Owner: The Purple Center URL:http://thepurplecenter.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2008 02:39:27 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Politicians and pundits may divide us into "blue" and "red" and try to force us to choose sides, but millions of Americans make up the vital center. We want our leaders to govern in the spirit of shared patriotism that brought Hamilton Site statistics:Click here
Illinois Supreme Court gives the back of its hand to state AG's loony lawsuit 2008-12-18 00:15:00 At least one group of Illinois
officials are taking their jobs seriously. Thursday, the state's high court dismissed without so much as a brief comment Attorney General Lisa Madigan's absurd "emergency" effort to get the court to declare Governor Blagojevich "unfit" to serve under a statute meant for use when the state executive is in a coma. Then, it gave her the back of its collective hand by si Read more:Court
, Supreme
Dame Caroline Escapes Scruffy Scribblers' Scrum in Syracuse 2008-12-17 19:40:00 Caroline Kennedy Meets With Syracuse
Mayor Matt DriscollMy lady of Camelot, I know I speak for all respectable persons residing in the outer provinces when I say how deeply shocked we are by the offensive manner in which your ladyship was received by that pack of louts who badgered you with impertinent questions during your progress through those parts. I hope you will not think me too bold if I s Read more:Caroline
, Scrum
"Blagojemess" gets even messier 2008-12-17 01:13:00 "Hell no, I won't go" was Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's answer to calls by Barack Obama, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, Senator Dick Durbin, the Illinois State Legislature, various Madigans, and almost everyone else who lives in Illinois that he resign. Instead, Blago hired a hot-shot criminal lawyer who told the legislators convening in Springfield to get the impeachment ball rolling that he would
Dame Caroline deigns to represent us 2008-12-15 18:55:00 Oh, thank you, my lady of Camelot. I know I speak for all of your loyal subj...er...supporters in New York when I say how pleased we are that you have seen fit to govern us, as indeed, you should. Yes, we mark ourselves as fortunate to have one of your noble grace and bearing willing to put aside the many heavy burdens of your charitable and other good works and take up the far weightier cause Read more:Caroline
Joe shows off his new puppy 2008-12-15 18:44:00 Nothing like a warm puppy to make you better when you're feeling down in the dumps. As far as we know, Hillary Clinton has not felt a need for a new puppy since Buddy was run over by a car outside the Clinton residence in Chappaqua, New York in 2002.
Joe Biden, in dog house, to get puppy 2008-12-14 19:51:00 Joe Biden
may have lost out to Hillary Clinton in foreign affairs, but he has beaten the Obama daughters to getting a new puppy, the one his wife, Jill, promised she'd get him, if the Obama-Biden ticket won on November 4th:.Biden revealed his wife’s pledge on Election Day, telling reporters flying with him to Chicago that she had first promised him a dog if he was elected president, and when his Read more:Joe Biden
Maybe J. Lo could reach across the aisle 2008-12-13 18:24:00 Senator J. Lo anyone?Rep. Gary Ackerman, a veteran Queens Democrat, asked in a radio interview the other day about the buzz over Caroline Kennedy's interest in filling Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, "I don't know what Caroline Kennedy's qualifications are. Except that she has name recognition, but so does J.Lo. I wouldn't make J.Lo the senator unless she proved she had great qualifications, but we Read more:aisle
, Maybe
The Chicago Way -- The American Way? 2008-12-12 21:38:00 Former Illinois Governor George H. Ryan (above) is the Republican who preceded Democrat Rod Blagojevich in the Springfield state house and may soon be joined by Blagojevich at the nearest Federal Big House. Ryan, who served one term as Governor from 1999 to 2003, was convicted in 2006 for his role in the widespread illegal sale of government licenses, contracts and leases by state employees during Read more:American
, Chicago
How strong is Patrick Fitzgerald's case against Blagojevich? 2008-12-10 14:17:00 The news coverage about the charges brought by U.S. Attorney PatrickFitzgeraldagainst
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been so saturated with shock and amazement at the brazenness of Blagojevich's alleged conduct that few questions have been raised about the strength of Fitzgerald's case. But Gov. Blagojevich will certainly be looking hard at the odds facing him in deciding, among other thi
Senators should announce they'll refuse any Blagojevich appointee to Obama's seat 2008-12-09 19:37:00 It’s unthinkable that Gov. Rod Blagojevich, under indictment for trying to sell President-elect Obama
’s Senate seat, among other offenses, would name Obama’s replacement — but he can and he might.The only way to be absolutely certain that such an appointment will never be made is this: the Senate leadership of both parties should announce that they will recommend against seating any such
