Where's The Fucking Money, Shithead?

787 BILLION DOLLARS is A LOT of money. That's way President Obama has set up http://recovery.gov/. On this website you can check out how your money is being spent. Make sure to check out the site and watch a video introduction by Obama himself. From the site:

Recovery.gov is a website that lets you, the taxpayer, figure out where the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going. There are going to be a few different ways to search for information. The money is being distributed by Federal agencies, and soon you'll be able to see where it's going -- to which states, to which congressional districts, even to which Federal contractors. As soon as we are able to, we'll display that information visually in maps, charts, and graphics.

The Action Americans Need

Today, The Washington Post published an editorial by President Barack Obama. Substituting "action" for "change," he calls for an end to the partisanship and failed, out-dated thinking that are holding back the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act from gaining more support in Congress. While it has already passed the House, with no Republican support, the bill is being discussed in the Senate now. Yesterday a bipartisan group of 19 governors including Charlie Crist (R-FL) wrote a letter to Obama in support of the bill, but Rush Limbaugh has made it his personal mission to see this bill fail having his supporters call their Senators. If you would like to help out in passing this bill, please call your senator and tell him/her why you need a better economy for both the short and long term health of America. Contact information for all U.S Senators can be found here.

Obamicon.Me

Like Shepard Fairey's iconic series of Barack Obama paintings? Maybe even have a bumper sticker or poster? Well, thanks to Paste Magazine, now you can turn yourself or one of your friends into a Shepard Fairey icon. Just head to http://obamicon.me/ and upload a photo, and you can turn it into a work of art. You can also check out other users' artwork on the site. Here are a couple of my creations:

Today is the Last Day!

Today is the last day to vote at http://change.org. If you have no idea what that means, see my previous post. The top 10 ideas will be presented to President-elect Obama tomorrow. You can vote for up to 10 different ideas. Here are the ones that I chose:

Appoint Secretary of Peace in Department of Peace and Non-Violence (2nd Place)
Free Single Payer Health Care (3rd Place)
Make the grid green in 10 years (5th Place)
Pass the DREAM Act - Support Higher Education for All Students (7th Place)
Forgive Student Loans: Stimulate the Middle and Lower Middle Class (11th Place)
Appoint a Special Prosecutor for the Crimes of the Bush Administration (14th Place)
End the Genocide in Darfur (16th Place)
US Leadership to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Globally (22nd Place)
Make FREE Trade FAIR Trade For Them AND for US (32nd Place)
Stop supporting Israeli apartheid!! (41st Place)

I believe marijuana legalization is number 1. While I agree it should be legalized, do we really think that is more important than ending the genocide in Darfur, preventing nukes from falling into the hands of the wrong people, or providing health care for everyone. I've endorsed "Appoint a Special Prosecutor for the Crimes of the Bush Administration" as the best choice. You can vote for it directly from this page by clicking on the vote button to the right. I also recommend voting for "Forgive Student Loans: Stimulate the Middle and Lower Middle Class" because that would help me immensely.

Also, check out http://Politifact.org 's Obameter. I'll have more on that later when I get a chance to check it out fully for myself.

Barack, Appoint a Special Prosecutor for the Crimes of the Bush Administration

I am endorsing a proposal on http://change.org/ that President Obama appoint a special prosecutor to bring members of the Bush Administration to trial, many of whom have admitted on television recently of their crimes. Here is the full text of the proposal:

President-elect Obama recently said, "if I found out that there were high
officials who knowingly, consciously broke existing laws, engaged in coverups of
those crimes with knowledge forefront, then I think a basic principle of our
Constitution is nobody above the law."

Attorney General-designate Eric Holder recently said top Bush
Administration officials "authorized the use of torture, approved of secret
electronic surveillance of American citizens, secretly detained American
citizens without due process of law, denied the Writ of Habeus Corpus to
hundreds of accused enemy combatants, and authorized the use of procedures that
both violate international law and the United States Constitution."

The Bush administration has refused to investigate its own crimes and
President Bush may issue blanket pardons before he leaves. President Obama must
appoint a Special Prosecutor - ideally Patrick Fitzgerald - to fully investigate
these crimes and prosecute those responsible to demonstrate that we are truly a
Nation of Laws and no one - including the President - is above the law.

I agree with President-elect Obama that we need to look forward instead of towards the past. That is exactly why this proposal is great. We are able to protect the constitution and the reputation of the highest office in the land without tying the President's hands. This special prosecutor will be solely dedicated to investigating these crimes while President Obama can be focused on putting this country on a new track towards a better future.

http://change.org/ is not affiliated with Obama's website http://change.gov/. It is a social networking site dedicated to bringing people together around certain causes. Currently they have open voting to pick the top ten ideas or causes, which will be presented to President Barack Obama and used as the groundwork for a national advocacy movement to turn them into national policy. You can vote directly through the widget on the sidebar to the right. Thanks!

