Joe the Plumber Disses McCain - "I wanted to get off the Bus!"

Now that the campaign is over I guess the "truth" can be told, eh Joe?

"Joe Wurzelbacher lashed out Tuesday at former GOP presidential nominee John McCain, the man who made Wurzelbacher famous as “Joe the Plumber.”

Wurzelbacher told conservative radio host Glenn Beck that he felt “dirty” after “being on the campaign trail and seeing some of the things that take place.”

Recalling a conversation he had with McCain about the $700 billion financial industry bailout in September, Wurzelbacher said: “When I was on the bus with him, I asked him a lot of questions about the bailout because most Americans did not want that to happen.”

“I asked him some pretty direct questions,” he continued. “Some of the answers you guys are gonna receive — they appalled me, absolutely. I was angry. In fact, I wanted to get off the bus after I talked to him.”

No doubt the media will have some fun with this. But Wurzelbacher is only reflecting what a lot of us conservatives felt. We all wanted to get off the bus. Hell we never wanted to get on it with McCain in the first place. But as Joe said, vs. Obama there was really no choice.

Internet Anonymity Being Challenged in Court

Via Network World:

"Be careful the next time you engage in an Internet flame war: it could land you in court.

The Maryland Court of Appeals is taking up a case this week that could have major implications for Internet users' ability to anonymously post their opinions on the Web. The case revolves around Zebulon Brodie, a Maryland businessman who is alleging that he has been defamed by anonymous Internet users who posted messages on a Web site owned by Independent Newspapers, a community newspaper company that owns local papers in Arizona, Delaware, Florida and Maryland.

Specifically, Brodie wants Independent Newspapers to disclose the names of three anonymous users whom he alleges defamed him by calling him a polluter.

According to a report in the Maryland Daily Record, an attorney representing Independent Newspapers argued in court Monday that the First Amendment grants citizens the right to make anonymous controversial comments and that compelling hosts to disclose the identities of anonymous posters would have "a chilling effect" on free speech."

This case is worth watching for a number of reasons. Specifically for bloggers but especially for commenters who use anonymous names to post comments that sometimes border defamation and slander. Bloggers have to be especially careful because no matter what they are responsible for the content of what's on their blog.

It's one of the reasons I have such a strict moderation policy and occasionally have to delete a comment.

The Question is: What did Barack Obama Know and When Did He Know It?

The arrest of Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich for corruption. Jake Tapper at ABC News writes:

"Obviously like the rest of the people of Illinois I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the US attorney's office today," said President-elect Obama this afternoon in Chicago, speaking of the criminal complaint against Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich for corruption. "But as this is a ongoing investigation involving the governor I don't think it would be appropriate for me to comment on the issue at this time."

Asked what contact he'd had with the governor's office about his replacement in the Senate, President-elect Obama today said "I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening."

But on November 23, 2008, his senior adviser David Axelrod appeared on Fox News Chicago and said something quite different.

While insisting that the President-elect had not expressed a favorite to replace him, and his inclination was to avoid being a "kingmaker," Axelrod said, "I know he's talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them."

Here's the video:



After Tapper's first report he updated to reflect the usual denials from the Obama camp, "Axelrod misspoke", yada, yada. But the video is very clear and Axelrod was very definite. So either Axlerod lied - not misspoke or there is a coverup underway.

Ben Smith of the Politico asks:

"The statement (of Axelrod) doesn't answer a question that I've asked, so far fruitlessly, of the transition, which is when Obama and Blagojevich last spoke on any subject, and what about."

One thing is for sure. Fitizgerald isn't stopping with just Blagojevich's trying to sell a Senate seat, otherwise there would be no need for the Grand Jury in the case to seek records on the Rezko/Obama real estate deal.

I think Mike's America at Flopping Aces has it right that a Special Prosecutor should be appointed at this point.

BREAKING: Feds take Gov. Blagojevich into custody ***UPDATE: Drudge announcing Grand Jury Subpoenas Issued on Rezko/Obama Land Deal**Fitzgerald Press

Awaiting confirmation:

"Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges.

Blagojevich and Harris were accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy that included Blagojevich conspiring to sell or trade the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife. The governor was also accused of obtaining campaign contributions in exchange for other official actions.

Blagojevich was taken into federal custody at his North Side home this morning.

A Blagojevich spokesman said he was unaware of the development. "Haven't heard anything -- you are first to call," Lucio Guerrero said in an e-mail.

The stunning, early morning visit by authorities to the governor's North Side home came amid revelations that federal investigators had recorded the governor with the cooperation of a longtime confidant and had begun to focus on the possibility that the process of choosing a Senate successor to President-elect Barack Obama could be tainted by pay-to-play politics.

