TGIF/Weekend edition - January 30- February 1, 2009

I love that Merrill Lynch CEO, who said he just couldn't work in that office the way it was decorated, so he spent a over a million dollars to make it his perfect think tank. Well, that didn't work out well.

The GOP: a chicken in search of a head. - Grant "Brad" Gerver

The-World-Will-Be-A-Safer-Place-Without George W. Bush

• US military deaths in Iraq war at 4236 Carlisle Sentinel, PA 

• Gunmen kill 3 Sunni political candidates in Iraq as elections approach Dallas Morning News, TX 

• Afghan Presidential Election Delayed New York Times

• Arab World Is Downbeat in Wake of Gaza War U.S. News & World Report

• Iraq slaps ban on Blackwater Gulf Daily News

• Spat should not affect Turkey ties, Peres says Reuters

Military Mercenary Complex

Blackwater Worldwide, denied an operating license in Iraq, said Thursday it could leave the country within 72 hours but cautioned that such a move would cause more harm to the American diplomats it protects than the company itself.

Iraqi officials made public Thursday a decision to deny the North Carolina-based company an operating license, citing lingering outrage over a September 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead.

Hey, earlier this week, all the e-mail service in the White House completely collapsed. No e-mails coming in, no e-mails going out. Everything had to be written down on paper by hand. It was like if John McCain had been elected president. - Jay leno

Disturbing News

• Alaskans brace for volcanic eruption MSNBC

• Australian heatwave again cuts trains, power Reuters

• Pole-to-pole flight finds CO2 piling up over Arctic

• Many without food, water rush to shelters' warmth The Associated Press

Get Off Of My Island!

Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro demanded on Thursday that President Barak Obama return the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo to Cuba without conditions, and he accused the new U.S. leader of supporting "Israeli genocide" against Palestinians.

Castro, who had recently praised Obama as "honest" and "noble", lashed out..

And a new study finds that it takes humans 30% longer to lie than it does to tell the truth. See, that’s why political speeches are so long.- Jay Leno

Republican-Shenanigans News

• Limbaugh Cracks the Whip, and Republicans Get in Line FOXNews

• Republicans quickly turning into 'party of no' Seattle Post Intelligencer

• Disgraced pastor Haggard admits second relationship with man CNN 

• Candidate Linked to Obama Parody Song Leaves Race for GOP Chairman New York Times

• FEC mistakenly lists Palin as 2012 presidential candidate Alaska Dispatch

Big snowstorm has hit the northeast, and President Obama actually said this. He said that people in Washington can’t handle harsh winter weather like people in Chicago. But, to be fair, Chicago is shielded from the snow and ice by the protective dome of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s hair.- Conan O'Brien

Palin Family Value$

A pair of Naughty Monkey shoes allegedly worn by Sarah Palin were auctioned off for $2,025 to an unknown bidder on eBay this week.

The seller, who claims she's Sarah Palin's niece, will throw in autographed pictures of Palin wearing the shoes, plus a Sharpie that Palin used to sign stuff.
 

Rock-The-Voter News

• Democrats Set Sights on Republican Senators Who Oppose Stimulus Plan New York Times

• Michelle Obama makes speaking debut as First Lady New York Daily News

No Quid? No Quo!
By Madeleine Begun Kane

The stimulus bill was jam-packed
With concessions the GOP backed.
Yet the whole GOP
Nixed the bill. Seems to me
That the Dems should those changes redact.
 

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Biz-Tech News

• Oil Rises as OPEC Cuts Supply, US Slows Less Than Forecast Bloomberg

• Can Ford, down to its last $10 billion, go much longer without aid? Detroit Free Press

• Exxon Profit Down 33% as Prices Fall New York Times

• Gannett Profit Drops 36% as Advertising Sales Decline Bloomberg

• Japan's NEC says to cut groupwide workforce by 20,000 Reuters

• Off-line GMail: one more step to the Google desktop Computerworld

Paladin of the Playground?
By: Hubert Wilson

Bush-Prison-Torture News

• Guantanamo Judge Denies Obama's Request for Delay Washington Post

• Abu Ghraib businesses look for a boost Stars and Stripes 

www.pabloonpolitics.com

Rush Is Right, Far Right

"Obama was trying to marginalize me," Limbaugh said. "His hope was that the House and Senate Republicans would join him in denouncing me. Didn't work."

When Rep. Phil Gingrey, a Georgia Republican, tried to praise his House leadership this week by saying it's easy for talk-show hosts to stand back and throw bricks, the headline on the Politico Web site read: "House GOP member to Rush: Back off." Gingrey was so bothered by the phone calls of complaints that he visited four conservative talk-show hosts, including Limbaugh, the next day to apologize.
 

