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POPSDurbin Supports Burris Ethics Probe (Burris was 60th vote for Stimulus Bill)
The Illinois Democrat says he wants to be fair and review all of the documents, transcripts and statements involved. Tom Elia questions the timing: Now that it looks almost certain that Illinois Sen. Roland Burris lied under oath about his contacts with impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (and had that perjury covered up by another Chicago Dem for over one week while the vote occurred), one has to wonder why President Obama reversed his position, and put out the word for the US Senate to approve Burris under the dubious Blagojevich-related circumstances. Well, besides the embarrassing circumstances of his former Senate seat being up for sale to highest bidder being in the news, there is the matter of the passage of Obama’s stimulus package in the Senate. Sen. Burris was the 60th vote on the stimulus bill with Sen. Kennedy ailing and not able to vote himself. I wonder if anyone in the press will follow up on this?
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POPSGet Ready for Detroit-Style Labor Relations in our Hospitals The current House version of ObamaCare (H.R. 3200) goes much further. Section 225(A) grants Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius tremendous discretionary authority to regulate health-care workers "under the public health insurance option." Monopoly bargaining and compulsory union dues may quickly become a required standard resulting in potentially hundreds of thousands of doctors and nurses across the country being forced into unions. Ms. Sebelius will be taking her marching orders from the numerous union officials who are guaranteed seats on the various federal panels (such as the personal care panel mentioned above) charged with recommending health-care policies. Big Labor will play a central role in directing federal health-care policy affecting hundreds of thousands of doctors, surgeons and nurses. Consider Kaiser Permanente, the giant, managed-care organization that has since 1997 proudly touted its labor-management "partnership"
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POPSRead the Union Health-Care Label There's more. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus has suggested that the federal government could pay for health-care reform by taxing American workers' existing health-care benefits—but he would exempt union-negotiated health-care plans. Under Mr. Baucus's scheme, the government could impose costs of up to $20,000 per employee on nonunion businesses already struggling to afford health care plans. Mr. Baucus's proposal would give union officials another tool to pressure employers into turning over their employees to Big Labor. Rather than provide the lavish benefits required by Obamacare, employers could allow a union to come in and negotiate less costly benefits than would otherwise be required. Such plans could be continuously exempted. ObamaCare is a Trojan Horse for more forced unionization.
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POPSDemocrat Corruption On A Roll Scandals involving the Obama Administration include prominent cabinet picks, some confirmed and others who withdrew amid intense public scrutiny of their wrongdoings. Former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle dropped his bid to be Health Secretary after being exposed for failing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in taxes over the years and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson dropped out as Commerce Secretary amid a grand jury investigation into his out-of-state political donors getting a lucrative state contract. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was confirmed even though he knowingly hired an illegal immigrant and failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in taxes on his lucrative salary. The nation’s new Deputy Defense Secretary (William Lynn) was a major defense industry lobbyist before becoming the Pentagon’s second-in-command, a violation of Obama’s “strict ethics rules” banning lobbyists from his administration.
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POPS Guide To Obama Kitsch which may change over time. What makes this Guide "Official"? The same thing that made the The Official Guide to Blagojevich Blogs Official (Hint: The same thing that makes people think the Franklin Mint is related to the U.S. Mint, even though the commercial says it's not.) Since we are not trying to sell products, a link to a blog with a photo of the product is preferred. Please post suggested links as Comments, or e-mail me at contact/at/legalinsurrection/dot/com (if you can't figure out what to change in the address, I'm not sure I want your input). This list is a work in progress and will be updated frequently, so come back soon (there will be a left column link button to take you to this post). To view "The Official Guide To Obama Kitsch" http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/2009/03/official-guide-to-obama-kitsch.html
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POPSThe Web of Language But in 2004 the FCC started going after stations not just for repeated obscenity, but also for any single off-hand f-word, for example when Cher said of her critics during a Billboard Music Awards show, “So f*** ‘em,” or when Bono said during the Golden Globes, “This is really, really, f***ing brilliant.” Cable is not covered by the rule, nor are FBI wiretaps, so when Illinois ex-Gov. Blagojevich called his power to sell Pres. Obama’s vacated senate seat “f***ing golden,” his use of an expletive wasn’t illegal, though that proved to be the least of the indicted governor's problems.
