A Profile On Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart, once a liberal Westside child of privilege, says he had a series of epiphanies that turned him into a conservative. (Al Seib, Los Angeles Times / August 5, 2010)

Andrew Breitbart: The Man Behind The Sherrod Affair -- L.A. Times

Andrew Breitbart, whose posting of video clips got a Department of Agriculture official fired, was a liberal Westside child of privilege whose political epiphany transformed him into a conservative.

The command center of Andrew Breitbart's growing media empire is a suite of offices on Sawtelle Boulevard in West Los Angeles with the temporary feel of a campaign office. Only the computers seem firmly anchored.

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About That Vanity Fair Story On Sarah Palin

The Truth About That Dishonest Vanity Fair Palin Story, From One Who Was There -- Big Journalism

Remember Vanity Fair (you know–the stale, old magazine that no one buys unless they are on the cover or they are wishing they were, like Joy Behar)? The recent hit piece on Sarah Palin by Michael Joseph Gross reveals that they must be as desperate as the rest of the MSM for sales/ratings, because they have lost all credibility, if they ever had any.

Reading his tripe was excruciating. Some 90% of the hard accusations are attributed to anonymous “sources.” This is billed as a profile piece, not exactly Watergate. You have to do better than attributing everything to an anonymous “Deep Throat.”

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My Comment: The Vanity Fair article can be read here.

How Rich Are The Richest Lawmakers

Wealthy Lawmakers Increased Their Riches As U.S. Economy Sputtered In '09 -- The Hill

The wealthiest members of Congress grew richer in 2009 even as the economy struggled to recover from a deep recession.

The 50 wealthiest lawmakers were worth almost $1.4 billion in 2009, about $85.1 million more than 12 months earlier, according to The Hill’s annual review of lawmakers’ financial disclosure forms.

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My Comment: The list of the 50 wealthiest law makers is here.

Even The San Francisco Press Are Dumping On Senator Boxer

Barbara Boxer Spins Fictional Tale About Condi Rice -- SF Gate

Sen. Barbara Boxer came to the Chronicle editorial board today, and I asked her about some controversial remarks she made about then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice not paying "a personal price" in terms of the war in Iraq.

Here is the quote that put Boxer in so much hot water:

Now, the issue is who pays the price, who pays the price? I'm not going to pay a personal price. My kids are too old, and my grandchild is too young. You're not going to pay a particular price, as I understand it, within immediate family. So who pays the price? The American military and their families, and I just want to bring us back to that fact.

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My Comment: When the San Francisco press starts to dump on one of their long time favorite politicians .... you know that there is disarray in the liberal ranks. What is my take, SF Gate is right, and kudos to them for pointing out Sen. Boxer's contradictions.

House Travel Stipends Probed

From The Wall Street Journal:

Congressional investigators are questioning a half-dozen lawmakers for possibly misspending government funds meant to pay for overseas travel, according to people familiar with the matter.

The investigation follows a Wall Street Journal article in March that said lawmakers had used daily cash stipends, meant to cover certain costs of official government travel overseas, to cover expenses that appeared to be unauthorized by House rules. An independent ethics board has referred the matter to the House ethics committee.

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My Comment: Everyone wants to go on a free trip ... including politicians.

Education Secretary Urged His Employees To Attend Sharpton's Rally

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama (R) listens to Chicago Public Schools Chief Arne Duncan during a news conference at the Dodge Renaissance Academy in Chicago December 16, 2008. Obama named on Tuesday Duncan as the next secretary of education. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

From The Washington Examiner:

President Obama's top education official urged government employees to attend a rally that the Rev. Al Sharpton organized to counter a larger conservative event on the Mall.

"ED staff are invited to join Secretary Arne Duncan, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and other leaders on Saturday, Aug. 28, for the 'Reclaim the Dream' rally and march," began an internal e-mail sent to more than 4,000 employees of the Department of Education on Wednesday.

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My Comment: Politicization of the Department of Education .... of course not.

3 Congressmen May Face Further Inquiry

From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — The Office of Congressional Ethics has found enough evidence of wrongdoing to recommend further investigation of three House members who held fund-raising events just days before they voted on financial regulatory legislation last year.

The referrals to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct came as the office recommended dismissing investigations of five other lawmakers, whose fund-raising just before the December 2009 vote had also come under scrutiny.

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My Comment: Only 3?

Grand Jury To Indict John Edwards

Photo by: (c)The National Enquirer

From National Enquirer:

The ultimate fall from grace, a Federal grand jury is about to indict John Edwards, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.

In another shocker, close sources say Edwards' estranged wife Elizabeth could help send the former presidential candidate to jail!

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Charlie Rangel's Colleagues Are Returning His Money

Another Congressman Returns Rangel's 'Dirty Money' -- Five Congressman Have Now Given $60,000 To Charity -- Washington Examiner

Since November, the Examiner's "Dirty Money Watch" has been exclusively calling up members of Congress who accepted campaign cash from scandal-plagued Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and asking whether they will return the money.

In the last week, and following multiple inquiries by the Examiner, three congressmen have donated $37,000 in campaign donations from Rangel to charity. (That total has risen from $26,00 in the initial report.) Another congresswoman, Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., told the Boston Herald she would return $7,000 she had recieved from Rangel.

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My Comment: When your friends are getting rid of your money, you are in trouble.

Democrats Siding With GOP On Charles Rangel Ouster

Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel

From The Politico:

Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel was on the verge of losing his gavel Tuesday night as a trickle of Democratic defections turned into a flood.

“The dam broke today,” said a senior Democratic aide.