Go-F**k-Yourself News

• Halliburton 4Q falls 32 pct on DOJ settlement The Associated Press

The AHNC weekend commentary

What’s in a name?

Six months ago, a survey of Americans for name recognition of “Blagojevich” would have turned up responses like:
1) New brand of sausage
2) Fugitive wanted for war crimes in the Balkans
3) Device on a 4-cylinder, Tomashevski combustion engine that improves mileage.
None would have been correct, of course.
As we all know now (thanks in great part to his own inability to shut up), Rod Blagojevich is the name-dropping fashion icon and disgraced Democratic ex-governor of Illinois. The one who allegedly tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barack Obama after he was elected President. The one who already has been dropped by a couple of his defense attorneys because he can’t keep his mouth closed. That’s the Blagojevich Americans have come to know and … look upon with incredulous loathing?
After he was arrested in December on multiple corruption charges, did we really see Blago in a tight, black jogging suit leaving his Chicago home each morning for a run around the neighborhood, despite the horde of reporters and photographers waiting outside? Surely no public official facing loss of office and possible imprisonment would subject himself to media scrutiny while wearing a ridiculous outfit. Would he?
And as the nation waited anxiously for the critical appointment of a new Senator from Illinois, speculation flourished about what the ever-unpredictable Blago might do. Maybe remove himself from the process and let the lieutenant governor of Illinois make the appointment? Or announce a special election in which Illinois voters could choose their replacement Senator? Nope, he named a respected but little known former state attorney general – who now will serve two years in the Senate under the constant dark cloud of being a Blagojevich appointee and then is likely to face a stiff challenge for re-election.
But Blago was not finished amazing all of us. Last week, as the Illinois Senate began impeachment proceedings, he was a no-show. Instead, he hit the TV news and talk-show circuit, proclaiming his innocence and warming our hearts with his rags-to-riches autobiographical storytelling and populist, “I’m for the little guy” style.
Claiming the state impeachment process was rigged against him, Blagojevich said that testimony on his behalf by a parade of angels and saints led by Mother Theresa would not be permitted by his evil detractors. He compared himself to a cowboy facing lynching and to Jimmy Stewart in the screen classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” He recited some Rudyard Kipling, made hallowed reference to Abraham Lincoln. In short, he left most of us wondering whether to laugh or puke.
The Illinois Senate also listened to this Blago blather and then decided – unanimously – to throw his ass out of office. (That was the first true display of bipartisanship among Democrats and Republicans since Obama took office two weeks ago.)   
And so it is with deep gratitude that All Hat No Cattle salutes Rod Blagojevich. He will provide comic grist for months, if not years, to come.   

Email

Subject:I had hoped to hear good news from you on your house flipping (or did you mean "flippin' house"?)

A friend of mine who is a realtor called me yesterday and asked if I had any money. (I wish!) He said there are terrific bargains out there but sales are sparse. He's been scraping by for a year now. Unfortunately, I zipped through the budget on the last terrific bargain I bought (which actually WAS a terrific bargain, but needed (needs) a lot of work. I'm going to the bank this evening to see about refinancing and combining kids' student loans and home equity loans - that is AFTER the bankers stop laughing. They actually called me, though - I wonder if I'm getting punk'd?
I've got to hand it to President Obama - he's standing in the road trying to stop a runaway car from going off the cliff. Good luck! Duhh-bya filled it with gas, put it in drive, and jumped out months ago.
It looks like the only way to make money lately is in politics - I think I'll run for congress or governor. see attached photo:
I'll be combing my hair at half mast in sympathy of Blagojevich's impeachment.
And again best wishes for a healthy and prosperous year - Pudge

You're not getting punk'd...I received a call the other day from a company I had  satisfied a home loan through (I flipped a townhouse). They wanted me to refinance similar to your situation. Yesterday, I got denied because I did not earn enough, I was a several thousand shy of an FHA 30 year fixed at 5.3%. I just satisfied a loan through them in full as I have with seven other homes during my lifetime. I have good credit and never claimed bankruptcy and I can't get a loan because my income is a few thousand short? Geez Louise,  how much more dependable do I have to be?

The company is going to try some other avenues for me to qualify but I am not encouraged.

The best solution would be to sell this house and not have to deal with all that loan crapola.

It would be interesting to know where all that loan money is going --- to refinancing homes or home sales? Because home sales here came to a halt last spring.

I wonder if people aren't buying homes because they can't get a loan or because they are sitting back watching? I'm doing both. :(

Good luck Pudge and thank you for writing.

1-30-09, Friday: Paypal Contributions have surpassed 2025.

Another 1000 was pledged through the US Mail -- AHNC has received 705, so far.

Thank you. I'll make it for another few months!

Offline Donation - TO: Lisa Casey - PO Box 88 - Ashford, AL 36312

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