are being sent to Afghanistan and his poll numbers are slipping. Some of these people are positioning themselves to ensure they are perceived not being aligned with the administration. But I would give them some advice. Don't leave the stands based on the score in the first quarter. Obama must make some highly unpopular decisions at this point ie Afghanistan and KSM trial in New York. This is typical for a person to get elected with so much excitement. He is the President now and he has to make unpopular decisions. So I say let the rats jump ship.

You are referring to the political glitterati. The problem is the Obama administrations policies are not resonating w/ the average member of the administration's political coalition.
Think of the problem as a sinking ship. The Captain has sent is engineers down below deck to examine the leak. The leak is huge and they are systematically plugging the hole. The problem is the water is still coming in. The crew looking down into the hold and see the water still filling up the hold, see the Captain walking the deck and giving no orders to the crew to do anything. They start to become very uneasy because they intellectually understand the Captain's orders but emotionally there isn't a "Keep Calm and Carry On" to steady the nerves.

Well, most people are myopic and they can't see past their own noses anyway. And there is another element to this. I hate to say it but they also don't want to be viewed as "supporting the black guy that is destroying the country." They have to go home to their country clubs and their family outings. The pressure is building.

Who destroyed the country? Myopic, no. stupid yes.
If the question is posed as whom didn't correct the situtation at least they are on the right page.

HA.....Guns knows this bruh. You're speaking to the choir but I gotta break it down for the special ed folks. When I used the word "myopic" in the sense of most people in Washington are in survival mode 24/7. And when they see the tide turning they are quick to "jump ship" ie Specter Lieberman
No belief system, no morals, no integrity would ran sack their own mother's 401K if it would give them a political edge. Just a bunch of R A T S.

Try to spell it out.so as to foster a greater understanding. I think?/hope? everyone understands the purpose is to educate.

Ex-Tenn. Dem eyes bid vs. Gilly

Comments: 1

By DAPHNE RETTER

Last Updated: 5:01 AM, November 25, 2009

Posted: 4:54 AM, November 25, 2009
WASHINGTON -- A former Tennessee congressman has reportedly told people he's toying with making a Democratic primary challenge against appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who polls show is struggling to connect with voters despite nearly a year in office.

Former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. has talked about the possibility of taking on Gillibrand, who has failed to substantially raise her poll numbers and remains vulnerable, a source said last night.

And someone posting on DemocraticUndergound.com claimed to have gotten a polling call testing the ex-congressman's name against Gillibrand, Politico.com reported.

WASHINGTON -- A former Tennessee congressman has reportedly told people he's toying with making a Democratic primary challenge against appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who polls show is struggling to connect with voters despite nearly a year in office.

Former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. has talked about the possibility of taking on Gillibrand, who has failed to substantially raise her poll numbers and remains vulnerable, a source said last night.

And someone posting on DemocraticUndergound.com claimed to have gotten a polling call testing the ex-congressman's name against Gillibrand, Politico.com reported.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/ex_tenn_d...

He must think he's Chelsea Clinton?

Why did I get a flashback to the movie "Rush Hour" when you said that, Town?

from the moment I read this, I was cracking up. Now, I don't think NY minds carpetbaggers...WHITE carpetbaggers, that is. BUT, a Black one?

um, I dunno.

He just wants to be a contenda.

I saw this movie yesterday and would recommend it highly. Here's the synopsis for SKIN:

Sandra Laing entered the world a beautiful baby but no one, not the hospital staff, her mother, father or neighbors would admit the obvious. Abraham and Sannie Laing were white yet their daughter was dark. By a biological quirk, the pigment of an unknown black ancestor had lain dormant for generations and manifested in Sandra. If there was ever a wrong place and wrong time for this phenomenon, it was apartheid South Africa in 1955. In childhood she was reclassified as colored under apartheid laws and forcibly removed from her whites-only school, despite a legal challenge by her parents. She later eloped with a black man and became estranged from her parents, before seeking a reconciliation with her mother after the fall of apartheid.

there are some moments, when she is a child, as she tries to 'rid' herself of her skin, where you will ache for this girl.

Um...I saw a picture of Sandra and her parents...

Throwback skin I can believe...throwback "black features" PLUS throwback black skin...I don't know about. I think Momma Laing stepped out on Daddy Laing and they concocted this "throwback" story to cover up the stepping out.

you wrong LOL
was there any DNA testing in the 50's?
were they sure the baby was his?
just sad what that child and many other blacks wen't through

I just Googled her, and yup, moms had to have been creepin'. That girl's unknown black ancestor was her daddy, that's who it was.

Town, you crack me up.

i just watched the trailer
looks like an excellent film
thanks

Federal Bankruptcy Filings Are Up By 34.5%
First Posted: 11-26-09 01:00 AM | Updated: 11-26-09 04:03 AM

WASHINGTON (AP/HuffPost)-- Bankruptcy filings in federal courts jumped by more than one-third this year, as businesses and individuals struggled to regain their footing in a weakened economy.

