24 Days until Inauguration

The Bible that Abraham Lincoln used to take the oath of office in 1861.
(Kevin lamarque/reuters)

10 official inaugural balls scheduled for January 20 (click here)
December 25, 7:55 PM
by Michael A. Harris, NY Government Examiner
The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) will be hosting 10 "official balls" on the night of January 20, sources said this week.
These ten "official" are the only parties where Barack Obama, Joe Biden and their wives are guaranteed to appear, albeit for a quick wave and onstage dance.
Six of the balls will be held at the glamorous, escalator-studded Washington Convention Center. The other four will be at the National Building Museum, Union Station, the Washington Hilton Hotel and the D.C. Armory....

So what then is the difference between Bush's REAL Pay to Play and the Illinois Governor's Complaint?

To listen to anyone at the Federal Justice Department, the difference is that Bush had a chance to 'reverse' the process of pay to play. No different than when Rove was 'bargaining' for innocense in the Valerie Plame investigation. He lied. He lied all the time, but, as the truth became more evident, he kept returning to Fitzgerald to modify his testimony before the Grand Jury to elaborate on 'misunderstandings.'

There were no 'flyin' misunderstandings with Rove. He was 'measuring' the ability of Fitzgerald to obtain the truth before he went completely 'belly up.'

So, this time, the Republicans are using 'media influence,' no different than with Spitzer to force the political CHOICE of the people out of office. Spitzer won his election with nearly 60% of the popular vote, yet, the 'Feds' played the game so poorly it actually looked as though Eliot would be doing jail time under, of all things, THE MANN ACT. I frequently question who really paid the prostitute more money, Bush/RNC (same thing) or Eliot?

Rod didn't do a darn thing wrong, yet, idiot Democrats within the Illiniois legislature will 'play the populous' game because they are scared to stand up for what it right. The media in Illiniois has every elected official running scared and the biggest fool to date has been the Illinois Attorney General.

There is ABSOLUTELY no substance to this case and yet every idiot that is afraid of his own shadow for any re-election or plans in displacing the Governor in the next election will oppose his status as an ELECTED Governor of the people. They are all fools and I enjoy that fact beyond any imagination !

The 'assessment release' by the Obama Transition Team showed absolutely no 'pay to play' and if the Illiniois Governor was looking for a position on the Cabinet than that is PURE ambition and nothing more. Why shouldn't he seek to be ambitious? Additionally, that 'ambition' LACKS motivation to corruption. The more ambitious Rod was the more reason for him to remain 'squeeky' clean regardless of the verbal horseplay within the Illinois Policial Culture.

He and his attorney have every right to ask any committee seeking to displace an elected Governor to subpeona anyone that can cast light on Rod's innocense. There was no verbal exchange EVEN WITH Valerie Jarrett who was a heart beat away from the 'status' of Senator.

Additionally, Eliot Spitzer should be suing for 'Wrongful Prosecution.' The way Republicans JUSTIFY disassembling government infrastructure in favor of privatized business, is to make it appear 'though hubris' as if its incompetent to have a government that is expensive and unable to protect the interest of the people. It is an intricate 'approach' to ridding million/billionaires of government expense while a 'fatigued' public consents to it through elections.

I've had enough to the 'idiot' political games that cost the country some of the best talent in our country.


Quite possibly the ONLY difference is the fact Rod Blagojevich is a Democrat. He stands for the wrong things and backs unions and the middle class. I guess that warrants a 'hounding' that carries 'pretend' charges at the level of US Attorney.

Politics
Illinois Republicans Seek Return To Power (click title to entry - thank you)
by Cheryl Corley
NPR.org, December 25, 2008 · Shortly after Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested — accused of scheming to sell the state's vacant Senate seat, formerly held by President-elect Barack Obama, to the highest bidder — Illinois Republicans started running an ad on cable television.
The ad urges voters to call state lawmakers to push for a special election to fill the vacant Senate seat. "You deserve to be heard. You deserve a special election," it says.
Before the Blagojevich scandal, any chance of a Republican capturing the vacated seat was a long shot because it was up to Blagojevich, a Democrat, to appoint someone to it. As calls for the governor to resign grew, Democrats backed a special election but decided against it, saying, among other things, that it would be too costly. That set off a howl from angry Illinois Senate Republicans Christine Radogno and Matt Murphy....



At a brief news conference in Springfield (click here), Governor Rod Blagojevich's hair announced that it intends to challenge the governor for the state's highest office. In a shocking revelation, Blagojevich's hair revealed that it would be running for the Republican nomination. Developing.

A REAL Pay-to-Play Scandal, huh? Money and favors actually took place. Oops.

Where is the US Attorney on this one? Bush attempted to side step this little beauty by resinding the pardon. Damage done, folks. Side step or no side step.

...The full-color picture - obtained exclusively by the Daily News - was taken early this year....


GOP donor Robert Toussie - whose scammer son Isaac was pardoned and then unpardoned by Bush - poses with the president earlier this year.

Who are these guys and how much of a part did they play in this mortgage mess? Clerks or Organizers? What banks are involved and why? BASICALLY, after 45 years of 'sorta getting away with it' and building a power base the entire time, what is their 'rhelm' of influence in the real estate market and are there mimics by others?

"What the deal?" Why were they so successful that they had to be called before the Department of Housing and Urban Developement? They must have more than a local influence to have national attention. Were they a model for Republicans that were looking to build false agendas of hope for political gain in areas normally Democratic? How deep does their 'model' of fraud go and who else out there was following it? Why? And under whom's direction?

In other words, "Who is the big boss?" Why was Paulson's plea so late? So Emergent? There has to be permission for these boys somewhere !

You know, if Toussie, Jr. has a worthwhile story to tell, he should turn 'state's evidence' and spill his guts on what he knows asking for a lesser sentence.

...Isaac Toussie pleaded guilty in 2001 to lying to the Department of Housing and Urban Development to get mortgages for unqualified homebuyers.
Both Toussies face suits accusing them of fleecing hundreds of blacks and Latinos who bought overpriced, shoddy houses.
There was no answer at Robert Toussie's door yesterday....

Toussies' trail a doozie: Bush missed half-century of corruption, scam claims against father and son (click here)
BY WILLIAM SHERMAN DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, December 26th 2008, 12:50 AM

President Bush turned Brooklyn's Isaac Toussie into a poster boy for outrageous presidential pardons, granting, then rescinding, the order in 24 hours.
The mystery is how the administration ignored Toussie and his father's background - a tale of payoff and corruption allegations spanning more than 45 years - in pardoning the son for a massive housing scam.
White House officials did an about-face after they learned - by reading it in the Daily News - the father of scamster Isaac Toussie donated $28,500 to the Republican National Committee.
The rags-to-riches story began with Toussie's father, Robert, who clawed his way out of poverty to build empires in the clothing and real estate businesses.
Although the Toussie family record is filled with suits and scam allegations, as well as the fraud conviction that drew the pardon, it is also a story of triumph and contradiction....