What is "Happy"'s real motivation ?

Make no mistake about it. Sen. Reid is not against the prospect of a Sen. Burris because he wasn't elected. Not at all. He stands against a Sen. Burris because, and solely because the naming of Mr. Burris to fill the vacant seat of Former Senator Obama was not done by the guy he wants to do it !

The Washington Post had this on December 10

Dear Governor Blagojevich:

We write to insist that you step down as Governor of Illinois and under no circumstance make an appointment to fill the vacant Illinois Senate seat. In light of your arrest yesterday on alleged federal corruption charges related to that Senate seat, any appointment by you would raise serious questions.

It is within the authority of the Illinois legislature to remove your power to make this appointment by providing for a special election. But a decision by you to resign or to step aside under Article V of the Illinois Constitution would be the most expeditious way for a new Senator to be chosen and seated in a manner that would earn the confidence of the people of Illinois and all Americans.

The country will have more confidence in a selection by someone I like better than you, than if there were to be an election.

How VERY Progressive.

Could it be that the Senate seat is not only no longer for sale, but, instead, already sold ?

How VERY Progressive, indeed.

Blago exercizes his Constitutional duty to name a Senator !

A slight interruption of Christmas recess is truly warranted by the story of Gov. Blago naming Roland W. Burris to the vacant U.S. Senate seat previously held by President-to-be Obama.

Harry Reid and all 50 seated Democrat Senators, including Illinois' own Dickie Durbin, have stated that The United States Senate will refuse to seat any Senator so named by the embattled and accused, but not yet indicted, Governor. Ole "Happy" has even reiterated that statement.

Jesse White, the IL Secretary of State, has chimed in to use a technicality of The Senate rules to stop all of this. And they say that Blago is grabbing at power !

Those may turn out to be words that put "Happy" and Dickie Durbin, and any other Democrats that are even paying attention, in a not-so-happy place. Mr. Burris may be the cleanest IL pol that Blago ever heard of. I am quite certain he had to look long and hard to find one that many in this State ever heard of.

Mr. Burris has previously held Constitutional Office in IL. Serving as Comptroller for about a dozen years '79-'91, and as Attorney General for 5 more '91-'95. He has also run against the ingrained Chicago machine, running for Mayor v's. Richard M. Daley in primary contest of '95 and against the Illinois Combine running for US Senator in '84 and Governor in the primary contests of '94, '98 and '02.

Not exactly embraced by the establishment in IL.

I readily admit that I do not know everything about Mr. Burris. For instance, I do not know if he knows any Annenbergs, or if there is someone who lives in his block that does, et c., but I do know that he is respected by those he has served. He has however been a regular and generous contributor to fellow Democrat campaigns, including Blago. Listen for more claims of pay-to-play.

So, now, do we get to watch them all refuse to seat a qualified candidate ? A Democrat ? Do we get to watch them place that seat in play for the Republicans ?

Or, do we get to watch them all eat their words and bow to the man they finally were forced to admit was as shady as Illinoisans knew he was; though little cared.

Either way we get to see that Progressive rhetoric is knee-jerk. Very far removed from reality and consequences.

Thank you Gov. Blago. You really keep making this better and better.

I only wonder about two things.

Why would anyone take the chance of taint of character ?
AND
Once again, I call to you Jack Ryan, where are you ?

Please come back !

Merry Christmas to all

and to all a good night

I just have to ask

Another day, another batch of reports on Caylee Anthony's disturbing story.

Which raised a lot of questions. With all of these stories I have never seen or heard about the parent of Caylee that wasn't photographed in dance clubs in the time between her disappearance and the reporting of her disappearance.

This time the stories are about tapes of 911 calls made by a concerned citizen when he discovered what we now know were Caylee's remains.

The Orange County Police were unable to find anything where he reported until he had called not once, not twice, but three times. The third call was made after he was told to go there and call again !

This evidence was a half mile away from the Anthony home. A half mile. How does such a large body of evidence only a half mile away from what is ostensibly a crime scene go without the police seeing it even though they were told where to look ?

Is there more ?

But, I digress.

Who is Caylee's Dad?
Does Casey know who Caylee's Dad is ?
Where is Caylee's Dad ?
Why hasn't Casey named Caylee's Dad ?
Did Casey hide the pregnancy from him ?
Does Casey not know who he is ?
Why hasn't he been mentioned ?
Why hasn't he been sought out for his opinions ?