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POPSBlagojevich INDICTED on federal corruption charges Blagojevich, 52, and others are accused of illegally pressuring an Illinois congressman for help in raising funds and lying when FBI agents came to question him. His publicist, Glenn Selig, said a statement would be issued shortly. Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on a criminal complaint, and U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald had faced a Tuesday deadline to supplant it with an indictment from a federal grand jury. The Democrat's arrest meant curtains for his political career: The Illinois House impeached him Jan. 9, and the Senate convicted him and removed him from office Jan. 29. Others charged in the indictment include the former governor's brother, Robert Blagojevich, one-time chief fundraiser Christopher G. Kelly, former aide Lon Monk, Springfield lobbyist-millionaire William F. Cellini and former chief of staff John Harris.
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POPS Obama Rewards Palin Muckraker Sarah is still America’s top rated woman politician, and even The One would not be forgiven for being a modern day Nixon in this case.
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POPSOOOOH! I Forgetted God only knows that there's absolutely no way to correct this situation - well, maybe some kind of election where the will of the people comes into play - but that might go against the Democrats so its not allowed.
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POPSRepublicans Demand That Burris Resign From Senate We know that Obama rebuffed Blago’s attempts to get some quid pro quo, but by denying Blago the Obama people admit that they knew Blago was trying to sell the Senate seat. There has been nothing released to date to indicate that Obama and/or his people contacted federal authorities to report Blago’s illegal and unethical behavior, so is the Obama administration not just as guilty as Burris in essnetially being complicit in Blago’s crimes? Of course, but don’t expect Obama to take some responsibility. Or even be taken to task by the fawning press corps that follows him about.
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POPSNow Can We Have Our Senate Election prior to Dec. 26, when he met with a Blagojevich attorney. In his new affidavit, he said he actually had spoken with three of the former governor’s close associates. Here’s another question for Reid, second-in-command Sen. Dick Durbin and other Democratic big shots: Are you going to sit there and take this? Will you expel Burris for darkening your door? Will you investigate it, or slip it under the rug? Just how wrong was the story that Burris told these guys? During Burris’ Jan. 8 testimony before the Illinois House impeachment committee, Burris admitted that he had expressed an interest in the Senate seat to Blagojevich’s former chief of staff Lon Monk. Asked pointedly at the hearing if he had met with Blagojevich’s brother, Robert, about the seat, Burris denied it. Now comes Burris with the admission that, oh yeah, Robert Blagojevich had phoned him three times, as early as October before Barack Obama was even elected president, about fund-raising.
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POPSGroundhog Day Update - The Real Story Back in Pennsylvania, Phil refused all questions from the media but did attempt to chew off Keith Olbermann's face, to the delight of the crowd. "Sure and that's what happened to Helen Thomas as well" claimed an anonymous citizen.
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POPS Governor Blagojevich Joins Jobless Ranks Today 6:15 p.m. Posted by Rex Huppke...Blagojevich to people: 'haven't let you down' Gov. Rod Blagojevich offered a short speech outside his Northwest Side home. “I love the people of Illinois today now more than I ever did before,” he said. “And the fight goes on.” “I’m going to keep fighting to clear my name,” he said. “I guess I’ll just have to wait for my day in court.” “Give me a chance so I can show you I haven’t let you down.” Blagojevich said he was "disappointed but not at all surprised" by the Senate’s decision to remove him from office.
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POPSGov. Rod Blagojevich Appeals To Illinois Senate We are a nation that just months ago voted against the politics of the past and in favor of transparency and change. Blagojevich's cynicism about what it takes to run campaigns and win elections is not only disheartening, but also antiquated. Times are changing, Blago, get with the program.
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POPSObama's Week of Brilliant Stunts Thwarting a Chicago race hustle, dining with conservatives, and resisting cries to try Dubya and Cheney for war crimes—Barack Obama's dazzling week.
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POPS A New Circus Comes to Town Washington's Marion Barry being jailed while elected, Quixotic Bill Clinton unfazed by the Rush Limbaugh windmill and riding off into the sunset with fair Dulcinea Lewinsky unceremoniously dumped from the saddle. And, of course, there's Obama's Toddling Town, the Windy City of Richard and Richie Daley with its "corruption that works." Am I the only person who experienced an unexpected surge of warm fellow-feeling for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when Hillary was named secretary of state? I wouldn't wish dealing with her on my worst enemy, who'd be Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I think about the next four years of Hillary's dutiful efforts at global peacemaking, and I hear a chorus of voices echoing around the world--from Israelis and Palestinians, Iraqis and al Qaeda, Taliban and NATO troops, Pakistanis and Indians, Sri Lankans and Tamil Tigers, Georgians and South Ossetians, Colombian soldiers and FARC guerrillas, Hutus and Tutsis, Congolese rebels and other Congolese rebels--all saying,
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