New numbers from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts show about 1.4 million bankruptcy cases were filed this fiscal year. That's up 34.5 percent compared with the more than 1 million cases filed last fiscal year. The bankruptcy figures cover a period from Oct. 1, 2008, to Sept. 30.

Filings under Chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13 all rose -- particularly filings for Chapter 11 protection, which increased 68 percent. Overall, business filings were up 52 percent, while nonbusiness filings rose by 34 percent.

States with the highest bankruptcies per 1,000 population are:

1. Nevada
2. Tennessee
3. Alabama
4. Indiana
5. Michigan
6. Ohio
7. Kentucky
8. Arkansas
9. Illinois
10. Colorado

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/26/federa...

After Cheney
By JAMES TRAUB
Published: November 24, 2009

When Vice President Biden travels to Iraq, which he does every two months or so, he flies on Air Force Two to an airbase in southern England and then transfers to a cargo plane, a C-17, retrofitted for vice-presidential comfort with an Airstream trailer bolted on to tracks in the center of the hold. With its porthole and shiny rivets and gleaming chrome, this strange conveyance looks like something out of Jules Verne. Captain Biden holds court in a wood-paneled galley just large enough for his half-dozen or so aides to pile into. Unlike Nemo, he is a gregarious knee-squeezer who has to be ordered by his staff to stop talking so he can get some rest.

I had the first of several long conversations with Biden in the Airstream this summer on his return from his first trip to Iraq as vice president. With violence much reduced and some signs of political reconciliation, Iraq had suddenly switched places with Afghanistan to become the war we ignore; but Obama-administration officials feared that Iraq would sink back into fratricide unless Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds made the painful compromises they had avoided so far. President Obama had committed to ending America’s combat role in the country by Aug. 31, 2010; though both the American and Iraqi publics demanded the withdrawal, it endangered Iraq’s very fragile security and reduced American leverage at a crucial moment of political transition. Early last June, the president asked Biden to take responsibility for Iraq.

During the course of a two-day trip to Baghdad, Biden met with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other leading political figures. Officials in both the Bush and Obama administrations had come to view Maliki as a sectarian Shiite bent on marginalizing Iraq’s Sunni minority. “You’ve never heard me prior to this trip singing the praises of Maliki,” Biden said. He had changed into his Airstream mufti — short-sleeve knit shirt and natty dark slacks. He is impressively trim for a 67-year-old, especially one scarcely known for self-discipline.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/magazine/29Bi...

LOL @ has to be ordered by his staff to stop talking so he can get some rest.

Newark helps residents open bank accounts, get financial smarts
By David Giambusso/The Star-Ledger
November 25, 2009, 6:00AM

NEWARK -- A program designed to draw thousands of residents out from the financial shadows has come here after proving successful in cities throughout the country.

Mayor Cory Booker and officials from Newark Now announced "Bank on Newark" this week, a program that encourages residents with spotty banking histories and questionable citizenship to start bank accounts and get counseling on healthy financial practices.

"Today we are planting seeds that will help make the wealth and financial infrastructure of our community grow," Booker said this week at a City Hall press conference.

City officials estimate that nearly 15,000 Newark residents do not have checking accounts, relying instead on costly check cashing services that can result in poor credit, higher rates on loans and mortgages, and in many cases physical danger.

"There are probably a lot of people in our area who are paying to get their checks cashed and walking around with a whole week’s salary in their pockets," said Anthony Santiago, chief operating officer at Newark Now, the non-profit that will help administer the program.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/newark...

GANGS OF AMERICA

Corporations are the dominant force in modern life, surpassing even church and state. The largest are richer than entire nations, and courts have given these entities more rights than people. To many Americans, corporate power seems out of control. According to a Business Week/Harris poll released in September 2000, 82 percent of those surveyed agreed that “business has too much power over too many aspects of our lives.” And the recent revelations of corporate scandal and political influence have only added to such concerns.

Where did this powerful institution come from? How did it get so much power? In Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy, author Ted Nace probes the roots of corporate power, finding answers in surprising places.

A key revelation of the book is the wariness of the Founding Fathers toward corporations. That wariness was shaped by rampant abuses on the part of British corporations such as the Virginia Company, whose ill-treatment killed thousands of women and children on forced-labor tobacco plantations, and the East India Company, whose attempt to monopolize American commodities led to the merchant-led rebellion known as the Boston Tea Party.

Because of such attitudes, the word corporation does not appear once in the United States Constitution. At the Constitutional Convention, all proposals to include corporations in that document were voted down by delegates. Corporate attorneys persisted in seeking legal protections for their clients by means of sympathetic court rulings, but until the Civil War such attempts largely failed.

http://www.gangsofamerica.com/

Download free copy of book "Gangs of America": click here

OK. I defeintely get the idea you understand softwarea and hardware problems better than I. Can you help me w/ this problem?

i have adobe 7.1. All the current .pdf files require 9.2. whenever I try to down load it my system shuts it down in the name of protecting my computer. Ask what ever questions you need and I will respond.