Without these questions being answered, all that may be surmised is, either he never knew about Caylee, or worse still, never cared, and still doesn't. But, I think if he could be named, Casey Anthony would have no problem in continuing her shameful acts by naming him and bringing pain to his doorstep.

I think they peaked at the report before it was released

The Obama team has released their report on the amount of contact between the Obama camp and Gov. Blago. It was pretty much what they had assured all of us it would be. They had no untoward contacts with the Gov. in regards to the former Senate seat of the President-to-be.

It has been re-stated that Emanuel had made one or two calls to Gov. Blago in which they had talked about the seat and who should be named. We were told, yet again, that Mr. Emanuel had made to offers of anything at all to Gov. Blago in return for naming anyone in particular.

We were not told:

Why Mr. Emanuel named Valerie Jarrett before he was given the list of recommended people from Obama;

Why President-to-be Obama was unavailable for comment;

Why Mr Emanuel was unavailable for comment;

Why Vice-President-to-be Joe Biden was the announcer of news that he had no part in and therefore no possible way of discussing;

Why wouldn't a Democrat President-to-be and a Democrat Governor from a Democrat State discuss and agree on the next Senator ?

Why the Obama camp can release any report on themselves and their activity with the only record of times, dates and activities was staff memories; not any phone records whatsoever, and believe that it is sufficient;

Why the Obama camp can release any report on themselves and their activities and believe that it is sufficient;

Would any such report have ever been accepted as anything short of lies had it been done in the six weeks prior to President Bush inauguration, about any of his teams conduct ?

And it is not just me wondering how it could be that Obama and Blago did not discuss such an important issue.

From Politico
To the extent that the report succeeds in its goal of establishing the distance between Obama and Blagojevich, it necessarily raises the question: Why was the president-elect and leader of the Democratic party playing no role in a key appointment to national office being made in his home state, and by a Democratic governor?

Can we get these guys to look into the truth here ?

There is a bigger stink being raised by regular media over a basketball stars age than the natural-born citizenship of a U.S. President-to-be.

The troubled party in this case is SI's Chinese language publication. The tipping point was a school record. A middle school record of Yi Jianlian's registration could lead to his teams' record being nullified during his time on it.

Here in America we cannot even look at the school records of the President-to-be. Or his health records. And there is no way we will ever be allowed to see a embossed sealed authorized copy of the Birth Certificate showing in no uncertain terms that Barack Hussein Obama was indeed born (in Hawai'i, or elsewhere) to United States citizen-parents.

That is what Natural-Born Citizen means.

Better leave that sort of investigative integrity to SI's Beijing bureau.

Nets’ Yi Jianlian targeted in age investigation

The Congress that does not look like America

Remember when candidate Clinton promised America that his cabinet would look like America ? Remember how he appointed a host of underqualified people just to keep that promise ?

It would seem that the LATimes would like something very similar in the halls of Congress. This time not just looks. So, some things are too PC, even for the left.

No, this time the concern is the over-representation of admitted followers of Judeo-Christian faiths. Yep. Too many Jews and Christians. But, not just that, oh no.

WAY too many Jews and Catholics and (egads!)
Mormons – oh, my !

Catholics, Jews, Mormons overrepresented in Congress, study finds

If only there weren't so many of them, the left would get even more destructive policies through even faster.

I wonder how "Happy" Harry Reid feels about the attacks on his Church.
He has either been very silent, or he has said things that won't satisfy the editorial boards-anywhere. Where are you "Happy" ? Speak up.

Is Fitzgerald using a minnow to catch a tuna and then maybe a whale ?

Hugh Hewitt brought up a question about how soon Blago, or any accused, will have access to the evidence against him; and the answer, as simple as any viewer of Law and Order can attest is - as soon as he is indicted.

Let that sink in.

Blago and his lawyers will get to hear all of what is on those tapes as soon as an indictment is handed down. But, no one else will. Unless they are released by Blago. Or there is another indictment.

Follow me ?

Rahm Emanuel is on those tapes, or so it has been reported. Rahm Emanuel has been almost invisible since this information has been put forward. Obama has ceased to answer any questions about specific involvement since then as well. We do not yet know who else might be on those tapes.

Why do you suppose he has been so silent ? Because he cannot say something that is a lie. See Martha Stewart/Scooter Libby. Better yet, he cannot tell the truth. Lest he make some members of the new administration look bad.

We may yet see just how much Obama squeaks after coming out of the IL political cesspool.

