Democrats Quickly Pivot to 2012, SEIU-Obama Aide Moves to DNC

Patrick Gaspard

From redstate.com -Having written about the SEIU’s other man in the White House, Patrick Gaspard, on numerous occasions, this news comes as no surprise. Following the November election, the Democrats are moving quickly to ensure that a repeat “shellacking” doesn’t happen in 2012. In so doing, the DNC is tapping Gaspard, the former political director of New York’s powerful SEIU 1199, to go help the DNC prepare the Democrats’ strategy. Via the Blaze: In another major shakeup signaling the Obama camp is preparing to launch the president’s reelection campaign, Democratic National Committee DNC chairman Tim Kaine announced Thursday that executive director Jennifer O’Malley Dillon will leave the party to serve as deputy campaign manager, and White House political director Patrick Gaspard will move in to replace her at the DNC.  More here

Democrats Quickly Pivot to 2012, SEIU-Obama Aide Moves to DNC

Finding The Right Priorities In The Money Wars

Michael and Conrad

Michael Swickard - Consider the manual typewriter. This fine technology did not need electricity to function and was “portable.” Newsrooms were full of the clatter of the typewriters when I was just starting in the news business. Some newspaper workers talked about getting to work on the “clackers” because of the sound that surrounded them. These seemingly old men all smoked, cursed, had a bottle of stimulant they consulted regularly in their desk drawer, and were at times cranky while pounding out stories on deadline. When I broke into newspapers (while still in high school) I started as a photographer and back-up typesetter on an old hot-type system. I think I could still set type, even though the last time I did Lyndon Johnson was president. I was thinking of this technology in the midst of the current budget debates in Santa Fe about what is needed and what is merely wanted. I suspect in the coming weeks the debate will be about how much money, at a minimum, it takes to run the state of New Mexico. When I talk about the “old days” with manual typewriters there may be a temptation to ask, why did we replace the manual typewriter? Simply, it was nothing compared to a computer. On a manual typewriter you had to listen for a bell to know when to hit the return and type on the next line. Typewriters were slow but very dependable. You rolled the paper into it, sometimes putting two pieces of paper with a carbon layer. No, the carbon used did not cause global warming then or now. Mistakes were quite a problem so the advice was not to make typing mistakes. Yeah, sure.

Compared to the computers I use today to research and type my column, my old typewriter is ever so very primitive. My mother bought this old Underwood Typewriter I have in 1940 and it still works today, but I find myself only mildly amused looking at it. At one time I could not do without it, but now it is more a decoration than anything else. Read rest of column here:

Finding The Right Priorities In The Money Wars

State of the Union Speech: A Call For More Spending

Pulaski Note: More spending on education, infrastructure, renewable energy and research sounds very similar to the failed stimulus. From wsj.com -President Barack Obama will call for new government spending on infrastructure, education and research in his State of the Union address Tuesday, sharpening his response to Republicans in Congress who are demanding deep budget cuts, people familiar with the speech said. Mr. Obama will argue that the U.S., even while trying to reduce its budget deficit, must make targeted investments to foster job growth and boost U.S. competitiveness in the world economy. The new spending could include initiatives aimed at building the renewable-energy sector—which received billions of dollars in stimulus funding—and rebuilding roads to improve transportation, people familiar with the matter said. Money to restructure the No Child Left Behind law's testing mandates and institute more competitive grants also could be included. While proposing new spending, Mr. Obama also will lay out significant budget cuts elsewhere, people familiar with the plans say, though they will likely fall short of what Republican lawmakers have requested.  More here

State of the Union Speech: A Call For More Spending

Left Wing Climate of Hate and Assasination

Casey Brezik

From americanthinker.com -Successful propaganda is composed of equal parts deception and suppression, and the apparatchiks in the mainstream media are much better at the latter. They may have erred in pushing the Arizona assassination attempt beyond its ideological limits last week, but they succeeded brilliantly a few months earlier in suppressing news of a nearly lethal attempt by a genuine leftist. In September 2010 Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was scheduled to speak at Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City. At some point, wearing black clothes and a bullet-proof vest, 22 year-old Casey Brezik bolted out of a classroom, knife in hand, and slashed the throat of a dean. As he would later admit, he confused the dean with Nixon. The story never left Kansas City. It is not hard to understand why. Knives lack the political sex appeal of guns, and even Keith Olbermann would have had a hard time turning Brezik into a Tea Partier. More here

Left Wing Climate of Hate and Assasination

Noam Chomsky: The Republican Takeover of Congress Is “Death Knell of the Species”

From the dailycaller.com -MIT professor of linguistics Noam Chomsky warned the end is near. In an interview with the Nation magazine and On The Earth Productions earlier this month, Chomsky, known for his distinct left-of-center philosophy, commented on the emotion in the electorate.“There’s other factors like the anger, and the fear and hostility in the country about everything carries over to this,” Chomsky said. “So if you look at polls, everyone hates Congress. They hate the Democrats. They hate the Republicans even more. They hate big business. They hate banks and they distrust scientists. So why should we believe what these pointy-head elitist are telling? We don’t trust anything else. We don’t trust them.”He explained those feelings led to November’s election results, and would have serious repercussions for civilization. “All of this combines the latest election a couple of days ago,” he continued. “You could almost interpret it a kind of a death knell for the species. There was an article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, you know – not a radical rag exactly.  They’re running through the new Republicans coming to Congress and they’re worried about them.” Video here