Blagojevich was taken into custody hours after the Tribune reported that the investigation into allegations of pay-to-play politics within his administration had been expanded to include his pending choice of a Senate replacement for Obama. The Democratic governor has said he expects to make a decision on the state's next senator in weeks.

Stay tuned on this one, because as you might know, Blagojevich is tied to the hip with Tony Rezko who has been swawking it up with the feds.

Question, who's next?

Can we dream?

UPDATE: Holy Cow, this thing is exploding. Drudge Report has blaring headline: GRAND JURY SUBPOENAS ISSUED ON REZKO/OBAMA LAND DEAL.

Doug Ross covered the Obama/Rezko FBI probe earlier this month.

Via this news release from November 4th from the GOP:

"A former Illinois real estate specialist says FBI agents have questioned him about a Chicago property that had been bought by convicted felon Tony Rezko's wife and later sold to the couple's next-door neighbor, Sen. Barack Obama.

The real estate specialist, Kenneth J. Conner, said bank officials replaced an appraisal review he prepared on the property and FBI agents were investigating in late 2007 whether the Rezko-Obama deal was proper.

"Agents and I talked about payoff, bribe, kickback for a long time, though it took them only a short number of minutes of talking with me while looking at the appraisal to acknowledge what they already seemed to know: The Rezko lot was grossly overvalued," Mr. Conner told The Washington Times Monday.

"Rezko paid the asking price on the same day Obama paid $300,000 less than the asking price to the same seller for his adjacent mansion," he said. "This begs the question of payoff, bribe, kickback."
In a wrongful-termination complaint filed last month in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Mr. Conner said his appraisal of the Rezko property, held in Rita Malki Rezko's name, was replaced with a higher one and he was fired when he questioned the document.

Mr. Conner, a former real estate and commercial credit analyst at Mutual Bank Corp. in Chicago, noted in the complaint that the bank received a grand jury subpoena in October 2006 requiring it to produce information concerning Mrs. Rezko's purchase, including the bank's files on the property. ..."

Since good ole Patrick Fitzgerald is the proescutor on this the Blagojevich case, and now it's coming home to roost on Rezko and Obama dealings could this really be Fitzmus after all?

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Fitzgerald presser:



Additionally Hot Air has the scoop of who gave Blago up.

UPDATE: Gee trying to sell a Senate seat get's you a $4500 bail?

Get Your Wii On!

If you've been hankering to get a Wii, or get one for the kids so that you can play with it, Monday's your day. Just head to Wal-Mart's website:

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii has emerged as one of the few hot products this holiday season, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc will offer "tens of thousands" of the hard-to-get video game consoles on its website starting on Monday.

Walmart.com said it will offer the Nintendo Wii console for $249.24, and a "value bundle," which includes the console and other items like an extra set of controllers, for $329, while supplies last.

The Wii has emerged as one of the most sought-after gifts this holiday season, which has otherwise been lamented for a lack of new and hot products.

On Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving which marks the start of holiday shopping, the Wii was the most searched-for product on the Yahoo Shopping site. It was also the most popular product on eBay, with 3,171 of the consoles selling for an average price of $349 that day.

As of Friday night, the Wii console was sold out on Walmart.com, bestbuy.com and circuitcity.com. Bestbuy.com listed the sold-out Wii for $249.99."

For Pearl Harbor, Your Service, for Everything, Thanks Dad

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." - Franklin D. Roosevelt's Speech, December 8th, 1941.

My father, who died in 2004, was at Scofield Barracks, on that Sunday Morning. He was a 19 year old Supply Sergeant in the 25th Infantry Division:

A little history of his unit and their exploits during and after Pearl Harbor:

"On 7 December 1941 the 24th and 25th Divisions had the distinction of being the first U.S. Army divisions to see combat in WWII when they returned the fire of Japanese aircraft strafing Schofield Barracks. After the attack the 25th Division quickly moved to defensive positions to protect Honolulu and Pearl Harbor against a possible Japanese invasion.

In November 1942 the Division underwent intensive jungle and amphibious warfare training and sailed for Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands to relieve the 1st Marine Division. The 25th operating as part of the XIV Corps commenced offensive operations against the Japanese on 7 January 1943. In less than a month and against a determined enemy who offered fierce resistance the 25th Division wiped out the Japanese dug in on Mount Austin and conducted an envelopment through the jungle to cut off retreating Japanese forces. The speed in which the Division accomplished these missions earned it the nickname "Tropic Lightning". For its valor on Mount Austin the 35th Infantry Regiment was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.

