Politics Blog

This is such a bizarre story I really don’t know what to say:

The British investigation into the death of the former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, widened on Friday as Mario Scaramella, a contact of Livtinenko’s, tested positive for the poison polonium 210.

“We are confirming that one further person who was in direct contact with Mr Litvinenko has been found to have a significant quantity of polonium 210 in their body. This is being investigated further in hospital,” a spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said. The agency declined to confirm that man was Mr Scaramella.

Mr Scaramella is not thought to be suffering the same symptoms that Litvinenko underwent. The Italian academic met the former spy at a sushi restaurant on the day he was poisoned.

Certainly a life imitates art sort of story.

— The Ace

The party of ethics in action:

Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) is under investigation by the FBI. And he’s set to assume a top post which would put him in control of the FBI’s budget. Neat trick, eh?

The FBI’s probing Mollohan for possible violations of the law arising from his sprawling network of favors and money which connects him to good friends via questionable charities, alarmingly successful real estate ventures, and hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarked funds.

The investigation appears to be active and ongoing. We’re told that the Feds continue to gather information on the guy. Yet the Democrats look poised to make Mollohan the chairman of the panel which controls the purse strings for the entire Justice Department – including the FBI.

Related story that I find comical a reporter could actually write, “Reid says ethics reform, minimum wage and stem cell research head the agenda“

Again, anyone who voted for a Democrat in the past election is nothing but a patsy.

— The Ace

I do as she’s just another John Edwards like member of the plaintiff’s bar throwing up suits hoping they stick:

A judge on Wednesday dismissed 12 lawsuits in a headline-making case brought by Erin Brockovich-Ellis’ law firm against Beverly Hills and its school district, alleging that an oil well at Beverly Hills High School caused cancers in former students.

There was a great deal of media coverage about that, including a 60 minutes scare piece painting this woman as a protector of not only the environment but your children ! too.

Seems like a trend:

LOS ANGELES A federal judge has thrown out five federal lawsuits that celebrity legal crusader Erin Brockovich filed against hospital and nursing corporations she claimed had overbilled the government’s Medicare health insurance program

If we truly had a fair tort system in this country, this woman would be bankrupt having to reimburse the government and these companies for their legal fees. This woman is to the legal field what Osama Obama is to the Presidency.

— The Ace

Last week, I posted on comments that Congressman Tom Tancredo made regarding President Bush and his desire to see a North American Union created with Mexico and Canada: Tancredo Rips Bush, North American Union:

“People have to understand what we’re talking about here. The president of the United States is an internationalist,” said Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. “He is going to do what he can to create a place where the idea of America is just that – it’s an idea. It’s not an actual place defined by borders. I mean this is where this guy is really going.”

Tancredo lashed out at the White House’s lack of action in securing U.S. borders, and said efforts to merge the U.S. with both Mexico and Canada is not a fantasy.

“I know this is dramatic – or maybe somebody would say overly dramatic – but I’m telling you, that everything I see leads me to believe that this whole idea of the North American Union, it’s not something that just is written about by right-wing fringe kooks. It is something in the head of the president of the United States, the president of Mexico, I think the prime minister of Canada buys into it. …

It seems that John Hawkins over at RightWingNews called over to Tancredo’s HQ to comment on the story:

Today, I picked up the phone and buzzed Carlos Espinosa, Tanc’s media guy on the Hill and asked him about this story. He said that Tancredo’s comments were taken out of context and he specifically said that Tom Tancredo does not believe in the North American Union conspiracy. Carlos then added that Tancredo does believe that eventually, at some point in the future, that we might end up in some sort of European Union like arrangement with Canada and Mexico, but that he doesn’t think Bush is working on that. Carlos said that Tancredo, “believes Bush wants to open up the borders, but he doesn’t believe he wants to combine the US, Canada, and Mexico and create a unified currency.”

In other words, Tancredo does think Bush is an internationalist and he doesn’t think that he’s serious about controlling the borders, but Tom Tancredo is not a proponent of the North American Union conspiracy.

Hard to put aside Tancredo’s original comments quoted above, was Tanc’s media guy doing damage control for his boss or was Carlos giving John his own take on the article ?

— ‘The Commish’ A.J. Sparxx

I just read “Retailers post soft November sales gains” and I thought when the Democrats were elected, roses would be blooming.

Should Republicans steal the Democrat play book?

— Oak Leaf

I know someone that will be real happy when the 78,379 drops to 78,378:

At any given time, services may mobilize some units and individuals while demobilizing others, making it possible for these figures to either increase or decrease. Total number currently on active duty in support of the partial mobilization for the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 78,379; Navy Reserve, 4,991; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 5,725; Marine Corps Reserve, 7,006; and the Coast Guard Reserve, 363. This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel, who have been mobilized, to 96,464, including both units and individual augmentees.

It will be a real Merry Christmas.

— Oak Leaf

God Bless them and their families:

Spc. Christopher E. Mason, 32, of Mobile, Ala., died Nov. 28 in Bayji, Iraq, of injuries suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire while on patrol. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Sgt. Jeannette T. Dunn, 44, of Bronx, N.Y., died Nov. 26 in Taji, Iraq, of injuries suffered from a non-combat related injury. She was assigned to the 15th Sustainment Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
____
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Nov. 28 in Logar, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations. Both soldiers were assigned to the 230th Military Police Company, 95th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Michael A. Shank, 31 of Bonham, Texas.

Spc. Jeffrey G. Roberson, 22, of Phelan, Calif.

— Oak Leaf

Unless you follow Michigan Economics/Politics, you might not have realized that Ford Motor has pledged all of its assets, in order to gain an $18 billion cash infusion:

On Wednesday, two days after Ford said it had arranged to raise $18 billion in loans and credit lines, the automaker revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it expected to consume $17 billion in cash over the next three years – roughly half of which would be burned next year alone.

This is actually “good news” in that we will finally get closure one way or another. In three years, there will either be a healthier Ford Motor or there will be a new Ford Motor owned by the creditors.

If there is a new Ford Motor, a replacement Corporation that takes over the old entity’s assets, it will have jettisoned the retiree health care promises that they never funded (taxpayers are not responsible) and the pension plan they underfunded (taxpayers are responsible). Also, some members of the Ford Family, though still wealthy, will be far from hyper rich.

Either way, GM will not be far behind. They will have to jettison their unfunded liabilities, one way or another, to compete with a new Ford Motor.

This is indeed bold and it is good for Michigan as it does provide closure.

— Oak Leaf

Arlen Specter wants Congress to have oversight over NSA operations:

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who has criticized the Bush White House’s secrecy about national security issues, said he would welcome detailed congressional oversight of the National Security Agency’s warrantless eavesdropping.

I think Arlen Specter should offer up a deal. Once members of Congress have real security clearances, instead of “hand shake clearances,” they can do all the oversight they want:

Meanwhile, members of congress are not subject to any type of background check. They are merely asked to promise not to reveal any of the nation’s secrets. That’s it. According to a seasoned professional, Winslow Wheeler, with 31 years experience on Capitol Hill, members of Congress are granted security clearance simply by being elected. Winslow worked for the Senate Budget Committee for six years as a security official. He recently published a book about Congress and national security.

Surely Arlen could agree to that? Or is Congress above the people?

— Oak Leaf