Noam Chomsky: The Republican Takeover of Congress Is “Death Knell of the Species”

Grubesic: Advice for the Governor

John Grubesic

Capitol Report New Mexico - Motivation for writing was easier when I was in the Roundhouse. Ninety-five percent of the people in that building think that they are the most important people in New Mexico (myself included). Ninety-six percent of the people outside of that building would have a tough time naming who represents them in Santa Fe and 97 percent don’t care. Being in the building provided ample opportunity to observe and participate in the hijinks. Being an outsider, it is tough to stay interested, but this latest batch in the bin can still provide entertainment. What a week! We had the State of the State, the un-coup and the committee shuffle. Read full column here:

Grubesic: Advice for the Governor

Rail Runner Getting "New" Scrutiny

Santa Fe New Mexican - Could commuter train service become a thing of the past in New Mexico? Or might there be a different operating schedule — under a private company — now that Susana Martinez is governor? Martinez has said she's taking a hard look at the heavily subsidized and increasingly less-used trains. Some lawmakers set to gather today in Santa Fe also question whether the service is worth it. Before they shut down the trains between metropolitan Albuquerque and Santa Fe and sell the cars on eBay, however, leaders say they want more information about what could be done with the hefty investment the state has already made. "I don't think we can dump those (train cars) off without making an attempt to get the ridership up and the cost to the taxpayers down," said Rep. Larry Larrañaga, an Albuquerque Republican and former state transportation secretary. "I think the first attempt ought to be to see if we can find a better way to run this train." Larrañaga wants a study of what the train's true costs are, and ways the state might be able to improve services and cut costs. Martinez has said she is looking into the train's fares and schedule, among other things. Read full story here:

Rail Runner Getting "New" Scrutiny

Heath's Take on Cervantes Interview

Heath Haussamen

Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, says the “culture of corruption” in Santa Fe is real and has existed for decades. He says his unsuccessful attempt to become speaker was motivated by his desire to change the culture in Santa Fe. Cervantes’ comments about corruption, which came during an interview on the radio program News New Mexico, were among the strongest I’ve heard him make publicly. “It’s horrible,” Cervantes said. “… There’s a great deal of pay to play. You’ve got to be plain deaf, dumb and blind not to see it,” he added. “… It’s a culture of corruption that has existed for decades.” Cervantes said he believes “most Democrats reject corruption… unethical conduct, play to play,” and the reason Susana Martinez won last year’s gubernatorial race is because she “so soundly rejected those things.” Read full story here:

Heath's Take on Cervantes Interview

Analysis of the Canning of Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann

Washington Post - So Keith Olbermann is out. As best as I can tell, none of the news accounts about his departure have gotten to the bottom of what happened here. But Olbermann himself offered enough clues in his final broadcast for us to reasonably speculate that he abruptly got the ax, perhaps even as late as last night. A "knowledgeable official" at MSNBC told Howard Kurtz that the separation was "mutual." But it's hard to see how that squares with this, from Olbermann's last words on Countdown last night: "I think the same fantasy has popped into the head of everybody in my business who has ever been told what I have been told, that this is going to be the last edition of your show. You go directly to the scene from the movie 'Network,' complete with the pajamas, and the raincoat, and you go off on an existential, otherworldly journey of profundity and vision... "When I resigned from ESPN 13 and a half years ago, I was literally given 30 seconds to say goodbye at the very end of my last edition of "Sports Center." As God is my witness, in the commercial break just before the emotional moment, the producer got into my earpiece and he said, `uh, can you cut it down to 15 seconds, so we can get in this tennis result from Stuttgart? So I'm grateful that I have a little more time to sign off here." Read full column here:

Analysis of the Canning of Keith Olbermann

A Month After START Treaty Signed Russia Renews Opposition to Unilateral Sanctions on Iran

From gatewaypundit.com -US and Russia presidents Barack Obama and Dimitry Medvedev agree over the phone to sign the new SMART treaty. One month after Obama and democrats rammed through the START Nuclear Treaty with Russia, Moscow today renewed its opposition to unilateral sanctions on Iran.Fars News reported: Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov underlined his country’s strong opposition to unilateral sanctions against Iran.“We have never supported unilateral sanctions, which will only serve as a spoiler for Iran,” Lavrov said after talks with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul on Thursday. Lavrov also expressed hope that the sanctions are lifted in the talks between Tehran and major world powers. Lavrov added that his country has always been very clear at pointing out its concerns. Pointing to the talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) in Istanbul, the Russian minister said that an agreement between the two sides on a perspective for future steps would mean the talks were a success, noting the negotiations would not be limited to the West’s standoff with Iran, but would also focus on solutions to regional problems. Senior negotiators from Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) ended their first round of talks in Istanbul, Turkey minutes ago.

A Month After START Treaty Signed Russia Renews Opposition to Unilateral Sanctions on Iran