Dad would go on to serve through the Korean conflict, but the point is that because they served, the Japanese were defeated in 1945 along with the Germans before them. All because a nation stood up to tyranny, not because they backed down and allowed it to flourish. My father would say that one thing he never heard - except from the enemy - was "Surrender".

"Damn that! We never surrender, we're Americans!, We don't quit".

Thanks Dad for your sacrifice. Thank you for my life. On this day and every day I salute you my comrade, as I salute all the brave men and women who served then, and serve now. Thank you - "Keep up the Fight - Never Surrender - NEVER!"

I miss you!

William "Dollar Bill" Jefferson Loses Re-election

Well now!

"CNN) -- Nine-term Democratic Rep. William Jefferson, who has been battling scandals and a federal indictment for the past three years, appears to have lost his bid for re-election.

Republican challenger Anh "Joseph" Cao, an attorney and community organizer, has defeated Jefferson in the 2nd Congressional district race, according to The Associated Press.

With 79 percent of precincts reporting, Cao had 52.9 percent of the vote to Jefferson's 43.2 percent.

Louisiana's 4th District race with Democrat Paul Carmouche and Republican John Fleming is a virtual dead heat with each garnering 48 percent of the vote with 100 percent of precincts reporting.

Both men are vying to replace retiring 10-term Republican Rep. Jim McCrery, a top-ranking Republican on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

Elections in the districts were delayed after Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana in September, setting up what should be the last two federal contests of 2008 on Saturday. Both races had two other contenders who drew a small percentage of votes.

Jefferson has pleaded not guilty to 16 criminal counts of racketeering, bribery, money laundering and obstruction of justice. He denies any wrongdoing.

In 2005, Jefferson's private homes in Washington and New Orleans were raided, and FBI agents say they found $90,000 in cash stashed in one of his freezers.

Officials say the money was part of a payment in marked bills from an FBI informant in a transaction captured on videotape. Jefferson also is accused of soliciting and receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes for himself and his family in exchange for promoting their products and services to countries in Africa."

Jefferson's attorney's have succeeded in getting his trial delayed until Jan at the earliest. Meanwhile it appears the voters did what the Democratic leadership failed to do ever since Jefferson was indicted.

Kick him to to the curb.

Obama's Plan for the Economy - Out of Touch

The Politico covers Obama's plan for economic growth.

"Obama had committed just before Thanksgiving to saving or creating 2.5 million jobs in the next two years, more than twice his campaign promise of 1 million new jobs over an unspecified period. But he didn’t say how he would do it. On Saturday, he began to spell it out, offering "five key parts" of his economic plan:

—ENERGY: “[W]e will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs. That won’t just save you, the American taxpayer, billions of dollars each year. It will put people back to work.”


—ROADS AND BRIDGES: “[W]e will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s. We’ll invest your precious tax dollars in new and smarter ways, and we’ll set a simple rule – use it or lose it. If a state doesn’t act quickly to invest in roads and bridges in their communities, they’ll lose the money.”

—SCHOOLS: “[M]y economic recovery plan will launch the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings that this country has ever seen. We will repair broken schools, make them energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms. Because to help our children compete in a 21st century economy, we need to send them to 21st century schools.”

—BROADBAND: “As we renew our schools and highways, we’ll also renew our information superhighway. It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they’ll get that chance when I’m president – because that’s how we’ll strengthen America’s competitiveness in the world.”

(Incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had talked about expanding broadband access, but this is the first time the transition has formally proposed it.)

—ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS: “In addition to connecting our libraries and schools to the Internet, we must also ensure that our hospitals are connected to each other through the Internet. That is why the economic recovery plan I’m proposing will help modernize our health care system – and that won’t just save jobs, it will save lives. We will make sure that every doctor’s office and hospital in this country is using cutting edge technology and electronic medical records so that we can cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help save billions of dollars each year.”

If this is the "Big Plan" that Obama supporters have been waiting for it must be anticlimatic. After all rehashing 50-year old government "get to work" plans simply won't work in today's economy.

In the 50 years since Ike build the nation's interstate system, the task of building roads has become boondoggle of red tape, delays and budget overruns. Take a look at the last time you noticed a highway contruction project in your area and you'll see why.

The people who drive the heavy equipment all the way to those who clear the trenches are all union employees by and large and as such are paid good salaries. Yet at a time when the government is going into hock giving away cash to failed banks and car companies the last thing they can do is begin a construction company.

Bill Ayers is still a terrorist

He really wants you to like him.

"IN the recently concluded presidential race, I was unwillingly thrust upon the stage and asked to play a role in a profoundly dishonest drama. I refused, and here’s why.

