The Hollywood Liberal

Sarah Palin = frontrunner
Now that the 2008 Presidential election is over, it’s time for two new topics.  Who will be the first pundit to officially declare who is the Republican frontrunner and second:  who should be the recipient of that accolade.   Since Kurt Godel of the Institute for Advanced Studies has passed away, someone else will have to step […]

Obama Will Resign Senate Seat on Sunday
President-elect Barack Obama said he will step down from his U.S. Senate seat effective this Sunday, the Chicago Tribune reports.

“Aides to Obama already had said he would not be returning to Washington to vote on Senate matters this fall, in advance of his being sworn in as the nation’s 44th president Jan. 20.”

Earlier: Obama successor expected around Christmas.

Late Late Nite FDL: Rasta Salad
Toots & The Matals “54-46 Was My Number”

Toots & The Maytals “54-46 Was My Number”

What’s on your mind tonight?

Wall Street’s Bailout is a Trillion-Dollar Crime Scene — Why Aren’t the Dems Doing Something About It?
Washington’s handling of the bailout is not merely incompetent. It may well be illegal.

Blackwater To Be Fined Amid Allegations Over Shrink-Wrapped Weapons
Blackwater USA, the State Department’s largest personal security contractor in Iraq, is set to be hit with a multi-million dollar fine for shipping automatic weapons to that country without the necessary permits, reports McClatchy. Some of the weapons are believed…

Citizens of the World
Offending phrase highlighted … And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for…

‘Obabies’ abound in US
‘Obabies’ abound in US

ThinkFast: November 13, 2008
President Bush may continue to block inquiries into his administration after he leaves office. “The Bush administration overstepped in its exertion of executive privilege, and may very well try to continue to shield information from the American people after it leaves office,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). The Bush administration has so far committed $290 […]

President Bush may continue to block inquiries into his administration after he leaves office. “The Bush administration overstepped in its exertion of executive privilege, and may very well try to continue to shield information from the American people after it leaves office,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

The Bush administration has so far committed $290 billion of the $700 billion financial bailout package. However, “no formal action has been taken to fill the independent oversight posts established by Congress when it approved the bailout to prevent corruption and government waste. Nor has the first monitoring report required by lawmakers been completed, though the initial deadline has passed.”

The office of President-elect Barack Obama announced that it will send two emissaries to meet unofficially with delegations at the G-20 summit. Former Republican Congressman Jim Leach and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will “meet with and listen to our friends and allies” on Obama’s behalf, said Obama senior foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough.

Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Dick Cheney will meet today at the “vice president’s residence on the sprawling Naval Observatory grounds in northwest Washington.” The Observatory would be Biden’s first home in DC; he has commuted from Delaware throughout the course of his Senate career.

Biden has reportedly asked Ron Klain to be his chief of staff. Klain served as Vice President Gore’s chief of staff during the Clinton administration and previously worked for Biden when he was Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman. Klain was played by the actor Kevin Spacey in the HBO movie “Recount.” More ?

Telecom Warily Waits on ‘Wired’ President
President-elect Barack Obama famously made the Web a pillar of his campaign, so it is not surprising that the man called the nation’s first “wired” president has championed the idea of an open Internet.

A Promising Start for Obama
WASHINGTON — So far, so good. The first week of Barack Obama’s transition to the presidency has gone about as well as anyone could imagine. His few public appearances have been gaffe-free and the initial decisions in setting up his administration have been strongly reassuring. One area where there were legitimate questions about the president-elect concerned his ability to organize, direct and motivate his administration. Nothing in his prior life in Illinois or Washington had required or tested those skills. His campaign — a model of efficiency and innovation — certainly augured well. But there is a world of difference between running for the White House and leading the country — as witness the stumbles of every newly elected president since Ronald Reagan.

Soundbites the Least of Bush’s Mistakes
WASHINGTON — Was it something he said? It was nothing President George W. Bush did — no decision he made, no policy he pursued, no faith that he placed in ideological dogma on topics that range from regulating industries to acknowledging global climate change to responding to the terrorist threat — that he finds regrettable. Over the course of eight tumultuous years, Bush told a cable network, “I regret saying some things I shouldn’t have said.”