This keeps getting better and better

Thoughts while enjoying a drive through the Midwest's latest Global Warming

Not too bad, Al Gore.
You are 1 for 2 on some pretty big things.
But, this whole Global Warming thing just isn't catching fire quite that the other big thing you were on the ground floor on.
After all, no one, and I mean no one can overlook your foresight on that internet thing; now, that really caught on BIG.
But, I am afraid you missed it with this one. Oh, there are some big voices calling out how big this is gonna be. Kinda like when Sony had the better VCR plan with their ßetamax; but that never caught on either.

Another thing that didn't seem to catch on is the whole digital TV thing. Would there really need to be PSA's informing people that they will need a converter for their analog receivers to receive digital signals if those digital TV's were in great demand ?
Even after a Government mandate forced broadcasters to spend money to broadcast in a signal that their customers didn't really want yet. Come to think about it, shouldn't the need for digital TV's have brought about a large push in employment if there was a demand for digital receivers ?

I also heard Gov. Blago intersperse his words of eloquence today with some Kipling. So, I guess we now know for sure that he not only swears, he kiples.

Finally, thanks to Mark Levin, I was able to hear this gem from
H.L. Mencken: (here it is safely kept at Lew Rockwell.com)

PREAMBLE

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish social justice, draw the fangs of privilege, effect the redistribution of property, remove the burden of liberty from ourselves and our posterity, and insure the continuance of the New Deal, do ordain and establish this Constitution.

ARTICLE I

The Executive

All governmental power of whatever sort shall be vested in a President of the United States. He shall hold office during a series of terms of four years each, and shall take the following oath: “I do solemnly swear that I will (in so far as I deem it feasible and convenient) faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will (to the best of my recollection and in the light of experiment and second thought) carry out the pledges made by me during my campaign for election (or such of them as I may select).”

The President shall be commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy, and of the militia, Boy Scouts, C.I.O., People’s Front, and other armed forces of the nation.

The President shall have the power: To lay and collect taxes, and to expend the income of the United States in such manner as he may deem to be to their or his advantage;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States, and to provide for its repayment on such terms as he may fix;

To regulate all commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and within them; to license all persons engaged or proposing to engage in business; to regulate their affairs; to limit their profits by proclamation from time to time; and to fix wages, prices and hours of work;

To coin money, regulate the content and value thereof, and of foreign coin, and to amend or repudiate any contract requiring the payment by the United States, or by any private person, of coin of a given weight or fineness;

To repeal or amend, in his discretion, any so-called natural law, including Gresham’s law, the law of diminishing returns, and the law of gravitation.

The President shall be assisted by a Cabinet of eight or more persons, whose duties shall be to make speeches whenever so instructed and to expend the public funds in such manner as to guarantee the President’s continuance in office.

The President may establish such executive agencies as he deems necessary, and clothe them with such powers as he sees fit. No person shall be a member to any such bureau who has had any practical experience of the matters he is appointed to deal with.

One of the members of the Cabinet shall be an Attorney General. It shall be his duty to provide legal opinions certifying to the constitutionality of all measures undertaken by the President, and to gather evidence of the senility of judges.

ARTICLE II

The Legislature

The legislature of the United States shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives. Every bill shall be prepared under the direction of the President, and transmitted to the two Houses at his order by their presiding officers. No member shall propose any amendment to a bill without permission in writing from the President or one of his authorized agents. In case any member shall doubt the wisdom of a bill he may apply to the President for light upon it, and thereafter he shall be counted as voting aye. In all cases a majority of members shall be counted as voting aye.

Both Houses may appoint special committees to investigate the business practices, political views, and private lives of any persons known to be inimical to the President; and such committees shall publish at public cost any evidence discovered that appears to be damaging to the persons investigated.

Members of both Houses shall be agents of the President in the distribution of public offices, federal appropriations, and other gratuities in their several states, and shall be rewarded in ratio to their fidelity to his ideals and commands.

ARTICLE III

The Judiciary

The judges of the Supreme Court and of all inferior courts shall be appointed by the President, and shall hold their offices until he determines by proclamation that they have become senile. The number of judges appointed to the Supreme Court shall be prescribed by the President, and may be changed at his discretion. All decisions of the Supreme Court shall be unanimous.

The jurisdiction and powers of all courts shall he determined by the President. No act that he has approved shall be declared unconstitutional by any court.

