First Door on the Left

And now you can also add this idiocy.

Twenty-eight days.
 

The Republicans in the Senate are so concerned that the factory workers who are members of the United Auto Workers might earn a decent wage that somehow this slipped beneath their radar…

AP study finds $1.6B went to bailed-out bank execs

Banks that are getting taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits last year, an Associated Press analysis reveals.

The rewards came even at banks where poor results last year foretold the economic crisis that sent them to Washington for a government rescue. Some trimmed their executive compensation due to lagging bank performance, but still forked over multimillion-dollar executive pay packages.

Benefits included cash bonuses, stock options, personal use of company jets and chauffeurs, home security, country club memberships and professional money management, the AP review of federal securities documents found.

The total amount given to nearly 600 executives would cover bailout costs for many of the 116 banks that have so far accepted tax dollars to boost their bottom lines…

The AP compiled total compensation based on annual reports that the banks file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 116 banks have so far received $188 billion in taxpayer help.

Click on the headline to read the entire article.

So… where’s the outrage? Don’t look for any from the Republicans. This, after all, is their base we are talking about here. It’s perfectly alright for our tax dollars to be spent on millions of dollars in salaries and bonuses for bank executives who are complete and utter failures at their jobs, but heavens forbid we spend a little to help save the job of someone who belongs to a union. Remember that in Republican lexicon, “union” is a four-letter word.

See also: “Wall Street still flying corporate jets.”
 

President-Elect Barack Obama’s weekly address to the nation. (He introduces his science and technology team.)

(HD video – watch in normal quality)

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President-Elect Barack Obama finished naming his Cabinet today. The Cabinet includes the vice president and the heads of 15 executive departments. Here are the Cabinet nominees, listed in order of presidential succession:

Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton
Secretary of the Treasury: Timothy Geithner
Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates
Attorney General: Eric Holder
Secretary of the Interior: Ken Salazar
Secretary of Agriculture: Tom Vilsack
Secretary of Commerce: Bill Richardson
Secretary of Labor: Hilda Solis
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Tom Daschle
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Shaun Donovan
Secretary of Transportation: Ray LaHood
Secretary of Energy: Steven Chu
Secretary of Education: Arne Duncan
Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Eric Shinsecki
Secretary of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano

Also of Cabinet level in the Obama administration:
Ambassador to the United Nations: Susan Rice

Each of these nominees must now be confirmed by the Senate after it convenes in January.
 

Illinois governor: ‘I have done nothing wrong’

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich vowed Friday to fight federal corruption charges and stay on the job despite calls for his resignation.

“I will fight, I will fight, I will fight until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong,” Blagojevich said in a brief news conference in Chicago. “I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing.”

The comments were the first public statements from the second-term governor since he was arrested on on federal corruption charges December 9.

Federal prosecutors have accused the governor of trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s former Senate seat.

Blagojevich said he was “dying” to show his innocence, but maintained he would reserve his comments for an appropriate forum.

“I’m not going to do what my accusers and political enemies have been doing, and that is talk about this case in 30-second sound bites on ‘Meet the Press’ or on the TV news,” he said. “I have on my side the most powerful ally there is, and it is the truth.”

(HD video – watch in normal quality)

You have to give the guy credit for one thing… he’s got chutzpa coming out of his ears. (Notice I said ears. This is a family blog, after all.)
 

As always, our thanks go to the talented and observant cartoonists who, each week, help us smile through the pain.
 

Are you still looking for that perfect last minute stocking stuffer for your die-hard right wing Republican friend? You can’t go wrong with the 2009 Sarah Palin calendar. It will serve as a constant reminder of one of the big reasons Republicans lost in 2008 (besides Johnny McCain’s duplicity, crankiness and blatant untruthfulness) and the silliness to which they can look forward in 2012. Click on the image below for more information and to place your order…

(Somehow, the picture in that graphic brings this rabid right wing weblog to mind.)
 

It seems that equal rights for all citizens of the United States has now been deemed a “social issue.”

Obama Defends Invocation by Conservative Pastor

President-elect Barack Obama this morning defended his choice of evangelical megapastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at next month’s swearing-in, saying that while he differs with the conservative pastor on social issues, he wants to have diverse voices at the ceremony.

“I am a fierce advocate of equality for gay and lesbian Americans. It is something that I have been consistent on and something that I intend to continue to be consistent on in my presidency,” Obama said at a morning news conference to announce several financial appointments. “What I’ve also said is that it is important for American to come together even though we may have disagreements on certain social issues.”

I have said repeatedly that there would be issues upon which Mr. Obama and I would not agree. This is definitely one. My sincere wish is that he would rescind the invitation to Mr. Warren to stand with him on the podium at the Inauguration. If we wants to meet with these bigots and hatemongers behind closed doors, that’s fine, but he does not need to parade them out for all to see and give them spotlights of honor at important and public events. (We also have disagreements with the KKK on “certain social issues.” Have they also been invited to participate in the Inauguration? Should their voice not also be heard?)

The platform of the Democratic party calls for equal rights and equal protection under the law for all United States citizens. Those with whom the President-Elect chooses to stand, particularly on the podium at an event as historic and important as his Inauguration, should share in that belief.

P.S. Note to President-Elect Obama: It’s okay to have a few Democratic white males in your administration. We’ll still give you points for diversity.

UPDATE: See “Obama’s Inaugural Mistake.” The thing is, though, that it is not just the gays who should be angry about this Warren thing. It should be every American. We have just endured eight years of rule by the religious right. See what it has gotten us? Now we are being told that those same people who led us into the mess in which we now find ourselves deserve a seat of honor at the table? I don’t think so, and neither should you.
 

This morning, President-Elect Obama named Colorado Senator Ken Salazar as his choice for Secretary of the Interior and Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack for Secretary of Agriculture.

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Time Magazine Person of the Year for 2008:

Click on the image to go to the article.