Unable to challenge the content of Barack Obama’s campaign, his opponents invented a narrative about a young politician who emerged from nowhere, a man of charm, intelligence and skill, but with an exotic background and a strange name. The refrain was a question: “What do we really know about this man?”

Secondary characters in the narrative included an African-American preacher with a fiery style, a Palestinian scholar and an “unrepentant domestic terrorist.” Linking the candidate with these supposedly shadowy characters, and ferreting out every imagined secret tie and dark affiliation, became big news.

I was cast in the “unrepentant terrorist” role; I felt at times like the enemy projected onto a large screen in the “Two Minutes Hate” scene from George Orwell’s “1984,” when the faithful gathered in a frenzy of fear and loathing.

With the mainstream news media and the blogosphere caught in the pre-election excitement, I saw no viable path to a rational discussion. Rather than step clumsily into the sound-bite culture, I turned away whenever the microphones were thrust into my face. I sat it out.

Now that the election is over, I want to say as plainly as I can that the character invented to serve this drama wasn’t me, not even close. Here are the facts:

I never killed or injured anyone. I did join the civil rights movement in the mid-1960s, and later resisted the draft and was arrested in nonviolent demonstrations. I became a full-time antiwar organizer for Students for a Democratic Society. In 1970, I co-founded the Weather Underground, an organization that was created after an accidental explosion that claimed the lives of three of our comrades in Greenwich Village. The Weather Underground went on to take responsibility for placing several small bombs in empty offices — the ones at the Pentagon and the United States Capitol were the most notorious — as an illegal and unpopular war consumed the nation.

The Weather Underground crossed lines of legality, of propriety and perhaps even of common sense. Our effectiveness can be — and still is being — debated. We did carry out symbolic acts of extreme vandalism directed at monuments to war and racism, and the attacks on property, never on people, were meant to respect human life and convey outrage and determination to end the Vietnam war."

Bathtub water. Let's go back to that little accident in Greenwich Village via Wiki:

"The Greenwich Village townhouse explosion was the premature detonation of a bomb as it was being assembled by members of the American "urban guerilla" organization, Weatherman (later rechristened the Weather Underground), in the basement of a townhouse at 18 West 11th Street in New York City's Greenwich Village. The three persons nearest the bomb were killed, two others in the house were slightly injured, and the four story townhouse was reduced to rubble and caught fire. d Shortly before noon on Friday, March 6, 1970, people in the townhouse were assembling anti-personnel weapons armed with roofing nails and packed with dynamite. Years later, former members of the organization who had not been at the scene advanced differing (but not incompatible) claims as to the plans for use of the bombs. Thus, according to Mark Rudd, the plan was to set them off that evening at a dance for noncommissioned officers at the Fort Dix, New Jersey Army base. According to a detractor, "former members" have reported that some of the bombs were destined for the Fort Dix dance and others for Butler Library at Columbia University."

In spite of Ayers skipping over this point, it's also of note that he was one of the primary planners of the attack. Thus in some circles of law and justice he would not only reponsible for attempted murder, but culpable in the deaths of his comrades.

In any case whether "youthful exuberance" or not, Ayers is not only an unrepentant terrorist, but he's also a murderer.

Lin Farely, who had an association with the group Ayers founded recounted this from Timothy Noah of Slate wrote in 2001 of Ayers and the Underground.

“The weather underground was full of rich kids who thought they knew best. Who wanted to kill in order to stop killing. To many on the left they were heroes, I thought they were jackals. And William Ayers exemplified the worst when on 9/11, 2001, in an interview for his book ” Fugitive” he said in the NY times:

‘I don’t regret setting bombs; I feel we didn’t do enough.’

…Much of what Ayers self-interestedly leaves out of his book is more personally embarrassing than illegal. Ayers takes care not to dwell on his own Establishment credentials. (His father was chairman of the energy company Commonwealth Edison, a fact Ayers conveys only by writing, “My dad worked for Edison.”) Ayers omits any discussion of his famous 1970 statement, “Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, kill your parents, that’s where it’s really at.” He also omits any discussion of his wife Bernardine Dohrn’s famous reaction to the Manson killings, as conveyed by journalist Peter Collier: “Dig it. First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, then they even shoved a fork into a victim’s stomach! Wild!” (In a 1993 Chicago Magazine profile, Dohrn claimed, implausibly, that she’d been trying to convey that “Americans love to read about violence.”) Nor does he address fellow radical Jane Alpert’s charge that Ayers was “notorious for his callous treatment and abandonment of Diana Oughton before her death and for his generally fickle and high-handed treatment of women” (though Ayers does manage to get across the message, to those few who haven’t heard it, that the late 1960s and early 1970s were a golden age for getting laid).”