ARTICLE IV

Bill of Rights

There shall be complete freedom of speech and of the press – subject to such regulations as the President or his agents may from time to time promulgate.

The freedom of communication by radio shall not be abridged; but the President and such persons as he may designate shall have the first call on the time of all stations.

In disputes between capital and labor, all the arbitrators shall be representatives of labor.

Every person whose annual income fans below a minimum to be fixed by the President shall receive from the public funds an amount sufficient to bring it up to that minimum.

No labor union shall be incorporated and no officer or member thereof shall be accountable for loss of life or damage to person or property during a strike.

All powers not delegated herein to the President are reserved to him, to be used at his discretion.

Seventy-One years later it still seems as if was written today.

Good thing Blago got all of this out of the way

NY Governor Paterson does not have to worry about saying he wants a little something-something to come his way before he appoints the Senator to replace outgoing Senator Clinton.

If there is something that a Caroline Kennedy can bring to the Gov.'s coffers it is a good filling come time for him to really be elected Gov.

Everyone knows that is her major qualification. This is The U.S. not The U.K.; names do not matter. There is no harm in her being a Kennedy, though. It is easier to sell the reason is her name than it is to talk about her having a terrific rolodex.

Action Notice: Liberal Blogger Mugged

From Conservatism Today
Thanks Scott

Chicago politics - coming to a State near you

Or is it already there ?

The Washington Post has this

A federal grand jury is investigating whether a financial firm improperly won more than $1.4 million in work for the state of New Mexico shortly after making contributions to political action committees of Gov. Bill Richardson (D).

There is so much more to this than at first blush. Obama has surrounded himself with this type of pol for so long that he doesn't even notice it anymore. But, this is change.

In the past several years of The Bush administration there have been allegations of such things. In Iraq. And now, about the George W. Bush Presidential Library. In nearly eight years.

We aren't even to the inauguration of The One and we already have the chief of staff and the Sec.Com. having cookie jars with their lids slightly ajar.

Change is gonna come

Who is thinking of these things ?

The next Secretary of Education is to be – drum roll, please –
Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan

The man who did such a great job with the Chicago school system that the Obamas sent their daughters to a private school !

Is this stuff for real ?!?!?!?

A very good reason for Arne Duncan as the next Sec.Ed. is he enjoyed playing pickup basketball as well as touring schools with Obama and is also an Harvard alumnus.

Wouldn't a wiser choice be New York schools chancellor Joel Klein, who wants teachers and schools held accountable for the performance of students. Oh, wait, he wants teachers and schools held accountable for the performance of students. That would be against the grain of coddling BIG Unions.
Or , "Joel Klein is not someone we would be happy with as secretary of education," NEA lobbyist Joel Packer said.

But, nothing comes close to the strong support of the other BIG Union as does this small statement; "Arne Duncan actually reaches out and tries to do things in a collaborative way," said Randi Weingarten, head of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers.


Way to soft sell that he will strengthen your Unions stranglehold on the "testing-technology complex".

Thank you Schools Matter
and District 299: The Chicago Schools Blog

The Obamedia missed this one

Can you believe that this hasn't been covered in The States ?

From the Herald Sun in Australia

BARACK Obama's chief of staff is under pressure over reported contacts with Illinois's corruption-tainted governor, who faces impeachment proceedings this week.

From the U.K. Times

THE bullish, foul-mouthed but effective Chicago arm-twister Rahm Emanuel has come under pressure to resign as Barack Obama’s chief of staff after it was revealed that he had been captured on court-approved wire-taps discussing the names of candidates for Obama’s Senate seat.

That was just the opening paragraphs of each story. Has there been anything even that expository anywhere, even in one of the middle to end paragraphs from the Obamedia ?

They must be feverishly working on it !

It can't be just because Mr. Emanuel is a Chicago pol. The combine is powerful, but is it that powerful ? Is it powerful to get one of their own elected by keeping all of his past associations under wraps ? Oh, never mind.

Who else on the transition team, which is working on the same block as Governor Blago is, also had attachments to the combine ? The same group that had no contact with the Governor.

Thanks to The Patriot Room

Help Our State

Where is Jack Ryan ?

But more importantly, will he wish to come to the aid of the very people that let him down so badly !?!?!?!?!?

The Governor is "unfit to serve", except this one time

The Illinois State Legislature is drafting a bill that would remove the power of filling vacant U.S. Senate seats from the official duties of the Governor.

As in all State governments, and in the Federal government, any such bill having been adopted by the legislature, it is then sent for the signature of the Executive.

One little difference here in Illinois–here the Atty. Gen'l. has petitioned the State Supreme Court to fund the Governor "unfit to serve". If the Court takes up the matter, and finds for the petitioner, then any and all of the actions of the Governor, from the time of the petition's filing, would then be either seemingly, or legally, null and void.

So, does the State Legislature, a very large group of lawyers indeed, not agree with the State's lawyer ? Are they in essence saying that the Governor is not only fit but still capable of serving the State ?

This stuff can not be made up. No one would ever believe this if it were a movie. Not even a made-for-TV.

Is This An Example of the Change that is Coming ?

The Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, has filed a motion with the Illinois Supreme Court to have the Court determine that Governor Rod Blagojevich is "unfit to serve". A clause that is in The Illinois State Constitution that was written to mean a detriment due to a physical or mental state, such as a state of unconciousness or a finding of insanity, is now being twisted to include a charge of a crime.

Just where exactly is Due Process ?

Is this the type of Judicial over-reaching that is to be expected from now on ?

Change We Can All Be Afraid Of

I am not sure yet what to add to this story

U.S. now only 2 states away from rewriting Constitution

Change We Can Believe In

President-to-be Obama has indeed given some of us change we can believe in.

The Governor of Illinois is in Federal Custody following his arrest on charges of conspiracy to commit wirefraud, mailfraud and solicitation to accept a bribe.

With there being a 76-page affadavit accompanying the charges there is certainly going to be some change Illinoisans can believe in !

From Mike Robinson, AP

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiring to get financial benefits through his authority to appoint a U.S. senator to fill the vacancy left by Barack Obama's election as president.

Even though it is only the second week of Advent, it feels like Christmas morning at my home.

How wonderful it was that Mr. Obama left his Senate seat when he did, if only he had done it earlier.


Update
Governor Blago is released on a signature bond.

As I have watched the reactions to this story, one thing has surprised me.

How can anybody even remotely familiar with Illinois politics say with any conviction that there is shock.

East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks. "The governor has been a friend and to see this situation taking place for us is just absolutely shocking."

But, better still is what ABC News reports.

Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL), in his best impersonation of Captain Renault: I'm shocked, by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's arrest, adding "If these allegations are proved true, I am outraged by the appalling, pay-to-play schemes hatched at the highest levels of our state government".

This is the man many think is the best replacement for the Senate seat vacated by President-to-be Obama ?

Update
Now the President-to-be is joining in the calling for Blago's resignation.

This changes everything, for me. Now, I want to see "Hot Rod" stay on until all of the information comes to the fore.

Things might just get more interesting than anyone could imagine.

Stay Tuned.

Keeping Donors and Lobbyists at arms length

Yeah Right !

President-in-waiting Obama had promised during his long, long campaign to keep lobbyists at arms length. Now he is building his team. Let us look at who the AP has found he has chosen.

An Obama adviser on immigration issues, Maria Echaveste, lobbied for the United Farm Workers this year to protect immigrant agricultural workers as the Bush administration sought to ease hiring of seasonal farm labor and Congress debated an immigration overhaul. Echaveste, who worked in the White House and Labor Department under President Bill Clinton, assured Obama she will not weigh in on the farmworker visa issue that was her lobbying focus.

The former Agriculture Department official leading Obama's agricultural policy review, Bart Chilton, lobbied until last year as vice president of the National Farmers Union. It spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to press for farm subsidy programs, fighting the North American Free Trade Agreement and reducing taxes on farms and ranches.

A lawyer working on Indian issues for Obama, Keith Harper, has worked as a lawyer for Native American tribes, and wrote in a 2006 article that the Interior Department's handling of Indian trust matters has been a "national disgrace." Obama initially assigned Harper to be his lead adviser on the department, but now Harper is advising the campaign more narrowly on Indian gaming. Harper was registered to lobby on sovereignty issues for a tribe as recently as this year but did not personally lobby, transition aides and a tribe official said.

An Obama transition adviser for health and human services, Bill Corr, lobbied to prevent children from smoking as executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The group has spent $675,000 this year trying to influence policymakers. Corr has told Obama he will not offer advice on tobacco issues.

A transition advisory board member, Mark Gitenstein, was registered until August to lobby on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AT&T Inc. and financial firms such as Ernst & Young LLP and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. Gitenstein is working on transition management issues, not specific policies, but has agreed not to deal with topics on which he lobbied.

