The end to this election saga means that Democrats will now have a 60-seat majority that should theoretically allow them to block filibusters and pass whatever kinds of crazy commie legislation they want. However, a key stumbling block to this new found electoral dominance is the fact that the Democratic caucus is a bunch of weenies.
Democrats will need all the votes they can get to pass the Waxmen-Markey bill, which is the country’s first set of laws trying to stem the tide of climate change. Tom Friedman has a great column today pointing out that, while the bill kind of stinks and it is absurd we couldn’t do better, it is critical that the Senate pass it and pass it quickly. If reading isn’t really your thing, his key points are that the U.S. government needs to do SOMETHING to prove it is serious about climate change and that this bill is better than nothing.
The President’s trip to Afghanistan and Iraq this weekend designed to highlight security improvements in the region only ended up highlighting the throwing arm of an Iraqi journalist, who threw both of his shoes at the President during a press conference. In the Arab world, throwing your shoes at someone is a serious insult. The sole of the shoe is considered dirty because you step in all kinds of mud and crap during the course of the day. Another facet of this is when you see members of Arab and Asian cultures taking off their shoes before they enter their home or a place of worship. When this story comes up at work, I suggest a joke about how quickly the President ducked, the odds of David Gregory doing the same thing next week or how the Yankees are looking to sign the journalist as a middle reliever for $161 million over 7 years. Be careful though, every office will have one wet blanket who will say that even though they don’t like the President they find it incredibly disrespectful.
Throw your shoes at them.
Blagojevich , Ponzi Schemes and Krugman after the jump.
What’s that? Oh nothing, just the President-elect’s first YOUTUBE VIDEO!! Though the weekly radio address has been a Presidential standard for years, Barack Obama has added a weekly Youtube address. Though it seems like this is a leap forward in Presidential accessibility, it is worth noting that comments on that video have been turned off. That is probably for the best, it really wouldn’t do to have some schmuck tell the President-elect “GEEZ KILL YO’SELF.”
Iraq’s cabinet on Sunday overwhelmingly approved a proposed security agreement that calls for a full withdrawal of American forces from the country by the end of 2011. The overwhelming nature of the vote bodes well for the agreements full vote in Parliament because it is likely all of the political parties will support it. So the war is over – maybe?
President-elect Obama and Senator John McCain are meeting today in Chicago to attempt a reconciliation after a bitter campaign. Here is an interesting debate to have in your office: What role will John McCain play in the upcoming years? Will he lead the Republican opposition and through his mastery of the ins and outs of the Senate change or kill President Obama’s proposals? Or, will he give a big F.U. to the Republican base and lead the moderate Republicans to compromise with the Democratic majority. I don’t know, but I feel like having to suck up to Joe the Plumber may have been the last straw.
Finally, a note of major concern to 2.0somethings, Total Request Live ended last night after a ten-year run as the anchor property of MTV. The show launched the careers of artists like Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync, Eminem and Christina Aguilera, so it would be easy to joke that the world would have been better off without it. But for a lot of people our age, TRL was was the first exposure we had to the communal experience that is pop culture. I am going to celebrate by heading over to MTVmusic.com and throwing on some videos of LFO, The Bare Naked Ladies, 98 degrees, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Sugar Ray or whoever, closing my eyes and for a brief second, pretending that I just got home from school.
Man, this election has had some ups and downs. Thank god we have been here, day after day, giving you a brief rundown of top stories and explaining the news of the day. Yup… every day…. no 3-month gaps here. No sir. Anyway, very glad to be back and looking forward to talking about the news with all of your again. Back to it!
The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times lead with election news. the Post leads with a new poll that shows Obama with a 7-point lead in VA. The poll largely credits voters belief that Obama is better-equipped to handle the economy. The LA Times has a story about the growing popularity of Californians voting by mail. Voting by mail greatly increases turnout though some feel that it makes voters more likely to make a mistake in voting. The New York Times leads with a preview of the states where the candidates will be campaigning and points out that both campaigns are focusing on traditionally Republican states. Though I have mocked it in the past, Bill Kristol’s column has become an invaluable preview of what the McCain campaign’s message will be. This week will be Commander in Chief week. Kinda like shark week but with more saluting.
USA Today leads with the news that the Pentagon will continue the policy know as “stop loss.” The program involuntarily extends soldiers’ tours of combat duty and is largely seen as a glaring symbol of how overstretched the military is. Bad news for soldiers, their families, an human decency, but it could mean a sequel for these guys.
The Syrian government has condemned attacks on a village on the border of Syria and Iraq. Iraq said the area targeted was used by militants to launch cross-border attacks in Iraq. The US has neither confirmed nor denied the incident.
Unless you live under a rock, you know that Senator Obama has been in Iraq for the past few days. Yesterday, after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pulled back on remarks he made over the weekend agreeing with Senator Obama’s plan for Iraq, his chief government spokesman released a statement saying that the Iraqi government supports a timetable to get US troops out of Iraq by 2010. If you check your box scores you will see that is essentially the same thing as Senator Obama’s plan.
My favorite development of the past few weeks was the rise of Texas oilman and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens as a major advocate for alternative energies and wind power. Wind power is great, but mostly I just like getting to say T. Boone Pickens. Today the New York Times offers a strong endorsement of his alternative energy plans.
To go along with that, the Los Angeles Times has a survey piece on the state of oil and whether we have found all there is to find. Some say that we have but others say that we have only found the easy oil and that there is plenty of oil but it will just be harder to access. My favorite statement about the idea of “Unconventional oil” is from Al Gore’s Rolling Stone interview: “you know, junkies find veins in their toes. It seems reasonable, to them, because they’ve lost sight of the rest of their lives.”
Today’s story you should read to feel like a well-informed citizen is on how the economic downturn is affecting women. Economists had thought that the decline in the percentage of women working was the result of women choosing to stay home, but studies are showing that the majority of women who have left their jobs have done it for the same reasons men have. Namely, they have been laid off while their job was moved to Kuala Lumpur. The whole piece is worth a read and has some great graphics.
The Minnesota Supreme Court yesterday declared Al Franken the winner of the state’s hotly contested 2008 U.S. Senate race. It has been eight months since the November elections and both sides have been locked in legal battles while the state has gone without a second Senator. Republican Norm Coleman officially conceded the election and Franken will be sworn in next week. For those keeping track, Norm Coleman has now lost elections to this guy and this guy.