Rangel suffered a significant blow Tuesday afternoon when Rep. Artur Davis – a member of both the Ways and Means Committee and the Congressional Black Caucus who’s running for governor back home in Alabama – issued a statement in which he said the chairman “should do the right thing and step aside.”

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My Comment: Unfortunately for us, not ALL Democrats are leaving this sinking ship.

Congressional Black Caucus Objects To Rangel’s Removal

Image: Rangel on Meet the Press in March.Photo: Getty Images

From Human Events:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is facing a new conundrum as the swell of voices calling for the removal of House Ways & Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) begins to build.

Sources on the Hill tell HUMAN EVENTS that the latest problem involves the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and their objection to Rangel’s ouster as the first member of their caucus to hold the chairmanship of the very powerful tax writing committee.

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My Comment: For these Congressmen, it is all about race.

Biggest Government Porkers Of 2009 Named by Group

From MSNBC:

The polls are open for the annual Porker of the Year vote from Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), and the Democrats have an early lead with four out of the six nominees.

The Porker of the Year contest runs until February 1. To cast your vote, visit www.cagw.org/porkeroftheyear.

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My Comment: I wish there was a "choose all the above" box to tick off.

The Most Influential US Liberals: 100-81

From The Telegraph:

Telegraph.co.uk's list of the liberals who most influence American politics.

Telegraph.co.uk is presenting its second list of the 100 most influential conservatives and 100 most influential liberals in America a year after Barack Obama took the oath on the steps of the Capitol to become the 44th President of the United States.

The lists are both divided into five with 20 people in each 'instalment' and published over five successive days.

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Update: Top conservatives: 100- 81

The Most Influential US Conservatives: 100-81

From The Telegraph:

Telegraph.co.uk's list of the conservatives who most influence American politics.

Telegraph.co.uk is presenting its second list of the 100 most influential conservatives and 100 most influential liberals in America a year after Barack Obama took the oath on the steps of the Capitol to become the 44th President of the United States.

The lists are both divided into five with 20 people in each 'instalment' and published over five successive days.

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Update: Top liberals: 100-81

Does The National Enquirer Deserve A Pulitzer For Breaking The John Edwards Scandal?

From The Politics Daily:

The National Enquirer is a supermarket tabloid, but the time has come for the media elite to admit that it has an excellent investigative reporting team, which broke the biggest political scandal of 2009, the John Edwards affair.

While its own editor concedes that the paper would never be given a Pulitzer Prize -- the jury is dominated by the newspaper establishment -- I believe the time has come for us to recognize the Enquirer's political investigative reporting.

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My Comment: It will be a cold day in hell before the main stream media gives a Pulitzer to the Enquirer .... especially since everyone knows that the National Enquirer's investigative team embarrassed the main news organizations by scooping them on this story.

Newsweek Editor Claims It's A 'Longtime Clinton Principle' To Forego Today's Pleasures For Tomorrow

From News Busters:

Newsweek editor Jon Meacham’s shoeshine of an interview with Bill Clinton in the year-end issue (complete with Meacham making sure his use of the word "Sir" is included in the magazine’s transcript) ran three pages and had only three questions or statements from Meacham. Clinton was allowed to talk at extreme length, befitting his status at Newsweek as a global statesman. But this question from Meacham was the most likely to spur giggles:

What you're describing is the end of "future preference" [the idea that each person has an obligation to sacrifice today for the benefit of tomorrow, a longtime Clinton principle].

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My Comment: And people wonder why I roll my eyes when I talk about the media and the Clintons.

Was The Obama Internet Revolution For His Election A Myth?

New Media Leader Exposes Myth Of Obama's 'Bottom-Up' Internet-Driven 2008 Campaign UPDATED: More Storm Clouds Gathering On The Left -- Washington Examiner

End-of-year media pieces tend to be boring rehashes but occasionally a thoughtful person will use the opportunity for some genuinely original and useful thinking about the most recent past. Such is Micah Sifry's powerful and significant post on Personal Democracy Forum's Tech President, "The Obama disconnect: What happens when myth meets reality."

Remember how the Mainstream Media endlessly told us in 2008 that the Obama campaign was blazing new trails by raising millions of dollars of campaign donations and creating the first-ever bottom-up, people-driven Internet-focused presidential campaign apparatus?

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My Comment: This is a must read piece.

Who Is Visiting The White House Nowadays

Powerful Chicagoans on White House Visitor Log -- NBC Chicago

Recent release of visitor records shows Windy City connection remains strong.

Obama doesn't go to Chicago, Chicago goes to Obama.

Visitor logs recently released by the White House reveal meetings with several powerful Chicagoans, according to Bloomberg News.

Among the visitors:

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My Comment: Chicago is his base ... and it is the men and women there who were the first to put him into any position of power.

Judicial Watch Announces List Of Washington's "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians" For 2009

From Judicial Watch:

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released its 2009 list of Washington's "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians." The list, in alphabetical order, includes:

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My Comment: We all know that this list is just scratching the surface.

The Saudis Gave At Least $10 Million To The Clinton Foundation

From National Review:

In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gave between $10 million and $25 million to the foundation run by the husband of our current Secretary of State.

"Friends of Saudi Arabia" donated at least another million, perhaps another $5 million. So in short, since 1997, the Saudi Kingdom and its affiliated organizations have provided the Clinton Foundation at least $11 million, and perhaps as much as $35 million.

But I'm sure our Secretary of State held a hard line against them. Remember, it was the last President who was a pawn of the Saudis, or at least the left insisted that was so.

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My Comment: $10 million that we know about.