Overall, the people Obama is relying on to build his administration have represented unions; energy, environmental groups, insurance, and drug companies; Wal-Mart; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and the lobbying arm of the Washington-based Center for American Progress. The center is a think tank headed by John Podesta, former chief of staff to Bill Clinton and now co-chairman of Obama's transition.

Also prominent on Obama's new team are his big-money fundraisers. At least 18 of Obama's major financial backers are helping him create his administration. They collected at least $50,000 each from friends and associates to help pay for the most expensive presidential campaign in history.

A few raised at least $500,000 each. They include two former officials from the Federal Communications Commission: Donald Gips, a one-time aide to Vice President Al Gore who is co-chairman of Obama's teams reviewing government agencies; and Julius Genachowski, who was an executive at Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp, when the Internet giant owned Ticketmaster and Home Shopping Network. Genachowski is working on technology and government reform policy for the new administration.

A former Justice Department official advising Obama on the department, Thomas Perrelli, raised at least $500,000 for Obama. Perrelli is managing partner of a Washington law firm, Jenner & Block LLP. He lobbied pro bono in 2002 on behalf of victims of the 1998 Africa embassy bombings. His firm's law clients have included the mortgage company Fannie Mae, General Motors and the husband of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman at the center of a bitter right-to-die battle.

Perrelli, a copyright expert, has represented Hollywood studios and the music industry cracking down on Internet piracy — a lingering problem facing the department.

So, you see, it is really simple.
All you have to do is tell Obama that you will not give him advice on anything that you know about and all is well.

Either the people that voted for him want uninformed advisors for their guy, or they all expect those that didn't vote for him to really believe that the advisors will not be involved in any decision-making.

She is so disliked by the Republicans !

In what may be considered to be the first referendum on the Obama administration the voters of the State of Georgia have decided that they prefer to keep a self-professed Republican as one of their Senators.

In a very important race for both parties the Democrats brought in Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore.

The Republicans brought in Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani and the new closer - Governor Sarah Palin.

She is clearly the very thing that brought up the ticket in the Presidential race.

No McCain involvement and the Republican gets 57% of the vote.
Palin is there and it is a 14% margin of victory for the candidate she campaigned for.

McCain/Palin got only 52% and won by only 5%

Who was the drag on the Republican Presidential ticket ?

Maybe it is just me, but I do not believe it was Governor Palin.

A recession ? Really ?

Now that we have all seen the endless reporting on what the retail industry so poorly refers to as "Black Friday", and heard about how much better it was than was previously thought. Better even than last year. Now we are being told that we are in a recession that is already a year old.

From the time I was learning about the economic conditions and reactions to "The Great Depression" I have been told that the definition of a recession is "The contraction of national economy as seen in the negative growth of GDP in two consecutive quarters".

I have never been informed by any of my educators throughout my whole career as a student that a recession is called by political opinion. Yet, it was just that earlier today.

In the second Quarter of 2008 the GDP grew 2.8%. In the third quarter of 2008 the GDP grew -0.3%.

Since we do not yet have the numbers for the fourth quarter there are not yet two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.

Has there been a slowing of the economy that has been seen for at least a year ? Yes. Has there been a reduction of consumer spending that has been seen for at least a year ? Maybe.

Have there been two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth ? No. Not yet. There will be. When new guys have control of the numbers.

So, do not put too much stock in government numbers. See for yourself. If you are spending less and saving less because you have less, then no matter what anybody's numbers say it is a recession in your home

But there is reason to call something worse than it is. That way it is harder to look wrong. When it is better than expected, no-one remembers that you were wrong, and when it is that bad you seem prescient and become very popular. Kinda like a Liberal/Progressive. (even the ones with an R by their name)

Happy Thanksgiving

Once again we are getting ready to celebrate more goodness and bounty bestowed upon us than we deserve from such a great and gracious God.

This day has traditions that are from the New Englanders first celebrations; we are after all an English-speaking people. However the first community act of religion and thanksgiving in the first permanent [European] settlement in the land was not in the New England colonies, as we have no doubt all been told by our government educators.

"On September 8, 1565 Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and his 800 Spanish settlers founded the settlement of St. Augustine in La Florida, the landing party celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving, and, afterward, Menéndez laid out a meal to which he invited as guests the native Seloy tribe who occupied the site." - go read the rest of this short piece on history - The actual First Thanksgiving in America!