Internet for Everyone!!!!!!!

Be sure to check out this webpage and sign the petition to get fast and affordable internet to everyone: http://internetforeveryone.org/

I support President-elect Barack Obama’s commitment that "every child in
America should have a chance to get online" and urge all elected leaders to make
2009 the year that we commit to a fast, affordable and open Internet for
everyone in America.

The Stupidest Man In The Room

Rod Blagojevich. Amazing hair. Less than amazing intellect.

I'm sure everyone has heard already about the Governor of Illinois' arrest and his love of the words "motherfucker" and "fucking." This man tried to sell Obama's former Senate seat (possibly to Jesse Jackson, Jr.) in addition to doing many other stupid things, like intimidating the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune. I wouldn't mess with a newspaper's editorial board, especially if I was in politics. And I certainly wouldn't talk about selling a Senate seat . . . on the phone . . . when I knew I was under investigation . . . and that the FBI would be listening to my phone calls.

Like President-Elect Obama and many others have already stated, I believe this guy should step down. But he won't. But he will eventually. He just wants to be a dick about it. God, he has beautiful hair.

What I don't get about this guy is that, yes, he could have benefitted from being able to appoint Obama's replacement. This is politics. Of course whoever you pick is going to owe you big time. A Senate seat is a big deal, a step towards the presidency, and that will be remembered. You could even be a little blatant about it probably, but you should expect the returns on this investment down the road. You can't look for something up front. This guy could have totally gotten away with being an immoral douchebag, but unfortunately he was a stupid-ass greedy immoral douchebag. So for that reason I say, "Rod Blagovanivichejevichneikoffneivich, sit your sorry white ass down."

By the way, I don't think J squared did anything wrong. Probably someone in his staff said that he would help Rod raise some campaign money down the road. Sure. Doesn't surprise me in politics, especially Chicago. But I seriously don't think it was with his expressed approval.

". . . motherfucker [the President-Elect] his senator. Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him."

A Senate seat "is a fucking valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."

Happy Weekend!!!!

Barack Obama on ABC tonight at 10pm

Tonight at 10pm, ABC is airing an interview with Barack and Michelle Obama conducted by Bawbwa Walters. Here's an early excerpt. This has to be one of the coolest things a president-elect has ever said:

OBAMA: . . . [O]ne of the things I hope my presidency helps to usher in is a, a return to an ethic of responsibility. That if you're placed in a position of power, then you've got responsibilities to your workers. You've got a responsibility to your community. Your share holders. That if -- there's got to be a point where you say, 'You know what, I have enough, and now I'm in this position of responsibility, let me make sure that I'm doing right by people, and, and acting in a way that is responsible.' And that's true, by the way, for members of congress, that's true for the president, that's true for cabinet members, that's true for parents. I want all of us to start thinking a little bit more, not just about what's good for me, but let's start thinking about what's good for our children, what's good for our country. The more we do that, the better off we're going to be.

And later on:

OBAMA: "One of the worst things I think that could happen to a president is losing touch with what people are going through day to day . . . I want to make sure that I keep my finger on the pulse of the struggles that people are going through every day."

I've been trying to remain cynical about Obama's presidency. We're facing some very tough times, and there are a lot of things that need to get done. A lot of promises are made on the campaign trail. I don't want to get too excited; I just want to wait and see. He ain't even President, yet. But these excerpts from this interview have got to get you all hot and bothered about the former junior senator from Illinois. When you don't hear things like this from politicians, you don't expect to. And when you do, how sweet it is! So, join me in getting all fired up, watch the interview tonight, and check out this great video that was forwarded to me (thanks, Mom). This video almost makes me want to like Coldplay.

Have You Met Skippy?

Does this guy look crazy? It's John Podesta, head of Obama's transition team. Apparently, he is. See this from the Washington Post:

Anyone who has worked for Podesta in the past decade knows Skippy, who first appeared during Podesta's eventful years as chief of staff in the Clinton White House. As scandal rocked the end of that presidency, staffers knew they had better come prepared to meetings. Otherwise, nurturing mentor John would be replaced by Skippy -- Podesta's quick-tempered, edgy and sarcastic alter ego.
"You haven't seen him in this meeting, have you?" the transition co-chairman for Barack Obama says with a laugh, noting that many a reporter has met Skippy.

Here is my original artist's rendering of what Skippy might look like: