HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

It's the start of the new calendar year, the start of a new Presidential administration (well on the 20th actually), and of course the start of the first business quarter.  We got in some disturbing, ok that's putting it mildly, some crappy manufacturing news from the gang at ISM.  The steel industry, in hopes of restoring some business, initiates a new campaign. Arizona & Michigan are starting a green jobs plans. All this, but first...

So my local gym switched (at least for now) to CNN.  So I get to see the first ten minutes or so of Campbell Brown's "No Bias, No Bull."

Just before she comes on, the tail end of Lou Dobbs' show features an online poll in which 82% think the bailout and stimulus packages "will bankrupt the country."

Then the two ledes from Campbell's show are the Burris mess and "damage control" on Leon Panetta's appointment as CIA chief.
So, here we go again.  I really think the Washington media is going to be unforgiving on Obama.

Is Campbell Brown pro-GOP?  I know she covered the Bush campaign in 2000 for the NBC networks.  Anybody have any clues and thoughts?

No matter what your opinion on the auto bailout, one lasting image of that fight was Mitch McConnell, and his fellow facist neo-con flock "informing" Americans how we are too fat and sassy because we strive to create, and sustain a viable middle-class. Yes, the same group that supports bailing out the bankers, and for outrageous CEO pay that milks the very companies they run were telling us that the real problem were the greedy American workers, who god forbid want fair wages and some kind of benefits for their efforts.

Today, as the violence continues, people are calling for a ceasefire, including the US, France, and the UN. I want an end to the violence too, for the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the rest of the world. Ahmadinejad is just waiting for his chance to "wipe Israel off the map," by aiding the Islamic radical terrorists called HAMAS, who claim to be a "resistance movement" of sorts. The problem with HAMAS's little existence, I mean resistance is that it is not aimed at achieving peace, but waging war. If one looks at their charter, one will read

   "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."

   "The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. "

   "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."

   "After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying."

By now, most of you have probably seen reports that Obama has approached Sanjay Gupta, CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent to become the next Surgeon General .

Anyway, I say it's about time. Not having an Indian in most top visible positions for so long is like having no NCAA teams with black coaches. I used to watch ER with incredulity that it took so long to find a single freaking Indian cast member.

President-elect Barack Obama has approached CNN's chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, to be the country's next surgeon general, the cable news network said Tuesday. CNN said it has kept Gupta from reporting on health care policy and other matters involving the incoming Obama administration since learning he was under consideration for the post.

A Democrat with knowledge of the discussions over the surgeon general spot cautioned that there was not yet a final decision on who would fill the post. The person spoke on a condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the matter.

For a lighthearted look, here is an Instyle magazine look at his wedding .

here his statement:

Jeb Bush: "After thoughtful consideration, I've decided not to run for the United States Senate in 2010. "While the opportunity to serve my state and country during these turbulent and dynamic times is compelling, now is not the right time to return to elected office.

Im still not wanting Sink to run. I want her to stay, and run for Governor in 2012!

I want Kendrick Meek to run!

Quote of the Day (Political Wire)
"Obama's team are the best linguists I've ever seen. Republicans aren't in his league right now." -- Frank Luntz, author of Words that Work, in an interview with Politico.
Frank Luntz is the man who espouses the juxtaposition of phrases that don't belong together, to make people believe that they belong together, without telling outright lies.  He's responsible, for example, for Republicans saying "Saddam Hussein" and "9/11" in the same sentence, to make Americans think Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, when he clearly was not.--Caro

The Radical Fringe

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Also at Daily Kos and OpenLeft

Dawn Johnsen, whom Obama is appointing to head up the Office of Legal Counsel, John Yoo's old haunt, is author of an issue brief: "All the President's Lawyers:  How to Avoid Another "Torture Opinion" Debacle" and an article on guidelines for the President's legal advisors.

Dawn Johnsen: The Role of the OLC and DOJ (At The American Constitution Society)

She spoke at an October 2007 event on principles to guide the Department of Justice. Below are excerpts from that panel discussion.

Dawn Johnsen discusses the role of the Office of Legal Counsel.