First blush, sounds like some type of anti-virus or other type of protection program is pretending the upgrade. What type of protection software and which operating system (XP, MAC OS, Vista) are you using?

Edit: Seems you encountered known problem upgrading from 7.1 to 9.2. Try incremental upgrades suggested below:

"Adobe recommends users of Adobe Reader 9.1.3 and Acrobat 9.1.3 and earlier versions update to Adobe Reader 9.2 and Acrobat 9.2. Adobe recommends users of Acrobat 8.1.6 and earlier versions update to Acrobat 8.1.7, and users of Acrobat 7.1.3 and earlier versions update to Acrobat 7.1.4. For Adobe Reader users who cannot update to Adobe Reader 9.2, Adobe has provided the Adobe Reader 8.1.7 and Adobe Reader 7.1.4 updates. Updates apply to all platforms: Windows, Macintosh and UNIX. [1]"

I checked updates installed all the 7 series I am eligible for. Tried to do 8 shut down as malacious software. I use XP w/ all updates and MacAfee. What do you suggest next?
If you think it is a virus what do you suggest I use to clean it out?

Its a possibility MacAfee reporting is accurate: Attackers Exploiting Unpatched Flaw In Adobe Reader, Acrobat. Are you using Acrobat pro or public version?

(Reference knowledgebase: Acrobat product interoperability: Install and remove Acrobat and Adobe Reader (8.x on Windows))

If using public version: 1) create XP restore point, 2) uninstall adobe products 3) Go to your browser Tools/Internet Options and make sure that the Security and Advanced tabs are set to "Default", OK and exit, 4) download and install reader 9.2 and if using adode flash get latest version.

I have done all of this except two. I tried that in the past and i lost my regular reader till your suggestion to try updates.

OK. If the uninstall / install step for 9.2 will not work, you can use the restore point created in step 1 to return the machine to its original state before the uninstall.

Treid all the suggestions. I cannot load 9.2. I'll make due w/ 7 series.
Thanks for your help.

One thing the updates did do is bring reader back on line.

Meaning, pdf files now display within browser page?

Yes

Thanks, I'm jumping into this today.

Uh oh, no pictures. I have a US public education. Is there an audio version I can download?

* NOVEMBER 25, 2009

Dobbs Reaches Out to Latinos, With Politics in Mind

By PETER WALLSTEN

Former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, pondering a future in politics, is trying to wipe away his image as an enemy of Latino immigrants by positioning himself as a champion of that fast-growing ethnic bloc.

Mr. Dobbs, who left the network last week, has said in recent days that he is considering a third-party run for a New Jersey Senate seat in 2012, or possibly for president. Polls show voters unhappy with both parties, and strategists believe Mr. Dobbs could tap populist anger over economy issues just as Ross Perot did in the 1990s.

First, though, Mr. Dobbs is working to repair what a spokesman conceded is a glaring flaw: His reputation for antipathy toward Latino immigrants. In a little-noticed interview Friday, Mr. Dobbs told Spanish-language network Telemundo he now supports a plan to legalize millions of undocumented workers, a stance he long lambasted as an unfair "amnesty."


Lou Dobbs, shown appearing on NBC's 'Today' show last week, is working to repair his reputation for antipathy toward Latino immigrants.
Lou Dobbs, shown appearing on NBC's 'Today' show last week, is working to repair his reputation for antipathy toward Latino immigrants.
Lou Dobbs, shown appearing on NBC's 'Today' show last week, is working to repair his reputation for antipathy toward Latino immigrants.

"Whatever you have thought of me in the past, I can tell you right now that I am one of your greatest friends and I mean for us to work together," he said in a live interview with Telemundo's Maria Celeste. "I hope that will begin with Maria and me and Telemundo and other media organizations and others in this national debate that we should turn into a solution rather than a continuing debate and factional contest."

Mr. Dobbs twice mentioned a possible legalization plan for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., saying at one point that "we need the ability to legalize illegal immigrants under certain conditions."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125910998942663...

Heh, nice try, Lou. Just like black folk, our Latino brothers and sisters have long memories. They ain't gonna forget the stuff you said.

Um.

Did he pay someone to destroy all the tapes and YouTubes of his anti-immigrant rants over the years?

see Craig, that's how I see it too. Like folks aren't supposed to look him up on Youtube.

Last time I heard, Chicanos y Latinos were still MAD as hell at him. Sorry, your Hispanic wife can't even begin to bail you outta this one. Count the days before she finally decides to divorce your behind.

Latinos to Lou Dobbs: "Nos vemos."

Sorry, Lou. The die's been cast.

If he is going to run for any office in America he can't be viewed as bigot. He knows this. So he is making his rounds to try to clean up his image.

that's it completely.

Lou Dobbs
is so wrong i don't see how his wife can live with his unstable azz
that's like David Duke running for office again
and saying he was only fooling when he talked Sh-t about black folks