vp in chains

Gettin' your war on

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

eye for an eye

literally

voter intent

Check out different challenged ballots in the Minnesota Senate election and see what you think

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

mini-bama

from here...

Images of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, each made with approximately 150 million tiny carbon nanotubes, are photographed using an electron microscope by University of Michigan Mechanical Engineering Department in this image released to Reuters November 10, 2008. The image, based on an original drawing by Shepard Fairey, is just wider than 500 microns and is made of approximately 150 million tiny carbon nanotubes, which is about the number of Americans who voted on November 4, according to John Hart at University of Michigan. (REUTERS/John Hart, Sameh Tawfick, Michael De Volder, and Will Walker/University of Michigan/Handout)

watching tv correlated

with being unhappy

Since they don't suggest a causal mechanism, who knows which way it runs. For example, perhaps those who don't work watch the most tv, and not working makes you unhappy. Anyway, I know if I watch a lot of tv, I feel less happy than if I do other things...

Delay is no longer an option

Obama address Governors Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles

Hilary as Secretary of State?

The Guardian reports that Hilary will accept the offer for the SoS position

60 minute interview

Here

and here:

Intelligence Policy to Stay Largely Intact

not very promising news

feingold doesnt seem happy about this either

and who is this john brennan character?

apparently an advocate of FISA and the cia detention and interrogation camps

say it ain't so, obama.  not what i want to read.

Stretching the truth

Forget what you learned in high school, if you want to warm up and perform well, ballistic stretching is the way to go.

I got the term from an exercise video... The article refers to the good kind of stretching as dynamic stretching. Apparently, dynamic stretching should not be confused with ballistic stretching!

Ballistic stretching uses the momentum of a moving body or a limb in an attempt to force it beyond its normal range of motion. This is stretching, or "warming up", by bouncing into (or out of) a stretched position, using the stretched muscles as a spring which pulls you out of the stretched position. (e.g. bouncing down repeatedly to touch your toes.)

Dynamic stretching, according to Kurz, "involves moving parts of your body and gradually increasing reach, speed of movement, or both." Do not confuse dynamic stretching with ballistic stretching! Dynamic stretching consists of controlled leg and arm swings that take you (gently!) to the limits of your range of motion. Ballistic stretches involve trying to force a part of the body beyond its range of motion.

I never tried to go beyond my normal range of motion with "ballistic stretching", so perhaps I was doing dynamic stretching afterall.

Bush Spy Revelations Anticipated When Obama Is Sworn In

Whistle blowers are chomping at the bit, can't wait for Jan. 20th...

More reasons to be happy

Obama planning US trials for Guantanamo detainees

The whole thing is a legal nightmare, and it sounds like there will be some improvisation to work it out.

"It would have to be some sort of hybrid that involves military commissions that actually administer justice rather than just serve as kangaroo courts," Tribe said. "It will have to both be and appear to be fundamentally fair in light of the circumstances. I think people are going to give an Obama administration the benefit of the doubt in that regard."

Though a hybrid court may be unpopular, other advisers and Democrats involved in the Guantanamo Bay discussions say Obama has few other options.

Prosecuting all detainees in federal courts raises a host of problems. Evidence gathered through military interrogation or from intelligence sources might be thrown out. Defendants would have the right to confront witnesses, meaning undercover CIA officers or terrorist turncoats might have to take the stand, jeopardizing their cover and revealing classified intelligence tactics.

...

"I don't think we need to completely reinvent the wheel, but we need a better tribunal process that is more transparent," Schiff said.
That means something different would need to be done if detainees couldn't be released or prosecuted in traditional courts. Exactly what that something would look like remains unclear.

According to three advisers participating in the process, Obama is expected to propose a new court system, appointing a committee to decide how such a court would operate. Some detainees likely would be returned to the countries where they were first captured for further detention or rehabilitation. The rest could probably be prosecuted in U.S. criminal courts, one adviser said. All spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing talks, which have been private.

Whatever form it takes, Tribe said he expects Obama to move quickly.
"In reality and symbolically, the idea that we have people in legal black holes is an extremely serious black mark," Tribe said. "It has to be dealt with."

If you ask me, Bush and co. didn't have the cohones to deal with this very complex and ugly problem.

Boogie Man

The Lee Atwater story on PBS

Sanity

Obama Positioned to Quickly Reverse Bush Actions

Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.

They are seriously organized:

A team of four dozen advisers, working for months in virtual solitude, set out to identify regulatory and policy changes Obama could implement soon after his inauguration. The team is now consulting with liberal advocacy groups, Capitol Hill staffers and potential agency chiefs to prioritize those they regard as the most onerous or ideologically offensive, said a top transition official who was not permitted to speak on the record about the inner workings of the transition.

I'm particularly happy about this:

The new president is also expected to lift a so-called global gag rule barring international family planning groups that receive U.S. aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion, even in countries where the procedure is legal, said Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, he rescinded the Reagan-era regulation, known as the Mexico City policy, but Bush reimposed it.

and this:

The president-elect has said, for example, that he intends to quickly reverse the Bush administration's decision last December to deny California the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. "Effectively tackling global warming demands bold and innovative solutions, and given the failure of this administration to act, California should be allowed to pioneer," Obama said in January.

Hide your guns

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

Barack Obama's Flickr page

Flickr page here with over 50k items - dating back to when the campaign started. See below, the photo of him going to announce is candidacy.

More trouble than a pitbull

more here

In one joke doing the rounds, the Republican presidential candidate has been asking friends: what is the difference between Sarah Palin and a pitbull? The friendly canine eventually lets go, is the McCain punchline.

and apparently her shopping spree was not quite as originally reported.

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

ouch, this is getting ugly.

but do italian nuns approve?

Suddenly, it may be cool to be an American again

Obama

Bummer that Prop 8 looks like it will pass and that Stevens was re-elected (what are they thinking in Alaska?). Interesting that Franken still has a slim chance.

Largest turnout (in turns of numbers) ever, with 64% turnout... not bad.

I love the fact that Obama won this election in a non-divisive manner. He appealed to the better side and worked hard not to alienate people. Makes me think of the Dali Lama's approach to dealing with China, and I think it is the enlightened way to govern.

tracker

google election tracker

Governing people

people are a problem



on another note: the real loser of this election

and Krugman talks about that lump in the back of the GOP trunk: whatcha gunna do with all that rump?

E.L.I.T.E.

counting votes

While Bloggers Worry, Campaign Says GOP Suppression Efforts Are Failing

i worry.

Punk'd

turn down that noise!!