Sharing the gloom 2008-12-08 15:05:00 New York Times media columnist David Carr speculates today on the extent to which the now all-pervasive, instantaneous, 24/7 electronic media environment might be spreading and heightening the fear and gloom about the economy:Every modern recession includes a media séance about how horrible things are and how much worse they will be, but there have never been so many ways for the fear to leak in. Read more:Sharing
December 7, 1941 2008-12-07 19:41:00 U.S.S. Arizona in her death throesStill a Day of Infamy. Let's always remember. Read more:December
Bad news for the GOP 2008-12-07 18:29:00 A new CNN/Opinion Research poll of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents asking their current choice for the 2012 GOP Presidential nomination shows Mike Huckabee in the lead with 34% and Sarah Palin nipping at the Huckster's heels with 32%.This is no big surprise, of course, since both have high name recognition and were popular with GOP voters this year. Huckabee burst into the big ti
Biden looking for a silk purse in a sow's ear 2008-12-06 15:46:00 Politico.com reports that Joe Biden
plans to "limit the role of vice president" to what it supposedly was before the Bush-Cheney White House:Dialing back his predecessor’s expansive view of the office, Vice President-elect Joe Biden plans on “restoring the Office of the Vice President to its historical role” as adviser to the president and tie-breaker in the Senate, an aide to Biden said Sat Read more:purse
Obama and the spies 2008-12-04 20:00:00 On December 1st, I noticed that President-elect Obama
's top national security leadership team surprisingly did not include choices for the critically important national security positions of Director of National Intelligence and CIA Director. For days before, most reports, many of them based on leaks from the Obama transition, had pointed to Admiral Dennis Blair for DNI and most likely John Brenn Read more:spies
HRC: "Waiting for orders, Sir" 2008-12-03 20:03:00 Ever since President-elect Obama made his selection of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State official, the notion has taken hold among the commentariat (both pro and con Hillary) that Mrs. Clinton will work hard for the Obama team, not for herself, in large part because she will have no choice. After all, Obama made it clear at the announcement that he would be in charge, listen to all points of Read more:orders
, Waiting
A housing recession! 2008-12-03 13:50:00 From The New York Times, December 2, 2008 - Click to enlargeThe above graphs depict various key factors contributing to the nature, length and depth of seven recessions over the past 40 years, including the current downturn. The recession that began officially last December has not been marked (so far anyway) by a relatively sharp drop in either GDP or personal consumption. For that matter, the de
Mumbai, Kashmir and the limits of American influence 2008-12-02 00:57:00 CIA map of the disputed Kashmir
territories, 2003There has been a great deal of talk recently about the need for a broader regional strategy to defeat the Taliban, al Qaeda and other Islamist radicals in Afganistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan. President-elect Obama, Secretary Gates, General Petreaus, and Secretary-designate Clinton seem to be on the same page about this, all agreeing that eng Read more:American
, influence
, Mumbai
Who's missing from national security team? 2008-12-01 00:49:00 President-elect Obama is set at long last to announce his national security
team formally, but if all the reports are to be believed, there will be a big hole in the line-up along with some arguably odd additions. The announcements will include those of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, Robert Gates to continue as Secretary of Defense, and General James Jones to take on the pivotal role of Na
Now they tell us 2008-11-30 17:05:00 Remember how Obama's rejection of public financing, allowing him to raise far more money privately, was defended on the grounds that he raised hundreds of millions from many more small donors than anyone, ever -- those contributing under $200 -- a transformation of campaign financing?Turns out that it wasn't true. While there is no taking back the zillions of stories crediting Obama with a history
Barack Obama, the centrist? 2008-11-29 13:38:00 Photo by Reuters/Jim YoungAs President-elect Obama
continues to assemble teams of top officials dominated by moderate Democrats, experienced non-political professionals, and some Republicans, the punditocracy is alive with theories as to what his motives are: he was a moderate all along and ran opportunistically to the left of his primary rivals; his campaign stands were generally centrist, but ma Read more:Barack
, Barack Obama
U.S. intelligence: "most likely Lashkar-e-Taiba" 2008-11-28 16:41:00 The carnage in Mumbai is still growing with the number of confirmed dead now more than 150, a toll likely
to grow further.According to one report, U.S. intelligence
officials believe there is "mounting evidence that a Pakistani militant group based in Kashmir, most likely Lashkar-e-Taiba, was responsible for the deadly attacks in Mumbai." Suspicion has also fallen on Jaish-e-Muhammad, another Kash
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